Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (born Lady Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise Duff; 17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959), known as Princess Arthur of Connaught after her marriage, was the eldest surviving grandchild of Edward VII and also the first cousin of Edward VIII and George VI. Alexandra and her younger sister, Maud, had the distinction of being the only female-line descendants of a British sovereign officially granted both the title of Princess and the style of Highness.
Lineage and early life
left|thumbnail|Princess Alexandra
Alexandra's father was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. Having succeeded his father as the 6th Earl Fife, he was elevated to Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom on his marriage in 1889 to Princess Louise of Wales, the eldest daughter of the future Edward VII. Princess Louise accordingly became the Duchess of Fife, and succeeded as the head of many Scottish Feudal Baronies, including MacDuff, named for James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife.
Alexandra was born at East Sheen Lodge, Richmond, Surrey, on 17 May 1891. After ten years of marriage and the birth in 1893 of Alexandra's younger sister Maud, no more children would be born to Alexandra's parents and the dukedom and marquessate of Fife were headed toward extinction since only a male heir could inherit those titles. On 24 April 1900, Queen Victoria granted Alexander Duff a second dukedom of Fife, along with the earldom of Macduff, stipulating by special remainder that these two titles would jointly devolve, in default of sons born to him and the Queen's granddaughter, upon their daughters in order of seniority of birth, and upon their respective agnatic male descendants in the same order. Uniquely among British royals, Alexandra and her sister were descended from both King William IV —through his mistress, Dorothea Jordan—and from his niece, Queen Victoria, who inherited the throne due to William IV's lack of legitimate heirs.
She was baptised at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace on 29 June 1891 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward White Benson. Her godparents were Queen Victoria and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Princess
On 9 November 1905, King Edward VII declared his eldest daughter Princess Royal.
Marriage and children
In 1910, she was briefly engaged to Prince Christopher of Greece, her first cousin, once removed. (Alexandra's mother, Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, was a daughter of Queen Alexandra, herself an older sister of George I of Greece, Christopher's father). The engagement was terminated when her furious father learned of the liaison.thumb|right|upright|220px|The wedding day of Prince Arthur of Connaught and Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife
On 15 October 1913, Princess Alexandra married her first cousin, once removed, Prince Arthur of Connaught at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, London.
The bride's attendants were:
- Princess Maud, the bride's sister.
- Princess Mary of the United Kingdom, the bride's maternal first cousin and daughter of King George V.
- Princess Mary of Teck and Princess Helena of Teck, daughters of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Teck (brother of Queen Mary).
- Princess May of Teck, the bride's maternal second cousin and daughter of Prince Alexander of Teck (brother of Queen Mary) and Princess Alice of Albany.
Prince Arthur of Connaught was the only son of the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria and thus a younger brother of her maternal grandfather, King Edward VII.
After their marriage, Alexandra was referred to as HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught, in accordance with the tradition that a wife normally shares the title and style of her husband.
Residences
Following their marriage the couple initially lived at 54 Mount Street, Mayfair, which Prince Arthur reportedly leased from Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth. They continued to occupy 54 Mount Street until September 1916, when they took a new London residence at No. 17 Hill Street, Mayfair. By January 1920 they were residing at No. 42 Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair. Later in the same year they moved to 41 Belgrave Square, which Prince Arthur had reportedly purchased in 1920. 41 Belgrave Square continued to be their London residence until Prince Arthur's death in 1938; the house was subsequently sold to Mrs Edward Baron in 1939.
In November 1938 Princess Alexandra purchased a newly-built house at 64 Avenue Road, St John's Wood, London, where she continued to live until her death.
Nursing career
World War I gave to Princess Arthur an opportunity to embrace her vocation of nursing in which she subsequently made a successful career. In 1915 she joined the staff of St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, as a full-time nurse and worked in this capacity until the armistice. After the war she continued her training at St. Mary's, becoming a state registered nurse in 1919. She was awarded a first prize for a paper on eclampsia.
Princess Arthur was the first member of the royal family to register as a nurse with the GNC and was president of the Royal British Nurses Association (RBNA) from 1924 through to the NHS planning and launch years (1946–1948). She remained president until her death in 1959. During this time she was actively engaged with national nursing policy, registration issues, Ministry of Health discussions and legislation affecting nurses. The RBNA archives, held at King's College, London, contain her correspondence with government departments and nursing bodies during this period
On 26 April 1943 her only child, Alastair, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, died unexpectedly (and in ill-defined circumstances) whilst staying at Rideau Hall in Ottawa with his relative the Governor-General of Canada, the Earl of Athlone.
Later life and death
thumb|[[St Ninian's Chapel, Braemar|Braemar, Mar Lodge Estate, St Ninian's Chapel – Grave of the 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891–1959)]]
In 1949 the rheumatoid arthritis, from which Princess Arthur had suffered for many years, rendered her bedbound and so necessitated the closing of her nursing home. She retired to her London home at 64 Avenue Road, St John's Wood, London where she wrote for private circulation two autobiographical fragments in a vivid and entertaining style: A Nurse's Story (1955) and Egypt and Khartoum (1956), in which she gave a graphic account of the shipwreck of SS Delhi. She was engaged on a further volume on big-game hunting in South Africa when she died at home on 26 February 1959 from pneumonia, aged 67.
At her request she was cremated,
Titles, styles, honours and arms
250px|thumb|Coat of arms of Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife
Titles and styles
Despite the fact that Alexandra and her sister were not daughters of a royal duke, they were sometimes unofficially referred to with the territorial designation of Fife but in official documents, until their marriages, they were always styled Her Highness Princess Alexandra or Maud, without the territorial designation "of Fife".
Honours
- Royal Red Cross
- Dame Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem
Honorary military appointments
- Colonel-in-chief, Royal Army Pay Corps
Ancestry
References and notes
- Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, eds., The Royal Encyclopedia (London: Macmillan, 1991);
- Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants (New York: Atlantic International Publishing, 1987);
- Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: the Complete Genealogy, rev. ed. (London: Pimlico, 1996);