Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Prince Henry
Duke of Gloucester
Prince Henry c. 1945
11th Governor-General of Australia
In office 30 January 1945 – 11 March 1947
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley
Preceded by	The Lord Gowrie
Succeeded by	Sir William McKell
Born	Prince Henry of York (1900-03-31)31 March 1900 York Cottage, Sandringham, England
Died	10 June 1974(1974-06-10) (aged 74) Barnwell Manor, Northamptonshire, England
Burial	14 June 1974 Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
Spouse	Alice Montagu Douglas Scott ​ ​ (m. 1935)​
Issue	Prince William of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Names Henry William Frederick Albert
House	Windsor (after 1917) Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (before 1917)
Father	George V
Mother	Mary of Teck
Signature
Education	Eton College Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of active service	1919–1945
Rank	Field Marshal
Unit	King's Royal Rifle Corps 10th Royal Hussars British Expeditionary Force
Battles/wars	Second World War Battle of France (WIA)

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was a member of the British royal family. He was the third son of King George V and Queen Mary, and was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only prince to hold the post.

Henry was the first son of a British monarch to be educated at school, where he excelled at sports, and went on to attend Eton College, after which he was commissioned in the 10th Royal Hussars, a regiment he hoped to command. However, his military career was frequently interrupted by royal duties, and he was nicknamed "the unknown soldier" due to his low profile. While big-game shooting in Kenya, he met the future pilot Beryl Markham, with whom he became romantically involved. The court put pressure on him to end the relationship, but he had to pay regular hush-money to avert a public scandal. In 1935, also under parental pressure, he married Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, with whom he had two sons, princes William and Richard.

From 1939 to 1940, Henry served in France as a liaison officer to Lord Gort. He performed military and diplomatic duties during the rest of the war, then in 1945 was appointed as Australia's governor-general at the request of Prime Minister John Curtin. The post had originally been offered to his younger brother the Duke of Kent, who died in an air crash. Henry attended the coronation of his niece Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and carried out several overseas tours, often accompanied by his wife. From 1965, he became incapacitated by a number of strokes. Upon his death, he was succeeded as the Duke of Gloucester by his only living son, Richard.

Prince Henry was the last surviving child of King George V and Queen Mary. His widow, who died at the age of 102, became the longest-lived-ever member of the British royal family.