In our post of November 3, 2025, http://blog.appletonstudios.com/2025/11/some-other-arms-in-supreme-court-of-uk.html, in the portion discussing the arms of the 11th Duke of Bedford, it was noted that as Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, in December 1913 he was at the opening of the Guildhall, accompanying Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
Today, we are going to look at the arms of Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, which are also displayed in the building.
HRH Prince Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert was the son of the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, a younger son of Queen Victoria. The Duke served as Governor-General of Canada, but returned to London in 1913 for his son’s wedding, and while in town, he opened the Middlesex Guildhall, hence this kind tribute that greeted his arrival. Prince Arthur was a soldier, and saw active service in South Africa in the Boer War. After the accession of King George V in 1911, and after his father went to Canada, Prince Arthur found himself one of the most senior male members of the Royal Family over the age of 18 still in the United Kingdom and undertook a wide variety of royal duties on behalf of the King.
A year after his wedding to the Princess, the First World War broke out and Prince Arthur served as Aide-de-Camp to the commander, Generals French and Haig in turn. By 1919 he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He returned to South Africa in 1920, this time in peace, as Governor-General until 21 January 1924. He died in 1943. His father survived him by four years.
HH Princess Alexandra was the daughter of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, and Louise, Princess Royal, and was a cousin once removed of her husband.* She inherited her father’s title on his death.
A year after his wedding to the Princess, the First World War broke out and Prince Arthur served as Aide-de-Camp to the commander, Generals French and Haig in turn. By 1919 he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He returned to South Africa in 1920, this time in peace, as Governor-General until 21 January 1924. He died in 1943. His father survived him by four years.
HH Princess Alexandra was the daughter of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, and Louise, Princess Royal, and was a cousin once removed of her husband.* She inherited her father’s title on his death.
The arms of Prince Arthur of Connaught: The arms of the United Kingdom with overall a Label of five points Argent charged on the center and outer points with a cross of St George gules and on the two inner points a fleur-de-lis azure, an inescutcheon of Saxony.
The arms of Princess Arthur of Connaught (HH Princess Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise), Duchess of Fife: Impaled with the arms of Prince Arthur of Connaught, the Royal Arms, differenced by the same label as her husband and upon an inescutcheon the quarterly coat of Duff, the inescutcheon being surmounted by the coronet of a Duchess of the United Kingdom. The dexter supporter is the Royal Lion of England crowned with the last mentioned coronet and charged with the label as in the arms. The sinister supporter is a savage taken from the supporters of the late Duke of Fife.
* This family thing of being a “first cousin, once removed”, or a “third cousin, twice removed”, etc. can be very confusing. The short explanation is that first cousins share the same grandparents; in the case of “first cousins, once removed”, one cousin’s grandparents are the other cousin’s great-grandparents, thus adding one generation,
one “remove”, in descent from the shared ancestor(s). For the Prince and Princess here, their specific situation is that: 1, He is a grandson of Queen Victoria (Victoria > Arthur William Patrick Albert > Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert); 2, She is a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria (Victoria > Edward VII > Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar > Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise).
Or like this, if it helps you to visualize it better:
The arms of Princess Arthur of Connaught (HH Princess Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise), Duchess of Fife: Impaled with the arms of Prince Arthur of Connaught, the Royal Arms, differenced by the same label as her husband and upon an inescutcheon the quarterly coat of Duff, the inescutcheon being surmounted by the coronet of a Duchess of the United Kingdom. The dexter supporter is the Royal Lion of England crowned with the last mentioned coronet and charged with the label as in the arms. The sinister supporter is a savage taken from the supporters of the late Duke of Fife.
* This family thing of being a “first cousin, once removed”, or a “third cousin, twice removed”, etc. can be very confusing. The short explanation is that first cousins share the same grandparents; in the case of “first cousins, once removed”, one cousin’s grandparents are the other cousin’s great-grandparents, thus adding one generation,
one “remove”, in descent from the shared ancestor(s). For the Prince and Princess here, their specific situation is that: 1, He is a grandson of Queen Victoria (Victoria > Arthur William Patrick Albert > Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert); 2, She is a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria (Victoria > Edward VII > Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar > Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise).
Or like this, if it helps you to visualize it better:
Victoria
_______________|_______________
| |
Arthur William Edward VII Siblings
| |
Arthur Frederick Louise Victoria 1st Cousins
|
Alexandria Victoria 1st Cousin
Once removed
Full disclosure: I’ve had to learn all this from working on my own family tree. My second great-grandparents on my mother’s side were second cousins, and my own parents were second cousins, once removed (which makes me a second cousin, twice removed, to myself!). As my late very southern wife was often pleased to remind me regularly (given the stereotype of southern cousins marrying cousins), “Your family tree circles back on itself more than mine does.”
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