View source for Duke of Connaught and Strathearn

{{Short description|Title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1874–1943)}}
{{Redirect|Duke of Connaught|ships with this name|SS Duke of Connaught}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox nobility title
| name              = Dukedom of Connaught<br />and Strathearn
| image             = [[File:Coat of Arms of Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, until 1917.svg|180px]] 
| image_size        =  
| alt               =  
| caption           = [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn#Arms|Arms of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]] (version used from 1874 to 1917)
| creation_date     = 24 May 1874 
| monarch           = [[Queen Victoria]] 
| peerage           = [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] 
| baronetage        =  
| first_holder      = [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]] 
| last_holder       = [[Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Alastair Windsor]] 
| present_holder    =  
| heir_apparent     =  
| heir_presumptive  =  
| remainder_to      = the 1st Duke's [[heirs male]] [[heirs of the body|of the body]] lawfully begotten 
| subsidiary_titles = [[Earl of Sussex]] 
| status            = Extinct 
| extinction_date   = 26 April 1943 
| family_seat       =  
| former_seat       =  
| motto             =  
| footnotes         =  
}}
'''Duke of Connaught and Strathearn''' was a title in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] that was granted on 24 May 1874 by [[Queen Victoria]] of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] to her third son, [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24098|page=2779|date=26 May 1874}}</ref> At the same time, he was also granted the [[subsidiary title]] of [[Earl of Sussex]].

==History==
[[File:Memorial to Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn - geograph.org.uk - 1162296.jpg|thumb|Memorial in [[Winchester Cathedral]] to the 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]]
By tradition, members of the sovereign's family received titles associated with England, [[Scotland]], [[History of Ireland (1801–1923)|Ireland]] and [[Wales]], the four [[Home Nations]] that made up the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. The [[Duke]]dom of Connaught and Strathearn was named after one of the four [[provinces of Ireland]], now known by its modern Irish language-based spelling of [[Connacht]]. It was seen as the title that, if available, would henceforth be awarded to the British monarch's third son. The first son is the [[Duke of Cornwall]] (in England) and [[Duke of Rothesay]] (in Scotland), and would be made [[Prince of Wales]] at some point, while the second son would often become [[Duke of York]], if the title was available.

The title [[Strathearn]] referred to the [[strath]] (valley) of the [[River Earn]] in Scotland; the ancient title [[Earl of Strathearn|Earl/Mormaer of Strathearn]] died out in the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strath Earn from The Gazetteer for Scotland |url=https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst3809.html |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=scottish-places.info |language=en-gb}}</ref>

Since the exit of the [[Irish Free State]] from the United Kingdom in 1922, titles related to locations in the Free State (and later the Republic of Ireland) have not been awarded (though Prince Edward, Prince of Wales—in 1936 briefly King [[Edward VIII]]—was made a [[Order of St Patrick|Knight of the Order of St Patrick]]). However, territorial titles relating to [[Northern Ireland]] have continued to be awarded.

After Prince Arthur's death in 1942, the title was inherited by his grandson, [[Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Alastair]]. In the absence of any male heirs, the dukedom became extinct when Alastair died, 15 months after his grandfather.

A Canadian military regiment, [[The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)]], is a Canadian armoured regiment in the 1st Duke's name. A British Indian Army cavalry regiment, the [[6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)]], was also named for the 1st Duke.

==Dukes of Connaught and Strathearn (1874)==
{| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable" 
|-
! | # !! Name !! Portrait !! Birth !! Death !! Spouse !! Term as Duke !! Other titles !! Coat of Arms 
|- bgcolor="#dddddd" |
|-
| 1 ||[[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught|The Prince Arthur]] || [[File:Laszlo - Prince Arthur, The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.jpg|100px]] || 1 May 1850<br />[[Buckingham Palace]], [[London]]<br />son of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] || 16 January 1942<br /> at [[Bagshot Park]], <br />aged 91 || [[Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia]]<br />(married 13 March 1879)<br />3 children || 1874–1942 || [[Earl of Sussex]] (1874) || [[File:Arms of Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, until 1917.svg|100px]] 
|-
| 2 || [[Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Alastair Windsor]] || [[File:Alastair Arthur, Earl of MacDuff.png|100px]] || 9 August 1914<br />[[Mayfair]], [[London]]<br />son of [[Prince Arthur of Connaught]] and [[Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife|Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife]] || 26 April 1943<br /> in [[Ottawa]],<br />aged 28 || Never married || 1942–1943 || [[Earl of Sussex]] (1874) || [[File:Arms of Alaistair, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.svg|100px]]
|-
| colspan=9|''Alastair Windsor had no children and all his titles became extinct on his death.''
|}

== Family trees ==
{{Dukes of Kent family tree}}
{{Royal dukes family tree}}
[[File:Fife and Connaught family tree.png|thumb|500px|Family tree showing the interrelation of the dukedom of Connaught & Strathearn with the dukedom of Fife]]

==Possible future creations==
The Dukedom is currently vacant. While there were some speculations that it was one of the options available for [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex|Prince Harry]] upon [[Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle|his wedding]] with [[Meghan, Duchess of Sussex|Meghan Markle]], press reports have also noted that Connaught is now part of the [[Republic of Ireland]], as well as the supposed manner in which the [[Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|last Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]] died, thus making it unsuitable.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Scotti|first1=Monique|title=A look at Harry and Meghan’s new titles: Duke and Duchess of Sussex|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4219760/royal-wedding-duke-duchess-of-sussex-harry-meghan/|access-date=19 May 2018|work=[[Global News]]|date=19 May 2018|quote=Connaught isn’t much better. With its close ties to the Republic of Ireland, it wouldn’t have made the best choice. The last holder, Alastair, Duke of Connaught, died in 1943 while stationed in Canada with the British army, which seems like it might be a good fit considering Harry’s ties to the military. But Alastair froze to death after falling out a window while drunk.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Davies|first1=Caroline|title=Harry and Meghan to be Duke and Duchess of Sussex|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/19/harry-and-meghan-to-be-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex|access-date=19 May 2018|work=The Guardian|date=19 May 2018|quote=Other available dukedoms had limitations. Connaught is now in the Irish Republic...}}</ref>

Strathearn is a subsidiary [[Earl of Strathearn|Earldom]] in the [[Duke of Cambridge|Dukedom of Cambridge]].

==See also==
*[[Earl of Connaught]] (subsidiary title of the [[Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh]])
*[[Connaught Place, New Delhi]], the commercial centre of India's capital.
*[[Connaught Place, London]], on the south end of [[Edgware Road]], very close to the [[Marble Arch]] and [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].
*[[Taman Connaught]], [[Kuala Lumpur]]
*[[Connaught Place (Hong Kong)]]
*[[Connaught, Ontario (disambiguation)|Connaught, Ontario]]
*[[Connaught Road]], [[Hong Kong]]
*[[Connaught Square]], [[London]]
*[[The Connaught (hotel)]], [[London]]
*[[O'Conor Don]], the ancient Gaelic Royal Family of Connacht

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://dukeofconnaught.yolasite.com/ Memorial Site for the Duke of Connaught, Governor General of Canada]
*[http://www.Duke100th.com www.Duke100th.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507220725/http://www.duke100th.com/ |date=2021-05-07 }} Duke of Connaught Public School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 100th Anniversary

{{British royal titles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connaught And Strathearn}}
[[Category:Extinct dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1874 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Dukes of Connaught and Strathearn| ]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1874]]