Witness of a century: The life and times of Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught, 1850-1942

by Noble Frankland

Prince Arthur was Queen Victoria's favourite sone, the Duke of Wellington's Godson, Edward VII's brother, George V's uncle and the great-uncle of Edward VIII and George VI. His life holds a mirror to personalities and developments of nearly a century from the Crimean War to the Battle of Alamein.

Highly sociable, an accurate observer and inveterate correspondent and diarist, his view is of a unique spectrum of peple from President Taft to the Emperor of Japan, Lord Wolsely to Arabi Pasha, Ethel Smyth to Melba, Gladys Deacon to Nancy Astor, Rudyard Kipling to Lord Esher, Gladstone to John Brown.

He fought at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, served in India and was a principal actor in the drama of the Esher army reforms. As Governor-General of Canada (1911-16) he calmed tensions between British and French Canadians and resolved disputes between Canada and USA through his easy access to the White House. He inaugurated the Indian constitutional reforms in 1921.

His life also offers an insight into the development of the monarchy and the ways of the Sovereign in relation to the political and social life of the nation over a long period. His descendants are the King of Sweden and the Queen of Denmark.

Genres: History

476 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Anthony Noble Frankland was a British historian who served as Director General of the Imperial War Museum.

Reviews

[Diana Cheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a brilliantly written book. If you are interested in the inner workings of the BRF and their many European relations and how they interacted, it gives you some insight. However it doesn’t really focus on familial relationships. It focusses on the man, Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught, and what he achieved, which was a lot. There’s a lot of detail into all of his military achievements and appointments. Military historians will love this, because Frankland has been so detailed. It’s meticulously researched and he has had huge access to letters and diaries, that, surprisingly, weren’t destroyed. What struck me as well was that Prince Arthur travelled extensively, living a lot in India and Canada. Absolutely amazing for that time. The other thing was that he married his wife, Louischen of Prussia, for love. It was a dynastic match and he was the great-grandfather of the current King of Sweden, Queen of Denmark and Queen-Dowager of Greece, through his elder daughter Margaret.
He certainly was a Witness of the Century: living under five monarchs, witnessing several wars including WW1 and the start of WW2, plus the expansion of the British Empire. How amazing to have picked his brains!
I would highly recommend this.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed and fascinating biography of one of Queen Victoria's lesser known children. The author has researched the life of the Duke of Connaught extensively and discusses the all different periods of his life and career, including three chapters devoted to his time as Governor General of Canada. The book also provides a great deal of information about the British Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the Prince traveled extensively and held military and diplomatic postings around the world. My only critique is that the author has a tendency to summarize historical documents rather than quote them and I would have liked to have read more of Prince Arthur's letters in the context of the biography. Highly recommended.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit, I skimmed the majority of this book. It was incredibly detailed, too detailed. It read like an engagement list, which made an interesting person very tedious. I did not like the constant mentions of military branches that were only partially relevant. Extraordinarily researched though. The chracter was quite interesting, but I don't recommend unless you have an ungodly interest in the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.

[Mark Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A insight into the workings of the inner Royal family of the late 19th & early 20th Century