Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
His Royal Highness The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (Leopold George Duncan Albert) (7 April 1853 - 28 March 1884), was a member of the British Royal Family, a son of Queen Victoria. Leopold was later created the Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow. He was diagnosed with haemophilia as a baby, which later killed him as an adult.
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Early Life
Leopold was born on April 7, 1853 at Buckingham Palace, London. His mother was Queen Victoria, the reigning British monarch. His father was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. During labor, Queen Victoria chose to use chloroform and thus sanctioned the use of anesthesia recently developed by James Young Simpson. As a son of the British sovereign, the newborn was styled His Royal Highness The Prince Leopold at birth. His parents named him Leopold after his great uncle, King Leopold I of the Belgians.
Leopold inherited the disease of haemophilia from his mother, Queen Victoria, and spent most of childhood as a semi-invalid.
Education and career
In 1872, Prince Leopold, entered Christ Church, Oxford where he studied a variety of subjects. He left the university with an honorary doctorate in civil law (DCL) in 1876. Prince Leopold travelled in Europe and 1880, he toured Canada and the United States with his sister, Princess Louise, whose husband John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne was the Governor General of Canada. Incapable of pursuing a military career because of his illness, Prince Leopold instead became a patron of the arts and literature. In 1878, he became president of Royal Society of Literature and in the following year became vice president of the Royal Society of Arts. From 1876 until his death, he served as Queen's private secretary.
Marriage
On 27 April 1882 Leopold married Princess Helene Frederica, daughter of George Victor, reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle,
They had two children:
- Her Royal Highness Princess Alice of Albany (1883-1981) later HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (sister-in-law to Queen Mary).
- His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Duke of Albany, and later reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1884-1954).
Death
Leopold died at the age of 30, of a brain hemorrhage from a minor blow to the head, in Villa Nevada in Cannes, in France. He had hemophilia, an inherited blood disorder. He was buried in the Albert Memorial Chapel at Windsor. His posthumous son, Prince Charles, succeeded him as Duke of Albany upon birth.
Titles and Honours
Titles from birth to death
- His Royal Highness The Prince Leopold
- His Royal Highness The Duke of Albany
Honours
- Knight of the Garter
- Knight of the Thistle
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
| Preceded by: New Creation | Duke of Albany | Succeeded by: Carl Eduard |