H.R.H. THE LATE DUKE OF CON- NAUGHT AND STRATHEARN. (Hansard, 20 January 1942)

§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (LORD MOYNE)
My Lords, you will expect very few words from me in moving an humble Address of sympathy to His Majesty the King in the personal loss which he has sustained by the death of his great uncle, His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught. The Duke is in no need of any words for his memorial. The distinguished record of his long life in the service of the nation and the Empire ensures that his name will not be forgotten. In this country and throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations the Sovereign's sorrow is always shared by his peoples. To-day we feel much more than the usual measure of sympathy, for in the passing of the Duke of Connaught we have a sense of personal bereavement. Soldier and statesman, a model in his private life as in his public life, if he had not been born a Prince he would have become eminent for his character and gifts. For over ninety years he lived among us, and from his earliest days he carried on the grand tradition of his mother—that of public service and of the honour and dignity of duty, faithfully accomplished, as its own reward.
It is not easy to be a good King. It is possibly even more difficult to be a good Prince. But the Duke of Connaught, 410 Father of the Privy Council, Father of the Army, Father of that great brotherhood of the sea, Trinity House, Father of the Freemasons, has gone to his rest after a long life full of well-spent years, during which no whisper ever touched his fame or name. He had no need to be afraid when all men spoke well of him. He had earned the nation's respect, gratitude and affection. I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty to express the deep concern of this House at the great loss which His Majesty has sustained by the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught and to condole with His Majesty on this melancholy occasion: to assure His Majesty that this House will ever feel the warmest interest in whatever concerns His Majesty's domestic relations; and to declare the ardent wishes of this House for the happiness of His Majesty and of His Family.

§ THE EARL OF LISTOWEL
My Lords, on behalf of my noble friends on these Benches, and in the absence of the Leader of the Opposition, I should like to endorse everything that has fallen from the noble Lord opposite. We should wish to offer our very sincere sympathy to His Majesty the King and the members of the Royal Family on the death of the Duke of Connaught, and to express our deep appreciation of his willing and distinguished record of public service. I think I may also add that his loss will be deeply mourned by the Army, and more particularly by those regiments with which he was most intimately associated, as well as by both Houses of Parliament.

THE MARQUESS OF CREWE
My Lords, on behalf of those who sit on these Benches, perhaps I may be allowed to add a word of sympathy with the Resolution that has been moved for an Address to His Majesty in the loss of the illustrious Duke. 411 We also, I am sure, would desire to express our particular sympathy to the two ladies, one his daughter, the sole survivor of his three children, and the other his sister, Princess Beatrice, now left alone of the large family of Queen Victoria. The Duke really formed almost a part of ancient history, the history of the early nineteenth century and even back to the eighteenth century, from the fact of his being godson and namesake of the illustrious Duke of Wellington. Of late the burden of years had been heavy on him, and therefore few of the younger generation were familiar with his appearance, but those of us who are older recall with affectionate respect that alert, soldierly figure which was so familiar to us in London. The Duke, to a great extent, shared the special quality which was so conspicuous in King Edward, that of combining an easy geniality with all sorts and conditions of people with the maintenance of the personal dignity which was due to his position. As the noble Lord has said, he filled a long career of public service both as a practical, efficient soldier, and as the representative of the Crown in India, in South Africa and, especially, as Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada. Nowhere will his Royal Highness be more missed than at Trinity House, and those of us who have the honour of being connected with that ancient Corporation recall the ungrudging way in which he gave time and trouble to its beneficent work. In fact, the Duke was in every respect a great servant of the Crown and the country, and he has left a most gracious memory behind him.