H.R.H. Prince George Duke of Kent Presentation Cufflinks

The personal gift of Prince George, finely incised with a 'G' monogram within a crowned Garter, with original case.

H.R.H. Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942)

Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902 –1942) was the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck. At the time of his birth, he was fifth in the line of succession. His godparents were his grandparents King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, his granduncle Prince Valdemar of Denmark, Prince Louis of Battenberg, and his grandaunts The Dowager Empress of Russia and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.

Prince George received his early education from a tutor and then followed his elder brother, Prince Henry (later the Duke of Gloucester), to St. Peter's Court Preparatory School at Broadstairs, in Kent. At age thirteen, like his brothers, Prince Edward (later Edward VIII) and Prince Albert (later George VI), before him, he went to naval college, first at Osborne and, later, at Dartmouth. He remained in the Royal Navy until 1929, serving on the Iron Duke and later the Nelson. After leaving the navy, he briefly held posts at the Foreign Office and later the Home Office, becoming the first member of the British Royal Family to work as a civil servant. At the start of World War II, he returned to active military service at the rank of Rear admiral, briefly serving on the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty. In April 1940, he transferred to the Royal Air Force. He temporarily relinquished his rank as Air Vice-Marshal (the equivalent of Rear Admiral) to assume the post of Staff Officer at RAF Training Command in the rank of Air Commodore.

On 12 October 1934, in anticipation of his forthcoming marriage to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, his second cousin, he was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and Baron Downpatrick.