Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke Of Connaught And Strathearn

Alastair Arthur Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (born 9 August 1914, died 26 April 1943), was a member of the British Royal Family. He was the only child of Prince Arthur of Connaught and Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife. His paternal grandfather was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and his maternal grandfather was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. Alastair was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria through his father and a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother. Additionally, he was a descendant of William IV, Victoria's paternal uncle, through an illegitimate line.

Alastair was born at 54 Mount Street, Mayfair, London, which is now the location of the Brazilian Embassy. His father was Prince Arthur of Connaught, and his mother was Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife. He was baptized on 1 September 1914, with notable godparents including King George V, Queen Alexandra, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and Princess Mary.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, the royal family underwent restructuring by King George V. This restructuring limited princely titles to the children of the sovereign, their sons, and the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. As a result, Alastair was not granted a princely title but used the courtesy title Earl of Macduff, which was associated with his mother's peerage of Fife.

Alastair received education at Bryanston School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 31 January 1935 in the Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons), his father's regiment, which was based in Egypt at the time. On 14 July 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant. During his military service, he was assigned as aide-de-camp to the Earl of Athlone in Ottawa, who was the Governor General of Canada at that time. His grandfather, the previous Duke of Connaught, had also served as aide-de-camp during World War I.

He inherited the titles of Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex following the death of his grandfather in 1942, after his father had died in 1938. At the age of 28, he died in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on 26 April 1943. Contemporary reports indicated he died of natural causes, specifically hypothermia, though some accounts suggest he died after falling from a window while intoxicated during a cold night. His death was described as unusual, with some sources indicating he was found dead on the floor of his room at Rideau Hall. His remains were interred at St Ninian’s Chapel in Braemar, Scotland.

His titles included His Highness Prince Alastair of Connaught (1914–1917), Earl of Macduff (1917–1942), and His Grace The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1942–1943). Upon his death, the dukedom and associated titles became extinct. His first cousin, James Carnegie, succeeded as the 3rd Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff after Princess Alexandra’s death in 1959.

He was granted arms in 1942 upon inheriting the dukedom, which featured elements from his paternal and maternal grandfathers' arms, as well as royal symbols.