Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone

Who was Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone?

Major-General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone KG PC GCB GCMG GCVO DSO ADC FRS, was a British military commander and major-general who served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, the country's fourth, and as Governor General of Canada, the 16th since Canadian Confederation.

Prince Alexander was born in London, United Kingdom, to the Duke and Duchess of Teck, and was educated at Eton College before moving on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, for training as an officer. In 1904, he married Princess Alice and rose in the military ranks through his service in African campaigns and the First World War, receiving numerous honours and decorations, including elevation to the peerage as Earl of Athlone, after he had relinquished his German title of Prince of Teck in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1927 he was appointed as South Africa's governor-general by King George V, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, to replace Prince Arthur of Connaught, and he occupied the viceregal post until succeeded by the 6th Earl of Clarendon in 1930.