Prince George, Duke of Southampton
| Prince George | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Southampton | |||||
 | |||||
| Born | 7 May 1869 Buckingham Palace, London | ||||
| Died | 30 December 1962 (aged 93) Montpelier, Vermont, United States | ||||
| Burial | 22 January 1963 | ||||
| Spouse | Abby Rockefeller (m. 1922) | ||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Hanover | ||||
| Father | William V and II | ||||
| Mother | Princess Louise of Prussia | ||||
| Religion | Protestant | ||||
| Military service | |||||
| Branch/service | |||||
| Years of service | 1887-1921 | ||||
| Rank | Rear admiral | ||||
| Battles/wars | Anglo-Zanzibar War Cretan Revolt Boxer Rebellion First World War | ||||
Prince George, Duke of Southampton (George William Leopold; 7 May 1869 - 30 December 1962) was a British prince, shipping magnate, and a noted Royal Navy officer. A lifelong enthusiast in exploration, George was well known for having taken part in a large number of expeditions to multiple places around the world, ranging from the islands of the Caribbean to the islands far east in the Pacific. Since then, the duke's own recollections of his international travels have been compiled together from his personal memoirs into an official publication, titled The Travels of the Duke of Southampton, which later became an instant best-seller and was also well-acclaimed for its intrinsic and accurate details of the locations the prince had personally visited during his travels. Meanwhile, later in his life, George would also come to be known for having founded the American-British shipping company, R&S Line, which subsequently went on to become a multi-billion-dollar shipping company under a hugely successful financial partnership between the Duke of Southampton and John D. Rockefeller Jr., which was later popularly nicknamed "The Billion-Dollar Anglo-American Alliance" by the press due to its massive success. Following the end of the Second World War, in 1957, revenues from the company were subsequently used to establish R&S Estate, a similarly multi-billion dollar company specialising in real estate in the United Kingdom, United States, and a number of European countries. Then, in 1961, R&S Hotels was founded under the same partnership as a direct rival to the expanding Hilton Hotels, and has also similarly seen much success in the decades since its establishment. The following year, upon the duke's death, all the companies were consolidated under The R&S Organisation, which has since been jointly owned and controlled by the British royal family and the Rockefeller family.
From 1889 to 1920, George was first married to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, with whom he had three children. Then, following his wife's passing in 1920, George subsequently moved abroad to the United States, where after a couple of years there, he wedded Abby Rockefeller, granddaughter of Standard Oil co-founder, John D. Rockefeller. The couple, despite their thirty-four-year age difference, went on to have six children in total, including the well-known American politician, Jane Rockefeller. Through his marriage with Abby Rockefeller, the former New York governor and former Vice President of the United States, Nelson Rockefeller is his brother-in-law.
As a result of his unprecedented financial success abroad, the Duke of Southampton is generally considered to be the richest member of the British royal family of his time, with estimates placing his total net worth at roughly $3.48 billion.
Early Life
Death
Titles & Honours
- 7 May 1869 - 11 January 1889 His Royal Highness The Prince George
- 11 January 1889 - 30 December 1962 His Royal Highness The Duke of Southampton, Prince of the Netherlands and Luxembourg
Honours
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Prince George, Duke of Southampton |
|---|