Death Of The Duke Of Clarence.

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF CLARENCE .

It is with the deepest regret we announce the death of his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence and Avondale . It is but a short time since that thi announcement of the betrothal of his Royal Highness and the Princess Victoria Mary of Tcck was made public ; their marriage had been fixed for the 27 th February , and all England was looking

forward with the most pleasurable anticipations to a union which was known to be one of affection , and not , as so many Royal marriages in the past have been , a marriage brought about for purposes of State . On Friday last , the Duke completed his 2 Sth year , and though at the time he was unable to enter fully into the spirit of thc quiet family celebration of that event ,

he dined with his father and mother , his Jim / ct ' e , and the other guests at Sandringham . On Monday the public was struck aghast with the news that his Royal Highness was seriously ill from thc prevailing epidemic of influenza , coupled with pneumonia , but the medical bulletins , though they made no secret of his condition being serious , were nevertheless not without encouragement

that hc would retain strength enough to resist the attack ultimately . But it has pleased the Great Architect , in his infinite wisdom , to ordain it otherwise , and the young Prince , about whose marriage and future happiness we were all so hopeful , succumbed on Thursday morning , to the intense grief of the whole of the Royal Family , but more especially to that

of his parents , and his betrothed , the Princess Victoria of Teck . It is long since so great a sorrow has befallen us , and the whole nation will sympathise with the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Princess May in their terrible bereavement . As for the Craft of Masonry , the blow which has thus fallen upon our Most Worshipful Grand Master will be regarded as

little less than a national calamity , for was not the deceased Prince a prominent member of our Fraternity , whose Royal patronage we trusted would be bestowed on the (" raft for many a year to come . His Royal Highness was initiated in the Royal Alpha Lodge , No . 16 , not long after he had attained his majority , the ceremony being

performed by his father , thc Prince of Wales . He was passed to the Second Degree in the Lodge of Friendship , No . 100 , Great Yarmouth , and raised to the Sublime Degree of M . M . in the Isaac Newton University Lodge , No . 859 , Cambridge . He was advanced to the Mark Degree immediately afterwards , and had evinced a great interest in all those

branches of Masonry with which he was connected . He was a Past Master of the Ro } vil Alpha , wasS . G . Warden of I ' nited Grand Lodge in 1 S 87 , and on the establishment of Berkshire as a separate province , he was appointed its Provincial Grand Master . In December , 1890 , he was formally installed in office b \* his Royal Highness the Grand Master ,

while in May , 1891 , the late Duke performed the like ceremony at Aylesbury in behalf of Bro . Lord Carrington , Provincial Grand Master of Buckinghamshire . Thus , during the few years he had been a member of our Order , the Duke of Clarence and Avondale had given abundant evidence of the deep interest he took in , and his earnest desire to promote , the well-being

of our Order . Mis premature death has put an end to all his plans , and all it is in the power of Freemasons to do is to bow submissively to the will of the Most High , and at the same time tender their most respectful sympathy to his illustrious parents , her Majesty the Queen , and the Princess Victoria of Teck on the calamity which has befallen them , and not only them , but the whole British Empire !

the following account of the lale Duke ' s Masonic career appeared in Ihe Freemason oi . April 30 , 1887 , on the occasion of his Roj * al Highness being appointed to the office of Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England . * " H . R . H . Prince Albert Victor of Wales was initiated into Freemasonry

in the Royal Alpha Lodge , No . 16 , on the 17 th March , 1885 , the ceremony being performed by his father the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M ., in a manner which showed that his Royal Highness is a Master of our Craft in more senses than one , and that his ability as an exponent of our ritual is nearly , if not quite , on a level with his skill as thc chief administrator of

the Order . The Harls of Carnarvon , Pro G . M ., and Lathom , D . G . M ., gave the address and working tools respectively , and among the other brethren who were present as officers or members of the lodge were Bros .

Lord Balfour of Burleigh , P . G . W ., and the Karl of Limerick , P . G . M . Bristol , who severall y occupied the chairs of S . W . and J . W . ; Lord Suffield , P . G . M . Norfolk ; Lord Hcnnikcr , P . G . W . ; the Far ! of Milltown , P . G . W . Lord H . Thynne , M . P ., P . G . W . ; Lord Carrington , P . G . W . ; General

Death Of The Duke Of Clarence.

Brownrigg , P . G . M . Surrey ; Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , P . G . M . Fast Lancashire ; Rev . C . J . Martyn , P . G . C . ; Rev . J . S . Brownrigg , P . G . C . , * Sir J . B . Monckton , Sir F . Roxburgh , Q . C . ; Sir Albert Woods , G . D . C . * , Colonel Shadwell H . Clerke , G . Secretary ; . En . Mclntyre , O . C ., M . P . ; T . Fen 11 , Pres / Bd . Gen . Purps . ; and others . On the 7 < h May , ihe Prince

was passed to thc Degree of F . C . in the Lodge of Friendship , No . 100 , Great Yarmouth , the ceremony being most ab ' y carried out by Bro . J . W . French , the W . M . of the lodge , in the presence of Bro . Lord Suffield , P . G . M . Norfolk , and a numerous gathering of brethren , of whom some 30 were Provincial Grand Officers , Present and Past , of Norfolk . The Third

Degree was conferred upon his Royal Highness in the Isaac Newton University Lodge , No . 859 , Cambridge , to which he had affiliated shortly after his initiation , Bro . B . Anningson , M . D ., the W . M ., and his officers being most successful in carrying out the ceremony , which was witnessed by about 3110 brethren , thc most conspicuous among whom were Bros , the Earl of Kintore ,

Subs . G . M . of Scotland ; F . A . Philbrick , Q . C ., G . Reg . of England , and D . P . G . M . Essex ; J . Neal York , D . P . G . MrCambridgeshire ; Rev . C . J . Martyn , P . G . C . England , and D . P . G . M . Suffolk ; and VV . L . Morgan , W . M . of the Apollo University Lodge , No . 357 , Oxford . Ten days later —on the iSth June—the Prince was advanced to the Mark Degree in the

Isaac Newton University Mark Lodge , No . 112 , Cambridge , in the presence of Bros , the Karl of Kintore , G . M . ; Lord Egerton of T . itton , D . G . M . ; and other Grand Officers of the Mark Grand Lodge , the ceremony being most impressively rendered by Bro . H . T . Trevor Jones , W . M . of the lodge . Since then he has , to use a conventional phrase , though by no means

in a conventional sense , gone on making progress in Masonry . Ihe Senior Grand Wardenship of England now conferred upon him by his father , the Grand Master , is both well deserved and worthy of his exalted position , besides being most appropriately bestowed upon him during the Jubilee year of the reign of her Majesty , his grandmother . "

The deceased Prince had just completed his 28 th year . I le was born on the 8 th of January , 1864 , and was educated partly as a naval cadet , first on board the Britannia , and afterwards on board the Bacchante , and later on at Trinity College , Cambridge , and thc University of Heidelberg . The Prince , accompanied by his brother , Prince George , left England on a two

years' voyage on board the Bacchante in September , 1880 , and returned in August , 1882 . In that vessel they made the round of the world , and the two large volumes in which , under the editorship of Canon Dalton , their tutor , they described their life and experiences during thc cruise , has enjoyed considerable popularity since its publication in 1886 .

After a little breathing-space thc young Prince was entered , in June , [ 883 , at Trinity College , Cambridge , where his father had been educated . He took no degree—it is not usual for Royal personages to do so—and finished his education , in company with his brother , Prince George , at Heidelberg . He then ( having already , in the autumn of 1883 , received the

Garter ) proceeded to Aldershot to prepare for the army . Meanwhile his connection with thc naval service did not cease , for in 1883 he became a sub-lieutenant , R . N . Reserve , and honorary lieutenant 1888 . He became a lieutenant , 2 nd Brigade E Division , R . A ., 18 S 5 , but was soon afterwards transferred to thc loth Hussars , of which regiment he became a major . Hc

was also a personal Aide-de-Camp to the Oueen , Honorary Colonel 4 th ( Prince Albert Victor's Own ) Bombay Cavalry , and Major 5 th Pomeranian ( Bliichcr ) Hussars . On the 8 th of January , 1885 , thc Prince attained his majority , and a fortnight later he was elected a Bencher of the Middle Temple . On the 29 th of June he was presented with the freedom of the City of London .

His Royal Highness had the Orders of the Black Eagle of Prussia , of the Grand Cordons of the Osmanieh of Turkey , of the Elephant of Denmark , and of St . Stephen of Hungary ; the Collar of Charles 111 , of Spain , thc Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion , Insignia of the Aimunciata of Italy , and the Star of Rotimania .

His Royal Highncss ' s engagement to be married to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck was officially announced on the 7 th of December last , and excited considerable interest throughout the country . Thc heartiest congratulations poured in upon the Prince and Princess of Wales , and movements were set on foot in many quarters , notably in Masonic bodies , for

sending gifts and addresses to the young couple . The match was understood to be a love affair throughout , and had the warmest approval of all the members of the Royal Family . The marriage was fixed for thc 27 th of next month , and the arrangements for what was looked forward to as one of the happiest of events were well advanced when it was suddenly announced that the Duke had been stricken down .