A rare jewel relating to the 1902 instillation of the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn as Grand Master.
There were two variants of this jewel the one shown which is Silver-gilt and enamel and a 18ct Gold and enamel version, apart from the different metal used they are both the same in design.
The following was taken from an article printed in The Freemason’s Chronicle on the 20th July 1901.
“The New Grand Master
The installation of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught as Most Worshipful Grand Master of England took place on Wednesday at an Especial Grand Lodge, held at the Royal Albert Hall, South Kensington- there being some 9,000 Brethren present. Earl Amherst Pro G.M. presided, and in due course he obligated the new ruler, invested him with apron and collar, and placed him in the chair, after which the Duke was saluted, as also were the Grand Masters of Ireland and Scotland.
Lord Amherst addressed the Grand Master. and said that when the late ruler was installed, he took as the text of his reply to the address then made to him the watchwords of the Craft, ” Loyalty and Charity.” How Charity had been followed by the Craft during the twenty- six years which had since elapsed was shown by the fact that nearly £1,750,000 had been contributed by the Craft to the Fund of Benevolence and the three principal Masonic Institutions, and since the Duke of Connaught’s nomination for the Grand Mastership, £75,000 had been subscribed by the Craft to the same three Charities. He congratulated his Royal Highness on being the chosen head of the Order and wished him a long and prosperous reign”.
The Duke of Connaught, in his reply, said that he was proud to fill the position of Grand Master, an Office that had been filled by some of his ancestors; and he narrated how his grandfather and several of his granduncles had been initiated in the Craft. He and two of his brothers and his nephew, the Duke of Clarence, were Masons.
With regard to the Charity of Masonry, nearly £2,000,000 had been contributed during the late Grand Mastership, and £20,000 outside Masonry. With religion, loyalty, and charity as his guides, it was a pride to occupy the position of Grand Master.
The third and last surviving son of Queen Victoria, H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was born on 1st May 1850 on the 81st birthday of the Duke of Wellington, one of his godfathers from whom he took his first name, Arthur.
The Duke of Connaught was a dedicated Freemason and served as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1901 to 1939.
