Alexander Hood, 5th Duke of Bronté

"The Princess's Private Secretary". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1905.

Sir Alexander Nelson Hood, 5th Duke of Bronté KCVO (28 June 1854 – 1 June 1937) was a British courtier.

Hood was the son of Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport and Lady Mary Penelope, daughter of Arthur Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire.^[1] While Hood's eldest brother Arthur Hood succeeded their father as 2nd Viscount Bridport, the Duchy of Bronté was left to Alexander who became the 5th Duke of Bronté. This was possible because of a special and unusual clause in the letters patent granting the duchy, which allowed the present holder to choose as successor whoever he wanted.

He served as Controller of the Household and Equerry to Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge between 1892 and 1897 and was an Extra Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chambers to Queen Victoria from 1892 to 1901.^[1] He was Private Secretary to Mary of Teck as Princess of Wales from 1901 to 1910, and was then her Treasurer as Queen between 1910 and 1919. He was invested as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.^[2]

He died at Taormina, Sicily.^[1]

References

1. The Montreal Gazette (3 June 1937), column 1, page 9. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19370603&id=Db4tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=spgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4882,348129&hl=en (Accessed 24 April 2015)
2. Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage & Baronetage http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/bridport1868.htm (Accessed 24 April 2015)