Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 
and the province of Prince Edward Island
"Prince Edward's Island"

On June 3rd, 1799, the Island of St. John changed its name, becoming the greatest memorial to Prince Edward's time on the continent. Although Edward never visited the island (there were plans for a Royal tour before the Duke was injured during a riding accident in 1800), the fortifications he ordered for Charlottetown ensured its protection from invasion by sea (a problem throughout the settlement's early history). 

Today, the coat of arms used by the province of Prince Edward Island (officially known as "The Queen's Arms in Right of Prince Edward Island"), officially granted by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in 2002, include a gold lion passant on a red background - a design taken from the personal arms of Prince Edward.
Picture
Plaque attached to portrait of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, that hangs in PEI's Government House (Fanningbank)
Honouring Prince Edward in Prince Edward Island

  • The legislature of St. John’s Island voted to change its name to Prince Edward Island in honour of Prince Edward on November 29th, 1798. The Act received Royal Assent by King George III on February 2, 1799, and came into effect on June 3, 1799.
  • Prince Edward Battery, Victoria Park, Charlottetown
  • Kent College (Established in 1804 by Lieutenant Governor Edmund Fanning and his Legislative Council, the college would eventually become the University of Prince Edward Island), Charlottetown
  • Kent Street, Charlottetown
  • Duchess of Kent Inn (named after Prince Edward's widow)
  • West Kent Elementary School (*still needs to be verified)
  • Kent Street, Georgetown (*still needs to be verified)

Prince Edward Battery, Victoria Park, Charlottetown

Edward Scriven engraving of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathern (1834)
after W. Beechey's portrait. Hand-coloured. 11x8,5cm.
Purchased from Le Voyage en Papier in Hambourg, Germany August, 2013

Presented by Professor Thomas H.B. Symons to Mr. Charles MacKay, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, in the presence of Ms. Catherine Hennessey on Friday, October 11th, 2013.  The engraving was placed in the Speaker's Library at Province House.

A plaque under the engraving reads "Donated by Tidridge Family in honour of Catherine Hennessey CM"

Learn more about Catherine Hennessey here