On 25 August 1942, four months short of his 40th birthday, the Duke of Kent was killed when the RAF S. 25 Short Sunderland Mark III flying boat he was in crashed into a hillside near Dunbeath, Caithness, in the far north of Scotland.

The most prominent member of the British Royal Family killed during World War II was Prince George, Duke of Kent. He was the younger brother of King George VI and the fourth son of King George V. On August 25, 1942, Prince George was killed when his Royal Air Force flying boat, a Short Sunderland, crashed into a hillside in Caithness, Scotland, while en route to Iceland on official duties. His death marked the first time in over 450 years that a member of the Royal Family died while on active military service. At the time of the crash, he held the rank of Air Commodore. The accident was a significant shock to the nation and the monarchy, and it remains a notable event in royal history as a rare instance of a high-ranking royal losing their life in a frontline military capacity during a modern global conflict.