Prince Adolphus | |||||
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Duke of Cambridge (more) | |||||
![]() Portrait byWilliam Beechey, 1808 | |||||
Viceroy of theKingdom of Hanover | |||||
In office 24 October 1816 – 20 June 1837 | |||||
Monarchs | George III George IV William IV | ||||
Preceded by | General von Bülow | ||||
Succeeded by | position abolished | ||||
Born | (1774-02-24)24 February 1774 Buckingham House,London,Great Britain | ||||
Died | 8 July 1850(1850-07-08) (aged 76) Cambridge House,Piccadilly,United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | ||||
Burial | 17 July 1850 | ||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | |||||
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House | Hanover | ||||
Father | George III | ||||
Mother | Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | ||||
Signature | ![]() | ||||
Military career | |||||
Allegiance | |||||
Branch | |||||
Years of active service | 1791–1813 | ||||
Rank | Field Marshal (active service) | ||||
Commands | Hanoverian Guards | ||||
Battles / wars | |||||
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (Adolphus Frederick; 24 February 1774 – 8 July 1850) was the tenth child and seventh son ofKing George III of the United Kingdom andQueen Charlotte. He held the title ofDuke of Cambridge from 1801 until his death. He served asViceroy of theKingdom of Hanover successively on behalf of his elder brothers KingGeorge IV and KingWilliam IV.
Prince Adolphus marriedPrincess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel in 1818, by whom he had three children:Prince George, Duke of Cambridge,Princess Augusta of Cambridge andPrincess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.
Prince Adolphus was born in February 1774 atBuckingham House, then known as the "Queen's House",[1] in theCity and Liberty of Westminster, now within Greater London. He was the youngest son ofKing George III andQueen Charlotte to survive childhood.
Adolphus was baptized on 24 March 1774 in the Great Council Chamber atSt James's Palace byFrederick Cornwallis,Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents werePrince John Adolphus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (his great-uncle, for whom theEarl of Hertford,Lord Chamberlain, stood proxy),Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel (his first cousin once removed, for whom theEarl of Jersey, ExtraLord of the Bedchamber, stood proxy) andPrincess Wilhelmina of Orange (the wife of his first cousin once removed, for whom Elizabeth Howard, Dowager Countess of Effingham, formerLady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte, stood proxy).[citation needed]
Adolphus was tutored at home until summer 1786, when he was sent to theUniversity of Göttingen in Germany, along with his brothersPrince Ernest (createdDuke of Cumberland in 1799) andPrince Augustus (createdDuke of Sussex in 1801).[1]
Adolphus was made honoraryColonel-in-Chief of the Hanoverian Guard Foot Regiment 1789–1803, but his military training began in 1791, when he and Prince Ernest went to Hanover to study under the supervision of the Hanoverian commander Field MarshalWilhelm von Freytag. He remained on Freytag's staff during theFlanders Campaign in 1793. His first taste of action was atFamars on 23 May. He was wounded and captured at theBattle of Hondschoote 6 September, but was quickly rescued. As a Hanoverian General-Major, he commanded a Hessian brigade under his paternal great-uncle, GeneralJohann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn in Autumn 1794, then commanded the Hanoverian Guards during the retreat throughHolland. Remaining in Germany, he commanded a brigade of the Corps of Observation from 22 October 1796 until 12 January 1798. He was made a British Army colonel in 1794, and lieutenant general on 24 August 1798. In 1800 – whilst stationed in theElectorate of Hanover – he attended the founding of a village (part of the settlement of themoorlands north of Bremen), which was named after him: Adolphsdorf (since 1974 a component locality ofGrasberg).[2]
During theWar of the Second Coalition againstFrance (1799–1802), Adolphus traveled toBerlin in 1801, in order to prevent the impendingPrussian occupation of the Electorate.[1] France demanded it, as it was stipulated in thePeace of Basel (1795), obliging Prussia to ensure theHoly Roman Empire's neutrality in all the latter's territories north of the demarcation line at the riverMain, including Hanover. Regular Hanoverian troops, therefore, had been commandeered to join the multilateral so-called "Demarcation Army". His efforts were in vain.[1] In 1803, he was senior army commander, and replaced Wallmoden as commander on theWeser on 1 June. With the advance of French forces on one side and 24,000 Prussian soldiers on the other, the situation was hopeless. Cambridge refused to become involved in discussions of capitulation, handed over his command to Hammerstein (Ompteda claims he was forced to resign[3]), and withdrew to England. A plan to recruit additional soldiers in Hanover to be commanded by the Prince had also failed.
In 1803, Adolphus was appointed as commander-in-chief of the newly foundedKing's German Legion, and in 1813, he became field marshal.[1] George III appointed Prince Adolphus aKnight of the Garter on 2 June 1776, and created himDuke of Cambridge,Earl of Tipperary, andBaron Culloden on 24 November 1801.[1]
The Duke served as colonel-in-chief of theColdstream Regiment of Foot Guards (Coldstream Guards after 1855) from September 1805, and as colonel-in-chief of the60th (The Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps) Regiment of Foot from January 1824. After the collapse of Napoleon's empire, he was Military Governor of Hanover from 4 November 1813 – 24 October 1816, then Governor General of Hanover from 24 October 1816 – 20 June 1837 (viceroy from 22 February 1831). He was made Field Marshal 26 November 1813. While he was Viceroy, the Duke became patron of theCambridge-Dragoner, 'Cambridge Dragoons'. Regiment of theHanoverian Army. This regiment was stationed inCelle, and their barracks,Cambridge-Dragoner Kaserne, were used by theBundeswehr until 1995. The "March of theHannoversches Cambridge-Dragoner-Regiment " is part of the Bundeswehr's traditional music repertoire.
After the death ofPrincess Charlotte in 1817, the Duke was set the task of finding a bride for his eldest unmarried brother, the Duke of Clarence (laterWilliam IV), in the hope of securing heirs to the throne—Charlotte had been the only legitimate grandchild ofGeorge III, despite the fact that the King had twelve surviving children. After several false starts, the Duke of Clarence settled on PrincessAdelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. The way was cleared for the Duke of Cambridge to find a bride for himself.
The Duke of Cambridge was married first atKassel,Hesse on 7 May and then at Buckingham Palace on 1 June 1818 to his second cousinAugusta (25 July 1797 – 6 April 1889), the third daughter ofPrince Frederick of Hesse.
From 1816 to 1837, the Duke of Cambridge served asviceroy of theKingdom of Hanover on behalf of his elder brothers,George IV and laterWilliam IV.[1] When his niece succeeded to the British throne on 20 June 1837 asQueen Victoria, the 122-year union of the crowns of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended, due to Hanover being underSalic Law; the succession ofErnest Augustus asKing of Hanover saw the Duke of Cambridge's period as viceroy end, and he returned to Britain.[1]
The Duke of Cambridge died on 8 July 1850 atCambridge House,Piccadilly, London, and was buried in a specially-constructed extension toSt Anne's Church, Kew.[1][4] The Duchess was buried alongside him in 1889. Their remains were removed toSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in 1930.[5] The Prince's only son,Prince George, succeeded to his peerages.
Foreign
The Duke's arms were theRoyal Arms of the House of Hanover, with a three-point label of difference. The first and third points containing two hearts, and the centre point bearing a red cross. His arms were adopted by his younger daughter, Princess Mary Adelaide, and her heirs included them in their arms quartered with the arms of the Duke of Teck.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:
Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
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Prince George, Duke of Cambridge | 26 March 1819 | 17 March 1904 | married 1847,Sarah Louisa Fairbrother; had issue (this marriage was contracted in contravention of theRoyal Marriages Act and was not recognised in law). |
Princess Augusta of Cambridge | 19 July 1822 | 4 December 1916 | married 1843,Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issue |
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge | 27 November 1833 | 27 October 1897 | married 1866,Francis, Duke of Teck; had issue, includingMary of Teck, laterQueen consort of theUnited Kingdom. |
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Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge Cadet branch of theHouse of Welf Born: 24 February 1774 Died: 8 July 1850 | ||
Court offices | ||
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Preceded by General von Bülow as governor, with thePrivy Council | Viceroy ofHanover 1811–1837 | Office abolished Ernest Augustus becomes resident monarch |
Military offices | ||
Preceded by | Colonel of theColdstream Guards 1805–1850 | Succeeded by |
Academic offices | ||
Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of St Andrews 1811–1814 | Succeeded by |
Other offices | ||
Preceded by | President of theFoundling Hospital[1] 1827–1850 | Succeeded by |
Honorary titles | ||
Preceded by | Grand Master of the Order of St Michael and St George 1825–1850 | Succeeded by |
Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
New creation | Duke of Cambridge 4th creation 1801–1850 | Succeeded by |