Lieutenant-ColonelThe Most Honourable The Marquess of Cambridge GCB GCVO CMG KStJ ADC JP DL
Photo taken by Mrs. Albert Broom
Born	Prince Adolphus of Teck (1868-08-13)13 August 1868 Kensington Palace,London, England
Died	24 October 1927(1927-10-24) (aged 59) Shrewsbury,Shropshire, England
Resting place	29 October 1927 St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle 23 October 1928 Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
Spouse	Lady Margaret Grosvenor ​ ​ (m. 1894)​
Children	George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort Lady Helena Gibbs Lord Frederick Cambridge
Parents	Francis, Duke of Teck (father) Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (mother)
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Years of service	1888–1919
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Battles / wars	Boer War First World War

Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge (Adolphus Charles Alexander Albert Edward George Philip Louis Ladislaus; 13 August 1868 – 24 October 1927), bornPrince Adolphus of Teck and laterthe Duke of Teck, was a relative of theBritish royal family, a great-grandson ofGeorge III and younger brother ofQueen Mary, the wife ofGeorge V. In 1900, he succeeded his father asDuke of Teck in theKingdom of Württemberg. He relinquished his German titles in 1917 to becomeMarquess of Cambridge.

Adolphus of Teck was born on 13 August 1868 atKensington Palace,London. His father wasPrince Francis, Duke of Teck, the eldest son ofDuke Alexander of Württemberg andCountess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde (created the Countess von Hohenstein). His mother was the Duchess of Teck (formerlyPrincess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge), the youngest daughter ofPrince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, andPrincess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, granddaughter ofGeorge III. Adolphus was styledHis Serene HighnessPrince Adolphus of Teck at birth. With a string of nine Christian names, among his immediate family he was always known as "Dolly", a pet form of 'Adolphus'. He was educated atWellington College inBerkshire.

Adolphus was a cavalry officer, following in the footsteps of his father, both of his grandfathers, and his maternal uncle. He received his education atWellington College, before entering theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst. At the age of 19, in April 1888, he was commissioned into theBritish Army as a second lieutenant in the17th Lancers,^[1] the regiment of his maternal uncle,the Duke of Cambridge, who was the commander-in-chief of theBritish Army from 1856 to 1895. He was promoted lieutenant in January 1893,^[2] and transferred to the1st Life Guards as a captain in June 1895.^[3]

On 12 December 1894, atEaton Hall, he marriedLady Margaret Evelyn Grosvenor (9 April 1873 – 27 March 1929), the daughter ofHugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster. The couple had four children:

• Prince George of Teck, later 2nd Marquess of Cambridge (11 October 1895 – 16 April 1981); married 1923 Dorothy Hastings (18 May 1899 – 1 April 1988). They had one daughter.
• Princess Mary of Teck, later Lady Mary Cambridge (12 June 1897 – 23 June 1987); married 1923 the10th Duke of Beaufort (4 April 1900 – 4 February 1984). They had no children.
• Princess Helena of Teck, later Lady Helena Cambridge (23 October 1899 – 22 December 1969); married 1919 Colonel John Evelyn Gibbs (22 December 1879 – 11 October 1932). They had no children.
• Prince Frederick of Teck, later Lord Frederick Cambridge (23 September 1907 – 15 May 1940).Killed in action inLeuven, Belgium duringWorld War II. Never married or had children.

In January 1900, Adolphus succeeded his father as Duke of Teck. The new duke served with his regiment during theBoer War 1899–1900, for which he was promotedBrevetmajor in November 1900.^[4] He was later a transport officer in theHousehold Cavalry. In February 1904, he was promoted to the temporary rank oflieutenant-colonel and appointed a temporarymilitary attaché at the British embassy inVienna.^[5] His appointment as military attaché was confirmed in April 1906,^[6] and he received a staff posting the same month.^[7] He was promoted to the substantive rank of major in December 1906,^[8] and was raised to brevet lieutenant-colonel in November 1910.^[9]

With anOrder in Council dated 9 June 1911,^[10] his brother-in-law King George V, as a gift to mark his own Coronation, granted his cousin the styleHisHighness, which echoed the gift of the King's grandmother, Queen Victoria, to the Duke's father. The same year he was made aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). From other nations he received the grand cross of theOrder of the Red Eagle ofPrussia and theOrder of the Star of Romania.^[11]

He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 8th Battalion, London Regiment, known as thePost Office Rifles in 1912,^[12] relinquishing the position in 1923.^[13]

Teck was president of theRSPCA from 1910 to 1916.^[14][15] From 1914 to his death he wasGovernor and Constable of Windsor Castle.^[13]

With the outbreak of theFirst World War, he returned to active duty, joining his regiment, 1st Life Guards (possibly at Jabeeke Belgium) on 9 October 1914, returning to base (sick) on 19 October 1914.^[16] He first served as assistantmilitary secretary at theWar Office,^[17] and from December 1915 as military secretary to the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) in France,Sir Douglas Haig, with the temporary rank ofbrigadier general.^[18] He received from allied nations the BelgianOrder of Leopold (Grand Cordon) andCroix de guerre, as well as the FrenchLegion of Honour (Grand Officer).^[19]

Following ill-health he was placed onhalf-pay in July 1916,^[20] and retired pay in 1919.^[21]

During the First World War, anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom led Teck's brother-in-law, KingGeorge V, to change the name of the Royal House from the GermanicHouse of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the more English-soundingHouse of Windsor. The King also renounced all his Germanic titles for himself and all members of the British Royal Family who were British subjects.

In response to this, Teck renounced, through a Royal Warrant from the King,^[22] dated 14 July 1917, his title of Duke of Teck in theKingdom of Württemberg and the styleHis Highness. Adolphus, along with his brother,Prince Alexander of Teck, adopted the name Cambridge, after their grandfather, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge.^[22]

He was subsequently createdMarquess of Cambridge,Earl of Eltham, andViscount Northallerton all in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. His elder son took the title Earl of Eltham as a courtesy title. His younger children became Lord/Lady (Christian Name) Cambridge.^[22]

Vera Bate Lombardi,Coco Chanel'smuse and PR representative, was rumoured to be Adolphus' illegitimate daughter.^{[citation needed]} Hal Vaughan, in his 2012 biography of Coco Chanel ('Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War', p. 42), describes Vera Bate Lombardi as a 'cousin and childhood friend' of Edward, Prince of Wales.

Lord Cambridge made his home inShropshire after World War I at Shotton Hall,Harmer Hill, nearShrewsbury. He was active in social life in the county, of which he became aJustice of the Peace andDeputy Lieutenant in 1923,^[13] and Treasurer of theRoyal Salop Infirmary at Shrewsbury in 1925.^[19] He hosted visits made by his sister to the county, the last in his lifetime being a public visit to Shrewsbury and other parts of Shropshire in August 1927.^[19]

Lord Cambridge died, aged fifty-nine, after an intestinal operation in October 1927 at a Shrewsbury nursing home, while preparations were being made for another public royal visit to the town (which was consequently cancelled) by his nephew, the Prince of Wales (laterEdward VIII).^[19] He was first buried atSt George's Chapel at Windsor Castle and later transferred to theRoyal Burial Ground, Frogmore.^[23] His elder son, theEarl of Eltham, succeeded him asMarquess of Cambridge.

• 13 August 1868 – 21 January 1900:His Serene Highness Prince Adolphus of Teck^[24]
• 21 January 1900 – 9 June 1911:His Serene Highness The Duke of Teck^[25]
• 9 June 1911 – 14 July 1917:His Highness The Duke of Teck^[26]
• 14 July 1917 – 7 November 1917:Colonel Sir Adolphus Cambridge^[27]
• 7 November 1917 – 24 October 1927:The Most Honourable The Marquess of Cambridge^[27]

•  United Kingdom:
  • KStJ: Knight of Grace of the Most VenerableOrder of St John
  • KCVO: Knight Commander of theRoyal Victorian Order,30 June 1897^[28]
  • GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order,27 January 1901^[28]
  • CMG: Companion of the Most DistinguishedOrder of St Michael and St George
  • ADC:Personal Aide-de-Camp,3 June 1910^[29]
  • GCB: Knight Grand Cross (civil division) of the Most HonourableOrder of the Bath,19 June 1911^[30]
• Württemberg: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Württemberg Crown,1882^[31]
• Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of theHouse Order of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore,19 July 1902^[32]
• Grand Duchy of Hesse: Knight of the Grand Ducal HessianOrder of the Golden Lion,7 October 1903^[33]
• Austria-Hungary:^[34]
  • Grand Cross of the Imperial AustrianOrder of Franz Joseph,1904
  • Knight of the ImperialOrder of the Iron Crown, 1st Class,1908
• Belgium: Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold,24 February 1916^[35]
•  France: Commander's Cross of the National Order of theLegion of Honour,9 December 1916^[36]

Coat of arms of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge

Coronet Coronet of a Marquess Crest A Dog's Head and Neck lozengy bendy sinister Sable and Or, langued Gules. Escutcheon Quarterly: 1st & 4th grand-quarters, The Royal Arms as borne by King George III, differenced by a Label of three-points Argent, the centre point charged with a Cross Gules, and each of the other points with two Hearts in pale Gules; 2nd & 3rd grand-quarters, Or, three Stags' Attires fesswise in pale, the points of each Attire to the sinister Sable, impaling Or three Lions passant in pale Sable, langued Gules, the dexter forepaws Gules; over all an Inescutcheon lozengy bendy sinister Sable and Or(Teck). Supporters Dexter: a Lion Sable, the dexter forepaw Gules. Sinister: a Stag Proper. Motto FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Orders Order of the Bath(knight grand cross) Symbolism The second and third quarterings represent his descent from theDukes of Württemberg

• Portraits of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Teck and Marquess of Cambridge at theNational Portrait Gallery, London

• 1868 births
• 1927 deaths
• 1st Regiment of Life Guards officers
• People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
• Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
• Teck–Cambridge family
• British Army brigadiers
• 17th Lancers officers
• British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
• Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
• Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
• Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
• Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Knights of Justice of the Order of St John
• Grand Crosses of the Order of Franz Joseph
• Commanders of the Legion of Honour
• Marquesses of Cambridge
• Dukes of Teck
• Princes in the German Empire
• Residents of White Lodge, Richmond Park
• RSPCA workers
• Peers created by George V
• Royal reburials
• Lieutenant colonels

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