| George V | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale | |||||
 George V,c. 1860s | |||||
| King of Hanover | |||||
| Reign | 18 November 1851 – 20 September 1866 | ||||
| Predecessor | Ernest Augustus | ||||
| Successor | Monarchy abolished | ||||
| Head of theHouse of Hanover | |||||
| Pretence | 20 September 1866 – 12 June 1878 | ||||
| Predecessor | himself as King of Hanover | ||||
| Successor | Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover | ||||
| Born | Prince George of Cumberland 27 May 1819 Berlin,Kingdom of Prussia | ||||
| Died | 12 June 1878(1878-06-12) (aged 59) Paris,France | ||||
| Burial | 24 June 1878 Royal Vault,St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Hanover | ||||
| Father | Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover | ||||
| Mother | Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | ||||
| Religion | Lutheran | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
George V (Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August; 27 May 1819 – 12 June 1878) was the lastKing of Hanover, reigning from 18 November 1851 to 20 September 1866. The only child ofKing Ernest Augustus andQueen Frederica, he succeeded his father in 1851. George's reign was ended by theAustro-Prussian War, after whichPrussia annexed Hanover.
_-_Prince_George_of_Cumberland_(1819-1878)%2c_later_George_V_of_Hanover%2c_when_a_boy_-_RCIN_405426_-_Royal_Collection.jpg)
George was born on 27 May 1819 inBerlin, the only son ofPrince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Ernest Augustus was the fifth son ofGeorge III of the United Kingdom and his wife,Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Prince George's mother wasPrincess Frederica, niece of Queen Charlotte, the daughter ofCharles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz andFrederica of Hesse-Darmstadt. George was seventh in the line ofsuccession to the British throne at birth and later became the son of theheir presumptive.
Prince George was baptised on 8 July 1819 at a hotel in Berlin where his parents were staying, by the Rev.Henry Thomas Austen (brother of authorJane Austen). His godparents were thePrince Regent (represented by the Duke of Cumberland),Frederick William III of Prussia,Alexander I of Russia, Crown PrinceFrederick William of Prussia, PrinceWilliam of Prussia, PrinceFrederick of Prussia, PrinceHenry of Prussia,Prince andPrincess William of Prussia,Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,Duke Charles of Mecklenburg, theDowager Empress of Russia,Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands,Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom, theHereditary Princess of Hesse-Homburg,Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh,Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom,Princess Alexandrine of Prussia, theHereditary Princess of Hesse-Kassel, theDuchess of Anhalt-Dessau,Princess Ferdinand of Prussia,Princess Louisa of Prussia, andPrincess Radziwiłł.[1]
George spent his childhood in Berlin and in Great Britain. He lost the sight of one eye following a childhood illness in 1828,[2] and in the other eye following an accident in 1833.[3] His father had hoped that the young prince might marry his cousin, the futureQueen Victoria, who was older by three days, thus keeping theBritish and Hanoverian thrones united. However, nothing came of the plan.[4]
Upon the death of KingWilliam IV and the accession ofQueen Victoria to the British throne, the 123-year personal union of the British and Hanoverian thrones ended because Hanover'ssemi-Salic law prevented a woman from ascending its throne. The Duke of Cumberland succeeded to the Hanoverian throne as Ernest Augustus, and Prince George became the Crown Prince of Hanover. As a legitimate descendant ofGeorge III in the male line, he remained a member of theBritish royal family and second in line to the British throne until the birth of Queen Victoria's first child,Victoria, Princess Royal, in 1840. Since he was totally blind, there were doubts as to whether the Crown Prince was qualified to succeed as king of Hanover, but his father decided that he should do so.[5]
George married, on 18 February 1843, at Hanover, PrincessMarie of Saxe-Altenburg, the eldest daughter ofJoseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, by his wife,Duchess Amelia of Württemberg.
_Hanoverian_Medal%2c_obverse.jpg)
The Crown Prince succeeded his father as theKing of Hanover andDuke of Brunswick-Lüneburg as well asDuke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in thePeerage of Great Britain andEarl of Armagh, in thePeerage of Ireland, on 18 November 1851, assuming the style George V.[6]
From his father and from his maternal uncle,Duke Charles of Mecklenburg, one of the most influential men at thePrussian court, George had learned to take a very high and autocratic view of royal authority.[5] During his 15-year reign, he engaged in frequent disputes with the HanoverianLandtag (parliament).
Unlike his father, the King had a deep aversion toPrussia, which bordered on the Kingdom of Hanover in the west and east. George was generally supportive of theAustrian Empire in theDiet of the German Confederation. He also refused Prussia permission to build the railway line from the Prussian garrison town ofMinden to the Prussian naval port inWilhelmshaven.
Against the decision of his parliament, he refused to agree to the Prussian demand for neutrality and thus a break with theGerman Confederation in the upcoming German War, but joined the other loyal central states.[7] As theAustro-Prussian War started, the Prussian government sent a dispatch on 15 June 1866 demanding that Hanover enter into an alliance with them and Hanoverian troops submit to their authority or face war.[8] Despite previously having concluded that Hanover could not win an armed confrontation with Prussia, George remained protective of his throne and refused the ultimatum.[9] Contrary to the wishes of the parliament, Hanover joined the Austrian camp in the war. As a result, the 20,600-strongHanoverian Army surrendered on 29 June 1866 following theBattle of Langensalza, although tactically successful but hopelessly outnumbered in soldiers. George V had joined his army headquarters inGöttingen. The Kingdom of Hanover was then occupied by Prussian troops. Austria lost the war and several of its Central German allies were annexed by Prussia, such as theElectorate of Hesse and theDuchy of Nassau. George firmly rejected an abdication in favour of his son Ernest Augustus, as suggested by Queen Marie in order to be able to possibly save the existence of the kingdom.
The Prussian government formallyannexed Hanover on 20 September 1866, despite the King of Prussia,Wilhelm I, being a first cousin of King George V of Hanover; their mothers were sisters. The deposed King never renounced his rights to the defunct throne or acknowledged Prussia's actions. He went into exile in Austria. While the Austrian EmperorFranz Joseph I successfully campaigned for the continuation of theKingdom of Saxony at thePrague peace negotiations, he did nothing to prevent the annexation of Hanover.[10] The Prussian interest in the land bridge between the two parts of Prussia seemed to leave him little hope.
Queen Marie with their children stayed atMarienburg Castle for a year, but then followed her husband. They initially lived in Vienna, where George bought a house that is now the Czech Embassy,[11] but in 1868 bought a summer villa inGmunden, Austria, which they soon used as their main residence.
From exile he appealed in vain for the European great powers to intervene on behalf of Hanover. From 1866 to 1870, George V maintained theGuelphic Legion partially at his own expense, hoping that a Franco-Prussian war would lead to the reconquest of his kingdom.[9] In Paris he had the magazineSituation published, which daily attacked the new order of things in Germany in the most violent terms and fueled France's hatred of a Germany that was becoming more and more Prussian. Much to his disappointment,Napoleon III lost theFranco-Prussian War in 1871.
All of this ultimately led to Prussia suspending financial compensation that had already been promised and confiscating his private assets. TheMinister President of PrussiaOtto von Bismarck had the sequestered assets, the so-calledGuelph Fund, managed by a special Prussian commission in Hanover and used the proceeds "to combat Guelph activities".[12]
While in exile, he was appointed an honorary fullgeneral in theBritish Army in 1876.[13]
George V died at his residence in theRue de Presbourg, Paris, on 12 June 1878. He had come there to seek financial and political support for a re-establishment of his legion. After a funeral service in theLutheran Church at the Rue Chaucat,[13] his body was removed to England and buried inSt George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.[6][14][15]
The King supported industrial development. In 1856 the "Georgs-Marien-Bergwerks- und Hüttenverein" was founded which was named after him and his wife. The company erected an iron and steel works which gave the cityGeorgsmarienhütte its name.[16]
Kingdom of Hanover:
United Kingdom:Knight of the Garter,15 August 1835[21]
Ascanian duchies:Grand Cross of Albert the Bear,16 June 1840[22]
Austrian Empire:[23]
Baden:[24]
Kingdom of Bavaria:Knight of St. Hubert,1852[25]
Brunswick:Grand Cross of Henry the Lion[26]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold,25 May 1853[27]
Denmark:Knight of the Elephant,23 November 1851[28]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of theSaxe-Ernestine House Order,August 1839[29]
French Empire: Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour,28 June 1860[30]
Mecklenburg:Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore,29 October 1865[31]
Oldenburg:Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown,11 September 1841[32]
Kingdom of Prussia:Knight of the Black Eagle,14 June 1838; with Collar,1852[33]
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach:Grand Cross of the White Falcon,27 May 1857[34]
Kingdom of Saxony:Knight of the Rue Crown,1852[35]
Spain:Knight of the Golden Fleece,5 May 1865[36]
Sweden-Norway:Knight of the Seraphim,9 September 1852[37]
Württemberg:Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown,1852[38]By grant dated 15 August 1835, George's arms in right of the United Kingdom were those of his father (being the arms of the United Kingdom, differenced by alabel argent of three points, the centre point charged with a fleur-de-lys azure, and each of the other points charged with a cross gules), the whole differenced by alabel gules bearing a horse courant argent.[39][40]He removed the label after his father's death in 1851.[41]
.svg)
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover | 21 September 1845 | 14 November 1923 | Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick; born at Hanover, died atGmunden, marriedPrincess Thyra of Denmark; had issue |
| Princess Frederica of Hanover | 9 January 1848 | 16 October 1926 | born at Hanover, died atBiarritz; marriedAlfons, Baron von Pawel-Rammingen; had no surviving issue |
| Princess Marie of Hanover | 3 December 1849 | 4 June 1904 | Marie Ernestine Josephine Adolphine Henrietta Theresa Elizabeth Alexandrina; born at Hanover, died unmarried at Gmunden |
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "George V.".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 746..svg)
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
George V of Hanover Cadet branch of theHouse of Welf Born: 27 May 1819 Died: 12 June 1878 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Hanover 18 November 1851 – 20 September 1866 | Hanover annexed by Prussia |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale 18 November 1851 – 12 June 1878 | Succeeded by |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Loss of title | — TITULAR — King of Hanover 20 September 1866 – 12 June 1878 | Succeeded by |
| Electors ofHanover |
|   |
|---|---|---|
| Kings ofHanover | ||
* alsoBritish monarch**alsoDuke of Cumberland and Teviotdale | ||
Heads of theHanoverian royal family since1866 | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
See alsoHouse of Hanover Potential claimants of the Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale since 1917 and the Duchy of Brunswick since 1918 1also aBritish prince;2alsoDuke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh;3alsoDuke of Brunswick until 1913;4alsoDuke of Brunswick until 1918 | ||
Generations are numbered by descent fromGeorge III, firstking of Hanover | ||
| 1st generation | | |
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
| 6th generation | ||
| 7th generation | ||
| ||