| Prince Edward | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Prince Edward in 1855 | |||||
| Born | (1823-10-11)11 October 1823 Bushy House, London | ||||
| Died | 16 November 1902(1902-11-16) (aged 79) Portland Place, London | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
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| House | Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
| Father | Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
| Mother | Princess Ida of Saxe-Meiningen | ||||
| Occupation | Military officer | ||||
Prince William Augustus Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach,KP, GCB, GCH, GCVO, PC (Ire) (11 October 1823 – 16 November 1902) was a British military officer of German descent. After a career in theGrenadier Guards, he becameMajor General commanding the Brigade of Guards andGeneral Officer Commanding the Home District in 1870, General Officer CommandingSouthern District in October 1878 andCommander-in-Chief, Ireland in October 1885. He was promoted tofield marshal in 1897 despite his career including no great military achievements.[1]
Edward was born toPrince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach andPrincess Ida of Saxe-Meiningen atBushy House, the home of his mother's sisterAdelaide and her husband the futureWilliam IV of the United Kingdom.[2]
After beingnaturalised as a British subject, Edward's military career began on 1 June 1841, when, having trained at theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst, he joined the67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot as anensign.[3] He was promoted to ensign in theGrenadier Guards and lieutenant in the Army on 8 June 1841 and lieutenant in his regiment andcaptain in the Army on 19 May 1846[4] before becoming adjutant of his battalion in November 1850.[5]
Edward was promoted tobrevet major in the Grenadier Guards on 20 June 1854.[6] He served in theCrimean War and fought at theBattle of Alma in September 1854 and theSiege of Sevastopol in October 1854, where he was slightly injured.[7] He fought on at theBattle of Balaclava in October 1854 and theBattle of Inkerman in November 1854.[1] He was promoted to brevetlieutenant-colonel "for distinguished Service in the Field" during the war on 12 December 1854.[8]
Edward was appointed anaide-de-camp tothe Queen and received hiscolonelcy in theGrenadier Guards on 5 October 1855.[9] Granted the style of Serene Highness (to both Edward and his wife) in 1866, he was promoted tomajor-general on 6 March 1868.[10][11] He was appointedMajor General commanding the Brigade of Guards andGeneral Officer Commanding the Home District in 1870 and, having been promoted tolieutenant general on 6 July 1877,[12] he became General Officer CommandingSouthern District in October 1878.[1] Promoted to full general on 4 November 1879,[13] he went on to beCommander-in-Chief, Ireland and a member of theIrish Privy Council in October 1885[14] before retiring in October 1890.[15]
In retirement Edward was a commissioner of thePatriotic Fund.[16] He also became colonel of the10th Regiment of Foot[17] and then colonel of the1st Regiment of Life Guards.[18] He was promoted tofield marshal on 22 June 1897[19] following which there was adverse comment inThe Times that his career had included no great military achievements.[1]
Prince and Princess Edward had for several years a summer residence atNorth Berwick, and in October 1902 the Prince was honoured with theFreedom of the Royal burgh of North Berwick, a week after he had hosted KingEdward VII as his guest there for a couple of days.[20]
Edward died on 16 November 1902 atPortland Place in London and was buried inChichester Cathedral,[21] in the crypt of his wife's family, the dukes of Richmond and Lennox.[1]
On 27 November 1851 Edward married,morganatically,Lady Augusta Katherine Gordon-Lennox,[3] (a daughter ofCharles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond), who was created Countess of Dornburg by the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar the day before the wedding. TheCourt Circular shows that she was usually known by that title until early 1886, when the Circular began to consistently refer to her by her husband's title, i.e. "HSH Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar".[22] They had no children.[1]
Edward received the following orders and decorations:[23]
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach:Grand Cross of the White Falcon,20 November 1839[24]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of theSaxe-Ernestine House Order,November 1842[25]
Kingdom of Hanover:Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order,1849[26]
United Kingdom:
French Empire:Knight of the Legion of Honour,2 August 1856[32]
Ottoman Empire:
Netherlands:
Mecklenburg:Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore,19 May 1867[35]
Kingdom of Prussia:Grand Cross of the Red Eagle,8 September 1874[36]
Württemberg:Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown,1876[37]
Grand Duchy of Hesse:Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order,9 July 1881[38]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Frederick Hamilton (as Major-General Commanding the Brigade of Guards) | GOC Home District 1870–1876 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | GOC Southern District 1878–1884 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Ireland 1885–1890 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot 1878–1888 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Colonel of the1st Regiment of Life Guards 1888–1902 | Succeeded by |
| New title | Colonel-in-Chief of theLincolnshire Regiment 1888–1902 | None appointed |
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| People | |
