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'Prince George, Duke of Cambridge' (
26 March 1819 –
17 March 1904) was a member of the
British Royal Family, a male-line grandson of
King George III. The Duke was an army officer and served as
commander-in-chief of the
British Army from 1856 to 1895. He became
Duke of Cambridge in
1850.
Early life
Prince George was born at Cambridge House in
Hanover,
Germany. His father was
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 10th child and 7th son of
King George III and
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His mother was
The Duchess of Cambridge (née Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel), the daughter of
Friedrich (III), Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, lord of Rumpenheim and Caroline Polyxena of Nassau-Usingen.
He succeeded to his father's titles of
Duke of Cambridge,
Earl of Tipperary, and
Baron Culloden in
1850.
Military career
Prince George of Cambridge was educated in Hanover by the Rev. J. R. Wood, a canon of
Worcester. Like his father, he embarked upon a military career. In November
1837, after he had served for a short time in the Hanoverian army, he received the rank of colonel in the British Army. He was attached to the staff at
Gibraltar from October
1838 to April
1839. After serving in Ireland with the
12th Royal Lancers (the
Prince of Wales's), he was appointed colonel of the
17th Light Dragoons (now Lancers), in April
1842. From 1842 to
1845, he served as a colonel on the staff in the
Ionian islands.
The Duke of Cambridge became Inspector of the Cavalry in
1852. He held that post until
1854, when, upon the outbreak of the
Crimean War, he received command of the 1st Division (Guards and Highland brigades) of the British army in the East. In June 1854, he was promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant-General. He was present at the battles of the
Alma,
Balaclava and
Inkerman, and at the siege of Sevastopol. On
5 July 1856, the Duke was appointed ''general commanding-in-chief'' of the British Army; a post that was retitled
commander-in-chief of the forces by
Letters Patent in
1887. In that capacity he served as the chief military advisor to the
Secretary of State for War, with responsibility for the administration of the army and the command of forces in the field. However, the commander-in-chief was not subordinate to the secretary of state. He was promoted of the rank of
field marshal on
9 November 1862.
The Duke of Cambridge was the longest serving head of the British Army, serving as commander-in-chief for 39 years. Although he was deeply concerned about the welfare of soldiers, he earned a reputation for being resistant to doctrinal change and for making promotions based upon an officer's social standing, rather than his merit. Under his command, the British Army became a moribund and stagnant institution, lagging far behind its continental counterparts. In the late
19th century, whereas 50 per cent of all military literature was written in Germany and 25 per cent in
France, just one per cent came from Britain. It is said that he rebuked one of his more intelligent subordinates with the words: "Brains? I don't believe in brains! You haven't any, I know, Sir!" He was equally forthright on his reluctance to adopt change: "There is a time for everything, and the time for change is when you can no longer help it."
Despite his reputation as a hidebound traditionalist, however, the Duke took a keen interest in army reform. Under his influence, the army trialled various
breech-loading carbines for the cavalry, one of which- the
Westley-Richards- was so effective that it was decided to investigate the possibility of producing a version for the infantry. In 1861, 100 were issued to five infantry battalions; in 1863, an order of 2,000 was placed for further trials. He was also involved in the creation of the Staff College, and became governor of the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich: he further sought to improve the efficiency of the army by advocating a scheme of annual
military manoeuvres. In 1860, he introduced a new system to restrict
corporal punishment: soldiers were now only eligible for flogging in case of aggravated
mutinous conduct in time of war, unless they committed an offense serious enough to degrade them to the second class and make them once again subject to corporal punishment. A year's good behaviour would return them to the first class, meaning that only a hard core of
incorrigible offenders tended to be
flogged: the number of floggings fell from 218 in 1858 to 126 in 1862.
In the wake of the Prussian victory in the 1870-71
Franco-Prussian War, the
Liberal Party government of Prime Minister
William Gladstone and Secretary of State for War
Edward Cardwell called for
major army reforms. The Duke was extremely worried about the nature of these reforms, which struck at the heart of his view of the army. He feared that the newly-created force of
reservists would be of little use in a colonial conflict, and that
expeditionary forces would have to strip the most experienced men from the home-based battalions in order to fill the gaps in their ranks. His fears seemed to be confirmed in 1873, when
Wolseley raided battalions for the expedition against the
Ashanti: by 1879, the 59 battalions remaining at home were hard pressed to send replacements to the 83 abroad. In 1881, when the historic numbers of regiments were abolished and
facing colours standardised for English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish regiments, the duke protested that
regimental spirit would be affected: the majority of facing colours were restored by the First World War, although the numbers were not.
The reforming impetus, however, continued. The War Office Act, which
Parliament passed in
1870, formally subordinated the office of commander-in-chief of the army to the secretary of state. The Duke of Cambridge strongly resented this move, a sentiment shared by a majority of officers, many of whom would not have gained their posts on merit alone. Under the Order-in-Council of February
1888, all responsibility for military affairs was vested in the office of commander-in-chief. An
1890 royal commission led by
Lord Hartington (later the 8th Duke of Devonshire) criticized the administration of the
War Office and recommended the devolution of authority from the commander-in-chief to subordinate military officers. The Duke of Cambridge was forced to resign his post on
1 November 1895, and was succeeded by Lord Wolseley, whose duties were considerably modified.
Marriage
The Duke of Cambridge made no secret of his view that "arranged marriages were doomed to failure." He married privately and in contravention of the 1772
Royal Marriages Act at St. John's Church,
Clerkenwell, London on
8 January 1847 to
Sarah Louisa Fairbrother (
1816-
12 January 1890), the ninth child and fifth daughter of John Fairbrother, a partner in a family printing firm in
Bow Street. Louisa Fairbrother became an actress in 1830, performing at
Drury Lane, the
Lyceum, and
Covent Garden Theatre. As the marriage did not exist in British law, the Duke's wife was never titled Duchess of Cambridge or accorded the style ''
Her Royal Highness''. Instead, she was known as "Mrs. FitzGeorge." She was not regarded as a member of the
British Royal Family. He was distraught by her death, leading the mourning at her burial in
Kensal Green Cemetery, and regularly marking the anniversary of her death.
Later life
The Duke of Cambridge served as colonel-in-chief of the
17th Lancers,
Royal Artillery and
Royal Engineers; the
Middlesex Regiment and
King's Royal Rifle Corps; colonel of the
Grenadier Guards; honorary colonel of the 10th
Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers, 20th
Duke of Cambridge's Own Punjabis,
Royal Malta Artillery, 4 Batt.
Suffolk Regiment, Middlesex
Imperial Yeomanry, and 1st
City of London Volunteer Brigade. He became the ranger of
Hyde Park and
St. James's Park in 1852, and of
Richmond Park in 1857; a governor of the
Royal Military Academy in 1862, and its president in 1870.
Cambridge's strength and hearing began to fade in his later years. He was unable to ride at Queen Victoria's funeral and had to attend in a carriage. He paid his last visit to Germany in August 1903. He died of a haemorrhage of the stomach in 1904 at Gloucester House,
Piccadilly, London. He was buried five days later next to Mrs. FitzGeorge in Kensal Green Cemetery, London. With his death, the 1801 creation of the dukedom of Cambridge became extinct.
Six years after his death, his niece
Mary, daughter of his sister
Mary Adelaide, became Queen Consort.
In 1904, his estate was probated at less than 120,000 pounds sterling.
The Duke is today commemorated by an equestrian statue standing on
Whitehall in central
London; it is, somewhat ironically, positioned outside the front door of the War Office that he so strongly resisted.
Funerary monument, Kensal Green Cemetery, London
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles
★ '1819-1850': ''His Royal Highness'' Prince George of Cambridge
★ '1850-1904': ''His Royal Highness'' The Duke of Cambridge
Honours
★ 'KG:'
Knight of the Garter
★ 'KT:'
Knight of the Thistle
★ 'KP:'
Knight of St Patrick
★ 'GCB:'
Knight Grand Cross of the Bath
★ 'GCMG:'
Knight Grand Cross of St Michael and St George
★ 'GCVO:'
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
★ 'KJStJ:'
Knight Justice of St John
★ 'ADC(P):'
Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Sovereign
Military
★ 'Col', ''November
1837–June
1854'': Colonel, British Army
★
★ ''October 1838–April 1839'': Colonel, staff
★
★ Colonel, 12th Royal Lancers
★
★ ''April 1842–?'': Colonel,
17th Light Dragoons
★
★ ''
1842–
1845'': Colonel,
Ionian Islands staff
★
★ ''
1852–March
1854'':
Inspector of the Cavalry
★
★ ''March
1854–?'': I/C, 1st Division (Guards and Highland Brigades)
★ 'LtGen', ''June
1854–'': Lieutenant-General, British Army
★
★ ''March
1854–?'': I/C, 1st Division (Guards and Highland Brigades)
★
★ ''
5 July 1856–
1 November 1895'':
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, British Army
★ 'FM', ''
9 November 1862–'': Field Marshal, British Army
★
★ ''
5 July 1856–
1 November 1895'':
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, British Army
Honorary military appointments
'British'
★ Colonel-in-Chief, of the
17th Lancers
★ Colonel-in-Chief, of the
Royal Artillery
★ Colonel-in-Chief, of the
Royal Engineers
★ Colonel-in-Chief, of
The Middlesex Regiment
★ Colonel-in-Chief, of the
King's Royal Rifle Corps
★ Colonel, of the
Grenadier Guards
★ Honorary Colonel, of the 10th
Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers
★ Honorary Colonel, of the 4 Batt.
Suffolk Regiment
★ Honorary Colonel, of the Middlesex
Imperial Yeomanry
★ Honorary Colonel, of the 1st
City of London Volunteer Brigade
'Empire'
★ Honorary Colonel, of the 20th
Duke of Cambridge's Own Punjabis
★ Honorary Colonel, of the
Royal Malta Artillery
Issue
The Duke of Cambridge and Mrs. FitzGeorge had three sons, two of whom were born before their marriage and all of whom pursued military careers.
Ancestors
References
★ Giles St. Aubyn, ''The Royal George, 1819-1904: The Life of HRH Prince George, Duke of Cambridge'' (London: Constable, 1963).
★ Alison Weir, ''Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy'' (London: Pimlico, 1996)
★ "The Late Duke of Cambridge," ''The Times,''
19 March 1904, p. 7.
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