(Redirected from Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge)
'Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge' (Adolphus Frederick;
24 February 1774 –
8 July 1850), was the tenth child and seventh son of
George III and
Queen Charlotte. He held the title of
Duke of Cambridge from 1801 until his death. He also served as
Viceroy of
Hanover on behalf of his brothers
George IV and
William IV. His granddaughter,
Mary of Teck was the
Queen consort of
George V.
Early life
Prince Adolphus was born at
Buckingham Palace. He was tutored at home before being sent to the
University of Göttingen in Germany in summer 1786, along with his brothers
Prince Ernest (created
Duke of Cumberland in 1799) and
Prince Augustus (created
Duke of Sussex in 1801).
Military career
In 1791, he and Prince Ernest went to Hanover to receive military training under the supervision of the Hannoverian commander Field Marshal von Freytag. He rose to the ranks of colonel in 1794, to lieutenant general in
1798, and field marshal in
1813. George III appointed Prince Adolphus a
Knight of the Garter on
6 June 1786 and created him 'Duke of Cambridge', 'Earl of Tipperary', and 'Baron Culloden' on
17 November 1801.
The Duke served as colonel-in-chief of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards (Coldstream Guards after 1855) from September 1805 and as colonel-in-chief of the 60th (The Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps) Regiment of Foot from January
1824.
Marriage
After the death of
Princess Charlotte in
1817, the Duke was set the task of finding a bride for his eldest unmarried brother, the Duke of Clarence (later
William IV) in the hope of securing heirs to the throne -- Charlotte had been the only legitimate grandchild of
George III, despite the fact that the King had twelve surviving children. After several false starts, the Duke of Cambridge settled on Princess
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. The Duke of Clarence agreed with alacrity, and the way was cleared for the Duke of Cambridge to find a bride for himself.
The Duke of Cambridge was married first at Cassel,
Hesse on
7 May and then at Buckingham Palace on
1 June 1818 to his second cousin
Augusta (
25 July 1797-
6 April 1889), the third daughter of Friedrich III, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel.
He was, as is shown in the list of issue below, the maternal grandfather of
Mary of Teck, consort of
George V. This makes Adolphus the great-great-grandfather of the present British monarch,
Elizabeth II
Viceroy
From 1816 to 1837, the Duke of Cambridge served as
viceroy of
Hanover on behalf of his elder brothers,
George IV and later
William IV. When his niece, Queen
Victoria succeeded to the British throne on
20 June 1837, the 123-year union of the crowns of Great Britain (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801) and Hanover ended. The Duke of Cumberland became King
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover and the Duke of Cambridge returned to Britain.
Later life
The Duke of Cambridge died on
8 July 1850 at
Cambridge House,
Piccadilly, London, and was buried at Kew. His remains were later removed to
St. George's Chapel, Windsor. His only son, Prince George, succeeded to his peerages.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles
★ '
24 February 1774-
17 November 1801': ''His Royal Highness'' The Prince Adolphus
★ '
17 November 1801-
8 July 1850': ''His Royal Highness'' The Duke of Cambridge
Styles
His full style at death was ''Field Marshal His Royal Highness The Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, Baron Culloden, Knight of the
Most Noble Order of the Garter, Member of Her Majesty's
Most Honourable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the
Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross of the
Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal Guelphic Order''
Honours
'British Honours'
★ 'PC':
Privy Council, ''1802''
★ 'KG':
Knight of the Garter, ''
6 June 1786''
★ 'KB':
Knight Companion of the Bath
★
★ 'GCB':
Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, ''
2 January 1815''
★ 'GCMG':
Knight Grand Cross of St Michael and St George
★ 'GCH':
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order
Arms
The Duke's arms were the
Royal Arms of the House of Hanover, with a three point label of difference. The first and third labels containing two hearts, and the centre label bearing a red cross. His arms were adopted by his youngest daughter, Princess Mary Adelaide and her heirs included them in their arms impaled with the the arms of the Duke of Teck.
Issue
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:
Ancestors
See also
★
British Royal Family
★
House of Hanover
★
Duke of Cambridge
★
Cambridge Bay, Nunavut
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