Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge


Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was the tenth child and seventh son of the British king George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 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.

Early life

Prince Adolphus was born in February 1774 at Buckingham House, then known as the "Queen's House", in the City and Liberty of Westminster, now within Greater London. He was the youngest son of George and Charlotte to survive childhood.
On 24 March 1774, the young prince was baptized in the Great Council Chamber at St James's Palace by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were Prince John Adolphus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Wilhelmina of Orange.
He was tutored at home until summer 1786, when he was sent to the University of Göttingen in Germany, along with his brothers Prince Ernest and Prince Augustus.

Military career

He was made honorary Colonel-in-Chief of the Hanoverian Guard Foot Regiment 1789–1803, but his military training began in 1791, when he and Prince Ernest went to Hanover to study under the supervision of the Hanoverian commander Field Marshal Wilhelm von Freytag. He remained on Freytag's staff during the Flanders Campaign in 1793. His first taste of action was at Famars on 23 May. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Hondschoote 6 September, but was quickly rescued. As a Hanovarian General-Major, he commanded a Hessian brigade under his paternal great-uncle, General Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn in Autumn 1794, then commanded the Hanovarian Guards during the retreat through Holland. Remaining in Germany, he commanded a brigade of the Corps of Observation from 22 October 1796 until 12 January 1798. He was made a British army colonel in 1794, and lieutenant general on 24 August 1798. In 1800 – whilst stationed in the Electorate of Hanover – he attended the founding of a village, which was named after him: Adolphsdorf.
During the War of the Second Coalition against France, he traveled to Berlin in 1801, in order to prevent the impending Prussian occupation of the Electorate. France demanded it, as it was stipulated in the Peace of Basel, obliging Prussia to ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all the latter's territories north of the demarcation line at the river Main, including Hanover. Regular Hanoverian troops, therefore, had been commandeered to join the multilateral so-called "Demarcation Army". His efforts were in vain. In 1803, he was senior army commander, and replaced Wallmoden as commander on the Weser on 1 June. With the advance of French forces on one side and 24,000 Prussian soldiers on the other, the situation was hopeless. Cambridge refused to become involved in discussions of capitulation, handed over his command to Hammerstein, and withdrew to England. A plan to recruit additional soldiers in Hanover to be commanded by the Prince had also failed.
In 1803, he was appointed as commander-in-chief of the newly founded King's German Legion, and in 1813, he became field marshal. George III appointed Prince Adolphus a Knight of the Garter on 2 June 1776, and created him Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, and Baron Culloden on 24 November 1801.
The Duke served as colonel-in-chief of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards from September 1805, and as colonel-in-chief of the 60th Regiment of Foot from January 1824. After the collapse of Napoleon's empire, he was Military Governor of Hanover from 4 November 1813 – 24 October 1816, then Governor General of Hanover from 24 October 1816 – 20 June 1837. He was made Field Marshal 26 November 1813. While he was Viceroy, the Duke became patron of the Cambridge-Dragoner Regiment of the
Hanoverian army. This regiment was stationed in Celle, and their barracks, the Cambridge-Dragoner Kaserne, were used by the Bundeswehr until 1995. The "March of the Hannoversches Cambridge-Dragoner-Regiment" is part of the Bundeswehr's traditional music repertoire.

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, 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 Clarence settled on Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. The way was cleared for the Duke of Cambridge to find a bride for himself.
The Duke of Cambridge was married first at Kassel, Hesse on 7 May and then at Buckingham Palace on 1 June 1818 to his second cousin Augusta, the third daughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse.

Viceroy

From 1816 to 1837, the Duke of Cambridge served as viceroy of the Kingdom of Hanover on behalf of his elder brothers, George IV and later William IV. When his niece succeeded to the British throne on 20 June 1837 as Queen Victoria, the 123-year union of the crowns of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended, due to Hanover being under Salic Law. The Duke of Cumberland became King of Hanover and the Duke of Cambridge returned to Britain.

Death

The Duke of Cambridge died on 8 July 1850 at Cambridge House, Piccadilly, London, and was buried at St Anne's Church, Kew. His remains were later removed to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. His only son, Prince George, succeeded to his peerages.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and 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
Foreign Honours
The Duke's arms were the Royal Arms of the House of Hanover, with a three-point label of difference. The first and third points containing two hearts, and the centre point bearing a red cross. His arms were adopted by his youngest daughter, Princess Mary Adelaide, and her heirs included them in their arms quartered with the arms of the Duke of Teck.

Issue

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:
NameBirthDeathNotes
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge26 March 181917 March 1904married 1847, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother; had issue.
Princess Augusta of Cambridge19 July 18224 December 1916married 1843, Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issue
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge27 November 183327 October 1897married 1866, Francis, Duke of Teck; had issue, including Mary of Teck, later Queen consort of the United Kingdom.

Ancestors