Jump to content

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Yendor1958 (talk | contribs)
806 edits
m Remove links to 60th Regt of Foot in place of links to Titles
Line 35: Line 35:
Over the course of the [[War of the Second Coalition|War of the Second Coalition against France]] (1799–1802), he travelled to [[Berlin]] in 1801, in order to prevent the impending [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] occupation of the Electorate.<ref name=odnb/> France demanded it, as it was stipulated in the [[Peace of Basel|Treaty of Basel]] (1795), obliging Prussia to ensure the [[Holy Roman Empire]]'s neutrality in all the latter's territories north the demarcation line of the river [[Main (river)|Main]], including Hanover. Regular Hanoveran troops, therefore, had been commandeered to join the multilateral so-called "Demarcation Army." His efforts were in vain.<ref name=odnb/> In 1803, he was senior army commander, and replaced Wallmoden as commander of the on the Weser 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 (Ompteda claims he was forced to resign <ref>Ompteda p.131</ref>), and withdrew to England. A plan to recruit additional soldiers in Hanover to be commanded by the Prince had also failed.
Over the course of the [[War of the Second Coalition|War of the Second Coalition against France]] (1799–1802), he travelled to [[Berlin]] in 1801, in order to prevent the impending [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] occupation of the Electorate.<ref name=odnb/> France demanded it, as it was stipulated in the [[Peace of Basel|Treaty of Basel]] (1795), obliging Prussia to ensure the [[Holy Roman Empire]]'s neutrality in all the latter's territories north the demarcation line of the river [[Main (river)|Main]], including Hanover. Regular Hanoveran troops, therefore, had been commandeered to join the multilateral so-called "Demarcation Army." His efforts were in vain.<ref name=odnb/> In 1803, he was senior army commander, and replaced Wallmoden as commander of the on the Weser 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 (Ompteda claims he was forced to resign <ref>Ompteda p.131</ref>), 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]],<ref name=odnb/> and in 1813, he became field marshal.<ref name=odnb/> George III appointed Prince Adolphus a [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]] on 6 June 1786, and created him '''[[60th Regiment of Foot|Duke of Cambridge]]''', '''[[60th Regiment of Foot|Earl of Tipperary]]''', and '''[[60th Regiment of Foot|Baron Culloden]]''' on 17 November 1801.<ref name=odnb/>
In 1803, he was appointed as commander-in-chief of the newly founded [[King's German Legion]],<ref name=odnb/> and in 1813, he became field marshal.<ref name=odnb/> George III appointed Prince Adolphus a [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]] on 6 June 1786, and created him '''[[Duke of Cambridge]]''', '''[[Earl of Tipperary]]''', and '''[[Baron Culloden]]''' on 17 November 1801.<ref name=odnb/>


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 Regiment of Foot|60th (The Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps) Regiment of Foot]] from January 1824. After the collapse of the Napoleon's empire, he became [[Military Governor]] of Hanover 4 November 1813 – 24 October 1816, then Governor General of Hanover 24 October 1816 – 20 June 1837 (viceroy from 22 February 1831). He was made Field Marshal 26 November 1813. In his time as Hanoverian Viceroy, the Duke became name-giving for the Hanoveran Regiment of the Cambridge-[[Dragoon]]s ({{lang-de|Cambridge-Dragoner}}), stationed in [[Celle]], where the [[Bundeswehr]] used their baracks, the ''Cambridge-Dragoner Kaserne'', until 1995. The [[March (music)|march]] of the Hannoversches Cambridge-Dragoner-Regiment is part of the Bundeswehr's traditional music repertoire.
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 Regiment of Foot|60th (The Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps) Regiment of Foot]] from January 1824. After the collapse of the Napoleon's empire, he became [[Military Governor]] of Hanover 4 November 1813 – 24 October 1816, then Governor General of Hanover 24 October 1816 – 20 June 1837 (viceroy from 22 February 1831). He was made Field Marshal 26 November 1813. In his time as Hanoverian Viceroy, the Duke became name-giving for the Hanoveran Regiment of the Cambridge-[[Dragoon]]s ({{lang-de|Cambridge-Dragoner}}), stationed in [[Celle]], where the [[Bundeswehr]] used their baracks, the ''Cambridge-Dragoner Kaserne'', until 1995. The [[March (music)|march]] of the Hannoversches Cambridge-Dragoner-Regiment is part of the Bundeswehr's traditional music repertoire.

Revision as of 12:06, 22 June 2012

Prince Adolphus
Duke of Cambridge
SuccessorPrince George
Born(1774-02-24)24 February 1774
Buckingham Palace, Westminster
Died8 July 1850(1850-07-08) (aged 76)
Cambridge House, Piccadilly
Burial
Kew, Surrey
SpousePrincess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel
IssueGeorge, Duke of Cambridge
Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg
Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck
Names
Adolphus Frederick
HouseHouse of Hanover
FatherGeorge III of the United Kingdom
MotherCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
OccupationMilitary

The Prince Adolphus, 1st 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 Queen consort of the United Kingdom and paternal grandmother of the current monarch, Elizabeth II.

Early life

Prince Adolphus was born at Buckingham Palace, the tenth child and seventh son of George III and Queen Charlotte,[1] as well as being the youngest son to survive infancy.

On 24 March 1774, the young prince was christened in the Great Council Chamber at St James's Palace by Frederick Cornwallis, The Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were Prince John Adolphus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (his great-uncle, for whom the Earl of Hertford, Lord Chamberlain, stood proxy), Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel (his first cousin once-removed, for whom the Earl of Jersey, Extra Lord of the Bedchamber, stood proxy) and The Princess of Orange (the wife of his first cousin once-removed, for whom the Dowager Countess of Effingham, former Lady of the Bedchamber to The Queen, stood proxy).[2]

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).[1]

Prince Adolphus aged four, with his two younger sisters Mary and Sophia in 1778

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 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 uncle, General Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn in Autumn 1794, then commanded the Hanovarian Guards during the retreat through Holland. Remaining in Germany, he commanding a brigade of the Corps of Observation, 22 October 1796 – 12 January 1798. He was made a British army colonel in 1794, and lieutenant general 24 August 1798. In 1800 – stationed in the Electorate of Hanover – he attended the foundation of a village in the course of the cultivation and colonisation of the moorlands in the north of Bremen and named the municipality after himself Adolphsdorf (since 1974 a component locality of Grasberg).[3]

Over the course of the War of the Second Coalition against France (1799–1802), he travelled to Berlin in 1801, in order to prevent the impending Prussian occupation of the Electorate.[1] France demanded it, as it was stipulated in the Treaty of Basel (1795), obliging Prussia to ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all the latter's territories north the demarcation line of the river Main, including Hanover. Regular Hanoveran troops, therefore, had been commandeered to join the multilateral so-called "Demarcation Army." His efforts were in vain.[1] In 1803, he was senior army commander, and replaced Wallmoden as commander of the on the Weser 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 (Ompteda claims he was forced to resign [4]), 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,[1] and in 1813, he became field marshal.[1] 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.[1]

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. After the collapse of the Napoleon's empire, he became Military Governor of Hanover 4 November 1813 – 24 October 1816, then Governor General of Hanover 24 October 1816 – 20 June 1837 (viceroy from 22 February 1831). He was made Field Marshal 26 November 1813. In his time as Hanoverian Viceroy, the Duke became name-giving for the Hanoveran Regiment of the Cambridge-Dragoons (German: Cambridge-Dragoner), stationed in Celle, where the Bundeswehr used their baracks, the Cambridge-Dragoner Kaserne, 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 (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 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 (25 July 1797 – 6 April 1889), the third daughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse.

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 the Kingdom of Hanover on behalf of his elder brothers, George IV and later William IV.[1] 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.[1] The Duke of Cumberland became King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover and the Duke of Cambridge returned to Britain.[1]

Later life

The Duke of Cambridge died on 8 July 1850 at Cambridge House, Piccadilly, London, and was buried at Kew.[1] 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

Coat of Arms of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, used from 1801 until his death.

Titles and styles

  • 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

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

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 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 impaled with the arms of the Duke of Teck.

Issue

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:

Name Birth Death Notes
HRH Prince George, Duke of Cambridge 26 March 1819 17 March 1904 married 1847, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother; had issue (this marriage was contracted in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act and was not recognized in Law).
HRH Princess Augusta of Cambridge 19 July 1822 4 December 1916 married 1843, Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz; had issue
HRH Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge 27 November 1833 27 October 1897 married 1866, Francis, Duke of Teck; had issue, including Mary of Teck, later Queen consort of the United Kingdom.

Ancestors

Family of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
16. George I of Great Britain
8. George II of Great Britain
17. Sophia Dorothea of Celle
4. Frederick, Prince of Wales
18. John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
9. Caroline of Ansbach
19. Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
2. George III of the United Kingdom
20. Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
10. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
21. Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels
5. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
22. Charles, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
11. Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
23. Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels
1. Prince Adolphus,
Duke of Cambridge
24. Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
12. Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
25. Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
6. Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow
26. Christian William I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
13. Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
27. Antoine Sybille of Barby-Muhlingen
3. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
28. Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
14. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
29. Sophie of Waldeck
7. Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
30. George Louis I of Erbach-Erbach
15. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
31. Amelie Katherine of Waldeck-Eisenberg

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge.
  • "Archival material relating to Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge". UK National Archives.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings
  3. ^ Johannes Kessels, "Fast wie eine Königsfamilie: Neue Majestäten heißen alle Helmke oder Kück", in: Wümme-Zeitung; 2. Juni 2009.
  4. ^ Ompteda p.131
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 24 February 1774 Died: 8 July 1850
Court offices
Preceded by
General von Bülow
as Governor, with the Privy Council  		Viceroy of Hanover
1811–1837 		Succeeded byas King, due to the end of the
personal union with the UK 
Military offices
Preceded by Colonel of the Coldstream Guards
1805–1850 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
1811–1814 		Succeeded by
Other offices
Preceded by President of the Foundling Hospital
1827–1850 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Grand Master of the Order of St Michael
and St George
1825–1850 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Duke of Cambridge
4th creation
1801–1850 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prince_Adolphus,_Duke_of_Cambridge&oldid=498820929"