Editing Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

{{Short description|British prince (1774–1850)}}
{{Redirect|Prince Adolphus|his grandson, Prince Adolphus of Teck|Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Prince Adolphus
| title        = [[Duke of Cambridge]] ([[#Titles and styles|more]])
| image        = Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, KG (1774-1850).jpg
| caption      = Portrait by [[William Beechey]], 1808
| alt          = A half-length portrait of Prince Adolphus wearing a dark blue coat with the Garter Star
| succession   =  Viceroy of the [[Kingdom of Hanover]]
{{Infobox officeholder/office
| termstart    = 24 October 1816 
| termend      = 20 June 1837
| monarch      = [[George III]] <br> [[George IV]] <br> [[William IV]]
| predecessor  = General von Bülow
| successor    = ''position abolished''
}}
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1774|2|24|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Buckingham Palace|Buckingham House]], [[London]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1850|7|8|1774|2|24|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Cambridge House]], [[Piccadilly]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]
| burial_date  = 17 July 1850
| burial_place = [[St Anne's Church, Kew]], [[Surrey]]<br />10 January 1930<br />Royal Vault, [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel]]|1818}}
| issue        = {{ubl|[[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge]]|[[Princess Augusta of Cambridge|Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]|[[Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge|Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck]]}}
| full name    = Adolphus Frederick
| house        = [[House of Hanover|Hanover]]
| father       = [[George III]]
| mother       = [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
| signature    = Signature of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge.svg
| module       = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
  | allegiance    = {{ubl|[[Kingdom of Great Britain]]|[[United Kingdom]]|[[Kingdom of Hanover]]}}
  | branch        = {{ubl|[[Hanoverian Army]]|[[British Army]]}}
  | serviceyears  = 1791–1813
  | serviceyears_label = Years of active service
  | rank          = [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] (active service)
  | servicenumber = <!-- Do not use data from primary sources such as service records -->
  | unit          =
  | commands      =
Hanoverian Guards
  | battles_label =
  | battles       =
{{tree list}}
* [[French Revolutionary Wars]]
** [[Battle of Hondschoote]]
* [[Napoleonic Wars]]
** [[War of the Second Coalition]]
** [[War of the Sixth Coalition]]
{{tree list/end}}
  | awards        = }}
}}
'''Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge''' (Adolphus Frederick; 24 February 1774 – 8 July 1850) was the tenth child and seventh son of [[George III|King George III]] of the United Kingdom and [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Queen Charlotte]]. He held the title of [[Duke of Cambridge]] from 1801 until his death. He served as [[Viceroy]] of the [[Kingdom of Hanover]] successively on behalf of his elder brothers King [[George IV]] and King [[William IV]].

Prince Adolphus married [[Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel]] in 1818, by whom he had three children: [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge]], [[Princess Augusta of Cambridge]] and [[Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge]].

==Early life==
[[File:Gainsborough - Prince Adolphus, 1782.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of Prince Adolphus, by [[Thomas Gainsborough]], {{circa|1782}}]]
Prince Adolphus was born in February 1774 at [[Buckingham Palace|Buckingham House]], then known as the "Queen's House",<ref name="odnb">[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/169 Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]</ref> in the [[City and Liberty of Westminster]], now within Greater London. He was the youngest son of [[King George III]] and [[Queen Charlotte]] to survive childhood.

Adolphus was baptized on 24 March 1774 in the Great Council Chamber at [[St James's Palace]] by [[Frederick Cornwallis]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. His godparents were [[Johann Adolf of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg|Prince John Adolphus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]] (his great-uncle, for whom the [[Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford|Earl of Hertford]], [[Lord Chamberlain]], stood proxy), [[Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel]] (his first cousin once removed, for whom the [[George Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey|Earl of Jersey]], Extra [[Lord of the Bedchamber]], stood proxy) and [[Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751–1820)|Princess Wilhelmina of Orange]] (the wife of his first cousin once removed, for whom Elizabeth Howard, Dowager Countess of Effingham, former [[Lady of the Bedchamber]] to Queen Charlotte, stood proxy).{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Adolphus was tutored at home until summer 1786, when he was sent to the [[University of Göttingen]] in Germany, along with his brothers [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|Prince Ernest]] (created [[Duke of Cumberland]] in 1799) and [[Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex|Prince Augustus]] (created [[Duke of Sussex]] in 1801).<ref name="odnb" />
[[File:Prince Adolphus, Princess Sophia, and Princess Mary.jpg|thumb|left|Prince Adolphus aged four, with his two younger sisters [[Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh|Mary]] and [[Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom|Sophia]] in 1778]]

==Military career==
Adolphus 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 [[Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition|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 Hanoverian General-Major, he commanded a Hessian brigade under his paternal great-uncle, General [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn|Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn]] in Autumn 1794, then commanded the Hanoverian 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 (part of the settlement of the [[moorland]]s north of Bremen), which was named after him: Adolphsdorf (since 1974 a component locality of [[Grasberg]]).<ref>Johannes Kessels, "Fast wie eine Königsfamilie: Neue Majestäten heißen alle Helmke oder Kück", in: ''Wümme-Zeitung''; 2. Juni 2009.</ref>

During the [[War of the Second Coalition]] against [[France]] (1799–1802), Adolphus traveled 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]] (1795), 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 (river)|Main]], including Hanover. Regular Hanoverian 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 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 (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, Adolphus was appointed as commander-in-chief of the newly founded [[King's German Legion]], 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 2 June 1776, and created him [[Duke of Cambridge]], [[Earl of Tipperary]], and [[Baron Culloden]] on 24 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 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 (viceroy from 22 February 1831). He was made Field Marshal 26 November 1813. While he was Viceroy, the Duke became patron of the {{Langx|de|Cambridge-Dragoner|lit=Cambridge Dragoons|label=none}}. Regiment of the [[Hanoverian Army]]. This regiment was stationed in [[Celle]], and their barracks, {{Langx|de|Cambridge-Dragoner Kaserne|label=none}}, were used by the [[Bundeswehr]] until 1995. The "[[March (music)|March]] of the {{Langx|de|Hannoversches Cambridge-Dragoner-Regiment|label=none}}{{Hsp}}" is part of the Bundeswehr's traditional music repertoire.

==Marriage==
After the death of [[Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales|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 of the United Kingdom|William IV]]), in the hope of securing heirs to the throne—Charlotte had been the only legitimate grandchild of [[George III of the United Kingdom|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.
[[File:Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge - Beechey 1818.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Portrait of Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge]]'', by [[William Beechey]], 1818]]
The Duke of Cambridge was married first at [[Kassel]], [[Electorate of Hesse|Hesse]] on 7 May and then at Buckingham Palace on 1 June 1818 to his second cousin [[Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel|Augusta]] (25 July 1797 – 6 April 1889), the third daughter of [[Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel|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]].<ref name="odnb" /> When his niece succeeded to the British throne on 20 June 1837 as [[Queen Victoria]], the 122-year union of the crowns of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended, due to Hanover being under [[Salic Law]]; the succession of [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|Ernest Augustus]] as [[King of Hanover]] saw the Duke of Cambridge's period as viceroy end, and he returned to Britain.<ref name="odnb" />

==Death==
The Duke of Cambridge died on 8 July 1850 at [[Cambridge House]], [[Piccadilly]], London, and was buried in a specially-constructed extension to  [[St Anne's Church, Kew]].<ref name="odnb" /><ref>[http://www.mmtrust.org.uk/mausolea/view/319/Cambridge_Mausoleum Cambridge Mausoleum]</ref> The Duchess was buried alongside him in 1889. Their remains were removed to [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]] in 1930.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805 |url=https://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/royal-burials/royal-burials-chapel-since-1805/ |accessdate=5 March 2023 |work=College of St George - Windsor Castle}}</ref> The Prince's only son, [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|Prince George]], succeeded to his peerages.

== Honours ==
* '''KG''': [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]], ''2 June 1786''<ref name="p48">Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', '''I''', London, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n137/mode/2up p. 48]</ref>
* '''GCB''': [[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Bath]] (military), ''2 January 1815''<ref>Shaw, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n273/mode/2up p. 182]</ref>
* '''GCMG''': [[Order of St Michael and St George|Grand Master of St Michael and St George]], ''20 June 1825''; Principal Knight Grand Cross, ''16 August 1832''<ref>Shaw, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n421/mode/2up p. 331]</ref>
* '''PC''': [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Counsellor]], ''1802''
* '''GCH''': [[Royal Guelphic Order|Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order]], ''12 August 1815''<ref>Shaw, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n537/mode/2up p. 447]</ref>

'''Foreign'''
* [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''21 September 1823'' ([[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]])<ref>''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=28 p. 18]</ref>
* [[Order of St. Andrew|Knight of St. Andrew]], ''1844'' ([[Russian Empire|Russia]])
* [[House Order of the Golden Lion (Hesse)|Knight Grand Cross of the Golden Lion]], ''6 May 1818'' ([[Electorate of Hessen|Hesse-Kassel]])<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NAJTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA17 |title=Kurhessisches Staats- und Addreß-Handbuch: auf das Jahr ... 1827 |publisher=Verlag des Waisenhauses |year=1827 |page=17}}</ref>

==Arms==
The Duke's arms were the [[Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom|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 younger daughter, Princess Mary Adelaide, and her heirs included them in their arms quartered with the arms of the Duke of Teck.
[[File:Coat of Arms of Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge.svg|center|thumb|Coat of arms of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, used from 1801 until his death.]]

==Issue==
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Birth
!Death
!Notes
|-
|[[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 recognised in law).
|-
|[[Princess Augusta of Cambridge]]
|19 July 1822
|4 December 1916
|married 1843, [[Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]; had issue
|-
|[[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==
{{Ahnentafel|collapsed=yes|align=center|ref=<ref>{{cite book|title=Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans| trans-title=Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AINPAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA5|year=1768|publisher=Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel|location=Bourdeaux|language=fr|page=5}}</ref>
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge'''
| 2 = 2. [[George III]]
| 3 = 3. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
| 4 = 4. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
| 5 = 5. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
| 6 = 6. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg]]
| 7 = 7. [[Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
| 8 = 8. [[George II of Great Britain]]
| 9 = 9. [[Caroline of Ansbach|Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
| 10 = 10. [[Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
| 11 = 11. [[Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
| 12 = 12. [[Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
| 13 = 13. Princess Christiana Emilia Antonia of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
| 14 = 14. [[Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
| 15 = 15. [[Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach]]
}}

== Family tree ==
{{Dukes of Cambridge family tree}}

==See also==
* [[British Royal Family]]
* [[House of Hanover]]
* [[Duke of Cambridge]]
* [[Cambridge Bay, Nunavut]]
* [[Adolphustown]], Ontario, Canada.

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite news|last=Eilers Koenig|first=Marlene|date=October 2020|title=The Marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge|work=[[Royalty Digest Quarterly]]|url=https://www.royalbooks.se/produkt/126/32020.html}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge}}
* {{UK National Archives ID}}
* {{NPG name}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Hanover]]|24 February|1774|8 July|1850|[[House of Welf]]}}
{{s-court}}
{{s-bef|before=General von Bülow|as=governor, with the [[Privy Council of Hanover|Privy Council]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Viceroy]] of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] |years=1811–1837 }}
{{s-non|reason=Office abolished|reason2=[[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|Ernest Augustus]] becomes resident monarch}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|The Duke of York and Albany]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Colonel (UK)|Colonel]] of the [[Coldstream Guards]]|years=1805–1850}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford|The Earl of Strafford]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville|The 1st Viscount Melville]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chancellor of the University of St Andrews]]|years=1811–1814}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville|The 2nd Viscount Melville]]}}
{{s-other}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|The Duke of York and Albany]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Foundling Hospital]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Foundling Hospital Pages 10-24 Survey of London: Volume 24, the Parish of St Pancras Part 4: King's Cross Neighbourhood. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol24/pt4/pp10-24 |website=British History Online |publisher=LCC 1952 |access-date=10 June 2023}}</ref>|years=1827–1850}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|The Duke of Cambridge]]}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Thomas Maitland (British Army officer)|Sir Thomas Maitland]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Grand Masters of the Order of St Michael and St George|Grand Master of the Order of St Michael and St George]]|years=1825–1850}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|The Duke of Cambridge]]}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{s-new|creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Cambridge]]|creation=4th creation|years=1801–1850}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|Prince George]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{British princes}}
{{Dukes of Cambridge}}
{{Hanoverian princes}}
{{Grand Masters of the Order of St Michael and St George}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adolphus of Cambridge, Duke, Prince}}
[[Category:1774 births]]
[[Category:1850 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century British people]]
[[Category:19th-century British people]]
[[Category:19th-century regents]]
[[Category:Hanoverian princes]]
[[Category:House of Hanover]]
[[Category:British field marshals]]
[[Category:Dukes of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III|Adolphus]]
[[Category:People from Westminster]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the University of St Andrews]]
[[Category:King's German Legion]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]
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[[Category:Barons Culloden]]
[[Category:Children of George III]]
[[Category:Royal reburials]]
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