#dotmoi

[historywithlaura]

ADOLPHUS CAMBRIDGE

1st Marquess of Cambridge

(born 1868 - died 1927)

picured above is a portrait of the Duke of Teck, painted by Fülöp of László in 1906

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ADOLPHUS CHARLES ALEXANDER ALBERT EDWARD GEORGE PHILIP LOUIS LADISLAUS was born in 1868, at the apartment of his family in Kensington Palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. At the time of his birth, his distant cousin Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was on the throne.

He was the eldest son of Franz, 1st Duke of Teck, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. Thus, he was born a member of the TECK branch, a morganatic line of the House of Württemberg, and was from birth a PRINCE OF TECK.

Even though he was related to the Kings of Württemberg, as a morganatic branch, his family was not Royal they were only part of the nobility of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Which at the time of his birth was ruled by his distant relative Karl I, King of Württemberg.

His parents had decided to settle in the United Kingdom because of financial advantages, given that his mother was a member of the British Royal Family and a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Though, during his childhood, his family had to leave the United Kingdom due to financial troubles. Between the 1870s and 1880s, his parents were absent, but it is believed that he did not accompany them the whole time because he continued his education in the United Kingdom.

Besides his German roots, he had been raised as a British and entered the service of the British Army in 1888, at the age of 19.

In 1894, aged 26, he married the 20-year-old LADY MARGARET EVELYN GROSVENOR. His wife was the youngest daughter of Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, and the late Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower. With her, he had four children.

Check a list of his children at the end of this post!

When he lost his mother in 1897, he was 29 years old. And, when his father died in 1900, he, at the age of 31, succeeded as DUKE OF TECK in the Kingdom of Württemberg. At the time, another of his distant relatives was on the throne as King Wilhelm II.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland had three Monarchs during the first decade of the 1900s: Queen Victoria who died in 1901; King Edward VII who died in 1910; and King George V, who was married to his sister Princess Mary of Teck.

Before World War I broke out, he was not on active service in the British Army. He returned to fight in the War in 1914, but his health forced him to retire again in 1916.

Because of strong anti-German feelings in the United Kingdom during the War, in July 1917, he as the HEAD OF THE TECK BRANCH, decided to relinquish the title of Duke of Teck and the Princely titles of his relatives in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

This decision had the support of his family and of his brother-in-law King George V, who also gave permission to change his family name from Teck to CAMBRIDGE. A name that was chosen in honour of his maternal grandfather, the late Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge.

Following these events, at the age of 48, he became an untitled man. Officially, as a knight, he became SIR ADOLPHUS CAMBRIDGE, but in private, he was most likely still regarded as a titled Royal.

It was only in November 1917 that King George V officially granted British titles to him. Having already reached the age of 49, he became MARQUESS OF CAMBRIDGE, EARL OF ELTHAM, and VISCOUNT NORTHALLERTON.

In 1918, the German Empire collapsed, World War I ended, and the many German sovereign states ceased to exist, including the Kingdom of Württemberg.

After the end of the War, he and his wife settled in the countryside, where the first Marquess of Cambridge died in 1927 at the age of 59, in the English town of Shrewsbury in the United Kingdom.

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ADOLPHUS and his wife, MARGARET, had four children.

George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge - married to Dorothy Hastings;

Lady Mary Cambridge - married to Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort;

Lady Helena Cambridge - married to John Evelyn Gibbs; and

Lord Frederick Cambridge - unmarried.

picured above is a portrait of the Prince of Teck with his wife, photograded on his wedding day in 1894

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COLLECTION: Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland - #DotMoI

In a span of four generations, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, was related to the Monarchs of Ireland through the paternal family of his mother.

His mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambrigde;

His grandfather was Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge; and

His great-grandfather was George III, 1st King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the King of Ireland between 1760 and 1801.

[historywithlaura]

GEORGE

1st Duke of Kent

(born 1902 - died 1942)

pictured above is a portrait of the Duke of Kent, painted by Fülöp of László in 1934

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GEORGE EDWARD ALEXANDER EDMUND was born in 1902 at York Cottage, the residence of his family in the English village of Sandringham in the United Kingdom.

He was born during the reign of his grandfather Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as one of the youngest sons of George, Prince of Wales, and Princess Mary of Teck.

Check my post about his FATHER!

Thus, he was born a member of the British branch of the HOUSE OF SAXE COBURG AND GOTHA.

As a grandchild of the British Monarch in the male line, he was from birth a PRINCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. He also had the right to use the courtesy titles of his Royal House of PRINCE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA and a dynastic DUKE OF SAXONY.

Though, following British tradition as an untitled child, from birth, he was styled by the title of his father and was known as PRINCE GEORGE OF WALES.

When he was 7 years old, in 1910, his grandfather died, and his father succeeded as George V, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the British Dominions beyond the seas, and Emperor of India.

At the age of 13, he was sent to a Naval college and subsequently served in the Royal Navy.

By 1917, there was a huge anti-German feeling in the United Kingdom because of World War I. So, his father decided to relinquish the family German roots and changed the Royal Family name from House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to HOUSE OF WINDSOR. At that time, he was 14 years old

During his youth, he was a playboy, had affairs with many women and maybe men, and is rumoured to have been addicted to drugs.

Some people believe that he had an illegitimate child from his affair with ALICE GWYNNE, an American socialite married to Jerome Preston, daughter of Edward Erskine Gwynne, Sr. and Helen Steele. He was 23 years old when this supposed child was born in 1926, while the mother was around 28.

Check details about his purported child at the end of this post!

In 1934, he became engaged to a distant cousin from the deposed Greek Royal Family. So, in preparation for his wedding, in October 1934, his father created him DUKE OF KENT, EARL OF ST ANDREWS, and BARON DOWNPATRICK. He was 31 years old at the time.

His wedding to the 28-year-old PRINCESS MARÍNA OF GREECE AND DENMARK took place in November 1934. His wife was the last foreign Princess to marry into the British Royal Family, the daughter of Prince Nikólaos of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Yelyena Vladimirovna of Russia. With her, he had three children.

Check a list of his legitimate children at the end of this post!

On the death of his father in January 1936, his eldest brother briefly succeeded as King Edward VIII, but abdicated months later. So, by December 1936, his second eldest brother Albert, Duke of York, acceded as King George VI.

Later in life, in 1937, he transitioned from the Royal Navy to serve in the Royal Air Force.

Unfortunately, his life was cut short. In 1942, while on service for the Royal Air Force, his plane crashed near the Scottish village of Dunbeath in the United Kingdom, and the first Duke of Kent died aged only 39.

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GEORGE and his wife, MARÍNA, had three children.

Edward, 2nd Duke of Kent - married to Katharine Worsley;

Princess Alexandra of Kent - married to Sir Angus Ogilvy; and

Prince Michael of Kent - married to Baroness Marie Christine of Reibnitz.

pictured above is a portrait of the Duke of Kent with his wife, photographed in 1934

And, he may have had illegitimate children.

From his affair with ALICE:

possibly Michael Canfield - married first to Lee Bouvier, and second to Laura Charteris.

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COLLECTION: Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland - #DotMoI

In a span of four generations, George, Duke of Kent, was related to the Monarchs of Ireland through his father.

His father was George V, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the Sovereign of the Irish Free State between 1922 and 1936.

[historywithlaura]

ALICE OF ALBANY

Countess of Athlone

(born 1883 - died 1981)

pictured above is a portrait of the Countess of Athlone, painted by Fülöp of László in 1928

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ALICE MARY VICTORIA AUGUSTA PAULINE was born in 1883 at Windsor Castle, in the English town of Windsor in the United Kingdom, during the reign of her grandmother Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The only daughter of Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helene of Waldeck and Pyrmont, she was born a member of the British branch of the HOUSE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA, a cadet branch of the House of Wettin.

As a grandchild of the British Monarch in the male line, she was from birth a PRINCESS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. She also had the right to use the courtesy titles of her Royal House of PRINCESS OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA and dynastic DUCHESS OF SAXONY.

But as a member of the British Royal Family, she did not use her German titles. Instead, following British tradition and because she did not hold any titles in her own right, from birth, she was styled by the title of her father as PRINCESS ALICE OF ALBANY.

At the time of her birth, the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was ruled by her great-uncle Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Her father died one month after her first birthday in March 1884, and by July 1884, her brother Charles Edward was born and immediately succeeded as Duke of Albany.

Because of family dynamics, deaths, and tragedies, the line of succession of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha changed several times in the 1890s. And, in 1900, her brother ended up inheriting it as Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

While in the United Kingdom, when her grandmother died in 1901, her eldest uncle succeeded as King Edward VII.

Two weeks before her 25th birthday in 1904, she married a cousin, the 29-year-old, PRINCE ALEXANDER AUGUSTUS FREDERICK WILLIAM ALFRED GEORGE OF TECK. Her husband was the youngest son of the late Franz, 1st Duke of Teck, and the late Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. With him, she had three children.

Check a list of her children at the end of this post!

After her wedding, she became a member of the TECK branch, a morganatic line of the House of Württemberg, and became known by the style of her husband, as PRINCESS ALEXANDER OF TECK.

Even though her new family was only part of the nobility of the Kingdom of Württemberg, this state was ruled by a distant relative of her husband, Wilhelm II, King of Württemberg.

In 1910, after King Edward VII died, the British throne was inherited by her first cousin, King George V. Who, in turn, was married to her sister-in-law Princess Mary of Teck.

During World War I, due to intense anti-German hatred in the United Kingdom, the Teck branch decided to cut all ties with the German Kingdom of Württemberg.

By July 1917, when her brother-in-law Adolphus, Duke of Teck, renounced the family titles, she and her family ceased to be Princes and Princesses of Teck, and the family name was changed from Teck to CAMBRIDGE to honour the late grandfather of her husband, Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge.

Following these events, her husband became an untitled man asssuming the style of Sir Alexander Cambridge. As her husband was a knight, she should have become known as LADY ALEXANDER CAMBRIDGE. But as a Princess of the Blood Royal, she never lost her birth style and was most correctly known as PRINCESS ALICE, LADY ALEXANDER CAMBRIDGE, even though she most likely never used the lesser style of Lady.

Regarding her own German roots, days after the Teck proclamation, her first cousin, King George V, also changed their family name from House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to HOUSE OF WINDSOR and renounced all German titles held by the British descendants of Queen Victoria.

She was 34 years old when all of these changes took place, and because she was already a married member of the new Cambridge family, the changes made to her birth family did not affect her name or style.

When King George V officially created her husband Earl of Athlone and Viscount Trematon in November 1917, she became known as COUNTESS OF ATLHONE and VISCOUNTESS TREMATON.

World War I brought turmoil all over Europe, and in 1918, the German Revolution broke out. It hasten the end of the war and collapsed the monarchical system of the German Empire. The German states of her relatives fell one by one, including the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the Kingdom of Württemberg.

Later on, another consequence of the war took place. In 1919, her brother and other British Royals who had fought against the United Kingdom were deprived of British citizenship and titles. And so the latest creation of the Dukedom of Albany became extinct.

Days before reaching her 39th birthday in 1922, she lost her mother.

Around 1923/24, King George V appointed her husband as Governor General of the Union of South Africa, a Dominion of the British Empire. So, from her fourties, she acted as VICEREGAL CONSORT OF THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Although she moved with her entire family to South Africa, they often travelled to Europe. In one of those visits, her only surviving son Rupert, Viscount Trematon, tragically died in a car crash in 1928.

Circa 1930/31 her husband was dismissed from the office of Governor-General in South Africa, and she returned to the United Kingdom with her family.

Upon the death of King George V in January 1936, the British throne passed to King Edward VIII. However, following the abdication of the latter in December 1936, the throne was inherited by the Duke of York, who succeded as King George VI.

Once more, in 1940, her husband was appointed as Governor General of a Dominion of the British Empire. This time as Governor General of Canada by King George VI. So, at the age of 57, she became the VICEREGAL CONSORT OF CANADA.

With the end of World War II, her husband was dismissed from the post of Governor General of Canada in 1946, and she returned to the United Kingdom with him.

One month before her 74th birthday, she became a widow. Because none of her sons were alive and did not have children, there was no heir to the family titles. So, even though she became the DOWAGER COUNTESS OF ATHLONE, she was never styled as such.

Aged 97, the Countess of Athlone died in 1981, at her apartment in Kensington Palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. At the time of her death, she was the longest living British Princess of the Blood Royal, and to this day, she continues to be.

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ALICE and her husband, ALEXANDER, had three children.

Lady May Cambridge - married to Sir Henry Abel Smith;

Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon - unmarried; and

Prince Maurice of Teck - died at age five months.

pictured above is a portrait of the Princess Alexander of Teck with her two eldest children (Princess May and Prince Rupert), photographed circa 1908-10

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COLLECTION: Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland - #DotMoI

In a span of four generations, Princess Alice of Albany was related to the Monarchs of Ireland through the maternal family of her husband.

Her husband was Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone;

His mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge;

His grandfather was Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge; and

His great-grandfather was George III, 1st King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the King of Ireland between 1760 and 1801.

But she was herself a more distant descendant of the Monarchs of Ireland through the maternal family of her father.

Her father was Leopold, Duke of Albany;

Her grandmother was Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;

Her great-grandfather was Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn; and

Her 2x-great-grandfather was George III, 1st King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the King of Ireland between 1760 and 1801.

[historywithlaura]

AMELIA

Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

(born 1783 - died 1810)

pictured above is a portrait of the Princess of Great Britain, painted by Sir William Beechey in the 1700s

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AMELIA was born in 1783 at the Royal Lodge in the English town of Windsor, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of her father.

She was the youngest daughter of George III, King of Great Britain, and Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Her father was also the King of Ireland, was known as Georg III, sovereign Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Hanover, and was a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

Check my post about his FATHER!

Thus, she was a member of the British branch of the HOUSE OF HANOVER.

From birth, she was a PRINCESS OF GREAT BRITAIN and a PRINCESS OF IRELAND. She also had the right to use the courtesy title of her Royal House, DUCHESS OF BRUNSWICK-LÜNEBURG. However, the latter title was not used by members of the British Royal Family.

pictured above is a portrait of the Princess of Great Britain with two of her older sisters (from left to right, Princess Mary, herself, and Princess Sophia), painted by John Singleton Copley in 1785

At the time she was five years old, around 1788, her father started to show symptoms of mental illness.

While around 1798, her own health began to decline, at the age of 15. And, because of this, she undertook many journeys in hopes of improving it.

The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland were united around 1800/01. Her father then became its first Monarch as George III, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and she became a PRINCESS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

It is said that around 1801, she fell in love with an equerry of the household of her father named Charles FitzRoy, a descendant of an illegitimate son of Charles II, King of England. And, some sources believe that she hoped to marry him.

Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, by Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor, her father lost the title of Prince-Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg/Hanover.

However, even though the institution of the Holy Roman Empire no longer existed, her father never renounced the rights of her Royal House over the hereditary titles related to Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Aged only 27, the Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland died in 1810, at Augusta Lodge, her residence in the English town of Windsor, in the United Kingdom, having never been married.

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COLLECTION: Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland - #DotMoI

In a span of four generations, Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom was related to the Monarchs of Ireland through her father.

Her father was George III, 1st King of the United Kingdom - the King of Ireland between 1760 and 1801.

[historywithlaura]

GEORGE III

1st King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

(born 1738 - died 1820)

pictured above is a portrait of the King of the United Kingdom, painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence circa 1818-23

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GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK was born in 1738, at Norfolk House in London, the capital of the Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of his paternal grandfather George II, King of Great Britain.

The eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, he was a member of the British line of the HOUSE OF HANOVER, a cadet branch of the House of Welf.

In addition, his paternal grandfather was also the ruler of the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally known as the Electorate of Hanover, as Georg II August, sovereign Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Hanover and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

Through this ancestry, he held two hereditary titles from birth. For being a male line grandson of the British Monarch, he was a PRINCE OF GREAT BRITAIN. And as all male members of the House of Welf, he borne the dynastic title of DUKE OF BRUNSWICK-LÜNEBURG.

But as a child who did not hold any title in his own right, from birth, he was styled by the title of his father in Great Britain and was known as PRINCE GEORGE OF WALES.

When his father unexpectedly died in March 1751, he became the heir apparent to the British Crown at just 13 years old. He also succeeded in the British titles of his father DUKE OF EDINBURGH, MARQUESS OF THE ISLE OF ELY, EARL OF ELTHAM, VISCOUNT OF LAUNCESTON, and BARON OF SNOWDON.

By April 1751, he was officially recognized as the heir to the British Crown having been created as the new PRINCE OF WALES and EARL OF CHESTER by the King.

At the age of 21, he succeeded on the death of his grandfather in 1760. In the British Isles as GEORGE III, KING OF GREAT BRITAIN and KING OF IRELAND. And, in the Holy Roman Empire as GEORG III WILHELM FRIEDRICH, sovereign DUKE OF BRUNSWICK-LÜNEBURG in Hanover, PRINCE-ELECTOR OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, and DUKE OF SAXE-LAUENBURG, under Franz I, Holy Roman Emperor.

He married PRINCESS SOPHIE CHARLOTTE OF MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ in 1761. His wife was the only surviving daughter of the late Karl Ludwig Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow, and the late Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He was 23 years old, and his wife was 17. With her, he had fifteen children.

Check a list of his children at the end of this post!

Over a decade after he was on the throne, he lost his mother in 1772. At that time, he was 33 years old.

Many significant historical events happened during his life, such as the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in America from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776.

Around his fifties, he had his first severe mental breakdown, and by the end of the 1780s, a Regency was first discussed. However, he recovered before it could be installed.

Great Britain joined the Coalition Wars against the French Republic in 1793, and as an aftermath, the French decided to give support to the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

So, the unification between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland became inevitable. Both British and Irish Parliaments passed the Acts of Union of 1800, which created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Then, by 1801, at the age of 62, he officially became GEORGE III, first KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

Check my post on a brief HISTORY OF IRELAND until the Acts of Union of 1800!

Between 1801 and 1806, the French Republic and later the French Empire tried to conquer the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg/Hanover and the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.

During the War years, parts of Brunswick-Lüneburg/Hanover and Saxe-Lauenburg were under French control several times. However, by 1806, he ended up losing it all to the Kingdom of Prussia.

Because of the growing concerns over the French Empire, in August 1806, Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor decided to abdicate and dissolve the Holy Roman Empire, in order to prevent the throne from being stolen by Napoléon I, French Emperor.

Following the dissolution, his title of Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire was abolished. At that time, he was 68 years old.

Nevertheless, by the end of 1806 the French were able to restore control over his former territories, and between 1807 and 1810 Emperor Napoléon I slowly annexed them into the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia, a client state of the French Empire ruled by Jérôme, King of Westphalia, the youngest brother of the French Emperor.

As his mental health had deteriorated over the years, when he was 72 years old, a Regency was finally established in 1811. With his eldest son George, Prince of Wales, being declared Regent by the Regency Act known as Care of King During his Illness.

His former territories were liberated from the French Empire and restored to him in 1813. But due to his illness, his youngest son Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge, was designated as Military Governor of Hanover.

Though, it was only with the defeat of Emperor Napoleón I in the War of the Sixth Coalition and the subsequent exile of the deposed Emperor in 1814, that the Congress of Vienna recognized his possessions and created the Kingdom of Hanover.

And, by October 1814, he became GEORG III, first KING OF HANOVER, at the age of 76. But because of his illness, he never became aware of his new status.

Soon afterwards, his representatives negotiated the territories of Saxe-Lauenburg with the Kingdom of Prussia in exchange for the territories of East Frisia.

Also, because of his mental instability, he was incapable of comprehending that in 1817, his family underwent a succession crisis following the death of his only legitimate grandchild, Princess Charlotte of Wales. And, that his wife had died in 1818, leaving him a widower at the age of 80.

After 59 years on the throne, the longest a British Monarch had ever reigned, the first King of the United Kingdom died in 1820 at Windsor Castle, in the English town of Windsor in the United Kingdom. He was 81 years old.

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GEORGE and his wife, CHARLOTTE, had fifteen children.

George IV, King of the United Kingdom - married to Princess Caroline of Brunswick;

Frederick, Duke of York and Albany - married to Princess Friederike of Prussia;

William IV, King of the United Kingdom - married to Princess Adelheid of Saxe-Meiningen;

Charlotte, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom - married to Friedrich I, King of Württemberg;

Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn - married to Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld;

Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom - unmarried;

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom - married to Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg;

Ernst August I, King of Hanover - married to Duchess Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz;

Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex - married first to Lady Augusta Murray, and second to Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness;

Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge - married to Princess Auguste of Hesse-Kassel;

Princess Mary of the United Kingdom - married to William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh;

Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom - unmarried;

Prince Octavius of Great Britain - died at age four;

Prince Alfred of Great Britain - died at age twenty-three months; and

Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom - unmarried.

pictured above is a portrait of the King of Great Britain with his wife and his six oldest children (from left to right, Prince George, Prince Frederick, Prince William, Prince Edward, himself, Princess Charlotte, Princess Augusta, and his wife), painted by Johann Zoffany in 1770

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COLLECTION: Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland - #DotMoI

George III, 1st King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was a Monarch of Ireland.

He was the King of Ireland between 1760 and 1801.

[historywithlaura]

ADOLPHUS

1st Duke of Cambridge

(born 1774 - died 1850)

pictured above is a portrait of the Duke of Cambridge, painted by Sir William Beechey in the 1800s

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ADOLPHUS FREDERICK was born in 1774, at the Queen's House in London, the capital of the Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of his father. He was the seventh son of George III, King of Great Britain, and Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Check my post about his FATHER!

In the British Isles, his father was also the King of Ireland. While in the Holy Roman Empire, his father was known as Georg III, the sovereign Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Hanover, a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

Therefore, he was a member of the British branch of the HOUSE OF HANOVER, a cadet branch of the House of Welf.

Even though the state of his family in the Holy Roman Empire was officially called Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg it was known after its capital as the Electorate of Hanover.

So, besides being a PRINCE OF GREAT BRITAIN and a PRINCE OF IRELAND from birth, he was also entitled to use the hereditary title of his Royal House. Like every other male member of the House of Welf, he was a dynastic DUKE OF BRUNSWICK-LÜNEBURG. However, it is not certain whether he ever used this title.

Even though his family was officially British, his father tried to preserve the family heritage and sent him to complete his education in the Electorate. In 1786, at the age of 12, he entered the University of Göttingen with two of his older brothers.

pictured above is a portrait of the Prince of Great Britain with five of his older siblings (from left to right, Prince Ernest Augustus, Prince Augustus Frederick, Princess Augusta Sophia, Princess Mary, himself, and Princess Elizabeth), painted by Benjamin West in 1776

Around 1789-91, he joined the Hanoverian Army to initiate his military training. Shortly after, he was sent to the battlefield in the War of the First Coalition against the French Republic.

During his youth, the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain were two independent states ruled in a personal union by his father.

This changed around 1800/01, when his father became George III, first King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. While he, at the age of 26, became a PRINCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

Because he acted as a mediator for British affairs during the War of the Second Coalition, his father rewarded him in November 1801, creating him as DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, EARL OF TIPPERARY, and BARON CULLODEN. At that time, he had already celebrated his 27th birthday.

Over the next years, he and his brothers continued to fight against the French Republic and the French Empire in the other Coalition Wars that followed.

After many years of war and occupation by the French, the territories of his family in the Holy Roman Empire were definitely lost in 1806 to the Kingdom of Prussia.

Meanwhile, by August 1806, Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor, decided to abdicate and dissolve the Holy Roman Empire. So, his father also lost the title of Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

The former territories of his family returned to French control over the next months and by the end of 1806 Napoleón I, Emperor of the French began to annexe them to the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia, a puppet French Kingdom ruled by Jérôme, King of Westphalia.

Because of the mental instability of his father, in 1811, the British Parliament established a Regency, and his eldest brother George, Prince of Wales, was declared Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

With the defeat of Emperor Napoleón I in the War of the Sixth Coalition, his family restored control over the territories. And, in 1813, he was appointed MILITARY GOVERNOR OF HANOVER at the age of 39, probably by his brother, the Regent.

However, after the fall and exile of the former French Emperor, the territorial divisions of Europe had to be negotiated in the Congress of Vienna. In which, in 1814, the possessions of his family were recognised and elevated to the Kingdom of Hanover.

Then, his father, although mentally ill, became Georg III, first King of Hanover. While he, at the age of 40, became a PRINCE OF HANOVER.

He continued on his post of Military Governor until 1816, when he was appointed GOVERNOR GENERAL OF HANOVER, also likely by the Regent. He was 42 years old at the time.

Following the sudden death of his niece Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1817, a succession crisis arose in his family. His niece had been the second-in-line to the British Crown, the only child of his eldest brother, and the only living legitimate grandchild of his father.

The crisis was aggravated because even though some of his brothers were married, his other nephews and nieces rather had died young or were not considered legitimate. While his sisters were too old to even try to have children of their own. Therefore, he and his brothers, who were still single, rushed to get married and try to produce heirs to the throne.

By mid-1818, he married PRINCESS AUGUSTE WILHELMINE LOUISE OF HESSE-KASSEL. His wife was the youngest daughter of Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Karoline of Nassau-Usingen. He was 44 years old, while his wife was nearly 21. Because of his posting in Hanover, he lived there with his wife, where he had three children with her.

Check a list of his children at the end of this post!

Both his parents died less than two years apart. His mother died in December 1818, when he had not yet turned 45, and his father died in 1820, a month before his 47th birthday.

Following the death of his father, his brother, the Regent, succeeded as George IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and as Georg IV, King of Hanover.

Regarding the line of succession, by that time, there were already three new legitimate heirs, including his son Prince George of Cambridge.

Though because King George IV was not able to produce any other legitimate children over the next decade, in 1830 both Crowns were inherited by his second eldest brother, who succeeded as William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and as Wilhelm IV, King of Hanover.

And, in 1831, two days before his 57th birthday, the new King appointed him as VICEROY OF HANOVER.

On the death of King William IV in 1837, who did not have surviving children as well, the next in the line of succession was one of his nieces. The only child of another of his brothers, the late Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, succeeded as Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom but was not allowed to inherit Hanover.

Under the Salic Law, women were not allowed to rule in Hanover, so instead of his niece, his eldest living brother succeeded as Ernst August I, King of Hanover.

Thereby, because the Kingdom of Hanover got its own independent Monarch, he was no longer required to act as Viceroy and returned to the United Kingdom with his family.

Aged 76, the Duke of Cambridge died in 1850 at Cambridge House, his residence in London, the capital of the United Kingdom.

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ADOLPHUS and his wife, AUGUSTE, had three children.

George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge - married morganatically to Sarah Fairbrother;

Princess Augusta of Cambridge - married to Friedrich Wilhelm II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; and

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge - married to Franz, 1st Duke of Teck.

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COLLECTION: Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland - #DotMoI

In a span of four generations, Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge, was related to the Monarchs of Ireland through his father.

His father was George III, 1st King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - the King of Ireland between 1760 and 1801.