Children of George III: Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge

His Majesty’s seventh son, Adolphus Frederick (notice all the name recycling; by this time naming the kids must have been quite a chore) was born on February 24, 1774, at Kew, almost exactly a year after his brother Augustus...and like that brother, he would be a bit of a mold-breaker...but I’m getting ahead of myself.

As the third son in a sequence of three boys born within three years, Adolphus was lumped with his older brothers Ernest and Augustus and a pair of tutors into one household at Kew Green, which contained a whole set of houses for the royal children, for just about all of his childhood.

This lumping continued when the three brothers were sent to the University of Göttingen in 1786, when Adolphus was a lad of twelve. He seemed to thrive at the university and actually applied himself to his studies; being of such tender years, he couldn’t apply himself instead to the rowdier pastimes of university students like drinking to excess, dueling, or womanizing.

But by 1790 his college days were past, and Adolphus, like his older brothers, had entered the army. He saw active service in Holland, including being badly wounded and temporarily captured by the French in 1793 (though he was rescued by a timely sortie.) He returned to active military service until the Hanoverian forces withdrew in 1795, and returned with them to Hanover, where he lived for the next several years, still serving with honor and distinction in the army and generally charming everyone with his excellent manners and real interest in the arts and sciences (he was, it seems, an excellent violinist.) Napoleon’s advance across the continent forced his unwilling return to England—he would far rather have stayed to fight—after Hanover decided not to resist the approaching French forces

Adolphus (who had received his ducal title of Cambridge in 1801) lived quietly in London for the next decade or so. He spent much time with his parents and siblings and, unlike his brothers, lived within his means, proving to the world that not all of the king’s sons were “damned millstones” around the country’s neck (as the Duke of Wellington would at a later date describe them.) It is perhaps an indication of his character that even after Adolphus heartily promoted his eldest brother’s marriage to Caroline of Brunswick—an utterly disastrous marriage if there ever was one—the brothers remained the best of friends.

By 1813, with Napoleon’s fortunes on the wane, Adolphus was begged to return to Hanover and became its Governor-General, expecting to settle down and once more be of service to his family...until the death of Princess Charlotte a few years later kicked off the race for the king’s sons to produce a legitimate heir to the throne. Within two weeks of Charlotte’s death, Adolphus had proposed to and been accepted by Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, all of twenty years old to Adolphus’s forty-three...but as it turned out, theirs was a very happy union. They duly produced a son in 1819, but the birth of children to Adolphus’s older brothers Edward and Ernest meant that the boy would likely inherit neither the throne of Great Britain nor Hanover. Two daughters followed over the years—Princess Augusta, who would be a close friend to her slightly older cousin Victoria, and Princess Mary, who would herself one day produce a queen for England.

Adolphus continued to serve Hanover until the death of his brother William in 1837 meant that the throne of Hanover would go to big brother Ernest, as Victoria, being female, could not inherit it. So he retired at last to England and spent the rest of his life doting upon his wife and continuing to do his duty for his family and country. Though his increasing eccentricities (he liked to sing along at concerts, make loud comments about sermons in church, and always wore a distinctive blond wig) made him a bit of a joke, they were harmless; and he showed his continued good sense by keeping out of politics (though he couldn’t resist trying to encourage a match between his son George and Victoria—neither of who were interested.) Family relations remained strained at times between him and Victoria (and Albert) because of a few small, foolish squabbles about nothing very important; eventually though, their relationship improved, and when Adolphus died in 1850, he was sincerely mourned by all.

The Children of George III: Ernest

It’s been a while since we’ve met another one of George III’s numerous brood. As it happens, we’ve already met this particular son. But I’m getting ahead of myself...

The king’s fifth son and eighth child, Ernest Augustus, was born on June 5, 1771 at Buckingham House. His childhood seems to have been uneventful; it was spent growing up at Kew with his numerous siblings and sharing a household with his two younger brothers, Augustus and Adolphus. Ernest was a handsome, boisterous boy; unlike most of his brothers, he would never become corpulent, but remained lean his whole life.

At fifteen and still with his two younger brothers in tow, Ernest was sent to study at the University of Göttingen in Hanover, and received his earliest military training there as well. By 1792 he was commissioned as a cavalry colonel, being an excellent horseman and shot, and went on to fight against the French in several battles over the next few years, receiving a saber wound to his head (that would eventually result in a loss of vision in one eye) and other wounds. Though he would continue to serve in the military for another twenty years, returning to the continent and eventually attaining the rank of field marshal, his battle days were past.

However, his interest in politics was just beginning. When his father awarded him the title of Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale in 1799, he took his seat in the House of Lords and actually got involved. A dedicated Tory unlike his brothers Prinny and the Duke of York, he voted against bills for Catholic Emancipation and other liberal legislation and became a leader of the conservative end of his party. Also unlike his brothers, he was circumspect in his personal habits, which may have backfired on him as he acquired a reputation as a sinister figure who preferred to enjoy his vices privately. Rumors likely circulated by political opponents whirled around him, reaching their apex in the scandal around the death of his valet, Joseph Sellis.

The army and politics kept him sufficiently busy until 1813, when he became smitten by a cousin, Princess Frederica of Meckenburg-Strelitz. Though she was already married, the marriage was not a success and discussion of a divorce was underway when the princess’s husband died unexpectedly—a fact which became more grist for the rumor mill after Ernest and she married in 1815. Since Queen Charlotte did not approve of the marriage and would not receive her daughter-in-law, the couple eventually moved to Germany and had a son.

Over the next decade and a half, lurid rumors of murder and assault continued to circulate around Ernest, many of them probably politically motivated as he continued to involve himself in politics, being especially active in questions involving Ireland during the 1820s. The issue of the line of succession to the throne was an especially fraught one; after Prinny’s death in 1830, Ernest was next in line for the throne after young princess Victoria, and rumors that her life was in danger from her wicked uncle were rife even after she came to throne; only the births of her first children put those rumors to rest.

On the death of his older brother William IV Ernest became the king of Hanover, since Victoria as a female could not inherit the Hanoverian throne. He left England within the month to take up residence in his new kingdom, where he ruled according to his highly conservative bent (though he did eventually approve a more liberal constitution for Hanover.) He wasn’t very popular, but wasn’t unpopular either, and was appreciated for the fact that he kept Hanover out of the reaching grasp of Prussian expansionism. He died in 1851, at the age of 80.