Prince Adolphus Frederick

Born in February 1774 at Buckingham House, Adolphus was the youngest son of King George III and Queen Charlotte to survive childhood. Adolphus was tutored at home until summer 1786, when he was sent to the University of Göttingen in Germany. Adolphus was made honorary Colonel-in-Chief of the Hanoverian Guard Foot Regiment between 1789 and 1803, and after his military training started he had a long military career.

He married his second cousin, Augusta, the third daughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse. 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 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 as King of Hanover saw the Duke of Cambridge’s period as viceroy end, and he returned to Britain.