Ernest Augustus I of Hanover

Ernest Augustus I, King of Hanover (5 June 1771 – 18 November 1851), also known (1799-1837) as the Duke of Cumberland, was the fifth son and eighth child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte.

Early life

Field Marshal His Royal Highness The Prince Ernest Augustus, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh, later His Majesty Ernest Augustus I, King of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was born at Buckingham Palace. He received tutoring at home before proceeding to the University of Göttingen in Germany in summer 1786 along with his younger brothers, Prince Adolphus and Prince Augustus.

Military career

In 1791, he and Prince Adolphus went to Hanover to receive military training under the supervision of Field Marshal von Freytag. He learned cavalry drill and tactics under Captain von Linsinger of the Queen's Light Dragoons. He proved to be an excellent horseman and good shot, despite his short-sightedness. After only two months of training, von Freytag was so impressed by the prince's progress that he gave him a place with the cavalry as captain.

In March 1792, the Army officially commissioned Prince Ernest Augustus with the rank of colonel in the 9th Hanoverian Light Dragoons. The following year, he gained the command of the 1st Brigade of Cavalry. He spent the War of the First Coalition (1793–1797) stationed in Tourcoing, the headquarters of his elder brother the Duke of York, then commander of the combined British, Hanoverian, and Austrian forces. He lost his left eye during the Battle of Tourcoing (Battle of Cayghem) (18 May 1794).

Prince Ernest returned to Britain for the first time since 1786 to convalesce. He returned to the continent the following year, and commanded the rear guard of the British army's retreat through the Netherlands. He gained promotion to lieutenant general in 1798 and to general in 1803. On 29 March 1813, he became a field marshal. He served as honorary colonel of the 15th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) from 1801 to 1827 and as colonel of the Royal Horse Guards from 1827 to 1830.

Duke of Cumberland

On 29 August 1799, George III created Prince Ernest Augustus Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh. The Duke of Cumberland became a Knight of the Garter in 1786. His elder brother, the Prince Regent (later King George IV), created him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1815. In 1831, the Duke of Cumberland became a Knight of St. Patrick. Finally, upon his ascension to the Hanoverian throne in 1837, he became Sovereign and Grand Master of the Royal Guelphic Order.

Marriage

On 29 May 1815, the Duke of Cumberland married his first cousin, Frederica (2 March 1778 – 29 June 1841), the daughter of Karl V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was also the former wife of Prince Ludwig of Prussia and the widow of Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Solms-Braunfels. Queen Charlotte opposed the marriage, even though her future daughter-in-law was also her niece. From her first two marriages, the new Duchess of Cumberland had eight children; from her marriage to Ernest, she had a further three children, only one of whom survived — a son, who would become George V of Hanover.

Politics & Popularity

The Duke of Cumberland had a reputation as one of the least pleasant of the sons of George III. Politically an arch-reactionary, he opposed the 1828 Catholic Emancipation Bill proposed by the government of the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington. Rumor strongly suggested that he had murdered his valet, and other horrific stories told about him included rumors of incestuous relations with Princess Sophia, his sister. He is also alleged to have made an indecent assault on Sarah, Lady Lyndhurst, the wife of Lord Lyndhurst, three-time Lord Chancellor. There is, however, little to no historical evidence that any of these events were more than rumor.

King of Hanover

On 20 June 1837, King William IV died, and his niece, Victoria, the only child of the late Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III, succeeded as queen of the United Kingdom. However, Salic Law still prevailed in Hanover, meaning that William's legitimate male heir, the Duke of Cumberland, became King of Hanover. Hanover and Great Britain thereby gained diverging royal houses.

Ernest Augustus is supposed to have asked the advice of the Duke of Wellington as to what course he should take after Victoria's accession, with Wellington supposedly saying "Go, before you are hooted out." One measure of the new King of Hanover's unpopularity in Britain is the fact that "To Hanover" tokens, showing the new King slinking off to his new domain on one side, and with Victoria on the other, were soon struck, and continued to be struck (mostly as game pieces) for most of the rest of the century.^* When he returned for a visit to England in 1850, though, memories had faded (or at least fears of him succeeding to the throne had, in view of Victoria's fecundity) and he was received warmly.

Ernest Augustus was also the Heir Presumptive of his niece from 20 June 1837 until 21 November, 1840. On that date came the birth of his grand-niece Princess Victoria, Princess Royal who became Heir Presumptive in his place.

King Ernest Augustus proved a reasonably popular ruler, revoking the relatively liberal constitution instituted by his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, who served as regent in Hanover under William IV, on technical grounds, and ruling as an absolute monarch. He eventually granted a constitution after the revolutions of 1848. Both he and Queen Frederica lie buried in a mausoleum in the Herrenhausen Gardens.

A large equestrian statue of King Ernest Augustus may be found in a square named after him in front of the railway station in Hanover, inscribed with his name and the words (in German) "To the father of the land from his loyal people". It is a popular meeting place.

Titles, Style, Honours & Arms

Titles

1771-1799: His Royal Highness The Prince Ernest Augustus
1799-1837: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
1837-1851: His Majesty King Ernst August I of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
George V of Hanover	May 27 1819	June 12 1878	married 1843, HH Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg; had issue

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