Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel

Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, later Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, (July 25, 1797April 6, 1889) was the consort of Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge, the tenth born child and seventh son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. The longest-lived daughter-in-law of George III, she was the maternal grandmother of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V of the United Kingdom.

Early life

Her Highness Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, the third daughter of Friedrich (III), Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, lord of Rumpenheim, and his wife Caroline Polyxena, daughter of Prince Karl Willem of Nassau-Usingen, was born at Rumpenheim Castle, Cassel, Germany. Her father, Landgrave Friedrich, was the youngest son of Princess Mary (February 22, 1723January 14, 1772), the third daughter of George II of Great Britain. In 1803, her uncle assumed the title of Elector of Hesse-Cassel — whereby the whole extended Hesse-Cassel dynasty gained an upward notch in hierarchy, including young Augusta.

Marriage

On 7 May at Cassel and then again on June 1, 1818, Princess Augusta married her second cousin, the Duke of Cambridge, when she was 21 and he was 43. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:

From 1818 until the ascension of Queen Victoria and the separation of the British and Hanoverian crowns in 1837, the Duchess of Cambridge lived in Hanover, where the Duke served as viceroy on behalf of his brothers, King George IV and King William IV. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned to Great Britain, where they lived at Cambridge Cottage, Kew, and later at St. James' Palace. The Duchess of Cambridge survived her husband by thirty-nine years, dying at the age of almost ninety-two.

Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms

Titles

  • 1797-1818: Her Highness Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Kassel
  • 1818-1850: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge
  • 1850-1889: Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge

Issue

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had three children:

Name Birth Death Notes
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge 26 March 1819 17 March 1904 married 1847, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother; had issue
Princess Augusta of Cambridge 19 July 1822 4 December 1916 married 1843, Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz; had issue
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge 27 November 1833 27 October 1897 married 1866, Francis, Duke of Teck; had issue

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