Princess Augusta of Cambridge

Princess Augusta
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Tenure 6 September 1860 – 30 May 1904
Born 19 July 1822
Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover
Died 5 December 1916(1916-12-05) (aged 94)
Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Burial Mirow, Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Spouse Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg
Issue Frederick William, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Full name
Augusta Caroline Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Sophia Louise
House Hanover
Father Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
Mother Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel
British Royalty
House of Hanover
Quarterly, I and IV Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or; II Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules; III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent; overall an escutcheon tierced per pale and per chevron, I Gules two lions passant guardant Or, II Or a semy of hearts Gules a lion rampant Azure, III Gules a horse courant Argent, the whole inescutcheon surmounted by crown
George III
George IV
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
William IV
Charlotte, Queen of Württemberg
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
Princess Augusta Sophia
Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Princess Sophia
Prince Octavius
Prince Alfred
Princess Amelia
Grandchildren
Charlotte, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Charlotte of Clarence
Princess Elizabeth of Clarence
Victoria
George V of Hanover
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck
Great-grandchildren
Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover
Princess Frederica, Baroness von Pawel-Rammingen
Princess Marie of Hanover
Great-great-grandchildren
Marie Louise, Margravine of Baden
Prince George William of Hanover
Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Princess Olga of Hanover
Prince Christian of Hanover
Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick
Great-great-great-grandchildren
Ernest Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick
Prince George William of Hanover
Frederica, Queen of the Hellenes

Princess Augusta of Cambridge (19 July 1822 – 5 December 1916) was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George III. She married into the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and became the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Early life

Princess Augusta was born on 19 July 1822 at the Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel. The young princess was christened at the same palace on 16 August 1822, by Rev Edward Curtis Kemp (Chaplain to the British Ambassador to the Court of Berlin, The Rt. Hon. Sir George Rose). Three of her godparents were present at the christening:

The rest were not present, possibly being represented by proxies:

The Princess spent her earlier years in Hanover, where her father was the viceroy on behalf of his brother, George IV.

Princess Augusta had one brother, Prince George, later 2nd Duke of Cambridge; and one sister, Princess Mary Adelaide, later Duchess of Teck. As such, Princess Augusta was a first cousin of Queen Victoria and aunt to Mary of Teck, later consort of George V.

Marriage

On 28 June 1843, Princess Augusta married her first cousin, Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, at Buckingham Palace, London. (The two were also second cousins on their fathers' side.) Upon marriage, Augusta became HRH The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and, on 6 September 1860, HRH The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz following the death of her father-in-law.

The marriage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess produced two children:

Later life

Although she spent most of her adult life in Germany, the Grand Duchess Augusta retained close personal ties to the British Royal Family. She frequently visited her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at her Kensington Palace apartments.

After her mother's death in 1889, the Grand Duchess acquired a house in London's Buckingham Gate area, where she spent a portion of the year until advanced old age made it impossible for her to travel abroad.

In making preparations for the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1901, the Duke of Norfolk consulted her on matters of etiquette and attire. This was due to her presence at the Coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide seventy-one years earlier. She was nine years old at the time and kissed the Queen's hand. She was also able to provide details of the Coronation of Queen Victoria, (she was then sixteen).

The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was particularly close to her niece, the future Queen Mary. However, old age prevented her from attending the Coronation of King George V (who was her first cousin twice removed; i.e., George III was her grandfather, whereas he was the great-great-grandfather of George V) and Queen Mary at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911.

Following the outbreak of World War I, the British Government suspended the pension she had been receiving as a member of the British Royal Family.[2] During the war, the Swedish Embassy passed letters from the Queen to her aunt, who still lived in Germany.

As an elderly lady, she was known for being cantankerous. She was also known as being quite shrewd and intelligent. In his book, Queen Mary (London, 1959), the Queen's official biography, James Pope-Hennessy reports that the Queen's Aunt Augusta was not fond of the new science of photography, fearing it would intrude deeply into the private lives of Royal personages; at pp. 101-105 he offers a masterly sketch of this formidable lady.

The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz died on 5 December 1916 in Neustrelitz and was buried in Mirow. As the longest-lived grandchild of George III, she was the last link to the British branch of the House of Hanover.

At the time of her death, she was 94 years, 4 months and 16 days old, making her the longest-lived British Princess of the Blood Royal until Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria, broke the record in 1977, aged over 97 years old.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

As the male-line granddaughter of a King of Hanover, Princess Augusta also bore the titles of Princess of Hanover and Duchess of Brunswick and Lunenburg

Ancestors

References

Princess Augusta of Cambridge
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 19 July 1822 Died: 5 December 1916
German royalty
Preceded by
Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel
Grand Duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
18601904
Succeeded by
Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt
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