Princess Augusta of Cambridge
Princess Augusta | |||||
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Grand Duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | |||||
Tenure | 6 September 1860 – 30 May 1904 | ||||
Born | 19 July 1822 Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover | ||||
Died | 5 December 1916 Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Strelitz | (aged 94)||||
Burial | , Mecklenburg-Strelitz | ||||
Spouse | |||||
Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | |||||
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House | Hanover | ||||
Father | Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge | ||||
Mother | Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel | ||||
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Princess Augusta of Cambridge (Augusta Caroline Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Sophia Louise; 19 July 1822 – 5 December 1916) was a member of the
Early life
Augusta was born Princess Augusta of Cambridge on 19 July 1822 at the Palace of Montbrillant,
- Princess Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (her maternal grandmother)
- Princess Luise Henriette of Nassau-Usingen(her maternal great-aunt)
- Princess Louise, Countess von der Decken (her maternal aunt)
The rest were not present, possibly being represented by proxies:
- The Duke of York and Albany (her paternal uncle)
- all of her five living paternal aunts (by blood)
- The Electress of Hesse (wife of Wilhelm II, her mother's cousin)
- The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz(her maternal aunt)
- her maternal uncle)[1]
The Princess spent her earlier years in Hanover, where her father was the
Princess Augusta had one brother,
With her mother, she was part of the royal party at the 1838 coronation of Queen Victoria.[2]
Marriage
On 28 June 1843, Princess Augusta married her first cousin,
The marriage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess produced two children:
- Duke Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born and died in London, 13 January 1845)
- Duke Adolphus Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz(22 July 1848 – 11 June 1914); succeeded his father as Adolphus Frederick V in May 1904.
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—thereafter known as Mecklenburg House—at 16 Buckingham Gate, London, 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
The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was particularly close to her niece, the future Queen Mary. However, old age prevented her from attending the
Following the outbreak of
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
At the time of her death, she was 94 years, 4 months and 16 days old, making her the longest-lived British princess by blood, until Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria, surpassed her in 1977. Her will was sealed and in 1920 her estate was valued at £57,282 (or £1.7 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
- 19 July 1822 – 28 June 1843: Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta of Cambridge[7]
- 28 June 1843 – 6 September 1860: Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz[8]
- 6 September 1860 – 30 May 1904: Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz[9]
- 30 May 1904 – 5 December 1916: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz[4]
Honours
- United Kingdom:[10]
- Royal Family Order of George IV
- Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, 1878
- German Empire:[10]
- Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Division
- Ladies Merit Cross
- Grand Ducal Hessian Order of the Golden Lion, 1 July 1889[11]
- Russian Empire: Dame Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine[10]
Ancestors
Ancestors of Princess Augusta of Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ^ "Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings". Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
- ^ "Key to Mr Leslie's picture of Queen Victoria receiving the Holy Sacrament at her Coronation". National Portrait Gallery.
- New York Times. 19 September 1914. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ a b "Aged Princess's Death". The Argus. 7 December 1916. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The London Gazette, Issue 32166, Page 12442". 17 December 1920.
- ^ Evans, Rob; Pegg, David (18 July 2022). "£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "The London Gazette, Issue 19824, Page 293". 13 February 1840.
- ^ "The London Gazette, Issue 21454, Page 1878". 2 July 1853.
- ^ "The London Gazette, Issue 26947, Page 1592". 14 March 1898.
- ^ a b c Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar, 1908, p. 7
- ^ "Goldener Löwen-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 2 – via hathitrust.org