| Prince Ernest Augustus | |
|---|---|
| Crown Prince of Hanover | |
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| Predecessor | George V of Hanover |
| Spouse | Princess Thyra of Denmark |
| Issue | |
| Marie Louise, Princess Maximilian of Baden Prince George William Princess Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Olga Prince Christian Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick |
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| Full name | |
| Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick | |
| Titles | |
| HRH The Crown Prince of Hanover HRH The Duke of Cumberland HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover |
|
| Royal house | House of Hanover |
| Father | George V of Hanover |
| Mother | Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg |
| Born | 21 September 1845 Hanover |
| Died | 14 November 1923 (aged 78) Gmunden |
Crown Prince Ernst August II of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, (Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick; 21 September 1845–14 November 1923), was the eldest child and only son of George V of Hanover and his wife, Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. Ernst August had the misfortune of being deprived of the thrones of Hanover upon its annexation by Prussia in 1866 and later the Duchy of Brunswick in 1884. Although he was the senior male-line great grandson of George III, the Duke of Cumberland was deprived of his British peerages and honours for having sided with Germany in World War I.
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Early life
His Royal Highness Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was born at Hanover during the reign of his paternal grandfather, Ernst August I. He became the Crown Prince of Hanover upon his father's ascension as George V in November 1851. William I of Prussia and his minister-president Otto von Bismarck deposed George V for having sided with the defeated Austria in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. During that war, the Crown Prince saw action at the Battle of Langensalza.
Exile
After the war, the exiled Hanoverian royal family took up residence in Hietzing, near Vienna, but spent a good deal of time in Paris. George V never abandoned his claim to the Hanoverian throne and maintained the Guelphic Legion at his own expense. The former Crown Prince travelled during this early period of exile. While visiting his second cousin Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) at Sandringham in 1875, he met Princess Thyra of Denmark (29 September 1853-26 February 1933), the youngest daughter of King Christian IX and a sister of the Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra).
Succession
When King George V died in Paris on 12 June 1878, Prince Ernst August succeeded him as Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale in the Peerage of Great Britain and Earl of Armagh in the Peerage of Ireland. Queen Victoria created him a Knight of the Garter on 1 August 1878.
Marriage
On 22 December 1878, he married Princess Thyra of Denmark at Copenhagen.
Duchy of Brunswick
Queen Victoria appointed the Duke of Cumberland a major general in the British Army in 1886 and promoted him to lieutenant general in 1892 and general in 1898. Although he was a British peer and a prince of Great Britain and Ireland, he continued to consider himself an exiled German monarch, making his home in Gmunden, Upper Austria. He refused to disclaim his succession rights to Hanover. In 1884, the reigning Duke Wilhelm of Brunswick, a distant cousin, died and the Duke of Cumberland was the heir to the Duchy. Bismarck, however, managed to exclude him from his cousin's duchy, as he had from his father's throne, declaring the throne empty and putting the Duchy under Prussian administration.
Reconciliation
The Duke of Cumberland was partially reconciled with the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1913, when his surviving son, Prince Ernst August, married the only daughter of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, the grandson of the Prussian king who had deposed his father. He renounced his succession rights to the Brunswick duchy (which had belonged to the Guelph dynasty since 1235) on 24 October 1913. In exchange, the younger Ernst August became the reigning Duke of Brunswick on 1 November. William II created the elder Ernst August a Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle. The younger Duke Ernst August abdicated his throne along with the other German princes in November 1918.
War
The outbreak of World War I created a breach between the British Royal Family and its Hanoverian cousins. On 13 May 1915, King George V of Great Britain ordered the removal of the Duke of Cumberland from the Roll of the Order of the Garter. Under the terms of the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, on 28 March 1919 his name was removed from the roll of Peers of Great Britain and of Ireland by Order of the King in Council for "bearing arms against Great Britain."
Later life
Prince Ernst August, the former Crown Prince of Hanover and former Duke of Cumberland, died of a stroke on his estate at Gmunden in November 1923.
Ancestry
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 21 September 1845–18 November 1851: His Royal Highness Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover and Cumberland
- 18 November 1851–12 June 1878: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Hanover
- 12 June 1878–28 March 1919: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
- 28 March 1919–14 November 1923: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Hanover
Issue
The Duke and Duchess of Cumberland had six children.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland | 11 October 1879 | 31 January 1948 | married Prince Maximilian of Baden (10 July 1867-6 November 1929); had issue |
| Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover and Cumberland | 28 October 1880 | 20 May 1912 | |
| Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland | 29 September 1882 | 30 August 1963 | married Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (9 April 1882-17 November 1945) |
| Princess Olga of Hanover | 11 July 1884 | 21 September 1958 | |
| Prince Christian of Hanover and Cumberland | 4 July 1885 | 3 September 1901 | |
| Prince Ernst August (III) of Hanover and Cumberland | 17 November 1887 | 30 January 1953 | married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia (13 September 1892-11 December 1980) |
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Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 21 September 1845 Died: 14 November 1923 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George V |
— TITULAR — King of Hanover 1878–1923 |
Succeeded by Ernest Augustus III |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by George V |
Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale 3rd Duke 1878–1919 |
Succeeded by Suspended |
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| 1st Generation | |
| 2nd Generation | |
| 3rd Generation | |
| 4th Generation | |
| 5th Generation | |
| 6th Generation |
Edward VII of the United Kingdom · Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha · Arthur, Duke of Connaught · Leopold, Duke of Albany · Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover |
| 7th Generation |
Albert, Duke of Clarence · George V of the United Kingdom · John of Wales · Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha · George of Hanover · Arthur of Connaught · Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha · Christian of Hanover · Ernest, Duke of Brunswick |
| 8th Generation |
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom · George VI of the United Kingdom · Henry, Duke of Gloucester · George, Duke of Kent · The Prince John · John Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha · Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha · Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover · Alastair, Duke of Connaught · George of Hanover |
| 9th Generation | |
| 10th Generation | |
| 11th Generation | |
