George V of Hanover
| George V | |
|---|---|
| King of Hanover; Duke of Cumberland | |
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| Reign | 18 November 1851 – 20 September 1866 |
| Predecessor | Ernest Augustus I of Hanover |
| Consort | Marie of Saxe-Altenburg |
| Issue | |
| Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover Princess Frederica of Hanover Princess Marie of Hanover |
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| Full name | |
| George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus German: Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August |
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| Titles | |
| HM King George V of Hanover HRH The Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale HRH The Crown Prince of Hanover HRH Prince George of Cumberland |
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| Royal house | House of Hanover |
| Father | Ernest Augustus I of Hanover |
| Mother | Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
| Born | 27 May 1819 Berlin, Prussia |
| Died | 12 June 1878 (aged 59) Paris, France |
| Burial | St George's Chapel, Windsor |
George V (George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus; 27 May 1819 – 12 June 1878) was the last king of Hanover and a member of the German branch of the House of Hanover. In the peerage of Great Britain, he was Duke of Cumberland.
George V was a first cousin of Queen Victoria, and inherited the Hanoverian realm, which could not pass to her in 1837, because of Salic law, via his father, who became its king instead. He was the last sovereign ruler of the kingdom of Hanover, losing the territory by annexation to Prussia in 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War, thereby leading to the birth of the modern nation state of Germany.
Early life
His Royal Highness Prince George of Cumberland was born in Berlin, the only son of Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, himself fifth son of George III, and his wife, Princess Frederica, Duchess of Cumberland. He spent his childhood in Berlin and in Britain, losing the sight of one eye during a childhood illness, and the other in an accident in 1833. His uncle, William IV, created him a Knight of the Garter on 15 August 1835.
Crown Prince
Upon the death of William IV and the ascension of Queen Victoria to the British throne, the 123-year personal union of the British and Hanoverian thrones ended due to the operation of Salic Law in the German states. The Duke of Cumberland succeeded to the Hanoverian throne as Ernst August I, and Prince George became the Crown Prince of Hanover. As a legitimate male-line descendant of George III, he remained a member of the British Royal Family, and second in line to the British throne, until the birth of Queen Victoria's first child, Victoria, Princess Royal, in 1840. Being totally blind, there were doubts as to whether the Crown Prince was qualified to succeed to the government of Hanover; but his father decided that he should do so.
Marriage
George married, on 18 February 1843, at Hanover, Her Highness Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, the eldest daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, by his wife, Duchess Amelia of Württemburg.
King of Hanover
The Crown Prince succeeded his father as the King of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, as well as Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Earl of Armagh, in the Peerage of Ireland, on 18 November 1851, assuming the style George V.
From his father and from his maternal uncle, Prince Charles Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, one of the most influential men at the Prussian court, George had learned to take a very high and autocratic view of royal authority. During his 15-year reign, he engaged in frequent disputes with the Hanoverian parliament. Having supported Austria in the Diet of the German Confederation in June 1866, he refused, contrary to the wishes of his parliament, to assent to the Prussian demand that Hanover should observe an unarmed neutrality during the Austro-Prussian War. As a result, the Prussian army occupied Hanover and the Hanoverian army surrendered on 29 June 1866, the king and royal family having fled to Austria. The Prussian government formally annexed Hanover on 20 September, but the deposed king never renounced his rights to the throne nor acknowledged Prussia's actions. From exile in Gmunden, Austria, he appealed in vain for the European great powers to intervene on behalf of Hanover.
Later life
King George died in Paris in June 1878. He was buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Legacy
The king supported industrial development – in 1856 the "Georgs-Marien-Bergwerks- und Hüttenverein" was founded which was named after him and his wife. The company erected an iron and steel works which gave the city Georgsmarienhütte its name.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles
- 27 May 1819 – 20 June 1837: His Royal Highness Prince George of Cumberland
- 20 June 1837 – 18 November 1851: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Hanover
- 18 November 1851 – 12 June 1878: His Majesty The King of Hanover, Duke of Cumberland
Ancestors
| George V of Hanover | Father: Ernest Augustus I of Hanover |
Paternal Grandfather: George III of the United Kingdom |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Frederick, Prince of Wales |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen |
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| Mother: Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
Maternal Grandfather: Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Friederike Caroline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: |
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland | 21 September 1845 | 14 November 1923 | married Princess Thyra of Denmark; had issue |
| Princess Frederica of Hanover | 9 January 1848 | 16 October 1926 | married Alfons, Baron von Pawel-Rammingen; had issue |
| Princess Marie of Hanover | 3 December 1849 | 4 June 1904 |
External links
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George V of Hanover
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 27 May 1819 Died: 12 June 1878 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ernest Augustus I |
King of Hanover 1851–1866 |
Succeeded by Kingdom abolished |
| — TITULAR — King of Hanover 1866–1878 |
Succeeded by Ernest Augustus II |
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| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by Ernest Augustus I |
Duke of Cumberland and
Teviotdale 2nd Duke 1851–1878 |
Succeeded by Prince Ernest Augustus |
| Dukes of Cumberland |
|---|
| Prince Rupert of
the Rhine (1644-1682) · George of Denmark (1683-1708) · Prince William Augustus
(1726-1765) · Prince Henry Frederick (1766-1790) · Ernest Augustus I of
Hanover (1771-1851) · George V
of Hanover (1851-1878) · Ernest Augustus II of Hanover (1878- |
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