Augusta of Cambridge – An affectionate creature (Part one)

On 19 July 1822, Princess Augusta of Cambridge was born as the second child and eldest daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, who was the seventh son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel.

Her parents had married on 7 May 1818 in Kassel and then again at Buckingham Palace on 1 June 1818. Following the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in childbirth in 1817, several sons of King George III, including her own father, had rushed to contract marriages in order to produce a legitimate heir to the throne. It would be her uncle and aunt, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who won the race with the birth of the future Queen Victoria in 1819. Augusta, as well as her elder brother, George (born 1819), and her younger sister, Mary Adelaide (born 1833), was born in Hanover, as her father served as Viceroy of the Kingdom of Hanover on behalf of his brother.

Augusta and her siblings spent as much time as possible with their parents, and the family was a familiar sight as they took their daily promenade. Augusta received her education in Hanover, but her brother, George, was sent to Windsor at the age of 11 to receive an English education. Augusta spent most of her youth in Germany, but she did regularly visit England. King William IV, who succeeded his brother King George IV in 1830, was very fond of the Cambridges, and they usually spent a few weeks with them at Windsor Castle whenever they visited.

King William IV died on 20 June 1837 and was succeeded in the United Kingdom by his niece, Victoria. However, the Kingdom of Hanover could not be inherited by a woman and passed to his younger brother, the Duke of Cumberland, who became King Ernest Augustus. Augusta and her family departed for England on 1 September 1837. The family settled at Cambridge House in Piccadilly in London, which Augusta’s father had bought in 1830. The following year, the Duke and Duchess, as well as Augusta and Mary Adelaide, were present at Queen Victoria’s coronation in Westminster Abbey. After this, the family moved into Cambridge Cottage at Kew. Augusta and Mary Adelaide had rooms in the attic. These had sloping roofs and were so small that they had to hang their hoops outside their doors on special pegs.¹

Queen Victoria was irked by the arrival of the Cambridge family, but her aunts were delighted. Queen Victoria wrote, “She was altogether jealous of my position in society, as being very popular.”² In turn, Augusta would later recall an event during the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign. She wrote about “a scene I had with the Queen at a small ball in the gallery during the Tsarevitch Alexander’s stay in London, when he was more attentive to me than to her.”³

The Duchess described Augusta at this time as an “affectionate creature.” Augusta was nicknamed “Gussy” in the family.⁴ Her younger sister looked up to her and used to say, “I wonder if I shall ever be as clever. Augusta never gave Mama any trouble.”⁵

On 28 June 1843, Augusta married Frederick William, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. According to a court report, Augusta had met Frederick William while visiting relatives in Rome. The 24-year-old Hereditary Grand Duke had just finished his studies in law and history in Bonn and had been on a grand tour of Italy and Switzerland. Rome had been the last stop of the trip.

The wedding took place in the Chapel Royal at Buckingham Palace at nine o’clock in the evening. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were present, along with the King of Hanover, the King and Queen of the Belgians, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Mary Adelaide and Prince George, the Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester, and several other distinguished guests.⁶ She was given away by her uncle, the King of Hanover, who was the male head of the family, rather than her father.

Princess Mary Adelaide later described her sister’s wedding dress in a letter. She wrote, “Mama thinks you are so much interested in Augusta that you will like to know her bridal dress, and Miss Howard has promised to help me describe it. She wore Brussels-lace over white satin, trimmed with orange flower and myrtle; the train was white, shot with silver, also trimmed with Brussels-lace and flowers; she had a wreath of the same flowers on the front of her hair, and behind that, three superb tiaras given her by Mama, Fritz, and the Queen Dowager, one of them fastened her veil of Brussels lace at the back of her head; her necklace was of diamonds, also given by the Queen Dowager. So, you see, she was splendidly dressed, and I assure you she looked most lovely, and was the admiration of everybody. You who know her will not be surprised to hear that she had innumerable presents.”⁷

There was a bit of a struggle over precedence between the King of Hanover and Prince Albert when it came to signing the marriage register. Queen Victoria was the first to sign, and she quickly “nipped around the table like lightning” to hand the pen to Prince Albert instead of the King of Hanover, who had been ready to take the pen.⁸ The newlyweds departed for Neustrelitz shortly after their wedding, and Augusta wrote to her sister that she was very well and happy.

Part two coming soon.

1. A memoir of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck; based on her private diaries and letters by Clement Kinloch Cooke p.21
2. Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy p.14
3. The People’s Princess by S.W. Jackman p.44
4. Princesses by Flora Fraser p.364
5. A memoir of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck; based on her private diaries and letters by Clement Kinloch Cooke p.39
6. A memoir of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck; based on her private diaries and letters by Clement Kinloch Cooke p.47
7. A memoir of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck; based on her private diaries and letters by Clement Kinloch Cooke p.57
8. Princesses by Flora Fraser p.383