by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge was a male-line grandson of King George III, a first cousin of Queen Victoria, and the maternal uncle of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, the wife of King George V. In addition, he made a marriage in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. George was born on March 26, 1819, at Cambridge House in the Kingdom of Hanover where his father was serving as Viceroy of Hanover. He was the only son and the eldest of the three children of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge and Augusta of Hesse-Kassel.

Prince George was born amidst the race for an heir to the British throne in the third generation. The death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in childbirth in 1817 left King George III without any legitimate grandchildren. Prince George was born two months before the eventual heir, Alexandrina Victoria (Queen Victoria), who was ahead of her cousin in the line of succession by being the child of King George III’s fourth son. George was the son of King George III’s seventh son. The baby prince was christened George William Frederick Charles on May 11, 1819, at Cambridge House in Hanover by Reverend John Stanford, chaplain to his father.

His godparents were:

• The Prince Regent (his paternal uncle, later King George IV)
• Prince William, Duke of Clarence (his paternal uncle, later King William IV)
• Charlotte, Princess Royal, Dowager Queen of Württemberg (his paternal aunt)

George had two younger sisters:

• Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1822 – 1916), married Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue
• Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck (1833 – 1897), married Francis, Duke of Teck, had issue, including Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, wife of King George V of the United Kingdom

George received his early education from tutors in Hanover and then, beginning in 1830, from Reverand J. R. Wood, a canon of Worcester Cathedral. Like his father, George had a career in the army, starting as a colonel in the Hanoverian army when he was 18 years old, and then as a brevet colonel in the British army. George saw action in the Crimean War (1853-1856) and participated in the Battle of the Alma, Battle of Balaclava, Battle of Inkerman, and at the Siege of Sevastopol.

He held the following positions in the British army:

• 1842–1852: Colonel of the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers)
• 1852–1861: Colonel of the Scots Fusilier Guards
• 1856–1895: Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
• 1861–1904: Colonel of the Grenadier Guards
• 1856: Promoted to General
• 1862: Promoted to Field Marshal

As Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, George took a traditional view and was very reluctant to changing promotions from being based on social position to being based on merit. The armies of Germany and France were prodigious in the amount of military research and writing they produced, while the British army did very little. As a result, the British Army was not progressing and advancing as were other European armies. George did institute some reforms: the establishment of the Staff College and the Royal Military School of Music, the promotion of a plan of annual military maneuvers, and a restriction of corporal punishment. Following the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Prime Minister William Gladstone and Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell called for major reforms in the British Army. A number of reforms were instituted, many of which George was against. This disagreement occurred over a long period and George resisted pressure to resign for several years until Queen Victoria advised him to resign his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1895.

In 1840, George met an actress, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, known as Louisa, born in 1816 in London, and the daughter of a servant. In 1832, despite her parents’ opposition, Louisa started an acting career at the Drury Lane Theater in London and developed a reputation as a pantomime actress. She also appeared in plays at the Lyceum, Royal Opera House, and Covent Garden Theatre, all in London. In 1839, Louisa gave birth to a son Charles Manners Sutton Fairbrother, who was probably the son of Charles Manners-Sutton, 2nd Viscount Canterbury.

It is known that Louisa and George first met on February 10, 1840, the wedding day of his first cousin Queen Victoria, because George recorded the meeting in his diary. George had been considered by Victoria’s predecessor King William IV as a potential husband for his niece Victoria but instead Victoria married another first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1841, Louisa gave birth to a daughter Louisa Catherine, It is thought that Louisa Catherine was the daughter of an army officer Thomas Bernard of Castle Bernard, in Kinnitty, County Offaly, Ireland. However, Louisa Catherine used the name FitzGeorge and was present at George’s death. Louisa definitely gave birth to two sons of George in 1843 and 1847. While pregnant with her second son, Louisa married George on January 8, 1847, at St. John Clerkenwell in London.

In 1772, the Royal Marriages Act was passed because two brothers of King George III had made marriages that the King considered very unsuitable. The Royal Marriages Act said that no descendant of King George II, other than the issue of princesses who had married into foreign families, could marry without the consent of the sovereign. In addition, any member of the Royal Family over the age of 25 who had been refused the sovereign’s consent could marry one year after giving notice to the Privy Council of their intention to marry unless both houses of Parliament declared their disapproval. Any marriage in contravention of the act was void, and any children would be illegitimate and not have any succession rights. A member of the Royal Family who contracted such a marriage would not lose his or her place in the succession. George and Louisa’s marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, any children born of the marriage would be considered illegitimate, and Louisa would be unable to be styled and titled as befitted the wife of George. Louisa was first known as Mrs. Fairbrother and later as Mrs. FitzGeorge. Her existence was ignored by Queen Victoria. In 1850, George’s father died and George became the 2nd Duke of Cambridge.

George and Louisa’s three sons:

• Colonel George FitzGeorge (1843 – 1907), married Rosa Baring, had issue
• Rear-Admiral Sir Adolphus FitzGeorge (1846 – 1922), married (1) Sofia Holden, had issue; (2) Margaret Watson, no issue
• Colonel Sir Augustus FitzGeorge (1847 – 1933), unmarried, no issue

George provided Louisa and her children with a house at 6 Queen Street in the Mayfair section of London, close to where George lived at Gloucester House in the Piccadilly section of London. However, George continued to have affairs. Louisa died at her Queen Street home on January 12, 1890, at the age of 73. She was buried in the mausoleum George had built for them at Kensal Green Cemetery in Kensal Green, London, England.

George’s health began to fail as he grew older. He had hearing loss and his strength and physical stamina diminished. George attended the funeral of his cousin Queen Victoria in 1901 but had to ride in a carriage instead of riding on a horse as he wished. On March 17, 1904, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge died at his home, Gloucester House, aged 84. After a funeral service at Westminster Abbey on March 22, 1904, George was buried next to Louisa in the mausoleum at Kensal Green Cemetery. Because George’s sons were illegitimate, his title Duke of Cambridge became extinct. 107 years later, the title Duke of Cambridge was created for Prince William, his father’s great great great great grandson, on the occasion of William’s wedding.

Works Cited
“Prince George, Duke of Cambridge.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 21 July 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
“Sarah Louisa Fairbrother.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 28 May 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

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