George V of Hanover

George was born on 27 May 1819 in Berlin, the only son of Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Ernest Augustus was the fifth son of George III of the United Kingdom and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Prince George's mother was Princess Frederica, the daughter of Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt. George was seventh in the line of succession to the British throne at birth and later became the son of the heir presumptive.

Prince George was baptised on 8 July 1819 at a hotel in Berlin where his parents were staying, by the Rev. Henry Thomas Austen (brother of author Jane Austen). His godparents were the then Prince Regent George IV of the United Kingdom (represented by the Duke of Cumberland), King Frederick William III of Prussia, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, the Crown Prince of Prussia, Prince William of Prussia, Prince Frederick of Prussia, Prince Henry of Prussia, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, the Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duke Charles of Mecklenburg, Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Queen of the Netherlands Wilhelmine of Prussia, the Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom, the Hereditary Princess of Hesse-Homburg Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, the Princess Mary (Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh), Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom, Princess Alexandrine of Prussia, the Electoral Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, Princess Frederica of Prussia, Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau, Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg (Princess William of Prussia), Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt (Princess Ferdinand of Prussia), Princess Louisa of Prussia, and Princess Radziwill.[1]

George spent his childhood in Berlin and in Great Britain. He lost the sight of one eye following a childhood illness in 1828,[2] and in the other eye following an accident in 1833.[3] His father had hoped that the young prince might marry his cousin Queen Victoria, who was older by three days, thus keeping the British and Hanoverian thrones united, but nothing came of the plan.[4]

Upon the death of King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria to the British throne, the 123-year personal union of the British and Hanoverian thrones ended because Hanover's semi-Salic law prevented a woman from ascending its throne. The Duke of Cumberland succeeded to the Hanoverian throne as Ernest Augustus, and Prince George became the Crown Prince of Hanover. As a legitimate descendant of George III in the male line, 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. Since he was totally blind, there were doubts as to whether the Crown Prince was qualified to succeed as king of Hanover, but his father decided that he should do so.[5]

George V of Hanover, his wife Marie of Saxe-Altenburg and their children Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, Princess Frederica of Hanover, and Princess Marie of Hanover

Carte de visite made by Nadar in Paris, 1874

George married, on 18 February 1843, at Hanover, Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, the eldest daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, by his wife, Duchess Amelia of Württemberg.

Battle of Langensalza (1866) Hanoverian Medal, awarded by George V to his troops fighting in that battle. Obverse

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.[6]

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.[5] During his 15-year reign, he engaged in frequent disputes with the Hanoverian Landtag (parliament).

Unlike his father, the King had a deep aversion to Prussia, which bordered on the Kingdom of Hanover in the west and east. George was generally supportive of the Austrian Empire in the Diet of the German Confederation. He also refused Prussia permission to build the railway line from the Prussian garrison town of Minden to the Prussian naval port in Wilhelmshaven.

Against the decision of his parliament, he refused to agree to the Prussian demand for neutrality and thus a break with the German Confederation in the upcoming German War, but joined the other loyal central states.[7] As the Austro-Prussian War started, the Prussian government sent a dispatch on 15 June 1866 demanding that Hanover enter into an alliance with them and Hanoverian troops submit to their authority or face war.[8] Despite previously having concluded that Hanover could not win an armed confrontation with Prussia, George remained protective of his throne and refused the ultimatum.[9] Contrary to the wishes of the parliament, Hanover joined the Austrian camp in the war. As a result, the 20,600-strong Hanoverian Army surrendered on 29 June 1866 following the Battle of Langensalza, although tactically successful but hopelessly outnumbered in soldiers. George V had joined his army headquarters in Göttingen. The Kingdom of Hanover was then occupied by Prussian troops. Austria lost the war and several of its Central German allies were annexed by Prussia, such as the Electorate of Hesse and the Duchy of Nassau. George firmly rejected an abdication in favour of his son Ernest Augustus, as suggested by Queen Marie in order to be able to possibly save the existence of the Kingdom.

The Prussian government formally annexed Hanover on 20 September 1866, despite the King of Prussia, William I, being a first cousin of King George V of Hanover; their mothers were sisters. The deposed King never renounced his rights to the defunct throne or acknowledged Prussia's actions. He went into exile in Austria. While the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I successfully campaigned for the continuation of the Kingdom of Saxony at the Prague peace negotiations, he did nothing to prevent the annexation of Hanover.[10] The Prussian interest in the land bridge between the two parts of Prussia seemed to leave him little hope.

Queen Marie with their children stayed at Marienburg Castle (Hanover) for a year, but then followed her husband. They initially lived in Vienna, where George bought a house that is now the Czech Embassy,[11] but in 1868 bought a summer villa in Gmunden, Austria, which they soon used as their main residence.

From exile he appealed in vain for the European great powers to intervene on behalf of Hanover. From 1866 to 1870, George V maintained the Guelphic Legion partially at his own expense, hoping that a Franco-Prussian war would lead to the reconquest of his kingdom.[9] In Paris he had the magazine Situation published, which daily attacked the new order of things in Germany in the most violent terms and fueled France's hatred of a Germany that was becoming more and more Prussian. Much to his disappointment, Napoleon III lost the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

All of this ultimately led to Prussia suspending financial compensation that had already been promised and confiscating his private assets. The Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck had the sequestered assets, the so-called Guelph Fund, managed by a special Prussian commission in Hanover and used the proceeds "to combat Guelph activities".[12]

While in exile, he was appointed an honorary full general in the British army in 1876.[13]

British Royalty
House of Hanover
George III
Children George IV Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany William IV Charlotte, Princess Royal and Queen of Württemberg Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn Princess Augusta Sophia Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg Ernest Augustus I of Hanover Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh Princess Sophia Prince Octavius Prince Alfred Princess Amelia Grandchildren Charlotte, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Charlotte of Clarence Princess Elizabeth of Clarence Victoria Princess Frederica of Cumberland George V of Hanover Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck Great-grandchildren Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover Frederica, Baroness Alfons of Pawel-Rammingen Princess Marie of Hanover Great-great-grandchildren Marie Louise, Margravine of Baden George William, Hereditary Prince of Hanover Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Olga of Hanover and Cumberland Prince Christian of Hanover and Cumberland Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Great-great-great-grandchildren Ernest Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick Prince George William of Hanover and Cumberland Frederica, Queen of the Hellenes

George V died at his residence in the Rue de Presbourg, Paris, on 12 June 1878. He had come there to seek financial and political support for a re-establishment of his legion. After a funeral service in the Lutheran Church at the Rue Chaucat,[13] his body was removed to England and buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.[6][14][15]

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.[16]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georg V of Hannover.

• Die Welfen – George V (with portrait) (in German)
• Portraits of George V, King of Hanover at the National Portrait Gallery, London

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