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Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick

2025-10-31T16:55:43Z

2A01:CB18:C0C:3300:B159:3BA7:6736:373E: /* Abdication and later life */ Fixed grammar

{{short description|Duke of Brunswick from 1913 to 1918}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Ernest Augustus
| image = Ernstaugusthannover.jpg
| caption = Ernest Augustus, {{circa|1921–1922}}
| succession = [[Duke of Brunswick]]
| reign = 1 November 1913 – {{nowrap|8 November 1918}}
| predecessor = [[William VIII, Duke of Brunswick|William VIII]]
| successor = ''Monarchy abolished''
| succession1 = [[House of Hanover|Head of the House of Hanover]]
| predecessor1 = [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover]]
| successor1 = [[Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (born 1914)|Prince Ernest Augustus]]
| reign1 = 14 November 1923 – {{nowrap|30 January 1953}}
| reign-type1 = Pretence
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia]]|24 May 1913}}
| issue = {{plainlist|
*[[Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (born 1914)|Ernest Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick]]
*[[Prince George William of Hanover|Prince George William]]
*[[Frederica, Queen of the Hellenes]]
*Prince Christian Oscar
*Prince Welf Henry}}
| full name = Ernest Augustus Christian George<br />''{{langx|de|Ernst August Christian Georg}}''
| house = [[House of Hanover|Hanover]]
| father = [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover]]
| mother = [[Princess Thyra of Denmark]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|11|17|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Penzing (Vienna)|Penzing]], [[Vienna]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1953|1|30|1887|11|17|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Marienburg Castle (Hanover)|Marienburg Castle]], [[Hanover]], [[Lower Saxony]], [[West Germany]]
| burial_date = 1 February 1953
| burial_place = Berggarten Mausoleum, [[Hanover]], [[Lower Saxony]], [[West Germany]]
| signature = Signature of Ernest Augustus Duke of Brunswick 1948.svg
}}
'''Ernest Augustus''' (Ernest Augustus Christian George; {{langx|de|Ernst August Christian Georg}}; 17 November 1887 – 30 January 1953) was [[Duke of Brunswick]] from 2 November 1913 to 8 November 1918. He was a grandson of [[George V of Hanover]], thus a Prince of Hanover and a [[Prince of the United Kingdom]]. He was also a maternal grandson of [[Christian IX of Denmark]] and the son-in-law of German Emperor [[Wilhelm II]]. The [[Prussia]]ns had deposed King George from the Hanoverian throne in 1866, but his marriage ended the decades-long feud between the Prussians and the Hanoverians.

==Early life==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2018}}
Ernest Augustus was born at [[Penzing (Vienna)|Penzing]] near [[Vienna]], the sixth and youngest child of [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover|former Crown Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover]] and his wife, [[Princess Thyra of Denmark]]. His great-grandfather, [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]], the fifth son of [[George III]] of the United Kingdom, became king of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] in 1837 because [[Salic Law]] barred [[Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom]], from inheriting the Hanoverian throne.

His father succeeded as pretender to the Hanoverian throne and as [[Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale]] in the peerage of [[Great Britain]] in 1878. The younger Ernest Augustus became heir apparent to the dukedom of Cumberland and to the Hanoverian claim upon the deaths of his two elder brothers, George and Christian. Through his mother, he was a first cousin of [[Christian X of Denmark]], [[Haakon VII of Norway]], [[George V]] of the United Kingdom, [[Constantine I of Greece]] and [[Nicholas II of Russia]].

In 1884, his paternal great-granduncle the [[William, Duke of Brunswick|reigning Duke of Brunswick]] (a male line descendant of [[Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg|Henry]], the older brother of [[William the Younger, Duke of Brunswick|William]], his male line ancestor) died. Since the younger branch of the [[House of Welf]] ended with him, under house rules it would have passed to the Duke of Cumberland, who immediately claimed the throne. However, the Imperial Chancellor, [[Otto von Bismarck]], managed to get the Federal Council (Bundesrat) of the German Empire to rule that the Duke of Cumberland would disturb the peace of the empire if he ascended the throne of Brunswick. Bismarck did this because the duke had never formally renounced his claims to the kingdom of Hanover, which had been annexed to [[Prussia]] in 1866 following the end of the [[Austro-Prussian War]] (Hanover had sided with losing [[Austria]]). Instead, [[Prince Albrecht of Prussia]] became the regent of Brunswick. After Prince Albrecht's death in 1906, the duke offered that he and his elder son, Prince George, would renounce their claims to the Duchy of Brunswick in order to allow Ernest Augustus, his only other surviving son, to take possession of the Duchy, but this option was rejected by the Bundesrat and the regency continued, this time under [[Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]], who had previously acted as regent for his nephew in Mecklenburg.

==Marriage and accession to the duchy of Brunswick==
[[File:Ernstbrunswick1887-2.jpeg|thumbnail|Photograph]]
When Ernest Augustus's older brother George died in an automobile accident on 20 May 1912, the [[German Emperor]], [[Wilhelm II]], sent a message of condolence to the Duke of Cumberland. In response to this friendly gesture, the Duke sent his only surviving son, Ernest Augustus, to Berlin to thank the Emperor for his message. Ernest Augustus and Wilhelm II were third cousins through George III of the United Kingdom. In Berlin, Ernest Augustus met and fell in love with the emperor's only daughter, [[Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia]].

On 24 May 1913, Ernest Augustus and Victoria Louise, third cousins once removed through descent from George III's sons [[King Ernest Augustus of Hanover]] and [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn|Edward, Duke of Kent]], were married to each other.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Wedding In Berlin 1913 |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAC0YOTI9CX8ZF55TP81MACG0SC-ROYAL-WEDDING-IN-BERLIN/ |access-date=27 September 2021 |website=British Pathe News}}</ref> This marriage ended the decades-long rift between the Houses of [[Hohenzollern]] and [[House of Hanover|Hanover]].{{sfn|Riotte|2011|p=305}} The wedding of Prince Ernest Augustus and Princess Victoria Louise was also the last great gathering of [[Europe]]an sovereigns before the outbreak of the [[Great War]], as recalled by [[Constantine II of Greece]], a grandson of the married couple, in 2003.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-P54cv5v70|people=Constantine II; Others|title=A Royal Family, Episode 6: Uncrowned Marriages|date=2003|work=Documentary via [[YouTube]]|access-date=17 March 2025}}</ref> In addition to the German Emperor and Empress and the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, King [[George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] of the United Kingdom and [[Tsar Nicholas II]] attended. Upon the announcement of his betrothal to Princess Victoria Louise in February 1913, Ernest Augustus swore allegiance to the German Empire and accepted a commission as a cavalry captain and company commander in the [[Zieten–Hussars]], a Prussian Army regiment in which his grandfather ([[George V of Hanover|George V]]) and great-grandfather (Ernest Augustus) had been [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|colonel]]s. Two imprisoned British spies, [[Bertrand Stewart|Captain Stewart]] and [[Captain Trench]], were pardoned and released by the German Emperor as a wedding present to the United Kingdom.<ref name="Emmerson p. 13">{{harvnb|Emmerson|2013|p=13}}</ref> George V of the United Kingdom had given consent to the marriage on 17 March 1913, as required by the [[Royal Marriages Act]].<ref>''[[The London Gazette]]'', Issue 28700, [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28700/supplements/2053 p. 2053]</ref>
[[File:VictoriaLouiseUniform.jpg|thumb|Victoria Louise in 1909, as Honorary Colonel of the II. Prussian Life Hussars Regiment]]

[[File:Braunschweig, Niedersachsen - Schloss (Zeno Ansichtskarten).jpg|thumb|[[Brunswick Palace]]]]
On 27 October 1913, the Duke of Cumberland formally renounced his claims to the duchy of Brunswick in favor of his surviving son. The following day, the Federal Council voted to allow Ernest Augustus to become the reigning Duke of Brunswick. The new Duke of Brunswick formally took possession of his duchy on 1 November. He received a promotion to colonel in the Prussian [[Zieten Hussars]]. The new duke and duchess of Brunswick moved into [[Brunswick Palace]] in the capital of [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]] and began their family with the birth of their eldest son, [[Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1914–1987)|Prince Ernest Augustus]], less than a year after their wedding.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

During the First World War, Ernest Augustus rose to the rank of [[major-general]].

==Abdication and later life==
In 1917, the British dukedom of Ernest Augustus's father, and his own title as a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, were removed by the [[Titles Deprivation Act 1917]], which took effect in 1919, as a result of the Duke's service in the German army during the war. On 8 November 1918, Ernest Augustus was forced to abdicate his throne, as were all the other German kings, grand dukes, dukes, and princes during the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919]].<ref>{{cite web |date=28 March 1919 |title=At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 28th day of March, 1919. |url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31255/pages/4000 |access-date=28 November 2011 |work=[[The London Gazette]] |publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office |pages=Issue 31255, Page 4000 |quote="Their Lordships do humbly report to Your Majesty that the persons hereinafter named have adhered to Your Majesty's enemies during the present war: —His Royal Highness Leopold Charles, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow; His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Earl of Armagh; His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus (Duke of Brunswick), Prince of Great Britain and Ireland; Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote."}}</ref> Thus, when his father died in 1923, Ernest Augustus did not succeed to his father's title of Duke of Cumberland. For the next thirty years, Ernest Augustus remained as head of the House of Hanover, living in retirement on his various estates, mainly [[Blankenburg Castle (Harz)|Blankenburg Castle]] in Germany and [[Cumberland Castle]] in Gmunden, Austria. He also owned [[Marienburg Castle (Hanover)|Marienburg Castle]] near Hanover, although rarely ever living there until 1945.
<gallery class="center">
Schloss Blankenburg (Harz) 003.jpg|[[Blankenburg Castle (Harz)|Blankenburg Castle]] near Brunswick
Schloß Cumberland.jpg|Cumberland Castle, [[Gmunden]], Austria
Panoramaaufnahme Schloss Marienburg cropped.jpg|[[Marienburg Castle (Hanover)|Marienburg Castle]] near Hanover
</gallery>

While Ernest Augustus never officially joined the [[Nazi Party]], he donated funds and was close to several leaders.{{sfn|Petropoulos|2006|p=99}} As a former British prince, Ernest Augustus, as well as Victoria Louise, desired a ''rapprochement'' between the United Kingdom and Germany. Ostensibly desiring to pursue an alliance with the UK, in the mid-1930s, [[Adolf Hitler]] took advantage of their sentiment by asking the couple to arrange a match between their daughter Princess Frederica and the [[Edward VIII|Prince of Wales]]. The Duke and Duchess of Brunswick refused, believing that the age difference was too great.{{sfn|Petropoulos|2006|pp=159–62}} After his abdication in 1936, Edward VIII and his wife visited "the Cumberlands" at Cumberland Castle in Gmunden, Austria.<ref>Victoria Louise, autobiography ''Life as Daughter of the Emperor''</ref> In 1938 Princess Frederica married Prince [[Paul of Greece]], brother and heir-presumptive of King [[George II of Greece]].

By the time the Second World War ended in Europe in April 1945, he and his family were staying at Blankenburg.{{sfn|MacDonogh|2007|p=75}} A few days before Blankenburg was handed over to the [[Red Army]] by British and U.S. forces in late 1945, to become part of [[East Germany]], the family was able to move to [[Marienburg Castle (Hanover)|Marienburg Castle]], at the time located in the [[British Occupation Zone]], with all their furniture, transported by British Army trucks, on the order of {{nowrap|King [[George VI]]}}.{{sfn|Viktoria Luise|1977|pp=155}}

[[File:Mausoleum im Berggarten (Herrenhäuser Gärten).jpg|thumb|Mausoleum at [[Herrenhausen Gardens]] in Hanover]]
Ernest Augustus lived to see his daughter Frederica become a queen consort in 1947 when her husband Paul became King of the Hellenes. Ernest Augustus died at Marienburg Castle in 1953. He was interred, later to be joined by the remains of his wife, in front of the Royal Mausoleum in the Berggarten at [[Herrenhausen Gardens]] in Hanover, which is the burial chapel of King Ernest Augustus of Hanover and his wife.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herzogin Viktoria Luise – Munzinger Biographie |url=https://www.munzinger.de/search/go/document.jsp?id=00000002477 |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=munzinger.de}}</ref>

==Issue==
The Duke and Duchess of Brunswick had five children:<ref>By [[Warrant (law)|Royal Warrant]] of 17 June 1914, George V granted the eldest son and any children thereafter born to Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, then reigning Duke of Brunswick, the title of Prince (or Princess) of Great Britain and Ireland with the style Highness. The provisions of this Royal Warrant ceased with George V's [[letters patent]] of 30 November 1917, and Hanoverian princes and princesses born after this date were no longer allowed the title Prince of Great Britain and Ireland with the style Highness. However, in 1931, the former Duke of Brunswick, as head of the House of Hanover and the senior male-line descendant of George III, issued a decree stating that the members of the former Hanoverian royal family would continue to bear the title of Prince (or Princess) of Great Britain and Ireland with the style of Royal Highness. This decree had no legal effect in the United Kingdom, although no British sovereigns since have attempted to stop this practice on the part of the former Hanoverian royal family. The members of the House of Hanover continued to seek the British sovereign's approval when they married, in accordance with the [[Royal Marriages Act 1772]]. In 1999, prior to the wedding of [[Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954)|Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover]] (b. 1954) to [[Princess Caroline of Monaco]], the couple received official consent from the reigning British monarch, [[Elizabeth II]]. The 1772 act was repealed on 26 March 2015 in accordance with the [[Perth Agreement]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}</ref>

* [[Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (born 1914)|Ernest Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick]] (18 March 1914 – 9 December 1987); married (1) 1951, Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (19 December 1925 – 6 February 1980), and had issue; and (2) 1981, [[Countess Monika zu Solms-Laubach]] (8 August 1929 – 4 June 2015).
* [[Prince George William of Hanover|Prince George William]] (25 March 1915 – 8 January 2006); married 1946 [[Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark]] (26 June 1914 – 24 November 2001), and had issue.
* [[Frederica of Hanover|Princess Frederica]] (18 April 1917 – 6 February 1981); married 1938 [[Paul of Greece]] (14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964), and had issue. Via Frederica, the Duke of Brunswick is the great-grandfather of [[Felipe VI of Spain]]. {{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}
* Prince Christian Oscar Ernest Augustus William Victor George Henry of Hanover (1 September 1919 – 10 December 1981); married 1963 (divorced 1976) Mireille Dutry (b. 10 January 1946), and had issue.
** Princess Caroline Louise (3 May 1965)
** Princess Mireille (3 June 1971)
* Prince Guelph Henry Ernest Augustus George Christian Berthold Frederick William Louis Ferdinand of Hanover (11 March 1923 – 12 July 1997); married 1960 [[Princess Alexandra of Ysenburg and Büdingen]] (23 October 1937 – 1 June 2015), and had no issue.

==Honours==
* [[File:D-HAN-B-Order Henry Lion BAR.png|50px]] [[Order of Henry the Lion|Grand Cross of Henry the Lion]], ''ca. 1903''; Sovereign Grand Master, ''1 November 1913'' ([[Duchy of Brunswick]])
* [[File:D-HAN-B-Order_Saint_George_BAR.png|50px]] [[Order of St. George (Hanover)|Knight of St. George]], ''29 August 1903'';<ref name = "Ruvigny">Ruvigny, Melville Henry Massue, 9th Marquis of. ''Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage'', London: Harrison & Sons, 1914. p. 56</ref> Sovereign Grand Master, ''14 November 1923'' ([[House of Hanover|Hanoverian Royal Family]])
* [[File:UK Royal Guelphic Order ribbon.svg|50px]] Grand Cross of the [[Royal Guelphic Order]], ''ca. 1903''; Sovereign Grand Master, ''14 November 1923'' ([[House of Hanover|Hanoverian Royal Family]])
* [[File:D-HAN-B-Order-Ernest-August_BAR.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the [[Order of Ernst August]], ''ca. 1903''; Sovereign Grand Master, ''14 November 1923'' ([[House of Hanover|Hanoverian Royal Family]])
* [[File:Order_of_the_Elephant_Ribbon_bar.svg|50px]] [[Knight of the Elephant]], ''15 November 1905'' ([[Denmark]])<ref name = "Ruvigny"/><ref name="DanskStatskalendar">{{cite book |year=1943 |orig-year=1st pub.:1801 |editor1-last=Bille-Hansen |editor1-first=A. C. |editor2-last=Holck |editor2-first=Harald |title=Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1943 |trans-title=State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1943 |url=https://dis-danmark.dk/bibliotek/911548.pdf |series=Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender |language=da |location=Copenhagen |publisher=J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri |page=81 |access-date=16 September 2019 |via=[[:da:DIS Danmark]]}}</ref>
* [[File:Order_of_the_Elephant_Ribbon_bar.svg|50px]] [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Denmark|Commemorative Medal for the Golden Wedding of King Christian IX and Queen Louise]] (Denmark)<ref name = "DanskStatskalendar"/>
* [[File:DEN_Medal_of_Merit_ribbon.svg|50px]] [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Denmark|King Christian IX Centenary Medal]] (Denmark)<ref name = "DanskStatskalendar"/>
* [[File:Bavaria012.png|50px]] [[Order of St. Hubert|Knight of St. Hubert]], ''1909'' ([[Kingdom of Bavaria]])<ref name = "Ruvigny"/>
* [[File:Order of the Black Eagle - Ribbon bar.svg|50px]] [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''13 February 1913'' ([[German Empire]])<ref name = "Ruvigny"/>
* [[File:Ord.Aquilarossa-GC.png|50px]] [[Order of the Red Eagle|Grand Cross of the Red Eagle]], ''ca. February 1913'' (German Empire)
* [[File:OOSA.jpg|50px]] [[Order of St. Andrew|Knight of St. Andrew]], ''24 May 1913'' ([[Russian Empire]])<ref name = "Ruvigny"/>
* [[File:Air_Medal_ribbon.svg|50px]] [[War Merit Cross (Brunswick)|War Merit Cross]], 2nd Class, ''ca. 1914'' (Duchy of Brunswick)
* [[File:Air_Medal_ribbon.svg|50px]] [[War Merit Cross (Brunswick)|War Merit Cross]], 1st Class, ''ca. 1914'' (Duchy of Brunswick)
* [[File:D-PRU EK 1914 2 Klasse BAR.svg|50px]] [[Iron Cross]], 2nd Class, ''ca. 1914'' (German Empire)
* [[File:D-PRU EK 1914 2 Klasse BAR.svg|50px]] [[Iron Cross]], 1st Class, ''ca. 1914'' (German Empire)
* [[File:Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary - Ribbon bar Grand-Cross.svg|50px]] [[Order of St. Stephen of Hungary|Grand Cross of St. Stephen]], ''ca. 1914'' ([[Austria-Hungary]])<ref name="HofUndStaat">''Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie'' (1918), "Ritter-Orden: St. Stephan-Orden" [http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1918&page=430&size=45 p. 56]</ref>
* [[File:GRE Order Redeemer 1Class.png|50px]] [[Order of the Redeemer|Grand Cross of the Redeemer]], ''9 January 1938'' ([[Kingdom of Greece]]){{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

==Ancestry==
{{See also|Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark}}

{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1=1. '''Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick'''
|2=2. [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover]]
|3=3. [[Princess Thyra of Denmark]]
|4=4. [[George V of Hanover]]
|5=5. [[Marie of Saxe-Altenburg|Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg]]
|6=6. [[Christian IX of Denmark]]
|7=7. [[Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel]]
|8=8. [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover]]
|9=9. [[Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|10=10. [[Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg]]
|11=11. [[Duchess Amelia of Württemberg]]
|12=12. [[Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]]
|13=13. [[Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel]]
|14=14. [[Prince William of Hesse-Kassel]]
|15=15. [[Princess Charlotte of Denmark]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/HGBraunschweig.htm Succession Laws in the House of Braunschweig], by François R. Velde
* {{cite book |last=Emmerson |first=Charles |title=1913: The World before the Great War |edition=2013 |year=2013 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781448137329 |url=https://archive.org/details/1913worldbeforeg0000emme |url-access=registration}} <small>- Total pages: 544 </small>
* {{cite book |last=MacDonogh |first=Giles |title=After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation |url=https://archive.org/details/afterreichbrutal00macd |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/afterreichbrutal00macd/page/75 75] |quote=victoria louise. |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |year=2007 |isbn=978-0465003389}}
* {{cite book |last=Petropoulos |first=Jonathan |title=Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EuU4PhMmt9kC&q=princess+%22viktoria+luise%22&pg=PA99 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |year=2006 |isbn=0195339274}}
* {{cite book |last=Riotte |first=Torsten |chapter=Hanoverian Exile and Prussian Governance: King George V of Hanover and His Successor in Austria, 1866–1913 |editor1-first=Philip |editor1-last=Mansel |editor2-first=Torsten |editor2-last=Riotte |title=Monarchy and Exile: The Politics of Legitimacy from Marie de Médicis to Wilhelm II |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke, Hampshire |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-230-24905-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Viktoria Luise |first=Herzogin zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg|title=The Kaiser's Daughter: Memoirs of H. R. H. Viktoria Luise, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Princess of Prussia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ5oAAAAMAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=978-0-13-514653-8}}

==External links==
* {{PM20|FID=pe/049822}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Hanover]]|17 November|1887|30 January|1953|[[House of Welf]]}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-vac|last=[[William, Duke of Brunswick|William]]|reason=[[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover|Ernest Augustus]] unrecognized}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Brunswick]]|years=2 November 1913 – 8 November 1918}}
{{s-vac|reason=[[German Revolution]]}}
{{s-pre|}}
{{s-new|loss|reason=[[Free State of Brunswick]]}}
{{s-tul|title=[[Duke of Brunswick]]|years=8 November 1918 – 30 January 1953|reason=[[German Revolution]]}}
{{s-aft|rows=3|after=[[Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (born 1914)]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover]]}}
{{s-tul|title=[[King of Hanover]]|years=14 November 1923 – 30 January 1953|reason=[[Austro-Prussian War]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-tul|title=[[Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale]]|years=14 November 1923 – 30 January 1953|reason=[[Titles Deprivation Act 1917]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Final hereditary rulers in the German Empire}}
{{Pretenders to the Hanover throne since 1866}}
{{British princes}}
{{Hanoverian princes}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest Augustus 03 of Hanover}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:Dukes of Brunswick]]
[[Category:Hanoverian princes]]
[[Category:British princes]]
[[Category:House of Hanover]]
[[Category:People from Penzing (Vienna)]]
[[Category:Nobility from Vienna]]
[[Category:Major generals of Prussia]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary]]
[[Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded]]
[[Category:Burials at Berggarten Mausoleum, Herrenhausen (Hanover)]]
[[Category:German Army generals of World War I]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Vienna]]
[[Category:Pretenders]]
[[Category:Monarchs who abdicated]]

Titles Deprivation Act 1917

2025-10-31T16:49:17Z

2A01:CB18:C0C:3300:B159:3BA7:6736:373E: /* top */Fixed grammar

{{Short description|Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
|short_title = Titles Deprivation Act 1917{{efn|name=st|Section 4(1).}}
|type = Act
|parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
|long_title = An Act to deprive Enemy Peers and Princes of British Dignities and Titles.
|year = 1917
|citation = [[7 & 8 Geo. 5]]. c. 47
|territorial_extent = [[United Kingdom]]
|royal_assent = 8 November 1917<ref name="8 November 1917">{{cite web|title=Westminster, 8 November 1917|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30374/page/11592|work=[[The London Gazette]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|accessdate=14 October 2020|pages=Issue 30374, Page 11592|date=8 November 1917|quote=The Royal Assent given to Titles-Deprivation Act, 1917.}}</ref>
|commencement = 8 November 1917{{efn|The [[Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793]].}}
|repeal_date =
|amendments =
|related_legislation =
|repealing_legislation=
|status = Current
|original_text = http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/7-8/47/contents/enacted
|revised_text = http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/7-8/47/contents
|use_new_UK-LEG = yes
}}

The '''Titles Deprivation Act 1917'''{{efn|name=st}} is an [[Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)|act]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] which provided authority for enemies of the United Kingdom during the [[First World War]] to be deprived of their British [[peerage]]s and royal titles.<ref>{{cite book|publisher=American Bar Association|title=American Bar Association Journal|year=1919|location=Chicago|chapter=Foreign Legislation-Great Britain|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a1QuAAAAIAAJ&dq=Titles+Deprivation+Act&pg=PA289|volume=5 | page= 289}}</ref>

==Background==
The British royal family was closely related to many of the royal and princely families of Germany. In particular, when [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]] became queen in 1837, the [[Kingdom of Hanover]] (formerly the [[Electorate of Hanover]]), which had been in [[personal union]] with the British crown for over a century, passed to her uncle [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|the Duke of Cumberland]], who also retained his British titles and princely rank. Similarly, Queen Victoria married [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]], whose German titles passed eventually to the descendants of their youngest son [[Leopold, Duke of Albany]]. Thus, during World War I, both [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] and [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale]] were British princes and dukes, even while they were also officers in the German Army (as was the latter's son, [[Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick]], who also held British princely rank).

In Parliament, beginning on 18 November 1914, [[J. G. Swift MacNeill|Swift MacNeill]], a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Irish nationalism|Irish Nationalist]] and constitutional scholar and MP for [[South Donegal (UK Parliament constituency)|South Donegal]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Dod|first=Charles Roger|authorlink = Charles Dod|title=Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Vol. 70|year=1902|publisher=Whittaker & Co|location=London|pages=302|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6SgsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA302|quote=Called to the Irish Bar 1876 and joined the Munster circuit, a QC 1893. Elected Prof Constitutional and Criminal Law, Kings Inns, Dublin 1882 and again 1885, and has examined in the Law School of Dublin University. Author of "The Irish Parliament What it was and what it did, "How the Union was Carried" and other works. Has sat for Donegal South since Jan 1887. An Irish Nationalist.}}</ref> condemned the Duke of Albany and the Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale as traitors and demanded to know "what steps will be taken to secure that [they] shall no longer retain United Kingdom peerages and titles and a seat in the [[House of Lords]]."<ref>{{cite web|last=MacNeil|first=Swift|title=ALIEN PEERS|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1914/nov/18/alien-peers#S5CV0068P0_19141118_CWA_25|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|access-date=28 November 2011|pages=HC Deb 18 November 1914 vol 68 cc437-8W|date=18 November 1914|quote=Mr. Swift MacNeill asked the Prime Minister (1) whether he is aware that the Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in the peerage of Great Britain, and Earl of Armagh, in the peerage of Ireland, and a prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, is in command of troops in the German Army, engaged in active hostilities against the Sovereign and people of the British Empire; whether he is aware that the first Duke of Cumberland, the paternal grandfather of the present duke, after his accession to the throne of Hanover, took the oath of allegiance in England, and sat in the House of Lords as a peer of Great Britain by hereditary right; whether the present Duke of Cumberland, who was born a British subject, has since divested himself of his British nationality and, if so, how and when; and whether, having regard to the fact that the present Duke of Cumberland is in arms with the enemies of the British Empire against the Sovereign of that Empire, and guilty of high treason, any and, if so, what steps will be taken to secure that he shall no longer retain British and Irish titles or peerages and a seat in the House of Lords; and (2) whether he is aware that the Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow, in the peerage of the United Kingdom, prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, is in command of troops in the German Army, engaged in active hostilities against the Sovereign and people of the British Empire; whether he is aware that the Duke of Albany was born in England, a subject of the British Crown, and succeeded, at his birth as a posthumous child, to these United Kingdom titles or peerages held by his father, who swore allegiance and sat as a peer of the United Kingdom in the House of Lords by hereditary right; whether the Duke of Albany has ever divested himself of his British nationality and, if so, how or when; and whether, having regard to the fact that the Duke of Albany is in arms with the enemies of the British Empire against the Sovereign of this Empire, and guilty of high treason, any and, if so, what steps will be taken to secure that he shall no longer retain United Kingdom peerages and titles and a seat in the House of Lords?}}</ref> Despite meeting resistance from Prime Ministers [[H. H. Asquith|Asquith]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Assails traitor dukes, M.P. suggests Cumberland and Albany be dropped|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/04/13/104671709.pdf|accessdate=2 December 2011|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 April 1916|quote=Premier Asquith replied that he did not believe the time of the House would be employed profitably with such legislation.}}</ref> and [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Legge|first=Edward|title=The public and private life of Kaiser William II|year=1915|publisher=Eveleigh Nash|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/publicandprivat00legggoog/page/n157 135]|url=https://archive.org/details/publicandprivat00legggoog}}</ref> MacNeil continued his campaign until he lost his seat in the 1918 election.<ref>{{cite web|last=MacNeil|first=Swift|title=Titles Deprivation Act|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1918/jul/31/titles-deprivation-act#S5CV0109P0_19180731_HOC_189|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|access-date=28 November 2011|pages=HC Deb 31 July 1918 vol 109 cc422-4|date=31 July 1918|quote=Mr. S. MacNeill asked the Prime Minister whether any, and, if so, what, steps have been taken under the provisions of the Titles Deprivation Act, 1917 which received the Royal Assent on 8th November, 1917, for the striking out of the Peerage Roll peers who have, during the present War, borne arms against His Majesty or who have adhered to His Majesty's enemies; and, if no steps for this purpose, as provided by Statute, have been taken, will he say what is the reason for the delay, having regard to the construction likely to be placed on the attitude of the Government in this matter?}}</ref> After MacNeill lost his seat,<ref>{{cite book|title=Who was who: a companion to Who's who : containing the biographies of those who died during the period|url=https://archive.org/details/whowaswho191619200lond|url-access=registration|year=1967|publisher=A. & C. Black|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whowaswho191619200lond/page/686 686]|isbn=978-0-7136-0169-5 }}</ref> [[Horatio Bottomley]], Member for [[Hackney South (UK Parliament constituency)|Hackney South]], took up the charge.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bottomley|first=Horatio|title=Dukedoms of Albany and Cumberland|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1919/may/01/dukedoms-of-albany-and-cumberland#S5CV0115P0_19190501_HOC_182|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|access-date=28 November 2011|pages=HC Deb 01 May 1919 vol 115 cc316-7|date=1 May 1919|quote=Mr. Bottomley asked the Prime Minister whether it is proposed to abolish the peerages of which the Dukes of Albany and Cumberland have recently been deprived; and, if not, whether the heirs of such dukes will ultimately become eligible for the assumption of the titles?}}</ref>

On 13 May 1915, [[King George V]] struck the names of seven German and Austrian royals (some of whom had never been British) from the roll of Knights of the [[Order of the Garter|Most Noble Order of the Garter]];<ref>{{cite news|title=Takes Garter Order from Enemy Rulers: King George orders Austrians and Germans Stricken from the Roll|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/05/14/101926672.pdf|accessdate=2 December 2011|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=14 May 1915|quote="The King, as sovereign of the Order of the Garter", says an official announcement issued this evening, "has given directions that the following names forthwith be struck off the roll of the Knights of the order: The [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Emperor of Austria]], the [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|German Emperor]], the [[William II of Württemberg|King of Württemberg]], the [[Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse|Grand Duke of Hesse]], [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929)|Prince Henry of Prussia]], the [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], and the [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover|Duke of Cumberland]]."}}</ref> but peerage titles cannot be withdrawn except by Act of Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|last=Maer|first=Lucinda|title=Resignation, suspension and expulsion from the House of Lords|url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05148/SN05148.pdf|publisher=House of Commons Library|accessdate=21 February 2022|page=3|id=SN/PC/5148|date=16 November 2010|quote=An Act of Parliament is needed to expel a peer}}</ref> In 1917, therefore, Parliament passed the Titles Deprivation Act authorising the deprivation of peerage titles, as well as princely dignities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lyon|first=Ann|title=Letters-How we stripped British princes of their peerages|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/5018396/How-we-stripped-British-princes-of-their-peerages.html|accessdate=2 December 2011|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|date=20 March 2009}}</ref>

==Special committee of the Privy Council==
The act allowed the King to establish a committee of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]], which was to include at least two members of the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]. The committee was empowered to take evidence and report the names of British peers or princes "who have, during the present war, borne arms against His Majesty or His Allies, or who have adhered to His Majesty's enemies". The report would then be laid before both Houses of Parliament; if neither House passed a motion disapproving of the report within forty days, it was to be submitted to the King, and the people named would lose their British titles.

Thereafter, a successor of a person that was deprived of a peerage would be allowed to petition the Crown for the restoration of a deprived title; the petition would be referred to a committee of the Privy Council, which would recommend whether the petitioner be reinstated or not. In no event, however, did the act "affect the title or succession of any person to any estates or other property".<ref>Act s. 3(1).</ref>

Under the act, the King appointed to the committee:
*[[Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay|Lord Finlay]] ([[Lord Chancellor]])
*[[William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst|Lord Sandhurst]] ([[Lord Chamberlain|Lord Chamberlain of the Household]])
*[[Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|The Marquess of Lansdowne]]
*[[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe|The Marquess of Crewe]]
*[[Thomas Legh, 2nd Baron Newton|Lord Newton]]
*[[Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham|Lord Stamfordham]] ([[Private Secretary to the Sovereign]])
*[[John Hamilton, 1st Viscount Sumner|Lord Sumner]] (a [[Lord of Appeal in Ordinary]])

The committee was established by an [[Order in Council]] issued by the King on 27 November 1917.

The committee issued its report on 1 August 1918 and it was then laid before the Houses of Parliament. Since no resolution was passed by either House disapproving of the report, it was presented to the King on 28 March 1919, and on the same date, the King issued an Order in Council depriving the persons listed in the committee's report of their titles.<ref name="28 March 1919" >{{cite web|title=At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 28th day of March, 1919.|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31255/|work=[[The London Gazette]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|accessdate=28 November 2011|pages=Issue 31255, Page 4000|date=28 March 1919|quote=Their Lordships do humbly report to Your Majesty that the persons hereinafter named have adhered to Your Majesty's enemies during the present war: —His Royal Highness Leopold Charles, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow; His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Earl of Armagh; His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus (Duke of Brunswick), Prince of Great Britain and Ireland; Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote}}</ref>

==List of titles affected by the act ==
By the King's Order in Council of 28 March 1919, the following people were deprived of their titles<ref name="28 March 1919" >{{cite web|title=At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 28th day of March, 1919.|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31255/|work=[[The London Gazette]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|accessdate=28 November 2011|pages=Issue 31255, Page 4000|date=28 March 1919|quote=Their Lordships do humbly report to Your Majesty that the persons hereinafter named have adhered to Your Majesty's enemies during the present war: —His Royal Highness Leopold Charles, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow; His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, Earl of Armagh; His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus (Duke of Brunswick), Prince of Great Britain and Ireland; Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote}}</ref> (names listed in the form given in the Order in Council):

*[[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|His Royal Highness Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow]]
*[[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover|His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh]]
*[[Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick|His Highness Prince Ernest Augustus of Cumberland]] (son and heir-apparent of the Duke of Cumberland)
*[[Henry Taaffe, 12th Viscount Taaffe|Henry, Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote]]<ref name="28 March 1919" />

In addition to the [[Duke of Albany|Dukedom of Albany]] and the [[Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale|Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale]] (the latter title being represented by two of the four people above), the title of [[Viscount Taaffe]] was also lost by its bearer. The Viscounts Taaffe had emigrated from Ireland to Austria in the 1700s and had served the Austrian emperor since that time, even while their Irish title was confirmed as recently as 1860.

No descendant of the Dukedom of Albany or the Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale has ever petitioned the Crown for the revival of their titles. The last heir to the Viscount Taaffe title, [[Richard Taaffe]], also had not petitioned the Crown before his death in 1967, when the title became extinct.

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{UK-LEG|path=ukpga/Geo5/7-8/47/contents}}
*{{UK-LEG|path=ukpga/Geo5/7-8/47/contents/enacted|asmade=yes}}
*[http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/deprivation1917.htm Text of the Titles Deprivation Act 1917 and of the Order-in-Council of 28 March 1919 effecting the deprivation of titles.]

{{UK legislation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1917]]
[[Category:United Kingdom in World War I]]
[[Category:1917 in British law]]
[[Category:World War I legislation]]
[[Category:Peerages in the United Kingdom]]