Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany

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Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827), was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A soldier by profession, from 1764 to 1803 he was Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück in the Holy Roman Empire. From the death of his father in 1820 until his own death in 1827, he was the heir presumptive to his elder brother, George IV, in both the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Hanover.

Frederick was thrust into the British Army at a very early age and was appointed to high command at the age of thirty, when he was given command of a notoriously ineffectual campaign during the War of the First Coalition, a continental war following the French Revolution. Later, as Commander-in-Chief during the Napoleonic Wars, he oversaw the reorganisation of the British Army, establishing vital structural, administrative and recruiting reforms<ref name="Glover, 1963, p.12">Glover, (1963), p.12</ref> for which he is credited with having done "more for the army than any one man has done for it in the whole of its history".<ref name="British Army 1994 p. 145">The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army (1994) p. 145</ref>

Early life

Frederick belonged to the House of Hanover.<ref name=heath127>Heathcote, p. 127.</ref> He was born on 16 August 1763, at St. James's Palace, London.<ref name=heath127/> His father was the reigning British monarch, King George III.<ref name=heath127/> His mother was Queen Charlotte (née Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

On 27 February 1764, when Frederick was six months old, he became Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück upon the death of Clemens August of Bavaria.<ref name=heath127/> The Peace of Westphalia stipulated that the city of Osnabrück would alternate between Catholic and Protestant rulers, with the Protestant bishops to be elected from the cadets of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg.<ref name=odnb>Template:Cite ODNB</ref> The bishopric of Osnabrück came with a substantial income,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which he retained until the city was incorporated into Hanover in 1803 during the German mediatisation. He was invested as Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath on 30 December 1767<ref name=Cokayne>Cokayne, p.921</ref> and as a Knight of the Order of the Garter on 19 June 1771.<ref>Weir, p. 286.</ref>

Military career

The Duke of York

George III decided that his second son would pursue an army career and had him gazetted colonel on 4 November 1780.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> From 1781 to 1787, Prince Frederick lived in Hanover, where he studied (along with his younger brothers, Prince Edward, Prince Ernest, Prince Augustus and Prince Adolphus) at the University of Göttingen.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was appointed colonel of the 2nd Horse Grenadier Guards (now 2nd Life Guards) on 26 March 1782<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> before being promoted to major-general on 20 November 1782.<ref name=heath127/> Promoted to lieutenant general on 27 October 1784,<ref name=heath127/> he was appointed colonel of the Coldstream Guards on 28 October 1784.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

He was created Duke of York and Albany and Earl of Ulster on 27 November 1784 and became a member of the Privy Council.<ref name=odnb/> On his return to Great Britain, the Duke took his seat in the House of Lords, where, on 15 December 1788 during the Regency crisis, he opposed William Pitt's Regency Bill in a speech which was supposed to have been influenced by the Prince of Wales.<ref name=odnb/> On 26 May 1789 he took part in a duel with Colonel Charles Lennox, who had insulted him; Lennox missed, and Frederick refused to return fire.<ref name=odnb/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Flanders

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The Grand Attack on Valenciennes by Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1794. The Siege of Valenciennes was an early Allied success but the campaign soon turned against them.

On 12 April 1793, Frederick was promoted to full general.<ref name=heath128>Heathcote, p.128</ref> That year, he was sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent of Coburg's army destined for the invasion of France.<ref name=heath128/> Frederick and his command fought in the Flanders campaign under extremely trying conditions. He won several notable engagements, such as the Siege of Valenciennes in July 1793,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> but was defeated at the Battle of Hondschoote in September 1793.<ref name=heath128/> In the 1794 campaign he gained a notable success at the Battle of Beaumont in April and another at the Battle of Willems in May but was defeated at the Battle of Tourcoing later that month.<ref name=heath128/> The British army was evacuated through Bremen in April 1795.<ref name=heath128/>

Commander-in-Chief

Template:See also After his return to Britain, his father George III promoted him to the rank of field marshal on 18 February 1795.<ref name=heath128/> On 3 April 1795, George appointed him effective Commander-in-Chief in succession to Lord Amherst<ref name="p.128, Glover">Glover, (1973), p.128</ref> although the title was not confirmed until three years later.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was also colonel of the 60th Regiment of Foot from 19 August 1797.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

On appointment as Commander-in-Chief he immediately declared, reflecting on the Flanders Campaign of 1793–94, "that no officer should ever be subject to the same disadvantages under which he had laboured".<ref name="p.128, Glover"/>

His second field command was with the army sent for the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799. On 7 September 1799, he was given the honorary title of Captain-General.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell, in charge of the vanguard, had succeeded in capturing some Dutch warships in Den Helder. However, following the Duke's arrival with the main body of the army, a number of disasters befell the allied forces, including shortage of supplies.<ref name=heath129>Heathcote, p. 129</ref> On 17 October 1799, the Duke signed the Convention of Alkmaar, by which the allied expedition withdrew after giving up its prisoners.<ref name=heath129/> 1799 also saw Fort Frederick in South Africa named after him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Frederick's military setbacks of 1799 were inevitable given his lack of experience as a field commander, the poor state of the British army at the time, and the conflicting military objectives of the protagonists. After this ineffectual campaign, Frederick was mocked, perhaps unfairly, in the rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York":

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"The modern Circe or a sequel to the petticoat", caricature of Frederick's lover, Mary Anne Clarke by Isaac Cruikshank, 15 March 1809. The prince resigned as head of the British army ten days after the caricature's publication.

Frederick's experience in the Dutch campaign made a strong impression on him. That campaign, and the Flanders campaign, had demonstrated the numerous weaknesses of the British army after years of neglect. Frederick as Commander-in-Chief of the British army carried through a massive programme of reform.<ref name="Glover, 1963, p.12"/> He was the person most responsible for the reforms that created the force which served in the Peninsular War. He was also in charge of the preparations against Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom in 1803. In the opinion of Sir John Fortescue, Frederick did "more for the army than any one man has done for it in the whole of its history".<ref name="British Army 1994 p. 145"/>

In 1801 Frederick actively supported the foundation of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, which promoted the professional, merit-based training of future commissioned officers.<ref name=heath129/>

In 1801 touched by the plight of children orphaned as a result of the Napoleonic wars, Frederick issued a Royal Warrant and laid the foundation stone in Chelsea to build the Royal Military Asylum (now known as the Duke of York's Headquarters) for orphaned children.<ref>Template:NHLE</ref> In 1892 the Royal Military Asylum was renamed the Duke of York's Royal Military School. The school relocated to Dover, Kent in 1909.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 14 September 1805 he was given the honorary title of Warden of Windsor Forest.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Frederick resigned as Commander-in-Chief on 25 March 1809, as the result of a scandal caused by the activities of his latest mistress, Mary Anne Clarke.<ref name=heath129/> Clarke was accused of illicitly selling army commissions under Frederick's aegis.<ref name=heath129/> A select committee of the House of Commons enquired into the matter. Parliament eventually acquitted Frederick of receiving bribes by 278 votes to 196. He nevertheless resigned because of the high tally against him.<ref name=heath129/> Two years later, it was revealed that Clarke had received payment for furniture from Frederick's disgraced chief accuser, Gwyllym Wardle,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Prince Regent reappointed the exonerated Frederick as Commander-in-Chief on 29 May 1811.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> The Duke's relationship with Mary Anne Clarke is used by Mary Anne's descendant, Daphne du Maurier, in her historical novel Mary Anne.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Residences

Frederick maintained a country residence at Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey but he was seldom there, preferring to immerse himself in his administrative work at Horse Guards (the British army's headquarters) and, after hours, in London's high life, with its gaming tables: Frederick was perpetually in debt because of his excessive gambling on cards and racehorses.<ref name=odnb/> In 1826 his London residence was 8 South Audley Street, Mayfair, which had previously been occupied by his deceased sister-in-law Caroline of Brunswick.<ref name="HE-List1236395">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="KinlochCooke-1900-p19">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Mitton-1903-p14-15">Template:Cite book</ref>

Construction of a palatial London residence for Frederick, York House (later Lancaster House) commenced in 1825.<ref name="Stourton">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Sir Robert Smirke was originally hired to design the house, until under the influence of the Duke's mistress the Duchess of Rutland, he was replaced by Benjamin Dean Wyatt who mainly designed the exterior.<ref name="Stourton"/>Template:Rp The house was only a shell when Frederick died in 1827. It is constructed from Bath stone, in a neo-classical style. The lease of the house was purchased from Frederick's executors by the 2nd Marquess of Stafford (later 1st Duke of Sutherland) and was under his direction that it was completed in 1838.<ref name=listed/> It was known as Stafford House for almost a century thereafter.<ref name="walford">Template:Cite web</ref>

Heir presumptive

Following the unexpected death of his niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, in 1817, Frederick became second in line to the throne, with a serious chance of inheriting it.<ref name=heath130>Heathcote, p. 130</ref> In 1820, he became heir presumptive with the death of his father, George III.<ref name=odnb/>

Death

Frederick died of dropsy and apparent cardiovascular disease at the home of the Duke of Rutland in Arlington Street, London, in 1827.<ref name=heath129/> After lying in state at the Chapel Royal in London,<ref name="walford">Template:Cite web</ref> Frederick's remains were interred in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, following his funeral there.<ref name=odnb/> The chapel was so cold during the funeral, held at night, that the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, contracted rheumatic fever, becoming so ill that he thought he might not recover;<ref>Longford, Elizabeth. Wellington- Pillar of State. Weidenfeld and Nicolson (1972) p.131</ref> Canning died on 8 August the same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Stanley, A. P., Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey (London; John Murray; 1882), p. 247.</ref>

Family

The Marriage of the Duke of York by Henry Singleton, 1791

Frederick married his third cousin Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, at Charlottenburg, Berlin, on 29 September 1791 and again on 23 November 1791 at Buckingham Palace.<ref name=heath128/> The marriage was not a happy one and the couple soon separated. Frederica retired to Oatlands Palace, in Surrey, where she lived until her death in 1820.<ref name=odnb/>

Honours and arms

Arms of Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany used from 1801 to 1824: Royal arms of King George III with a label of three points argent the second point charged with a flag of St George for difference. The inescutcheon of Hanover had an inescutcheon argent charged with a wheel of six spokes gules for the Bishopric of Osnabrück.<ref>Fox-Davies, p.498</ref>
Personal standard

Honours

His honours were as follows:<ref name=gazette>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Legacy

Statue of Frederick Duke of York in Waterloo Place, Westminster, London
The Duke of York Column seen from The Mall, London

Fredericton, the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, was named after Prince Frederick. The city was originally named "Frederick's Town".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Also in Canada, Duke of York Bay, Nunavut was named in his honour, since it was discovered on his birthday, 16 August.<ref>Taylor, p.300</ref>

A statue of Prince Frederick, stands on the grounds of Edinburgh Castle, Scotland and was unveiled in 1836. The inscription reads: "Field Marshall His Royal Highness Frederick Duke of York and Albany K.G. Commander and Chief of the British Army MDCCCXXVII."<ref>Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, Duke Of York Statue</ref>

In Western Australia, York County and the towns of York and Albany were named after Prince Frederick.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="settlement">West, D.A.P., The Settlement on the Sound – Discovery and settlement of the Albany Region 1791–1831, Western Australian Museum, Perth, 1976, reprinted 2004. pp. 55–115.</ref> Albany was originally named "Frederick Town".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The towering Duke of York Column on Waterloo Place, just off The Mall, London was completed in 1834 as a memorial to Prince Frederick.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 72nd Regiment of Foot was given the title Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders in 1823 and, in 1881, became 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first British fortification in southern Africa, Fort Frederick, Port Elizabeth, a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, was built in 1799 to prevent French assistance for rebellious Boers in the short-lived republic of Graaff-Reinet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Duke of York's Royal Military School is named in the duke's honour as he was largely responsible for the founding of the school by Royal Warrant in 1801 (it was originally called the Royal Military Asylum for the Children of Soldiers of the Regular Army). The school was moved to its current site near Dover in 1909. The original building still stands in Chelsea, London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ancestors

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See also

References and notes

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Sources

Further reading

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