, house =
Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...
, father =
Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (4 February 1761 in Frankfurt – 24 December 1803 in Meiningen), was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 1782 to 1803. He was known as a reformer and considered a model prince by many of his peers.
Family
G ...
, mother =
Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Princess Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (11 August 1763, in Langenburg – 30 April 1837, in Meiningen) was a German regent. She was duchess of Saxe-Meiningen by marriage to George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and Regent of Saxe-Meining ...
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
Meiningen
Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021). ,
Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...
,
Holy Roman Empire
, death_date =
, death_place =
Bentley Priory
Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow.
It was originally a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, England
, burial_date = 13 December 1849
, burial_place = Royal Vault,
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
, signature = UK-Royal-Signature Adelaide.svg
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was
Queen of the United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
and
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
. Adelaide was the daughter of
Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (4 February 1761 in Frankfurt – 24 December 1803 in Meiningen), was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 1782 to 1803. He was known as a reformer and considered a model prince by many of his peers.
Family
G ...
, and
Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Princess Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (11 August 1763, in Langenburg – 30 April 1837, in Meiningen) was a German regent. She was duchess of Saxe-Meiningen by marriage to George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and Regent of Saxe-Meininge ...
.
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, the capital city of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, is named after her.
Early life
![Schloss01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Schloss01.jpg)
Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at
Meiningen
Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021). ,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the eldest child of
Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (4 February 1761 in Frankfurt – 24 December 1803 in Meiningen), was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 1782 to 1803. He was known as a reformer and considered a model prince by many of his peers.
Family
G ...
and
Luise Eleonore, daughter of
Christian Albrecht, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Christian Albrecht, 2nd Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (27 March 1726, in Langenburg – 4 July 1789, in Ludwigsruhe), was the second ruling Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and a Dutch lieutenant-general.
He was the first child of Ludwig, Prince o ...
. She was baptised at the castle chapel on 19 August and was titled ''Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchess in Saxony'' with the style ''
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness ( abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members ...
''. Her godparents numbered twenty-one, including her mother, the
Holy Roman Empress
The Holy Roman Empress or Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (''Kaiserin des Heiligen Römischen Reiches'') was the wife or widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. The elective dignity of Holy Roman emperor was restricted to males only, but some empresse ...
, the
Queen of Naples and Sicily, the
Crown Princess of Saxony, the
Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, the
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, the
Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, the
Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Hohenlohe-Langenburg () was a German county and later principality in the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the current northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, around Langenburg. Since the medieval times this small state was ruled by the Hous ...
, and the
Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld.
Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...
was a small state, covering about . It was the most liberal German state and, unlike its neighbours, permitted a free press and criticism of the ruler. At the time, no statute existed which barred a female ruling over the small duchy and it was not until the birth of her brother,
Bernhard
Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar
* Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...
, in 1800, that the law of
primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
was introduced.
Marriage
![Bushy House, Bushy Park - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Bushy_House%2C_Bushy_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_362754.jpg)
By the end of 1811,
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
was incapacitated and, although he was still king in name, his heir-apparent and eldest son,
Prince George, was
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. On 6 November 1817, the Prince Regent's only child,
Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to:
People
* Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1694–1715), wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia and mother of Tsar Peter II, Emperor of Russia
* Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (1700–1761), wife of ...
, died in childbirth. Princess Charlotte was second in line to the throne: had she outlived her father and grandfather, she would have become queen. With her death, the King was left with twelve children and no legitimate grandchildren. The Prince Regent was estranged from his wife, who was 49 years old, thus there was little likelihood that he would have any further legitimate children. To secure the line of succession,
Prince William, Duke of Clarence, and the other sons of George III sought quick marriages with the intent of producing offspring who could inherit the throne. William already had ten children by the popular actress
Dorothea Jordan
Dorothea Jordan, née Bland (21 November 17615 July 1816), was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the mother of ten illegitimate children by ...
, but, being illegitimate, they were barred from the succession.
Considerable allowances were likely to be voted by Parliament to any
royal duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
who married, and this acted as a further incentive for William to marry. While Adelaide was a princess from an unimportant German state, William had a limited choice of available princesses, and, after deals with other candidates fell through, a marriage to Adelaide was arranged. The allowance proposed was slashed by Parliament, and the outraged Duke considered calling off the marriage. However, Adelaide still seemed the ideal candidate of a wife: amiable, home-loving, and willing to accept William's illegitimate children as part of the family. The arrangement was settled and William wrote to his eldest son, "She is doomed, ''poor dear innocent young'' creature, to be my wife." William eventually accepted the reduced increase in his allowance voted by Parliament, her dowry was set at 20,000 florins, with additional three separate annuities being promised by her future husband, the English regent, and the state of Saxe-Meiningen.
Adelaide married William in a double wedding with William's brother,
Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, (Edward Augustus; 2 November 1767 – 23 January 1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III. His only legitimate child became Queen Victoria.
Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent an ...
, and his bride
Victoria, Dowager Princess of Leiningen, on 11 July 1818, at
Kew Palace
Kew Palace is a British royal palace within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames. Originally a large complex, few elements of it survive. Dating to 1631 but built atop the undercroft of an earlier building, the main surv ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. They had only met for the first time a week earlier on 4 July at Grillon's Hotel in
Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...
. Neither William nor Adelaide had been married before, and William was 27 years her senior. Despite these unromantic circumstances, the couple settled amicably in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, where the cost of living was much lower than in England, and by all accounts were devoted to each other throughout their marriage. Adelaide improved William's behaviour; he drank less, swore less, and became more tactful. Observers thought them parsimonious, and their lifestyle simple.
Adelaide soon became pregnant, but in her seventh month of pregnancy, she caught
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
and gave birth prematurely on 27 March 1819 at the Fürstenhof Palace in Hanover. Her daughter, Charlotte Augusta Louise, lived only a few hours. Another pregnancy in the same year caused William to move the household to England so his future heir would be born on British soil; however, Adelaide miscarried at
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
or
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.[Clarence House
Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the Duke of Clarence, the future king William IV.
Over the years, it has undergone much exten ...]
, but preferred to stay at
Bushy House
Bushy House is a Grade II* listed former residence of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in Teddington, London, which Lord Halifax had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy Park, between 1714 and ...
near Hampton Court, where William had already lived with Dorothea Jordan. Adelaide became pregnant again, and a second daughter,
Elizabeth Georgiana Adelaide, was born on 10 December 1820 at
St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...
. Elizabeth seemed strong but died less than three months old on 4 March 1821 of "inflammation in the Bowels". Twin boys were stillborn on 8 April 1822 at Bushy Park and a possible brief pregnancy may have occurred within the same year. Ultimately, William and Adelaide had no surviving children.
Queen consort
![Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Adelaide_of_Saxe-Meiningen.jpg)
At the time of their marriage, William was not heir-presumptive to the throne, but became so when his brother
Frederick, Duke of York, died childless in 1827. Given the small likelihood of his older brothers producing heirs, and William's relative youth and good health, it had long been considered extremely likely that he would become king in due course. In 1830, on the death of his elder brother,
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
, William acceded to the throne.
He and Adelaide were crowned on 8 September 1831 at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. William despised the ceremony and acted throughout, it is presumed deliberately, as if he was "a character in a comic opera", making a mockery of what he thought to be a ridiculous charade. In contrast, Adelaide took the service very seriously and, among those attending, received praise for her "dignity, repose and characteristic grace".
One of King William's first acts was to confer the Rangership of
Bushy Park
Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...
(for 33 years held by himself) on Queen Adelaide, which allowed her to remain at
Bushy House
Bushy House is a Grade II* listed former residence of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in Teddington, London, which Lord Halifax had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy Park, between 1714 and ...
for her lifetime. A large portion of her household income was given to several charitable causes. She refused to have women of questionable virtue attend her Court; the Clerk of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
,
Charles Greville, wrote, "The Queen is a prude and refuses to have the ladies come ''décolletées'' to her parties. George the 4th, who liked ample expanses of that kind, would not let them be covered." In any case, Adelaide was beloved by the British people for her piety, modesty, charity, and her tragic childbirth history.
Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
(later Queen Victoria) came to be acknowledged as William's heir presumptive, as Adelaide had no further pregnancies. While there were rumours of pregnancies well into William's reign (dismissed by the King as "damned stuff"), they seem to have been without basis. Adelaide treated the young Princess Victoria with kindness, despite her inability to produce an heir and the open hostility between her husband and Victoria's mother,
the Dowager Duchess of Kent. She and her husband were fond of their niece and wanted her to be closer to them, but their efforts were frustrated by the Duchess of Kent, who refused to acknowledge Adelaide's precedence, left letters from Adelaide unanswered, and commandeered space in the royal stables and apartments for her use. William, aggrieved at what he took to be disrespect from the Duchess to his wife, bluntly announced in the presence of Adelaide, the Duchess, Victoria, and many guests, that the Duchess was "incompetent to act with propriety", that he had been "grossly and continually insulted by that person", and that he hoped to have the satisfaction of living beyond Victoria's age of majority so that the Duchess of Kent would never be regent. Everyone was aghast at the vehemence of the speech, and all three ladies were deeply upset. The breach between the Duchess and the King and Queen was never fully healed, but Victoria always viewed both of them with kindness.
Adelaide attempted, perhaps unsuccessfully, to influence William politically. She never spoke about politics in public; however, she was strongly
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
. It is unclear how much of his attitudes during the passage of the
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...
were due to her influence. The Press, the public, and courtiers assumed that she was agitating behind the scenes against reform, but she was careful to be non-committal in public. As a result of her alleged partiality, she became unpopular with reformers. False rumours circulated that she was having an affair with her
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...
, the Tory
Lord Howe, but almost everyone at court knew that Adelaide was inflexibly pious and was always faithful to her husband. The Whig prime minister,
Lord Grey, had Lord Howe removed from Adelaide's household, and the attempts to reinstate him after the Reform Bill had passed were not successful, as Lord Grey could not agree as to how independent Howe could be of the government. In October 1834, a great fire destroyed much of the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
, which Adelaide considered divine retribution for the vagaries of reform. When the King dismissed the Whig ministry of
Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...
, ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' newspaper blamed the Queen's influence, though she seems to have had very little to do with it. Influenced by her similarly reactionary brother-in-law, the
Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland.
History
The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...
, however, she did write to her husband against reform of the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
.
Queen dowager
![Mw18026](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Mw18026.jpg)
Queen Adelaide was dangerously ill in April 1837, at around the same time that she was present at her mother's deathbed in Meiningen, but she recovered. By June, it became evident that the King was fatally ill himself. Adelaide stayed beside William's deathbed devotedly, not going to bed herself for more than ten days. William IV died from
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
in the early hours of the morning of 20 June 1837 at
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
, where he was buried. Victoria was proclaimed as queen, but subject to the rights of any issue that might be born to Adelaide on the remotely possible chance that she was pregnant. The first queen dowager in over a century (Charles II's widow,
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...
, had died in 1705, and
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...
, wife of the deposed James II, died in 1718), Adelaide survived her husband by twelve years.
In early October 1838, for health reasons, Adelaide travelled to
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
aboard
HMS ''Hastings'', stopping at
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
on the way, and staying on Malta for three months. Lacking a Protestant church on Malta, the queen dowager paid for the construction of
St Paul's Pro-Cathedral in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
. In the summer of 1844, she paid her last visit to her native country, visiting
Altenstein Palace
Schloss Altenstein is a '' schloss'', or palace, upon a rocky hill on the south-western slope of the Thuringian Forest, not far from Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany. It was the summer residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen, and is surrounded ...
and Meiningen.
Adelaide had been given the use of
Marlborough House
Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was built in 1711 for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marl ...
,
Pall Mall in 1831, and held it until her death in 1849. She also had the use of
Bushy House
Bushy House is a Grade II* listed former residence of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in Teddington, London, which Lord Halifax had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy Park, between 1714 and ...
and
Bushy Park
Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...
at
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
. Suffering from chronic illness, she often moved her place of residence in a vain search for health, staying at the country houses of various British aristocracy. She became a tenant of
William Ward and took up residence at the latter's newly purchased house,
Witley Court
Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the archit ...
in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, from 1842 until 1846. While at Witley Court, she had two chaplains – Rev. John Ryle Wood, Canon of Worcester and Rev. Thomas Pearson,
Rector of Great Witley. She financed the first village school in Great Witley.
From 1846 to 1848, Adelaide rented
Cassiobury House
Cassiobury House was a country house in Cassiobury Park, Watford, England. It was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Essex. Originally a Tudor building, dating from 1546 for Sir Richard Morrison, it was substantially remodelled in the 17th and ...
from
Lord Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...
. During her time there, she played host to Victoria and Albert. Within three years, Adelaide had moved on again, renting
Bentley Priory
Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow.
It was originally a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in ...
in
Stanmore
Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...
from
Lord Abercorn. Semi-invalid by 1847, Adelaide was advised to try the climate of
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
for the winter that year, for her health. She donated money to the poor of the island and paid for the construction of a road from Ribeiro Seco to
Camara de Lobos.
![Hagley, St John the Baptist - interior, Queen Adelaide 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Hagley%2C_St_John_the_Baptist_-_interior%2C_Queen_Adelaide_1.jpg)
Queen Adelaide's last public appearance was to lay the foundation stone of the church of
St John the Evangelist,
Great Stanmore. She gave the font and when the church was completed after her death, the east window was dedicated to her memory. She died during the reign of her niece, Queen Victoria, on 2 December 1849 of natural causes at Bentley Priory in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. She was buried at
St. George's Chapel, Windsor
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
. She wrote instructions for her funeral during an illness in 1841 at
Sudbury Hall
Sudbury Hall is a country house in Sudbury, Derbyshire, England. One of the country's finest Restoration mansions, it has Grade I listed building status.
The National Trust Museum of Childhood is housed in the 19th-century servants' wing of Sud ...
:
I die in all humility … we are alike before the throne of God, and I request therefore that my mortal remains be conveyed to the grave without pomp or state … to have as private and quiet a funeral as possible. I particularly desire not to be laid out in state … I die in peace and wish to be carried to the fount in peace, and free from the vanities and pomp of this world.
Legacy
![1722B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/1722B.jpg)
Queen Adelaide's name is probably best remembered in the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n state of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, founded during the brief reign of William IV. In 1836, the capital city of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
was named after her. The
Queen Adelaide Club
The Queen Adelaide Club is an exclusive women's club, similar to a gentlemen's club, in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is named for Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, after whom the city of Adelaide was named. Founded in 1909, the c ...
for women is still active, and a bronze statue of Queen Adelaide stands in the foyer of the Town Hall. The Queen Adelaide Society was inaugurated in Adelaide in 1981 by the late Dorothy Howie with the twin objectives of promoting public awareness of Queen Adelaide and to provide an annual donation to a South Australian children's charity.
There is a village named
Queen Adelaide
, house = Saxe-Meiningen
, father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
, mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy  ...
in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, which takes its name from one of the many public houses named after her.
There are Adelaide Streets, Adelaide Avenues, and Adelaide Roads throughout the former empire. There is also
Adelaide Hospital (now the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght) in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, and an Adelaide railway station in Belfast. Australia has two Adelaide Rivers, in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
and Tasmania, and an Adelaide Reef in Queensland. The town of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
(originally Fort Adelaide) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, as well as Sir Benjamin D'Urban's short-lived colony in the same area,
Queen Adelaide Province.
Queen's Park, Brighton
Queen's Park is a public park in Brighton, England.
In 1825, Thomas Attree, a property owner and developer in Brighton, acquired land north of Eastern Road—already known as Brighton Park—to build a residential park surrounded by detached vill ...
is also named in her honour, as is
Adelheidsdorf
Adelheidsdorf is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia ...
in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, Germany. The Citadel in
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...
, capital of the Republic of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
, is named Fort Adelaide, the building having been started during the reign of William in 1834. In 1832 Adelaide Township was surveyed in what became the western part of Middlesex County in Ontario (now part of the municipality of the Township of
Adelaide-Metcalfe). There is a small group of islands in southern Chile named
Queen Adelaide Archipelago
Queen Adelaide Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago Reina Adelaida) is an island group in Zona Austral, the extreme south of Chile. It belongs to the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region.
The major islands in the group are Pacheco Island, Contrer ...
and
Adelaide Island in the
British Antarctic Territory
The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between ...
.
In honour of the Queen's many visits, several places in Leicestershire were named after Queen Adelaide. They include Queen Street in Measham and the Queen Adelaide Inn (now demolished) in
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
. There is also the Queen Adelaide Oak in
Bradgate Park
Bradgate Park () is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, northwest of Leicester. It covers . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin runs ...
(once home to
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553.
Jane was ...
), under which Queen Adelaide had picnicked on venison and crayfish from the estate.
Asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
525 Adelaide is also named in her honour.
In 1849 there was a cholera epidemic in the East End of London. The following year, Queen Adelaide's dispensary opened in Warner Place,
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
. It moved to William Street in 1866 and by 1899 was handling 10,000 medical and dental patients a year. In 1963, the funds that had set up the dispensary became Queen Adelaide's charity, which still operates today.
Queen Victoria's firstborn child,
Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, took her second name from her great-aunt, who was also the child's godmother.
Cultural depictions
Queen Adelaide was played by
Harriet Walter
Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 ...
in the 2009 film ''
The Young Victoria
''The Young Victoria'' is a 2009 British period drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Julian Fellowes, based on the early life and reign of Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Produce ...
'', as a kindly but practical counsellor to the inexperienced queen.
Delena Kidd
Delena Kidd (born 11 February 1935) is an English actress who has appeared in numerous British television productions since the late 1950s. In recent years she is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Queen Adelaide in '' Victoria & Albert''.
...
portrayed her in the 2001 television serial ''
Victoria & Albert''.
Honours
* : Dame of the
Order of Queen Saint Isabel, 23 February 1836
* : Dame grand cross of the
Order of Saint Catherine
The Imperial Order of Saint Catherine (russian: Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины) was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine ...
, 1830
Arms
![Coat of Arms of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Coat_of_Arms_of_Adelaide_of_Saxe-Meiningen.svg)
The
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varian ...
are
impaled with her father's arms as
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...
. The arms were
Quarterly
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content (media), content. They are generally financed by advertising, newsagent's shop, ...
of nineteen, 1st,
Azure, a lion
barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
Argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
and
Gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple).
In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
(
Landgrave of Thuringia
This is a list of the rulers of Thuringia, a historical and political region of Central Germany.
Kings of Thuringia
*450–500 Bisinus
*500–530 Baderich
*500–530 Berthachar
*500–531 Herminafried
:''Conquered by the Franks. ...
); 2nd, Gules, an
escarbuncle Or and a shield at the centre point Argent (
Cleves
Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
); 3rd, Or, a lion
rampant
In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...
Sable
The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
(
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
); 4th, Or, a lion rampant Sable (
Jülich); 5th, Argent, a lion rampant Gules crowned Azure (
Berg Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer
Former states
* Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...
); 6th, Azure, an eagle displayed Or (
Palatinate of Saxony
The history of Saxony began with a small tribe living on the North Sea between the Elbe and Eider River in what is now Holstein. The name of this tribe, the Saxons (Latin: ''Saxones''), was first mentioned by the Greek author Ptolemy. The name ...
); 7th, Or, two
pales
In ancient Roman religion, Pales was a deity of shepherds, flocks and livestock. Regarded as male by some sources and female by others, ''Pales'' can be either singular or plural in Latin, and refers at least once to a pair of deities.
Pales' fes ...
Azure (
Landsberg); 8th, Sable, an eagle displayed Or (Palatinate of Thuringia); 9th, Or,
semé
In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field.
Blazoning of French adjectives
Variations of the field pre ...
of hearts Gules a lion rampant Sable crowned of the second (
Orlamünde
Orlamünde () is a small town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is part of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") Südliches Saaletal.
Geography
The town centre stretches along the steep banks of th ...
); 10th, Argent, three bars Azure (
Eisenberg); 11th, Azure, a lion passant per
fess
In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shiel ...
Or and Argent (
Tonna in Gleichen); 12th, Argent, a rose Gules barbed and seeded Proper (
Burgraviate of Altenburg); 13th, Gules plain (Sovereign rights); 14th, Argent, three beetles' pincers Gules (
Engern
Angria or Angaria (german: Engern, ) is a historical region in the present-day German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his '' Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' denoted it a ...
); 15th, Or a fess
chequy
In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field.
Blazoning of French adjectives
Variations of the field pre ...
Gules and Argent (
Marck); 16th, Per pale,
dexter, Gules, a column Argent crowned Or (
Roemhild), sinister, Or, on a mount Vert, a cock Sable, wattled Gules (Hannenberg); 17th, Argent three chevronels Gules (
Ravensberg); and over all an
inescutcheon
In heraldry, an escutcheon () is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the s ...
barry Or and Sable, a crown of rue (or a crancelin) in
bend Vert (
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
).
Queen Adelaide (1830-1837)
FOTW Flags of the World website: British Royal Standards, House of Hanover 1714–1901, Retrieved 16 December 2010.
As the Duchess of Clarence, she used the arms of her husband (the royal arms with a label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
of three points Argent, the centre point bearing a cross Gules, the outer points each bearing an anchor Azure) impaled with those of her father, the whole surmounted by a coronet of a child of the sovereign.
Issue
Ancestry
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Biography
*
Queen Adelaide Society (City of Adelaide, South Australia)
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelaide Of Saxe-Meiningen
1792 births
1849 deaths
18th-century German people
19th-century German people
18th-century German women
19th-century German women
19th-century British people
19th-century British women
British royal consorts
Wives of British princes
House of Hanover
Hanoverian royal consorts
Hanoverian princesses by marriage
House of Saxe-Meiningen
Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg
People from Meiningen
Princesses of Saxe-Meiningen
William IV of the United Kingdom
Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel