George Francis Hugh Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge, (11 October 1895 – 16 April 1981), known as Prince George of Teck until 1917 and as Earl of Eltham from 1917 to 1927, was a relative of the British royal family, a great-great-grandson of King George III and nephew of Queen Mary and King George V. He was also nephew to the 1st Earl of Athlone. He was the elder son of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge, formerly the

Duke of Teck Duke of Teck is a title which was created twice in Germanic lands. It was first borne from 1187 to 1439 by the head of a cadet line of the German ducal House of Zähringen, known as the "first House of Teck". The ''caput'' of his territory was T ...

, and his wife, the former

Lady Margaret Grosvenor Margaret Evelyn Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge (8 April 1873 – 27 March 1929) was the sixth child and third daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster and the wife of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge. She was known before her marriage as The La ...

Early life

Born at Grosvenor House, the home of his maternal grandfather, the

1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

, he was styled His Serene Highness Prince George of Teck from birth. On his father's side, he was descended from King George III and—morganatically—from the

Royal House A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in repu ...

of Württemberg. In June 1917, at the request of George V, his father relinquished the titles, styles, and designations, "Highness", "Duke of Teck" and "of Teck" in the Kingdom of Württemberg and the German Empire, and assumed the surname Cambridge by Royal Licence and Warrant. The former Duke of Teck was subsequently created Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Eltham and Viscount Northallerton in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. Prince George became George Cambridge and was styled Earl of Eltham as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

. He succeeded his father as 2nd Marquess of Cambridge on 24 October 1927. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in June 1927 and was promoted to Knight Grand Cross in June 1935.

Education and career

Prince George of Teck was educated at Ludgrove School and Eton College followed by

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. He joined the Reserve Regiment of the 1st Life Guards during World War I and served as an aide-de-camp on the Personal Staff in 1918–1919. In the inter-war years, he served with the Territorial Army as a lieutenant in the

Shropshire Yeomanry The Shropshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1795, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an artillery regiment in the Second World War. It w ...

from 1921, then as captain in the 16th Battalion, London Regiment from 1929 to 1932. At the outbreak of World War II he mobilised as Captain with the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

and served in France, rising to rank of Major. In 1929, he became a director of Coutts & Company, a banking firm. This made him the second member of the British royal family (albeit, a very minor one) to pursue a career in the City of London. He remained with the firm until his retirement in 1951.

Personal life

On 10 April 1923, he married Dorothy Isabel Westenra Hastings (18 May 1899 Cirencester – 1 April 1988), daughter of The Hon. Osmund William Toone Westenra Hastings, who was a younger son of the 13th Earl of Huntingdon. The couple had one child,

Lady Mary Cambridge Lady Mary Cambridge may refer to: * Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (née Lady Mary Cambridge) * Lady Mary Whitley Lady Mary Ilona Margaret Whitley (née Cambridge; 24 September 1924 – 13 December 1999) was a relative of the British roy ...

(24 September 1924 – 13 December 1999). Lord and Lady Cambridge regularly attended major royal occasions, although they did not carry out royal duties. Lord Cambridge participated in the coronations of George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II. For many years he served as Royal Trustee of the British Museum. Lord Cambridge died on 16 April 1981 in

Little Abington Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, and was buried in the

Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British royal family. Consecrated on 23 October 1928 by the Bishop of Oxford, it is adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum, which was built in 1862 to house the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Alb ...

. His peerages became extinct. His brother, Lord Frederick Cambridge, had died while fighting in Belgium during World War II.

Arms

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess Of 1895 births 1981 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order George Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore Shropshire Yeomanry officers Marquesses of Cambridge German princes Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I British Life Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Ludgrove School