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 The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, a great-great-grandson of King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and nephew of Queen

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. 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 Kingdom of Germany, German ducal House of Zähringen, known as the "first House of Teck". The seat of thi ...

, and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Grosvenor.

Early life

Born at

Grosvenor House Grosvenor House was one of the largest townhouse (Great Britain), townhouses in London, home of the Grosvenor family (the family of the Dukes of Westminster) for more than a century. Their original London residence was on Millbank, but after t ...

, 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 George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and—morganatically—from the

Royal House A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

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 in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. 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 is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

. 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 () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

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 Ludgrove School is an English independent school, independent boys' Preparatory school (UK), preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed ...

and

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

followed by

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. He joined the Reserve Regiment of the 1st Life Guards during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 do ...

and served in France, rising to rank of Major. In 1929, he became a director of

Coutts Coutts & Co. () is a British private bank and wealth manager headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channe ...

& 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 The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. He remained with the firm until his retirement in 1951.

Personal life

On 10 April 1923 at Beaumanor Hall, he married Dorothy Isabel Westenra Hastings (18 May 1899

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

– 1 April 1988), daughter of The Hon. Osmund William Toone Westenra Hastings, a younger son of the 14th

Earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...

, and his wife Mary Caroline Campbell Tarratt, daughter of Daniel Fox Tarratt, Gent. The couple had one daughter, Lady Mary Cambridge (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 George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

, and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. For many years he served as Royal Trustee of the British Museum. Lord Cambridge died on 16 April 1981 in Little Abington, and was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. His peerages became extinct. His brother, Lord Frederick Cambridge, had died while fighting in Belgium during

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 George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore Shropshire Yeomanry officers 2 Princes in the German Empire 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