Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn ( born November 2, 1767 in London, † January 23, 1820 in Sidmouth, Devon ) was the fourth son of King George III. of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen Charlotte. He was the father of Queen Victoria.

Military career

He was born in 1767 at Buckingham Palace as Edward Augustus of Hanover and later went to the army. He received his military training in Hanover and in Switzerland. After a command in Gibraltar, he was stationed in North America. Most recently, he was there from 1791 supreme commander of all British forces in Canada, based in Halifax, which he had converted into a fortress. Because of its extreme demands on the discipline of the troops, he was very unpopular with them. Subsequently, he was stationed for some years from 1802 in Gibraltar. There he was to restore as governor the discipline of the troops on the ground. And he overlaid it such that the units mutinied. Then Edward Augustus was removed there as well, but remained formally until his death on Governor. As compensation, he was promoted to field marshal at the same time.

Marriage

Edward Augustus remained unmarried until the question of the British throne in November 1817. Due to the death of the granddaughter of King George III Charlotte Auguste, who was standing at the time second only to the throne, was open again. The heir to the throne George himself had no other children, his brother William, and the other siblings also had no legitimate offspring. Edward had until then lived for years with his French lover Julie de Saint- Laurent. However, he thought long after a marriage with a suitable candidate to improve his strained financial situation.

1818 Edward married in Amorbach, located in the Bavarian Odenwald, the widowed Princess Victoria of Leiningen, née Princess of Saxe - Coburg, who already had two children. Both lived until 1818 in a palace, the Thalheim'schen house in Eberbach am Neckar. On 24 May of the following year, the only child of this union, Alexandrina Victoria was born. At this event, the couple had traveled to the UK, as Edward worth it reflected that the child - was born in the UK - as a likely successor to the throne. For this trip, and the befitting equipment of the rooms at Kensington Palace, where the child finally came into the world, the Duke indebted even deeper.

The couple lived a relatively modest until the death of the Duke, who died in 1820 of pneumonia, in Sidmouth on the coast of Devon. This was due to the fact that the Duke had significant financial liabilities because the Parliament had, contrary to his expectations, even after his marriage not increase his appanage. His debt should until 1839, long after his death, be paid in full by his daughter ( each payee also received a silver plate of Victoria).

Although Edward died before his father and his three older brothers, but since none of them had a legitimate offspring, his daughter Victoria became queen after the death of William IV.