Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen

**Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen** (13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was the wife of King William IV of the United Kingdom. She was the daughter of George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

## Life

Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany. She was the first child of George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Luise Eleonore. At her baptism, she had twenty-one godparents, including:
- her mother
- Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, the Holy Roman Empress
- Maria Carolina of Austria, the Queen of Naples and Sicily
- Maria Theresa of Austria, the Crown Princess of Saxony
- Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
- Princess Sophie Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg
- Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt (1757–1830), Duchess of Saxe-Weimar
- Karl Ludwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
- Adolph, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld

On 11 July 1818, Adelaide married Prince William, Duke of Clarence. It was a double wedding with William's younger brother, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. When they married, William was second in line to become king. He became first in line when his brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, died in 1827. William and Adelaide became King and Queen of the United Kingdom when William's older brother, king George IV died in 1830.

William and Adelaide were King and Queen until William died in 1837. Adelaide died on 2 December 1849, aged 57.

## Things named after Adelaide

The following are some of the things named after Adelaide:

### Settlements

- Adelaide, Eastern Cape
- Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia
- Queen Adelaide, Cambridgeshire
- Adelheidsdorf, a municipality in Lower Saxony, Germany

### Other things

- Adelaide Hospital in Dublin
- Adelaide River, in the Northern Territory of Australia
- Fort Adelaide, in Port Louis, Mauritius
- Queen Adelaide Archipelago in Chile
- Adelaide Island, in Antarctica
- 525 Adelaide, an asteroid

## Children

|Name|Birth|Death|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Princess Charlotte of Clarence|27 March 1819|Died a few hours after being baptised, in Hanover.||
|Stillborn child|5 September 1819|Born dead at Calais or Dunkirk.||
|Princess Elizabeth of Clarence|10 December 1820|4 March 1821|Born and died at St James's Palace.|
|Stillborn twin boys|8 April 1822|Born dead at Bushy Park.||

## Sources

- Sandars, Mary F. (Frances): _The life and times of Queen Adelaide_. London, 1915. .
- Ziegler, Philip (1971). _King William IV_. London: Collins. .

## Other websites

- Biography
- Queen Adelaide Society (City of Adelaide, South Australia)

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## Infobox (royalty)

- **consort**: yes
- **image**: Beechey, attributed to - Queen Adelaide - Parliamentary Art Collection.jpg
- **caption**: Portrait by Sir William Beechey, c.1831–1832
- **succession**: List of British royal consorts, Queen consort of the United Kingdom
 and List of Hanoverian consorts, Hanover
- **reign**: 26 June 1830 – 20 June 1837
- **coronation**: 8 September 1831
- **cor-type**: Coronation of William IV and Adelaide, Coronation
- **full name**: Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline

- **house**: House of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen
- **father**: Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- **mother**: Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
- **birth place**: Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen
- **death place**: Bentley Priory, Middlesex, England
- **burial date**: 13 December 1849
- **burial place**: St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, St George's Chapel, Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor
- **signature**: Signature of Queen Adelaide of the United Kingdom and Hanover in 1837.jpg