Ernest Augustus I of Hanover Ernest Augustus I ( 5 June 1771 – 18 November 1851 ) was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death . He was the fifth son and eighth child of George III , who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover . As a fifth son , initially Ernest seemed unlikely to become a monarch , but Salic Law , which barred women from the succession , applied in Hanover and none of his older brothers had legitimate male issue . Therefore , he became King of Hanover when his niece , Victoria , became Queen of the United Kingdom , ending the personal union between Britain and Hanover that had existed since 1714 . Ernest was born in England , but was sent to Hanover in his adolescence for his education and military training . While serving with Hanoverian forces in Wallonia against Revolutionary France , he received a disfiguring facial wound . In 1799 , he was created Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale . Although his 1815 marriage to the twice - widowed Frederica of Mecklenburg - Strelitz met with the disapproval of his mother , Queen Charlotte , it proved a happy relationship . By 1817 , King George III had only one legitimate grandchild , Princess Charlotte of Wales , and when she died in childbirth , Ernest was the senior son to be both married and not estranged from his wife . This gave him some prospect of succeeding to the British throne . However , both of his unmarried older brothers quickly married , and King George ' s fourth son , Edward , Duke of Kent , fathered the eventual British heir , Princess Victoria of Kent ( later Queen Victoria ) . Ernest was active in the House of Lords , where he maintained an extremely conservative record . There were persistent allegations ( reportedly spread by his political foes ) that he had murdered his valet and had fathered a son by his sister , Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom . Before Victoria succeeded to the British Throne , it was rumoured that Ernest intended to murder her and take the Throne himself . When King William IV died on 20 June 1837 , Ernest ascended the Hanoverian Throne . Hanover ' s first ruler to reside in the kingdom since George I , he had a generally successful fourteen - year reign , but excited controversy when he dismissed the Göttingen Seven ( including the two Brothers Grimm ) from their professorial positions for agitating against his policies . Early life ( 1771 – 1799 ) . Ernest Augustus , the fifth son of George III and Queen Charlotte , was born at Buckingham House , now part of Buckingham Palace , on 5 June 1771 . After leaving the nursery , he lived with his two younger brothers , Prince Adolphus ( later Duke of Cambridge ) and Prince Augustus ( later Duke of Sussex ) , and a tutor in a house on Kew Green , near his parents ' residence at Kew Palace . At the age of fifteen , he and his two younger brothers were sent to the University of Göttingen , located in his father ' s domain of Hanover . Though the King never left the United Kingdom in his life , he sent his younger sons to Germany in their adolescence . According to historian John Van der Kiste , this was done to limit the influence Ernest ' s eldest brother George , Prince of Wales , who was leading an extravagant lifestyle , would have over his younger brothers . Prince Ernest proved an apt student , and after being tutored privately for a year , while learning German , attended lectures at the University . Though King George ordered that the princes ' household be run along military lines , and that they follow university rules , the town merchants proved willing to extend credit to the princes , and all three fell into debt . In 1790 , Ernest asked his father for permission to train with Prussia n forces . Instead , in January 1791 , he and Prince Adolphus were sent to Hanover to receive military training under the supervision of Field Marshal Wilhelm von Freytag . Before leaving Göttingen , Ernest penned a formal letter of thanks to the university , and wrote to his father , " I should be one of the most ungrateful of men if ever I was forgetful of all I owe to Göttingen & its professors . " Ernest learned cavalry drill and tactics under Captain von Linsingen of the Queen ' s Light Dragoons , and proved to be an excellent horseman as well as a good shot . After only two months of training , von Freytag was so impressed by the Prince ' s progress that he gave him a place in the cavalry as captain . Ernest was supposed to receive infantry training , but the King , also impressed by his son ' s prowess , allowed him to remain with the cavalry . In March 1792 , the King commissioned Prince Ernest Augustus as a colonel in the 9th Hanoverian Light Dragoons . The Prince served in the Low Countries in the War of the First Coalition , under his elder brother Frederick , Duke of York , then commander of the combined British , Hanoverian and Austrian forces . Seeing action near the Walloon town of Tournai in August 1793 , he sustained a sabre wound to the head , which resulted in a disfiguring scar . During the Battle of Tourcoing in northern France on 18 May 1794 his left arm was injured by a cannonball which passed close by him . In the days after the battle , the sight in his left eye faded . In June , he was sent to Britain to convalesce , his first stay there since 1786 . Ernest resumed his duties in early November , by now promoted to major - general . He hoped his new rank would bring him a corps or brigade command , but none was forthcoming as Allied armies retreated slowly through the Netherlands towards Germany . By February 1795 , they had reached Hanover . Ernest remained in Hanover over the next year , at several unimportant postings . He had requested a return home to seek treatment for his eye , but it was not until early 1796 that the King agreed and allowed Ernest to return to Britain . In Britain , Prince Ernest consulted the noted eye doctor , Wathen Waller , but Waller apparently found the condition inoperable , as no operation took place . Once in Britain , Ernest repeatedly sought to be allowed to join British forces on the Continent , even threatening to join the Yeomanry as a private , but both the King and the Duke of York refused . Ernest did not want to rejoin Hanoverian forces , as the Hanoverians were not then involved in the fighting . In addition , von Freytag was seriously ill , and Ernest was unwilling to serve under his likely successor , General von Wallmoden . Duke of Cumberland ( 1799 – 1837 ) . Military commander . On 23 April 1799 , George III created Prince Ernest Augustus Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh . Though he was made a lieutenant - general , both of British and Hanoverian forces , he remained in England , and , with a seat in the House of Lords , entered politics . Ernest had extreme Tory views , and soon became a leader of the right of the party . King George had feared that Ernest , like some of his older brothers , would display Whig tendencies . Reassured on that point , in 1801 , the King had Ernest conduct the negotiations which led to the formation of the Addington Government . In February 1802 , King George granted his son the colonelcy of the 27th Light Dragoons , a post which offered the option of transfer to the colonelcy of the 15th Light Dragoons when a vacancy developed . A vacancy promptly occurred and the Duke became the colonel of the 15th Light Dragoons in March 1802 . Although the post could have been a sinecure , Ernest involved himself in the affairs of the regiment and led it on manoeuvres . In early 1803 , the Duke of York appointed Ernest as commander of the Severn District , in charge of the forces in and around the Severn Estuary . When war with France broke out again after the Peace of Amiens , the elder Duke appointed Ernest to the more important Southwest District , comprising Hampshire , Dorset and Wiltshire . Though Ernest would have preferred command of the King ' s German Legion , composed mostly of expatriates from French - occupied Hanover , he accepted the post . The Duke of Cumberland increased the defences on the South Coast , especially around the town of Weymouth , where his father often spent time in the summer . The 1800 Acts of Union had given Ireland representation in Parliament , but existing law prevented the Irish Catholics from serving there because of their religion . " Catholic emancipation " was a major political issue of the first years of the 19th century . The Duke of Cumberland was a strong opponent of giving political rights to Catholics , believing that emancipation would be a violation of the King ' s Coronation Oath to uphold Anglicanism , and spoke out in the House of Lords against emancipation . Protestant Irish organisations supported the Duke ; he was elected Chancellor of the University of Dublin in 1805 and Grand Master of the Orange Lodge s two years later . The Duke repeatedly sought a post with Allied forces fighting against France , but was sent to the Continent only as an observer . In 1807 , he advocated sending British troops to join with the Prussians and Swedes and attack the French at Stralsund ( today , in northeastern Germany ) . The Greville government refused to send forces . Shortly afterwards , the government fell , and the new Prime Minister , the Duke of Portland , agreed to send Ernest with 20 , 000 troops . However , they were sent too late : the French defeated Prussia and Sweden at the Battle of Stralsund before Ernest and his forces could reach the town . Sellis incident and Weymouth controversy . In the early hours of 31 May 1810 , Ernest , by his written account , was struck in the head several times while asleep in bed , awakening him . He ran for the door , where he was wounded in the leg by a sabre . He called for help , and one of his valets , Cornelius Neale , responded and aided him . Neale raised the alarm , and the household soon realised that Ernest ' s other valet , Joseph Sellis , was not among them , and that the door to Sellis ' s room was locked . The lock was forced , and Sellis was discovered with his throat freshly cut , a wound apparently self - inflicted . Ernest received several serious wounds during the apparent attack , and required over a month to recover from his injuries . The social reformer and anti - monarchist Francis Place managed to get on the inquest jury and became its foreman . Place went to the office of a barrister friend to study inquest law , and aggressively questioned witnesses . Place also insisted the inquest be opened to the public and press , and so cowed the coroner that he basically ran the inquest himself . Nevertheless , the jury returned a unanimous verdict of suicide against Sellis . Much of the public blamed Ernest for Sellis ' s death . The more extreme Whig papers , anti - royal pamphleteers , and caricaturists all offered nefarious explanations for Sellis ' s death , in which the Duke was to blame . Some stories had the Duke cuckolding Sellis , with the attack as retaliation , or Sellis killed for finding Ernest and Mrs . Sellis in bed together . Others suggested that the Duke was the lover of either Sellis or Neale , and that blackmail had played a part in the death . Both Roger Fulford and John Van der Kiste , who wrote books about George III ' s children , ascribe part of the animus and fear towards the Duke to the fact that he did not conduct love affairs in public , as did his older brothers . According to them , the public feared what vices might be going on behind the locked doors of the Duke ' s house , and assumed the worst . In early 1813 , Ernest was involved in political scandal during an election contest in Weymouth following the general election the previous year . The Duke was shown to be one of three trustees who were able to dictate who would represent Weymouth in Parliament . It being considered improper for a peer to interfere in a Commons election , there was considerable controversy , and the Government sent Ernest to Europe as an observer to accompany Hanoverian troops , which were again engaged in war against France . Though he saw no action , Ernest was present at the Battle of Leipzig , a major victory for the Allies . Marriage . Ernest met and fell in love in mid - 1813 with his first cousin , Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg - Strelitz , wife of Prince Frederick William of Solms - Braunfels and widow of Prince Louis of Prussia . The two agreed to wed if Frederica became free to marry . Her marriage to Frederick William had not been a success ; her husband , seeing the marriage was beyond hope , agreed to a divorce , but his sudden death in 1814 removed the necessity . Some considered the death too convenient , and suspected the princess of poisoning her husband . Queen Charlotte opposed the marriage : before the princess had married Frederick William , she had jilted Ernest ' s brother , the Duke of Cambridge , after the engagement was announced . Following the marriage in Germany on 29 May 1815 , Queen Charlotte refused to receive her new daughter - in - law , nor would the Queen attend the resolemnisation of the Cumberlands ' marriage at Kew , which Ernest ' s four older brothers attended . The Prince of Wales ( now Prince Regent ) found the Cumberlands ' presence in Britain embarrassing , and offered him money and the Governorship of Hanover if they would leave for the Continent . Ernest refused , and the Cumberlands divided their time between Kew and St . James ' s Palace for the next three years . The Queen remained obstinate in her refusal to receive Frederica . Despite these family troubles , the Cumberlands had a happy marriage . The Government of Lord Liverpool asked Parliament to increase the Duke ' s allowance by ₤6 , 000 per year in 1815 ( equal to about ₤ today ) , so he could meet increased expenses due to his marriage . The Duke ' s involvement in the Weymouth election became an issue , and the bill failed by one vote . Liverpool tried again in 1817 ; this time the bill failed by seven votes . At the time of the Duke ' s marriage in 1815 , it seemed to have little dynastic significance to Britain . Princess Charlotte of Wales , only child of the Prince Regent , was the King ' s only legitimate grandchild . The young Princess was expected to have children who would secure the British succession , especially after she married Prince Leopold of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld in 1816 . Both the Prince Regent and the Duke of York were married but estranged from their wives , while the next two brothers , the Dukes of Clarence and Kent , were unmarried . On 6 November 1817 , Princess Charlotte died after delivering a stillborn son . King George was left with twelve surviving children , and no surviving legitimate grandchildren . Most of the unmarried royal dukes hurriedly sought out suitable brides and hastened to the altar , hoping to father the heir to the throne . Seeing little prospect of the Queen giving in and receiving her daughter - in - law , the Cumberlands moved to Germany in 1818 . They had difficulty living within their means in Britain , and the cost of living was much lower in Germany . Queen Charlotte died on 17 November 1818 , but the Cumberlands remained in Germany , living principally in Berlin , where the Duchess had relatives . In 1817 , the Duchess had a stillborn daughter ; in 1819 she gave birth to a boy , Prince George of Cumberland . The Duke occasionally visited England , where he stayed with his eldest brother , who in 1820 succeeded to the British and Hanoverian Thrones as George IV . George III ' s fourth son , Edward , Duke of Kent , died six days before his father , but left a daughter , Princess Victoria of Kent . With the death of George III , Ernest became fourth in line to the British Throne , following the Duke of York ( who would die without legitimate issue in 1827 ) , the Duke of Clarence , and Princess Victoria . Politics and unpopularity . In 1826 , Parliament finally voted to increase Ernest ' s allowance . The Liverpool Government argued that the Duke needed an increased allowance to pay for Prince George ' s education ; even so , it was opposed by many Whigs . The bill , which passed the House of Commons 120 – 97 , required Prince George to live in England if the Duke was to receive the money . In 1828 , Ernest was staying with the King at Windsor Castle when severe disturbances broke out in Ireland among Catholics . The Duke was an ardent supporter of the Protestant cause in Ireland , and returned to Berlin in August , believing that the Government , led by the Duke of Wellington , would deal firmly with the Irish . In January 1829 , the Wellington Government announced that it would introduce a Catholic emancipation bill to conciliate the Irish . Disregarding a request from Wellington that he remain abroad , Ernest returned to London , and was one of the leaders against the Catholic Relief Act 1829 , influencing King George against the bill . Within days of his arrival , the King instructed the officers of his Household to vote against the Bill . Hearing of this , Wellington told the King that he must resign as Prime Minister unless the King could assure him of complete support . The King initially accepted Wellington ' s resignation , and Ernest attempted to put together a government united against Catholic emancipation . Though such a government would have considerable support in the House of Lords , it would have little support in the Commons , and Ernest abandoned his attempt . The King recalled Wellington . The bill passed the Lords and became law . The Wellington Government hoped that Ernest would return to Germany , but he moved his wife and son to Britain in 1829 . " The Times " reported that they would live at Windsor in the " Devil ' s Tower " ; instead , the Duke reopened his house at Kew . They settled there as rumours flew that Thomas Garth , thought to be the illegitimate son of Ernest ' s sister Princess Sophia , had been fathered by Ernest . It was also said that Ernest had blackmailed the King by threatening to expose this secret , though Van der Kiste points out that Ernest would have been ill - advised to blackmail with a secret which , if exposed , would destroy him . These rumours were spread as Ernest journeyed to London to fight against Catholic emancipation . Whig politician and diarist Thomas Creevey wrote about the Garth rumour in mid - February , and there is some indication the rumours began with Princess Lieven , wife of the Russian ambassador . Newspapers also reported , in July 1829 , that the Duke had been thrown out of Lord Lyndhurst ' s house for assaulting his wife Sarah , Lady Lyndhurst . In early 1830 , a number of newspapers printed articles hinting that Ernest was having an affair with Lady Graves , a mother of fifteen now past fifty . In February 1830 , Lord Graves wrote a note to his wife expressing his confidence in her innocence , then cut his own throat . Two days after Lord Graves ' s death ( and the day after the inquest ) , " The Times " printed an article connecting Lord Graves ' s death with Sellis ' s . After being shown the suicide note , " The Times " withdrew its implication there might be a connection between the two deaths . Nonetheless , many believed the Duke responsible for the suicide — or guilty of a second murder . The Duke later stated that he had been " accused of every crime in the decalogue " . Ernest ' s biographer , Anthony Bird , states that while there is no proof , he has no doubt that the rumours against the Duke were spread by the Whigs for political ends . Another biographer , Geoffrey Willis , pointed out that no scandal had attached itself to the Duke during the period of over a decade when he resided in Germany ; it was only when he announced his intent to return to Britain that " a campaign of unparalleled viciousness " began against him . According to Bird , Ernest was the most unpopular man in England . The Duke ' s influence at Court was ended by the death of George IV in June 1830 and the succession of the Duke of Clarence as William IV . Wellington wrote that " The effect of the King ' s death will . . . be to put an end to the Duke of Cumberland ' s political character and power in this country entirely " . King William lacked legitimate children ( two girls having died in infancy ) and Ernest was now heir - presumptive in Hanover , since the British heir - presumptive , Victoria , as a female could not inherit there . William realized that so long as the Duke maintained a power base at Windsor , he could wield unwanted influence . The Duke was Gold Stick as head of the Household Cavalry ; William made the Duke ' s post responsible to the Commander in Chief rather than to the King , and an insulted Ernest , outraged at the thought of having to report to an officer less senior than himself , resigned . King William again emerged triumphant when the new queen , Adelaide of Saxe - Meiningen , wished to quarter her horses in the stables customarily used by the consort , but which were then occupied by Ernest ' s horses . Ernest initially refused the King ' s order to remove the horses , but gave in when told that William ' s grooms would remove them if Ernest did not move them voluntarily . However , Ernest and William remained friendly throughout the latter ' s seven - year reign . Ernest ' s house at Kew was too small for his family ; the King gave the Duke and Duchess lifetime residence in a nearby , larger house by the entrance to Kew Gardens . Ernest opposed the Reform Act 1832 , and was one of the " diehard " peers who voted against the bill on its final reading when most Tories abstained under threat of seeing the House of Lords flooded with Whig peers . Ernest was the subject of more allegations in 1832 , when two young women accused him of trying to ride them down as they walked near Hammersmith . The Duke had not left his grounds at Kew on the day in question , and was able to ascertain that the rider was one of his equerries , who professed not to have seen the women . Nevertheless , newspapers continued to print references to the incident , suggesting that Ernest had done what the women stated , and was cravenly trying to push blame on another . The same year , the Duke sued for libel after a book appeared accusing him of having his valet Neale kill Sellis , and the jury found against the author . Also in 1832 , the Cumberlands suffered tragedy , as young Prince George went blind . The Prince had been blind in one eye from infancy ; an accident at age thirteen took the sight of the other . Ernest had hoped his son might marry Princess Victoria and keep the British and Hanoverian Thrones united , but the handicap made it unlikely George could win Princess Victoria ' s hand , and raised questions about whether he should succeed in Hanover . The Duke spent William ' s reign in the House of Lords , where he was assiduous in his attendance . Wrote newspaper editor James Grant , " He is literally — the door - keeper of course excepted — the first man in the House , and the last out of it . And this not merely generally , but every night . " Grant , in his observations of the leading members of the House of Lords , indicated that the Duke was not noted for his oratory ( he delivered no speech longer than five minutes ) and had a voice that was difficult to understand , though , " his manner is most mild and conciliatory . " Grant denigrated the Duke ' s intellect and influence , but stated that the Duke had indirect influence over several members , and that , " he is by no means so bad a tactician as his opponents suppose . " Controversy arose in 1836 over the Orange Lodge s . The lodges ( which took anti - Catholic views ) were said to be ready to rise and try to put the Duke of Cumberland on the Throne on the death of King William . According to Joseph Hume , speaking in the House of Commons , Princess Victoria was to be passed over on the grounds of her age , sex , and incapacity . The Commons passed a resolution calling for the dissolution of the lodges . When the matter reached the Lords , the Duke defended himself , saying of Princess Victoria , " I would shed the last drop of my blood for my niece . " The Duke indicated that the Orange Lodge members were loyal and were willing to dissolve the lodges in Great Britain . According to Bird , this incident was the source of the widespread rumours that the Duke intended to murder Princess Victoria and take the British Throne for himself . King of Hanover ( 1837 – 1851 ) . Domestic affairs . Constitutional controversy . On 20 June 1837 , King William died , and Princess Victoria became Queen of the United Kingdom . Ernest became the King of Hanover . On 28 June 1837 , King Ernest entered his new domain , passing under a triumphal arch . For the first time in over a century , Hanover would have a ruler living there . Many Hanoverians were of a liberal perspective , and would have preferred the popular viceroy , the Duke of Cambridge , to become king , but both of Ernest ' s younger brothers refused to lend themselves to any movement by which they would become king rather than their elder brother . According to Roger Fulford in his study of George III ' s younger sons , " Royal Dukes " , " In 1837 , King Ernest was the only male descendant of George III who was willing and able to continue the connection with Hanover . " Hanover had received its first constitution , granted by the Prince Regent , in 1819 ; this did little more than denote Hanover ' s change from an electorate to a kingdom , granted by the Congress of Vienna . The Duke of Cambridge , as King William ' s viceroy in Hanover , recommended a thorough reorganisation of the Hanoverian government . William IV had given his consent to a new constitution in 1833 ; the Duke of Cumberland ' s consent was neither asked nor received , and he had formally protested against the constitution ' s adoption without his consent . One provision of the constitution transferred the Hanoverian Domains ( the equivalent of the British Crown Estate ) from the sovereign to the state , eroding the monarch ' s power . Immediately upon his arrival in Hanover , the King dissolved the parliament which had been convened under the disputed constitution . On 5 July , he proclaimed the suspension of the constitution , on the ground that his consent had not been asked , and that it did not meet the kingdom ' s needs . On 1 November 1837 , the King issued a patent , declaring the constitution void , but upholding all laws passed under it . The 1819 constitution was restored . The Crown Prince , Prince George , endorsed the action . In carrying the King ' s patent into effect , the Cabinet required all officeholders ( including professors at Göttingen University ) to renew their oaths of allegiance to the King . Seven professors ( including the two Brothers Grimm ) refused to take the oaths , and agitated for others to protest against the King ' s decree . Since they did not take the oaths , the seven lost their positions , and the King expelled the three most responsible ( including Jacob Grimm ) from Hanover . Only one of the seven , orientalist Heinrich Ewald was a citizen of Hanover and he was not expelled . In the final years of the King ' s reign , the three were invited to return . The King wrote of the incident to his brother - in - law , Frederick William III of Prussia , " If each of these seven gentlemen had addressed a letter to me expressing his opinion , I would have had no cause to take exception to their conduct . But to call a meeting and publish their opinions even before the Government had received their protest — that is what they have done and that I cannot allow . " Ernest received a deputation of Göttingen citizens , who , fearing student unrest , applauded the dismissals . However , he was widely criticised in Europe , especially in Britain . In the House of Commons , MP Colonel Thomas Perronet Thompson proposed to Parliament that if the as - yet - childless Queen Victoria died , making Ernest the British King , Parliament should declare that King Ernest had forfeited all rights to the British Throne by his actions . A more significant protest against the revocation of the 1833 constitution was the refusal of a number of towns to appoint parliamentary deputies . However , by 1840 , a sufficient number of deputies had been appointed for the King to summon Parliament , which met for two weeks in August , approving a modified version of the 1819 constitution , passing a budget , and sending a vote of thanks to the King . The Parliament met again the following year , passed a three - year budget , and adjourned again . National development and trade ; 1848 crisis . At the time the King took the throne , the city of Hanover was a densely packed residential town , and did not rise to the grand style of many German capitals . Once the political crises of the first years of his reign had subsided , he set out to remedy this state of affairs . Ernest ' s support led to gas lighting in the city streets of Hanover , up - to - date sanitation and the development of a new residential quarter . He had the plans altered in 1841 , after Queen Frederica ' s death , to leave standing the Altes Palais , where the two had lived since arriving in Hanover . Ernest ' s interest in and support of the railroads led to Hanover becoming a major rail junction , much to the nation ' s benefit . However , when court architect Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves in 1837 proposed the building of an opera house in Hanover , the King initially refused , calling the proposal " this utterly absurd idea of building a court theatre in the middle of this green field " . The King finally gave his consent in 1844 , and the opera house opened in 1852 , a year after the King ' s death . Every week , the King travelled with his secretary to different parts of his kingdom , and anyone could lay a petition before him — although Ernest had petitions screened by the secretary so he would not have to deal with frivolous complaints . Ernest opened high ministerial positions to those of any class , securing the services of several ministers who would not have been eligible without this reform . Though the King had , while Duke of Cumberland , fought against Catholic emancipation , he made no objection to Catholics in government service in Hanover , and even visited their churches . Ernest explained this by stating that there were no historical reasons to restrict Catholics in Hanover , as there had been in the United Kingdom . He continued to oppose admission of Jews into the British Parliament , but gave Jews in Hanover equal rights . The King supported a postal union and common currency among the German states , but opposed the Prussia n - led customs union , the " Zollverein " , fearing that it would lead to Prussian dominance and the end of Hanover as an independent state . Instead , the King supported the " " , which Hanover and other western German states had formed in 1834 . When the " Steuerverein " treaties came up for renewal in 1841 , Brunswick pulled out of the union and joined the " Zollverein " , greatly weakening Hanover ' s position , especially since Brunswick had enclave s within Hanover . Ernest was able to postpone the enclaves ' entry into the " Zollverein " , and when a trade war began , was able to outlast Brunswick . In 1845 , Brunswick , Hanover , and Prussia signed a trade agreement . In 1850 , Ernest reluctantly permitted Hanover to join the " Zollverein " , though the entry was on favourable terms . Ernest ' s forebodings about Prussia were warranted ; in 1866 , fifteen years after his death , Hanover chose the Austrian side in the Austro - Prussian War , was defeated , and was annexed by Prussia . Hanover was little affected by the revolutions of 1848 ; a few small disturbances were put down by the cavalry without bloodshed . When agitators arrived from Berlin at the end of May 1848 , and there were demonstrations outside the King ' s palace , Ernest sent out the Prime Minister . The Prime Minister warned that if the demonstrators made any inappropriate demands on the King , Ernest would pack up his things and leave for Britain , taking the Crown Prince with him . This would leave the country to the mercy of expansionist Prussia , and the threat put an end to the agitation . Afterwards , the King granted a new constitution , somewhat more liberal than the 1819 document . Relations with Britain . Ernest Augustus is supposed to have asked the advice of the Duke of Wellington as to what course he should take after Victoria ' s accession , with Wellington supposedly saying " Go before you are pelted out . " However , Bird dismisses this story as unlikely , given Wellington ' s customary respect to royalty and the fact that Ernest had little choice in what to do — he had to repair to his kingdom as quickly as possible . One decision the new King did have to make was whether , in his capacity as Duke of Cumberland , to swear allegiance to Victoria in the House of Lords . Shortly after William ' s death , Ernest heard from Lord Lyndhurst that Lord Cottenham , the Lord Chancellor , had stated that he would refuse to administer the Oath of Allegiance to the King , as a foreign Sovereign . The King hurriedly appeared in the House of Lords , before his departure for Hanover , and subscribed to the Oath before the Chief Clerk as a matter of routine . Ernest was heir presumptive to his niece until the birth of Queen Victoria ' s daughter , also named Victoria , in November 1840 . The Lord Privy Seal , Lord Clarendon , wrote , " What the country cares about is to have a life more , whether male or female , between the succession and the King of Hanover . " Almost immediately upon going to Hanover , the King became involved in a dispute with his niece . Victoria , who had a strained relationship with her mother , the Duchess of Kent , wanted to give the Duchess accommodation near her , for the sake of appearances — but not too near her . To that end , she asked the King to give up his apartments at St . James ' s Palace in favour of the Duchess . The King , wishing to retain apartments in London in anticipation of frequent visits to England , and reluctant to give way in favour of a woman who had frequently fought with his brother , King William , declined , and Victoria angrily rented a house for her mother . At a time when the young Queen was trying to pay off her father ' s debts , she saw this as unnecessary expense . Her ill - feeling towards the King increased when he refused , and advised his two surviving brothers to similarly refuse , to give precedence to her intended spouse , Albert of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha . Ernest argued that the standing of the various royal families had been settled at the Congress of Vienna , and the King of Hanover should not have to yield to one whom he described as a " paper Royal Highness " . The act which naturalised Albert as a British subject left the question of his precedence unresolved . Matters came to a head when Ernest returned for what would prove to be his only visit to England as King of Hanover , in 1843 . He was welcomed warmly , everywhere but at the Palace . At the wedding of Princess Augusta of Cambridge , he attempted to insist on a superior place to that of Prince Albert . The 50 - years - younger prince settled things with what Albert described as a " strong push " , and carefully wrote his name on the certificate under the Queen ' s , so close to his wife ' s as to leave no space for the King ' s signature . The King apparently held no grudge , as he invited the Prince for a stroll in the park . When Albert demurred on the grounds that they might be jostled by crowds , the King replied , " When I lived here I was quite as unpopular as you are and they never bothered me . " Shortly after the wedding , the King injured himself in a fall , with Albert writing to his brother , " Happily he fell over some stones in Kew and damaged some ribs . " This injury spared him further contact with Victoria and Albert . During his visit , the King found time to take his place as Duke of Cumberland in the House of Lords . Victoria recorded in her journal that the King had stated when asked if he would speak in the Lords , " No , I shall not , unless the Devil prompts me ! " The Queen also recorded that though King Ernest greatly enjoyed listening to the debates , he did not himself speak . The monarchs engaged in one more battle — over jewels left by Queen Charlotte . Victoria , who possessed them , took the position that they belonged to the British Crown . King Ernest maintained that they were to go to the heir male , that is , himself . The matter was arbitrated , and just as the arbitrators were about to announce a decision in Hanover ' s favour , one of the arbitrators died , voiding the decision . Despite the King ' s request for a new panel , Victoria refused to permit one during the King ' s lifetime , and took every opportunity to wear the jewels , causing the King to write to his friend , Lord Strangford , " The little Queen looked very fine , I hear , loaded down with " my " diamonds . " The King ' s son and heir , King George V , pressed the matter , and in 1858 , after another decision in Hanover ' s favour , the jewels were turned over to the Hanoverian ambassador . The King made a point of welcoming British visitors , and when one Englishwoman told him that she had been lost in the city , the King denied that this was possible , as " the whole country is no larger than a fourpenny bit . " Later life , death , and memorial . In 1851 , the King undertook a number of journeys around Germany . He accepted an invitation from the Prussian Queen - consort to visit Charlottenburg Palace , near Berlin . He visited Mecklenburg for the christening of the Grand Duke ' s son , and Lüneburg to inspect his old regiment . In June Ernest celebrated his 80th birthday by playing host to the King of Prussia . Late that summer , he visited Göttingen , where he opened a new hospital and was given a torchlight procession . The King continued his interest in British affairs , and wrote to Lord Strangford about the Great Exhibition of 1851 : The folly and absurdity of the Queen in allowing this trumpery must strike every sensible and well - thinking mind , and I am astonished the ministers themselves do not insist on her at least going to Osborne during the Exhibition , as no human being can possibly answer for what may occur on the occasion . The idea . . . must shock every honest and well - meaning Englishman . But it seems everything is conspiring to lower us in the eyes of Europe . The King died on 18 November 1851 after an illness of about a month . He was mourned greatly in Hanover ; less so in England where " The Times " omitted the customary black border to its front page and claimed " the good that can be said of the Royal dead is little or none . " Both he and Queen Frederica rest in a mausoleum in the Herrenhausen Gardens . A large equestrian statue of King Ernest Augustus may be found in a square named after him in front of Hanover Central Station , inscribed with his name and the words ( in German ) " To the father of the nation from his loyal people . " It is a popular meeting place ; in the local phrase , people arrange to meet " unterm Schwanz " or " under the tail " ( that is , of the horse which the King rides ) . Although " The Times " denigrated Ernest ' s career as Duke of Cumberland , it did speak well of his time as King of Hanover , and of his success in keeping Hanover stable in 1848 : Above all , he possessed a resolute decision of character , which , however unfortunately it may have operated under different conditions , appeared to extraordinary advantage at the crisis of continental thrones . Bewildered by the revolutionary din , and oscillating ignominiously between fear and rage , resistance and concession , the clique of crowned heads suffered greatly by contrast with a Sovereign who at least knew his own mind , and was prepared to abide by his opinions . In the European convulsions , therefore , King Ernest maintained the stability of his throne and the tranquillity of his people without damage from revolution or reaction . As Kings , indeed , are computed on the continent , he was an able and even a popular Monarch , and his memory may find , perhaps , in his ancestral dominions a sympathy which it would be vain to bespeak for it in the scenes of his manhood or the land of his birth . References . Explanatory notes Citations Bibliography . Online sources