Name Prince Augustus House House of Hanover | Role 1914–1987 | |
Reign 30 January 1953 – 9 December 1987 Predecessor Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Successor Ernst August, Prince of Hanover Born 18 March 1914
Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany ( 1914-03-18 ) Issue Marie, Countess of Hochberg
Ernest Augustus V
Prince Louis Rudolph
Princess Olga
Alexandra, Princess of Leiningen
Prince Henry Julius Father Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Mother Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia Died December 9, 1987, Pattensen, Germany Spouse Monika, Princess of Hanover (m. 1981–1987) Children Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover Parents Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia Similar People Ernest Augustus - Duke of B, Princess Victoria Louise of, Prince Heinrich of Hanover, Caroline - Princess of Hanover, Prince Christian of Hanover | ||
Ernst August, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover (German: Ernst August Prinz von Hannover; 18 March 1914 – 9 December 1987) was head of the House of Hanover from 1953 until his death. He was born at Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany, the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the youngest child and only daughter of Wilhelm II, Ernest Augustus's third cousin in descent from George III of the United Kingdom. Ernst August's parents were, therefore, third cousins, once removed. From his birth, he was the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick (German: Ernst August, Erbprinz von Braunschweig). He was also, shortly after birth in 1914, awarded the title of Prince of Great Britain and Ireland by King George V of the United Kingdom, and was heir to the title of Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh which was suspended under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917.
Contents
Life
The christening of Ernst August in the summer of 1914 was the last great gathering of European monarchs before the start of World War I. He had an illustrious list of godparents, including the German Emperor and Empress, his maternal grandparents; the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, his paternal grandparents; George V of the United Kingdom, Franz Joseph of Austria, Nicholas II of Russia, Ludwig III of Bavaria, Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, Prince Oskar of Prussia, Prince Maximilian of Baden and The 1st Royal Bavarian Heavy Cavalry Regiment.
He lost his titles when his father abdicated in 1918 when he was 4 years old. After his father's death in 1953, he became head of the House of Hanover. He was usually styled His Royal Highness The Prince of Hanover and sometimes as Ernest Augustus IV.
During World War II, he fought at the Russian Front as Oberleutnant in the staff of Generaloberst Erich Hoepner. He was seriously injured near Charkov in spring 1943. After the 20 July plot in 1944, he was imprisoned for a few weeks by the Gestapo in Berlin.
In addition to being a German, he also held British nationality, after successfully claiming it under the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 in the case of Attorney-General v. Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover. He was also heir to the British title of Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, suspended under the Titles Deprivation Act 1917.
Marriage and children
On 5 September 1951, Ernest Augustus married Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1925–1980). The wedding was attended by many important royal figures, including his sister Queen Frederica and her husband King Paul I of Greece, and the heads of the houses of Saxony, Hesse, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, and Baden. The wedding was followed with a reception at Herrenhausen, the only part of Hanover's former palace still intact (the rest had been burned down during World War II).
His children by his first wife are:
Princess Ortrud died in 1980. Ernest Augustus married again in 1981, Countess Monika of Solms-Laubach (1929–2015). He died at Schulenburg, Pattensen, Lower Saxony, Germany, aged 73.