An Exiled King and a Deposed Duke's Medal Bar

[Ulsterman]

From Rick Research........

"Thanks to the traveling museum for allowing this to be shared........

Ernest Augustus William George Frederick/ Ernst August Wilhelm Georg Friedrich, would-have-been King of Hanover (from 1878) de jure Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg (from 1884), 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Tevoitdale was born on the 21st of September, 1845 and died on November 14th, 1923. He was the son of Ernst Augustus, King of Hanover, 1st Duke of Cumberland , Earl of Armagh (1771-1851) and grandson of King George IIIrd of England and Hanover. E.A.W.G.F. married Princess Thira of Denmark, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark-which explains part of the combination. His father Georg, the famous "Blind King of Hanover" almost married his cousin, Queen Victoria, but having lost his sight due to illness and accident, Albert beat him to the prize of Windsor.

[Ulsterman]

Following Prussia's annexation of Hanover as a consequence of the war of 1866, E.A.W.G.F. took his family into mostly Austrian exile, where he refused to the end of his life to give up his legal claim to the throne of Hanover. He was active in the Guelphic Legion, a regiment of Hanovarian loyalists who were stationed in France and disbanded only months before the Franco-German war of 1870. Had the legion not been bankrupted by Bismarcks' arrest of the Hanovarians' bankers, EAWGF might have found himself fighting against the Prussian army at such places as Sedan or Mars le Tour!

Complicating matters, in him was untied the legal dynastic inheritance of the Duchy of Brunswick, which was also barred to him since he would not abandon his claim to Hanover. Brunswick remained under Prussian 'regency" (occupation) from 1866-1913 . E.A.W.G.F.'s 3rd son (who as such might never have had a chance of succeeding to any crown anyway) Ernst August Junior (father and son referred to this way for brevity) married Kaiser Wilhelm II's daughter Victoria on the 24th of May, 1913. (One wonders how the seating arrangements were handled at THAT wedding-let alone how the courtship happened!!!).

Ernst August Junior was presented with the Duchy of Brunswick ONLY by his fathers' abdication of that claim on October 24th, 1913. Having obviously cleared things up in advance, the legal impediments to succession vanished and on November 1, 1913 Junior was confirmed as ( the last) reigning Duke of Brunswick. Just under a year's delay on that and he might have ended up in EITHER the Austrian or British armies......

Ernst August Seniors' medal bar reflects the odd, but by no means unique practice of some of the German Ruling (in this case in-exile) Houses of presenting their youngsters with peculiarly basic grades of their home awards so that (apparently) they would always have something domestic to wear first on medal bars.

Thus:

Hanoverian Guelphic Order-Knight (military division)

Hanoverian Ernst August Order-Knight

Hanoverian Silver 1898 81st Birthday Medal of the Queen Dowager -in exile Marie (Seniors' Mum)

Bavarian Luitpold Military Jubilee Medal (1911 issue-1905 reverse on military ribbon)

Mecklenburg- Schwerin Griffin Order-Knight

Danish Dannebrog Order-Silver Merit Cross (Christian IX type)

British George V Coronation Medal 1911

Danish Christian IX/Louise Golden Wedding Decoration 1892 (39 enameled silver gilt awards to Royals)

Ernst August Senior was a Knight of the Garter but that and his other British titles were stripped from him (and his son) during the Great War. Other German titles were outlawed by the Wiemar constitution of 1919 and the subsequent enabling acts of 1920. Today, German aristocrats "titles" are names only.

Note also that the exiled "king" (then Crown prince) was at Lagansalza, the Hanoverian Pyrrhic victory of June of 1866, but for some reason he did not include the battle medal -nor any of his Austrian awards, upon this bar.

His descendant, who still claims the pretender's title to the throne of Hanover, is today married to Princess Caroline of Monaco.

[Claudius]

Great medal bar. Great write-up on the background. Thanks for showing it.

Not to be gauche, but considering the rarity, the ID and background, IF the medal bar would come on the market what would you estimate the "value" to be?

[Ulsterman]

Hmmmmm...a LOT more money than I have.

The Hanoverian collectors are a big pockets lot and they LOVE their subject. Anything related to the KGL goes through the roof these days....which is indirectly another result of posts here actually.

[Great Dane]

Great write-up Ulsterman,

A small correction:

His Order of Dannebrog is not Knight but Silver Merit Cross awarded in 1878 (same year he received the danish Order of the Elephant).

The Golden Wedding decoration was awarded in gold to royals, but many of them had spare ones made from gilt silver (to use in other medal bar combinations)

/Michael