A previous Duke of Cambridge
The current holder of the Duke of Cambridge title was gifted it by his grandmother, HM Queen Elizabeth II and as William, Prince of Wales, he is today the heir apparent to the British throne. A previous Duke of Cambridge was deemed worthy of an equestrian statue in Whitehall. This was Prince George William Frederick Charles (1819-1904), grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. As per the inscription on his statue, he was commander in chief of the British army between 1856 and 1895.
This Duke of Cambridge did not distinguish himself in that role. His appointment coincided with the shortcomings that were exposed by the Crimean War, above all in a quasi-amateur leadership that was drawn from the landowning aristocracy, from which second sons were typically drawn. Officer commissions were usually purchased rather than earned through merit.
The Duke of Cambridge, supported by Queen Victoria, resisted efforts to place the Army on a more professional footing. Poor army organisation was again starkly revealed during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. One may add that the Duke’s personal life was a tangled business.
It is ironic that this statue stands outside the former War Office, whose creation was anathema to the Duke.
A previous Duke of Cambridge
The current holder of the Duke of Cambridge title was gifted it by his grandmother, HM Queen Elizabeth II and as William, Prince of Wales, he is today the heir apparent to the British throne. A previous Duke of Cambridge was deemed worthy of an equestrian statue in Whitehall. This was Prince George William Frederick Charles (1819-1904), grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. As per the inscription on his statue, he was commander in chief of the British army between 1856 and 1895.
This Duke of Cambridge did not distinguish himself in that role. His appointment coincided with the shortcomings that were exposed by the Crimean War, above all in a quasi-amateur leadership that was drawn from the landowning aristocracy, from which second sons were typically drawn. Officer commissions were usually purchased rather than earned through merit.
The Duke of Cambridge, supported by Queen Victoria, resisted efforts to place the Army on a more professional footing. Poor army organisation was again starkly revealed during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. One may add that the Duke’s personal life was a tangled business.
It is ironic that this statue stands outside the former War Office, whose creation was anathema to the Duke.