Early Life
Mary Adelaide was born on 27 November 1833 in Hanover, Germany. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the youngest surviving son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, the daughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel. The young princess was christened on 9 January 1834 at Cambridge House, Hanover by Rev John Ryle Wood, Chaplain to the Duke of Cambridge. Her godmother and paternal aunt The Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg was the only godparent who was present. The rest (who were absent, possibly represented by proxies) were The King and Queen (her paternal uncle and his wife), The Duchess of Gloucester (her paternal aunt), The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (her maternal aunt) and Princess Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau (her first cousin). She was named Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth for her aunt Gloucester, the Queen, the King, and her aunt the Landgravine, respectively.
Mary Adelaide spent the early years of her life in Hanover, Germany, where her father acted as viceroy, in place of her uncles George IV and later William IV. Her love of food and tendency to overeat led her to become seriously overweight and to her subsequently being nicknamed "Fat Mary."
After the death of William IV, Mary Adelaide's cousin, Princess Victoria of Kent ascended the throne in 1837. However Salic law prevented Victoria from ascending the throne of Hanover, which instead passed to Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Thus, the personal union which had existed for over a century between Britain and Hanover came to an end along with the arrangement of Hanover's ruler living in England as the British and Colonies monarch and using a viceroy to represent them in the German territory. Therefore, the Duke of Cumberland moved to Hanover as Ernest Augustus I of the Kingdom and the Duke of Cambridge, no longer needed in Hanover, returned to London with his family, setting up residence in Kensington Palace.
Read more about this topic: Princess Mary Adelaide Of Cambridge
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