Duke of York in 1822, John Jackson, National Portrait
HRH Prince Frederick Augustus of Hanover, Duke of York
and Albany (born 16th August 1763 died 5th January 1827)
was the second son of King George III. When his father
died in 1820 he became the heir presumptive to his
brother, King George IV. He became an officer in the
British Army and was appointed to high command by the
age of 30 years and through lack of experience he
commanded a lacklustre campaign during the War of the
First Coalition (1792-1797). Later in his military
career he served the Commander-in-Chief during the
Napoleonic Wars, at which time he reorganized the
British Army, putting in place several vital and
important administrative and structural reforms.
Fredericton, the capital of the Canadian province of New
Brunswick, was named after Prince Frederick.
The city was originally named "Frederick's Town".
The towering Duke of York Column on Waterloo Place, just
off The Mall, London
was completed in 1834 as a memorial to Prince Frederick.
The 72nd Regiment of Foot was given the title Duke of
Albany's Own Highlanders in 1823
and, in 1881, became 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
(Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's).
The first British fortification in southern Africa, Fort
Frederick, Port Elizabeth, a city in the Eastern Cape
of South Africa, was built in 1799 to prevent French
assistance for rebellious Boers
in the short-lived republic of Graaff-Reinet.
The Duke of York Bay in Canada was named in his honour,
since it was discovered on his birthday, 16 August.
Heraldry Courtesy of John
Tunesi of Liongam
Hertfordshire, United Kingdom