ADELAIDE LOUISA THERESA CAROLINE AMELIA was the eldest daughter of George Frederick Charles, the late reigning Duke of Saxe Meiningen, and the Princess Louisa Eleanor, daughter of Christian Albert, Prince of Hohenlohe Langenburg. She was born on the 18th of August, 1792, and married the late King William IV. (then Duke of Clarence) on the 11th of July, 1818, and by that sovereign (who died on the 20th of June, 1837,) she had issue two daughters-the Princess Charlotte Augusta Louisa, born and died on the 27th of March, 1819, and the Princess Elizabeth Georgiana Adelaide, born on the 20th of December, 1820, and died March 4, 1821.

Her late Majesty was the eldest of three children (two daughters and a son), left by the date Duke of Saxe Meiningen at his death in December, 1803.

The Duke of Saxe Meiningen, by his will, left the guardianship of his three children and the administration of the ducal estates to his pious and estimable widow; and by her prudent management the little state of Meiningen escaped the troubles to which the larger principalities were exposed by the invasion of the French under Napoleon, so that she and her people remained in undisturbed possession of domestic peace. While in the enjoyment of this tranquillity, her daughters, the Princesses Adelaide and Ida, were educated, with a strict regard to religion and morals, in the usual branches of polite and useful learning. From earliest childhood the Princess Adelaide, in particular, was remarkable for her sedate disposition and rather reserved habits. The greatest portion of her time was devoted to her studies; and though perfectly cheerful with her intimate companions, she took little pleasure in the gaities and frivolities of fashion. Even when arrived at more mature years, she manifested a strong dislike to that laxity of morals and contempt for religious feeling which had sprung out of the French revolution, and infected almost all the courts in Germany. Thus favored by Providence, the

little court of Meiningen was distinguished by its purity of principles, and its two princesses became objects of admiration from their exemplary conduct. Their chief delight was in establishing and superintending schools for the education of the lower classes of the community, and in providing food and raiment for the aged, helpless, and destitute. The Princess Adelaide, above all, was the life and soul of every institution which had for its object the amelioration of the condition of her fellow-creatures, and in this school it was that her Majesty first imbibed those exalted qualities of mind and heart which, in a more extended sphere, have since been so happily displayed for the advantage and happiness of the British people. The late Queen Charlotte, it is said, had long entertained thoughts of securing the hand of the Princess Adelaide for one of her sons, the virtuous and unostentatious habits of that Princess having reached the ears of her Majesty at the English court. In 1818 there arose a feeling of anxiety that the unmarried princes should contract matrimonial alliances to relieve the nation from the prospect of "a broken lineage and a doubtful throne." The Dukes of Clarence and Cambridge were the first to acquiesce in the views of the Government and the private wishes of the aged Queen. The name of the Princess Adelaide of Saxe Meiningen, as the future wife of the Duke of Clarence, then, for the first time, came before the public.

A correspondence had previously taken place, and on the 19th of April, 1818, a royal message was delivered to the Houses of Lords and Commons, announcing the consent of the Prince Regent to the marriage of the Duke of Clarence and the Princess of Saxe Meiningen, and the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess of Hesse, and asking a suitable pecuniary provision from the House of Commons. The Government proposal was agreed to in the Lords, but rejected in the Commons by a large majority. Viscount Castlereagh then informed the House that he believed he might say that the negotiation for the mar

riage of the Duke of Clarence was at an end. The Duke of Clarence, however, was induced by his friends to revoke his determination, and the consequence was that the correspondence with the Princess of Saxe Meiningen was renewed.

The Princess Adelaide of Saxe Meiningen, accompanied by her venerated mother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe Meiningen, arrived in England from Germany on the 11th of July, 1818, circumstances having prevented the Duke of Clarence from repairing to the Continent. The marriage took place on the 13th (two days after her reaching the shores of her adopted country), at the palace at Kew, but from the indisposition of Queen Charlotte (then suffering from her fatal illness), it was conducted in a private manner. The Duke and Duchess of Kent were at the same time remarried according to the rites of the Established Church. Both the brides were given away by the Prince Regent, the Archbishop of Canterbury performing the ceremony.

The Duke and Duchess of Clarence, after passing a short period at Clarence-house, St. James's, proceeded to the Continent, and remained during the winter and the spring of the following year in Hanover. On the 27th of March, 1819, (the day succeeding the birth of Prince George of Cambridge,) the Duchess of Clarence was prematurely delivered of a princess, which only lived a few hours. This misfortune was imputed to the Duchess having caught cold through walking in the gardens of the palace.

The health of the Duchess was very unsatisfactory, and, at the recommendation of her physicians, she, at the close of April, left Hanover, for Meiningen, visiting her relations at Gottingen and at Hesse Philipsthal on her way. Her reception by the people of the duchy was most affecting, and demonstrated how dearly they cherished the unostentatious kindness of the Princess when resident amongst them. Shortly after ward she removed to the dowager duchess's beautiful villa at the baths of Liebenstein. The waters had a beneficial effect on her health, and being anxious to return to England with her royal husband, she set out in October on the homeward journey. She suffered considerable fatigue by the journey, occasioned chiefly by the badness of the roads; and on her arrival at Dunkirk she miscarried, and was again taken seriously ill. In consequence, her arrival in England was necessarily delayed; and on landing at Dover, so weak was her Royal Highness that she could

not bear the fatigue of traveling to London by short stages. At the suggestion of her medical attendants, she accepted an invitation from the Earl of Liverpool (then Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports) to take up her residence at Walmer Castle, until she had sufficiently recovered. The duchess stayed there about six weeks with the royal duke, who never left her during her illness, and then proceeded to Clarence-house, St. James's, to spend the winter, Bushy being then under a thorough repair. As soon, however, as that house became tenantable, her Royal Highness removed thither, to enjoy that tranquillity and freedom from fashionable life which constituted her principal delight.

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On the 10th December, 1820, she gave birth to a daughter at Clarence-house. The birth was premature, but the infant promised to live, and was baptized Elizabeth. hopes of the succession in that quarter were soon destined to be blighted. The princess expired, after a few hours' illness, on the 4th of March, 1821. The Duchess of Clarence was so deeply afflicted at this calamity that fears were entertained for her own life.

The Duke and Duchess of Clarence, in June, 1822, again visited Germany, and in March, 1825, returned thither to participate in the festivities in honor of the marriage of the reigning Duke of Saxe Meiningen (only brother of the duchess) and Princess Mary of Hesse at Cassel. The last visit the late king made to the Continent with his amiable consort was in 1826.

The domestic life of the duke and duchess at this period is thus described by Dr. Beattie, who was for some years his Royal Highness's private physician

"To his illustrious partner, whose many and exalted virtues his Royal Highness so duly appreciates, no man can possibly evince more delicate and uniform attention. There are not, perhaps, of the present day, two personages, of similar station, in whom the virtues of domestic life are more pleasingly exemplified. With those excellent qualities of mind and heart so eminently possessed by the royal duchess, it is not surprising that her royal highness should have won and should retain the esteem and affection of her illustrious consort. His mind is fully alive to their vital importance as regards his present happiness, and to the influence they must exercise over his future prospects."

Early in 1827, the death of the Duke of York occurred, which placed the Duke of Clarence in the position of heir presumptive to the throne, shortly after which a jointure of £6,000 to the Duchess of Clarence was

agreed to by the House of Commons. This object had scarcely been effected when a sudden change in the Government, by the succession of Mr. Canning to the helm of public affairs, brought the royal duke forward still more conspicuously to public view, his royal highness being placed at the head of the Marine Department, with the revived title of Lord High Admiral, after that dignity had laid dormant, and the duties of the office been discharged by commission for the space of 127 years.

On the 27th May, 1828, the Duchess of Clarence embarked at Woolwich to meet her mother, the Duchess (Dowager) of Saxe Meiningen, at Calais, and to conduct her to England, where she remained during the summer. In the month of September, the same year, the Duke of Clarence resigned his situation as Lord High Admiral, and the Duchess of Clarence and her husband, after leaving the Admiralty, resided in retirement chiefly at Bushy-park. It was during their residence there, in June 1830, that tidings of the death of George IV., at Windsor Castle, were brought to the royal duke and duchess by the late Sir Henry Halford.

On the 30th of July the King and Queen arrived at the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, and it was during the sojourn of the court at that marine palace that their Majesties visited Lewes. Sir John Shelley, then M.P. for the town, delivered a congratulatory address from the inhabitants to their Majesties. The King, after a rather lengthened reply, in reference to Queen Adelaide said :—“Among the many favorable circumstances under which Providence has called me to ascend the throne of this country, there is none for which I feel more grateful, upon which I set a higher value, than that it had previously been my happy fortune to be married to an individual so excellent in every amiable and good feeling. In this country character finds its way forth in the world, and is always known. I must take the opportunity of speaking what I am most sincerely convinced of that her Majesty, who sits before you, possesses every estimable quality calculated to give worth and lustre to her exalted station."

The last Ministerial act of the Duke of Wellington's Government was the introduction of a bill by the Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst providing that, in the event of a posthumous child of King William and Queen Adelaide, the Queen Dowager should then be its guardian and regent during the minority; and it gave a corresponding power to

the Duchess of Kent during the minority of her daughter.

On the 1st of August, 1831, the Queen assisted her Royal Consort in opening New London-bridge, and on the day following a bill received the royal assent granting in the event of Queen Adelaide surviving the King a provision of £100,000 per annum for life. Bushy-park and Marlborough-house to be assigned as residences for her Majesty during life. Her Majesty accompanied the King on this occasion to express her thanks to the two Houses of Parliament for the ample provision which they had made for her maintenance in the event of her widowhood, and on the bill receiving the royal assent she rose and made an obeisance three times to the two Houses.

On the 8th of September in the same year the coronation of the King and Queen took place at Westminster Abbey. In accordance with the wishes of their Majesties, the ceremonial was shorn of much of the pageantry which distinguished that of the previous sovereign.

In the month of July, 1834, Queen Adelaide embarked at Woolwich for Germany, for the express purpose of visiting her venerable mother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe Meiningen, whose health at that period began to decline.

In 1836, when political animosities were acquiring renewed strength, and a more violent struggle of parties for political power was approaching, the conduct of William IV. and Queen Adelaide was beyond all praise. At his Majesty's Court were met men of all parties in the state. Integrity of character

was the chief recommendation to a share in that English hospitality which distinguished his crowded banquets; while his Majesty's Royal Consort herself, on behalf of the ladies of England, secured public respect and affection by protecting them from the intrusion of even doubtful morality.

The spring of 1837 was one of mourning for the court. The Queen Adelaide received the distressing information of the demise of her venerated mother, whose health had been on the decay several months, dying on the 29th April, having attained the age of sixtyeight years.

Before the Queen had recovered from that bereavement, the fatal illness of the late King commenced; symptoms which indicated organic disease of the heart became perceptible, and of a nature never likely to yield to medical treatment. In reference to the conduct of that illustrious lady during the try

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ing illness of the late King, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, at a charitable meeting held shortly after the decease of the King, said that " For three weeks prior to his dissolution, the Queen sat by his bedside performing for him every office which a sick man could require, and depriving herself of all manner of rest and refection; she underwent labors which I thought no ordinary woman could endure; no language can do justice to her meekness, and to the calmness of mind which she sought to preserve before the King, while sorrow was preying on her heart; such constancy of affection, I think, was one of the most interesting spectacles that could be presented to a mind desiring to be gratified by the sight of human excellence." As is well known, the King expired in the arms of his exemplary and faithful partner. The shock was severe, yet the irreparable bereavement was borne by the sorrowing Queen with the greatest resignation and fortitude.

At the funeral of the King the Queen Adelaide was present in one of the royal closets during the solemn service.

The Queen Dowager, then in very delicate health, repaired in the autumn to St. Leonard's on-Sea, in company with the late Princess Augusta, and there passed the winter, and while there her health became thoroughly restored. On the 3d of October, 1838, having been advised by her medical attendants to resort to a more genial climate for the winter, her Majesty embarked at Portsmouth, on board the Hastings, 74 (Captain Loch), for Malta, attended by the Earl Howe, the Earl and Countess of Denbigh, the Earl and Countess of Sheffield, and a very numerous retinue, for that British dependency.

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ceed those of any of the modern churches in London; the length of the area being 110 feet; breadth, 67 feet; and height, 45 feet.

In October, 1847, her Majesty, accompanied by the Duchess Ida, Prince Edward, and the Princesses of Saxe Weimar, embarked on board the Howe, 120, at Portsmouth, for Madeira, and on her way to that island put in at the Tagus, and was there received by the Queen and Prince Consort of Portugal. On the morning of April 2, in the following year, the Queen returned to Spithead, visited the Queen and Prince Albert at Osborne, the same night sleeping on board the Howe, and the succeeding day returning to London. The succeeding winter was passed at Bentley Priory, near Stanmore, which she had taken of the Marquis of Abercorn, and which has proved her last earthly home.

It must be perfectly needless to remind our readers of the charitable disposition of her Majesty, but we may, perhaps, surprise them when we mention the enormous extent to which the royal benevolence was carried. For many years past her Majesty's regular contributions to the charitable institutions of the country have amounted to upward of £20,000 annually, while her private charities have always been on a most profuse scale of liberality. With a warm recollection of her illustrious husband's profession, the Queen Dowager invariably contributed very largely to the naval charities of the country, and, in a great measure through her royal beneficence, a new church for seamen of the port of London was recently erected near St. Katherine's Docks.