Person    | Male  Born 15/4/1721  Died 31/10/1765

William Duke of Cumberland

Categories: Armed Forces, Royalty

Countries: Scotland

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. He was the third son and the sixth of the eight children of King George II and Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach and was born on 15 April 1721 in Leicester House, Leicester Fields (now Leicester Square).

Known, in Scotland, as the Butcher of Cumberland for his role in putting down the Scottish rebels led by Prince Charles Stuart, at the Battle of Culloden, the last battle fought on British soil, 16 April 1746. Handel's oratorio chorus "See the Conquering Hero Comes" was written that year in his honour.

Another nickname was 'Stinking Billy' prompted by the Sweet William flower emblem used by his English supporters. He also took part in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years War (1756-1763).

He died from a brain-clot, aged 44 years, on 31 October 1765, at his home on Upper Grosvenor Street, Westminster and was buried beneath the floor of the nave of the Henry VII Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
William Duke of Cumberland

Commemorated ati

William Duke of Cumberland

The original was in lead and gilt and was, apparently, London's first outdoor...

Read More

Other Subjects

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Edward Frederic Shaw, MC

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Edward Frederic Shaw, MC

Robert Edward Frederic Shaw was born on 29 August 1891, the second of the five children of Robert Villiers George Shaw (1864-1946) and Agnes Marion Shaw née Guy (1862-1955). His birth was registere...

Person, Armed Forces, France, Wales

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
90th Light Infantry

90th Light Infantry

Part of the force commanded by Havelock. Infantry.

Group, Armed Forces

1 memorial
Douglas Walter Belcher, VC

Douglas Walter Belcher, VC

Soldier. Born Douglas Walter Belcher in Surbiton. He enlisted at the beginning of WW1 and fought at the second Battle of Ypres. Whilst in charge of a portion of breastwork (a temporary fortificatio...

Person, Armed Forces, France

War served, WW1
2 memorials
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Established in 1903 it continued until 1958 when all British naval reserve forces were amalgamated and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) was absorbed into the much larger Royal Naval Reserve...

Group, Armed Forces

1 memorial
W. T. Ellner

W. T. Ellner

Employed at the Holloway bus/tram garage - Pemberton Gardens. Served and was killed in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial

Previously viewed

Guinness Trust / Guinness Partnership

Guinness Trust / Guinness Partnership

From the Picture source: "In 1890 Sir Edward Guinness set up The Guinness Trust, donating £200,000 to the Trust in London, with an additional £50,000 for the Dublin Fund, which later became the Ive...

Group, Philanthropy, Social Welfare

1 memorial