A Profusion of Royal Sapphires and Diamonds: The Will of Grand Duchess Augusta (Part 1)

Grand Duchess Augusta, the aunt and confidant of Queen Mary, had to revise her will–and her jewelry bequests–after a series of unfortunate family events at the dawn of the twentieth century.

In February 2023, the President of the Family Division’s Office in Britain published a new procedural note indicating that some royal wills, long hidden from the public, could now be unsealed. Among these was the will of Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, aunt of Queen Mary and first cousin of Queen Victoria. Today, I’m bringing you the first of two articles chronicling Augusta’s pivotal role within the royal family, her sparkling jewels, and the secrets revealed when her will was unsealed this summer.

On the evening of December 6, 1916, King George V sat down at his desk to record the sad events that had transpired that day. “It has been a trying day for me,” he confessed. “We got the sad news that dear Augusta died yesterday at the age of 94.”

Dear Augusta–the Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and a Princess of Great Britain and Ireland–was the last surviving grandchild of King George III and Queen Charlotte. A first cousin of Queen Victoria, Augusta had witnessed an incredible run of history in her lifetime, including multiple coronations and, at the end of her life, the devastating rift caused by the Great War. She was Queen Mary’s aunt, and surrogate parent, and devoted confidant. Her death represented the passing of a royal age, and her will, when it was processed, translated, and filed, confirmed her fascinating place at the center of two royal families.

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King George III and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had a remarkable fifteen children together during their royal marriage. Their children, however, were less prolific when it came to establishing legitimate families of their own, something that caused increasing anxiety about the security of the line of succession as years went by.

Lithograph of Princess Augusta and Prince George of Cambridge, ca. 1828 (Royal Collection Trust)

George and Charlotte’s eldest surviving grandchild, Princess Charlotte of Wales, died tragically in 1817. Her passing sparked a race to provide an heir. In 1819, three royal grandchildren were born: Prince George of Cambridge, the son of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge; Princess Victoria of Kent, the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; and Prince George of Cumberland, the son of Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Two more granddaughters, Princess Augusta of Cambridge and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, completed the group of surviving cousins in 1822 and 1833.

Princess Victoria of Kent went on to inherit the British throne in 1837, and Prince George of Cumberland succeeded his father as King of Hanover in 1851. The three Cambridge siblings, meanwhile, remained a central part of the family both in Britain and in Germany, where their father served as Viceroy of Hanover for twenty years. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made trips back to London frequently, and they returned permanently to Britain with their three children after Queen Victoria’s accession, settling into rooms at Kensington Palace and homes in Mayfair (Cambridge House) and Kew (Cambridge Cottage).