The Duke of York in 1822, John Jackson, National Portrait Gallery, London

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.

Legacy :

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 province

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