The duke had rooms at St. James's Palace from 1840 to 1859, when he removed to Gloucester House, Park Lane, left to him by his aunt, the duchess of Gloucester. On the death of the duchess of Cambridge the Queen granted him Kew Cottage for his life. He had been made ranger of Hyde Park and St. James's Park in 1852, and of Richmond Park in 1857. In addition to the orders already mentioned, he was made K.T. on 17 Sept. 1881, grandmaster and principal grand cross of St. Michael and St. George on 23 May 1869, G.C.S.I. in 1877, G.C.I.E. in 1887, and G.C.V.O. in 1897. Of foreign orders he received the black eagle of Prussia in 1852, the grand cordon of the legion of honour in 1855, St. Andrew of Russia in 1874, and the order of merit of Savoy in 1895. He was made colonel-in-chief of the king's royal rifle corps on 6 March 1869, of the 17th lancers on 21 June 1876, and of the Middlesex regiment on 9 Aug. 1898. He was also colonel of two Indian regiments—the 10th Bengal lancers, and the 20th Punjabis; of the Malta artillery, the Middlesex yeomanry, and the 4th battalion Suffolk regiment; of the Cambridge dragoons in the Hanoverian army (1852–66), and of the 28th foot in the Prussian army (Aug. 1889). He received the honorary degree of D.C.L. Oxford on 1 June 1853; of LL.D. Cambridge on 3 June 1864; and of LL.D. Dublin on 21 April 1868; and became one of the elder brethren of the Trinity house on 11 March 1885. He received the freedom of the City of London, with a sword, on 4 Nov. 1857, and on 19 Oct. 1896 he was presented with an address from the corporation and his bust (by Francis Williamson) was unveiled at the Guildhall. He was made a freeman of York in 1897, of Bath and of Kingston in 1898.
A series of banquets at the military clubs and messes marked the duke's retirement, but he continued for several years to preside at regimental dinners and to keep in close touch with the army. He was very vigorous for his age, rode in Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee procession of 1897, and at her funeral in 1901. He paid his last visit to Germany in August 1903, but his strength was then giving way. He died at Gloucester House on 17 March 1904 of hæmorrhage of the stomach, having outlived by a few weeks the commandership-in-chief which he held so long. On the 22nd he was buried, in accordance with his wish, beside his wife at Kensal Green. The first part of the service was at Westminster Abbey with King Edward VII as chief mourner. Five field-marshals and thirteen generals were pall-bearers. Tributes were paid to his memory in both houses of parliament. He had three sons: Colonel George William Adolphus Fitzgeorge; Rear-admiral Sir Adolphus Augustus Frederick Fitzgeorge, K.C.V.O., who became equerry to his father in 1897; and Colonel Sir Augustus Charles Frederick Fitzgeorge, K.C.V.O., C.B., who was his father's private secretary and equerry from 1886 to 1895.
In June 1907 a bronze equestrian statue of him by Captain Adrian Jones was placed in front of the new war office in Whitehall, and there is also a statue at Christ's Hospital, Horsham. There is a memorial window in the chapel of St. Michael and St. George in St. Paul's Cathedral. Of the many portraits of him the chief are one, at the age of 18, by John Lucas (at Windsor), and three as a field-marshal, by Frank Holl (at Buckingham Palace), Arthur S. Cope (at the United Service Club), and Sir Hubert von Herkomer (at the R.E. mess, Chatham). A caricature portrait appeared in ‘Vanity Fair’ in 1870.
[Willoughby C. Verner, Military Life of the Duke of Cambridge, 1905; J. E. Sheppard, George, Duke of Cambridge, a memoir of his private life, 2 vols. 1906; The Times, 18 March 1904; Letters of Queen Victoria, 1907; Kinglake, Invasion of the Crimea, 1863, &c.; The Panmure Papers, 1908; Sir Robert Biddulph, Lord Cardwell at the War Office, 1904; E. S. C. Childers, Life of Hugh C. E. Childers, 1901; Pearce, Annals of Christ's Hospital, 1908; Third Report of Lord Northbrook's committee on army administration, 12 Feb. 1870 (c. 54); Report of Royal Commission (Penzance) on Army Promotion, 5 Aug. 1876 (c. 1569); Report of Royal Commission (Hartington) on Naval and Military Administration, 11 Feb. 1890 (c. 5979); Catalogues of the Duke's collection of plate, pictures, porcelain, books, &c., sold at Christie's in 1904.]
GEORGE, HEREFORD BROOKE (1838–1910), historical writer, born at Bath on 1 Jan. 1838, was eldest of the three children (two sons and a daughter) of Richard Francis George, surgeon, by his wife Elizabeth Brooke. He entered Winchester as a scholar in 1849, and succeeded in 1856 to a fellowship at New College, Oxford. He obtained first classes in both classical and mathematical moderations in 1858, a second class in the final classical school in 1859, and a second class in the final mathematical-school in 1860. He graduated B.A. in 1860, proceeding M.A. in 1862.
