Any nation needs to keep in touch with its history. When that country is a monarchy, a good proportion of that history will revolve around people who might not, shall we say, have risen to prominence without the help of suitably connected genes. Prince William has today been given the title of the Duke of Cambridge, giving the Daily Telegraph the opportunity to walk its readers through the life of another gentleman with the same title:

Prince George, known as the 2nd Duke of Cambridge, was born in 1819. He was a grandson of George III and the only son of Prince Adolphus Frederick, the 1st Duke of Cambridge. . . . He became captivated by the actress Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, who was said to be a classic beauty and a graceful dancer. Their royal wedding came in 1847, when she was already the mother of two of his children and pregnant with his third. But the Duke did not seek the sovereign’s approval and the marriage was never recognised. Miss Fairbrother was ostracised by the Royal Family and never given the title the Duchess of Cambridge. Instead she became known by the nickname Mrs FitzGeorge. There are claims [proto-Certers?] that the Duke was actually reticent about the marriage. According to author and genealogist Anthony J Camp, the Duke was not correctly described in the marriage entry and did not use his normal signature. Whatever his intentions, the Duke had a wandering eye and it was not long after he married that he took up with mistress Louisa Beauclerk. . . . The Duke was said to be a disciplinarian, who believed Army promotions should be based on social connections rather than ability. . . . He was apparently very fond of interrupting church services by bellowing out “By all means” if the priest said “Let us pray”.

One can only appreciate this quotation (via Wikipedia) attributed to old Cambridge:

”There is a time for everything, and the time for change is when you can no longer help it.”

The Duke of Cambridge is, the Daily Telegraph informs its readers (most of whom will already know), a popular name for pubs.