Ernest Augustus, 1771–1851, king of Hanover (1837–51) and duke of Cumberland, fifth son of George III of England. At the accession of his niece Queen Victoria, the crowns of England and Hanover were separated, since succession in Hanover was only through the male line. Ernest Augustus had been associated with the reactionary Tories in England, and his reign in Hanover was ultraconservative. He rescinded the liberal constitution of 1833 and evoked the famous protest of seven Göttingen professors. The revolutionary outbreaks of 1848 forced him to allow revision of his constitution of 1840, but he returned to reactionary policies that were continued by his successor and son, George V.
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