Augustus Frederick d’Este was born in Lower Berkeley Street, London on 13 Jan 1794. He was of royal blood, the son of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, who was the sixth son (9th child) of King George III. But his status was diminished because the marriage of his parents was not officially recognised. The Duke secretly married Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the Earl of Dunmore, on 4 April 1793 in a Church of England ceremony in Rome, but without the King’s permission. Young Augustus was therefore officially illegitimate. His surname at birth was Hanover but he and his sister took on the name d’Este, an old Italian family name. He was the eldest of two children and had an unusual childhood. His father, who attained the title Duke of Sussex in 1801, lived abroad for most of his life because of poor health, and adopted liberal views.
Young Augustus was educated at Harrow and entered the 9th Lancers with the rank of captain on 14 March 1815. He was still a captain in the Army List in 1820 but disappears after that. His health was poor and he kept a journal of his ailments from 1822 until 1846 and it is from these details it can be ascertained that he was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the earliest recorded person for whom a definite diagnosis can be made, although his symptoms baffled his doctors at the time. He used a wheelchair in the last few years and died in Ramsgate on 28 Dec 1848
Augustus had a deep interest in Native Americans and belonged to the Aborigines Protection Society. He gave assistance to Peter Jones, the Native American Mississauga Ojibwa Methodist Minister. When the Duke of Sussex died in 1848, Augustus tried to claim the title but the House of Lords opposed his claim. He never married but had numerous affairs with women. The 1819 cartoon of him driving Mrs Coutts in a phaeton in Brighton makes fun of his reputation as a lothario. Mrs Coutts was an actress, Harriot Mellon, who in 1815 married Thomas Coutts, founder of Coutts Bank. The melon on the hat box, full of petticoats, at Augustus’s feet, makes reference to this.
