Adolphus was baptized on 24 March 1774 in the Great Council Chamber at St James's Palace by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury.

His godparents were Prince John Adolphus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (his great-uncle, for whom the Earl of Hertford, Lord Chamberlain, stood proxy), Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel (his first cousin once removed, for whom the Earl of Jersey, Extra Lord of the Bedchamber, stood proxy) and Princess Wilhelmina of Orange (the wife of his first cousin once removed, for whom Elizabeth Howard, Dowager Countess of Effingham, former Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte, stood proxy).

In 1800 – whilst stationed in the Electorate of Hanover – he attended the founding of a village (part of the settlement of the moorlands north of Bremen), which was named after him: Adolphsdorf (since 1974 a component locality of Grasberg).

[2] During the War of the Second Coalition against France (1799–1802), Adolphus traveled to Berlin in 1801, in order to prevent the impending Prussian occupation of the Electorate.

[1] France demanded it, as it was stipulated in the Peace of Basel (1795), obliging Prussia to ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all the latter's territories north of the demarcation line at the river Main, including Hanover.

Cambridge refused to become involved in discussions of capitulation, handed over his command to Hammerstein (Ompteda claims he was forced to resign[3]), and withdrew to England.

In 1803, Adolphus was appointed as commander-in-chief of the newly founded King's German Legion, and in 1813, he became field marshal.

[1] George III appointed Prince Adolphus a Knight of the Garter on 2 June 1776, and created him Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, and Baron Culloden on 24 November 1801.

After the death of Princess Charlotte in 1817, the Duke was set the task of finding a bride for his eldest unmarried brother, the Duke of Clarence (later William IV), in the hope of securing heirs to the throne—Charlotte had been the only legitimate grandchild of George III, despite the fact that the King had twelve surviving children.