Duke George Augustus of Mecklenburg

Following the marriage George Augustus moved to the Kingdom of Great Britain and after learning the English language volunteered to serve in the Royal Navy.

[2] During his time in Great Britain George Augustus became a Doctor of Laws[3] and attended observations of the 1769 Transit of Venus at the King's Observatory in Richmond-upon-Thames.

George Augustus developed a love of Britain and though a firm Protestant himself, he disapproved of the country's discrimination and intolerance of Catholics.

[2] After recovering from his illness George Augustus spent some time studying at the University of Leiden before being invited to enter into the service of the Queen-Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

He won the praise of Austrian field marshal Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon in 1782 after carrying out army manœuvres in Prague with 50,000 infantry and cavalry soldiers.

Extract from Observations on the Transit of Venus , a manuscript notebook from the collections of George III, showing George and his brother Ernest among the observers.