[4] On 27 February 1764, when Prince Frederick was six months old, he became Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück upon the death of Clemens August of Bavaria.

[5] The bishopric of Osnabrück came with a substantial income,[6] which he retained until the city was incorporated into Hanover in 1803 during the German mediatisation.

[12] He was created Duke of York and Albany and Earl of Ulster on 27 November 1784 and became a member of the Privy Council.

[14] After his return to Britain, his father George III promoted him to the rank of field marshal on 18 February 1795.

[14] On 3 April 1795, George appointed him effective Commander-in-Chief in succession to Lord Amherst[16] although the title was not confirmed until three years later.

[18] On appointment as Commander-in-Chief he immediately declared, reflecting on the Flanders Campaign of 1793–94, "that no officer should ever be subject to the same disadvantages under which he had laboured".

However, following the Duke's arrival with the main body of the army, a number of disasters befell the allied forces, including shortage of supplies.

[20] On 17 October 1799, the Duke signed the Convention of Alkmaar, by which the allied expedition withdrew after giving up its prisoners.

[2] In 1801 Frederick actively supported the foundation of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, which promoted the professional, merit-based training of future commissioned officers.

[20] In 1801 touched by the plight of children orphaned as a result of the Napoleonic wars, Frederick issued a Royal Warrant and laid the foundation stone in Chelsea to build the Royal Military Asylum (now known as the Duke of York's Headquarters) for orphaned children.

[25] Frederick resigned as Commander-in-Chief on 25 March 1809, as the result of a scandal caused by the activities of his latest mistress, Mary Anne Clarke.

[28] Frederick maintained a country residence at Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey but he was seldom there, preferring to immerse himself in his administrative work at Horse Guards (the British army's headquarters) and, after hours, in London's high life, with its gaming tables: Frederick was perpetually in debt because of his excessive gambling on cards and racehorses.

[5] Following the unexpected death of his niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, in 1817, Frederick became second in line to the throne, with a serious chance of inheriting it.

[5] Frederick died of dropsy and apparent cardiovascular disease at the home of the Duke of Rutland on Arlington Street, London, in 1827.

[44] Also in Canada, Duke of York Bay, Nunavut was named in his honour, since it was discovered on his birthday, 16 August.

[48] The towering Duke of York Column on Waterloo Place, just off The Mall, London was completed in 1834 as a memorial to Prince Frederick.