Queen Adelaide

Adelheid Luise Therese Karoline Amalie (1792-1849), born in the German Duchy of Meiningen, was the eldest child of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

In 1818 she wed William Henry, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, who became King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover on 26 June 1830. It was at his request that the new colony founded in South Australia in 1836 was named ‘Adelaide’ after his wife, the Queen consort.

During her life, Queen Adelaide was well known for her tireless commitment to civic work. She died on 2 December 1849 and was buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. In September 1953 the Queen Adelaide Room in the Adelaide Town Hall was named in her honour, ahead of the visit to Adelaide by the newly crowned Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on 19 March 1954.

A portrait of Queen Adelaide by William Corden, which originally hung in Windsor Castle, is on display in the Queen Adelaide Room, and is on permanent loan to the City from The Royal Collection Trust, St James Palace. In 1980 the City of Adelaide unveiled a statue of Queen Adelaide in the foyer of the Adelaide Town Hall.

Every August, the City of Adelaide celebrates the birthday of the city’s namesake, Queen Adelaide, and welcomes those who share her name to discover more about her and her connection with the city.

Celebrating 125 years of women's suffrage in South Australia.

Image: Queen Adelaide attributed to William Corden the Elder (after Franz Winterhalter) 1849, Oil painting on canvas, CC000751, Civic Collection, City of Adelaide Archives