Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh KG (14 November 1743 - 25 August 1805) was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of George II and a younger brother of George III.

Early life

Prince William Henry^[1] was born at Leicester House, London. His father was The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach. His mother was The Princess of Wales (née Augusta of Saxe-Gotha). He was christened at Leicester House on 25 November 1743. His godparents were William IV, Prince of Orange, The Duke of Cumberland, and Princess Amelia Sophia of Great Britain. As a grandchild of the sovereign, he was styled His Royal Highness Prince William Henry of Wales at birth. He was fourth in the line of succession at birth. Prince William Henry later joined the British Army. His father died in 1751, leaving the Prince's elder brother, Prince George, heir-apparent to the throne. He succeeded as George III on 25 October 1760, and created William Henry Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught on 19 November 1764^[2]. He had been made a Knight of the Garter on 27 May 1762.

Marriage

The Duke was Warden of Windsor Forest and resided at Cranbourne Lodge. He was most known for his secret marriage 1766 to Maria Walpole, the Dowager Countess of Waldegrave, an illegitimate granddaughter of Sir Robert Walpole, from nearby Frogmore House. This marriage and that of his brother prompted the passing of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. They lived at St Leonard's Hill in Clewer, near Windsor, and had three children:

• HRH Princess Sophia of Gloucester (Sophia Matilda; 29 May 1773 – 29 November 1844)
• HH Princess Caroline of Gloucester (Caroline Augusta Maria; 24 June 1774 – 14 March 1775)
• HRH Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (15 January 1776 – 30 November1834)

Princess Caroline died aged nine months following a smallpox inoculation, intended to protect her from the disease^[3]. As great-grandchildren in the male line of King George II, Caroline and her siblings were styled Highness from birth and used the territorial designation of Gloucester in conjunction with their princely styles. After William Frederick married his cousin Princess Mary, he and his surviving sister Sophia received the style of Royal Highness.

Illegitimate Issue

The Duke also had an illegitimate daughter by his mistress Lady Almeria Carpenter, a daughter of the Earl of Tyrconnell.

• Louisa Maria La Coast (6 January 1782 Esher, Surrey - 10 February 1835 Bossall, Yorkshire), who married on 29 December 1803 in Norwich, Norfolk to Godfrey Macdonald, 3rd Baron Macdonald of Slate, later the 3rd Baron Macdonald of Slate. They had three children born before their marriage (legitimized by Scottish law, but not by Irish law) and ten children born after their marriage. (A previous marriage in Scotland was considered of doubtful validity). These children and their posterity are the only descendants of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh.

Later life

The Duke was appointed (in an honorary fashion) to Colonel of the 13th Regiment of Foot, 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards, and 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and he became a Field Marshal on 12 October 1793. He served as the thirteenth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin from 1771 to 1805. He died at Gloucester House in London.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 14 November 1743–19 November 1764: His Royal Highness Prince William Henry of Wales
• 19 November 1764–25 August 1805: His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Honours

• 27 May 1762: Knight of the Garter

Ancestors

External links

• Wikiquotes of Edward Gibbon, for the Duke's remark on The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
• Royal Berkshire History: Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester

Footnote

References

• Henry Churchyard "Royal Genealogies, Part 10"
• Sam Sloan "Big Combined Family Trees (pafg733)"