Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Prince William

The Duke of Gloucester painted ca. 1780 by Johann Zoffany
Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Successor Prince William (Jnr.)
Born (1743-11-25)25 November 1743
Leicester House, Westminster
Died 25 August 1805(1805-08-25) (aged 61)
Gloucester House, Westminster
Burial 4 September 1805
St George's Chapel, Windsor
Spouse Maria Walpole
Issue Princess Sophia of Gloucester
Princess Caroline of Gloucester
Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Full name
William Henry
House Hanover
Father Frederick, Prince of Wales
Mother Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh KG PC FRS (William Henry; 25 November 1743 – 25 August 1805), was a grandson of King George II and a younger brother of King George III of the United Kingdom.

Early life

Prince William Henry was born at Leicester House, London. His parents were Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of George II and Caroline of Ansbach, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, then Princess of Wales. He was christened at Leicester House eleven days later. His godparents were his paternal uncle by marriage, The Prince of Orange (for whom someone stood proxy); his paternal uncle, The Duke of Cumberland; and his paternal aunt, The Princess Amelia.[1] As a grandchild of the sovereign, he was styled His Royal Highness Prince William at birth. He was fourth in the line of succession at birth.

William Henry, aged 11, by Liotard

Prince William 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 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, and invested on 22 September of that year.[3] He went on to be General Officer Commanding Northern District in 1796,[4] a command that he held until 1802.[5]

Marriage

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

Princess Caroline died aged nine months following a smallpox inoculation, intended to protect her from the disease.[6] She had been christened privately on 22 July 1774 - her godparents were The Duchess of Gloucester (her mother), The Hereditary Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (her paternal aunt) and The Hereditary Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (her uncle by marriage).[1] As great-grandchildren in the male line of George II, Prince William's children were styled Highness from birth and used the territorial designation of Gloucester in conjunction with their princely styles. After the younger William married his cousin Princess Mary, he and his surviving sister Sophia received the style of Royal Highness.

British Royalty
House of Hanover
Quarterly, I Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or impaling Or a lion rampant within a double-tressure flory-counter-flory Gules; II Azure three fleurs-de-lys Or; III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent; IV tierced per pale and per chevron, I Gules two lions passant guardant Or, II Or a semy of hearts Gules a lion rampant Azure, III Gules a horse courant Argent, overall an escutcheon Gules charged with the crown of Charlemagne Or
George II
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Princess Amelia
Princess Caroline
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel
Louise, Queen of Denmark and Norway
Grandchildren
Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick
George III
Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany
Princess Elizabeth of Wales
Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn
Princess Louisa of Wales
Prince Frederick of Wales
Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway
Great-grandchildren
Princess Sophia of Gloucester
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Illegitimate issue

Portrait of the Duke of Gloucester in 1804 by Sir William Beechey.

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

Later life

The Duke was appointed colonel of the 13th Regiment of Foot in 1766. In 1767 he was promoted to major-general and made colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards.[7] He later transferred to the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and he became a field marshal on 18 October 1793.[8]

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

His peerages were gazetted on 17 November.[10]

Honours

Arms

William was granted use of the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points, the centre bearing a fleur-de-lys azure, the other points each bearing a cross gules.[11]

The Duke's Royal Arms

Ancestors

References

External links

Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 14 November 1743 Died: 25 August 1805
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir William Howe
GOC Northern District
1796–1802
Succeeded by
Sir Hew Dalrymple
Preceded by
Harry Pulteney
Colonel of the 13th Regiment of Foot
1766–1767
Succeeded by
James Murray
Preceded by
The Earl of Rothes
Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards
1767–1770
Succeeded by
The Earl of Loudoun
Preceded by
The Earl Ligonier
Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
1770–1805
Succeeded by
The Duke of York and Albany
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
1764–1805
Succeeded by
Prince William Frederick
Peerage of Ireland
New creation Earl of Connaught
1764–1805
Succeeded by
Prince William Frederick
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