The Marriage of Princess Mary and Prince William of Gloucester

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
from A Biographical Memoir of Frederick,
 Duke of York and Albany
by John Watkins (1827)

A scarcity of potential husbands

George III loved his daughters but seemed reluctant to allow them to grow up. He was vehemently opposed to them marrying beneath them or marrying Catholics, which severely limited their choice of potential husbands, and was anxious that the elder should marry before the younger. As a result, none of his daughters were married before they were thirty and Princess Mary was no exception, not marrying until 1816, when, at the age of forty, she married her cousin, the Duke of Gloucester.

An enduring affection

It has been suggested that the attachment between the Duke of Gloucester and Princess Mary was of long-standing, but was thwarted by opposition and duty.

Princess Charlotte
from La Belle Assemblée (1816)

When Princess Charlotte was born in 1796, thoughts immediately turned to potential marriage partners for the baby who was expected to be the future Queen of England. Being of royal blood and Protestant faith, the Duke of Gloucester was deemed to be a possible candidate and was consequently honour bound to remain single.

Although he was twenty years her senior, this does not seem to be too outrageous a suggestion because of the paucity of eligible husbands. However, whether this decision was made as a result of the duty or ambition of either the Duke or his parents, or indeed, a royal request, it is difficult to fathom.

Marriage of the Princess Charlotte

When Princess Charlotte broke off her engagement to Prince William of Orange in 1814, she seemed for a while to favour the Duke of Gloucester. However, her father detested his cousin and was adamant in his opposition to the match.

Charlotte then met and fell in love with Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, and on 2 May 1816, they were married.

Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold
from La Belle Assemblée (1816)

Marriage of Princess Mary and Prince William of Gloucester

Just two months later, on 22 July 18161, Mary married her cousin, William Frederick, the Duke of Gloucester. The Queen did not object to the match but the Prince Regent was not in favour for the same reasons that he had rejected his cousin as a suitor for his daughter. He had never liked the Duke and this dislike had grown when his cousin had openly supported his estranged wife, Princess Caroline. However, he had reluctantly given his consent when his much-loved sister asked for it. The alacrity with which the marriage was arranged after Princess Charlotte’s wedding seems to fit with the suggestion that the Duke was bound to her as long as she remained unmarried.

The wedding was a private affair and the guests were the same as those who had attended the Princess Charlotte’s wedding a few months before.

La Belle Assemblée gave this account of the wedding:

The altar

A superb altar was erected in the grand saloon of the Queen’s Palace: the new throne which was put up there directly over the principal door to the grand entrance, for the Queen to receive the addresses of the Princess Charlotte and the Prince Leopold, formed the back of the altar, which gave it an additional splendid appearance. The whole was formed of crimson velvet and gold lace, principally from the Chapel Royal and Whitehall chapel.2

The guests

The foreign ambassadors with their ladies first entered the saloon followed by the cabinet ministers and their ladies, who proceeded to the right. The great officers of state and those of the royal households, except those in immediate attendance, took their stations to the left. The Queen placed herself on the left of the altar, in a state chair prepared for her: Princess Augusta, Elizabeth, the Duchess of York, and the Princess Sophia of Gloucester, went to her left, with their female attendants after them.

The Prince Regent took his station on the right of the altar, with his royal brethren near him, Every thing being properly arranged, the Lord Chamberlain retired to introduce the Duke of Gloucester and present him to the altar.

The Lord Chamberlain then, with the Duke of Cambridge, introduced the Princess Mary and the royal Duke, and presented her Royal Highness to the Prince Regent, who gave her away in marriage to the Duke of Gloucester.2

The wedding dress

The following is a description of Princess Mary’s wedding dress:

Her Royal Highness looked most lovely. Her head-dress was without feathers, and she wore a brilliant fringed necklace: a bandeau of brilliants forming a wreath of roses encircled her forehead; a row of brilliant crescents, with light sprigs, as if issuing from their centres, formed a coronet, and was placed on the crown of her head. Her earrings were of pearl, and her girdle of brilliants, to correspond to the bandeau. Her bracelets of brilliants formed a chain, with flowers in the clasps, and a brilliant flower brooch adorned her bosom.2

Honeymoon at Bagshot Park

Bagshot Park
from Select Illustrations of the County of Surrey
by GF Prosser (1828)

At a quarter before ten o’clock the bride took off her nuptial ornaments, and arrayed in a white satin pelisse, with a white satin French bonnet, she set off with her royal husband to Bagshot, amidst the blessings and good wishes of her family, and the loud huzzas of the multitude assembled on the happy occasion.2

Royal entertainment

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester entertained the inhabitants of Bagshot, where they were to live, on 6 August 1816 in celebration of their marriage. Over 1,000 people attended the entertainment with roast beef, plum pudding and fine ale served on the lawn at Bagshot

The Orangery, Bagshot Park
from Select Illustrations of the County of Surrey
by GF Prosser (1828)

The marriage

It has been suggested that the marriage was not entirely happy and that the Duke was somewhat tyrannical in the management of his household. His politics certainly strained his relationship with the Prince Regent even further which cannot have helped family harmony.

However, I like to believe that the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were happy. Mary must certainly have known her husband far better than was customary for ladies of her station. Queen Charlotte had met George III just hours before their marriage and the Prince of Wales had also agreed to marry a woman he had never seen, with disastrous consequences. The Duke has been described as boring and pompous but Mary was fond of him. Sadly, they had no children.

Widowhood

The Duke died on 30 November 1834 and was buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor. Mary survived him by over twenty years, living a retired life, but loved by many, including Queen Victoria and her family. She died on 20 April 1857 and was buried next to her husband.

Windsor Castle - the final  resting place
of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
from Memoirs of Queen Charlotte
 by WC Oulton (1819)

Rachel Knowles writes clean/Christian Regency era romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

 

Note
1. Some sources state the date of the wedding as 23 July 1816.

2. All quotes from La Belle Assemblée (1816).

Sources used include:
Bell, John, La Belle Assemblée, various (1806-1831, London)
Hall, Mrs Matthew, The Royal Princesses of England (1871, London)
Hibbert, Christopher, George IV (Longmans,1972, Allen Lane, 1973, London)
Oulton, Walley Chamberlain, Authentic and Impartial Memoirs of Her Late Majesty Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1819, London)
Prosser, GF, Select Illustrations of the County of Surrey comprising picturesque views of the seats of the nobility and gentry (C&J Rivington, 1828, London)
Purdue, AW, George III, daughters of (act.1766-1857), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford University Press, 2004, online edn, May 2009, accessed 10 Feb 2012)
Watkins, John, A Biographical Memoir of Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1827, London)

The Six Princesses: Princess Mary (1776-1857)

Princess Mary
from A Biographical Memoir of Frederick,
 Duke of York and Albany by J Watkins (1827)

Profile

Princess Mary (25 April 1776-30 April 1857) was the 11th child and 4th daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte. She married her cousin William, Duke of Gloucester, and was the only one of her siblings to be photographed.

Birth of the fourth Princess

Mary was born on 25 April 1776 at Buckingham House, and was christened on 19 May in the great council chamber at St James’ Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Education

The Princesses were educated at home by governesses and teachers under the direction of Lady Charlotte Finch. It was the Queen, however, who ultimately had control. Together with the King, she chose all the tutors and sub-governesses, attended her daughters’ schoolroom whenever her other duties allowed and arranged the timetable of governesses to ensure that her children were always supervised. The Princesses were taught English, French, German, geography, history, music, art and needlework. Mary was very musical and became skilled at copying drawings in chalk.

Entertaining diversions

Life in the royal household followed a strict routine and the Princesses were allowed very little freedom. Occasionally, the tedium was interrupted by a trip or entertainment. On 17 May 1787, The Way to Keep Him, a comedy, was privately performed for the King and Queen; the Princesses Charlotte, Augusta, Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia were all present.

The Princesses also attended the grand festival at Westminster on 28 May, featuring music by Handel, and a further comedy, The Jealous Wife, was performed for them at Buckingham House on 30 May by Mrs Siddons and Mr Kemble. At other times, they visited the theatre or an exhibition, but there was little scope for independent amusement.

Mrs Siddons
from La Belle Assemblée (1812)

Princess Mary in public

On 2 June 1788, the Spanish ambassador held a magnificent gala at Ranelagh which Mary and her elder sisters attended. The amusements included a lottery of watches and jewellery, moving transparencies, Spanish children dancing and fireworks, as well as country dancing in which Mary took part.

Mary attended Court for the first time in June 1791 to celebrate the King’s birthday; her cousin, Prince William of Gloucester, also made his first appearance. Mary danced a minuet with her brother William, Duke of Clarence.

Weymouth 

In 1789, and in most subsequent summers until 1805, Mary visited Weymouth with her family. The Princesses went bathing in the sea and rode a donkey chaise around the Shrubbery. Sometimes they attended a public breakfast given by some local dignitary or went out in the carriage to a country estate. In the evening they played cards or went to the theatre where the King was invariably amused by a repetition of the same plays.

Weymouth, Dorset

Weymouth in the wet was very trying, as the family were confined in too small a space with nothing to do. Mary described it as – “a perfect stand still of everything and everybody” and wrote that life there was “more dull and stupid” than ever.

Mary visited Weymouth again in 1808 when she accompanied Princess Amelia there as she battled against tuberculosis. Mary was her sister’s devoted nurse and constant companion and Amelia referred to her as “Dearest Minny”.

After her marriage, she visited Weymouth with her husband, the Duke of Gloucester, and it was while staying at Gloucester Lodge in 1817 that she heard the devastating news of Princess Charlotte’s death in childbirth.

Gloucester Lodge, Weymouth,
as it is today today

Affectionate and outspoken

Mary was kind and affectionate and was the Prince of Wales’ favourite sister. On her death, Prince Albert described her as “a lady whose virtues and qualities of the heart had commanded the respect and love of all who knew her”.

The Prince of Wales, later George IV
from Memoirs of her late royal
 highness Charlotte Augusta
by Robert Huish (1818)

Although Mary was more self-contained than her sisters and very discreet in her behaviour, she had a disconcerting habit of speaking her mind. She once offended her brother, the Duke of York, by commenting on how fat he had become, excusing herself with the words: “It is so very visible that I could not help making the remark.”

Marriage

On 22 July 1816, Mary married her cousin, William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester. The couple lived at Bagshot Park, in Surrey, about eleven miles from Windsor, and Gloucester House, Park Lane, in London. William and Mary had no children.

William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester
from A Biographical Memoir of Frederick,
 Duke of York and Albany
by John Watkins (1827)

Final years

After the Duke’s death in 1834, Mary lived a retired life, but her kindness and benevolence endeared her to all. She was the last surviving child of George III and the only one of her generation to be photographed.

She died on 30 April 1857 at Gloucester House in London at the age of 81 and was taken by the Great Western Railway from Paddington to Windsor, where she was buried beside her husband in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 9 May.

Queen Victoria wrote of her: “Her age, and her being a link with bygone times and generations…rendered her more and more dear and precious to us all, and we all looked upon her as a sort of grandmother.”

Sources used include:
Bell, John, La Belle Assemblée, various (1806-1831, London)
Chedzoy, Alan, Seaside Sovereign - King George III at Weymouth, (Dovecote Press, 2003, Dorset)
Hall, Mrs Matthew, The Royal Princesses of England (1871, London)
Hibbert, Christopher, George IV (Longmans,1972, Allen Lane, 1973, London)
Oulton, Walley Chamberlain, Authentic and Impartial Memoirs of Her Late Majesty Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1819, London)
Papendiek, Mrs, Court and private life in the time of Queen Charlotte: being the journals of Mrs Papendiek assistant keeper of the wardrobe and reader to her Majesty, edited by her granddaughter, Mrs Vernon Delves Broughton (1887, London)
Purdue, AW, George III, daughters of (act.1766-1857), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford University Press, 2004, online edn, May 2009, accessed 10 Feb 2012)
Watkins, John, A Biographical Memoir of Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1827, London)


All photographs © Andrew Knowles - www.flickr.com/photos/dragontomato

Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1834)

Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester
from A Biographical Memoir of Frederick,
 Duke of York and Albany by J Watkins (1827)

Profile

Prince William Frederick (15 January 1776 - 30 November 1834) was the son of William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester, a younger brother of George III. He became the 2nd Duke of Gloucester on his father's death and married his cousin, Princess Mary.

Family History

Prince William Frederick was born on 15 January 1776 in Teodoli Palace in Rome, the only son of Prince William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester, and Maria Walpole, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, formerly Countess Waldegrave. William had one sibling, his elder sister, Sophia, who was devoted to him.

William Henry was a younger brother of George III making Prince William of Gloucester first cousin to George IV and William IV. At the time of his birth, his parents were living abroad because the king disapproved of their marriage and had banned them from court. He became Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught on his father’s death in 1805.

Maria Waldegrave, later Duchess of Gloucester
from Letters of Horace Walpole to Sir Horace Mann Vol 4 (1844) and
William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
 by Richard Earlom after Hugh Douglas Hamilton
pubd by Robert Sayer (1771) © British Museum

Education and career

In 1789, William embarked on a career in the army in the First Foot Guards, taking the rank of colonel. He saw active service in Europe and was known for his bravery and enthusiasm, if not for his professionalism. He was rapidly promoted, becoming a major-general before he was twenty and ultimately becoming a field marshal in 1816.

George III provided for William’s education to be completed at Trinity College, Cambridge. Despite being renowned for his lack of intelligence, he became chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1811.

Trinity College, Cambridge

“Silly Billy”

William was not a prepossessing man in figure or character. He was described by Stockmar, a friend of Prince Leopold, as being “large and stout, but with weak, helpless legs” and having “prominent meaningless eyes; without being actually ugly, a very unpleasant face with an animal expression”.

He placed undue emphasis on his royal status and was extremely pompous. He was the subject of many satirical cartoons, where he was referred to as “Slice of Gloucester” and “Cheese”. His most widely used nickname, however, was “Silly Billy”; as Gronow records, he was “in the habit of saying very ludicrous things”.

Marriage to Princess Mary

William remained single until he was forty, supposedly with a view to marrying Princess Charlotte, but although she favoured his suit over that of the Prince of Orange, her father, George IV, disliked his cousin and refused to countenance the match. On 22 July 1816, two months after Princess Charlotte had married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, William married his first cousin, Princess Mary, instead.

Princess Mary
from La Belle Assemblée (1816)

Politics

Although William played little part in politics, he was strongly in favour of the abolition of slavery and, whilst favouring Catholic emancipation, he urged William IV to reject the Reform Act of 1832. He antagonised his cousin, George IV, by siding with the opposition against him and supporting his estranged wife, Princess Caroline.

Caroline, Princess of Wales
from Huish's Memoirs of her late
 royal highness Charlotte Augusta (1818) 

Death

William died on 30 November 1834 at Bagshot Park, Surrey, from a tumour in the throat, and was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Sources used include:
Hibbert, Christopher, George IV (1972, 1973)
Parissien, Steven, George IV, The Grand Entertainment (2001)
Purdue, A.W., William Frederick, Prince, second Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1834), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition (2009)

Photographs © Andrew Knowles - www.flickr.com/photos/dragontomato