Lady Augusta De Ameland (''born'' Murray; 27 January 1761 – 4 March 1830) was the first wife of

Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, (27 January 1773 – 21 April 1843) was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not ...

, the sixth son of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. They married on 4 April 1793 in Rome. Their union was in contravention of the

Royal Marriages Act 1772 The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages th ...

because the Prince had not asked his father's permission, so she was not recognised as his wife.

Early life

Lady Augusta was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Her father was

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809), known as Lord Dunmore, was a British people, British Peerage, nobleman and Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies, colonial governor in the Thirteen Colonies, American colonies ...

and her mother was Lady Charlotte Stewart, a younger daughter of

Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway ( – 24 September 1773) was a Scottish aristocrat. Early life Alexander was the eldest son of Lady Catherine Montgomerie and James Stewart, 5th Earl of Galloway, a Commissioner of the Scottish Treasury an ...

Marriage

Lady Augusta secretly married

Prince Augustus Frederick Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, (27 January 1773 – 21 April 1843) was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not ...

, sixth son of King George III, on 4 April 1793 in a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

ceremony in her lodgings at Hotel Sarmiento,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. They were married again on 5 December 1793 in

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...

, London, using their correct names but without revealing their full identities. Both marriage ceremonies were outside the terms of the

and were annulled in July 1794. The couple had two children: * Augustus Frederick d'Este (13 January 1794 – 28 December 1848) *

Augusta Emma d'Este Augusta Emma Wilde, Baroness Truro (née d'Este; 11 August 1801 – 21 May 1866) was the daughter of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, by his marriage with Lady Augusta Murray, second daughter of John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmor ...

, later Lady Truro (9 August 1801 – 21 May 1866), who married

Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro, (7 July 178211 November 1855) was a British lawyer, judge, and politician. He was Lord Chancellor, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1850 and 1852. Background and education Born in London, Truro was t ...

of Bowes on 13 August 1845

Later life

Prince Augustus tried to have his marriage to Lady Augusta recognised for many years, but eventually, he separated from her. On 27 November 1801, the King created him,

Duke of Sussex Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...

Earl of Inverness The title of Earl of Inverness (Scottish Gaelic: Iarla Inbhir Nis) was first created in 1718 in the Jacobite Peerage of Scotland, together with the titles Viscount of Innerpaphrie and Lord Cromlix and Erne, by James Francis Edward Stuart ("Ja ...

, and

Baron Arklow Baron Arklow was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that has been created twice. Arklow is a town in County Wicklow in Ireland. History First creation, 1801 It was created first in 1801 as a substantive title by King George III for hi ...

. In 1806, Lady Augusta was given royal licence to use the surname De Ameland instead of Murray. She was granted a pension of £4,000 per annum and bought a house in Ramsgate where she created a small estate. Augusta died on 4 March 1830 and is buried in the D'Este mausoleum in the churchyard at St Lawrence in Thanet. After Lady Augusta's death, the Duke of Sussex married

Lady Cecilia Underwood Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness (née Gore, later Buggin, ; – 1 August 1873) was a mistress of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (sixth son of King George III). Despite marrying, their union was in contravention of the Royal ...

References

External links

A "book of cures" by Lady Augusta Murray
in the Royal Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Augusta, Lady 1761 births 1830 deaths Daughters of Scottish earls Augusta Murray, Lady Augusta People from London Wives of British princes