Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (née Maria Walpole; 10 July 1736 – 22 August 1807) was Countess Waldegrave from 1759 to 1766 as the wife and then widow of

James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, (4 March 171513 April 1763) was a British politician who is sometimes regarded as one of the shortest-serving British prime ministers in history. His brief tenure as First Lord of the Treasury is lent a mo ...

, and a member of the British royal family from 1766 as the wife and then widow of

Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, (25 November 1743 – 25 August 1805), was a grandson of King George II and a younger brother of George III of the United Kingdom. Life Youth Prince William Henry was born at Leicester ...

Early life

Maria Walpole was the illegitimate daughter of

Sir Edward Walpole Sir Edward Walpole KB PC (Ire) (1706 – 12 January 1784) was a British politician, and a younger son of Sir Robert Walpole, Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742. Early life The second son of Sir Robert Walpole, he was educated at Eton (1718) an ...

and

Dorothy Clement Dorothy Clement (c. 1715 – c. 1739) as daughter of a Darlington postmaster, she was the mistress of Edward Walpole and mother of his four children, including Maria Walpole, who became Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh upon her marriage t ...

. Her grandfather was Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, considered to be the first

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

(1721–41). She grew up at

Frogmore House Frogmore House is a 17th-century English country house owned by the Crown Estate. It is a historic Grade I listed building. The house is located on the Frogmore estate, which is situated within the grounds of the Home Park in Windsor, Berkshire ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, but her parents were not married, and her

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

status hindered her social standing despite her family connections. Maria Walpole Reynolds

Countess Waldegrave

On 15 May 1759, she married

at the house in Pall Mall of her father,

. The ceremony was performed by

Frederick Keppel Frederick Keppel (19 January 1728 – 27 December 1777) was a Church of England clergyman, Bishop of Exeter. Background Keppel was the fifth and fourth surviving son of Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and his wife Lady Anne Lenno ...

, the future

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

, and the official witnesses were Sir Edward and his brother,

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

. The

Earl Waldegrave Earl Waldegrave is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1729 for James Waldegrave, 2nd Baron Waldegrave. History The Waldegrave family descends from Sir Richard Waldegrave, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1381 to ...

died on 28 April 1763. They had three children: * Lady Elizabeth Waldegrave (1760–1816) who married her paternal first cousin the 4th Earl Waldegrave. Three sons became Earls Waldegrave and all succeeding earls are descended from this marriage. * Lady Charlotte Waldegrave (1761–1808) who married the future 4th Duke of Grafton. All succeeding Dukes of Grafton are descended from this marriage. * Lady Anne Horatia Waldegrave (1762–1801) who married

Lord Hugh Seymour Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (29 April 1759 – 11 September 1801) was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, and became known for being both a p ...

, son of the 1st Marquess of Hertford. Anna's and Hugh's descendants include

Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, (30 October 1857 – 26 September 1922), styled The Honourable Charles Spencer until 1905 and known as Viscount Althorp between 1905 and 1910, was a British courtier and Liberal politician from the Spen ...

;

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

;

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

and

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succe ...

. Prior to her marriage, she was perhaps secretly engaged to be married to Robert Bertie, 4th Duke of Ancaster (1756–1779), as she is said by her uncle

and others to have put on mourning for the dissolute young Duke. There is a portrait of Maria in 1764–65, shortly after she was widowed, painted by Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

, in the

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as t ...

. She also commissioned him in 1780 to paint '' The Ladies Waldegrave'', a group portrait of her and Waldegrave's three daughters.

Duchess of Gloucester

Sir Joshua Reynolds - The Ladies Waldegrave - Google Art Project

On 6 September 1766 she married

, at her home in Pall Mall, London. The Duke was a brother of

King 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 ...

. The marriage was conducted in secret as the British Royal Family would not have approved of a marriage between a prince and a widow of non-royal rank and illegitimate birth. They lived at

St Leonard's Hill St Leonard's Hill was a large mansion near Clewer in Berkshire. History The house, originally known as Forest Court, was built by Thomas Sandby for Countess Waldegrave in the 1760s. She named it Gloucester Lodge following her marriage to the Duk ...

Clewer Clewer (also known as Clewer Village) is an ecclesiastical parish and an area of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the county of Berkshire, England. Clewer makes up three Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maid ...

, near Windsor, and had three children. *

Princess Sophia of Gloucester Princess Sophia of Gloucester (Sophia Matilda; 29 May 1773 – 29 November 1844) was a great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and niece of King George III. Life Princess Sophia was born in Grosvenor Street, Mayfair. Her father w ...

(1773–1844) *

Princess Caroline of Gloucester Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, (25 November 1743 – 25 August 1805), was a grandson of George II of Great Britain, King George II and a younger brother of George III of the United Kingdom. Life Youth Prince William H ...

(1774–1775) *

Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, (15 January 1776 – 30 November 1834) was a great-grandson of King George II of Great Britain and the nephew and son-in-law of King George III. He was the grandson of both Frederick, Pr ...

(1776–1834) The marriage to a commoner of the Duke's other brother, the Duke of Cumberland, led to the passing 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 ...

, which required all the descendants of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

to seek the sovereign's approval before marriage. It was only in September 1772, five months after the passage of the Act, that the King became aware of Prince William's marriage to Maria. As the Act's provisions could not be applied retroactively, Maria and the Duke's marriage was considered valid. Due, however, to the anger of her brother-in-law at the marriage, she was never received at court. Princess Caroline died aged nine months following a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

inoculation, intended to protect her from the disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloucester And Edinburgh, Maria Walpole, Duchess Of

Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (née Maria Walpole; 10 July 1736 – 22 August 1807) was Countess Waldegrave from 1759 to 1766 as the wife and then widow of James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, and a member of the British royal f ...

Waldegrave People from Westminster People from Windsor, Berkshire Waldegrave family Gloucester and Edinburgh, Maria 1736 births 1807 deaths

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

British duchesses by marriage Wives of knights