Princess Mary of Great Britain (5 March 1723 – 14 January 1772) was the second-youngest daughter of

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; german: link=no, Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-ele ...

and his wife,

Caroline of Ansbach , father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach , birth_date = , birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = St James's Pa ...

, and

Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel This is a list of the Landgravine, Electress and Grand Duchess of Hesse, the consorts of the Landgrave of Hesse and its successor states; and finally of the Electors and Grand Dukes of Hesse. Hesse Upper Hesse (Marburg) The only Landgrav ...

as the wife of

Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Frederick II (german: Landgraf Friedrich II von Hessen-Kassel) (14 August 1720 – 31 October 1785) was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) from 1760 to 1785. He ruled as an enlightened despot, and raised money by renting soldiers ( call ...

Early life

Princess Mary was born at Leicester House,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Her father was the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

, later King George II. Her mother was

, daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Her father succeeded, as George II, on 11 June 1727, and she became "HRH The Princess Mary". Upon her death in 1737, her mother, Queen Caroline, entrusted Mary to her elder sister Caroline, urging her to "do what she could to support the meek and mild disposition of Princess Mary".

Marriage

A marriage was negotiated with

Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (11 September 1747 – 20 May 1837) was a younger member of the dynasty that ruled the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and a Danish general. He was born as the youngest son of Hereditary Prince Fr ...

, the only son and heir of

William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel William VIII (10 March 1682 – 1 February 1760) ruled the German Landgraviate Hesse-Kassel from 1730 until his death, first as regent (1730–1751) and then as landgrave (1751–1760). Life Born in Kassel, he was the seventh son of Charles I, L ...

. For the marriage,

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

voted Mary £40,000. They

married by proxy A proxy wedding or proxy marriage is a wedding in which one or both of the individuals being united are not physically present, usually being represented instead by other persons. If both partners are absent a double proxy wedding occurs. Marriage ...

at the Chapel Royal of

St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Al ...

on 8 May, then in person on 28 June 1740 at

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. They had four sons, three of whom survived to adulthood. The marriage was unhappy, and Frederick was said to be "brutal" and "a boor". Frederick reportedly subjected Mary to spousal abuse.James Panton:Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy In late 1746, Mary made an extended trip to Britain to escape his maltreatment. The couple separated in 1754 on Frederick's conversion to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She was supported by her father-in-law, who provided her with a residence in Hanau, as she did not wish to return to Great Britain, but to stay on the continent to raise her children. In 1756, Mary moved to Denmark, to take care of the children of her sister

Louise of Great Britain Louise of Great Britain (originally Louisa; 1724 – 19 December 1751) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1746 until her death, as the first wife of King Frederick V. She was the youngest surviving daughter of King George II of Great Britain ...

, who had died in 1751. She took her children with her, and they were raised at the royal court and her sons were married to Danish princesses. Her husband succeeded his father as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1760, and so Mary was technically Landgravine consort for the last twelve years of her life, despite her estrangement from her husband. Mary died on 14 or 16 January 1772, aged 48 at

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the ri ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

* 5 March 1723 – 11 June 1727: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Mary
The London Gazette
' refers to her as "Princess Mary" * 11 June 1727 – 8 May 1740: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess Mary * 8 May 1740 – 25 March 1751: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Frederick of Hesse-Kassel * 25 March 1751 – 1 February 1760: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Hereditary Princess of Hesse-Kassel * 1 February 1760 – 14 January 1772: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel

Arms

On 30 August 1727, as a child of the sovereign, Mary was granted use of the arms of the realm, differenced by a ''label argent of three points, each bearing a canton gules''.
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Issue

Ancestors

References

Sources

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mary Of Great Britain, Princess 1723 births 1772 deaths 18th-century British people 18th-century British women 18th-century German women British princesses Hereditary Princesses of Hesse-Kassel Landgravines of Hesse-Kassel House of Hanover House of Hesse-Kassel People from Westminster English people of German descent English people of Scottish descent Children of George II of Great Britain Daughters of kings