Princess Sophia of Gloucester (Sophia Matilda; 29 May 1773 – 29 November 1844) was a great-granddaughter of

King George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

and niece 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 ...

Life

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92) - Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester (1773-1844) - RCIN 400937 - Royal Collection

Princess Sophia was born in Grosvenor Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

. Her father was

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 ...

, the third son of The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales. Her mother, the Duchess of Gloucester, born Maria Walpole, was the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole. She was privately baptized in a drawing room at her parents' London home, Gloucester House, on 26 June 1773, by Charles Moss, The Bishop of St David's. She had three godparents: The Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, her paternal uncle; the Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn, her aunt by marriage; and the Queen of Denmark and Norway, her paternal aunt (who was represented by a proxy). The King had been asked to stand as godfather, but he refused, upset by his brother's marriage to Maria Walpole, a commoner. Sophia was considered as a potential bride for the

Duke of Clarence and St Andrews Duke of Clarence and St Andrews was a title awarded to a prince of the British Royal family. The creation was in the Peerage of Great Britain. While there had been several creations of Dukes of Clarence (and there was later a Duke of Clarenc ...

(who later ruled as King William IV), but she expressed no enthusiasm for the match. She lived at Gloucester Lodge on the Gloucester Road from about 1805 and remained there after her mother's death in 1807, but by 1809 she had sold the villa to George Canning. She also lived at New Lodge in

Winkfield Winkfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest unitary authority of Berkshire, England. Geography According to the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 14,998. The parish includes the hamlets of Winkfield, Maidens Green ...

, near

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 ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. In 1811, Sophia visited the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to w ...

, at Northwood on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

with her brother the Duke of Gloucester: the Gloucester Hotel, by the Parade, was named in their honour. From 1816, she held the office of Ranger of

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritag ...

and had a home at the

Ranger's House Ranger's House is a medium-sized red brick Georgian mansion in the Palladian style, adjacent to Greenwich Park in the south east of London. It is situated in Blackheath and backs directly onto Greenwich Park. Previously known as Chesterfield ...

Blackheath, London Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich and southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional ce ...

. Sophia was an early patron of the new seaside town of St Leonard's on Sea, where she stayed at Gloucester Lodge on Quarry Hill in 1831. The building was formerly named the Castellated Villa but changed to Gloucester Lodge in honour of her. She died at the Ranger's House, Blackheath, on 29 November 1844, unmarried. Princess Sophia is buried in

St. George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

Ancestry

Titles and styles

* 29 May 1773 – 23 July 1816: ''Her Highness'' Princess Sophia of Gloucester * 23 July 1816 – 29 November 1844: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Sophia of Gloucester''The London Gazette'' styles her "Princess Sophia of Gloucester" consistentl

http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=14075&gpn=120

up to and includin
The Duke of Clarence's Wedding, 14 July 1818
After this point, (or at least after her brother's death
his funeral Gazette, 16 December 1834
the Gazette consistently styles her "Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester

http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=20223&gpn=154

/ref> **16 December 1834 – 29 November 1844: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester As a great-granddaughter in the male-line of George II of Great Britain, George II, Sophia had the style of ''Highness'' from birth. On 22 July 1816, Sophia's brother, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, married their cousin Princess Mary, a daughter 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 ...

. On their wedding day, the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

bestowed the style of ''Royal Highness'' on the Duke of Gloucester. The next day, Sophia was also bestowed with this style, giving her equal rank with her brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophia Of Gloucester, Princess 1773 births 1844 deaths House of Hanover British princesses Daughters of British dukes Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle People from Mayfair People from Winkfield

Life

Ancestry

Titles and styles

See also

References