Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

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Prince William Henry
Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Titles	HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH Prince William Henry of Wales
Born	14 November 1743
	Leicester House, London
Died	25 August 1805
	Gloucester House, London
Buried	St George's Chapel, Windsor
Successor	Prince William Frederick of Gloucester
Consort to	Maria Walpole
Issue	Princess Sophia of Gloucester Princess Caroline of Gloucester Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester
Royal House	House of Hanover
Father	Frederick, Prince of Wales
Mother	Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh KG (14 November 1743 - 25 August 1805) was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of King George II and a younger brother of King George III.

1 Early life
2 Marriage
- 2.1 Illegitimate Issue
3 Later life
4 Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms
- 4.1 Titles
- 4.2 Honours
5 External links
6 Footnote
7 References

[edit] Early life

Prince William Henry<ref name="edward">Henry Churchyard's "Royal Genealogies, Part 10" holds that the Prince's name was Edward Henry, although the source for this claim is unclear</ref> was born at Leicester House, London. His father was The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach. His mother was The Princess of Wales (née Augusta of Saxe-Gotha). He was christened at Leicester House on 25 November 1743. His godparents were William IV, Prince of Orange, The Duke of Cumberland, and Princess Amelia Sophia of Great Britain. As a grandchild of the sovereign, he was styled His Royal Highness Prince William Henry of Wales at birth. He was fourth in the line of succession at birth.

British Royalty
House of Hanover

George II
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Anne, Princess of Orange
Princess Amelia Sophia
Princess Caroline Elizabeth
William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel
Louise, Queen of Denmark
Grandchildren
Augusta Charlotte, Duchess of Brunswick
George III
Edward Augustus, Duke of York
Princess Elizabeth Caroline
William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland
Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark
Great-grandchildren
Princess Sophia of Gloucester
William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester

Prince William Henry later joined the British Army. His father died in 1751, leaving the Prince's elder brother, Prince George, heir-apparent to the throne. He succeeded as George III on 25 October 1760, and created William Henry Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught in 1764. He had been made a Knight of the Garter on 27 May 1762.

[edit] Marriage

The Duke was most known for his secret marriage 1766 to Maria Walpole, the Dowager Countess of Waldegrave, an illegitimate granddaughter of Sir Robert Walpole. This marriage and that of his brother prompted the passing of the Royal Marriages Act 1772. They had three children,

[edit] Illegitimate Issue

The Duke also had an illegitimate daughter by his mistress Lady Almeria Carpenter, a daughter of the Earl of Tyrconnell.

Louisa Maria La Coast (6 January 1782 in Esher, Surrey–10 February 1835), who married in 1802 The Hon Godfrey Bosvile Macdonald, later the 3rd Baron Macdonald of Slate. They had three children born before their marriage (legitimized by Scottish law, but not by Irish law) and ten children born after their marriage. (A previous marriage in Scotland was considered of doubtful validity). These children and their posterity are the only descendants of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh.

[edit] Later life

The Duke was appointed (in an honorary fashion) to Colonel of the 13th Regiment of Foot, 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards, and 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and he became a Field Marshal on 12 October 1793.

He served as the thirteenth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin from 1771 to 1805.

He died at Gloucester House in London.