Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh was the eleventh child and fourth daughter of King George III and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
She married her first cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, when both were 40, and was his widow in later life. In her last years, her niece Queen Victoria was on the throne as the fourth monarch during Mary's life, after her father and two of her brothers, George IV and William IV. Dying aged 81 at Gloucester House, Weymouth, Mary was the longest-lived and last survivor of George III's fifteen children.
Early life and family
Mary was born on 25 April 1776, at Buckingham Palace, London. Her father was the reigning British monarch, George III. Her mother was Queen Charlotte, the daughter of Charles, reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.Mary was baptised on 19 May 1776, in the Great Council Chamber at St. James's Palace, by Frederick Cornwallis, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Her godparents were:
- Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel
- The Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
- Princess Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
According to Flora Fraser, Mary was considered to be the most beautiful daughter of George III; Fraser calls her a "bland beauty". Mary danced a minuet for the first time in public at the age of sixteen in June 1791, during a court ball given for the king's birthday. In the spring of 1792 she made her official debut at court. Around 1796 Mary fell in love with the Dutch Prince Frederick, while he and his family lived in exile in London. Frederik was a son of William V, Prince of Orange, the Dutch stadholder, and younger brother to the future King William I of the Netherlands. However Frederik and Mary never married because George III stipulated that her elder sisters should marry first. In 1799 Prince Frederik died of an infection while serving in the army, and Mary was allowed to go into official mourning.
Mary's youngest sister and beloved companion Princess Amelia called her "Mama's tool" because of her obedient nature. Amelia's premature death in 1810 devastated her sister, who had nursed her devotedly during her painful illness.
Mary was quite close to her eldest brother, and she shared his antipathy toward his wife, their cousin Caroline of Brunswick. When the latter left for Italy, Mary congratulated her brother "on the prospect of a good riddance. Heaven grant that she may not return again and that we may never see more of her."
Marriage and later life
Mary's upbringing was very sheltered and she spent most of her time with her parents and sisters. King George and Queen Charlotte were keen to shelter their children, particularly the girls. Mary, however, married on 22 July 1816, to her first cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the son of George III's brother, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. Both were aged 40. On their wedding day, Mary's brother, The Prince Regent, raised the bridegroom's style from Highness to Royal Highness, an attribute to which Mary's rank as daughter of the King already entitled her.William Frederick had initially sought to marry Mary's niece Princess Charlotte of Wales. Charlotte, while interested, was berated by her father, who subsequently also expressed his displeasure to Gloucester and the courtship ended. The historian A. W. Purdue suggests that Mary's motive for marrying her cousin sprang from her dislike of Queen Charlotte's restrictive household. Charlotte observed that the duke "is much in love, & and tells me he is the happiest creature on earth. I won't say does as much, but being her own mistress, having her own house, & being able to walk in the streets all delights her in their several ways."
The couple lived at Bagshot Park, but after William's death she moved to White Lodge in Richmond Park. They had no children together.