Maria Anne Fitzherbert
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Maria Anne Fitzherbert, née Smythe (26 July 1756 – 27 March 1837), was the first woman with whom the future King George IV of the United Kingdom undertook a wedding ceremony, and his companion for a large part of his adult life. However the marriage was invalid under English civil laws concerning royal marriages and she never became queen or acquired any other title.
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[edit] Early life
Maria Anne was the eldest child of Walter Smythe of Brambridge, Hampshire, and Mary Ann Errington. Her paternal grandparents were Sir John Smythe, 3rd Baronet Smythe and Constantia Blount. Her maternal grandparents were John Errington of Beaufront, Northumberland, and Maria Levery. Maria was also mother to Charles William Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton by her third marriage. She was educated in Paris.
[edit] Marriages
She was married to Edward Weld, 16 years her senior, a rich Catholic landowner of Lulworth Castle in July, 1775. Maria Anne soon became a widow, as Weld died just three months later after falling from his horse.
She was secondly married, three years later, to Thomas Fitzherbert of Swynnerton, Staffordshire. She was ten years younger than him. They had a son who died young. She became a widow for a second time on 7 May 1781, inheriting a residence in Mayfair and an annual income of £2,500.
The young widow soon entered London high society. In spring, 1784, Maria was introduced to a youthful admirer: George, Prince of Wales. She became the most notable royal mistress to the future George IV of the United Kingdom by marrying him on December 15, 1785, at Red Rice House, Red Rice.
The marriage was considered invalid under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 because it had not been approved by George III of the United Kingdom and the Privy Council. Had permission been asked, it would probably not have been granted, as Mrs. Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic.
[edit] Relationship with Prince of Wales/George IV after his marriage
Maria and the Prince continued to see one another romantically even after the Prince's marriage to Caroline of Brunswick, and the prince returned to live with Maria in about 1800, but their relationship had ended permanently by 1811. During this time he was also romantically involved with royal courtesan Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, but this affair apparently had no adverse effect on Maria's affair with him. [1]
Following the death of George on 26 June 1830, it was discovered that he had kept all her letters, and steps were taken to destroy them. The new king, William IV, offered to make her a royal duchess, a recompense for the difficulties she had suffered on his brother's behalf. Mrs Fitzherbert replied that ‘she had borne through life the name of Mrs Fitzherbert; that she had never disgraced it, and did not wish to change it’. [2]
She is buried in St John the Baptist's Church, Kemp Town, Brighton.
[edit] References
- Charles Langdale: The Memoirs of Mrs Fitzherbert : with an account of her marriage with H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George IV.. – London : Richard Bentley, 1856
- WH Wilkins: Mrs Fitzherbert and George IV. – London, New York und Bombay : Longmans, Green, & Co., 1905
- Sir Shane Leslie: Mrs. Fitzherbert : A Life. Chiefly from Unpublished Sources. 2 Bände. – London : Burns Oates, 1939–40
- Anita Leslie: Mrs. Fitzherbert. – London : Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1960
- Geraldine Simpson: Mrs Fitzherbert : The Uncrowned Queen. – 1971
- Valerie Irvine: The King's Wife : George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert. – London : Hambledon & London, 2005. – ISBN 1-85285-443-X
