Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Prince William
Duke of Gloucester & Edinburgh
Predecessor Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Spouse Princess Mary of Great Britain
Full name
William Frederick
House House of Hanover
Father Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Mother Maria, Duchess of Gloucester
Born 15 January 1776(1776-01-15)
Teodoli Palace, Rome
Died 30 November 1834(1834-11-30) (aged 58)
Bagshot Park, Surrey
Burial St George's Chapel, Windsor

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (William Frederick or "Silly Billy"; 15 January 1776 – 30 November 1834) was a member of the British Royal Family, a great-grandson of George II and nephew of George III.

Contents

Early life

Prince William of Gloucester was born on 15 January 1776 at the Teodoli Palace in Rome, Italy. His father was Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of the Prince of Wales. His mother was Maria, Duchess of Gloucester, the illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole and granddaughter of Robert Walpole. As a great-grandson of George II he held the title of Prince of Great Britain with the style His Highness, not His Royal Highness, at birth. The young prince was christened at Teodoli Palace, on 12 February 1776 by a Rev Salter. His godparents were The Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (his first cousin once-removed and his wife) and The Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (his second cousin one-removed).[1]

During his stay in Stockholm in 1802-1803, his interest and rumoured affair with Aurora Wilhelmina Koskull attracted a lot of attention, and he reportedly had plans to marry her; according to Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, William Frederick said to her: "If she was your daughter, I would marry her!," with reference to Koskull.[2]

He was admitted to the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) in 1787, and granted his MA in 1790.[3] On 25 August 1805, Prince William's father died, and he inherited the titles, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught. From 1811 until his death he was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.[3] He was offered the position of king of Sweden in 1812 by some members of the Swedish nobility, but the British monarch would not allow it.

Marriage

On 22 July 1816, he married The Princess Mary, his cousin and the fourth daughter of George III. The marriage took place at St. James's Palace, London. On that day, The Prince Regent granted the Duke the style of His Royal Highness by Order in Council.[4]

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived at Bagshot Park in Surrey. They had no children together; they had married when both were 40. The Duke had been encouraged to stay single, so that there might be a suitable groom for Princess Charlotte of Wales, the heiress to the throne, even if no foreign match proved suitable; she had married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg ten weeks earlier.[5]

Later life

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

He was active in many walks of life, and on 27 April 1822 chaired the first Annual General Meeting of London's new United University Club.[6] Politics, however, was not among them; he entered the House of Lords rarely, and he voted on few of the great issues of his time. He did advocate the abolition of slavery, and he supported Queen Caroline and the Duke of Sussex against George IV.[7]

He kept more state than the King; he never permitted a gentleman to be seated in his presence (which King George did as an exceptional favour) and expected to be served coffee by the ladies of any party he attended, and that they would stand while he drank it.[8] The general estimate of his capacity is given by his nickname, "Silly Billy"; he was also called "Slice of Gloucester" and "Cheese",[9] a reference to Gloucester cheese.

The Duke died on 30 November 1834, and was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Honours

Arms

William was granted use of his father's arms (being the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points, the centre bearing a fleur-de-lys azure, the other points each bearing a cross gules), the whole differenced by a label argent (or azure).[11]

See also

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings
  2. ^ Cecilia af Klercker (1927) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok VII 1800-1806 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte VII 1800-1806). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. ISBN 383107. 
  3. ^ a b Gloucester, H.R.H. Prince William Frederick, Duke of in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
  4. ^ Royal Styles and Titles – 1816 Royal Warrant
  5. ^ Complete Peerage, "Duke of Gloucester", citing the obituary of Princess Mary in the Annual Register of 1857.
  6. ^ Club History Since 1821 at oxfordandcambridgeclub.co.uk (accessed 9 January 2008)
  7. ^ A. W. Purdue, ‘William Frederick, Prince, second duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776–1834)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2009, accessed 1 July 2009.
  8. ^ Complete Peerage, "Duke of Gloucester"
  9. ^ A. W. Purdue, ‘William Frederick, Prince, second duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776–1834)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2009, accessed 1 July 2009.
  10. ^ The Peerage — William Frederick Hanover, 2nd Duke of Gloucester
  11. ^ Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Cadet branch of the House of Welf
Born: 15 January 1776 Died: 30 November 1834
Military offices
New regiment Colonel of the 115th Regiment of Foot
1794–1795
Regiment disbanded
Preceded by
Sir Ralph Abercromby
Colonel of the 6th (1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot
1795–1805
Succeeded by
George Nugent
Preceded by
The Duke of Argyll
Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards
1806–1834
Succeeded by
The Duke of Gordon
Preceded by
Sir William Keppel
Governor of Portsmouth
1827–1834
Succeeded by
Sir Thomas McMahon, Bt
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
Prince William Henry
Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
1805–1834
Extinct
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Prince William Henry
Earl of Connaught
1805–1834
Extinct