On 15 May 1759, he married
Maria Walpole, the illegitimate daughter of
Sir Edward Walpole, at Sir Edward's house in Pall Mall by special licence from the archbishop of Canterbury. The ceremony was performed by
Frederick Keppel, the future
bishop of Exeter, and the official witnesses were Sir Edward and his brother,
Horace Walpole. The couple had three daughters: •
Lady Elizabeth Laura Waldegrave (1760–1816), married her cousin, the
4th Earl Waldegrave. Three sons became Earls Waldegrave and all succeeding earls are descended from this marriage. •
Lady Charlotte Maria Waldegrave (1761–1808), married
George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton. All succeeding Dukes of Grafton are descended from this marriage. •
Lady (Anne) Horatia Waldegrave (1762–1801), married
Lord Hugh Seymour, son of the
1st Marquess of Hertford. Prior to her marriage, she was perhaps secretly engaged to be married to
Robert Bertie, 4th Duke of Ancaster (1756–1779), as she is said by her uncle
Horace Walpole and others to have put on mourning for the dissolute young Duke. He died of
smallpox on 13 April 1763 and, lacking male heirs, his titles passed to his younger brother,
John. After his death, his widow Maria married into the
British royal family becoming the wife of
Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, King George III's brother. Waldegrave's memoirs were published in 1821.
Descendants His daughter, Lady Anne, and her husband were the great-grandparents of
Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, who was the great-grandfather of
Diana, Princess of Wales and by her they were the ancestors of
The Prince of Wales and
The Duke of Sussex. ==References==