Youth , from a family group portrait of 1751. William Henry was born on 25 November 1743 at
Leicester House, Westminster. His parents were
Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of
George II and
Caroline of Ansbach, and
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, then Princess of Wales. He was baptised at Leicester House eleven days later. His godparents were his paternal uncle by marriage, the
Prince of Orange; his paternal uncle, the
Duke of Cumberland; and his paternal aunt,
Princess Amelia. He was fourth in the
line of succession at birth. His father died in 1751, leaving William Henry's elder brother,
Prince George, heir-apparent to the throne. He succeeded as George III on 25 October 1760, and created William
Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and
Earl of Connaught on 19 November 1764. He had been made a
Knight of the Garter on 27 May 1762, and invested on 22 September of that year. In 1764, he began to court
Maria Walpole, the Dowager Countess of Waldegrave, an illegitimate granddaughter of Sir
Robert Walpole.
Career and marriage , He initially wished for active service in the military, but his health and intelligence both proved insufficient. Instead he was appointed
colonel of the
13th Regiment of Foot in 1766. That same year, he and Maria married in secret in his home on
Pall Mall. This marriage only became known to the King after the passing of the
Royal Marriages Act 1772. The Duke and Maria lived at
St Leonard's Hill in
Clewer, near Windsor and had three children, all of whom were styled
Highness from birth and used the territorial designation of Gloucester in conjunction with their princely styles, as great-grandchildren in the male line of
George II. In 1767, he was promoted to major-general and made colonel of the
3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. The same year he was made Warden of
Windsor Forest, gaining the post's official residence at
Cranbourne Lodge. In 1768, he employed the renowned violin maker
Richard Duke as his official instrument maker; giving him private lodgings in Old Gloucester Street and workshops in
Gloucester Place. He was made the thirteenth
Chancellor of the University of Dublin in 1771, holding the post until 1805. , The Duke and Maria had three children: •
Princess Sophia of Gloucester (
Sophia Matilda; 29 May 1773 – 29 November 1844), was born in 1773. •
Princess Caroline of Gloucester (
Caroline Augusta Maria; 24 June 1774 – 14 March 1775) was christened privately on 22 July 1774; her godparents were the Duchess of Gloucester (her mother), the
Hereditary Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (her paternal aunt) and the
Hereditary Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (her uncle by marriage). The princess died at just nine months old following a
smallpox inoculation, intended to protect her from the disease. •
Prince William Frederick (15 January 1776 – 30 November 1834) With the outbreak of the
American War of Independence, the Duke hoped for a field command, but George refused. He made a request to serve in the forces of
Frederick II of Prussia during the
War of Bavarian Succession (1777–1779) – George consented but Frederick himself turned down the offer. He later transferred to the
1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and he became a
field marshal on 18 October 1793. He went on to be General Officer Commanding
Northern District in 1796, a command that he held until 1802.
Interests and family connections In 1780, the Duke was made a
Fellow of the Royal Society and remained interested in medical and scientific matters of the day. In 1797, he invited Norwich surgeon
Philip Meadows Martineau to dine with him at
Raynham Hall, the home of
George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend whose first cousin was
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, after whom
Sydney, Australia was named. The Marquess, like Martineau was a
Whig and, at this time,
Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. In 1825,
Sir William Beechey exhibited his portraits of both Martineau and the Duke at the
Royal Academy. Additionally, in 1782, an illegitimate daughter was born to the Duke, • Louisa Maria La Coast (6 January 1782 – 10 February 1835), who later married
Godfrey Macdonald, 3rd Baron Macdonald. Her mother was the Duke's mistress Lady
Almeria Carpenter, a daughter of the first
Earl of Tyrconnell. The Duke died at
Gloucester House, London, on 25 August 1805, aged 61. He was succeeded as Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh by his son, William Frederick, and was buried at
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. ==Titles, styles, honours and arms==