by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Adeliza of Louvain, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 25, 1120, William Ætheling, King Henry I of England‘s only legitimate son, died in the sinking of the White Ship.  King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children with at least 25, but at the time of his son’s death, his only surviving legitimate child was a daughter Matilda, often called Maud(e), who was married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor.  King Henry’s wife, Matilda of Scotlan,d had died in 1118, and he needed a male heir, so a second marriage became a necessity.  King Henry I of England, aged 53, married the 18-year-old Adeliza of Louvain on January 24, 1121, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.  Negotiations for the marriage probably started before the White Ship disaster.

Adeliza was the eldest child of Godfrey I, Count of Louvain and his first wife, Ida of Chiny.  Today, Louvain (French)/Leuven (Dutch) is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium and is located about sixteen miles from Brussels. Adeliza was beautiful (she was called the “fair maid of Brabant”) and charming.  She was not interested in playing a political role in England but rather focused her activities on the arts and literature, particularly French poetry.

Adeliza had five siblings:

• Godfrey II of Louvain, Duke of Lower Lotharingia (Lower Lorraine), Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Louvain (1107 – 1142), married Lutgardis of Sulzbach, had children
• Clarissa (died 1140)
• Henry (died 1141), monk at Affligem Abbey
• Ida (died 1162), married Arnold I, Count of Cleves, had children
• Joscelin of Louvain (1121–1180), married Agnes De Percy, had children

Adeliza and the wives of King Henry VIII of England probably had a similar amount of pressure put on them to produce a male heir.  However, her marriage to King Henry I was childless.  She was present on the day in January 1126 when King Henry I named his daughter Matilda his heir and had his Anglo-Norman barons swear to recognize Matilda and any future legitimate heirs. Matilda, whose first husband had died, married Geoffrey of Anjou.  Their son eventually became King Henry II of England after a long civil war called The Anarchy, precipitated by Matilda’s cousin, Stephen, taking the throne when King Henry I died.

In late 1135, King Henry I was in Normandy dealing with a rebellion by the barons in southern Normandy. Henry traveled to the castle at Saint-Denis-en-Lyons, Normandy (now called Lyons-la-Forêt) for some hunting.  According to the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, Henry ate some lampreys, little eels, which disagreed with him.  Over the next week, his condition, possibly ptomaine poisoning, worsened.  On December 1, 1135, King Henry I of England died at the age of 67. Henry’s body was brought back to England, where he was buried at Reading Abbey.  Adeliza was present at the dedication of Henry’s tomb on the first anniversary of his death.  Reading Abbey was destroyed in 1538 during King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Arundel Castle; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After King Henry I’s death, Adeliza went to live at Arundel Castle, part of her dower lands. In 1138, Adeliza married William d’Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel, and the couple had seven children. Among  Adeliza and William’s descendants are the well-known Howard family and the Dukes of Norfolk.  Arundel Castle remains the principal seat of the Duke of Norfolk.

• William d’Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel (died 1193)
• Reynor d’Aubigny
• Henry d’Aubigny
• Geoffrey d’Aubigny
• Alice d’Aubigny (died 1188)
• Olivia d’Aubigny
• Agatha d’Aubigny

Tomb of Adeliza of Louvain; Credit – http://www.findagrave.com

In 1150, Adeliza left her family and retired to Affligem Abbey in Flemish Brabant (now in Belgium) near where she grew up. She died at Affligem Abbey on April 23, 1151, at the age of 48, and was buried at the abbey.  Her second husband, William d’Aubigny, survived her by 25 years.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Normandy Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Index
• House of Normandy Index
• Coronations after the Norman Conquest (1066 – present)
• History and Traditions: Norman and Plantagenet Weddings
• House of Normandy Burial Sites
• The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite fathering many illegitimate children with his mistresses, King Charles II of England had no children with his wife, Catherine of Braganza. King Charles II is an ancestor through his mistresses of many British aristocrats and of several women who married into the British Royal Family. Lucy Walter and King Charles II are ancestors of Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Barbara Palmer, Duchess of Cleveland and King Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York. Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II are ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Camilla, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

In 1648, Charles, Prince of Wales, the future King Charles II of England, the eldest son of King Charles I of England, traveled to The Hague, The Netherlands where his sister Mary, Princess Royal and her husband Willem II, Prince of Orange lived.  Charles hoped to persuade them to contribute financially to the royalist cause in the Second English Civil War, which ultimately ended with the beheading of King Charles I of England.  While in The Hague, the 18-year-old Charles had a brief affair with Lucy Walter.

Lucy Walter was born around 1630 at Roch Castle near Haverfordwest, Wales to William Walter and Elizabeth Prothero.  During the English Civil War, the Walter family supported the royalist forces, and in 1644, Roch Castle was captured by the parliamentary forces and burned.   The Walter family fled, and Lucy found herself in London and soon set sail for The Hague, where she met Charles. On April 9, 1649, Lucy gave birth in Rotterdam, then in the Principality of Orange, now in The Netherlands, to a son named James.  Charles did acknowledge the child, but some thought that Colonel Robert Sidney, a younger son of the 2nd Earl of Leicester, was the father.

A DNA test in 2012 concluded that James’ descendant Richard Montagu Douglas Scott, the 10th Duke of Buccleuch, shared patrilineal DNA with a descendant of the royal Stuarts, proving that James Scott, Duke of Monmouth was the son of King Charles II of England.  There was also a controversy over whether Charles had secretly married Lucy Walter. Their son claimed his parents had married, but King Charles II said the only woman he had ever married was his queen, Catherine of Braganza.  Charles and Catherine’s marriage was childless, but Charles had at least 15 illegitimate children with his mistresses, and James was the eldest of Charles’ children.

When James was about nine years old, he was brought to Paris and placed in the care of his paternal grandmother, Henrietta Maria of France, who had returned to her home country during the English Civil War.  James lived in the household of William Crofts, 1st Baron Crofts, who had followed Charles into exile after the execution of King Charles I of England.  At this time, James took the surname Crofts.  In 1662, two years after his father was restored to the English throne, James was brought to England.

On February 14, 1663, 14-year-old James was created Duke of Monmouth, Earl of Doncaster, and Baron Scott of Tinsdale.  The next month, he was created a Knight of the Garter.  On April 20, 1663, James married Anne Scott, the 4th Countess of Buccleuch in her own right.  On their wedding day, the couple was created Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch.  Thereafter, James used Scott as his surname but was usually called Monmouth.  The couple had seven children, and Sarah, Duchess of York and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester are among their descendants.

Children of James and Anne:

• Charles Scott, Earl of Doncaster (1672–1674), died in infancy
• James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (1674–1705), married Lady Henrietta Hyde, daughter of Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, had six children, including Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch. Laurence Hyde was the brother of Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, wife of James, Duke of York and Albany, later James VII of Scotland, II of England.
• Lady Anne Scott (1675–1685), died young
• Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine (1676–1730), married  (1) Anne Duncombe, had three children  (2) Mary Howard, had two children
• Lord Francis Scott (1678–1679), died in infancy
• Lady Charlotte Scott (born and died 1683), died in infancy

Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and her sons; Credit – Wikipedia

At the age of 16, James began to serve in various military and government roles. He served in the Royal Navy under his uncle, the Duke of York, the future King James II of England, and was captain of a horse troop of the 1st Life Guards.  In 1670, James became a Privy Councilor.  His father, King Charles II, sent James as an ambassador to Paris and Utrecht in 1672.  That same year, he commanded British troops sent to help King Louis XIV of France (his father’s first cousin) in a campaign against the Dutch.  Other roles included Lord High Chamberlain of Scotland, Master of the Horse, Chancellor of Cambridge University, and Captain-General of all the land forces of England, Scotland, and Wales.

James, Duke of Monmouth commanding the British against the Dutch in 1672; Credit – Wikipedia

Because King Charles II had no legitimate children, his Catholic brother James, Duke of York was heir to the throne.  In 1678, there was a popular outcry for a Protestant heir, and James, Duke of Monmouth was touted as that heir. King Charles II issued a proclamation that he had married only Catherine of Braganza to squelch the possibility that his son James was a legitimate heir.  James was then sent out of England to Scotland to suppress an uprising.  His success in Scotland only made James more popular, and he was sent to the Netherlands into temporary exile.  When James returned to England, his popularity had not decreased, and he was met with bonfires and bells ringing.  King Charles II refused to see his son and deprived him of most of his positions.  Charles ordered his son into exile, but James defied his father and went on a tour of the West Country to determine his support there.  Over the next several years, there were several failed attempts at reconciliation between father and son.  In 1683, James was used as a tool in the unsuccessful Rye House Plot to assassinate King Charles II and James, Duke of York.  James was obliged to go into exile in the Netherlands, and he was there when his father, King Charles II, died on February 6, 1685, and his uncle became King James II.

Upon his father’s death, James, Duke of Monmouth asserted his claim to the throne and planned an invasion of England and Scotland.  He landed at Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, on June 11, 1685, and proclaimed himself king on June 20, 1685.  On July 6, 1685, the armies of uncle and nephew met at the Battle of Sedgemoor, where the army of James, Duke of Monmouth was defeated.  James had left the battlefield disguised as a peasant and was discovered hiding in a ditch three days later.

Execution of James, Duke of Monmouth; Credit – Wikipedia

James, Duke of Monmouth had been attainted of treason by Parliament on June 16, 1685, and was to “suffer Paines of Death and Incurr all Forfeitures as a Traitor Convicted and Attainted of High Treason.” He groveled at the feet of his uncle King James II, begging for his life.  James was sent to the Tower of London and beheaded on Tower Hill on July 15, 1685. It took several blows of the ax to behead him.  36-year-old James, Duke of Monmouth was buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.

The Act of Attainder forfeited his English peerages, but his Scottish peerages were not affected and continued to be held by his widow and their descendants.  The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Monmouth peerage were restored to Monmouth’s grandson, Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch.  Ironically, King James II’s reign lasted only until 1688, when he was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution by his Protestant daughter Queen Mary II and his nephew and Mary’s husband, King William III.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Henry the Young King, son of King Henry II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry the Young King was born at Bermondsey Abbey in London, England on February 28, 1155, where his recently crowned parents were holding court.  He was the second child of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Henry’s elder brother William, Count of Poitiers died in 1156 at the age of two, leaving Henry as the eldest child of King Henry II.

Henry had seven siblings:

• William IX, Count of Poitiers (1153 – 1156), died in childhood
• Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria (1156 – 1189), married Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had five children, including Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
• King Richard I of England (1157 – 1199), married Berengaria of Navarre, no children
• Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1158 – 1186), married Constance, Duchess of Brittany, had three children
• Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile (1162 – 1214), married King Alfonso VIII of Castile, had twelve children including King Enrique I of Castile; Berengaria, Queen Regnant of Castile and Queen of León; Urraca, Queen of Portugal; Blanche, Queen of France, and Eleanor, Queen of Aragon
• Joan of England, Queen of Sicily (1165 – 1199), married (1) King William II of Sicily, no surviving children (2) Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, had two children, Joan died in childbirth with her third child who also died
• King John of England (1166 – 1216), married 1) Isabella, 3rd Countess of Gloucester, marriage annulled, no children (2) Isabella, Countess of Angoulême; had five children, including King Henry III of England; Joan of England, Queen of Scots, and Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

13th-century depiction of Henry and his legitimate children: (l to r) William, Young Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John; Credit – Wikipedia 

On November 2, 1160, five-year-old Henry was married to two-year-old Marguerite of France.  Marguerite was the daughter of King Louis VII of France (the first husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine) and his second wife Constance of Castile.  The reason for the early marriage was political. Marguerite’s dowry included the disputed territory of the Vexin and King Henry II wanted to possess it.

Henry was educated under the guidance of his father’s chancellor Thomas Becket.   In 1170, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke was appointed his tutor and was also his tournament team leader until 1182 when Henry and Marshal had a falling out.  Henry participated in many tournaments in northern and central France and became one of the major patrons of the sport.

When Henry was 15, his father adopted the French practice of ensuring the succession by declaring his heir the junior king.  Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 14, 1170, by Roger of Pont L’Évêque, Archbishop of York.  Marguerite was not crowned, infuriating her father King Louis VII.  To appease the French king, another coronation which included Marguerite was held on August 27, 1172, at Winchester Cathedral.  Marguerite and Henry had only one son, William, who was born prematurely on June 19, 1177, and died three days later.

Despite his rank of junior king,  King Henry II refused to grant Henry land or allow him to participate in the government.  With his mother and his brothers Richard (the future King Richard I of England) and Geoffrey, he nearly overthrew King Henry II in 1173.  In 1182–83, Henry had a falling out with his brother Richard when Richard refused to pay homage to him on the orders of King Henry II.  As he was preparing to fight Richard, Henry became ill with dysentery (also called the bloody flux), the scourge of armies for centuries.  It was clear that Henry was dying and he repented for his sins by prostrating himself naked on the floor before a crucifix.  Henry the Young King died on June 11, 1183, in Martel, France holding a ring his father had sent as a sign of his forgiveness.  Henry was so popular that the people of Le Mans and Rouen almost went to war for the custody of his body.  He had requested to be buried in Rouen Cathedral, but as his body traveled through Le Mans, the bishop ordered his body to be buried at the cathedral there.  The Dean of Rouen Cathedral had to resort to legal means to bury Henry according to his wishes.  Ironically, the tombs of the perpetually fighting brothers, Henry and Richard, lie on opposite sides of the altar of Rouen Cathedral.

Henry the Young King in literature:

• Henry is an important character in Sharon Kay Penman‘s novels Time and Chance and The Devil’s Brood.
• Henry is an important secondary character in Elizabeth Chadwick‘s novel The Greatest Knight about William Marshal.
• The consequences of Henry’s death play an important role in the events of James Goldman’s play The Lion in Winter (also a film) which features Henry’s parents and three younger brothers, the future King Richard II of England; Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany; and the future King John of England.

Tomb of Henry the Young King in Rouen Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2014

Louise, Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife; Credit: Wikipedia

Late in her third pregnancy 22-year-old Alexandra, Princess of Wales became ill with rheumatic fever.  She safely gave birth to her first daughter without the use of the painkiller chloroform which her doctors thought would worsen her condition.  The bout of rheumatic fever continued after the baby’s birth and the Princess of Wales was in such pain that she had to be constantly comforted by her lady-in-waiting, Lady Macclesfield. The rheumatic fever threatened Alexandra’s life and left her with a permanent limp.  Thus, the future Princess Royal entered the world on February 20, 1867, at Marlborough House in London, England.

The princess was christened Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar at Marlborough House, her parents’ home in London. Her godparents were:

• Princess Alice, Princess Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine (her paternal aunt)
• Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (her paternal aunt)
• Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (her paternal aunt)
• Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia (her paternal uncle by marriage)
• Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (her first cousin twice removed, born Princess Augusta of Cambridge)
• Friedrich Wilhelm, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (her maternal great-uncle)
• Queen Louise of Denmark (her maternal grandmother)
• King George I of Greece (her maternal uncle)
• Maria Feodorovna, Tsarevna of Russia (her maternal aunt, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark)
• Duke Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
• Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar was the third of six children and the eldest of the three daughters of the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.  She was the granddaughter of two monarchs, Queen Victoria and King Christian IX of Denmark.  At the time of her birth, she was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Louise of Wales.

Louise’s five siblings:

• Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864 – 1892), unmarried
• King George V (1865 – 1936), married Princess Mary of Teck; had issue
• Princess Victoria (1868 – 1935), unmarried
• Princess Maud (1869 – 1938), married King Haakon VII of Norway; had issue
• Prince Alexander John (born and died 1871), live one day

The children of King Edward VII, by Alexander Bassano, half-plate glass negative, 1875.
NPG x104919. © National Portrait Gallery, London

Unlike their beautiful mother, Louise and her sisters were not considered attractive and had the rather unpleasant nickname of “The Hags.”  Their education was minimal although they had been taught music.  In public, the sisters appeared shy and did not want to be noticed or have others talk about them.  In private, they were less inhibited and participated in the family tradition of practical jokes.  Alexandra was extremely possessive of her children and prolonged their childhood far past the norm.  For example, Louise, at age 19, was given a child’s birthday party.  While Louise and Maud married, their sister Victoria was not allowed to marry so that she could serve as a companion to her mother.  Her cousin Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna described her a little more than “a glorified maid.”

On July 27, 1889, Louise followed the example of her aunt Princess Louise and married a husband from the British nobility.  Seventeen years older than his bride, Alexander William George Duff was the only son of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife and Lady Agnes Hay, daughter of the 18th Earl of Erroll and Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of King William IV. Louise and Alexander were third cousins via their mutual descent from King George III. Alexander’s descent was via the future King William IV’s long-time relationship with actress Dorothea Jordan by whom he had ten children who married into the British aristocracy.

Alexander had become 6th Earl Fife upon his father’s death in 1879.  Two days after the wedding, Queen Victoria created the groom Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.  Despite their age difference, the couple was well-matched and settled down to a life of country pursuits with the Duke managing his Scottish estates and Louise becoming an expert at salmon fishing.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Louise, Princess Royal and Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife

Alexander William George Duff, 1st Duke of Fife; Princess Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar, Duchess of Fife by William Downey, for W. & D. Downey. albumen cabinet card, 27 July 1889,
NPG x3805.  © National Portrait Gallery, London

The couple had three children:

• Alastair Duff, Marquess of Macduff (stillborn 1890)
• Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891 – 1959), married her first cousin once removed, Prince Arthur of Connaught; had issue
• Maud (1893 – 1945), married Charles Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk, had issue

Louise with her daughters Alexandra and Maud, circa 1894; Credit – Wikipedia

As female-line great-granddaughters of the British monarch (Queen Victoria), Alexandra and Maud were not entitled to the title of Princess or the style Royal Highness. Instead, they were styled Lady Alexandra Duff and Lady Maud Duff, the styles of daughters of a Duke.   In 1900, when it became apparent that the Duke and Duchess of Fife were unlikely to have a son to inherit the title, Queen Victoria issued the Duke of Fife a new Letters Patent as Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom giving the second dukedom of Fife a special remainder in default of male issue to the Duke’s daughters and their agnatic male descendants.

Louise was the eldest daughter of King Edward VII and in 1905 was created Princess Royal.  At the same time, Louise’s daughters Alexandra and Maud were granted the title of Princess with the style of “Highness” and received precedence immediately after all members of the royal family bearing the style of “Royal Highness.” This act was unprecedented and when the College of Arms told King Edward VII it could not be done, the King simply said, “Do it!” Louise’s brother, the future King George V, was greatly disturbed by this act.

In December 1911, the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their two daughters set off to spend the winter in Egypt and Sudan where the climate was more beneficial to Louise’s health.  Their ship went aground near Morocco and then their lifeboat sank.  The family was rescued, but the Duke of Fife later developed pneumonia and died in Aswan, Egypt on January 29, 1912.  Alexandra succeeded to the 1900 Dukedom, becoming the Duchess of Fife and Countess of Macduff in her own right and her father’s other titles, including the 1889 Dukedom, became extinct.  Alexandra’s only son predeceased her, so upon her death, Maud’s son James Carnegie became the 3rd Duke of Fife. He also became the 12th Earl of Southesk, a title he inherited from his father.

Louise died at the age of 63 on January 4, 1931, at her London home at 15 Portman Square in London, England. She was first interred at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, and was later buried with her husband at the private chapel in the mausoleum of Mar Lodge in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Louise’s grave; Credit – By GentryGraves – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45486868

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Frederick, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederick, Prince of Wales was one of the seven Princes of Wales who never became King.  Six Princes of Wales, including Frederick, predeceased their fathers:

• Edward the Black Prince, son of King Edward III
• Edward of Westminster, son of King Henry VI
• Edward of Middleham, son of King Richard III
• Arthur Tudor, son of King Henry VII
• Henry Frederick Stuart, son of King James I.
• James Francis Edward Stuart, son of King James II, forfeited the title when his father was deposed

When Frederick was born in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, on February 1, 1709, Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch, sat upon the British throne, but there was a succession crisis.  Despite having 18 pregnancies, Queen Anne did not have a Protestant heir as decreed by the 1689 Bill of Rights.  Queen Mary II, the wife, first cousin, and co-ruler of King William III, and Anne’s elder sister, had died childless in 1694. In 1701, Parliament enacted the Act of Settlement to prevent a succession crisis and a Catholic restoration.  If neither King William III nor the future Queen Anne failed to provide an heir, the crown would go to the senior Protestant heir, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her Protestant descendants.  Over fifty Catholics with better claims to the British throne than Sophia, Electress of Hanover were excluded from the line of succession.  Sophia was the daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I of England.  Sophia was Frederick’s great-grandmother, so at the time of his birth, His Serene Highness Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover was fourth in line to the British throne after his great-grandmother, grandfather, and father.

Sophia, Electress of Hanover died on June 8, 1714, less than two months before the death of Queen Anne on August 1, 1714.  Upon Queen Anne’s death, Frederick’s grandfather George, ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) in the Holy Roman Empire, became King George I of Great Britain. George I’s son, the future King George II of Great Britain, was created Prince of Wales and, along with his wife Caroline of Ansbach, now the Princess of Wales, went to live in Great Britain.  They left seven-year-old Frederick, now second in the line of succession to the British throne, in Hanover in the care of his great-uncle Ernst August, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, and they did not see their son again for 14 years.  Certainly, this long separation during childhood was a factor in the negative relationship Frederick had with his parents as an adult.

Frederick had seven siblings, six of whom survived childhood:

• Anne, Princess Royal (1709 – 1759), married Willem IV, Prince of Orange, had issue
• Princess Amelia (1711 – 1786), unmarried
• Princess Caroline (1713 – 1757), unmarried
• Prince George William (1717 – 1718), died in infancy
• Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721 – 1765), unmarried
• Princess Mary (1723 – 1772), married Friedrich II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, had issue
• Princess Louise (1724 -1751), married Frederik V, King of Denmark and Norway

In 1727, Frederick’s grandfather King George I died, and Frederick’s father acceded to the throne as King George II.  The following year, Frederick, who automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at his father’s accession, was summoned to London.  There was more evidence of the feud between Frederick and his parents.  He was the heir to the throne but was not even met by any officials when he first arrived in London and had to take a hackney carriage to St. James’ Palace. In addition, King George II was reluctant to create Frederick Prince of Wales, but finally did so in January 1729 at the government’s urging. During his first years in England, Frederick was not given much to do by his father, and occupied himself with drinking, gambling, and womanizing.  Frederick had several mistresses before he settled down in marriage.

Marriage possibilities to Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (Frederick’s first cousin) and Lady Diana Spencer (see Unofficial Royalty: The Other Lady Diana Spencers), daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, and Lady Anne Churchill, were vetoed by King George II. Finally, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was chosen as Frederick’s bride.  Sixteen-year-old Augusta arrived in England, barely speaking English, to marry the 29-year-old Frederick.  Frederick and Augusta married at the Chapel Royal in St. James’ Palace in London, England, on May 8, 1736.

The couple had nine children:

• Princess Augusta of Wales, Duchess of Brunswick (1737 – 1813) married Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, had issue
• King George III of the United Kingdom (1738 – 1820) married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue
• Prince Edward of Wales, Duke of York (1739 – 1767) died aged 28, unmarried
• Princess Elizabeth Caroline of Wales (1740 – 1759) died aged 18, unmarried
• Prince William Henry of Wales, Duke of Gloucester (1743 – 1805) married Maria, Countess Waldegrave, had issue
• Prince Henry of Wales, Duke of Cumberland (1745 – 1790) married Anne Luttrell, no issue
• Princess Louisa of Wales (1749 – 1768) died aged 19, unmarried
• Prince Frederick of Wales (1750 – 1765) died aged 15, unmarried
• Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen Consort of Denmark and Norway (1751 – 1775) married Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway, had issue

Family of Frederick, Prince of Wales painted in 1751 after his death;  Credit – Wikipedia
Front row: Henry, William, Frederick; Back row: Edward, George, Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales holding Caroline Matilda, Elizabeth, Louisa

Frederick made a point of opposing his parents in nearly everything.  He annoyed them when he and Augusta appeared in public together because the couple was popular with the public. When Augusta went into labor with her first child at Hampton Court Palace, where the King and Queen were in residence, Frederick insisted that Augusta endure a bumpy carriage ride back to St. James’ Palace in London to prevent his hated parents from being present at the birth. This event created an even larger rift between Frederick and his parents.

Frederick was a great patron of the arts, most notably music and painting.  He loved taking part in amateur theatricals with his children.  He also enjoyed sports and was seriously involved in cricket, both as a patron and a player. Frederick looked forward to succeeding to the throne and becoming “a patriot king.”  He delighted in opposing the government and lent his support to the opposition.  After the Jacobite rising in 1745, Frederick opposed the severe treatment of the Jacobites that his father and brother supported.

Frederick became ill in March 1751 after he “caught a chill” while gardening at his home.  He became feverish and was bled and blistered, the medical treatment of the time. After a brief recovery, Frederick suffered a relapse and was again bled. After eating a light supper on the evening of March 31, 1751, at Leicester House in London, Frederick suffered a coughing fit and died suddenly at the age of 44.  An autopsy found the cause of death to be a burst abscess in the lung.  It was popularly believed that his death was caused by a blow from a cricket ball to his chest, but there is no proof of that. King George II was playing cards with his mistress when he was told of Frederick’s death.  He continued playing cards and later said, “I have lost my eldest son, but I am glad,” so the feud between father and son did not even end with death.  Frederick was buried in the royal vault in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

A famous epigram was written upon Frederick’s death:

Here lies poor Fred who was alive and is dead,
Had it been his father I had much rather,
Had it been his sister nobody would have missed her,
Had it been his brother, still better than another,
Had it been the whole generation, so much better for the nation,
But since it is Fred who was alive and is dead,
There is no more to be said!

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