Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness

Cecilia Underwood
Duchess of Inverness
Spouse	Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1831–1843) Sir George Buggin (1815–1825)
Full name
Cecilia Letitia
House	House of Hanover
Father	Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran
Mother	Elizabeth Underwood
Born	c. 1785
Died	1 August 1873 (aged c. 87) Kensington Palace, London
Burial	Kensal Green Cemetery

Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness (née Lady Cecilia Letitia Gore; c. 1785 – 1 August 1873) was the second wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, sixth son of King George III. As their marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, it was considered legally void, and she could not be styled either as the Duchess of Sussex or a Princess. She was created Duchess of Inverness, in her own right, by Queen Victoria, on 10 April 1840.

Early life

Cecilia's exact date of birth is not known, although it is around 1785. Her father was Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran; her mother, Elizabeth née Underwood. She was styled Lady Cecilia Gore at birth, the courtesy title of a daughter of an earl.

Marriages

Lady Cecilia's first marriage was to Sir George Buggin, in May 1815. The marriage produced no children and Sir George died on 12 April 1825.

She later married Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of George III, at Great Cumberland Place, London, on 2 May 1831. The Duke of Sussex had already married Lady Augusta Murray in 1793, but that marriage was annulled in 1794 as it contravened the Royal Marriages Act 1772 which required that all members of the British Royal Family seek permission of the sovereign before marriage. However the Duke of Sussex's second marriage also contravened the Act, making it legally void.

Duchess of Inverness

As the marriage was not considered legal in the UK, Lady Cecilia could not take the style Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex. Instead she assumed the name "Underwood", her mother's maiden name, by Royal Licence and was known as Lady Cecilia Underwood. The couple resided at the Duke's apartments in Kensington Palace.

However, Lady Cecilia was not accepted as a full member of the British Royal Family. Strict royal protocol restricted Lady Cecilia at any functions attended by other members of the Royal Family, as she was unable to take a seat beside her husband due to her lower rank. To compensate for this, in 1840 Queen Victoria created her Duchess of Inverness, in her own right, with remainder to heirs male lawfully begotten. This recognised her husband's subsidiary title of Earl of Inverness.

The Duke of Sussex died at Kensington Palace and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. The Duchess of Inverness continued to reside at Kensington Palace until her death in August 1873. She was buried next to her second husband.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles

• c. 1785–May 1815: Lady Cecilia Gore
• May 1815–c. 1831: Lady Cecilia Buggin
• c. 1831–10 April 1840: Lady Cecilia Underwood
• 10 April 1840–1 August 1873: Her Grace The Duchess of Inverness

Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Duchess of Inverness 1840–1873	Extinct

Persondata
Name	Underwood, Cecilia
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	1 August 1873
Place of death	Kensington Palace, London