Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Infobox British Royalty|royal
name =Prince William
title =Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
succession = Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
predecessor =Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
spouse =Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester
royal house =House of Hanover
titles ="HRH" The Duke of Gloucester
"HH" The Duke of Gloucester
"HH" Prince William of Gloucester
father =Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
mother =Maria, Duchess of Gloucester
date of birth =birth date|1776|1|15|df=y
place of birth =Rome, Italy
date of death =death date and age|1834|11|30|1776|1|15|df=y
place of death =Bagshot Park, Surrey
place of burial =St George's Chapel, Windsor|

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (William Frederick 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.

Early life

Prince William was born on 15 January 1776 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" at birth.

On 25 August 1805, Prince William's father died, and he inherited the titles, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
2= 2. Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
3= 3. Maria Walpole
4= 4. Frederick, Prince of Wales
5= 5. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
6= 6. Edward Walpole
7= 7. Dorothy Clement
8= 8. George II of Great Britain
9= 9. Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
10= 10. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
11= 11. Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
12= 12. Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford
13= 13. Catherine Shorter
14= 14. Hammond Clement
15= 15. Priscilla Clement
16= 16. George I of Great Britain
17= 17. Sophia Dorothea of Celle
18= 18. Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
19= 19. Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
20= 20. Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
21= 21. Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels
22= 22. Karl, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
23= 23. Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels
24= 24. Robert Walpole
25= 25. Mary Burwell
26= 26. John Shorter
27= 27. Elizabeth Philipps

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 [ [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness_docs.htm#1816_ Royal Styles and Titles – 1816 Royal Warrant] ] .

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived at Bagshot Park in Surrey. They had no children together.

Later life

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. [ [http://www.oxfordandcambridgeclub.co.uk/history.php Club History Since 1821] at oxfordandcambridgeclub.co.uk (accessed 9 January 2008)]

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

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

*15 January 1776–25 August 1805: "His Highness" Prince William of Gloucester
*25 August 1805–22 July 1816: "His Highness" The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
*22 July 1816–30 November 1834: "His Royal Highness" The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Honours

*KG: Knight of the Garter, "16 July 1794" [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p10094.htm#i100937 The Peerage — William Frederick Hanover, 2nd Duke of Gloucester] ]
*GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the BathFact|date=June 2008
*GCH: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic OrderFact|date=June 2008
*PC: Lord of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy CouncilFact|date=June 2008
*FRS: Fellow of the Royal SocietyFact|date=June 2008

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)". [ [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family] ]

ee also

*List of British princes

References

* [http://ftp.cac.psu.edu/~saw/royal/r09.html#I290 Henry Churchyard "Royal Genealogies, Part 9"]