Princess Mary Of The United Kingdom

Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (25 April 1776 – 30 April 1857), was the eleventh child and fourth daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was born at Buckingham Palace in London and was baptized on 19 May 1776 in the Great Council Chamber at St. James's Palace. Her godparents included Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel, the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, and Princess Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Her father, King George III, was known for his involvement in her upbringing, often engaging personally with his children, while her mother, Queen Charlotte, oversaw the moral development and education of the royal daughters, appointing Lady Charlotte Finch to manage the nursery due to Queen Charlotte’s extensive public duties. Princess Mary was regarded as a notably beautiful daughter of George III; contemporaries described her as a "bland beauty."

In 1791, at age fifteen, Mary performed a minuet publicly for the first time during a court ball marking the king’s birthday, and by 1792, she had made her official court debut. Around 1796, she became romantically interested in Prince Frederik of Orange, the son of William V, Prince of Orange, and brother to the future King William I of the Netherlands. However, the marriage did not occur because King George III insisted that her elder sisters marry before her. Prince Frederik died in 1799 from an infection contracted while serving in the military.

Mary maintained close relationships within her family, particularly with her youngest sister, Princess Amelia, and her eldest brother, with whom she shared a mutual dislike for their cousin Caroline of Brunswick, the wife of George’s eldest son, the Prince Regent. Following Princess Amelia’s death in 1810, Mary was notably affected, having cared for her during her illness.

On 22 July 1816, at the age of 40, Mary married her first cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. The Duke was the son of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the brother of her paternal uncle, King George III. Both were of advanced age for a first marriage. The wedding took place at Gloucester House, Mayfair, and on the day of her marriage, her brother, The Prince Regent, elevated her husband’s style from Highness to Royal Highness.

The marriage produced no children. The couple resided initially at Bagshot Park and, after her husband’s death, at White Lodge in Richmond Park.

Princess Mary died on 30 April 1857 at Gloucester House, in Mayfair, aged 81. She was the last surviving and the longest-lived of King George III's fifteen children, thirteen of whom reached adulthood.

Her arms, as of 1789, reflected her status as a daughter of the sovereign, bearing the royal arms differenced by a label argent with three points, the central bearing a red rose, and each outer point bearing a red canton.

Her ancestry includes notable European royal lineages through her parents, King George III and Queen Charlotte, linking her to various German and European noble families.