Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn
| Prince Henry | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn | |||||
 Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough, 1777 | |||||
| Born | 7 November 1745 Leicester House, London | ||||
| Died | 18 September 1790 (aged 44) Cumberland House, London | ||||
| Burial | 28 September 1790 | ||||
| Spouse |
Anne Horton (m. 1771) | ||||
| |||||
| House | Hanover | ||||
| Father | Frederick, Prince of Wales | ||||
| Mother | Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance |  Great Britain | ||||
| Service/ |  Royal Navy | ||||
| Years of service | 1768–1790 | ||||
| Rank | Admiral of the White | ||||
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn (Henry Frederick;
Early life
Prince Henry was born on 7 November 1745 at
Royal Dukedom
On 22 October 1766, just prior to his twenty-first birthday, the prince was created
Allegations
On 4 March 1767, the Duke of Cumberland allegedly married Olive Wilmot (later Mrs Payne), a commoner, in a secret ceremony. There reportedly was one child, Olivia Wilmot (1772–1834), from this relationship, though the duke's paternity was never proven, and a jury found unanimously that Olivia Wilmot had forged the evidence. A landscape painter and novelist, Olivia Wilmot married John Thomas Serres (1759–1825) and later, controversially, assumed the title of "Princess Olivia of Cumberland".
Cumberland's mistresses included Ann Elliot who had been an actress before another had taken her off the stage. Cumberland set her up in a house in Greek Street in Soho where she died after an illness in 1769. Cumberland arranged for her burial and memorial and gave a large sum to her estate.[3]
In 1769, the Duke of Cumberland was sued by
In 1768, at the fairly late age of 22, the Duke entered the
Marriage
On 2 October 1771, the Duke married Anne Horton (1743–1808), daughter of Irish peer and British MP Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton, and the widow of Christopher Horton of Catton Hall. The marriage caused a rift with the King, who considered it a mismatch, and was the catalyst for the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which forbade any descendant of George II to marry without the monarch's permission.
The marriage between Anne Horton and the Duke of Cumberland was described as a "conquest at Brighthelmstone" (now Brighton) by Mrs. Horton, "who", Horace Walpole says, "had for many months been dallying with his passion, till she had fixed him to more serious views than he had intended".[7] Anne was however generally thought one of the great beauties of the age (even Walpole found her green eyes "enchanting"), and Thomas Gainsborough painted her several times.
Later life
In 1775, the Duke established the
The Duke of Cumberland died in London on 18 September 1790. His widow died in 1808.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
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Titles
- 7 November 1745 – 22 October 1766: His Royal Highness Prince Henry[1]
- 22 October 1766 – 18 September 1790: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn
The prince's full style, as recited by Garter King of Arms at his funeral, was the "Most High, Most Mighty and Illustrious Prince Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, Earl of Dublin, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter".[11]
Arms
Henry was granted use of the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points, the centre bearing a cross gules, the other points each bearing a fleur-de-lys azure.[12]
Ancestors
| Ancestors of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn Princess Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha | |||||||||||||
| 14. Charles, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst | |||||||||||||
| 7. Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst | |||||||||||||
| 15. Princess Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels | |||||||||||||
References
Citations
- ^ a b He is called simply "(His Royal Highness) Prince Henry" in the London Gazette 8 September 1761; 25 May; 28 December 1765; 14 December 1771
- ^ "No. 10668". The London Gazette. 14 October 1766. pp. 2–3.
- ISBN 9780198614111. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-1-4090-1769-1.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Walpole, Horace. Memoirs and Portraits, 244.
- ^ "No. 11637". The London Gazette. 3–6 February 1776. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 11844". The London Gazette. 27–31 January 1778. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 12286". The London Gazette. 9–13 April 1782. p. 2.
- ^ "No. 13241". The London Gazette. 2 October 1790. p. 598.
- ^ Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family
- ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 4.
External links
- Portraits of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn at the National Portrait Gallery, London
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