Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness
| Cecilia Underwood | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Lady Cecilia Letitia Gore c. 1785 |
| Died | 1 August 1873 (aged 87–88) Kensington Palace, London |
| Title | Duchess of Inverness |
| Spouse(s) |
Sir George Buggin (m. 1815; d. 1825) Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (m. 1831; d. 1843) |
| Parents |
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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 nor a Princess. She was created Duchess of Inverness, in her own right, by Queen Victoria, on 10 April 1840.
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.
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.
As the marriage was not considered lawful, Lady Cecilia could not take the style and title 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. Royal protocol restricted Lady Cecilia from being present 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 the heirs male of her body lawfully begotten. This recognised her husband's subsidiary title of Earl of Inverness.
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