Duchess of Edinburgh
| Duchess of Edinburgh | |
|---|---|
| Term length | As long as married to the Duke of Edinburgh |
| Inaugural holder | Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha |
Duchess of Edinburgh is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh. The title is gained with marriage alone and is forfeited upon divorce.
The five Duchesses of Edinburgh (and the dates the individuals held that title) are as follows:
1. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1736–1751) was also Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. Princess Augusta's eldest son succeeded as George III of the United Kingdom in 1760, as her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died nine years earlier.
2. Maria Walpole (1766–1805) was the daughter of Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement. Her grandfather was Robert Walpole, considered to be the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1721–41). She was the wife of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. Her marriage to the Duke without the knowledge of King George III led to the passing of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.
3. The Princess Mary (1816–1834) was the 11th child and 4th daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom. She married her first cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, when both were 40, and was his widow in later life. In her last years, her niece, Victoria, was on the throne as the fourth monarch during Mary's life, after her father and two of her brothers. Princess Mary was the longest-lived (at 81 years) and last survivor of George III's fifteen children; of those fifteen issue, thirteen lived to adulthood. She was also the only one of George III's children to be photographed. She died on 30 April 1857 at Gloucester House, London.
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