Siblings of King George III

[Prince_Lieven]

Princess Augusta (1737-1813) was always styled 'Lady Augusta' during her father's life, but I've no idea why. Her birth was traumatic. Her father, the Prince of Wales, was determined to spite his parents no matter what, and resented their wish that the birth take place with them in Hampton Court. So when his wife went into labour, he had her taken half way across the city screaming in agony to St James's where Augusta was born. Her godparents were George II, Queen Caroline and the Princess of Wales's mother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Gotha.

Princess Elizabeth's (1740-1759) godparents were the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Queen Sophia Magdalena of Denmark and the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha (the sister-in-law of the Princess of Wales).

Princess Louisa's (1759-1768) godparents were Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel, Queen Louisa of Denmark (her aunt) and the Princess of Orange (her aunt Anne, nee the Princess Royal).

Princess Caroline Matilda's (1751-1775) godparents were Prince George (later George III, her eldest brother), Princess Caroline (her aunt, George II's daughter) and Princess Augusta (her eldest sister).

1.Augusta (1737-1813) m. Karl II (Wilhelm Ferdinand?) of Brauschweig-Wolf.

Not unlike her daughter Caroline in personality, she was mischeivous and told stories of sharing a bed with her brother George III when they were children, and claiming he wet the bed. The family constantly suspected her marriage was unhappy, but she never made any complaints about it. She fled to England during the Napoleonic Wars, and was reunited with her brother George after 36 years. She was the only one of his siblings to achieve anything approaching his great age.

Carolina Mathilde (1751-1775) m. King Christian VII of Denmark

Usually called Caroline Matilda, she was her father's posthumous child. Her marriage to her cousin (his mother was Louisa, George II's daughter) was a disaster, as is well known. It is widely believed that her second child, Luise, was fathered not by her husband but by her lover, Count Streunsee. She died in exile in Germany after the failure of her marriage.

[LenelorMiksi]

George III's two youngest sisters, Caroline Matilda & Louisa.  I believe Louisa is the blonde one. 

[Prince_Lieven]

William, Duke of Gloucester (brother of George III)





 'Butcher' Cumberland was close to his sister Amelia, and since he never married she generally acted as his official hostess.

George III's brothers seem to have been quite weak as characters. Edward (Duke of York) achieved very little in his short life, but was apparently the great favourite of his parents when he was young. Similarly, the Dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester aren't very memorable. Henry (Cumberland) married Lady Anne Horton, but the marriage was never recognised by the King, just as Gloucester's marriage to Maria Walpole wasn't. These marriages prompted George III to have the Royal Marriages Act passed, but since both marriages took place before the Act was passed, Anne and Maria were officially Duchess of Cumberland and Gloucester respectively, with title of 'Royal Highness' though they were never recognised as such. The Cumberlands had no children, but Maria and William had three - Sophia (1773-1844; she was recognised as a princess by George III, and styled 'Her Highness Princess Sophia of Gloucester, though she was promoted to Royal Highness when her brother married Princess Mary. sophia never married), Caroline (1774-1775) and William, Duke of Gloucester (1776-1834; he was nicknamed 'Slice' and married his cousin Mary, George III's daughter. Mary's siblings didn't like him though - he was never really 'part of the family').

[Prince_Lieven]

Prince Edward, Duke of York:

[Prince_Lieven]

Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland:

[Prince_Lieven]

Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, George III's nephew and later son-in-law:

[Prince_Lieven]

The only portrait I could find of a relatively forgotten Georgian Princess - Sophia Matilda of Gloucester (1773-1844), daughter of George III's brother William and Maria Walpole:

[Prince_Lieven]

Here's Anne, Duchess of Cumberland:



She was apparently rather easy with her favours, as she was described as 'everyone's Mrs Houghton [Horton]'.

And here's Marie Walpole, with her daughter from her first marriage:

[alixaannencova]

Along with Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Sophia Mathilda of Gloucester fascinates me most, amongst British Princesses!

It is such a shame there seems such a pittance of data about Sophia! The little I have garnered from books cast little light on her personality, interests and life in general really!

Stella Tillyard glosses over Sophia in her book, to my great chagrin! I note that Sophia appears to have been tied to her mother like Toria was to QA, but Sophia was still relatively young when her Mama died in 1807. I am guessing, that Maria used her children to try and get back at her estranged husband, no doubt trying to set them against him, as Tillyard hints. From what I can gather, Sophia was quite an independent character and a bit of a glamourpuss, but until 1816 her status as a member of the RF was somewhat awkward! Then when 'Silly Billy' married Mary, Sophia got promoted to full HRH status and was appointed Ranger of Greenwich and given Chesterfield House in the Park, as her residence. She also had New Lodge, Winkfield granted to her by Uncle George III in 1798. I have only ever seen one decent portrait of Sophia, and hope there is more out there about her!

 

[Admiral]

I have learned a little about HRH Princess Sophia Matilda (spelling according to The Royal Archives) through my ownership of a pocket watch inscribed as follows;
"The Gift Of Her Royal Highness The Princess Sophia Matilde To Joseph Buck In Memory Of Her Royal Highness Maria Late Duchess of Gloucester Who Died August 22, 1807".
Joseph Buck was the Steward to the mother and daughter from the late 1790's to the late 1840's. He was bequeathed a very large sum of money when Sophia died in 1844.
I have many,many pages of information reative to both ladies as well as Mr. Buck, their codicils, wills, buriel places and such. I do not have a picture of Sophia but I understand that there is a portrait in existance.

[grandduchessella]

I confess I don't know much about her at all. For those who are like me, here's the bare bones:

Princess Sophia of Gloucester, (Sophia Matilda; 29 May 1773 - 29 November 1844) great granddaughter of George II and niece of George III.

Princess Sophia was born on 29 May 1773 in Grosvenor Street, Mayfair. Her father was Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the third eldest son of The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales. Her mother was the Duchess of Gloucester, the illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole. As a great granddaughter in the male line of George II, Sophia was styled Her Highness Princess Sophia of Gloucester from birth.

On 22 July 1816 Sophia's brother, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, married their cousin, The Princess Mary, a daughter of George III. On their wedding day, the Prince Regent bestowed the style of His Royal Highness on the Duke of Gloucester. The next day, Sophia was also bestowed with the style Her Royal Highness, to give her equal rank with her brother. From then on, she was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Sophia of Gloucester.

Sophia never married nor had any children. She lived at New Lodge in Winkfield, near Windsor in Berkshire and died on 29 November 1844 and is buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

[Mary R.]

Here's a link for her obituary that includes details of her funeral: http://books.google.com/books?id=Ve8IAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA92&dq=sophia+of+gloucester#PPA93,M1

Mary R.