On 22 October 1766, just prior to his twenty-first birthday, the prince was created Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin.[3] He was Ranger of Windsor Forest and Great Park, from 1766 to 1790. He became a Privy Councillor in 1766 and was appointed Knight of the Garter the following year (1767).
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.[4]
In 1768, at the fairly late age of 22, the Duke entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman and was sent to Corsica in HMS Venus. However, he returned in September when the ship was recalled following the French invasion of the Corsican Republic. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral the following year and Vice-Admiral in 1770.[7]
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 (then Lord Irnham) 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".[8] 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.
27 October 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".[12]
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.[13]
Ancestors
Ancestors of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn[14]
1 Not a British prince by birth, but created Prince Consort. 2 Not a British prince by birth, but created a Prince of the United Kingdom. Princes whose titles were removed and eligible people who do not use the title are shown in italics.
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