Maria Anne Fitzherbert
Encyclopedia
Maria Fitzherbert was the woman with whom the future George IV
secretly undertook a form of marriage, and his companion for a large part of his adult life. However the marriage in England was invalid under English civil laws
concerning royal marriages. Though Maria had been disinherited by her first husband, his nephew (Cardinal Weld
) persuaded Pope Pius VII to declare the marriage valid.
, Hampshire
, younger son of Sir John Smythe
, 3rd Baronet
, of Acton Burnell
, Shropshire
. Her mother was Mary Ann Errington of Beaufront, Northumberland
, maternal half-sister of Charles William Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton. She was educated in Paris
.
in July 1775. Weld died just three months later after a fall from his horse and having failed to sign his new will. His estate went to his younger brother Thomas, father of Cardinal Weld
. Maria was left effectively destitute, had little or no financial support from the Weld family and was obliged to remarry as soon as she could.
She married a second time, three years later, to Thomas Fitzherbert of Swynnerton
, Staffordshire
. She was ten years younger than he. They had a son who died young. She was widowed again on 7 May 1781, inheriting a residence in Mayfair
and an annual income of £2,500.
The young widow Mrs Fitzherbert soon entered London
high society. In spring, 1784, Maria was introduced to a youthful admirer: George, Prince of Wales
. She became the most notable mistress
to the future George IV of the United Kingdom by secretly, and as all parties were well aware, against the law, going through a form of marriage to him on 15 December 1785, in the drawing room of her house in Park Street, London. Her uncle, Henry Errington, and her brother, Jack Smythe, were the witnesses. This illegal marriage ceremony was performed by one of the prince's Chaplains in Ordinary
, the Reverend Robert Burt, whose debts (of £500) were paid by the prince to release him from the Fleet Prison
.
The marriage was considered invalid under the Royal Marriages Act 1772
because it had not been approved by King George III
and the Privy Council
. Had approval been sought, it would not have been granted, because Mrs. Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic
. Had consent been given and the marriage then legally valid, the Prince of Wales would have been automatically removed from the succession to the British throne
under the provisions of the British Bill of Rights
and the Act of Settlement 1701
. See his brother's first marriage, Prince Augustus Frederick, later Duke of Sussex with Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the Earl of Dunmore which took place (twice) in 1793 without the King's consent and produced a son and a daughter but was never recognized.
Maria and the Prince continued to see one another romantically even after the Prince's marriage to Caroline of Brunswick
, and the Prince returned to live with Maria in about 1800, but their relationship had ended permanently by 1811. During this time he was also romantically involved with Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
, but this affair apparently had no adverse effect on Maria's affair with him.
Following the death of George on 26 June 1830, it was discovered that he had kept all her letters, and steps were taken to destroy them.
Architect William Porden
designed Steine House
, on the west side of Old Steine in Brighton
, for Mrs Fitzherbert. She lived there from 1804 until her death in 1837, after which she was buried at St John the Baptist's Church
in the Kemp Town
area of Brighton.
, asked her to sign a declaration he had written on the back of her marriage certificate. It read: 'I Mary Fitzherbert ... testify that my Union with George P. of Wales was without issue.' According to Stourton, she, smiling, objected, on the score of delicacy". Indeed, during her early days in Brighton with the Prince of Wales, his uncle the Duke of Gloucester and other friends believed Mrs. Fitzherbert to be pregnant.
One suggested child of the Prince and his longtime paramour was James Ord (born 1786), whose curious history of assisted relocations and encouragement has been chronicled; Ord eventually moved to the United States and became a Jesuit priest (but appears later to have married, see article on American Civil War General Edward Ord
).
In addition to James Ord, the longterm relationship between George, as Prince and King, appears to have led to more than a dozen claims of children conceived out of wedlock; Hannah Harrison Lowe
is a more substantive one of these. These join the many additional catalogued cases of George's liaisons(>75 by A.J. Camp, ibid.), some of which have received further discussion vis-a-vis largely inexplicable financial care given the immediate purported descendant by King George IV or his peers. These lineages include the Herveys (from 1786 liaison with Lady Anne Barnard nee Lindsay), the Croles (from 1798 liaison Eliza Crole, which the generally skeptical A.J. Camp considers "fact"), and the Hampshires (from 15 year mistress Sarah Brown).
The second codicil to Maria Fitzherbert's will outlines her two principal beneficiaries, and includes a personal note, "...this paper is addressed to my two dear children... I have loved them both with the [unclear] affection any mother could do, and I have done the utmost in my power for their interests and comfort..." Their married names were Mary Ann Stafford-Jerningham and Mary Georgina Emma Dawson-Damer. Mary Ann Jerningham was nominally Maria's 'niece', and was raised as Mary Ann Smythe. Mary Dawson-Damer was nominally the daughter of Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour
and Lady Anna Horatia Waldegrave. Hugh Seymour
had been a close associate of George IV
since their youth, and Hugh's son George Francis Seymour was an executor and minor beneficiary of Maria's will. There is no evidence that either of these women were the natural children of Maria Fitzherbert - indeed the reference to 'the affection any mother could do' (with stress on mother) could indicate she only saw herself as a mother-figure to them, and no more. The will makes no reference to any sons, though this observation must be seen its historic context; of the ten illegitimate children of Dorothea Jordan, Irish actress and mistress of 20 years to the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV of the United Kingdom, care for the five boys was initially assumed by King William and his households, and custody and care for the girls given to Jordan.
Notably, any such historical claim of descent is accompanied by controversy, and many of the preceding have been challenged. Given the early and childless death of Princess Charlotte, should the Ord or Lowe links be substantiated, the line decended through them would join the list of claimed surviving descendants of King George IV.
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
secretly undertook a form of marriage, and his companion for a large part of his adult life. However the marriage in England was invalid under English civil laws
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
concerning royal marriages. Though Maria had been disinherited by her first husband, his nephew (Cardinal Weld
Thomas Weld (cardinal)
Thomas Weld was a member of the Weld-Blundell family and an English Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.-Life:...
) persuaded Pope Pius VII to declare the marriage valid.
Early life
Maria Anne was the eldest child of William Smythe of BrambridgeBrambridge
Brambridge is a village in the parish of Colden Common in the Winchester District in Hampshire, England, north east of Eastleigh and close to the River Itchen. It lies in the south of Twyford civil parish....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, younger son of Sir John Smythe
Smythe Baronets
There has been one creation of Baronet with the surname Smythe . It was created in the Baronetage of England for Edward Smythe on 23 February 1661....
, 3rd Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, of Acton Burnell
Acton Burnell
Acton Burnell is a village and parish in the English county of Shropshire. It lies at 110m above sea level and is near to Park Wood.-Attractions:...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. Her mother was Mary Ann Errington of Beaufront, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, maternal half-sister of Charles William Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton. She was educated in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Marriages
Maria married Edward Weld, 16 years her senior, a rich Catholic landowner of Lulworth CastleLulworth Castle
Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, situated south of Wool, is an early 17th century mock castle. The stone building has now been re-built as a museum....
in July 1775. Weld died just three months later after a fall from his horse and having failed to sign his new will. His estate went to his younger brother Thomas, father of Cardinal Weld
Thomas Weld (cardinal)
Thomas Weld was a member of the Weld-Blundell family and an English Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.-Life:...
. Maria was left effectively destitute, had little or no financial support from the Weld family and was obliged to remarry as soon as she could.
She married a second time, three years later, to Thomas Fitzherbert of Swynnerton
Swynnerton
Swynnerton is a village in Staffordshire, England.St Mary's Church dates back to at least the 13th Century. Swynnerton received its charter from Edward I in 1306. During the 14th Century a market used to be held every Wednesday and an annual fair was held on August 15 each year...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. She was ten years younger than he. They had a son who died young. She was widowed again on 7 May 1781, inheriting a residence in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
and an annual income of £2,500.
The young widow Mrs Fitzherbert soon entered London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
high society. In spring, 1784, Maria was introduced to a youthful admirer: George, Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. She became the most notable mistress
Royal mistress
A royal mistress is the historical position of a mistress to a monarch or senior Royal. Some mistresses have had considerable power. The prevalence of the institution can be attributed to the fact that royal marriages were until recent times conducted solely on the basis of political and dynastic...
to the future George IV of the United Kingdom by secretly, and as all parties were well aware, against the law, going through a form of marriage to him on 15 December 1785, in the drawing room of her house in Park Street, London. Her uncle, Henry Errington, and her brother, Jack Smythe, were the witnesses. This illegal marriage ceremony was performed by one of the prince's Chaplains in Ordinary
Ecclesiastical Household
The Ecclesiastical Household is a part of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reflecting the different constitutions of the Churches of England and of Scotland, there are separate Ecclesiastical Households in each nation.-England:...
, the Reverend Robert Burt, whose debts (of £500) were paid by the prince to release him from the Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
.
The marriage was considered invalid under the Royal Marriages Act 1772
Royal Marriages Act 1772
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribes the conditions under which members of the British Royal Family may contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages that could diminish the status of the Royal House...
because it had not been approved by King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
. Had approval been sought, it would not have been granted, because Mrs. Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Had consent been given and the marriage then legally valid, the Prince of Wales would have been automatically removed from the succession to the British throne
Succession to the British Throne
Succession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is currently passed on by male-preference primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth....
under the provisions of the British Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights 1689
The Bill of Rights or the Bill of Rights 1688 is an Act of the Parliament of England.The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689. It was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 ,...
and the Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
. See his brother's first marriage, Prince Augustus Frederick, later Duke of Sussex with Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the Earl of Dunmore which took place (twice) in 1793 without the King's consent and produced a son and a daughter but was never recognized.
Relationship with George IV after his marriage
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
, and the Prince returned to live with Maria in about 1800, but their relationship had ended permanently by 1811. During this time he was also romantically involved with Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".-Early life:She was born Frances Twysden, second and posthumous daughter of the Rev...
, but this affair apparently had no adverse effect on Maria's affair with him.
Following the death of George on 26 June 1830, it was discovered that he had kept all her letters, and steps were taken to destroy them.
Architect William Porden
William Porden
William Porden was a versatile English architect. Born in Kingston upon Hull, he trained under James Wyatt and Samuel Pepys Cockerell....
designed Steine House
Steine House
Steine House is the former residence of Maria Fitzherbert, mistress and wife of the Prince Regent, in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Designed in 1804 by William Porden, who was responsible for many buildings on the Prince's Royal Pavilion estate, it was used...
, on the west side of Old Steine in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, for Mrs Fitzherbert. She lived there from 1804 until her death in 1837, after which she was buried at St John the Baptist's Church
St John the Baptist's Church, Brighton
St John the Baptist's Church is a Roman Catholic church in the Kemptown area of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was the first Roman Catholic church built in Brighton after the process of Catholic Emancipation in the early 19th century removed restrictions on Catholic worship...
in the Kemp Town
Kemp Town
Kemp Town is a 19th Century residential estate in the east of Brighton in East Sussex, England, UK. Kemp Town was conceived and financed by Thomas Read Kemp. It has given its name to the larger Kemptown region of Brighton....
area of Brighton.
Possible children by George IV
Some scholars have suggested that Maria Fitzherbert had one, possibly two, children by her marriage to the future king. "In 1833, after the King's death, one of [his] executors, Lord StourtonWilliam Stourton, 18th Baron Stourton
William Stourton, 18th Baron Stourton was the son and successor of Charles Philip Stourton.He was succeeded by his son Charles in 1846.-References:...
, asked her to sign a declaration he had written on the back of her marriage certificate. It read: 'I Mary Fitzherbert ... testify that my Union with George P. of Wales was without issue.' According to Stourton, she, smiling, objected, on the score of delicacy". Indeed, during her early days in Brighton with the Prince of Wales, his uncle the Duke of Gloucester and other friends believed Mrs. Fitzherbert to be pregnant.
One suggested child of the Prince and his longtime paramour was James Ord (born 1786), whose curious history of assisted relocations and encouragement has been chronicled; Ord eventually moved to the United States and became a Jesuit priest (but appears later to have married, see article on American Civil War General Edward Ord
Edward Ord
Edward Otho Cresap Ord was the designer of Fort Sam Houston, and a United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the Civil War, and was instrumental in forcing the surrender of Confederate...
).
In addition to James Ord, the longterm relationship between George, as Prince and King, appears to have led to more than a dozen claims of children conceived out of wedlock; Hannah Harrison Lowe
Hannah Harrison Lowe
Hannah Harrison Barnes , 1795–1883, is believed by some descendants and others to have been the daughter of George IV of the United Kingdom and his early wife and continuing paramour Maria Fitzherbert, a relationship whose trajectory was defined when the marriage was declared illegal for want of...
is a more substantive one of these. These join the many additional catalogued cases of George's liaisons(>75 by A.J. Camp, ibid.), some of which have received further discussion vis-a-vis largely inexplicable financial care given the immediate purported descendant by King George IV or his peers. These lineages include the Herveys (from 1786 liaison with Lady Anne Barnard nee Lindsay), the Croles (from 1798 liaison Eliza Crole, which the generally skeptical A.J. Camp considers "fact"), and the Hampshires (from 15 year mistress Sarah Brown).
The second codicil to Maria Fitzherbert's will outlines her two principal beneficiaries, and includes a personal note, "...this paper is addressed to my two dear children... I have loved them both with the [unclear] affection any mother could do, and I have done the utmost in my power for their interests and comfort..." Their married names were Mary Ann Stafford-Jerningham and Mary Georgina Emma Dawson-Damer. Mary Ann Jerningham was nominally Maria's 'niece', and was raised as Mary Ann Smythe. Mary Dawson-Damer was nominally the daughter of Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour
Lord Hugh Seymour
Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and became known for being both a prominent society figure and a highly competent naval officer...
and Lady Anna Horatia Waldegrave. Hugh Seymour
Lord Hugh Seymour
Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and became known for being both a prominent society figure and a highly competent naval officer...
had been a close associate of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
since their youth, and Hugh's son George Francis Seymour was an executor and minor beneficiary of Maria's will. There is no evidence that either of these women were the natural children of Maria Fitzherbert - indeed the reference to 'the affection any mother could do' (with stress on mother) could indicate she only saw herself as a mother-figure to them, and no more. The will makes no reference to any sons, though this observation must be seen its historic context; of the ten illegitimate children of Dorothea Jordan, Irish actress and mistress of 20 years to the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV of the United Kingdom, care for the five boys was initially assumed by King William and his households, and custody and care for the girls given to Jordan.
Notably, any such historical claim of descent is accompanied by controversy, and many of the preceding have been challenged. Given the early and childless death of Princess Charlotte, should the Ord or Lowe links be substantiated, the line decended through them would join the list of claimed surviving descendants of King George IV.
In film
- The Man in GreyThe Man in GreyThe Man in Grey is a 1943 British film melodrama made by Gainsborough Pictures, and is widely considered as the first of its "Gainsborough melodramas"...
(1943) - Nora SwinburneNora SwinburneNora Swinburne was a British actress, born Leonora Mary Johnson in Bath, Somerset, daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson and his wife Leonora Tamar .... - Mrs. FitzherbertMrs. FitzherbertMrs. Fitzherbert is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Peter Graves, Joyce Howard and Leslie Banks...
(1947) - Joyce HowardJoyce HowardJoyce Howard was a British film actress.-Filmography:* Freedom Radio * Love on the Dole * The Common Touch * Back-Room Boy * The Night Has Eyes... - Beau BrummellBeau Brummell (film)Beau Brummell is a historical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a screenplay by Karl Tunberg, based on the play Beau Brummell by Clyde Fitch. The music score was by Richard Addinsell with Miklós Rózsa...
(1954) - Rosemary HarrisRosemary HarrisRosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in... - The Madness of King GeorgeThe Madness of King GeorgeThe Madness of King George is a 1994 film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own play, The Madness of George III. It tells the true story of George III's deteriorating mental health, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales, particularly...
(1994) - played by Caroline HarkerCaroline HarkerCaroline Harker is an English stage and television actress, the sister of actress Susannah Harker, and the daughter of actors Polly Adams and Richard Owens...