Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn


Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn was a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn.

Early life

Anne was born in Marylebone, London. She was the daughter of Simon Luttrell, later first Earl of Carhampton, and his wife, Judith Maria Lawes.
Her father was a Member of the House of Commons before being created Baron Irnham in 1768, Viscount Carhampton in 1781 and Earl of Carhampton in 1785.

Marriages

Anne was first married to a commoner, Christopher Horton of Catton Hall, on 4 August 1765.
She later married Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, the sixth child of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and a younger brother of George III. Their marriage took place at Hertford Street in Mayfair, London on 2 October 1771.
George III did not approve of the marriage as Anne was a commoner and previously married. He later had the Royal Marriages Act 1772 passed to prevent any descendant of George II marrying without the consent of the sovereign, a law which remained in effect until passage of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which, in addition to several other modifications, limited the requirement to obtain royal consent to only the first six persons in line to the throne.
The Cumberlands moved to York House, renamed Cumberland House, on Pall Mall and lived there until the Duke's death in 1790. In 1800, the widowed Duchess surrendered it to the banks who held mortgages on it.

Character and appearance

wrote "her coquetry was so active, so varied and yet so habitual, that it was difficult not to see through it and yet as difficult to resist it." While she was generally considered a great beauty, Walpole thought her merely "pretty", except for her green eyes, which he admitted were enchanting. That her eyes were remarkably expressive is confirmed by the several portraits of Anne by Thomas Gainsborough, one of which is in the Hugh Lane collection.

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