Lord Anne Hamilton


Lord Anne Hamilton was a Scottish nobleman. He is said to have married the richest woman in the UK and they had a child.

Early life

Hamilton was born at St. James's Square, London, the third son of Lieutenant-General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, and his wife the Honourable Elizabeth Gerard, daughter of Digby Gerard, 5th Baron Gerard. His unusual Christian name is explained by the fact that he was named for his godmother, Queen Anne. As well as the Queen, Hamilton's other godparents were John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland. Hamilton was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards as an ensign between 1731-1733.

Personal life and death

Lord Anne Hamilton reputedly married Mary Edwards, in or before 1731, in a clandestine marriage said to have been in the chapel of the Fleet Prison. It was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine but the chapel records do not include details and Mary Edwards denied it and never changed her name. She was the daughter and heiress of Francis Edwards of Welham Grove, Leicestershire. She was one of the greatest heiresses of her day with a fortune of between £50,000 and £60,000. Lord Anne assumed Mary Edwards’ name and arms as Lord Anne Edwards Hamilton. Their portraits were painted by Hogarth with their son Gerard Anne Edwards. Also, Mary Edwards commissioned William Hogarth to paint Taste in High Life in 1742. The couple had one child, a son:
Sometime after 1734, because she felt that Lord Anne was becoming spendthrift with her money, Mary Edwards left him and took the extraordinary step of repudiating her marriage. She declared herself a single woman and took steps to create evidence that no marriage had ever taken place. Resultantly, their child, Gerard Anne Edwards, was rendered illegitimate.
After this unprecedented development, Hamilton married Anna Charlotta Maria Powell, daughter of Charles Powell, in October 1742. They had two sons:
Hamilton died in France at the age of 39, and was buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly the following July. Upon the death of the 12th Duke of Hamilton in 1895, without male issue, it was Lord Anne's descendant, Alfred Douglas-Hamilton who succeeded to the dukedom of Hamilton.