  mary anne clarke (born mary anne thompson 3 april 1776 â 21 june 1852) was the mistress of prince frederick, duke of york and albany. their relationship began in 1803, while he was commander-in-chief of the army. later in 1809, she wrote her memoirs which were published. she was the subject of a portrait by adam buck, and a caricature by isaac cruikshank; ten days after the latter's publication, the duke resigned from his post as commander of the british army. in 1811, she commissioned irish-born sculptor lawrence gahagan to sculpt a marble bust of her; this is now housed in the national portrait gallery, london. through her daughter who married louis-mathurin busson du maurier, clarke was the ancestress of author daphne du maurier, who wrote the novel mary anne about her life. ==life as a courtesan== mary anne thompson was born on 3 april 1776 in london, the daughter of a humble tradesman., retrieved 3 april 2010 attractive and intelligent, she was married before the age of 18, to a man named clarke, who worked as a stonemason. however, shortly after the marriage, her husband went bankrupt, and mary thompson clarke left him because of this. by 1803, after several liaisons with prominent men, clarke had been established long enough in the world of courtesans to receive the attention of frederick, duke of york, then the commander in chief of the army. taking her as his mistress, he set her up in a fashionable residence. however, he failed to supply the funds necessary to support their lavish lifestyle. in 1809, a national scandal arose when clarke testified before the house of commons that she had sold army commissions with the duke of york's knowledge. frederick was forced to resign from his position, though he was later reinstated. after the duke of york resigned his post as commander in chief of the army, and before he was later reinstated, he cut all ties to clarke, paying her a considerable sum to prevent her from publishing lett
1776_births 1852_deaths House_of_Hanover Mistresses_of_British_royalty Women_of_the_Regency_era