page_title: Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh / Early life
context_page_description: Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh was Countess Waldegrave from 1759 to 1766 as the wife of James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, and a member of the British royal family from 1766 as the wife of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh.
context_section_description: Maria Walpole was the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement. Her grandfather was Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, considered to be the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1721–41). She grew up at Frogmore House in Windsor, but her parents were not married, and her illegitimate status hindered her social standing despite her family connections.
caption: Maria and her daughter Elizabeth by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1761.
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