Duchess of Gloucester

Duchess of Gloucester is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Gloucester. There have been five titles referring to Gloucester since the 14th century. The current duchess is Birgitte, the wife of Prince Richard. He inherited the dukedom on 10 June 1974 upon the death of his father, Prince Henry, the third son of George V.
==History==
When Thomas of Woodstock, youngest son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, was created duke of Gloucester around 1385, his wife Eleanor de Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan Fitzalan, became duchess of Gloucester. Thomas was stripped of his dukedom after being declared guilty of treason in 1397. Their son Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham, did not inherit. Thomas died in 1397 and his duchess, Eleanor in 1399.
The next duchess was Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut, daughter of William II, Duke of Bavaria, and Margaret of Burgundy, the wife of Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester, who had been created duke in 1414. They married in 1422 but the marriage was annulled in 1428.Alison Weir: Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, p. 128. [retrieved 19 June 2015]. Humphrey then married his mistress, Eleanor Cobham, of the Cobham family, after the annulment of his marriage of Jacqueline, but this married was also annulled. Humphrey died in 1447 with no legitimate issue, thus the dukedom was extinct. 
Anne, Dowager Princess of Wales, widow of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, married Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who had been made duke in 1461, in 1472. The dukedom merged with the crown upon his accession to the throne in 1483 and Anne became queen consort.Kendall P.M., Richard III, 1955. Reprinted: 
The next dukes of Gloucester, Henry Stuart, died unmarried. The next two, Prince William and Prince Frederick, were only styled as Duke of Gloucester and died unmarried or were unmarried during their time styled as duke.
The next iteration of the title was as the joint dukedom of Gloucester and Edinburgh, created in 1764 for Prince William Henry, younger brother of George III. Prince William Henry married Maria Waldegrave, Dowager Countess Waldegrave, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, in 1766, thus making her the first Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh. Prince William Henry died in 1805. His son and successor, Prince William Frederick, married his first cousin Princess Mary in 1816. They had no children and Prince William Frederick died in 1834, the dukedom becoming extinct on his death. 
George V created his third son Prince Henry duke of Gloucester in 1928. When he married Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott in 1935, she became his duchess. They had two sons, Prince William and Prince Richard. Prince Henry died in 1974, Prince William predeceased him and he was thus succeeded by his second son Prince Richard, whose wife, Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen, whom he had married in 1972, became duchess and has remained so since.
==List of titleholders==
===Duchess of Gloucester (England, 1385–1397)===
Other titles: Duchess of Aumale, Countess of Buckingham, Countess of Essex
| Eleanor de BohunBohun family1385–1397
| 
| –daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan Fitzalan
| 1376Thomas of Woodstock5 children
| 3 October 1399aged 32 or 33
|}
===Duchess of Gloucester (England, 1414–1447)===
Other titles: Countess of Pembroke
| Jacqueline, Countess of HainautHouse of Wittelsbach1422–1428
| 
| 15 July 1401Le Quesnoy, County of Hainaut–daughter of William II, Duke of Bavaria, and Margaret of Burgundy
| 1422–1428 (annulled)Humphrey of Lancaster1 child (stillborn)
| 8 October 1436aged 35
|-
| Eleanor CobhamCobham family1428–1441 
| 
| Starborough Castle, Surrey–daughter of Reynold Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham, and Eleanor Culpeper
| 1428–1441 (annulled)Humphrey of Lancaster2 children 
| 7 July 1452aged 51 or 52
|}
===Duchess of Gloucester (England, 1461–1483)===
| Anne, Dowager Princess of WalesHouse of Neville1472–1483
|
| 11 June 1456Warwick Castle, Warwickshire–daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and Anne Beauchamp
| 1472Richard, Duke of Gloucester1 child
| 	16 March 1485aged 28
|-
|}
===Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (Great Britain, 1764–1834)===
Other titles: Countess of Connaught
| Maria Waldegrave, Dowager Countess WaldegraveWalpole family1766–1805
| 
| 10 July 1736St James's, Westminster–daughter of Sir Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement
| 6 September 1766Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh3 children
| 22 August 1807aged 71
|-
| The Princess MaryHouse of Hanover 1816–1834
|
| 25 April 1776Buckingham House, London–daughter of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 
| 22 July 1816Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and EdinburghNo children
| 30 April 1857aged 81
|-
|}
===Duchess of Gloucester (United Kingdom, 1928–present)===
Other titles: Countess of Ulster, Baroness Culloden
| Lady Alice Montagu Douglas ScottMontagu Douglas Scott family1935–1974
| 
| 25 December 1901Montagu House, London–daughter of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and 9th Duke of Queensberry, and 	Lady Margaret Bridgeman
| 6 November 1935Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester2 children
| 29 October 2004aged 102
|-
| Birgitte van Deurs HenriksenHenriksen family1974–present
|
| 20 June 1946Odense, Denmark–daughter of Asger Henriksen and Vivian van Deurs
| 8 July 1972Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester3 children
| now old
|}
==Possible future duchesses==
Richard and Birgitte's only son Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, married Claire Booth in 2002. They are currently known by the courtesy titles Earl and Countess of Ulster. As George is three generations removed from the crown he is not a prince. Upon his accession Claire would be styled Her Grace The Duchess of Gloucester.
Alexander and Claire’s only son Xan, born in 2007, is currently unmarried.
==References==
Category:British monarchy
Category:Lists of duchesses
Category:British duchesses by marriage