Fitzherbert, Maria Anne

Fitzherbert, Maria Anne, 1756–1837, wife of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV). He was her third husband. The marriage (1785) was illegal by the terms of the Royal Marriage Act (1772) and the Act of Settlement (1701), since the prince was under age and Mrs. Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic. It was therefore ignored in 1795 when the prince, for purposes of state, married Caroline of Brunswick, but the relationship continued fitfully for many years.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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