Prince George of Denmark

George of Denmark
George of Denmark
Duke of Cumberland
	Portrait by Michael Dahl, c. 1705
Consort of the British monarch
Tenure	8 March 1702 – 28 October 1708
Born	2 April 1653; Copenhagen Castle, Denmark
Died	28 October 1708 (aged 55); Kensington Palace, London, England, Great Britain
Burial	13 November 1708; Westminster Abbey
Spouse	Anne, Queen of Great Britain (m. 1683)
Issue; detail...	Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
House	Oldenburg
Father	Frederick III of Denmark
Mother	Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Religion	Lutheran

Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland (2 April 1653 – 28 October 1708), was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain.

Quick Facts George of Denmark, Consort of the British monarch ...

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George was born in Copenhagen Castle. His father was Frederick III, King of Denmark and Norway. His mother was Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

In 1674, George was a candidate to be elected King of Poland. King Louis XIV of France wanted him to be elected.^[2] George was a Lutheran, but Poland was Roman Catholic,^[3] so John Sobieski was chosen instead.^[4]

Because George was Protestant, people thought he would be a good husband for Anne, Queen of Great Britain. She was just Lady Anne at the time. George and Anne were married on 28 July 1683. The wedding was in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace, London. The guests included King Charles II, Queen Catherine, and the Duke and Duchess of York.^[5]

When King William III died in 1702, Anne became queen.

George died on 28 October 1708. Anne lived until 1714.

Titles

2 April 1653 – 10 April 1689: His Royal Highness Prince George of Denmark and Norway
10 April 1689 – 28 October 1708: His Royal Highness Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland^[6]

Honours

R af E: Knight of the Elephant, from birth^[7]
KG: Knight of the Garter, 1 January 1684^[8]

Arms

The royal coat of arms of Denmark with a label of three points Argent, each with three Ermine points. The whole surmounted by a crown of a prince of Denmark. His crest was "out of a coronet Or, a demi-lion rampant guardant Azure, crowned of the first".^[9]

Queen Anne became pregnant seventeen times. Many of the pregnancies ended in stillbirth or miscarriage. None of the children lived past childhood.

More information Birth, Death ...

		Birth	Death
1	Stillborn daughter	12 May 1684^[10]
2	Mary	2 June 1685	8 February 1687^[11]
3	Anne Sophia	12 May 1686	2 February 1687^[12]
4	Miscarriage	21 January 1687^[13]
5	Stillborn son	22 October 1687^[14]
6	Miscarriage	16 April 1688^[15]
7	William, Duke of Gloucester	24 July 1689	30 July 1700^[16]
8	Mary	14 October 1690^[17]
9	George	17 April 1692^[18]
10	Stillborn daughter	23 March 1693^[19]
11	Stillborn child	21 January 1694^{[lower-alpha 2]}
12	Miscarried daughter^[23]	17^[24] or 18^[25] February 1696
13	Miscarriage	20 September 1696^{[lower-alpha 3]}
14	Miscarriage	25 March 1697^[29]
15	Miscarriage	early December 1697^[30]^{[lower-alpha 4]}
16	Stillborn son	15 September 1698^[33]
17	Stillborn son	24 January 1700^[34]

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More information Ancestors of Prince George of Denmark ...

Ancestors of Prince George of Denmark^[35]

16. Christian III of Denmark

8. Frederick II of Denmark

17. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg

4. Christian IV of Denmark

18. Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

9. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

19. Elizabeth of Denmark

2. Frederick III of Denmark

20. John George, Elector of Brandenburg

10. Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg

21. Sophie of Liegnitz

5. Anne Catherine of Brandenburg

22. John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin

11. Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin

23. Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

1. Prince George of Denmark

24. Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

12. William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

25. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

6. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

26. Christian III of Denmark (=16)

13. Dorothea of Denmark

27. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (=17)

3. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

28. George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

14. Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

29. Magdalene of Lippe

7. Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt

30. John George, Elector of Brandenburg (=20)

15. Magdalene of Brandenburg

31. Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst

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The date is occasionally given as 29 February, 21 April or 11 November 1653, but 2 April is the date on his coffin plate.^[1]
Narcissus Luttrell, who wrote at the time, did not say whether the child was a boy or a girl. He said only that Anne "miscarried of a dead child".^[20] Modern historians Edward Gregg and Alison Weir do not agree on whether it was a son^[21] or possibly a daughter.^[22]
Luttrell said Anne "miscarried of a son".^[26] Dr Nathaniel Johnson told Theophilus Hastings, 7th Earl of Huntingdon, in a letter dated 24 October 1696, "Her Royal Highness miscarried of two children, the one of seven months' growth, the other of two or three months, as her physicians and midwife judged: one was born the day after the other."^[27] If so, the smaller foetus was probably a blighted twin.^[28]
According to L'Hermitage, the Dutch resident in London, Anne miscarried twins who were "too early to determine their sex".^[31] Other sources say the pregnancy ended in a stillborn son,^[22] or "two male children, at least as far as could be recognised".^[32]

[1]
Weir, p. 267
[2]
Wójcik, p. 215
[3]
Beatty, p. 103
[4]
Speck, W. A. (2004). "George, prince of Denmark and duke of Cumberland (1653–1708)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10543. Retrieved 6 October 2011. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
[5]
Green, p. 34; Gregg, p. 34
[6]
"No. 2443". The London Gazette. 11 April 1689. p. 2.
[7]
Matikkala, p. 239
[8]
"No. 1891". The London Gazette. 31 December 1683. p. 2.
[9]
Pinches and Pinches, p. 288
[10]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 36; Weir, p. 268
[11]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, p. 335; Gregg, pp. 46–47; Weir, p. 268
[12]
Fisher, p. 355; Gregg, pp. 46–47; Weir, p. 268
[13]
Calendar of State Papers Domestic Series: James II (1964). London: HMSO, vol. II, p. 347; Gregg, p. 46; Weir, p. 268
[14]
Gregg, p. 52; Weir, p. 268
[15]
Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 55; Weir, p. 268
[16]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, pp. 54, 335; Gregg, pp. 72, 120; Weir, p. 268
[17]
Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 80; Weir, p. 268
[18]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, pp. 62, 335; Gregg, p. 90; Weir, p. 268
[19]
Gregg, p. 99; Luttrell, vol. III, p. 62: Weir, p. 268
[20]
Luttrell, vol. III, p. 258
[21]
Gregg, p. 100
[22]
Weir, p. 269
[23]
Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 20
[24]
Gregg, p. 107
[25]
Green, p. 335
[26]
Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 114; Gregg, p. 108
[27]
Bickley, Francis (ed.) (1930). Historical Manuscripts Commission: The Hastings Manuscripts. London: HMSO, vol. II, p. 286
[28]
Emson, H. E. (23 May 1992). "For The Want Of An Heir: The Obstetrical History Of Queen Anne", British Medical Journal, vol. 304, no. 6838, pp. 1365–1366 (subscription required)
[29]
Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 108
[30]
Green, p. 335; Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 316
[31]
Gregg, p. 116
[32]
Somerset, p. 156
[33]
Green, p. 335; Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 428; Weir, p. 269
[34]
Gregg, p. 120; Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 607
[35]
Paget, pp. 110–112

Beatty, Michael A. (2003). The English Royal Family of America, from Jamestown to the American Revolution. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1558-4.
Churchill, Winston S. (1947) [1933–34]. Marlborough: His Life and Times. London: George G. Harrop & Co.
Fisher, George (1832). A Genealogical Companion and Key to the History of England. Part III. Book I. London: Simpkin & Marshall.
Green, David (1970). Queen Anne. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-211693-6.
Gregg, Edward (2001). Queen Anne. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09024-2.
Luttrell, Narcissus (1857). A Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714. Oxford: University Press.
Matikkala, Antti (2008). The Orders of Knighthood and the Formation of the British Honours System 1660–1760. Rochester, New York: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-423-6.
Paget, Gerald (1977). The Lineage & Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. London & Edinburgh: Charles Skilton. OCLC 632784640.
Pinches, John Harvey; Pinches, Rosemary (1974). The Royal Heraldry of England. Heraldry Today. Slough, Buckinghamshire: Hollen Street Press. ISBN 0-900455-25-X.
Somerset, Anne (2012). Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-720376-5.
Weir, Alison (1995). Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, Revised Edition. London: Random House. ISBN 0-7126-7448-9.
Wójcik, Zbigniew (1983). Jan Sobieski, 1629–1696. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. ISBN 83-06-00888-X. (in Polish)

More information British royalty, Honorary titles ...

British royalty
Prince George of Denmark House of Oldenburg Born: 2 April 1653 Died: 28 October 1708
Vacant Title last held by Mary of Modena as queen consort	Consort of the British monarch 1702–1708	Vacant Title next held by Caroline of Ansbach as queen consort
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Pembroke	Lord High Admiral 1702–1708	Succeeded by The Queen
Preceded by The Earl of Romney	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1702–1708	Succeeded by The Duke of Dorset

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[birth-2] The date is occasionally given as 29 February, 21 April or 11 November 1653, but 2 April is the date on his coffin plate.^[1]

[issue1-24] Narcissus Luttrell, who wrote at the time, did not say whether the child was a boy or a girl. He said only that Anne "miscarried of a dead child".^[20] Modern historians Edward Gregg and Alison Weir do not agree on whether it was a son^[21] or possibly a daughter.^[22]

[issue2-31] Luttrell said Anne "miscarried of a son".^[26] Dr Nathaniel Johnson told Theophilus Hastings, 7th Earl of Huntingdon, in a letter dated 24 October 1696, "Her Royal Highness miscarried of two children, the one of seven months' growth, the other of two or three months, as her physicians and midwife judged: one was born the day after the other."^[27] If so, the smaller foetus was probably a blighted twin.^[28]

[issue3-36] According to L'Hermitage, the Dutch resident in London, Anne miscarried twins who were "too early to determine their sex".^[31] Other sources say the pregnancy ended in a stillborn son,^[22] or "two male children, at least as far as could be recognised".^[32]

[weir267-1] [1]
Weir, p. 267

[3] [2]
Wójcik, p. 215

[beatty-4] [3]
Beatty, p. 103

[speck-5] [4]
Speck, W. A. (2004). "George, prince of Denmark and duke of Cumberland (1653–1708)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10543. Retrieved 6 October 2011. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[6] [5]
Green, p. 34; Gregg, p. 34

[Gazette_2443-7] [6]
"No. 2443". The London Gazette. 11 April 1689. p. 2.

[8] [7]
Matikkala, p. 239

[9] [8]
"No. 1891". The London Gazette. 31 December 1683. p. 2.

[10] [9]
Pinches and Pinches, p. 288

[11] [10]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 36; Weir, p. 268

[12] [11]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, p. 335; Gregg, pp. 46–47; Weir, p. 268

[13] [12]
Fisher, p. 355; Gregg, pp. 46–47; Weir, p. 268

[14] [13]
Calendar of State Papers Domestic Series: James II (1964). London: HMSO, vol. II, p. 347; Gregg, p. 46; Weir, p. 268

[15] [14]
Gregg, p. 52; Weir, p. 268

[16] [15]
Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 55; Weir, p. 268

[17] [16]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, pp. 54, 335; Gregg, pp. 72, 120; Weir, p. 268

[18] [17]
Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 80; Weir, p. 268

[19] [18]
Fisher, p. 355; Green, pp. 62, 335; Gregg, p. 90; Weir, p. 268

[20] [19]
Gregg, p. 99; Luttrell, vol. III, p. 62: Weir, p. 268

[21] [20]
Luttrell, vol. III, p. 258

[22] [21]
Gregg, p. 100

[weir269-23] [22]
Weir, p. 269

[25] [23]
Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 20

[26] [24]
Gregg, p. 107

[27] [25]
Green, p. 335

[28] [26]
Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 114; Gregg, p. 108

[29] [27]
Bickley, Francis (ed.) (1930). Historical Manuscripts Commission: The Hastings Manuscripts. London: HMSO, vol. II, p. 286

[30] [28]
Emson, H. E. (23 May 1992). "For The Want Of An Heir: The Obstetrical History Of Queen Anne", British Medical Journal, vol. 304, no. 6838, pp. 1365–1366 (subscription required)

[32] [29]
Green, p. 335; Gregg, p. 108

[33] [30]
Green, p. 335; Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 316

[34] [31]
Gregg, p. 116

[35] [32]
Somerset, p. 156

[37] [33]
Green, p. 335; Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 428; Weir, p. 269

[38] [34]
Gregg, p. 120; Luttrell, vol. IV, p. 607

[39] [35]
Paget, pp. 110–112

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Prince George of Denmark

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Life

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George of Denmark
Duke of Cumberland
Portrait by Michael Dahl, c. 1705
Consort of the British monarch
Tenure	8 March 1702 – 28 October 1708

Born	(1653-04-02)2 April 1653^{[lower-alpha 1]} Copenhagen Castle, Denmark
Died	28 October 1708(1708-10-28) (aged 55) Kensington Palace, London, England, Great Britain
Burial	13 November 1708 Westminster Abbey
Spouse	Anne, Queen of Great Britain (m. 1683)
Issue detail...	Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
House	Oldenburg
Father	Frederick III of Denmark
Mother	Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Religion	Lutheran