View source for Princess Mary of Great Britain

{{for|other persons known as Princess Mary|Princess Mary (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| name         = Mary of Great Britain
| succession   = [[Landgravine consort of Hesse-Kassel]]
| image        = Tischbein - Mary of Great Britain - Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel (cropped).png
| caption      = Portrait by [[Johann Heinrich Tischbein]], {{circa|1754}}
| reign        = 1 February 1760 – 14 January 1772
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]|1740|1754|end=separated}}
| issue        = {{Plainlist|
*Prince William
*[[William I, Elector of Hesse]]
*[[Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel|Prince Charles]]
*[[Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel|Prince Frederick]]}}
| house        = [[House of Hanover|Hanover]]
| father       = [[George II of Great Britain]]
| mother       = [[Caroline of Ansbach]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1723|3|5|df=y}} ([[Old Style and New Style dates|New Style]])
| birth_place  = [[Leicester House, Westminster|Leicester House]], [[London]], England
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1772|1|14|1723|3|5|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Hanau]], Germany
| burial_date  = 1 February 1772
| burial_place = Marienkirche, Hanau, Germany
}}
'''Mary of Great Britain''' (5 March 1723 – 14 January 1772) was the second-youngest daughter of [[George II of Great Britain]] and his wife, [[Caroline of Ansbach]], and [[Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel]] as the wife of [[Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]].

==Early life==
[[File:Amigoni - Mary of Great Britain.png|left|thumb|197x197px|Princess Mary, by [[Jacopo Amigoni]]]]
Princess Mary was born at [[Leicester House, Westminster|Leicester House]], [[Westminster]], [[London]].<ref name=Weir284>{{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|author-link=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5|page=284}}</ref> Her father was the [[Prince of Wales]], later [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]]. Her mother was [[Caroline of Ansbach]], daughter of [[Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]].<ref name=Weir284/>

Her father succeeded, as George II, on 11 June 1727, and she became "HRH The Princess Mary". Upon her death in 1737, her mother, Queen Caroline, entrusted Mary to her elder sister Caroline, urging her to "do what she could to support the meek and mild disposition of Princess Mary".<ref>Michael A. Beatty: The English Royal Family of America, from Jamestown to the American Revolution</ref>

==Marriage==

[[File:Tischbein - Erbprinz Friedrich II. mit seiner Familie - Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel.png|thumb|Mary as Hereditary Princess of Hesse-Kassel with her family in 1754. Painting by [[Johann Heinrich Tischbein]].]]
A marriage was negotiated with [[Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel]], the only son and heir of [[William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]].<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB
 | first = David | last = Williamson
 | year = 2004
 | title = Mary, Princess (1723–1772)
 | doi =10.1093/ref:odnb/18253
 | url =http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18253
 | access-date =15 March 2011
 }}</ref> For the marriage, [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] voted Mary £40,000.<ref name=odnb/>

They [[proxy marriage|married by proxy]] at the Chapel Royal of [[St. James's Palace]] in [[London]] on 8 May, then in person on 28 June 1740 at [[Bellevue Palace, Kassel|Bellevue Palace]], [[Kassel]].<ref name=Weir284/>
They had four sons, three of whom survived to adulthood.<ref name=odnb/>

The marriage was unhappy, and Frederick was said to be "brutal" and "a boor". Frederick reportedly subjected Mary to spousal abuse.<ref name="ReferenceA">James Panton:Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy</ref>
In late 1746, Mary made an extended trip to Britain to escape his maltreatment. The couple separated in 1754 on Frederick's conversion to [[Roman Catholicism]].  She was supported by her father-in-law, who provided her with a residence in Hanau, as she did not wish to return to Great Britain, but to stay on the continent to raise her children.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In 1756, Mary moved to Denmark, to take care of the children of her sister [[Louise of Great Britain]], who had died in 1751. She took her children with her, and they were raised at the royal court and her sons were married to Danish princesses. Her husband succeeded his father as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1760, and so Mary was technically Landgravine consort for the last twelve years of her life, despite her estrangement from her husband.

Mary died on 14 or 16 January 1772, aged 48 at [[Hanau]], [[Germany]].<ref name=Weir284/>

==Archive Information==
Mary's personal library and documents are preserved in the Archive of the House of Hesse, which is kept in [[Fasanerie]] Palace in Eichenzell, Hesse, Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.schloss-fasanerie.de/en/schloss-fasanerie/house-of-hesse-archive/ | title=House of Hesse Archive. | publisher=Museum Schloss Fasanerie. | access-date=16 May 2023}}</ref>

==Arms==
On 30 August 1727, as a child of the sovereign, Mary was granted use of the arms of the realm, differenced by a ''label argent of three points, each bearing a canton gules''.<ref>[http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family]</ref>

{| border="0" align="center" width="60%"
|-
!width=50% |[[File:Coat of Arms of Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel.svg|center|200px]]
|}

==Issue==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!Birth
!Death
!Notes
|-
|Prince William of Hesse-Kassel
|25 December 1741
|1 July 1742
|died in infancy
|-
|[[William I, Elector of Hesse]]
|3 June 1743
|27 February 1821
|married, 1763, [[Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway]]; had issue
|-
|[[Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel]]
|19 December 1744
|17 August 1836
|married, 1766, [[Princess Louise of Denmark (1750–1831)|Louise of Denmark]]; had issue
|-
|[[Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel]]
|11 September 1747
|20 May 1837
|married, 1786, [[Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen|Caroline of Nassau-Usingen]]; had issue
|}

==Ancestors==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Princess Mary of Great Britain'''
|2= 2. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|3= 3. [[Caroline of Ansbach|Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|4= 4. [[George I of Great Britain]]
|5= 5. [[Sophia Dorothea of Celle|Duchess Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Celle]]
|6= 6. [[John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|7= 7. [[Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach]]
|8= 8. [[Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover]]
|9= 9. [[Sophia of Hanover|Princess Sophia of the Palatinate]]
|10= 10. [[George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]
|11= 11. [[Éléonore Desmier d'Olbreuse]]
|12= 12. [[Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
|13= 13. [[Sophie Margarete of Oettingen-Oettingen|Countess Sophie Margarete of Oettingen-Oettingen]]
|14= 14. [[John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach]]
|15= 15. [[Johannetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1632–1701)|Johannetta, Countess of Sayn-Altenkirchen]]
}}

==References==
<references />

==Sources==
{{Commons category|Princess Mary of Great Britain}}
* {{cite DNB|wstitle=Mary (1723-1772)|first=James McMullen|last= Rigg|volume=36}}
* {{cite book|first=Alison|last=Weir|author-link=Alison Weir|title=Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy|publisher=Vintage Books|location=London|year=2008|isbn=978-0-09-953973-5}}
* {{cite ODNB
 | first = David | last = Williamson
 | year = 2004
 | title = Mary, Princess (1723–1772)
 | doi =10.1093/ref:odnb/18253
 | url =http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18253
 | access-date =15 March 2011
 }}

==External links==
* {{NPG name|name=Princess Mary}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Hanover]]|5 March|1723|14 January|1772|[[House of Welf]]}}
{{s-roy|de}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Landgravine consort of Hesse-Kassel]]|years=1 February 1760 – 14 January 1772}}
{{s-vac|next=[[Margravine Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt|Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{British princesses}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary Of Great Britain, Princess}}
[[Category:1723 births]]
[[Category:1772 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century British people]]
[[Category:18th-century British women]]
[[Category:18th-century German women]]
[[Category:British princesses]]
[[Category:Hereditary princesses of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:Landgravines of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:House of Hanover]]
[[Category:House of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:People from Westminster]]
[[Category:English people of German descent]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Children of George II of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]
[[Category:Mothers of German monarchs]]
[[Category:Daughters of prince-electors]]