Princess Sophia Matilda was born in Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, on 29 May 1773, the eldest child and only surviving daughter of William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester, and his wife, Maria, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole MP and widow of the 2nd Earl Waldegrave (for a more in depth family tree see below). The match between Sophia’s parents was scandalous, as they married in secret and didn’t inform the Duke’s brother, the King, until Maria was pregnant. King George III was so engraged, he demanded an inquistion into the validity of the marriage just six days before Sophia was born (http://www.regencyhistory.net/2013/11/princess-sophia-matilda-of-gloucester.html). Despite her condition, a very pregers Maria had to appear before a hearing of the Privy Council to give testimony about her marriage. Finally, the King conceded on May 27th the marriage was legal and valid (Fraser, Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III).
Her mother wrote of the babe she smiled at at all the world to make up for being unwanted, while Horace Walpole said all he knew was that “she was very red” (Fraser, Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III).
Due to the Duke’s ill health, she spent much of her formative years travelling abroad.
Princess Sophia made her debut in 1790, and although she was all that was graceful and elegant, nothing could overcome the overall family bad blood. Apparently, she was placed in a corner with her governess Miss Dee and spoken to by the Royals like a common person. It was also said that although her gown was very fashionable, her hair was atrocious; one relation remarked “She herself has not the least idea of dress and she will not be guided by anyone else” (Fraser, Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III). At the ball after presentation, things went from bad to worse, when Sophia’s elegant dancing failed to secure her many partners and was pushed about until her cousin, the Prince of Wales, advised her to go home (Fraser, Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III).
After that auspicious entree into the marriage mart, perhaps it is no surprise that Sophia never married or had children. At one point in time, she was considered a possible match for the Duke of Clarence but as she seemed to be uninterested in hitching her star to that eventual Kingly wagon, she died without issue.
In 1813, Sophia was appointed Ranger of Greenwich Park (the second female to hold the post) and the Ranger’s House was altered to provide her with accommodation befitting a Princess. She was well loved in Greenwich for her work there (http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200064/local_history_and_heritage/1056/royal_residences_of_greenwich/4)
and described as a kind and liberal benefactor to the local poor (http://www.artfund.org/what-to-see/museums-and-galleries/rangers-house).
Sophia died at her post at the ripe age of 71, and was said to be “a sprightly and energetic soul…”with “great enthusiasm for life” (Tait and Parker, London’s Royal Parks, p. 124).
La Belle Assemblee, April 1806
