Note 114 — Chapter XI
Reading edition
The marriage was not declared until 1772, when, in consequence of a bill having been brought into Parliament to regulate royal marriages, the Duke publicly acknowledged Lady Waldegrave as his wife. The King was highly incensed, and Queen Charlotte even more so. They refused to receive the Duchess at court, though the King had to acknowledge the marriage as legal; consequently the Duke and Duchess went to Italy, where they remained for some time. In 1776 they returned to England with their two children, Prince William Henry and the Princess Sophia. Their conduct was so irreproachable that a reconciliation took place between the Duke and the King, and the Duchess of Gloucester and her children were duly acknowledged. Prince William Henry of Gloucester eventually married his cousin, Princess Mary, daughter of George III.