Note 172 — INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER III
Reading edition
William Frederick (1776–1834), second Duke, was the son of William Henry, first Duke, by Maria, Countess-Dowager Waldegrave, illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole, a younger son of the great Minister. The Duke was an inoffensive man of quiet and mild disposition, familiarly known as “Silly Billy.” He married his cousin, Princess Mary, daughter of George III. He was proud of his rank, but of little else. See ante, p. 65.