Princess Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Orange, Princess Royal of Great Britain, Ireland, and Hanover, Princess-Regent of Friesland (2 November 1709–12 January 1759) was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort, Queen Caroline. She was the wife of Prince Willem IV of Orange-Nassau, the first hereditary stadholder of the Netherlands (11 September 1711–22 October 1751). Princess Anne was the second daughter of a British Sovereign to hold the title Princess Royal.

Early Life

Her Serene Highness Princess Anne of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg was born at Schloss Herrenhausen, Hanover, Germany, five years before her paternal grandfather, the Elector Georg Ludwig, succeeded to the British throne as King George I. Upon her grandfather's ascension in 1714, it became established practice that the legitimate children and the male-line grandchildren of a British Sovereign would be titled prince or princess of Great Britain and Ireland and styled Royal Highness; great grandchildren in the male line would be prince or princess of Great Britain and Ireland and styled Highness. Her father became king on 11 June 1727. On 30 August of that year, George II created his eldest daughter Princess Royal. King Charles I first bestowed this title on his daughter, Mary Stuart (the mother of William III of England), in 1642. However, the title fell from use until the reign of George II. (Princess Anne became Princess Royal during the lifetime of her aunt, Queen Sophea Dorothea of Prussia, who had been eligible for this honor but did not receive it.)

Related Topics:
King George I - 11 June - 1727 - 30 August - King Charles I - William III of England

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