William of Gloucester (1689-1700) - Find a Grave Memorial

English Royalty. Born the son of Princess Anne and Prince George after the couple had suffered numerous stillbirths and miscarriages; likely as a result of Anne's probable case of Hughes syndrome, a disorder of of the blood which causes recurrent miscarriage. All together, the unfortunate couple suffered thirteen stillborn or miscarried children, another four died before their second birthday. William was the only one of their children to survive infancy. He was baptized on July 27, 1689, at which time he was also styled Duke of Gloucester. He suffered convulsions as an infant, and his parents feared for his life before he seemed to outgrow the tendency. His health was chronically poor; he was too weak to walk even by the age of three, and even later could not climb stairs without assistance. It is now believed that William suffered from hydrocephalus. After the death of Queen Mary in 1694, Princess Anne became heiress apparent to her brother-in-law William III, and the Duke of Gloucester was her heir apparent. He was installed as Knight of the Garter on his birthday in 1696. He was described as a precocious child, and thought quite clever. William fell ill the day after his eleventh birthday. Smallpox was suspected and various, often harmful, treatments were attempted. He died less than a week later precipitating a succession crisis. Within a year, Parliament enacted the Act of Settlement which extended the order of succession beyond Anne and provided that the British Crown would devolve to Sophia, Electress of Hanover and her descendants, in order to preclude a Roman Catholic from succeeding to the Crown. The capital of the Colony of Virginia named its main street in William's honor.

Bio by: Iola