Prince William, Duke of Gloucester

This article is about the son of Anne of Great Britain. For the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, see Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. For his son, see Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Prince William of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Gloucester (24 July 1689 – 29 July 1700) was the only child of Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway (later Queen of Great Britain) to survive infancy. His father was Prince George of Denmark and Norway.

As second in line to the throne, after his mother, William was expected to succeed at some point in the future. On his birth, King William III of England gave him the style Duke of Gloucester (but did not actually create him a duke) and awarded him the Order of the Garter. At the age of nine, his own household was formed.

William's health was poor throughout his life. He suffered convulsions soon after he was born, and his parents feared he would die. He recovered, and Anne moved him to Campden House near Kensington, where the air was believed to be better. By the time he turned three years old, he still neither spoke nor walked, and even as he grew older, he could not climb stairs without assistance. In spite of his physical weakness, his mind was said to be sharp, and William was reputed to be quite precocious. William took ill on the day after his eleventh birthday party. Physicians suspected smallpox, and performed the usual ineffective (and even dangerous) treatments of the day. He died a few days later. After his death, the Duke's autopsy revealed that he had suffered from hydrocephalus, which accounts for his poor balance. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

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William, Duke of Gloucester with his mother

Namesake

The capital of the Colony of Virginia, Williamsburg (founded 1699), named its main thoroughfare in his honor. The Duke of Gloucester Street is a wide avenue that extends from the Capitol building, past the Governor's Palace, to the College of William and Mary.