Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge explained

Edgar Stuart
Duke of Cambridge
Birth Date:14 September 1667
Birth Place:St James's Palace, London
Death Place:Richmond Palace, Surrey
Burial Date:12 June 1671
Burial Place:Westminster Abbey
House:Stuart
Father:James, Duke of York
Mother:Anne Hyde

Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (14 September 1667 – 8 June 1671) was the fourth son of James, Duke of York (later James II of England) and his first wife Anne Hyde. He was second in the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones.

Life

Edgar was born on 14 September 1667 at St James's Palace[1] and baptized there with the Duke of Albemarle, the Marquis of Worcester, and the Countess of Suffolk as sponsors.[2] The name "Edgar" had ancient roots in both the English (Edgar the Peaceful) and Scottish (Edgar, King of Scotland) monarchies. On 7 October 1667 he was created Duke and Earl of Cambridge and Baron of Dauntsey.[3] His elder brother Charles had died at the age of six months in 1661 before the patent for the title of Duke of Cambridge was passed and another brother, James, was formally created Duke of Cambridge before his death in 1667 at the age of three. Edgar's titles became extinct until the birth of another son, also named Charles, in 1677.

His mother was ill for months following his birth and never fully recovered, though she gave birth twice more to daughters who died before their first birthdays; she died on 13 March 1671.[4] Edgar died at Richmond Palace on 8 June 1671[1] leading to official mourning.[5] He was entombed in the royal vault in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey on 12 June 1671, his coffin placed atop that of his mother.[6]

Legacy

The town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard, settled in 1642, was named for him when incorporated in 1671, shortly before news of his death reached North America. Martha's Vineyard was then part of the proprietary colony of New York, gifted to Edgar's father the Duke of York in 1664 by Charles II.[7]

Arms

Edgar bore a coat of arms, as a grandson of a British Sovereign, consisting those of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points ermine.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Weir, Alison . Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy . London, U.K.. The Bodley Head . 1999. 259.
  2. Book: Sheppard . Edgar . Memorials of St. James's Palace . 1894 . Longmans, Green & Company . London . 43 . II . 15 October 2018.
  3. Book: etal. Cokayne . G.E. . The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant. new. Gloucester, U.K.. Alan Sutton Publishing. 2000 . II. 496.
  4. Book: Henslowe, J.R. . Anne Hyde, Duchess of York . 289 . London . T. Werner Laurie .
  5. Web site: Hinds . Allen B. . Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 37, 1671-1672:June 1671, 21–30.. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1939. . British History Online . 11 August 2020.
  6. Book: Keepe . Henry . Monumenta Westmonasteriensia: Or An Historical Account of the Original, Increase, and Present State of St. Peter's, Or the Abby Church of Westminster . 1682 . C. Wilkinson and T. Dring . 109 . 15 October 2018.
  7. Book: Banks, Charles Edward . 140ff . The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts . I . G.H. Dean . 1911. 9780598971876 .
  8. Web site: Marks of Cadency in the British Royal family. 18 October 2018.