Fitzherbert, Maria Anne (1756–1837)

Wife of the Prince of Wales, later George IV. She became Mrs Fitzherbert by her second marriage in 1778 and, after her husband's death in 1781, entered London society. She secretly married the Prince of Wales in 1785 and finally parted from him in 1803.

She had been twice widowed before marrying the future George IV. The marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, and therefore not recognized. Moreover, because Mrs Fitzherbert was a Roman Catholic, marriage to her would have lost the Prince of Wales his succession to the throne under the Act of Settlement of 1701. George married Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795.