Mary Louisa Victoria, Duchess of Kent

British duchess

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June 30, 2026

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Mary Louisa Victoria, Duchess of Kent, was the mother of Queen Victoria. She was born in 1786 and married Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathern, the fourth son of King George III, in 1818. Her husband was also the father of Queen Victoria.12

The Duchess of Kent, along with her advisor Sir John Conroy, raised Victoria under the "Kensington system," which isolated the young princess from others to ensure Conroy could control her. Despite this, Victoria ascended the throne in 1837. The Duchess of Kent's actions estranged her from Victoria, and the future queen learned caution from the experience.2

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Victoria
Lineage and early life
…than her German-born mother, the duchess of Kent, were her half sister, Féodore, and her governess, Louise (afterward the Baroness) Lehzen, a native of Coburg. An important father figure to the orphaned princess was her uncle Leopold, her mother’s brother, who lived at Claremont, near Esher, Surrey, until he became…
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…than her German-born mother, the duchess of Kent, were her half sister, Féodore, and her governess, Louise (afterward the Baroness) Lehzen, a native of Coburg. An important father figure to the orphaned princess was her uncle Leopold, her mother’s brother, who lived at Claremont, near Esher, Surrey, until he became…
Read More