Person    | Female  Born 3/4/1776  Died 21/6/1852

Mary Anne Clarke

Categories: Friend / family

Countries: France

Mistress of Prince Frederick, Duke of York. Born in Ball and Pin Alley, White's Alley, Chancery Lane as Mary Anne Thompson, she married Clarke, a stonemason who became bankrupt. She 'went bad' but managed to become a courtesan (rather than a prostitute) and thus met the Duke who in 1803 set her up in her own home where she led an extravagant life. First she was in Tavistock Place and then moved to Gloucester Place.

The Duke may have been a thrifty man since financial disagreements led MAC to cause a public scandal which in turn led to the Duke resigning as Commander in Chief of the army for a time. MAC moved to Loughton (where there is another plaque we have not yet collected) and in 1813 was imprisoned for libel for 9 months. On release she moved to France, and died there.

A lot is known about the scandal because in 1809 she issued her memoirs and other publications, and she did not hold back.

Ellen, her daughter with Clarke, was the mother of George du Maurier.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Mary Anne Clarke

Commemorated ati

Mary Anne Clarke

Mary Anne Clarke, 1776 - 1852, mistress of Prince Frederick, Duke of York, li...

Read More

Other Subjects

Normandy Landings / D-Day

Normandy Landings / D-Day

The landings, also known as Operation Neptune, were the landing operations in Operation Overlord during WW2. The 'D' in D-Day doesn't stand for anything as it was used as a substitute for the actua...

Event, Armed Forces, France, USA

23 memorials
Paul Cambon

Paul Cambon

French Ambassador in London 1898 - 1920.  Born Paris.  He helped negotiate the Entente Cordiale and to bring Britain into WW1 on the French side.

Person, Politics & Administration, France

1 memorial
Company Serjeant Major Charles Frederick Rowley

Company Serjeant Major Charles Frederick Rowley

Charles Frederick Rowley was born in 1886 in Peckham, Surrey (now Greater London), the eldest of the twelve children of Charles William Rowley (1859-1934) and Alice Agnes Jessie Rowley, née Lynn (1...

Person, Armed Forces, France

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Hubert le Sueur

Hubert le Sueur

French sculptor who spent most of his working life in England working for the court of Charles I.

Person, Sculpture, France

1 memorial
Nicolas Poussin

Nicolas Poussin

Artist. Born in Les Andelys, Normandy. He spent a large part of his life in Rome, producing many paintings with an historical theme, such as 'The Adoration of the Golden Calf'.

Person, Art, France, Italy

2 memorials

Previously viewed

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Poet and Jesuit priest. Born 87 The Grove, Stratford, of Welsh ancestry. 1852 the family moved to Hampstead and GMH attended Highgate School where he flourished. At Oxford University he converted ...

Person, Poetry, Religion, Ireland

4 memorials
Royal Doulton / Doulton Potteries

Royal Doulton / Doulton Potteries

Ceramic manufacturing company. Began with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth. Initially a partnership of John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, Jones left in 1820 leaving the company name as ...

Group, Craft / Design, Industry

39 memorials
Evelina Hospital for Sick Children

Evelina Hospital for Sick Children

The Evelina Children's Hospital was founded by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild and named for his wife, who had died aged 27 with her child in labour in 1866. It was planned by Dr Arthur Farre in a pu...

Group, Children, Medicine

2 memorials
The Rose Theatre - Kingston upon Thames

The Rose Theatre - Kingston upon Thames

Its layout is based on the former Rose Theatre in Southwark. The front rows have no seats, but instead of standing space for 'groundlings', patrons bring their own cushions. A plaque at the entranc...

Building, Theatre

1 memorial
Orange Street Church

Orange Street Church

WC2, Orange Street

{On the plaque to the right of the door:} Orange Street Congregational Church This Church was founded in 1693 by Huguenot refugees who ...

3 subjects commemorated