Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness

Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness (née Gore and formerly Buggin; – 1 August 1873) was the second wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (sixth son of King George III). Despite marrying, like the Prince's first marriage, their union was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and as such was considered legally void. Consequently, she could not be styled as the Duchess of Sussex or a Princess. She was created Duchess of Inverness, in her own right, by Queen Victoria, on 10 April 1840.

Early life Cecilia's exact date of birth is not known, although it is around 1789. Her father, Arthur Gore, was the 2nd Earl of Arran, a prominent member of 'the Ascendancy', the Anglo-Irish aristocracy; her mother was Elizabeth née Underwood. She was styled Lady Cecilia Gore at birth, the courtesy title of a daughter of an earl.

Marriages Lady Cecilia's first marriage was to Sir George Buggin, in May 1815. The marriage produced no children and Sir George died on 12 April 1825. Instead, she assumed the name "Underwood", her mother's maiden name, by Royal Licence and was known as Lady Cecilia Underwood. The couple resided at the Duke's apartments in Kensington Palace.

However, Lady Cecilia was not accepted as a full member of the British royal family. Royal protocol restricted Lady Cecilia from being present at any functions attended by other members of the Royal Family, as she was unable to take a seat beside her husband due to her lower rank. To compensate for this, in 1840 Queen Victoria created her Duchess of Inverness, This recognised her husband's subsidiary title of Earl of Inverness.