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- When Hannah was 5 years old, she was taken to live with her mother's brother, Henry Wheeler. Henry kept a draper's shop on the corner of St. James Market, now Regent Street.
When the Royal Family would travel through St. James Market on their way to the Theatre Royal, the linens would be removed from the Wheeler's window so Hannah could watch the Royal procession. Hannah's beauty caught the eye of His Royal Highness Prince George, the 11 year old son of the Prince of Wales, and the grandson of King George II. The young Prince was so infatuated that he begged a court lady, Elizabeth Chudleigh, to arrange an introduction.
In 1751, the Prince of Wales died, and Prince George became heir to the throne. There were many rumours about his affair with Hannah Lightfoot. George's mother, fearful of a scandal, instructed the 3rd Earl of Bute to negotiate with Henry Wheeler and arrange a marriage for his niece Hannah. So on 11 December 1753 at Keith's Chapel, Curzon Street, Mayfair, Hannah was to marry a 19 year old Quaker grocer, Isaac Axford. The question is, did she really marry him?
It is said that Hannah was abducted in a coach from the door of the chapel by emissaries of Prince George, while others say the abduction took place six weeks after the wedding. Regardless, if Hannah did marry Axford, it must have been annulled because in 1759 Axford married a Miss Bartlett. Meanwhile, the Quakers expelled Hannah from the Society of Friends for being married to one "not of our society." Axford was a Quaker, so who were they referring to?
Evidence shows that Prince George and Hannah Lightfoot were married at Kew Chapel on 17th April 1759. The marriage records at Kew later disappeared when a chest containing the registers was mysteriously stolen from the church But a series of documents were produced during a celebrated case in the Chancery Court in London in 1866, which many believe were the genuine marriage certificates of Hannah Lightfoot and the Prince.
One document read: "May 1759. This is to certify that the marriage of these parties, George, Prince of Wales, and Hannah Lightfoot, was duly solemnised this day, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England." One of the witnesses to the marriage was William Pitt, the Prime Minister. A renowned handwriting expert at the time declared under oath that the document and signatures were genuine.
Another document states: "This is to solemnly sertify that I married George Prince of Wales to Hannah Lightfoot, his first consort, on April17 1759 and that the true princes and princess were the issue of that marriage. J. Wilmott."
The older of the "two princes" was George Rex, who was given a Royal Warrant, and sailed as a grown man into Cape Town, South Africa in 1797.Some believe he was sent to the colony to save the monarchy from scandal.
Also lodged as evidence was the will of Hannah Lightfoot, made at Hapstead on 7th July 1762, which commended her 2 sons and daughter to the protection of their father, King George III.
In 1866 these documents caused consternation and were confiscated by the Lord Chief Justice. The documents are at last available for general inspection in the Public Record Office at Kew.
Eighteen months after allegedly marrying Hannah, George became King. A year later he married a German princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who was considered to be "suitable."
Hannah vanished, not only from history, but from the face of the earth.Seven years later she was still alive, but there is no record of where or when she died, merely the tradition that she was buried under an assumed name in the graveyard on Islington Church.
Craig Field wrote on 9 April 2022:
"It is noted that Mary Rex was the daughter from the affair between Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George (later King George III). I have also seen notes that George Rex was the son of Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George. Mary Rex is noted as being born in 1767 and George Rex is noted as being born on August 29, 1765. But King George III married Queen Charlotte on September 8, 1761. So, unless King George III continued his affair with Hannah Lightfoot for up to six years after he married Queen Charlotte, neither Mary Rex nor George Rex are children from the affair between Hannah Lightfoot and King George III. Also, King George III and Queen Charlotte had three children before George Rex was born. The third child, William IV was born on August 21, 1765, eight days before George Rex is noted as being born.
According to my records, there were three children born between Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George - one son and two daughters. The son's name was John Mackelcan. The name 'Mackelcan' in Gaelic means 'Son of the White Horse' the emblem of the House of Hanover to which King George III belonged. John Mackelcan raised through the ranks to General without seeing any action on a battlefield and was found guilty by court martial on several disciplinary issues but still continued to be promoted. He was born on March 19, 1759, about 9 weeks before Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George married on May 27, 1759. General John Mackelcan married Rebecca Broad on November 28, 1803, at the Isle of Guernsey and had four sons and three daughters. One son, Dr. John Mackelcan, was born at Fort George, Guernsey, and moved to Canada with his wife and children in the mid-1800s. He wrote a letter about his father, General John Mackelcan, which is available if interested."
Craig Field also writes on 11 December 2022:
According to the Mackelcan Family Tree, Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George had one son and two daughters.There are notes and commentaries on the internet that reference one son as George Rex and another son as John Mackelcan. George Rex is said to have moved to South Africa. There are also references to a daughter by the name of Mary Rex who was born in 1767. George Rex is noted as being the oldest of the two sons and was born on August 29, 1765. But John Mackelcan was born on March 19, 1759, thus making him older than George Rex. Also, King George III married Queen Charlotte on September 8, 1761, and unless King George III continued his affair with Hannah Lightfoot up to six years after he married Queen Charlotte, it is unlikely that George Rex is the son, and Mary Rex is the daughter, of King George III and Hannah Lightfoot. Further, King George III and Queen Charlotte had three children before George Rex was born. The third child, William IV, was born on August 21, 1765, eight days before George Rex is reported as being born. There is also reference to another George Rex who is said to have moved to Pennsylvania, USA. The American George Rex is noted as being born in 1750. If this George Rex was the child of Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George, then Prince George would have been 12 years old when the American George Rex was born which is highly improbable.It is interesting to note that (General) John Mackelcan was born on March 19, 1759, and Hannah Lightfoot and Prince George III were married about ten weeks later on May 27, 1759.The name 'Mackelcan' in Gaelic means 'Son of the White Horse' the emblem of the House of Hanover to which King George III belonged. John Mackelcan worked his way up the military ranks to General ahead of many other more senior and experienced officers even though he never saw any service on a battlefield. He was found guilty on 4 out of 5 charges at his court martial trial but was promoted to General 3 years later. These circumstances occurred during the reign of his father, King George III.
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