His marriage to Sarah Fairbrother was in contravention of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, which forbade a direct descendant of King George II to marry without consent of the reigning monarch (in this case, George's cousin Queen Victoria). As a consequence, their two sons born before the wedding were not legitimated. Their third son, born 5 months after the wedding, was also not entitled to the Dukedom of Cambridge. Their relationship was not idyllic, and George indulged in numerous affairs. Louisa Beauclerk, whom he called "the idol of my life and my existence", was his mistress from 1849 until her death in 1882, and, at his request, was buried near her.