September 27, 1788: Death of Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Duchess of Württemberg. Part I.

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Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Catherine II the Great of Russia, Frederick II the Great of Prussia, Frederick of Württemberg, George III of the United Kingdom

Duchess Augusta Caroline Friederika Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (December 3, 1764 – September 27, 1788) was the first wife of King Friedrich of Württemberg and the mother of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg.

Like her sister, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Augusta had a scandalous personal life and an unhappy marriage.Early life Princess Augusta was born in Brunswick, the eldest child of Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, the elder sister of George III of the United Kingdom. Augusta was a great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain.

She was named in honour of her mother and grandmother. Augusta was the eldest of seven children, and her younger sister, Princess Caroline, would marry the future George IV of the United Kingdom.

Marriage

On October 15, 1780, at the age of 15, Augusta was married in Brunswick to the 6 foot 11 inch, 25 year old Duke Friedrich of Württemberg, eldest son of Duke Friedrich Eugene, himself the youngest brother of the reigning Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. As neither the reigning Duke nor the middle brother had any sons, Friedrich’s father (and then Friedrich himself) were expected to succeed in time as Duke of Württemberg.

That eventuality was however many years in the future, and the birth of a legitimate heir would end Friedrich’s hopes conclusively. Moreover, his uncle the Duke was not disposed to give any member of his family any role in affairs of government. Friedrich was in Prussian employ as Major-general. After the wedding, Augusta followed him to Lüben, a small town in Eastern Prussia, where his regiment was stationed.

At that time, the Empress of Russia, Catherine II, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II, were forging a new alliance, which would be sealed by a marriage between Elisabeth of Württemberg (younger sister of both Friedrich and Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg), who was married to Tsesarevich Paul, future Emperor of Russia) and Archduke Franz, son of the Holy Roman Emperor’s brother and successor, Leopold II.

The King of Prussia, Friedrich II, was opposed to this alliance, which he accused Friedrich of supporting. Accordingly, the relations between Friedrich of Württemberg and King Friedrich II of Prussia soured to the point that Friedrich saw himself forced to leave Prussia. Prince Friedrich resigned in December 1781, sent Augusta and their baby son Wilhelm back to Brunswick and joined his sister Maria Feodorovna and her husband on the Italian leg of their extended tour through Europe.

While in Naples, in February 1782, Friedrich received an invitation from the Russian Empress to move to St Petersburg as Lieutenant-general in her army and Governor-General of Eastern Finland, with his seat at Viipuri. After spending the summer with Augusta in Montbéliard, his parents’ home, they finally arrived in St Petersburg in October 1782, where the Empress had renovated and lavishly furnished a mansion for them.

Separation

It was no secret that the marriage between Augusta and Friedrich was an unhappy union of two mismatched personalities. Already in the first year of marriage, there was talk of a divorce but Augusta’s father absolutely refused, threatening his daughter with social ostracization should she leave her husband. After secret investigations, Empress Catgerine II discovered that Prince Friedrich, whom she would call a ‘ferocious rogue’, was to blame for the discord.

The Russian Empress took it upon herself to protect Augusta, whose conduct she found ‘perfectly blameless’, from her husband’s violent nature. Over the next three years, three more children were born, of which the second daughter, Dorothée, would die at nine months. The relationship between Augusta and her abusive husband deteriorated to the point where Catherine wrote an urgent letter to Duke Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick that his daughter’s life was in danger.

When the Duke was hesitant to take action, Catherine urged Augusta to leave her husband and arranged for a police carriage to be on standby at all times. Eventually, on December 28, 1786 (new style), Augusta fled to the Hermitage, where Catherine gave her asylum and ordered Friedrich to leave Russia. When Maria Feodorovna protested at this treatment of her brother, Catherine replied curtly, ‘It is not I who covers the Prince of Württemberg with shame; instead, I try to cover up his appalling behaviour. It is my duty to suppress such things.’ It became known that shortly before Augusta fled, Frederick had plotted (unsuccessfully) to have his wife raped in order to have her reputation dishonoured.

July 19, 1822: Birth of Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

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Adolphus-Frederick of Cambridge, Augusta of Cambridge, Friedrich-Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Hesse-Cassel, Mary of Teck, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Princess Augusta of Cambridge (July, 19, 1822 – December 5, 1916) was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George III. She married into the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and became the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Early life

Princess Augusta was born on July 19, 1822 at the Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Princess Augusta’s mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, third daughter of Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel, and his wife, Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen. Through her father, Princess Augusta of Cambridge was a great-granddaughter of George II of Great Britain, her grandmother being George II’s daughter Princess Mary. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel’s uncle, (her father’s older brother) was the Landgrave Wilhelm I of Hesse-Cassel. In 1803, her uncle’s title was raised to Elector of Hesse—whereby the entire Cassel branch of the Hesse dynasty gained an upward notch in hierarchy.

As a male line granddaughter of the British monarch, Princess Augusta was titled a British princess with the style of Royal Highness. The young princess was baptized at the same palace on August 16, 1822, by Rev Edward Curtis Kemp (Chaplain to the British Ambassador to the Court of Berlin, The Rt. Hon. Sir George Rose).

The Princess spent her earlier years in Hanover, where her father was the viceroy on behalf of his brother, King George IV of the United Kingdom.

Princess Augusta had one brother, Prince George, later 2nd Duke of Cambridge; and one sister, Princess Mary Adelaide, later Duchess of Teck. As such, Princess Augusta was an aunt to Princess Mary of Teck, later consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Additionally, Princess Augusta was a first cousin through her father to Queen Victoria and through her mother a first cousin to Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel, the wife of King Christian IX of Denmark. This meant Princess Augusta was a first cousin once removed to both Princess Alexandra of Denmark and her husband King Edward VII of United Kingdom.

With her mother, she was part of the royal party at the 1838 coronation of Queen Victoria.

Marriage

On June 28, 1843, Princess Augusta married her first cousin, Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, at Buckingham Palace, London. (The two were also second cousins on their fathers’ side.) Upon marriage, Augusta became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and, on September 6, 1860, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz following the death of her father-in-law, Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The marriage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess produced two children:

Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born and died in London, January 13, 1845)

Duke Adolph Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ( July 22, 1848 – June 11, 1914); succeeded his father as Grand Duke Adolph Friedrich V of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in May 1904.

Later life

Although she spent most of her adult life in Germany, the Grand Duchess Augusta retained close personal ties to the British Royal Family. She frequently visited her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at her Kensington Palace apartments.

After her mother’s death in 1889, the Grand Duchess acquired a house in London’s Buckingham Gate area, where she spent a portion of the year until advanced old age made it impossible for her to travel abroad.

In making preparations for the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1901, the Duke of Norfolk consulted her on matters of etiquette and attire. This was due to her presence at the coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide seventy-one years earlier. She was nine years old at the time and kissed the Queen’s hand. She was also able to provide details of the coronation of Queen Victoria.

The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was particularly close to her niece, the future Queen Mary. However, old age prevented her from attending the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on June 22, 1911.

Following the outbreak of World War I, the British Government suspended the annuity she had been receiving as a member of the British Royal Family under the Annuity, Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz Act 1843. During the war, the Swedish Embassy passed letters from the Queen to her aunt, who still lived in Germany.

As an elderly lady, she was known for being cantankerous. She was also known as being quite shrewd and intelligent. In his book, Queen Mary (London, 1959), the Queen’s official biography, James Pope-Hennessy reports that the Queen’s aunt Augusta was not fond of the new science of photography, fearing it would intrude deeply into the private lives of Royal personages; at pp. 101–105 he offers a masterly sketch of this formidable lady.

The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz died on December 5, 1916 in Neustrelitz and was buried in Mirow. As the longest-lived grandchild of George III, she was the last link to the British branch of the House of Hanover.

At the time of her death, she was 94 years, 4 months and 16 days old, making her the longest-lived British princess by blood, until Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria, surpassed her in 1977.

The Duchess of Kent: Part II. Widowhood

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Coburg, George III of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria, The Duchess of Kent, The Duke of Kent, The Prince Regent

Widowhood

The Duke of Kent died suddenly of pneumonia in January 1820, six days before his father, King George III. His widow the Duchess had little cause to remain in the United Kingdom, since she did not speak the language and had a palace at home in Coburg where she could live cheaply on the revenues of her first husband.

However, the British succession at this time was far from assured – of the three brothers older than Edward, the new king, George IV, and the Duke of York were both estranged from their wives, who were in any case past childbearing age. The third brother, the Duke of Clarence, had yet to produce any surviving children with his wife.

The Duchess of Kent decided that she would do better by gambling on her daughter’s accession than by living quietly in Coburg and, having inherited her second husband’s debts, sought support from the British government. After the death of Edward and his father, the young Princess Victoria was still only third in line for the throne, and Parliament was not inclined to support yet more impoverished royalty.

The provision made for the Duchess of Kent was mean: she resided in a suite of rooms in the dilapidated Kensington Palace, along with several other impoverished members of the royal family, and received little financial support from the Civil List, since Parliament had vivid memories of the late Duke’s extravagance. In practice, a main source of support for her was her brother, Leopold.

The latter had a huge income of fifty thousand pounds per annum for life, representing an annuity allotted to him by the British Parliament on his marriage to Princess Charlotte, which had made him seem likely to become in due course the consort of the monarch. Even after Charlotte’s death, Leopold’s annuity was not revoked by Parliament.

In 1831, with George IV dead and the new king William IV (formerly the Duke of Clarence) being over 60 without any surviving legitimate issue, and whose nearly 40-year-old wife was considered to be at the end of childbearing age, the young princess’s status as heir presumptive and the Duchess’s prospective place as regent led to major increases in British state income for the Kents. A contributing factor was Leopold’s designation as King of the Belgians, upon which he surrendered his British income.

March 16, 1861: Death of HRH The Duchess of Kent, Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Part I.

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George III of the United Kingdom, George IV of the United Kingdom, Prince Edward of the United Kingdom, Prince of Leiningen, Sir John Conroy, The Duchess of Kent, The Duke of Kent, Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, William IV of the United Kingdom

March 16, 1861: Today is the 160th anniversary of the death of HRH The Duchess of Kent (born Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld), the mother of Queen Victoria, the sister of King Leopold I of the Belgians and the paternal aunt of her son-in-law Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

This will begin a multiple series on her life.

Victoire was born in Coburg on August 17, 1786 in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and was named Marie Louise Victoire. She was the fourth daughter and seventh child of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. One of her brothers was Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and another brother, Leopold, future king of the Belgians, married, in 1816, Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate daughter of the future King George IV, and heiress presumptive to the British throne.

First marriage:
On December 21, 1803 at Coburg, a young Victoire married (as his second wife) Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen (1763–1814). Victoire was a niece of his late wife, Henriette of Reuss-Ebersdorf, the youngest daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf, by his wife, Countess Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg. Henriette’s father, Heinrich XXIV, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf, and Victoire’s mother, Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, were siblings.

She bore him two further children:

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Emich (12 September 1804 – 13 November 1856); succeeded his father as third prince; married on 13 February 1829, Countess Maria von Klebelsberg zu Thumburg, and had issue.

Princess Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhelmine of Leiningen (7 December 1807 – 23 September 1872); married in 1828, Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and had issue. She is an ancestor of various European royals, including Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Felipe VI of Spain, and Constantine II of Greece.

Regency
Emich Carl died at Amorbach on July 4, 1814, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, Carl Friedrich. After the death of her first spouse, Victoire served as regent of the Principality of Leiningen during the minority of their son, Carl.

Second marriage
The death of Britain’s Pincess Charlotte of Wales, the wife of Victoire’s brother Leopold, in 1817, prompted a succession crisis. With Parliament offering them a financial incentive, three of Charlotte’s uncles, sons of George III, were prepared to marry. One of them, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820) proposed to Victoire and she accepted.

The couple were married on May 29, 1818 at Amorbach and on July 11, 1818 at Kew, a joint ceremony at which Edward’s brother, the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV, married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.

Shortly after their marriage, the Kents moved to Germany, where the cost of living would be cheaper. Soon after, Victoire became pregnant, and the Duke and Duchess, determined to have their child born in England, raced back. Arriving at Dover on April 23,  1819, they moved into Kensington Palace, where Victoire gave birth to a daughter on May 24, 1819, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, later Queen Victoria. An efficient organiser, Sir John Conroy’s planning ensured the Kents’ speedy return to England in time for the birth of their first child.

January 29th: Death of King George III of the United Kingdom in 1820 and the death of King Christian IX of Denmark in 1906.

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Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz., Christian IX of Denmark, George III, George III of the United Kingdom, Grandfather of Europe, Windsor Castle

Today is the anniversary of two deaths in European Royal history. The two royals are King George III of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark.Today is the 115th anniversary of the death of King Christian IX of Denmark, Known as the ‘father-in-law of Europe’ and the ancestor of the monarchs of Denmark, Norway, the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. The Duke of Edinburgh is one of his three surviving great-grandchildren.

Today I will highlight and focus on King George the third.

George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death in 1820. He was concurrently Duke and Prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (“Hanover”) in the Holy Roman Empire before becoming King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was a monarch of the House of Hanover, but unlike his two predecessors, he was born in Great Britain, spoke English as his first language, and never visited Hanover.

At the age of 22, George succeeded to the throne when his grandfather, George II, died suddenly on 25 October 1760, two weeks before his 77th birthday. The search for a suitable wife intensified. On 8 September 1761 in the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, the King married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he met on their wedding day. A fortnight later on 22 September, both were crowned at Westminster Abbey. George remarkably never took a mistress (in contrast with his grandfather and his sons), and the couple enjoyed a happy marriage until his mental illness struck. They had 15 children—nine sons and six daughters.

George’s life and reign, which were longer than those of any of his predecessors, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years’ War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britain’s American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

In late 1810, at the height of his popularity, already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, George became dangerously ill. In his view the malady had been triggered by stress over the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia. The Princess’s nurse reported that “the scenes of distress and crying every day … were melancholy beyond description.” He accepted the need for the Regency Act 1811, and the Prince of Wales acted as Regent for the remainder of George III’s life. Despite signs of a recovery in May 1811, by the end of the year George had become permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death.

Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in 1812 and was replaced by Lord Liverpool. Liverpool oversaw British victory in the Napoleonic Wars. The subsequent Congress of Vienna led to significant territorial gains for Hanover, which was upgraded from an electorate to a kingdom.Meanwhile, George’s health deteriorated. He developed dementia, and became completely blind and increasingly deaf. He was incapable of knowing or understanding that he was declared King of Hanover in 1814, or that his wife died in 1818.

At Christmas 1819, he spoke nonsense for 58 hours, and for the last few weeks of his life was unable to walk. He died at Windsor Castle at 8:38 pm on 29 January 1820, six days after the death of his fourth son Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. His favourite son, Frederick, Duke of York, was with him. George III was buried on 16 February in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.George was succeeded by two of his sons, George IV and William IV, who both died without surviving legitimate children, leaving the throne to the only legitimate child of the Duke of Kent, Victoria, the last monarch of the House of Hanover.

November 3, 1777: Birth of Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom. Part III.

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Frogmore, George III of the United Kingdom, Kensington Palace, King George IV of the United Kingdom, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Princess Mary of Great Britain, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Sophia Dorothea of Great Britain, Windsor Great Park

Sophia was a favourite of her niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, as the young princess liked her gentle character and had a certain fascination for the gossip surrounding Sophia’s past. Charlotte detested her other aunts, and once wrote, “I can hardly believe [Sophia] belongs to them- so wholly different is she in thoughts, opinions, matters. Her nobleness and rectitude of mind renders her no favourite here. The constant scenes of intrigue, of tracasseries, she can but ill support.”


 The Prince Regent’s efforts to help his sisters led to the marriages of Mary and Elizabeth, and Queen Charlotte’s death in 1818 allowed Augusta and Sophia their domestic freedom, though it was too late for them to marry. From her mother Sophia inherited Lower Lodge at Windsor Great Park, which she in turn gave to the Prince Regent. The death of Princess Augusta in 1840 resulted in Sophia inheriting Clarence House and Frogmore.

After the queen’s death, Sophia lived in Kensington Palace during her final years, next to her niece Princess Victoria of Kent, the future Queen Victoria. As a result, Princess Sophia was one of the few paternal relatives that Victoria saw often. Like her sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent, Sophia fell under the spell of Victoria’s comptroller Sir John Conroy and let him manage her money. The princess became a part of the Duchess of Kent’s social circle and, in return, Sophia spied for Conroy when he was absent from Kensington Palace. 

Sophia also reported to Conroy on what she heard at St. James’s Palace, as she had privileged access to courtiers as well as to her two elder brothers. Gossipmongers speculated that Conroy’s successful ability to deal with the “bullying inopportunities” of Sophia’s illegitimate son endeared her to him, while some historians write that Conroy took advantage of Sophia, who in her last years had become “dizzy, easily muddled… mourning her fading looks” and a “confused, nearly blind aunt.”

 Sophia often dined with the household, but the Duchess of Kent despised her. Princess Victoria was aware her aunt was a spy and the two never became close. Sophia’s wealth allowed Conroy to live a rich lifestyle, acquiring for himself a house in Kensington for £4,000, as well as two other estates for £18,000. Sophia was also responsible for certain members of Victoria’s household gaining higher statuses; Victoria’s governess Louise Lehzen, for instance, was made a Hanoverian baroness on the orders of George IV, and Conroy was named a Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Order.

Death
After having been blind for over ten years, on the morning of 27 May 1848, Princess Sophia became ill at her residence at Vicarage Place, Kensington; she was visited by her sister Mary, sister-in-law Queen Adelaide, and nephew-in-law Prince Albert. Sophia’s death occurred at 6:30 later that day, when Mary, the Duchesses of Kent and Cambridge were present.

The princess was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, immediately in front of (east of) the central chapel rather than at Windsor Castle, as she wished to be near her brother, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (who lies on the opposite side of the path). After her death, it was discovered that Conroy had squandered most of her money and that the princess had virtually no estate to bequeath. Charles Greville wrote an entry in his diary on 31 May:

“The Princess Sophia died a few days ago, while the Queen [Victoria] was holding the Drawing-room for her Birthday. She was blind, helpless, and suffered martyrdom; a very clever, well-informed woman, but who never lived in the world.”

November 3, 1777: Birth of Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom. Part I.

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Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg- Strelitz, George Frederic Handel, George III of the United Kingdom, Princess Mary of Great Britain, Sophia of Great Britain

Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom (Sophia Matilda; November 3, 1777 – May 27, 1848) was the twelfth child and fifth daughter of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Sophia is perhaps best known for the rumours surrounding a supposed illegitimate child to whom she gave birth as a young woman.


The Princess Sophia was born at Buckingham House, London on November 3, 1777, the twelfth child and fifth daughter of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The young princess was christened on December 1, 1777 in the Great Council Chamber at St James’s Palace by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury. Her godparents were Prince August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (her first cousin once-removed), Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (her first cousin twice-removed) and Duchess Louise Frederica of Württemberg, the Duchess of Mecklenburg (wife of her first cousin once-removed), all of whom were represented by proxies.

Upon Sophia’s birth, King George ensured his daughters and younger sons would have allowances; through a provision of Parliament, Sophia and her elder sisters were each to receive an annual income of £6,000 either upon their marriages or the king’s death. The royal household was very rigid and formal, even when only the royal family were together in private. For instance, when the King entered a room, his daughters were expected to stand up, remain silent until addressed, and not leave until given permission. Queen Charlotte made attempts to be economical where possible; the younger princesses wore country-made dresses, which were less expensive, and ate plain food.

Sophia’s early life was focused on education. Lady Charlotte Finch served as her governess, a role she performed for all the royal children. As with the strict education and discipline received by her brothers, Lady Charlotte through the sub-governesses chosen by Queen Charlotte arranged expert tutors to give the princesses lessons in English, French, music, art, and geography; Sophia and her sisters were also allowed to play sports and boisterous games with their brothers. The queen sought to combine her daughters’ entertainments with educational benefits. Sophia and her siblings were brought up with an exposure to theatre and were entertained with special performances.

Princess Sophia’s first appearance in public occurred when she accompanied her parents and elder siblings to a commemoration for George Frideric Handel, held at Westminster Abbey on May 26, 1784.

By 1792 Sophia and her sister Mary were being included in more family activities, and at age fourteen, Sophia debuted at court on her father’s birthday, June 4, 1792. According to biographer Christopher Hibbert, in her young adulthood Sophia was a “delightful though moody girl, pretty, delicate and passionate.” As within her childhood, Sophia was devoted to her father, though she occasionally found him exasperating. She wrote that “the dear King is all kindness to me, and I cannot say how grateful I feel for it.”

Prior to 1788, King George had told his daughters that he would take them to Hanover and find them suitable husbands despite misgivings he had, which stemmed from his sisters’ own unhappy marriages. He remarked, “I cannot deny that I have never wished to see any of them marry: I am happy in their company, and do not in the least want a separation.”

However, the King suffered his first bout of illness that year, when Sophia was aged eleven. Sophia remarked of her father’s behaviour, “He is all affection and kindness to me, but sometimes an over kindness, if you can understand that, which greatly alarms me.” Further lapses into insanity occurred in 1801 and 1804, thus forestalling talk of marriage for his daughters. The question of matrimony was rarely raised; Queen Charlotte feared the subject, something which had always discomforted the King, would push him back into insanity. Furthermore, the queen, strained from her husband’s illness, wanted the princesses to remain close to her.

As a result, like most of her sisters, Princess Sophia was forced to live her life as a companion of her mother. The princesses were not allowed to mix with anyone outside of the Royal Court, and rarely came into contact with men other than pages, equerries, or attendants. Constantly chaperoned, the girls frequently complained about living in a “Nunnery”. For entertainment, the queen read sermons to them and the princesses practised embroidery. On one occasion Sophia wrote their days were so “deadly dull… I wished myself a kangaroo.

September 29, 1766: Birth of Charlotte, Princess Royal and Queen Consort of Württemberg. Part I.

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3rd Duke of Portland, Anne Princess Royal, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz., Charlotte Princess Royal, Frederick I of Württemberg, George III of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, Lord Chamberlain, Queen of Württemberg, St. James Palace, William Cavendish-Bentnick

Charlotte, Princess Royal (Charlotte Augusta Matilda; September 29, 1766 – October 5, 1828), was Queen of Württemberg as the wife of King Friedrich I. She was the first daughter and fourth child of King George III of the United Kingdom and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Princess Charlotte was born on September 29, 1766 at Buckingham House, London, to British monarch, King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was christened on October 27, 1766 at St James’s Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Secker, and her godparents were her paternal aunts Caroline Matilda and Louisa, along with Caroline Matilda’s husband King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, Lord Chamberlain William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, and the Dowager Countess of Effingham, stood proxy for the King and Queen of Denmark.

Charlotte was officially designated as Princess Royal on June 22, 1789. The previous Princess Royal, Anne, was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort Caroline of Ansbach. She was the spouse of Willem IV, Prince of Orange. Princess Anne died on January 12, 1759 leaving the title Princess Royal vacant for thirty years.

After the birth of three sons in a row, her parents were delighted to have a Princess in the nursery. Like all of her siblings, Charlotte was inoculated, in her case, in December 1768 along with her brother William. As the eldest daughter of the monarch, Charlotte was assumed to be destined for an important marriage on the continent, and her education was considered to be of the utmost importance, beginning when she was only eighteen months old.

Since French was the official language in every European court at the time, the little Princess was given a Frenchwoman to be her tutor, in order that she should have no accent. She was taught to recite little verses and stories, and as a result had an almost uncanny ability to recall detail for the rest of her life.

Her early childhood was not all scholarly pursuits. When she was almost three years old, she took place in her first tableau dressed like Columbine, where she danced with her seven-year-old brother George, Prince of Wales. She was not a naturally musical child and later abhorred such displays of children, declaring that they made children vain and self-important.

However, this did not stop her parents from continuing to show her off. In late 1769, she and the Prince of Wales were once again displayed, this time to the public in a “junior drawing room” in St James’s Palace. Charlotte was dressed in a Roman toga and lay on a sofa.

Though this type of thing was common in German courts, it was considered vulgar in England, where in reaction a London mob drove a hearse into the Palace courtyard. Afterward, the Prince of Wales told Lady Mary Coke that the whole event had made Charlotte “terribly tired”. Wisely, the King and Queen decided to never repeat the experience.

Though she was the eldest daughter, Charlotte was constantly compared to her sister Augusta Sophia, only two years younger than she. When Augusta was a month old, Lady Mary Coke called her “the most beautiful baby I have ever seen” while she considered that Charlotte was “very plain”.

Passing judgment once again three years later, Charlotte was now “the most sensible agreeable child I ever saw, but in my opinion far from pretty” while Augusta was still “rather pretty”. Although the Princess Royal was never as beautiful as her younger sister, she did not share in Augusta’s primary flaw: painful shyness. Charlotte also had a stammer that her attendant Mary Dacres tried to help her young charge manage.

History of Styles and Titles Part III: Hanover to Windsor.

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George III of the United Kingdom, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Queen Anne of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, styles, titles

The kingdoms of England and Scotland were formally united into a single Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 by the Act of Union. Queen Anne consequently assumed the title “Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.”. It remained in use until 1801, when Great Britain and Ireland combined to become the United Kingdom. George III used the opportunity to drop both the reference to France and “etc.” from the style. It was suggested to him that he assume the title “Emperor”, but he rejected the proposal. Instead, the style became “King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith”.

King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith

In 1876 “Empress of India” was added to Queen Victoria’s titles by the Royal Titles Act 1876, so that the Queen of the United Kingdom, the ruler of a vast empire, would not be outranked by her own daughter who had married the heir to the German Empire (an empire by the necessity of establishing a federal monarchy in which several kings wished to retain their royal titles despite their subjugation to a different monarchy). Her successor, Edward VII, changed the style to reflect the United Kingdom’s other colonial possessions, adding “and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas” after “Ireland”. In general usage the monarch came to be called the King-Emperor, especially in the Crown’s overseas possessions and in British India and the princely states.

Empress of India

In 1922 the Irish Free State gained independence. In 1927 the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 changed the description “of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas” to “of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas”. The 1927 Act was also significant for opening the door to dominions (later Commonwealth realms) having the right to determine their own style and title for the sovereign, a right which was first exercised in 1953.

King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India, Defender of the Faith

The designation “Emperor of India” was dropped from the royal style in 1948 after the independence of India and Pakistan a year earlier, even though King George VI remained king of the dominion of India until 1950, when it became a republic within the Commonwealth. The dominion of Pakistan existed between 1947 and 1956, when it too became a republic within the Commonwealth. Similarly, although the republic of Ireland was constituted in 1949, “Great Britain and Ireland” was not replaced with “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” until 1953.

In the same year the phrase “Head of the Commonwealth” was also added, and “British Dominions beyond the Seas” was replaced with “other Realms and Territories”. Thus, the style of the present sovereign is “By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”.

ELizabeth II, By the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

Also in 1953, separate styles were adopted for each of the realms over which the sovereign reigned. Most realms used the form, “Queen of … and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth”, omitting the title “Defender of the Faith”. Australia, New Zealand and Canada all included a reference to the United Kingdom as well as “Defender of the Faith”, but only Canada still uses this form.