May 2, 1816: Marriage of Charlotte of Wales & Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

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Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, George IV, King George III of the United Kingdom, King George IV of the United Kingdom, King Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Prince Regent, Princess Charlotte of Wales, royal wedding

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (January 7, 1796 – November 6, 1817) was the only child of King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, who was still Prince of Wales (and also the Prince Regent) during her lifetime, and Caroline of Brunswick. If she had outlived both her grandfather King George III and her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died following childbirth at the age of 21.

Charlotte’s parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage and soon separated. The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte’s care to governesses and servants, but only allowed her limited contact with Caroline, who eventually left the country. George IV, at the time the Prince Regent, had been raised under strict conditions, which he had rebelled against. Despite this, he attempted to put his daughter, who had the appearance of a grown woman at age 15, under even stricter conditions. He gave her a clothing allowance insufficient for an adult princess, and insisted that if she attended the opera, she was to sit in the rear of the box and leave before the end.

Princess Charlotte of Wales

With the Prince Regent busy with affairs of state, Charlotte was required to spend most of her time at Windsor with her maiden aunts. Bored, she soon became infatuated with her first cousin, George FitzClarence, illegitimate son of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (future King William IV). FitzClarence was, shortly thereafter, called to Brighton to join his regiment, and Charlotte’s gaze fell on Lieutenant Charles Hesse of the Light Dragoons, reputedly the illegitimate son of Charlotte’s uncle, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Hesse and Charlotte had a number of clandestine meetings.

Lady de Clifford feared the Prince Regent’s rage should they be found out, but Princess Caroline was delighted by her daughter’s passion. She did everything that she could to encourage the relationship, even allowing them time alone in a room in her apartments. These meetings ended when Hesse left to join the British forces in Spain. Most of the Royal Family, except the Prince Regent, were aware of these meetings, but did nothing to interfere, disapproving of the way George was treating his daughter.

In 1813, with the tide of the Napoleonic Wars having turned firmly in Britain’s favour, George began to seriously consider the question of Charlotte’s marriage. The Prince Regent and his advisors decided on Willem Hereditary Prince of Orange, son and heir-apparent of Prince Willem VI of Orange (later Kings Willem I and King Willem II of the Netherlands respectively). Such a marriage would increase British influence in Northwest Europe. Prince Willem made a poor impression on Charlotte when she first saw him, at George’s birthday party on August 12, when he became intoxicated, as did the Prince Regent himself and many of the guests. Although no one in authority had spoken to Charlotte about the proposed marriage, she was quite familiar with the plan through palace whispers. Dr. Henry Halford was detailed to sound out Charlotte about the match; he found her reluctant, feeling that a future British queen should not marry a foreigner.

Believing that his daughter intended to marry her cousin Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the Prince Regent saw his daughter and verbally abused both her and Gloucester. According to Charlotte, “He spoke as if he had the most improper ideas of my inclinations. I see that he is compleatly [sic] poisoned against me, and that he will never come round.” She wrote to Earl Grey for advice; he suggested she play for time. The matter soon leaked to the papers, which wondered whether Charlotte would marry “the Orange or the Cheese” (a reference to Gloucester cheese), “Slender Billy” [of Orange] or “Silly Billy”.

The Prince Regent attempted a gentler approach, but failed to convince Charlotte who wrote that “I could not quit this country, as Queen of England still less” and that if they wed, the Prince of Orange would have to “visit his frogs solo”. However, on December 12, the Prince Regent arranged a meeting between Charlotte and the Prince of Orange at a dinner party, and asked Charlotte for her decision. She stated that she liked what she had seen so far, which George took as an acceptance, and quickly called in the Prince of Orange to inform him.

Negotiations over the marriage contract took several months, with Charlotte insisting that she not be required to leave Britain. The diplomats had no desire to see the two thrones united, and so the agreement stated that Britain would go to the couple’s oldest son, while the second son would inherit the Netherlands; if there was only one son, the Netherlands would pass to the German branch of the House of Orange.

On June 10, 1814, Charlotte signed the marriage contract. Charlotte had become besotted with a Prussian prince whose identity is uncertain; according to Charles Greville, it was Prince August, although historian Arthur Aspinall disagreed, thinking that her love interest was the younger Prince Friedrich. At a party at the Pulteney Hotel in London, Charlotte met a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Prince Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on December 16, 1790. He was the youngest son of Franz , Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (after the death of its last Duke, Friedrich IV of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

The Princess invited Leopold to call on her, an invitation he took up, remaining for three quarters of an hour, and writing a letter to the Prince Regent apologising for any indiscretion. This letter impressed George very much, although he did not consider the impoverished Leopold as a possible suitor for his daughter’s hand.

The Princess of Wales opposed the match between her daughter and the Prince of Orange, and had great public support: when Charlotte went out in public, crowds would urge her not to abandon her mother by marrying the Prince of Orange. Charlotte informed the Prince of Orange that if they wed, her mother would have to be welcome in their home—a condition sure to be unacceptable to the Prince Regent. When the Prince of Orange would not agree, Charlotte broke off the engagement.

Her father’s response was to order that Charlotte remain at her residence at Warwick House (adjacent to Carlton House) until she could be conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, where she would be allowed to see no one except the Queen. When told of this, Charlotte raced out into the street. A man, seeing her distress from a window, helped the inexperienced Princess find a hackney cab, in which she was conveyed to her mother’s house. Caroline was visiting friends and hastened back to her house, while Charlotte summoned Whig politicians to advise her. A number of family members also gathered, including her uncle, the Duke of York—with a warrant in his pocket to secure her return by force if need be. After lengthy arguments, the Whigs advised her to return to her father’s house, which she did the next day.

Charlotte’s personal coat of arms, 1816

The story of Charlotte’s flight and return was soon the talk of the town; Henry Brougham, a former MP and future Whig Lord Chancellor, reported “All are against the Prince”, and the Opposition press made much of the tale of the runaway Princess. Despite an emotional reconciliation with his daughter, the Prince Regent soon had her conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge, where her attendants were under orders never to let her out of their sight. She was able to smuggle a note out to her favourite uncle, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex. The Duke responded by questioning the Tory Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, in the House of Lords. He asked whether Charlotte was free to come and go, whether she was allowed to go to the seaside as doctors had recommended for her in the past, and now that she was eighteen, whether the government planned to give her a separate establishment. Liverpool evaded the questions, and the Duke was summoned to Carlton House and castigated by the Prince Regent, who never spoke with his brother again.

Despite her isolation, Charlotte found life at Cranbourne Lodge surprisingly agreeable, and slowly became reconciled to her situation. At the end of July 1814, the Prince Regent visited Charlotte in her isolation and informed her that her mother was about to leave England for an extended stay on the Continent. This upset Charlotte, but she did not feel that anything she might say could change her mother’s mind, and was further aggrieved by her mother’s casualness in the leavetaking, “for God knows how long, or what events may occur before we meet again”. Charlotte would never see her mother again.

In late August, Charlotte was permitted to go to the seaside. She had asked to go to fashionable Brighton, but the Prince Regent refused, sending her instead to Weymouth. As the Princess’s coach stopped along the way, large, friendly crowds gathered to see her; according to Holme, “her affectionate welcome shows that already people thought of her as their future Queen”. On arrival in Weymouth, there were illuminations with a centrepiece “Hail Princess Charlotte, Europe’s Hope and Britain’s Glory”. Charlotte spent time exploring nearby attractions, shopping for smuggled French silks, and from late September taking a course of heated seawater baths. She was still infatuated with her Prussian, and hoped in vain that he would declare his interest in her to the Prince Regent. If he did not do so, she wrote to a friend, she would “take the next best thing, which was a good tempered man with good sence [sic] … that man is the P of S-C” [Prince of Saxe-Coburg, i.e. Leopold].

In mid-December, shortly before leaving Weymouth, she “had a very sudden and great shock” when she received news that her Prussian had formed another attachment. In a long talk after Christmas dinner, father and daughter made up their differences.

In the early months of 1815, Charlotte fixed on Leopold (or as she termed him, “the Leo”) as a spouse. Her father refused to give up hope that Charlotte would agree to marry the Prince of Orange. However, Charlotte wrote, “No arguments, no threats, shall ever bend me to marry this detested Dutchman.”

Faced with the united opposition of the Royal Family, George finally gave in and dropped the idea of marriage to the Prince of Orange, who became engaged to Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia that summer. Charlotte contacted Leopold through intermediaries, and found him receptive, but with Napoleon renewing the conflict on the Continent, Leopold was with his regiment fighting. In July, shortly before returning to Weymouth, Charlotte formally requested her father’s permission to marry Leopold. The Prince Regent replied that with the unsettled political situation on the Continent, he could not consider such a request. To Charlotte’s frustration, Leopold did not come to Britain after the restoration of peace, even though he was stationed in Paris, which she deemed to be only a short journey from Weymouth or London.

In January 1816, the Prince Regent invited his daughter to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, and she pleaded with him to allow the marriage. On her return to Windsor, she wrote her father, “I no longer hesitate in declaring my partiality in favour of the Prince of Coburg—assuring you that no one will be more steady or consistent in this their present & last engagement than myself.” George gave in and summoned Leopold, who was in Berlin en route to Russia, to Britain. Leopold arrived in Britain in late February 1816, and went to Brighton to be interviewed by the Prince Regent.

After Charlotte was invited as well, and had dinner with Leopold and her father, she wrote:

I find him charming, and go to bed happier than I have ever done yet in my life … I am certainly a very fortunate creature, & have to bless God. A Princess never, I believe, set out in life (or married) with such prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people.

The Prince Regent was impressed by Leopold, and told his daughter that Leopold “had every qualification to make a woman happy”. Charlotte was sent back to Cranbourne on March 2, leaving Leopold with the Prince Regent. On 14 March, an announcement was made in the House of Commons to great acclaim, with both parties relieved to have the drama of the Princess’s romances at an end.

Parliament voted Leopold £50,000 per year, purchased Claremont House for the couple, and allowed them a generous single payment to set up house. Fearful of a repetition of the Orange fiasco, George limited Charlotte’s contact with Leopold; when Charlotte returned to Brighton, he allowed them to meet only at dinner, and never let them be alone together.

1818 engraving of the wedding of Charlotte and Leopold

The marriage ceremony was set for May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married. Charlotte’s wedding dress cost over ₤10,000. The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.

The couple honeymooned at Oatlands Palace, the Duke of York’s residence in Surrey. Neither was well and the house was filled with the Yorks’ dogs and the odour of animals. Nevertheless, the Princess wrote that Leopold was “the perfection of a lover”. Two days after the marriage, they were visited by the Prince Regent at Oatlands; he spent two hours describing the details of military uniforms to Leopold, which according to Charlotte “is a great mark of the most perfect good humour”. Prince Leopold and his wife returned to London for the social season, and when they attended the theatre, they were invariably treated to wild applause from the audience and the singing of “God Save the King” from the company. When she was taken ill at the Opera, there was great public concern about her condition. It was announced that she had suffered a miscarriage. On August 24, 1816, they took up residence for the first time at Claremont.

After a year and a half of happy marriage, Charlotte died after delivering a stillborn son. Charlotte’s death set off tremendous mourning among the British, who had seen her as a sign of hope and a contrast both to her unpopular father and to her grandfather, whom they deemed mad. As she had been King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, there was considerable pressure on the King’s unmarried sons to find wives. King George III’s fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fathered the eventual heir, Victoria, who was born 18 months after Charlotte’s death.

In 1831 Prince Leopold was elected the first King of the Belgians following the country’s independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865. His descendant still sits on the throne of Belgium.

On this day, July 21, 1831: Enthronement of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as the first King of the Belgians.

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Belgium's National Day, George IV, George IV of the United Kingdom, King Leopold I of Belgium, King of the Belgians, King Philippe of the Belgians, Kingdom of Belgium, Leopold II of Belgium, Louis-Philippe of France, Louise Marie of Orleans, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Willem I of the Netherlands

Today is Belgium’s National Day. 🇧🇪

On this day, July 21, in 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (a maternal uncle of Queen Victoria and paternal uncle of her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) was sworn in as the first King of the Belgians.

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on December 16, 1790. He was the youngest son of Franz, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

On May 2, 1816, Leopold married Princess Charlotte of Wales at Carlton House in London. Charlotte was the only legitimate child of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick, daughter of Carl-Wilhelm-Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, and Princess Augusta of Great Britain (daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach). This meant that Princess Charlotte of Wales was second in line to the British throne.

Princess Charlotte of Wales

Princess Charlotte had been engaged Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange (later King Willem II of the Netherlands). This engagement came about through pressure from her father the Prince Regent. Princess Charlotte found the Hereditary Prince of Orange distasteful but after initially accepting him, Charlotte soon broke off the intended match in favor of Leopold. This resulted in an extended contest of wills between her and her father. Though the Prince Regent was displeased, he found Leopold to be charming and possessing every quality to make his daughter happy, thus approving of their marriage. The same year Leopold received an honorary commission to the rank of Field Marshal and Knight of the Order of the Garter.

The marriage ceremony was held May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married. The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.

On November 5, 1817, after having suffered a miscarriage, Princess Charlotte gave birth to a stillborn son. She herself died the next day following complications. Leopold was said to have been heartbroken by her death.

Following a Greek rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, Leopold was offered the throne of an independent Greece as part of the London Protocol of February 1830. Though initially showing interest in the position, Leopold eventually turned down the offer on May 17, 1830. The role would subsequently be accepted by Prince Otto of Bavaria in May of 1832 who ruled until he was finally deposed in October 1862.

At the end of August 1830, rebels in the Southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the United Netherlands rose up against Dutch rule. The rising, which began in Brussels, pushed the Dutch army back, and the rebels defended themselves against a Dutch attack. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new state.

In November 1830, a National Congress was established in Belgium to create a constitution for the new state. Fears of “mob rule” associated with republicanism after the French Revolution of 1789, as well as the example of the recent, liberal July Revolution in France, led the Congress to decide that Belgium would be a popular, constitutional monarchy.

Search for a monarch

Enthronement of King Leopold I of the Belgians

The choice of candidates for the position was one of the most controversial issues faced by the revolutionaries. The Congress refused to consider any candidate from the Dutch ruling house of Orange-Nassau. Some Orangists had hoped to offer the position to King Willem I or his son, Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange, which would bring Belgium into personal union with the Netherlands like Luxembourg. The Great Powers also worried that a candidate from another state could risk destabilizing the international balance of power and lobbied for a neutral candidate.

Eventually the Congress was able to draw up a shortlist. The three viable possibilities were felt to be Eugène de Beauharnais, a French nobleman and stepson of Napoleon; Auguste of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugene; and Louis, Duke of Nemours who was the son of the French King Louis-Philippe. All the candidates were French and the choice between them was principally between choosing the Bonapartism of Beauharnais or Leuchtenberg and supporting the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe. Louis-Philippe realized that the choice of either of the Bonapartists could be first stage of a coup against him, but that his son would also be unacceptable to other European powers suspicious of French intentions. Therefore Louis, Duke of Nemours refused the offer. With no definitive choice in sight, Catholics and Liberals united to elect Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier, a minor Belgian nobleman, as regent to buy more time for a definitive decision in February 1831.

Leopold of Saxe-Coburg had been proposed at an early stage, but had been dropped because of French opposition. The problems caused by the French candidates and the increased international pressure for a solution led to his reconsideration. On April 22, he was finally approached by a Belgian delegation at Marlborough House to officially offer him the throne. Leopold, however, was reluctant to accept at first.

Accession

On July 17, 1831, Leopold travelled from Calais to Belgium, entering the country at De Panne. Traveling to Brussels, he was greeted with patriotic enthusiasm along his route. The accession ceremony took place on July 21, on the Place Royale in Brussels. A stand had been erected on the steps of the church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, surrounded by the names of revolutionaries fallen during the fighting in 1830.

King Leopold I of the Belgians

After a ceremony of resignation by the regent, Leopold, dressed in the uniform of a Belgian lieutenant-general, swore loyalty to the constitution and became king. The enthronement is generally used to mark the end of the revolution and the start of the Kingdom of Belgium and is celebrated each year as the Belgian national holiday.

Second marriage

Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans

On August 9, 1832 King Leopold I of the Belgians married Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, who was twenty-two years younger than the King, she was the eldest daughter of the future Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and of his wife Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies.

Louise and Leopold had four children, including Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico. Although never faithful to Louise, Leopold respected her and their relationship was a harmonious one.

Prince Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium (July 24, 1833 – May 16, 1834)
King Leopold II of the Belgians (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909)
Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders (March 24, 1837 – November 17, 1905)
Princess Charlotte of Belgium, (June 7, 1840 – January 19, 1927), consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.

Sadly, Queen Louise-Marie died of tuberculosis in the former Royal palace of Ostend on October 11, 1850 at the age of 38. Leopold was again a widower at the age of 59. The Queen’s body was brought to Laeken, and a memorial was erected in Oostende. She is buried beside her husband in Royal Crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.

Photo of King Leopold later in life.

Leopold died in Laeken near Brussels on December 10, 1865, aged 74. His funeral was held on 16 December. He is interred in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Notre-Dame de Laeken, next to Louise-Marie. He was succeeded by his son, Leopold II, aged 30, who ruled until 1909.

The current King of the Belgians, Philippe, is Leopold I’s great-great-great-grandson.

200th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: May 24, 1819.

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Birthday, Duchess of Kent, Empress of India, George III, George IV, King William IV of the United Kingdom, Kingdom of the Belgians, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Leopld of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold I, Prince Regent, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld., Queen Victoria, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, The Duke of Kent

Following the death of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales in November 1817, the only legitimate grandchild of George III at the time, the royal succession began to look uncertain. The Prince Regent and his younger brother Frederick, the Duke of York, though married, were estranged from their wives and had no surviving legitimate children. King George’s surviving daughters were all past likely childbearing age. The unmarried sons of King George III, the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cambridge, all rushed to contract lawful marriages and provide an heir to the throne. The fifth son of King George III, the Duke of Cumberland, was already married but had no living children at that time, whilst the marriage of the sixth son, the Duke of Sussex, was void because he had married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

However, it was not that simple. For the Duke of Kent providing for the succession was not his sole motivator in finding a wife. Even before he disposed of the amiable Madame de Saint Laurent, the Duke of Kent had been secretly looking for a legitimate wife for financial reasons rather than dynastic reasons. The Duke of Kent knew that once he contracted a legitimate marriage he would be granted a steady income by Parliament. Princess Charlotte was still alive at this time and he promised her, along with her consort, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, to furnish continuity for the throne of Hanover.

HRH The Duchess of Kent

The Duke of Kent also realized that in Hanover, where the Salic Law applied to the German kingdom, only male heirs could reign in Hanover, therefore, if Princess Charlotte became Queen of the United Kingdom this would separate the personal union of the two countries and a secession of her oldest surviving childless uncles would, one after another, become the King of Hanover. The Duke of Kent envisioned that he would one day be the King of Hanover. For that he would need a Queen and an heir.

The Duke of Kent’s idea of a suitable bride was a wealthy woman with proper Royal Ancestry for an approved royal marriage. Because the Duke of Kent had been helpful to his niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and her husband Prince Leopold, they were eager to match the Duke with Leopold’s younger sister the Dowager Princess of Leiningen. The Duke agreed to visit the widowed Princess Victoria in Darmstadt, one of the larger cities close to the borders of a Amorbach, after which he dispatched a lengthy letter expressing his affection and proposing marriage believing she would make an appropriate Queen of Hanover. With the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, who died giving birth to a stillborn son in November 1817, the Duke of Kent realized that the succession to the British throne was now in jeopardy and this expediated his marriage to the Dowager Princess of Leiningen.

In Coburg Germany, on May 29, 1818 at 9:30 in the evening the Dowager Princess of Leiningen (aged 32) was married in the Lutheran rights to the Duke of Kent (aged 52) a man she had only met once before. The Duke was arrayed in his English field marshal’s uniform, while the Princess was resplendent in pale silk lace. Afterwards, the new Duchess of Kent wrote in her diary that she had hoped that in her second marriage she would find the happiness that she never found in the first.

Within four days after the wedding the Duke and Duchess of Kent left for England. And at Kew Palace on July 13, 1818 at four in the afternoon, they were married again this time in accordance to the Church of England. However, the ceremony was doubled for there was also two brides for the Prince Regent to give away. Not only was the Duke of Kent marrying Princess Victoria once again, Prince William, Duke of Clarence and the 25 year old Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (August 13, 1792 – December 2, 1849) [the daughter of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg] were united as well. The Archbishop Bishop of Canterbury officiated the ceremony assisted by the Bishop of London. Since King George III was blind and incapacitated, fragile old Queen Charlotte, mother of both of the Dukes, was the chief celebrant at the wedding banquet.

HRH The Duke of Kent

Because of the Duke of Kent’s financial situation the newlyweds moved back to Germany. By November 18, 1818 the Duke of Kent sent a letter to the Prince Regent’s private secretary, Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, indicating that the Duchess of Kent was pregnant and that the child was due in May the following year. The Duke of Kent believed it would be his duty to bring the Duchess back to England early in April so that the Royal birth could take place in England. The Duke also petitioned his brother the Prince Regent to allocate funds sufficient for the move and the care of his growing family.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a.m. on May 24, 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on June 24, 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of Kent’s eldest brother, George, the Prince Regent.

At birth, Alexandria-Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, the Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, the Duke of York; William, the Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria’s father, Edward, the Duke of Kent. The Prince Regent had no surviving children, and the Duke of York had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further legitimate children.

HM Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India.

With Alexandrina-Victoria being fifth in line to the succession to the throne, her ascending the British throne was not assured. She could have been supplanted by a brother born to the Duke and Duchess of Kent, or any children from the union of the Duke and Duchess of Clarence. However, the Duke of Clarence’s legitimate daughters died as infants. The first of these was Princess Charlotte, who was born and died on March 27, 1819, two months before Victoria was born. Victoria’s father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old. A week later her grandfather, George III died and was succeeded by his eldest son as George IV. Victoria was then third in line to the throne after York and Clarence. The Duke Clarence’s second daughter was Princess Elizabeth of Clarence who lived for twelve weeks from December 10, 1820 to 4 March 1821 and, while Elizabeth lived, Victoria was fourth in line. The Childless Duke of York died in 1827 which paved the way for Victoria’s own succession after her uncles, George IV and William IV.

Birth of Queen Victoria

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Edward Duke of Kent, George IV, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, The Prince Regent, William IV of the United Kingdom

On this date: May 24, 1819. Birth of future Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India. She was the daughter Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (4th son of King George III of the United Kingdom) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on June 24, 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Duke’s eldest brother, George, the Prince Regent.

At birth, Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, the Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, the Duke of York; William, the Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria’s father, Edward, the Duke of Kent.

The Prince Regent had no surviving children, and the Duke of York had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further children. The Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarence’s daughters (born in 1819 and 1820) died as infants. Victoria’s father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old.

A week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827. When George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive. The Regency Act 1830 made special provision for the Duchess of Kent (Victoria’s mother) to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor. King William IV distrusted the Duchess’s capacity to be regent, and in 1836 he declared in her presence that he wanted to live until Victoria’s 18th birthday, so that a regency could be avoided.

In 1837 she succeeded to the throne on the death of her uncle King William IV. She reigned over her vast Empire until her death on January 22, 1901 and a reign of 63 years. At the time she was Britains longest ruling monarch until she was surpassed by her great-great granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II in 2015...

Marriage of Charlotte of Wales & Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

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George IV, George IV of the United Kingdom, Kingdom of Belgium, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Leopold I, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

I’m taking a break from my series on James I of Scotland, which I will finish within the next few days.

Today is the 3rd birthday of HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge! Today is also the anniversary of the marriage between Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on May 2, 1816.

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (January 7, 1796 – November 6, 1817) was the only child of King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover, who was still Prince of Wales (and also the Prince Regent) during her lifetime, and Caroline of Brunswick. If she had outlived both her grandfather King George III and her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died following childbirth at the age of 21.

Charlotte’s parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage and soon separated. The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte’s care to governesses and servants, but only allowed her limited contact with Caroline, who eventually left the country. George IV, at the time the Prince Regent, had been raised under strict conditions, which he had rebelled against. Despite this, he attempted to put his daughter, who had the appearance of a grown woman at age 15, under even stricter conditions. He gave her a clothing allowance insufficient for an adult princess, and insisted that if she attended the opera, she was to sit in the rear of the box and leave before the end.

With the Prince Regent busy with affairs of state, Charlotte was required to spend most of her time at Windsor with her maiden aunts. Bored, she soon became infatuated with her first cousin, George FitzClarence, illegitimate son of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (future King William IV). FitzClarence was, shortly thereafter, called to Brighton to join his regiment, and Charlotte’s gaze fell on Lieutenant Charles Hesse of the Light Dragoons, reputedly the illegitimate son of Charlotte’s uncle, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Hesse and Charlotte had a number of clandestine meetings.

Lady de Clifford feared the Prince Regent’s rage should they be found out, but Princess Caroline was delighted by her daughter’s passion. She did everything that she could to encourage the relationship, even allowing them time alone in a room in her apartments. These meetings ended when Hesse left to join the British forces in Spain. Most of the Royal Family, except the Prince Regent, were aware of these meetings, but did nothing to interfere, disapproving of the way George was treating his daughter.

In 1813, with the tide of the Napoleonic Wars having turned firmly in Britain’s favour, George began to seriously consider the question of Charlotte’s marriage. The Prince Regent and his advisors decided on Willem Hereditary Prince of Orange, son and heir-apparent of Prince Willem VI of Orange (later Kings Willem I and King Willem II of the Netherlands respectively). Such a marriage would increase British influence in Northwest Europe. Prince Willem made a poor impression on Charlotte when she first saw him, at George’s birthday party on August 12, when he became intoxicated, as did the Prince Regent himself and many of the guests. Although no one in authority had spoken to Charlotte about the proposed marriage, she was quite familiar with the plan through palace whispers. Dr. Henry Halford was detailed to sound out Charlotte about the match; he found her reluctant, feeling that a future British queen should not marry a foreigner.

Believing that his daughter intended to marry her cousin Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the Prince Regent saw his daughter and verbally abused both her and Gloucester. According to Charlotte, “He spoke as if he had the most improper ideas of my inclinations. I see that he is compleatly [sic] poisoned against me, and that he will never come round.” She wrote to Earl Grey for advice; he suggested she play for time. The matter soon leaked to the papers, which wondered whether Charlotte would marry “the Orange or the Cheese” (a reference to Gloucester cheese), “Slender Billy” [of Orange] or “Silly Billy”.

The Prince Regent attempted a gentler approach, but failed to convince Charlotte who wrote that “I could not quit this country, as Queen of England still less” and that if they wed, the Prince of Orange would have to “visit his frogs solo”. However, on December 12, the Prince Regent arranged a meeting between Charlotte and the Prince of Orange at a dinner party, and asked Charlotte for her decision. She stated that she liked what she had seen so far, which George took as an acceptance, and quickly called in the Prince of Orange to inform him.

Negotiations over the marriage contract took several months, with Charlotte insisting that she not be required to leave Britain. The diplomats had no desire to see the two thrones united, and so the agreement stated that Britain would go to the couple’s oldest son, while the second son would inherit the Netherlands; if there was only one son, the Netherlands would pass to the German branch of the House of Orange.

On June 10, 1814, Charlotte signed the marriage contract. Charlotte had become besotted with a Prussian prince whose identity is uncertain; according to Charles Greville, it was Prince August, although historian Arthur Aspinall disagreed, thinking that her love interest was the younger Prince Friedrich. At a party at the Pulteney Hotel in London, Charlotte met a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Prince Leopold was born in Coburg in the tiny German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in modern-day Bavaria on December 16, 1790. He was the youngest son of Franz , Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826, Saxe-Coburg acquired the city of Gotha from the neighboring Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (after the death of its last Duke, Friedrich IV of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) and gave up Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen, becoming Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

The Princess invited Leopold to call on her, an invitation he took up, remaining for three quarters of an hour, and writing a letter to the Prince Regent apologising for any indiscretion. This letter impressed George very much, although he did not consider the impoverished Leopold as a possible suitor for his daughter’s hand.

The Princess of Wales opposed the match between her daughter and the Prince of Orange, and had great public support: when Charlotte went out in public, crowds would urge her not to abandon her mother by marrying the Prince of Orange. Charlotte informed the Prince of Orange that if they wed, her mother would have to be welcome in their home—a condition sure to be unacceptable to the Prince Regent. When the Prince of Orange would not agree, Charlotte broke off the engagement.

Her father’s response was to order that Charlotte remain at her residence at Warwick House (adjacent to Carlton House) until she could be conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, where she would be allowed to see no one except the Queen. When told of this, Charlotte raced out into the street. A man, seeing her distress from a window, helped the inexperienced Princess find a hackney cab, in which she was conveyed to her mother’s house. Caroline was visiting friends and hastened back to her house, while Charlotte summoned Whig politicians to advise her. A number of family members also gathered, including her uncle, the Duke of York—with a warrant in his pocket to secure her return by force if need be. After lengthy arguments, the Whigs advised her to return to her father’s house, which she did the next day.

Charlotte’s personal coat of arms, 1816

The story of Charlotte’s flight and return was soon the talk of the town; Henry Brougham, a former MP and future Whig Lord Chancellor, reported “All are against the Prince”, and the Opposition press made much of the tale of the runaway Princess. Despite an emotional reconciliation with his daughter, the Prince Regent soon had her conveyed to Cranbourne Lodge, where her attendants were under orders never to let her out of their sight. She was able to smuggle a note out to her favourite uncle, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex. The Duke responded by questioning the Tory Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, in the House of Lords. He asked whether Charlotte was free to come and go, whether she was allowed to go to the seaside as doctors had recommended for her in the past, and now that she was eighteen, whether the government planned to give her a separate establishment. Liverpool evaded the questions, and the Duke was summoned to Carlton House and castigated by the Prince Regent, who never spoke with his brother again.

Despite her isolation, Charlotte found life at Cranbourne Lodge surprisingly agreeable, and slowly became reconciled to her situation. At the end of July 1814, the Prince Regent visited Charlotte in her isolation and informed her that her mother was about to leave England for an extended stay on the Continent. This upset Charlotte, but she did not feel that anything she might say could change her mother’s mind, and was further aggrieved by her mother’s casualness in the leavetaking, “for God knows how long, or what events may occur before we meet again”. Charlotte would never see her mother again.

In late August, Charlotte was permitted to go to the seaside. She had asked to go to fashionable Brighton, but the Prince Regent refused, sending her instead to Weymouth. As the Princess’s coach stopped along the way, large, friendly crowds gathered to see her; according to Holme, “her affectionate welcome shows that already people thought of her as their future Queen”. On arrival in Weymouth, there were illuminations with a centrepiece “Hail Princess Charlotte, Europe’s Hope and Britain’s Glory”. Charlotte spent time exploring nearby attractions, shopping for smuggled French silks, and from late September taking a course of heated seawater baths. She was still infatuated with her Prussian, and hoped in vain that he would declare his interest in her to the Prince Regent. If he did not do so, she wrote to a friend, she would “take the next best thing, which was a good tempered man with good sence [sic] … that man is the P of S-C” [Prince of Saxe-Coburg, i.e. Leopold].

In mid-December, shortly before leaving Weymouth, she “had a very sudden and great shock” when she received news that her Prussian had formed another attachment. In a long talk after Christmas dinner, father and daughter made up their differences.

In the early months of 1815, Charlotte fixed on Leopold (or as she termed him, “the Leo”) as a spouse. Her father refused to give up hope that Charlotte would agree to marry the Prince of Orange. However, Charlotte wrote, “No arguments, no threats, shall ever bend me to marry this detested Dutchman.”

Faced with the united opposition of the Royal Family, George finally gave in and dropped the idea of marriage to the Prince of Orange, who became engaged to Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia that summer. Charlotte contacted Leopold through intermediaries, and found him receptive, but with Napoleon renewing the conflict on the Continent, Leopold was with his regiment fighting. In July, shortly before returning to Weymouth, Charlotte formally requested her father’s permission to marry Leopold. The Prince Regent replied that with the unsettled political situation on the Continent, he could not consider such a request. To Charlotte’s frustration, Leopold did not come to Britain after the restoration of peace, even though he was stationed in Paris, which she deemed to be only a short journey from Weymouth or London.

In January 1816, the Prince Regent invited his daughter to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, and she pleaded with him to allow the marriage. On her return to Windsor, she wrote her father, “I no longer hesitate in declaring my partiality in favour of the Prince of Coburg—assuring you that no one will be more steady or consistent in this their present & last engagement than myself.” George gave in and summoned Leopold, who was in Berlin en route to Russia, to Britain. Leopold arrived in Britain in late February 1816, and went to Brighton to be interviewed by the Prince Regent.

After Charlotte was invited as well, and had dinner with Leopold and her father, she wrote:

I find him charming, and go to bed happier than I have ever done yet in my life … I am certainly a very fortunate creature, & have to bless God. A Princess never, I believe, set out in life (or married) with such prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people.

The Prince Regent was impressed by Leopold, and told his daughter that Leopold “had every qualification to make a woman happy”. Charlotte was sent back to Cranbourne on March 2, leaving Leopold with the Prince Regent. On 14 March, an announcement was made in the House of Commons to great acclaim, with both parties relieved to have the drama of the Princess’s romances at an end.

Parliament voted Leopold £50,000 per year, purchased Claremont House for the couple, and allowed them a generous single payment to set up house. Fearful of a repetition of the Orange fiasco, George limited Charlotte’s contact with Leopold; when Charlotte returned to Brighton, he allowed them to meet only at dinner, and never let them be alone together.

1818 engraving of the wedding of Charlotte and Leopold

The marriage ceremony was set for May 2, 1816. On the wedding day, huge crowds filled London; the wedding participants had great difficulties in travelling. At nine o’clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married. Charlotte’s wedding dress cost over ₤10,000. The only mishap was during the ceremony, when Charlotte was heard to giggle when the impoverished Leopold promised to endow her with all his worldly goods.

The couple honeymooned at Oatlands Palace, the Duke of York’s residence in Surrey. Neither was well and the house was filled with the Yorks’ dogs and the odour of animals. Nevertheless, the Princess wrote that Leopold was “the perfection of a lover”. Two days after the marriage, they were visited by the Prince Regent at Oatlands; he spent two hours describing the details of military uniforms to Leopold, which according to Charlotte “is a great mark of the most perfect good humour”. Prince Leopold and his wife returned to London for the social season, and when they attended the theatre, they were invariably treated to wild applause from the audience and the singing of “God Save the King” from the company. When she was taken ill at the Opera, there was great public concern about her condition. It was announced that she had suffered a miscarriage. On August 24, 1816, they took up residence for the first time at Claremont.

After a year and a half of happy marriage, Charlotte died after delivering a stillborn son. Charlotte’s death set off tremendous mourning among the British, who had seen her as a sign of hope and a contrast both to her unpopular father and to her grandfather, whom they deemed mad. As she had been King George III’s only legitimate grandchild, there was considerable pressure on the King’s unmarried sons to find wives. King George III’s fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fathered the eventual heir, Victoria, who was born 18 months after Charlotte’s death.

In 1831 Prince Leopold was elected the first King of the Belgians following the country’s independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865. His descendant still sits on the throne of Belgium.

HRH Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge

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Some interesting facts about the new Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and the history of the name in the Biritish Royal Family.

Princess Charlotte is 4th in line to the throne after her grandfather, The Prince of Wales, her father, the Duke of Cambridge, and her brother Prince George of Cambridge. Should she have a younger brother he will not supplant her in the line of succession due to the change in succession laws. She is the first female in line to the throne. She will only be supplanted in the succession if and when her brother Prince Gorge of Cambridge has children in the future. God forbid anything happening to Prince George of Cambridge, but if it did Charlotte would become her father’s heir and eventually Queen Regnant. This would happen even if Charlotte were to have younger brothers.

She is the first Princess of Cambridge born since 1833 when HRH Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge (1833-1897) was born. Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge was the daughter of HRH Prince Adolphus-Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850) (7th son of King George III) and HSH Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel (1797-1889). Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge was a first cousin of Queen Victoria and married Francis, Duke of Teck (1837-1900) in 1866. Their daughter, Mary of Teck (1867-1953) married the future King George V of the United Kingdom 1893 making her the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. This means that Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge is the great-great-great-great grandmother of the newest Princess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.

There have been other Princesses named Charlotte in the Royal Family. First of all there was Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. Queen Charlote was born HSH Princess Sophia-Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and daughter of Duke Carl-Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1708-1752) and HSH Princess Elizabeth of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1713-1761). It has been said that Queen Mary resembled her great-grandmother Queen Charlotte and that in turn, Queen Elizabeth II resembles Queen Mary and conversely, Queen Charlotte.

The eldest daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte was HRH The Princess Charlotte, The Princess Royal (1762-1828). In the future she would marry King Friedrich of Würrtemberg (1754-1816) as his second wife. This is the same royal dynasty that produced Francis, Duke of Teck.

King George III’s eldest son, the future George IV (1761-1820), had only one daughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) from his disastrous marriage with his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1817 Charlotte married HSH Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Sadly, Princess Charlotte of Wales never lived to succeed her father as Queen. She died in childbirth in 1817. Her husband went on to be elected King of the Belgians in 1831.

Another aspect of the birth of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is that everyone in line after her takes one step back in the sucession. Princess Charlotte’s uncle, Prince Harry of Wales, is now 5th in line to throne. He was born 3rd in line. But who it affects most is Princess Beatrice of York who falls beck to 7th in line to the throne. Under the new laws of succession only the first 6 in line to the throne have to seek permission of the Sovereign to marry. This means that Princess Beatrice of York does not have to ask the Queen permission to marry. Should the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have another child this would push the Duke of York to 7th inline to the throne meaning he would no longer need his mother’s permission to marry once again.

Lastly, The Duke of Cambridge’s uncle, The Earl Spencer, has a two year old daughter named Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer. So the name Charlotte has a strong history behind it!

Legal Succession: The House of Hanover & Jacobite resistance

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With the succession now legally in the hands of William III and Mary II and with the death of the future Queen Anne’s son, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, it necessitated the Act of Settlement of 1701 that placed the succession on the nearest Protestant heir, the Electress Sophia of Hanover. She was a granddaughter of King James I-VI of England and Scotland. The Electress Sophia was married to the Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Imperial Elector of Hanover.

Ernst August of Hanover died January 23, 1698 and his son, Georg Ludwig became Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Imperial Elector of Hanover. He was also 2nd in line to the English and Scottish thrones throne via the Act of Settlement. Although not the topic of this series, in 1707 the Parliaments of England and Scotland were united to form the kingdom of Great Britain. The titles of King and Queen of England and the Scots passed into history. Georg-Ludwig’s mother, the Electress Sophia, did not live long enough to inherit the British throne she died June 8, 1714 a few weeks before the death of Queen Anne on August 1, 1714. Upon the death of Queen Anne the legal succession passed to Elector Georg-Ludwig of Hanover who became King George I of Great Britain. Although George was Elector of Hanover that country was not politically united with Great Britain.

The deposed king, James II-VII, died in 1701 and the Stuart claim passed to his son, James Francis, Prince of Wales who then claimed the throne as King James III-VIII of England and Scotland. The followers of James, known as Jacobites, did not recognize the union of England and Scotland so you will often see the Jacobite claimants call themselves Kings of England and Scotland rather than Great Britain. When James claimed the titles to his father’s thrones these claims were recognised as by France, Spain, the Papal States and Modena. These states refused to recognise William III, Mary II or Queen Anne as legitimate sovereigns. Another consequence of James claims to the throne was that the British government charged him with treason and his title, Prince of Wales, was attainted March 2, 1702, and were considered forfeited under English law. For the rest of this post James will be called The Old Pretender.

It is not the scope of this series to delve in-depth with he Jacobite uprisings but I will give a brief synopsis. James had support in France from King Louis XIV who had been the first cousin to both Charles II and James II-VII. Also, at this time France was at war against Britain as the War of the Spanish Succession raged throughout Europe as Louis XIV’s grandson, Felipe V, became the new King of Spain. In 1715 the year after the accession of George I, John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar, began a rebellion with the aim of placing James, the Old Pretender on the throne. This rebellion failed.

In 1745 another rebellion occurred under the Old Pretender’s son, Charles Edward, known to his supporters as King Charles III and to history as Bonnie Prince Charlie. This uprising moved as far into England as Derby and culminated in the Battle of Culloden. The armies of Field Marshal George Wade and of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II of Great Britain led the British forces to victory. Bonnie Prince Charlie fled to Europe with a large price on his head.

After the Battle of Culloden the Jacobite movement dwindled considerably. Charles Edward married Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern but had no legitimate offspring. He left a natural daughter, Charlotte Stuart, created Duchess of Albany by her father but this title had no legal standing in Britain. When Charles Edward died in 1788 the Jacobite claim to the throne went to his brother, Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York. He was a Catholic Priest and to his supporters he was Known as King Henry IX of England, Scotland, Ireland and France.

After the French Revolution, Henry lost his French Royal benefices and sacrificed many other resources to assist Pope Pius VI. He also lost all of his French property which caused him to descend into poverty. Ironically, the British Minister in Venice arranged for Henry to receive an annuity of £4,000 from King George III of Great Britain. In his will,  which he signed as “Henry R”, he was succeeded his claim to the British/English/Scottish throne to his nearest blood-relative, King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia. However, Charles never asserted nor renounced his Jacobite claims, nor have any of his successors to this day.

In the near future I will do a post about Jacobitism and the succession of those claimants. My next entry in the Legal Succession series will be the last as I bring it up to date with current times.

Impatient Charles?

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/9700402/Prince-Charles-Im-running-out-of-time.html

Yesterday it was reported in the news that the Prince of Wales is impatient waiting for the throne. In an interview about two years ago he spoke about not wanting to think about being King because it meant the loss of his mother. His latest comments seem to indicate that he is a bit impatient waiting for the throne and that the older he gets he many never be king.

I think that is understandable. He is the hier to the British throne that has waited the longest to be king. Although he is not the longest serving Prince of Wales. King Edward VII waited for 59 years to be King. Edward VII had been Prince of Wales since he was one month old and he served in that capacity until he begame king at the age of 59. Charles, on the other hand, is now 64 and didn’t become Prince of Wales until he was 10 which means he has been Prince of Wales for 54 years, 5 years shy of Edward VII, making him the second longest serving Prince of Wales. He has been hier to the throne since his mother succeeded in 1952 and as hier to the throne for 60 years he has been waiting one year longer than han his great-great grandfather, Edward VII.

King William IV became king at the age of 64, succeeding his brother, King George IV, in 1830. If Charles should outlive his mother he will be the oldest monarch to mount the British throne. Many British monarchs did not even live to see their 60s, Charles’s grandfather, King George VI, died at the age of 56 after a reign of 16 years.

I have great admiration for both Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Prince of Wales. I would hate to see the Queen pass away. She had been the role model of a great Constitutional monarch. I do not support abdication within the British monarchy and although I think Chalres will make an excellent king and I do want to see him enjoy that role…he just needs to find a little more patience.

King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. King of Hanover. Part III

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When William became king he wanted to be known as Henry IX (he was christened William Henry) until it was pointed out that the last Stuart pretender, Henry, Cardinal York, was known as Henry IX by his supporters. Cardinal York died in 1807 and that was recent enough for him to change his mind and call himself William IV. The new king was very popular with his subjects at first. He was very down to earth and even would walk the streets of London and Brighton without any security and was found to be very approachable. When he was in Brighton he would send for gusts from the local hotels and invite them to dinner and would not care too much for proper dress and protocol. He also did away with a lot of the pomp and circumstance and the overt display of monarchy that was the rule under his brothers kingship. His coronation was also less extravagant and has become known as the half-crown-ation.

William was 64 years old when he became king and is Britain’s oldest monarch to succeed to the throne. He did not reign for a long time, only seven years, but his reign is seen as significant as he presided over large changes within society and the government, forging Britain into a more modern nation. The Duke of Wellington was the kings first Prime Minister and Wellington said that William was such a hard worker that he had done more work with the king in 10 minutes than he had with his brother, George IV, after years of working with him. Lord Brougham described William IV as a superior man of business who would ask questions to ensure that he understood a matter and this was different from the practice of George IV who feared asking questions lest he appeared to be ignorant.

Although William and Adelaide did not have any children his illegitimate children took up a good deal of his time and attention. He created his eldest son, George, 1st Earl of Munster. He had a troubled relationship with his sons who were constantly looking to their father for money and titles and opportunities for power. This created many quarrels between father and sons. His daughters were said to be beautiful and caused no undue stress for their royal father. During his reign the heir to the British throne was his niece, Princess Victoria of Kent, and although he was fond of his niece there was great animosity between the king and Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. This conflict meant that Victoria was rarely seen at court.

The largest political battle of William’s reign came within his first year on the throne. Shortly after his accession a general election was called. After a bitter battle the Duke of Wellington was defeated and Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey had become Prime Minister. Because of the conflicts and problems during this election the need to reform the process, which had not been modified since the 15th century, was evident. The system was abused. The aristocracy often controlled the elections to the Commons because as landholders the members and potential members of the House of Commons were often their tenants.

The First Reform Bill was defeated in the House of Lords and Earl Grey wanted the king to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. William hesitated because a general election had just been held the prior year. It also placed him in a bind because the House of Lords was debating a resolution that would prevent the king from dissolving Parliament and they were resistant to any reform that would reduce their power. At the request of the Prime Minister, William drove to Parliament, donned the crown, and in the face of great opposition by members such as Lord Londonderry who brandished a whip and threatened violence, he personally declared Parliament dissolved.

Matters grew worse as the Second Reform Bill was also blocked in the House of Lords and discontent grew throughout the country. Minor riots broke out and Earl Grey wanted again to push through reform and face the House of Lords. He asked William to create enough liberal peers to ensure that the Bill would pass in the House of Lords. William agreed to the proposal and created a number of new peers. There were now enough peers for the Reform Bill to pass but these new peers placed enough amendments onto the Reform Bill that they too thwarted the Prime Minister’s plans.

Earl Grey asked one again that William create enough peers for the Reform Bill to pass the House of Lords in its entirety without amendments. William refused to do the prime Minister’s bidding this time and Earl Grey and his entire Cabinet resigned, sinking the monarchy, and specifically William IV, to an all time low in popularity. William desired that the Duke of Wellington should return to his former position but he did not have enough support in the Commons so William had no choice but to ask for Grey’s reinstatement. Grey returned to office and the House of Lords was more complacent knowing that the king was now agreeing to flood their membership with liberal peers. The Reform Bill passed unamended in 1832. During the crisis William had mud thrown at his carriage and was booed at and hissed at. Eventually the blame for the king’s actions were placed on the influence of the queen and the Duke of Cumberland and the kings popularity rose once again.

William was a member of the House of Hanover and his great-great grandfather, King George I of Great Britain, loved Hanover more than Britain. Although William had visited Hanover in his youth he did not step foot in his other kingdom during his tenure as king. Instead, William was represented in Hanover by a viceroy, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, a role he had played through the reign of George IV. Although ruled by the same monarch they were not politically united. During William’s reign Hanover was part of the Confederation of the Rhine, the successor state of the Holy Roman Empire. Austrian minister Metternich had considerable influence over Hanover at this time. Twice he implemented reforms in Hanover which Lord Palmerston did not support. When asked by Palmerston, then Prime Minister of Britain, to block these reforms in Hanover, William refused which was his prerogative as King of Hanover.

In April of 1837 William’s daughter, Sophia, Lady de L’Isle, died in childbirth leaving the frail king shaken and depressed. His health began to decline further. At a dinner reception in May another conflict occurred and he publicly humiliated the Duchess of Kent where he said he hoped he lived long enough to live past princess Victoria’s 18th birthday to avoid the Duchess of Kent from becoming regent. The king was successful in this endeavor. Victoria turned 18 on May 24. William IV passed away on June 20, 1837 at the age of 71. This ended the personal union of the Untied Kingdom and Hanover. The British throne went to his niece, Victoria, and since women were barred against serving as the monarch in Hanover, that crown went to his brother the Duke of Cumberland who became King Ernst-August of Hanover.

His reign was short but significant. He oversaw needed Parliamentary reforms and it was one of the last times when a British monarch would be this active in party politics. He lead an interesting life and was an ordinary man place in extraordinary circumstances.

King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover. Part II

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Buckingham Palace, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz., Clarence House, David Cameron, Dorothea Bland, Duke of Clarence, Earl of Munster, England, George IV, George Washington, Horatio Nelson, House of Commons, House of Lords, King George III of Great Britain, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Mrs. Jordan, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Privy Council, Royal Marriages Act of 1772, TagsAnthony FitzClarence, William IV of the United Kingdom

During the first part of 19th century, after his naval career had ended, the Duke of Clarence spent considerable time in the House of Lords. He took a controversial stance on the slave trade, although illegal in Britain it was still legal in many of their colonies. The Duke did not think freedom would be beneficial to the slaves. He mentioned that in his travels he had seen many freemen in utter poverty. At one point, in a speech concerning the abolitionists, he directed an insult to the leading abolitionist “the proponents of the abolition are either fanatics or hypocrites, and in one of those classes I rank Mr. Wilberforce“.

In 1817 tragedy struck the British royal family. Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of the Prince of Wales (who had become the Prince regent in 1811) died in childbirth along with her stillborn son. This left no legitimate heir in the generation beyond the 12 surviving children of George III. With the succession in jeopardy many of the royal dukes bade farewell to their mistresses in an effort to secure the succession to the throne.

The Duke of Clarence’s relationship with Mrs Jordan ended in 1811. Mrs Jordan was paid a handsome financial settlement and kept custody of her daughters under the condition she did not resume her stage work. She did however, resume her work as an actress to help pay of some debts of one of her son-in-laws (husband to one of her daughters prior to her relationship with William). This resulted in losing her payments from the Duke of Clarence. She retired to Paris and died in poverty in 1816.

William was 52 in 1817 and his choices of suitable women of childbearing age were slim. William’s brother, Prince Augustus, Duke of Cambridge, found   Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, for William to marry but her father, Landgrave Friederich III of Hesse-Cassel, refused the match. In the end the Duke of Cambridge ended up marrying Princess Augusta himself. William eventually found a suitable princess to marry him, Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen the daughter of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. They were married on July 11, 1818 at Kew Palace in double ceremony along with his brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

The union of William and Adelaide was a happy one despite the age difference, and despite the fact that she had to be step-mother to her husband’s illegitimate children. Motherhood, however, would be denied as only two children, Charlotte and Elizabeth, were born but lived only months.

On January 1820 King George III died after a long reign of 59 years. The Duke of Clarence became second in line to the throne . His eldest brother was now King George IV. George was estranged from his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, and she was past child bearing years. The next in line to the throne was William’s brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York. The Duke of York was married to the eccentric Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. This union was childless and the couple were estranged. This increased the likelihood that William would one day become king. Because of that awareness William began to take better care of himself and stopped drinking alcohol.

In 1827 William moved a step closer to the throne with the death of his brother, Frederick, Duke of York. William was now 62. He also returned to navy life that year when the Prime Minister, George Canning, appointed William to the office of Lord High Admiral. The office of had been in commission and while it had been in commission the office was exercised by a board. The last time an individual held the office was in 1709. His tenure in the post was short lived and tumultuous. His council consisted of Admiralty officers and they were often in conflict. The conflicts came to a head in 1828 when William put out to sea a squadron of ships that were gone for 10 days without word of where they were heading and for how long they would be gone. His brother, George IV communicated through the Prime Minister,  Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, that his brother should be relieved of command and he demanded his resignation; the Duke of Clarence complied.

William spent the next three years back in the House of Lords and supported the Catholic Emancipation Act which would remove the restrictions placed on Roman Catholics. William supported the bill while his brothers, the Duke of Cumberland and the King, did not. As rumors of Civil War in Ireland grew over these religious restrictions support for the Bill increased and it was passed in 1829. By that time it was clear that the king was in bad health and would not live long. On the morning of June 26, 1830 King George IV died leaving his brother, HRH the Duke of Clarence, king. 

I will post again on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day here in the US and complete my look at William IV and cover his reign as king.