Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway. Conclusion

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Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Duchess consort of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Johann Friedrich Struensee, King Frederik VI of Denmark and Norway, King George III of Great Britain, Princess Louise Augusta of Denmark and Norway

Divorce and exile

The interrogation of Johann Friedrich Struensee began on February 20, 1772, but concerning the “crime of familiarity” with respect to the Queen, he admitted to nothing for three days. Later, he tried to shift much of the responsibility for the adultery onto Caroline Matilda.

Struensee’s main political associate and friend, Enevold Brandt, was interrogated at the same time, and reportedly admitted his knowledge of the favourite’s crimes. In parallel to this, the Queen’s staff were also questioned, and the testimony of her chamber staff, particularly her head chamber woman Charlotta Hedevig Matthie, her lady’s maids Kristine Sofie Frederikke Bruun, Anna Charlotte Margrete Horn and Engel Marie Arensbach, and her chamber maid Anna Petersen, were particularly incriminating, as well as that of her lady-in-waiting Elisabeth von Eyben.

A committee of four nobles was sent to Kronborg to interrogate the Queen; during their first visit, probably following the advice of Keith, Caroline Matilda refused to speak with them, replying that “she doesn’t recognise anyone’s court other than the court of the King.”

On their later visits, she denied her relationship with Struensee in the hope of saving him. On March 9, a confession signed by Struensee was presented to Caroline Matilda; she also signed a confession and took much of the blame on herself, hoping thus to mitigate the fate of her lover, although she is believed to have been pressed or manipulated to admit the affair by the interrogator.

On March 24 an indictment against the Queen was presented to a court consisting of thirty-five members of the nobility; on April 2 she was given a lawyer, who said that the Queen was innocent and her confession was signed under pressure, and solely to protect Struensee.

The judgment was handed down on April 6 and two days later the Queen was notified: her marriage with Christian VII was dissolved, although not on dynastic or moral grounds; in addition, the name of the former Queen was banned during church services. Struensee and Brandt were sentenced to death, and were executed on April 28. As Caroline Matilda later recalled, she intuitively knew about the death of her lover.

In Great Britain the news of the arrest of Caroline Matilda was met with great excitement. After the divorce, and following the orders of her brother King George III, Robert Murray Keith began to negotiate her release, but without success. At the same time, George III had been provided conclusive evidence against his sister, and it was reported that he was advised that she could not remain at the Danish court.

Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway

After Caroline Matilda’s death, it was discovered that the Danes had offered to send Struensee and his allies into exile in Aalborg in north Jutland, but the British government strongly refused to consent to this and even threatened to break diplomatic relations with Denmark-Norway and begin a military intervention.

A British squadron arrived off the shores of Copenhagen, but a few hours before its arrival George III received the news that the Danish government guaranteed the freedom of the former Queen. Keith was also able to secure the return of her dowry, a pension, and Caroline Matilda’s right to retain her royal title.

By May 1772 the British and Danish governments had been able to figure out where Caroline Matilda would live; at the suggestion of George III, the new residence of his “Criminal Sister” was to be Celle Castle, located in the Electorate of Hanover.

On May 3 the former Queen, accompanied by Keith and a delegation of Danish nobles, departed from Helsingør in two frigates and a sloop; her two children, Crown Prince Frederick and Louise Augusta, remained in Copenhagen and she never saw them again.

On June 5 she arrived in the district of Stade (where the Danish delegation finally left her), and was greeted in an elaborate ceremony, and the next day a reception was held in her honour. From Stade, the former Queen went to Göhrde, where she stayed for a few months before finally going to Celle. On October 20 Caroline Matilda made her solemn entry into the city, where a proper court was organised for her. Thereafter, she rarely left Celle, with only a few visits to Hanover.

Later life in Celle

In Celle, Caroline Matilda led a very quiet life. Here she was finally reunited with her beloved former hofmesterinde Countess Louise von Plessen. The former Queen was visited by many relatives and friends, among them her older sister Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, which many contemporaries considered a way to keep her watched.

Her main entertainment was a small theatre, built especially for her in the castle, as well a library with numerous books in German and English; in addition, she became known for her charity towards poor children and orphans.

Keith, who visited Caroline Matilda in November 1772, later reported to Lord Suffolk that he had found her in a contented mood and that she did not want to have any relations with the Danish court except those that directly affected the well-being of her children.

Frederik VI, King of Denmark and Norway

Although no longer Queen, Caroline Matilda still played an important role in Danish politics, because she was the mother of the future King. In September 1774 she was visited by the traveller and adventurer Nathaniel Wraxall; during this visit he collected a lot of information about her life in Denmark that later formed the basis of his memoirs.

He returned in October as a secret agent for a group of restive Danish nobles. Some were exiled in Hamburg for their support for the former Queen (notably Baron Frederik Ludvig Ernst Bülow (spouse of Anna Sofie Bülow), and Count Ernst von Schimmelmann (son of Caroline von Schimmelmann) and one remained in Copenhagen.

They were eager for a change: the return of Caroline Matilda as Regent and Guardian of the Crown Prince. Caroline Matilda was ready to act, but only with the consent of her brother George III; she also feared for the lives of her children.

Princess Louise Augusta of Denmark and Norway, Duchess consort of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg

George III was ready to support his sister and the plot, but on the condition that first, the conspirators had to gain enough power in Denmark. Wraxall visited the former Queen three more times in Celle and discussed with her the details of the plot; then he went to London, to discuss the plan with George III.

With him, Caroline Matilda sent a letter to her brother, in which she asked for his approval for the conspiracy, which she referred to as “this scheme for my son’s happiness”. However, while waiting for an audience with the King in London, Wraxall learned of Caroline Matilda’s death.

Caroline Matilda died suddenly of scarlet fever on May 10, 1775. On her deathbed, she wrote a letter to her brother in which she proclaimed her innocence. She was buried in the crypt of the Stadtkirche St. Marien near her paternal great-grandmother Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was also divorced and exiled.

Great Denmark Street in Dublin is believed to have been named in her honour in the year of her death.

July 22, Birth of Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen of Denmark and Norway. Part I.

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Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Dowager Princess of Wales, Elector of Hanover, Frederick-Louis, King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, King George II of Great Britain, King George III of Great Britain, Prince of Wales, Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Princess Louise Anne of Great Britain

Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (July 22, 1751 – May 10, 1775) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772 by marriage to King Christian VII.

Caroline Matilda was born in on July 22, 1751 as the ninth and youngest child of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, daughter of Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1679–1740).

Princess Louise Anne (seated) and Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain

Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and his second wife, Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach. Her father was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and the ruler of one of the smallest German states. Frederick Louis was the father of King George III.

Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales father died suddenly on March 31, 1751 about three months before Caroline Matilda’ birth; thus she was a posthumous child. She was born at Leicester House, London, a large aristocratic townhouse in Westminster, where her parents had lived, since the King had banished his son from court in 1737.

At birth, she was given the style and title Her Royal Highness Princess Caroline Matilda, as daughter of the Prince of Wales, though by the time of her birth that title had passed to her brother George (who became King George III in 1760).

Caroline Matilda grew up in the large group of siblings, and during the remaining years of the reign of her grandfather, King George II, her mother, Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, chose to live in seclusion with her children, devoting herself to their care, and bringing them up away from the English court.

Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain

As a consequence, Augusta was to be criticised for her manner of raising her children, as she isolated them from the outside world into a secluded family environment, seldom meeting people outside the family.

Marriage

In 1764, four years into the reign of her brother as King George III of Great Britain and Ireland, Elector of Hanover; a marriage was suggested between the Danish House of Oldenburg and the British House of Hanover, specifically between Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark, and a British princess.

The Danish Crown Prince was the oldest surviving son of King Frederik V and his first wife Princess Louise of Great Britain sister to King George III and in consequence, the Danish Crown Prince and Caroline Matilda were first cousins.

The marriage was considered suitable because the British and Danish royal families were both Protestant and of the same rank, and thus had the same status as well as religion. Additionally, the deceased Queen Louise had been very popular in Denmark.

Princess Louise Anne of Great Britain

Initially, the marriage negotiations were intended for, Princess Louise Anne, eldest unmarried daughter of the former Prince of Wales; but after the Danish representative in London, Count von Bothmer, was informed of her weak constitution, her younger sister Caroline Matilda was chosen for the match instead. The official betrothal was announced on 10 January 1765.

On January 14, 1766, in the middle of preparations for the wedding, King Frederik V died and his 17-year-old son became King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway.

Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway

On October 1 of that year in the royal chapel of St James’s Palace (or according to other sources, in Carlton House) the marriage was celebrated by proxy, the groom being represented by the bride’s brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany.

Two days later, Caroline Matilda departed from Harwich for Rotterdam, and three weeks later she crossed the River Elbe and arrived in Altona, in the then Danish Duchy of Holstein. There she left her British entourage and was welcomed by her appointed Danish courtiers.

Twelve days later, Caroline Matilda arrived in Roskilde, where she met her future husband for the first time. She held her official entry into the Danish capital on November 8 to great cheers from the population.

Already the same day a second wedding ceremony with the groom present took place in the Royal Chapel at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. Marriage celebrations and balls lasted for another month. On May 1, 1767, Christian VII and Caroline Matilda were crowned King and Queen of Denmark and Norway in the chapel of Christiansborg Palace.

The young Queen at the Danish court was described as particularly temperamental, vivid and charming. She was thought too plump to be described as a beauty, but she was considered attractive: it was said of her that “her appearance allowed her to avoid criticism of women, but still captivate the male eye.”

However, her natural and unaffected personality was not popular at the strict Danish court, despite the fact that originally she was warmly received in Copenhagen. The weak-willed, self-centred, and mentally ill Christian VII was cold to his wife and not in a hurry to consummate the marriage.

The reason for this attitude towards his wife could be that the King was actually forced to marry by the court, who believed that marriage would lead to improvement in his mental problems; in addition, part of the court felt that Christian VII preferred the company of men to women.

Despite rumours of homosexuality, the King had a mistress with whom he began a relationship in Holstein in the summer of 1766, and often visited courtesans in Copenhagen, of which the most famous was Anna Katrina Bentgagen, nicknamed Støvlet-Cathrine.

April 8, 1795: Marriage of George, Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

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Augusta of Great Britain, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, King George III of Great Britain, King George IV of the United Kingdom and Hanover, Maria Fitzherbert, Pain and Pleasures Bill 1829, Prince of Wales

George IV (August 12, 1762 – June 26, 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on January 29, 1820 until his own death ten years later. He had already been serving as Prince Regent since February 5, 1811, during his father’s final illness.

George IV was the eldest child of King George III and Queen Charlotte (Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz). He led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and commissioned Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle. George’s charm and culture earned him the title “the first gentleman of England.”

Prince of Wales as King George IV of the United Kingdom and Hanover

As Prince of Wales the prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert at the age of 21. She was a commoner (though granddaughter of a baronet), six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic.
The prince was determined to marry her. This was in spite of the Act of Settlement 1701, which barred the spouse of a Catholic from succeeding to the throne, and the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which prohibited his marriage without the King’s consent.

Nevertheless, the couple went through a marriage ceremony on December 15, 1785 at her house in Park Street, Mayfair. Legally the union was void, as the King’s consent was not granted (and never even requested). However, Fitzherbert believed that she was the prince’s canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it.

Maria Fitzherbert

The prince was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle. His father refused to assist him, forcing him to quit Carlton House and live at Fitzherbert’s residence. In 1787, the prince’s political allies proposed to relieve his debts with a parliamentary grant.

The prince’s relationship with Fitzherbert was suspected, and revelation of the illegal marriage would have scandalised the nation and doomed any parliamentary proposal to aid him.

Acting on the prince’s authority, the Whig leader Charles James Fox declared that the story was a calumny. Fitzherbert was not pleased with the public denial of the marriage in such vehement terms and contemplated severing her ties to the prince.

The Prince of Wales’s debts continued to climb, and his father refused to aid him unless he married his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (May 17, 1768 – August 7, 1821) was the daughter of Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, eldest sister of King George III.

Caroline was brought up in a difficult family situation. Her mother resented her father’s open adultery with Baroness Luise von Hertefeld, whom he had installed as his official mistress in 1777, and Caroline was later to confide to Lady Charlotte Campbell that she was often tired of being a “shuttlecock” between her parents, as whenever she was civil to one of them, she was scolded by the other.

In an arranged marriage Caroline was engaged to her cousin George in 1794, despite never having met one another.

Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

In 1795, the prince acquiesced; and they were married on April 8, 1795 at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. The marriage, however, was disastrous; each party was unsuited to the other. The two were formally separated after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, in 1796, and remained separated thereafter. The Prince remained attached to Maria Fitzherbert for the rest of his life, despite several periods of estrangement.

George’s mistresses included Mary Robinson, an actress whom he paid to leave the stage; Grace Elliott, the divorced wife of a physician; and Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, who dominated his life for some years. In later life, George’s mistresses were the Marchioness of Hertford and the Marchioness Conyngham.

George was rumoured to have fathered several illegitimate children. James Ord (born 1786)—who moved to the United States and became a Jesuit priest—was reportedly his son by Fitzherbert. Late in life, George told a friend that he had a son who was a naval officer in the West Indies, whose identity has been tentatively established as Captain Henry A. F. Hervey (1786–1824), reportedly George’s child by the songwriter Lady Anne Lindsay (later Barnard), a daughter of James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres.

Other reported children include Major George Seymour Crole, the son of theatre manager’s daughter Eliza Crole; William Hampshire, the son of publican’s daughter Sarah Brown; and Charles “Beau” Candy, the son of a Frenchwoman with that surname. Anthony Camp, Director of Research at the Society of Genealogists, has dismissed the claims that George IV was the father of Ord, Hervey, Hampshire and Candy, as fictitious.

In 1804, a dispute arose over the custody of Princess Charlotte, which led to her being placed in the care of King George III. It also led to a Parliamentary Commission of Enquiry into Princess Caroline’s conduct after the Prince of Wales accused her of having an illegitimate son. The investigation cleared Caroline of the charge but still revealed her behaviour to have been extraordinarily indiscreet.

Despite the investigation which concluded that there was “no foundation” to the rumours, but Caroline’s access to her daughter was nonetheless restricted.

In 1814, Caroline moved to Italy, where she employed Bartolomeo Pergami as a servant. Pergami soon became Caroline’s closest companion, and it was widely assumed that they were lovers. In 1817, Caroline was devastated when Charlotte died in childbirth. She heard the news from a passing courier as George had refused to write and tell her.

In January 1820, George became King George IV of the United Kingdom and Hanover. Hewas determined to divorce Caroline, and set up a second investigation to collect evidence of her adultery.

A legal divorce was possible but difficult to obtain. Caroline returned to Britain to assert her position as queen. She was wildly popular with the British people, who sympathised with her and despised the new king for his immoral behaviour.

On the basis of the loose evidence collected against her, George attempted to divorce Caroline by introducing the Pains and Penalties Bill 1820 to Parliament, but he and the bill were so unpopular, and Caroline so popular with the masses, that it was withdrawn by the Liverpool ministry.

She fell ill in London and died three weeks later. Her funeral procession passed through London on its way to her native Braunschweig, where she was buried.

The Life of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Dowager Princess of Wales. Conclusion

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Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Carlton House, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, King George III of Great Britain, Lord Bute, Louise von Plessen, Princess of Wales

Augusta had an acknowledged political influence upon her son when he first came to the thronein 1760. The King “strove to follow the counsels she gave”, and in which he trusted. Reportedly, she was in turn influenced by Lord Bute, who was appointed prime minister with her support in 1762. His appointment caused a serious crisis and exposed both Augusta and Bute to such public hostility that Bute had to resign from his post the following year.

Thackeray described the public sentiments and the circulating rumours: “Bute was hated with a rage there have been few examples in English history. He was the butt for everybody’s abuse; for Wilkes, for Churchill’s slashing satire, for the hooting of the mob who roasted his booth, his emblem, in a thousand bonfires; that hated him because he was a favourite and a Scotsman, calling him Mortimer, Lothario, and I known not what names, and accusing his royal mistress of all kinds of names – the grave, lean, demure, elderly woman, who, I dare say, was quite as good as her neighbours.

Chatham lent the aide of his great malice to influence the popular sentiment against her. He assailed, in the House of Lords, ‘The secret influence, more mighty than the throne itself, which betrayed and dogged every administration’. The most furious pamphlets echoed the cry ‘Impeach the King’s mother’, was scribbled over every wall at the Court end of the town”.

When the King had a first, temporary, bout of mental illness in 1765, Augusta and Lord Bute kept Queen Charlotte unaware of the situation. The Regency Bill of 1765 stated that if the King should become permanently unable to rule, Charlotte was to become Regent. Augusta was suggested as regent, but there was fierce opposition to her appointment, as there were concerns of the influence of Lord Bute in her potential regency, and fears that should she become regent, Bute would de facto rule as “King”.

Augusta reportedly resented the marriages of her younger sons, which took place without her consent.

In 1769, Christian VII of Denmark, the spouse of her daughter Caroline Matilda, visited Great Britain. During his visit, Augusta, upon the initiative of Caroline Matilda, asked him publicly during a dinner to reinstate Louise von Plessen, a favourite of Caroline Matilda whom Christian had fired, to her position.

King Christian answered that he had made a sacred vow never to do so, but that if Caroline Matilda preferred von Plessen’s company over his, so be it. In the end, Louise von Plessen was not reinstated, and Augusta apparently asked Caroline Matilda not to press the matter and to show more affection to Christian.

In 1770, rumors about Caroline Matilda, the Queen of Denmark, began to circulate. In particular these concerned the mental state of her spouse as well as the fall of prime minister Bernstorff, in which Caroline Matilda was rumoured to have participated.

When Augusta visited her eldest daughter in Brunswick that year, she also took the opportunity to see Caroline Matilda, who received her in breeches, which at that time was regarded as scandalous. Upon Augusta’s lamentations, her daughter answered: “Pray, madam, allow me to govern my own kingdom as I please!”

Augusta died of cancer of the throat at age 52 at Carlton House.

May 1, 1707: The Acts of Union goes into effect.

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Act of Union 1707, Act of Union 1800, King George I of Great Britain, King George II of Great Britain, King George III of Great Britain, King George III of the United Kingdom, king James I-VI of England and Scotland, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Kings of france, Queen Anne of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth I of England

The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on July 22, 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. By the two Acts, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland—which at the time were separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarch—were, in the words of the Treaty, “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”.

Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland

Prior to 1603, England and Scotland were separate kingdoms; as Elizabeth I never married, after 1567, her heir became the Stuart king of Scotland, James VI, who was brought up as a Protestant. James was the double first cousin twice removed, of Queen Elizabeth I. After her death in 1603 the two countries shared a monarch when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne.

Although described as a Union of Crowns in 1603 there were in fact two separate Crowns resting on the same head (as opposed to the implied creation of a single Crown and a single Kingdom, exemplified by the later Kingdom of Great Britain). The two Crowns were held in personal union by James, as James I of England, and James VI of Scotland. He announced his intention to unite the two, using the royal prerogative to take the title “King of Great Britain”, and give a British character to his court and person. However, the titles and the attempted uniting of the two crown were not sanctioned by Parliament.

James I-VI, King of England, Scotland and Ireland

Prior to the Acts of Union there had been three previous attempts (in 1606, 1667, and 1689) to unite the two countries by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early 18th century that both political establishments came to support the idea, albeit for different reasons.

The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707 during the reign of Queen Anne who then became the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. On this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament. Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments. On the Union, the historian Simon Schama said “What began as a hostile merger, would end in a full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world … it was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history.”

Anne, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (1702-1707). Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1707-1714).

Political Background prior to 1707

1603–1660

The 1603 Union of England and Scotland Act established a joint Commission to agree terms, but the English Parliament was concerned this would lead to the imposition of an absolutist structure similar to that of Scotland. James was forced to withdraw his proposals, and attempts to revive it in 1610 were met with hostility.

The Acts of Union should be seen within a wider European context of increasing state centralisation during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, including the monarchies of France, Sweden, Denmark and Spain. While there were exceptions, such as the Dutch Republic or the Republic of Venice, the trend was clear.

The dangers of the monarch using one Parliament against the other first became apparent in 1647 and 1651. It resurfaced during the 1679 to 1681 Exclusion Crisis, caused by English resistance to the Catholic James succeeding his brother Charles. James was sent to Edinburgh in 1681 as Lord High Commissioner; in August, the Scottish Parliament passed the Succession Act, confirming the divine right of kings, the rights of the natural heir ‘regardless of religion,’ the duty of all to swear allegiance to that king and the independence of the Scottish Crown. It then went beyond ensuring James’s succession to the Scottish throne by explicitly stating the aim was to make his exclusion from the English throne impossible without ‘…the fatall and dreadfull consequences of a civil war.’

English perspective

The English purpose was to ensure that Scotland would not choose a monarch different from the one on the English throne. The two countries had shared a king for much of the previous century, but the English were concerned that an independent Scotland with a different king, even if he were a Protestant, might make alliances against England. The English succession was provided for by the English Act of Settlement 1701, which ensured that the monarch of England would be a Protestant member of the House of Hanover. Until the Union of Parliaments, the Scottish throne might be inherited by a different successor after Queen Anne: the Scottish Act of Security 1704 granted parliament the right to choose a successor and explicitly required a choice different from the English monarch unless the English were to grant free trade and navigation.

Scottish perspective

The Scottish economy was severely impacted by privateers during the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years War, and the 1701 War of the Spanish Succession, with the Royal Navy focusing on protecting English ships. This compounded the economic pressure caused by the Darien scheme, and the Seven ill years of the 1690s, when between 5–15% of the population died of starvation. The Scottish Parliament was promised financial assistance, protection for its maritime trade, and an end of economic restrictions on trade with England.

George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland

George II, King of Great Britain and Ireland

It’s interesting to note that only four monarchs reigned with title of “King/Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. With the passing of the Act of Union on May 1, 1707 Queen Anne’s title changed from Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland to Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Kings George I and King George II reigned as King of Great Britain and Ireland.

King George III reigned as the King of Great Britain until The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes referred to as a single Act of Union 1801) where parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The acts came into force on 1 January 1801, and the merged Parliament of the United Kingdom had its first meeting on January 22, 1801. George III’s title then changed to King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1801). King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. (1801-1820).

From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the Kings and Queens of England (and, later, of Great Britain) also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from King Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the sororal nephew of the last direct Capetian, Charles IV.

Edward III and his heirs fought the Hundred Years’ War to enforce this claim, and were briefly successful in the 1420s under Henry V and Henry VI, but the House of Valois, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, was ultimately victorious and retained control of France. Despite this, English and British monarchs continued to prominently call themselves Kings/Queens of France, and the French fleur-de-lis was included in the royal arms. This continued until the 1801 Act of Union when the claim to the title was officially dropped. By this time France no longer had any monarch, having become a republic. The Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester: The OTHER William & Mary.

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Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg- Strelitz, Duchess of Gloucester, George III, King George III of Great Britain, King George IV of the United Kingdom, Prince William Frederick of Great Britain, Princess Mary of Great Britain, Queen Victoria, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Robert Walpole, The Prince Regent

Princess Mary was born on April 25, 1776, at Buckingham Palace, London. Her father was the reigning British monarch, George III. Her mother was Queen Charlotte, the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg (1708–1752) and of his wife Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1713–1761).

The King was a devoted father, finding time to regularly visit the royal nursery. Engaging in active play with his young children, he behaved quite informally in contrast to the dignified Queen Charlotte, who had more difficulty abandoning the formal behaviour expected of their class. Despite her outer reserve, however, Charlotte took a role as conscientious as her husband in their children’s upbringing. For the royal princesses, the Queen carefully oversaw their welfare, education, and development of moral values. Faced with less time due to her public duties and close marriage to the King, she appointed Lady Charlotte Finch to manage the royal nursery and administer her ideas.

According to Flora Fraser, Mary was considered to be the most beautiful daughter of George III; Fraser calls her a “bland beauty”. Mary danced a minuet for the first time in public at the age of sixteen in June 1791, during a court ball given for the king’s birthday. In the spring of 1792 she officially debuted at court. Around 1796 Mary fell in love with the Dutch Prince Frederik, while he and his family lived in exile in London. Frederik was a son of Willem V, Prince of Orange, the Dutch stadholder, and younger brother to the future King Willem I of the Netherlands. However Frederik and Mary never wed because George III stipulated that her elder sisters should marry first. In 1799 Prince Frederik died of an infection while serving in the army, and Mary was allowed to go into official mourning.

Prince William Frederick was born on January 15, 1776 at Palazzo Teodoli in via del Corso, Rome. His father was Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the third son of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (eldest son of King George II and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach), and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg the daughter Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1679–1740).

Prince William Frederick’s mother, Maria Walpole was the illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement. Maria was a granddaughter of Robert Walpole, considered to be the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1721–41). As a great-grandson of George II he held the title of Prince of Great Britain with the style His Highness, not His Royal Highness, at birth. Today, a great grandchild in the male line descendant of a British sovereign will not have any princely title or style as this was limited by the Letters Patent issued in 1917.

On August 25, 1805, Prince William Frederick’s father died, and he inherited the titles Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and Earl of Connaught. From 1811 until his death he was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Prince William Frederick was offered the position of King of Sweden in 1812 by some members of the Swedish nobility, but the British government would not allow it.

Because of the unequal character of his parents’ marriage, he was excluded from membership in the German House of Hanover, being considered only a British prince. For instance, he and his sister were not listed in the genealogical listing of the electoral house of Hanover in the Königlicher Groß-Britannischer und Kurfürstlicher Braunschweig-Lüneburgscher Staats-Kalender. He was also not invited to sign the family compact of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1831, which means that he was not considered an agnate of the royal (electoral) house in Germany. The Hanoverian Dynasty was a collateral branch of the House of Brunswick, which in turn was a branch of the House of Guelph.

During Prince William Frederick’s stay in Stockholm in 1802–1803, his interest and rumoured affair with Aurora Wilhelmina Koskull attracted a lot of attention, and he reportedly had plans to marry her. Queen Charlotte recalled that William Frederick said of Koskull: “If she was your daughter, I would marry her!” He was admitted to the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) in 1787, and granted his MA in 1790.

Princess Mary’s upbringing was very sheltered and she spent most of her time with her parents and sisters. King George III and Queen Charlotte were keen to shelter their children, particularly the girls. Prince William Frederick had been encouraged to stay single, so that there might be a suitable groom for Princess Charlotte of Wales, the heiress to the throne, even if no foreign match proved suitable; she had married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg ten weeks earlier.

Princess Mary and Prince William Frederick were married on July 22, 1816. The marriage took place at St. James’s Palace, London. On their wedding day, Mary’s brother, The Prince Regent, (future King George IV) raised the bridegroom’s style from Highness to Royal Highness, an attribute to which Mary’s rank as daughter of the King already entitled her. As mentioned previously, Prince William Frederick, as a great-grandson of George II, he held the title of Prince of Great Britain with the style His Highness, not His Royal Highness. Legally, Princess Mary would have adopted her husbands style of Highness, despite it being a lower style than a Royal Highness. Since Princess Mary was a Royal Highness from birth, The Prince Regent merely elevated her husband to the higher style.

The new Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived at Bagshot Park in Surrey. They had no children together; they had married when both were 40.

He was active in many walks of life, and on April 27, 1822 chaired the first Annual General Meeting of London’s new United University Club. Politics, however, was not among them; he entered the House of Lords rarely, and he voted on few of the great issues of his time. He did advocate the abolition of slavery, and he supported Caroline of Brunswick the wife of George IV and the Duke of Sussex against George IV when the king tried unsuccessfully tried to divorce her after succeeding to the throne.

As Duke of Gloucester, he kept more state than the King; he never permitted a gentleman to be seated in his presence (which King George did as an exceptional favour) and expected to be served coffee by the ladies of any party he attended, and that they would stand while he drank it. The general estimate of his capacity is given by his nickname, “Silly Billy”; he was also called “Slice of Gloucester” and “Cheese”, a reference to Gloucester cheese. The Duke died on November 30, 1834 at Bagshot Park, and was buried in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Mary was the last surviving child of George III, and was said to be the favourite aunt of her niece, Queen Victoria. Princess Mary was quite close to her eldest brother, and she shared his dislike toward his wife, their cousin Caroline of Brunswick. When the latter left for Italy, Princess Mary congratulated her brother “on the prospect of a good riddance. Heaven grant that she may not return again and that we may never see more of her.” Princess Mary died on April 30, 1857 at Gloucester House, Weymouth, aged 81. At the time of her death, she was the last surviving child as well as the longest-lived child of King George III and Queen Charlotte.

November 16, 1797: accession of Friedrich Wilhelm III on the Prussian Throne.

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Friedrich Wilhelm III was born in Potsdam on August 3, 1770 as the son of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Caroline of Zweibrücken. Friedrich Wilhelm was considered to be a shy and reserved boy, which became noticeable in his particularly reticent conversations distinguished by the lack of personal pronouns. This manner of speech subsequently came to be considered entirely appropriate for military officers. He was neglected by his father during his childhood and suffered from an inferiority complex his entire life.

King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia

As a soldier, he received the usual training of a Prussian prince, obtained his lieutenancy in 1784, became a lieutenant colonel in 1786, a colonel in 1790, and took part in the campaigns against France of 1792–1794. On December 24, 1793, Friedrich Wilhelm married Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was the fourth daughter and sixth child of Duke Karl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her father Karl was a brother of Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. Her mother Frederike was a granddaughter of Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Louise bore Friedrich Wilhelm III ten children (including future Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV and German Emperor Wilhelm I, and Charlotte the wife of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia).

In the Kronprinzenpalais (Crown Prince’s Palace) in Berlin, Friedrich Wilhelm lived a civil life with a problem-free marriage, which did not change even when he became King of Prussia in 1797. His wife Louise was particularly loved by the Prussian people, which boosted the popularity of the whole House of Hohenzollern, including the King himself.

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded to the throne on November 16, 1797. He also became, in personal union, the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel (1797–1806 and again 1813–1840). At once, the new King showed that he was earnest of his good intentions by cutting down the expenses of the royal establishment, dismissing his father’s ministers, and reforming the most oppressive abuses of the late reign.

He had the Hohenzollern determination to retain personal power but not the Hohenzollern genius for using it. Too distrustful to delegate responsibility to his ministers, Friedrich Wilhelm III greatly reduced the effectiveness of his reign since he was forced to assume the roles he did not delegate. This is a main factor of his inconsistent rule.

Disgusted with the moral debauchery of his father’s court (in both political intrigues and sexual affairs), Friedrich Wilhelm III’s first, and most successful early endeavor, was to restore the moral legitimacy to his dynasty. The eagerness to restore dignity to his family went so far that it nearly caused sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow to cancel the expensive and lavish Prinzessinnengruppe project, which was commissioned by the previous monarch Friedrich Wilhelm II. He was quoted as saying the following, which demonstrated his sense of duty and peculiar manner of speech:

Every civil servant has a dual obligation: to the sovereign and to the country. It can occur that the two are not compatible; then, the duty to the country is higher.

History of Styles and Titles Part IV: Emperor of Britain.

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British Empire, Emperor of India, Empress of India, King George III of Great Britain, King George VI of the United Kingdom, King Henry VIII of England, Queen Mary I of England, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, William the Conqueror

British Emperor

Although in the past the style of British Emperor has been (retroactively) applied to a few mythical and historical rulers of Great Britain, Ireland or the United Kingdom, it is sometimes used as a colloquialism to designate either Plantagenet and Tudor caesaropapism or, more frequently, the British sovereign of the Empire of India.

Mythical British kings

The mythical British ruler King Arthur is referred to in medieval Welsh texts as ameraudur (meaning “emperor”). The Welsh poem Geraint, son of Erbin, written in the 10th or 11th century, describes a battle at a port-settlement and mentions Arthur in passing. The work is a praise-poem and elegy for the 6th-century king Geraint, provides the earliest known reference to Arthur as “emperor”.

Britannic Empire

The Britannic Empire was a short-lived breakaway state of the Roman empire in the late Roman Period. It was formed as a result of the revolt by the naval commander Carausius. It ended when Carausius’s usurper, Allectus, was defeated by the Emperor Constantius I in 296.

Imperial ambitions (930–1066)

Several Kings of England displayed imperial ambition in the period from 930 to 1066, using a variety of what would be considered imperial titles. The most common title was basileus, but imperator, princeps, augustus, and caesar were all used sporadically.
* Athelstan (c. 895–939), a collector of imperial relics, had himself proclaimed “imperator” in 930, six years after the death of the last Carolingian emperor. Variants that he used throughout his reign include such formulations as “king of the Anglo-Saxons and emperor of the Northumbrians” (Rex Angulsexna and Norþhymbra imperator). He was also one of many to use the Anglo-Saxon title of Bretwalda (“wielder of the strength of Britain,” sometimes rendered Brutenwealde).
* Edgar the Peaceful (c. 943–975) legendarily took homage from eight lesser kings during an excursion on the River Dee. During his lifetime, he issued royal charters proclaiming himself as Anglorum Basileus and totius Albionis Basileus, among other variants.
* Ethelred the Unready (c. 966–1016) was noted for being especially fond of high titles during his reign.
* Canute the Great (994/995–1035) ruled England, Norway, and Denmark through personal union and lacked formal imperial title during his lifetime, though he followed Anglo-Saxon tradition. The lands which he ruled are commonly referred to as the North Sea Empire.
* Edward the Confessor (c. 1003–1066) continued the occasional use of imperial titles after the restoration of the House of Wessex, but the kings of England largely ceased referring to themselves as emperors following the Norman conquest.

Norman Era: Empress Maud (Matilda)
In this case the epithet “Empress” was rather used to distinguish this person from other princesses called Matilda or Maud. Matilda was not Empress of Britain; she took her title from her previous marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V.

The “Imperium Maius” issue

Although several English monarchs flirted with the idea of “imperial” power, this never led to an official change of the title of “King/Queen” to that of “Emperor/Empress”.

Imperium maius

In Christian Europe the use of the title emperor was more than an affectation. A king recognises that the church is an equal or superior in the religious sphere; emperors do not. This was illustrated by Henry VIII of England who started to use the word imperium in his dispute with Pope Clement VII over the annulment of his first marriage. The distinction began to blur when kings began to claim divine rights.

English kings and the imperium maius

William II, Duke of Normandy (who became William I “the Conqueror”) thought it important enough to request and get a papal blessing for his conquest of England. Richard I refused to show deference to Heinrich VI, Holy Roman Emperor when held prisoner by him, declaring “I am born of a rank which recognizes no superior but God.

William I, King of England and Duke of Normandy

After Henry I agreed to the Concordat of London in 1107, the English kings recognised the supremacy of the Pope in matters spiritual. For example, when Thomas Becket was murdered, Henry II was forced to recognise that, although he ruled temporal matters, spiritual matters came under the authority of the Church in Rome.

This changed with the dispute between Henry VIII and Pope Clement VII over Henry’s wish to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. The Act in Restraint of Appeals (1533) explicitly stated that:

Where by divers sundry old authentic histories and chronicles it is manifestly declared and expressed that this realm of England is an empire, and so hath been accepted in the world, governed by one supreme head and king, having the dignity and royal estate of the imperial crown of the same.

The next year the First Act of Supremacy (1534) explicitly tied the head of church to the imperial crown:

The only supreme head in earth of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia, and shall have and enjoy annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm.

The Crown of Ireland Act, passed by the Irish Parliament in 1541 (effective 1542), changed the traditional title used by the Monarchs of England for the reign over Ireland, from Lord of Ireland to King of Ireland and naming Henry head of the Church of Ireland, for similar reasons.

During the reign of Mary I, the First Act of Supremacy was annulled, but during the reign of Elizabeth I the Second Act of Supremacy, with similar wording to the First Act, was passed in 1559. During the English Interregnum the laws were annulled, but the acts which caused the laws to be in abeyance were themselves deemed to be null and void by the Parliaments of the English Restoration, so by act of Parliament the Crown of England (and later the British and UK crowns) are imperial crowns.

George III as Emperor

In 1801 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created after the merging of the British and Irish parliaments. It was suggested that George III be declared Emperor of the British Isles. The King declined and became king of “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.”

Parliament used the terms “empire” and “imperial”. Blackstone commented in 1765 “The meaning … of the legislature, when it uses these terms of empire and imperial, and applies them to the realm and crown of England, is only to assert that our king is equally sovereign and independent within these his dominions, as any emperor is in his empire.”

British monarchs with the title Emperor/Empress of India (1876–1948)

The British government led by the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, conferred the additional title Empress of India on Queen Victoria by an Act of Parliament, reputedly to assuage the monarch’s irritation at being, as a mere Queen, notionally inferior to her daughter, the future German Empress; the Indian Imperial designation was also formally justified as the expression of Britain succeeding the former Mughal as paramount ruler of the subcontinent, using indirect rule through hundreds of princely states formally under protection, not colonies, but accepting the British Sovereign as their “feudal” suzerain.

Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and 1st Empress of India

George VI, King of the United Kingdom and last Emperor of India

The title of Emperor of India was not immediately relinquished by George VI when India and Pakistan gained independence on 15 August 1947, as he continued to be king of each of the two new dominions, but he abandoned the title with effect from June 22, 1948.

On This Date in History: July 1, 1969. Formal Investiture of HRH The Prince of Wales

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On This Date in History: July 1, 1969. Formal Investiture of HRH The Prince of Wales.

The death of George VI, grandfather of the Prince of Wales, and the accession of his mother as Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 1952 made Charles her heir apparent. As the monarch’s eldest son, he automatically took the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. These titles are hereditary and are traditionally inherited by the eldest son of the monarch.

The Titles Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester are not hereditary and therefore have to be recreated anew for each heir to the throne. The Queen created Charles Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on July 26, 1958, though it was decided the formal investiture would not be held until 1 July 1969, when he was older.

Charles was crowned by his mother in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle. He took his seat in the House of Lords in 1970, and he made his maiden speech at a debate in June 1974, becoming the first royal to speak in the Lords since his great-great-grandfather, later Edward VII, whom also spoke as Prince of Wales, in 1884.

Charles is the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having surpassed the record held by Edward VII on September 9, 2017. He is the oldest and longest-serving British heir apparent, the longest-serving Duke of Cornwall, and the longest-serving Duke of Rothesay. If he becomes monarch, he will be the oldest person to do so; the current record holder being William IV, who was 64 when he became king in 1830.

Ever since Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland set the standard that the Prince of Wales should wear a coronet, even designing how it should look, Prince’s of Wales have traditionally worn a coronet ever since.

A relatively modest coronet was made in 1728 for Frederick-Louis, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of George II. As mentioned, this coronet takes the form laid down in a royal warrant issued by Charles II which states that the heir apparent of the Crown shall use and bear a coronet of crosses and fleurs-de-lis with one arch surmounted by a ball and cross. The single arch denotes inferiority to the monarch and shows that the prince outranks other royal children, whose coronets have no arches.Frederick-Louis never wore his gold coronet; instead, it was placed on a cushion in front of him when he took his seat in the House of Lords. It was used by his son, George III, then his son, George IV, and last used by Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales.

Coronet of Frederick-Louis, Prince of Wales

Due to its age, a new silver-gilt coronet was made for his son, the future George V, to wear at Edward’s coronation in 1902. In contrast to the earlier coronet, which has a depressed arch, the arch on this one is raised. At George’s own coronation in 1911, the coronet was worn by his son, Edward, the next Prince of Wales. After he became king in 1936, Edward VIII abdicated later the same year and, as the Duke of Windsor, went into exile in France, taking the 1902 coronet with him; it remained abroad until his death in 1972. In its absence, another coronet had to be made for the investiture of Prince Charles in 1969. Unlike the defunct coronets, this one is not a part of the Crown Jewels but the Honours of the Principality of Wales.

Design

This new coronet follows the form laid down by King Charles II in 1677 by having just one arch rather than the traditional two arches or four half-arches of British monarchs’ crowns to show that the Prince of Wales is inferior to the monarch but outranks the other royal princes and dukes. Though based on this traditional design, the coronet has a futurist look that was popular in the 1960s, and it was created by the eccentric designer Louis Osman.

In the centre of the arch is a monde (a gold-plated ping-pong ball) engraved with the Prince of Wales’s insignia by Malcolm Appleby, surmounted by a plain cross. Orbiting the monde are 13 square diamonds set in platinum arranged as the constellation of Scorpio – the Prince of Wales’s star sign. Within the 24-carat textured gold base is a purple velvet cap lined with ermine. Around the base are four crosses and four abstract fleurs-de-lis in 22-carat gold (Mined in the Mawddach Valley in Merionethshire, it was the last Welsh gold held in stock by Johnson Matthey.) sparsely decorated with diamonds and emeralds. The diamonds on the base are intended to represent the seven deadly sins and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.[7]In total, the coronet has 75 diamonds and 12 emeralds – green being the national colour of Wales – and weighs 1.36 kilograms (3 lb). It measures 26.5 centimetres (10.4 in) tall and 28.8 centimetres (11.3 in) in diameter at the widest point.

Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales.

When Osman unveiled the coronet in London, he described it as “something that is modern.” Personally, I think this coronet is hideous!

Usage

The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths presented the coronet to Queen Elizabeth II for the investiture at Caernarfon Castle on 1 July 1969. The Prince of Wales has not worn his coronet since his investiture; the coronet was carried before him when he took his seat in the House of Lords in 1970. The coronet was loaned to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974. It was placed into storage at St James’s Palace, London in 2011.

200th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

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On Friday, May 24, is the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria. To honor this occasion I’ll feature some biographical info on her father Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Tomorrow (Thursday) I will feature Queen Victoria’s mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Friday I’ll feature Queen Victoria’s Birth itself.

His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin.

Prince Edward was born on November 2, 1767. He was the son of the the reigning British monarch, King George III of Great Britain and Imperial Elector of Hanover and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. As a son of the British monarch, he was styled His Royal Highness The Prince Edward from birth, and was fourth in the line of succession to the throne. He was named after his paternal uncle, Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, who had died several weeks earlier and was buried at Westminster Abbey the day before his birth.

The Prince began his military training in Germany in 1785. King George III intended to send him to the University of Göttingen, but decided against it upon the advice of the Duke of York. Instead, Edward went to Lüneburg and later Hanover, accompanied by his tutor, Baron Wangenheim. On May 30, 1786, he was appointed a brevet colonel in the British Army. From 1788 to 1789, he completed his education in Geneva. On August 5, 1789, aged 22, he became a mason in the L’Union, the most important Genevan masonic lodge in the 19th century.

Quebec

Due to the extreme Mediterranean heat, Edward requested to be transferred to present-day Canada, specifically Quebec, in 1791. arrived in Canada in time to witness the proclamation of the Constitutional Act of 179, Edward became the first member of the Royal Family to tour Upper Canada and became a fixture of British North American society. Edward and his mistress, Julie St. Laurent, became close friends with the French Canadian family of Ignace-Michel-Louis-Antoine d’Irumberry de Salaberry; the Prince mentored all of the family’s sons throughout their military careers. Edward guided Charles de Salaberry throughout his career, and made sure that the famous commander was duly honoured after his leadership during the Battle of Chateauguay.

Madame de Saint-Laurent

Madame de Saint-Laurent was born September 30, 1760 in Besançon, France to Jean-Claude Mongenêt, a civil engineer, and Jeanne-Claude (Claudine) Pussot and later moved to Quebec.

On the formation of Lower Canada, in August, 1791, Prince Edward, arrived in Quebec City and shortly afterwards leased Judge Mabane’s house for £90 per annum. He lived at Prince Edward’s House in Quebec City for three years with Madame de Saint Laurent, before he was posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1794.

History

While in Geneva, the Duke had been introduced to Madame de Saint-Laurent and her husband Baron de Fortissons and soon after Julie and Edward became lovers. The Duke’s father, King George III, enrolled Edward in the army In 1789, he was appointed colonel of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers). In 1790, he returned home without leave and, in disgrace, was sent off to Gibraltar as an ordinary officer, where Edward made arrangements for Madame de Saint-Laurent to be smuggled in from Marseilles so they could be together.

When George III later found out about the affair he sent the Duke to Quebec City as colonel of the 7th Fusiliers. Humiliated, at first he refused to go, but in August 1791 he arrived accompanied by his chatelaine, introduced as Julie de Saint-Laurent and reputed to be a widow. It has been claimed by several writers that she was morganatically married to the Duke of Kent at a Roman Catholic church in Quebec.

For twenty-eight years Madame de Saint-Laurent presided over the Duke’s household, as a local chronicler records, “with dignity and propriety.” She is described as having been beautiful, clever, witty and accomplished. Many of her letters will be found in Anderson’s ” Life of the Duke of Kent ” (Quebec: 1870).

On June 27, 1792, Edward is credited with the first use of the term “Canadian” to mean both French and English settlers in Upper and Lower Canada. The Prince used the term in an effort to quell a riot between the two groups at a polling station in Charlesbourg, Lower Canada. Recently he has been styled the “Father of the Canadian Crown” for his impact on the development of Canada.

After 1794, Prince Edward lived at the headquarters of the Royal Navy’s North American Station located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was instrumental in shaping that settlement’s military defences, protecting its important Royal Navy base, as well as influencing the city’s and colony’s socio-political and economic institutions. Edward was responsible for the construction of Halifax’s iconic Garrison Clock, as well as numerous other civic projects such as St. George’s Round Church. Lieutenant Governor Sir John Wentworth and Lady Francis Wentworth provided their country residence for the use of Prince Edward and Julie St. Laurent. Extensively renovated, the estate became known as “Prince’s Lodge” as the couple hosted numerous dignitaries, including Louis-Phillippe of Orléans (the future King of the French). All that remains of the residence is a small rotunda built by Edward for his regimental band to play music.

HRH The Duke of Kent and Strathearn

After suffering a fall from his horse in late 1798, he was allowed to return to England. On April 24, 1799, Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin, received the thanks of parliament and an income of £12,000. In May that same year the Duke was promoted to the rank of general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America. He took leave of his parents 22 July 1799 and sailed to Halifax. Just over twelve months later he left Halifax and arrived in England on August 31, 1800 where it was confidently expected his next appointment would be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

In Geneva Switzerland Prince Edward had two more mistresses, Adelaide Dubus and Anne Moré. Adelaide Dubus died at the birth of their daughter, also named Adelaide Dubus (1789 – in or after 1832). Anne Moré was the mother of their son Edward Schenker Scheener (1789–1853). Scheener married but had no children and returned to Geneva, perhaps significantly in 1837, where he later died.

Mollie Gillen, who was granted access to the Royal Archive at Windsor Castle, established that no children were born of the 27-year relationship between Edward Augustus and Madame de Saint-Laurent; although many Canadian families and individuals (including the Nova Scotian soldier Sir William Fenwick Williams, 1st Baronet, have claimed descent from them. Such claims can now be discounted in light of this research.

After the Duke’s marriage in 1818 to the widow of the Prince of Leiningen, Madame de Saint-Laurent retreated to Paris where she lived out her days amongst her family and friends.