May 2nd, 1816: Marriage of Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Part I

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King George III of the United Kingdom, King George IV of the United Kingdom, Napoleonic Wars, Prince Leopard of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Prince Willem of Orange, Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Prince of Orange, The Prince Regent, Willem VI of Orange

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (January 7, 1796 – November 6, 1817) was the only child of George, Prince of Wales (later George IV), and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Had she outlived both her grandfather George III and her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died at the age of 21, predeceasing them both.

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, only allowing her limited contact with Caroline, who eventually left the country.

Her father George, Prince of Wales and later 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 cousin George FitzClarence, illegitimate son of Prince William, Duke of Clarence.

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 advisers decided on Willem, Hereditary Prince of Orange, son and heir-apparent of Prince Willem VI of Orange. Such a marriage would increase British influence in Northwest Europe. 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 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.

HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

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Abdication, Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, The Prince of Orange

Today’s featured monarch is HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. I am going to take a slightly different approach today. I will give some basic biographical infor on Her Majesty and then discuss some other issues related to her.

She was born January 31, 1938 and was named Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, (Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld) the daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. At the time of her birth her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, was sitting on the throne of the Netherlands. Her mother became Queen of the Netherlands in 1948 when Wilhelmina abdicated the throne making Beatrix heiress presumptive to the throne of the Netherlands. In turn her mother, Juliana abdicated on 30 April 1980, and Beatrix succeeded her as Queen of the Netherlands.

World War II was in full swing when it was time for the young Beatrix to attend school so she was sent to public primary and secondary schools in Canada and in the Netherlands. She received a received a law law degree from Leiden University in 1961 and in 1966, Beatrix married Claus van Amsberg whose family was a member of the untitled nobility. This caused some controversy in the Netherlands because Claus had been part of the Nazi youth organizations such as the Deutsches Jungvolk and the Hitler Youth. However, it must be pointed out that joining these groups was not obligatory. There were protests also because had only been 20 years since the war at that time. Claus did become an able consort. They had three sons. Prince Willem-Alexander the Prince of Orange(1967), Prince Friso (1968) and Prince Constantijn (1969). Prince Claus died in 2002. If her eldest son, The Prince of Orange, becomes King Willem IV of the Netherlands he will be the first male ruler of the Netherlands since the death of King Willem III in 1890. The Queen, as a Constitutional Monarch has little say in the running of the government. However, in 1994 the Minister of Foreign Affairs opened a new Dutch Embassy in the Kingdom of Jordan at Her Majesties request.

Abdication?

The Dutch have a tradition of abdicating the throne although it is not a requirement. Since the creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Only kings Willem II and Willem III died while still serving as the sovereign. Willem I, Wilhelmina and Juliana have abdicated. I wonder if and when Beatrix will abdicate? I speculate only due to the fact that her mother was 71 when she abdicated and her grandmother was 68 when she abdicated. Right now Her Majesty is 74. Do I think she should abdicate? No1 I actually am not a fan of abdication. No judgment toward those monarchies that do practice this tradition, I just like the idea of a monarch who is monarch for life. From what I understand Her Majesty enjoys being queen and I say that as long as she enjoys her work and as long as she remains healthy I would like to see her remain on the throne. Her son and heir, Prince Willem-Alexander, The Prince of Orange currently has three children below the age of ten and I think it would be better for them to have their father around more in these younger years. When they’re teens then he can be king! 🙂

She has had some difficult times this year with the accident of her son, Prince Friso, who was caught in an avalanche earlier this spring. He is in a coma and only God knows what the future may hold for him. As a parent I am sure that must be one of the hardest things to face.

I have great respect for her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and long may she reign!