Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born on 19th May 1744 at Schloss Mirow, Germany. She was the daughter of Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, by his wife Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Early Years and 'Becoming English'
Charlotte was not considered the ideal beauty in the eighteenth century imagination, but after the death of her father her mother strove to secure a significant suitor for her attracting the interest of the young George, who had already had numerous romantic liaisons.
In August 1761, Britain sent an armada of warships and yachts under the command of Admiral Anson to Germany to collect Charlotte. She was conveyed across the German Ocean to England in a yacht specially renamed in her honour as HMY Royal Charlotte.
The sea voyage lasted ten days due to tempestuous weather conditions, she set foot on English soil early in September and was transferred to London in a carriage, during the journey she was incommodiously changed into English clothing and arrived into the capital at 3pm on 8th September.
Marriage to King George III of Great Britain
A few hours after reaching London she was conveyed to St James’s Palace for the wedding, George’s brother the Duke of York escorted her down the aisle. After such a long journey she must have been disenchanted to endure not only the lengthy reception immediately afterwards, but also their wedding night.
She was not popular at the beginning and did not get along with George’s mother who considered no lady worthy of her son, regardless of the tensions Charlotte and George enjoyed a happy marriage and he was never unfaithful to her.
Royal Births
Charlotte bore fifteen children, it was customary to have witnesses at royal births but the numbers present at the birth of Marie Antoinette’s first child caused a severe lack of oxygen and she became seriously unwell. Charlotte dismissed this ritual allowing the Archbishop of Canterbury and those close to her to be in the next room with the door open. They were lucky to only suffer the deaths of two children in infancy, in later life she was so protective over her daughters that she kept them at home for so long they were almost too old to marry.
Botany and Trivial Facts
Among her many interests was botany, she was highly learned in the subject establishing a huge collection of exotic flowers at the royal retreat Dutch Palace in Surrey. This collection grew to become the modern day Kew Botanical Gardens.
Charlotte is credited with introducing the Christmas tree into Britain and the Pomeranian dog, a breed of toy dog from her native north-eastern Germany which she was particularly fond of and kept as pets. This set a fashion trend, and her granddaughter Queen Victoria also kept pomeranians, Charlotte also opened hospitals for women in labour.
The Madness of King George III
In 1788, George was diagnosed with porphyria, a metabolic disorder which was misunderstood in the day and caused the king’s periods of temporary madness. It was rumoured that Charlotte’s hair blanched overnight at the first sign of his madness.
Portraits of Charlotte began changing presenting her as aged, in contrast to youthful and motherly depictions of her from previous representations, suggesting that his illness depleted her energy placing her under considerable strain.
Preparing Apartments for Marie Antoinette
Both queens never met but maintained a life-long pen and paper friendship, they had a lot in common, both were from German speaking countries, ‘removed’ to marry a foreign king and both admired Mozart. Marie Antoinette knew him in Austria before her marriage and Mozart dedicated his Opus 3 to Charlotte who sang an aria with him, and both queens were great philanthropists and patrons of the arts.
With the advent of the Revolution, Charlotte prepared apartments in London for the French Royal Family, only to be left horrified at their execution and repulsed that such a cruelty could happen so close to Britain. This only accumulated to the strain that she was feeling because of George.
The Onset of George’s Illness
Gradually the king’s illness took over his life and Charlotte became his guardian, although she did not spend much time with him because of his incomprehensible and violent behaviour. Nevertheless, she was commended for her compassion and patience towards him, and their eldest son George became Prince Regent.
Queen Charlotte retired in her old age and was extremely well-loved, she died at Dutch Palace on 17th November 1818, comfortably in her armchair with her son George holding her hand. She was seventy-four and had been married for fifty-seven years to the then longest reigning monarch Charlotte was buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, and George was never told of her death, he passed away in 1820 and had lost all of his faculties and was insane.
See Also:
Sources:
- George III and Queen Charlotte by Christopher Lloyd, Royal Collections Enterprises Ltd, 2006
- George III: A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert, Basic Books, 2000
Karl Leon Ciccone - Karl was born in Sunderland, United Kingdom in 1981. His ancestry which is mostly English, is mixed Scottish, Irish, Italian, French, ...
Join the Conversation