Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)
| Charlotte Augusta | |
|---|---|
| Duchess in Saxony Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld | |
 Portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence | |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld |
| House | House of Wettin House of Hanover |
| Father | George IV |
| Mother | Caroline of Brunswick |
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (7 January 1796 – 6 November 1817) was the only child of the ill-fated marriage between George IV (at the time Prince of Wales) and Caroline of Brunswick. Had she lived, she would have been Queen regnant of the United Kingdom.
Early life
She was born at Carlton House in London, her birth having been somewhat unlikely as George IV later claimed that he and his wife had sex no more than three times in the whole of their marriage.[1] By the time she was a few months old, Charlotte's parents were effectively separated, and her mother's time with her was severely restricted by her father.
She grew into a headstrong and difficult teenager and fell out with her mother when Caroline decided to go into continental exile. Following an ill-fated attempt to wed her to Prince William of Orange (later William II of the Netherlands) which she broke off after he made a drunken exhibition of himself at Ascot races, she spent much of her time restricted to Cranbourne Lodge at Windsor, Berkshire from July 1814 to January 1816 while Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld lobbied the Prince Regent and the British Parliament for the right to court her.[2]
Marriage
Charlotte married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on May 2 1816, at Carlton House. Parliament had granted Leopold an annuity of £50,000, for his own life, to continue even if his wife died. Contemporary accounts describe their marriage as happy and contented, and they lived at Claremont, a wedding gift from the nation. Charlotte confided that her husband was “the perfection of a lover.” [1]
Death
After two miscarriages in the early months of their marriage, she conceived a third time in February 1817. Although she was healthy at the beginning of the pregnancy, medical staff took extra precautions; medical practice at the time was bloodletting and a strict diet that reduced her food intake, which only served to weaken Charlotte.
On the evening of 3 November, her water broke and labour commenced. After a 50-hour labour at Claremont, she delivered a stillborn 9-pound son on 5 November 1817. The second stage of labour had lasted 24 hours.[1] Initially following delivery, Charlotte seemed to do well, but after several hours she became restless, had difficulty breathing, and her pulse grew fast and feeble. Five and a half hours after the delivery, she died, presumably from an undetected post-partum haemorrhage.[1]
Prince Leopold wrote to Sir Thomas Lawrence:
Two generations gone — gone in a moment! I have felt for myself, but I have also felt for the prince regent. My Charlotte is gone from the country — it has lost her. She was a good, she was an admirable woman. None could know my Charlotte as I did know her. It was my study, my duty, to know her character, but it was also my delight.
The obstetrician, Sir Richard Croft, who had correctly diagnosed a transverse lie of the baby during labour but failed to use a forceps, was distraught. Three months later, he shot himself during another woman's childbirth. Thus, Charlotte's single pregnancy is known in medical history as “the triple obstetrical tragedy”.[1]
The Princess was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor with her son at her feet. Her death was mourned nationally, on a scale similar to that which followed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. On the other hand, in An Address to the People on The Death of the Princess Charlotte (1817), Percy Bysshe Shelley argued that while her death was very sad, the execution the following day of three men incited to lead the Pentrich Rising was the greater tragedy.
Charlotte's death left the Prince of Wales without any direct heirs and meant that her paternal grandfather, George III, had no legitimate grandchildren from his twelve surviving children; most, if not all, of his daughters were either sterile or past childbearing. The death resulted in a mad dash towards matrimony by most of Charlotte's bachelor uncles; the marriage of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent eventually produced the heir, Queen Victoria. Charlotte's father, even after the death of his wife, made no attempt to remarry or father any more children. Given his poor health by the time his estranged wife died in 1821, he may not have been capable of becoming a father again.
Prince Leopold, who would later become the first King of the Belgians, remarried, to Louise-Marie (1812-1850) of Orléans, and had three sons and a daughter. The girl was named Charlotte in honour of his first wife and would later become empress-consort of Mexico under the name Carlotta.
Ancestors
Titles, styles, honours and arms
| British Royalty |
| House of Hanover |
|---|
.svg) |
| George III |
|
Titles and styles
- 7 January 1796 – 2 May 1816: Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
- 2 May 1816 – 6 November 1817: Her Royal Highness Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess in Saxony
Arms
For her marriage in 1816, the Prince Regent granted Charlotte personal arms — those of the kingdom, difference by a label argent of three points, the centre point bearing a rose gules.[3] The label of three points is usually reserved for the children of a monarch — Charlotte was the daughter of the Prince Regent.
Legacy
Regiment
In 1815 the Royal Berkshire Regiment (amalgamated in 1994, but to be de-amalgamated and merged along with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in the Prince of Wales Division announced in restructuring plans on December 16, 2004) was titled the Princess Charlotte's of Wales Regiment when, on their return to England from service in Canada, the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment were assigned to guard the royal family in residence. Princess Charlotte, on seeing these polished men in their new uniforms, with scarlet coats and white breeches, pleaded that the regiment should be made "hers", and later the title was officially granted.
Memorial
An obelisk to her memory stands in Red House Park in Great Barr, Sandwell, England.
The Chapel at Windsor Castle shows her crypt, with Princess Charlotte's hand emerging from beneath a shroud.
References
- ^ a b c d e Shingleton, Hugh M (2006). "The Tumultuous Marriage of The Prince and The Princess of Wales". ACOG Clinical Review. 11 (6): 13–16.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) Cite error: The named reference "Shingleton" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ GeorgianIndex.net Cranbourne Lodge.
- ^ Heraldica – British Royalty Cadency
Further Reading
- Holme, Thea (1976). Prinny's Daughter. Hamilton. ISBN 0241892988.
- Plowden, Alison (1989). Caroline and Charlotte. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0283994894a.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - Chambers, James (2008). Charlotte and Leopold. Old Street Publishing. ISBN 1905847238.
External links and references
- The Wardrobe, the Museum of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (Salisbury)
- The Percy Bysshe Shelley Resource Page
- Georgian Index
- E. Littell, "Claremont, and Princess Charlotte", p. 370, Living Age Vol. 66, Littell, Son, and Company, Boston, 1860,
- Frogmore Lodge press [1]