Queen Charlotte: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:51, 1 June 2019

19th May, 1744 – 17th November, 1818. Queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland/ United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1761 – 1818

Queen Charlotte was born on 19th May, 1744 as Sophia Charlotta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. in Mirow. Her father was Carl Ludwig Freidrich – a duke who was not reigning at that time. Thus, she grew up in rather modestly, being far away from court. Nevertheless, she was well educated, receiving not only lessons in history but also in botany and mineralogy. She was also very skilled in foreign languages, speaking French and Italian. Above that, following etiquette, she was also taught in dance and music. Her teachers often were famous musicians, which supported Charlotte’s love for music and art from an early age on.

Charlotte married King George III in September 1761 in London and thus was Queen of Great Britain and Queen of Ireland from this day on. As the two kingdoms united in 1801, she became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Moreover, Charlotte was also the Electress of Hanover until George III became King of Hanover which made her Queen consort of Hanover. She and her husband were parents to fifteen children. It is said that King George chose Charlotte as his wife – she was 16 at this time, he was twenty-three – because of personal but also because of political reasons. From a political point of view, Charlotte was a good choice because of her connection to the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Hanover. From a personal point of view, King George considered Charlotte to be a god wife because of her character traits: she was open to convert to the Anglican church, she was not poilitically active, and she was well educated – especially in music and arts which was an shared interest with King George.

Due to her good education Charlotte quickly learned English after her wedding and thus was able to participate in court life. She enjoyed organizing concerts and dinner parties but she was also engaged in social activities: many orphanages were founded on her behalf, she also became patron of a hospital and patron of art and music. As mentioned above, Charlotte was also very interested in botany. As an amateur botanist she not only helped to expand Kew Gardens but also tried to cure her husband’s physical and mental illness. Apart from that, she often played several music instruments in her free time.

During the King’s mental illness, which was constantly getting worse, the Queen’s personality changed as well: She got depressed and removed herself from the social life, not enjoying her hobbies and the presence of her family anymore. She finally died in 1818. Her grave can be found at St. George’s Chapel.

Sources:

Marx, Hans Joachim. "„A love of music to distraction...“: Musik im Leben der englischen Königin Charlotte (1744-1818)." Archiv für Musikwissenschaft (2014): 1-20.

Köhler, Marcus. "The German Legacy: Richmond in Braunschweig." Garden History 29.1 (2001): 29-35.

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 During the King’s mental illness, which was constantly getting worse, the Queen’s personality changed as well: She got depressed and removed herself from the social life, not enjoying her hobbies and the presence of her family anymore.
-She finally died in 1818. Here grave can be found at St. George’s Chapel.
+She finally died in 1818. Her grave can be found at St. George’s Chapel.
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