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Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

 
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Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was the Queen of the United Kingdom as spouse of King George III
George III of the United Kingdom

George III was Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death....
.

Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts, known to Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach

Johann Christian Bach was a composer of the Classical music era era, the eleventh and youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is sometimes referred to as 'the London Bach' or 'the English Bach', due to his time spent living in the British capital....
 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always...
, among others. She was also an amateur botanist who helped establish Kew Gardens. George III and Queen Charlotte had 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.

lotte was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow and his wife, Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen was a member of the reigning family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz during the 18th century.She was born a daughter of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and his wife Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach ....
.

She was a granddaughter of Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Adolf Friedrich II was the first Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz [-Strelitz] reigning from 1701 to his death. His state was part of the Holy Roman Empire....
 by his third wife, Christiane Emilie Antonie, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with capital at Sondershausen....
.






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Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was the Queen of the United Kingdom as spouse of King George III
George III of the United Kingdom

George III was Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death....
.

Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts, known to Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach

Johann Christian Bach was a composer of the Classical music era era, the eleventh and youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is sometimes referred to as 'the London Bach' or 'the English Bach', due to his time spent living in the British capital....
 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always...
, among others. She was also an amateur botanist who helped establish Kew Gardens. George III and Queen Charlotte had 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.

Early life

Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow and his wife, Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen was a member of the reigning family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz during the 18th century.She was born a daughter of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and his wife Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach ....
.

She was a granddaughter of Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Adolf Friedrich II was the first Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz [-Strelitz] reigning from 1701 to his death. His state was part of the Holy Roman Empire....
 by his third wife, Christiane Emilie Antonie, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with capital at Sondershausen....
. Her father's elder half brother reigned from 1708 to 1753 as Adolf Friedrich III
Adolf Friedrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Adolf Friedrich III was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz [-Strelitz]....
.

For a woman marrying the sovereign of one of the most powerful countries of the time, her descent from kings was somewhat remote. All her ancestors up to the level of great-great-great-grandparents were solidly princes, dukes and counts (or the equivalent) with no kings. While her 58 closest ancestors (rather than 62; four of her great-great-great-grandparents are counted twice) included some reigning princes, one might observe that she was of ducal and princely blood, rather than royal blood. Only two of her great-great-great-great-grandfathers were kings: Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden

Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson and later known as Gustav Vasa , was Monarchy of Sweden from 1523 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Vasa, an influential Nobility which came to be the royal house of Sweden for much of the 16th and 17th centuries....
 and Frederick I of Denmark and Norway
Frederick I of Denmark

Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the son of the first Oldenburg King Christian I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and of Dorothea of Brandenburg ....
. Other royal monarchs are found in her earlier ancestry.

Marriage

. Lady Mary Coke
Lady Mary Coke

Lady Mary Coke was an English letter writer and noblewoman....
 called the likeness "so like that it could not be mistaken for any other person".]] Charlotte's brother Adolf Friedrich IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Adolf Friedrich IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Adolf Friedrich IV was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz [-Strelitz]....
 (reigned 1752–94) and her widowed mother actively negotiated for a prominent marriage for the young princess. At the age of 17, Charlotte was not thought conventionally pretty; she had a wide nose and mouth, and dark hair. Nevertheless, she was selected as the bride of the young King George, although she was not his first choice. He had already flirted with several young women considered unsuitable by his mother, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and by his political advisers. He also was rumored to have married a young Quaker
Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, was founded in England in the 17th century as a Christian denomination by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity....
 woman named Hannah Lightfoot
Hannah Lightfoot

Hannah Lightfoot the 'Fair Quaker' who is erroneously said to have been the first wife of George III of the United Kingdom....
, though all later claims to prove this marriage were deemed unfounded and the purported supporting documents found to be forgeries.

Princess Charlotte was collected at Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven

Cuxhaven is a large independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven , in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River....
 by a squadron of British yachts and warships under Admiral Anson (including the specially renamed HMY Royal Charlotte), but on its return the squadron was subjected to westerly gales and took ten days to reach Harwich, which it did in early September 1761. Charlotte then travelled to London, where the couple were married at the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal

A Chapel Royal is a department of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Monarchy in right of each of the Commonwealth realms, formally known as the royal Free Chapel of the Household....
 in St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace

St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated on Pall Mall, London in London, just north of St. James's Park....
, London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, on 8 September of that year. Looking back at her betrothal, Charlotte reflected, "The English people did not like me much, because I was not pretty." After a carriage accident in which she broke her nose, she joked "I think I was not so ugly after that!"

Her mother-in-law did not welcome her with open arms, and for some time there was a slight tension between the two. However, the king's mother had yet to accept any woman with whom he was alleged to have been involved, therefore it seems that the young king cared little for her approval by this time. Despite not having been her husband's first choice as a bride, and having been treated with a general lack of sympathy by her mother-in-law, the Dowager Princess of Wales, Charlotte's marriage was a happy one, and the king was apparently never unfaithful to her. In the course of their marriage, they had 15 children, all but two of whom (Octavius
Prince Octavius of Great Britain

The Prince Octavius was a member of the British Royal Family, the thirteenth child and eighth son of George III of Great Britain....
 and Alfred
Prince Alfred of Great Britain

The Prince Alfred was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourteenth child and ninth son of George III of Great Britain....
) survived into adulthood. As time went on, she wielded considerable power within the realm, although she evidently never misused it.

Interests and patronage

Margaret Botany
Queen Charlotte was keenly interested in the fine arts and supported Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach

Johann Christian Bach was a composer of the Classical music era era, the eleventh and youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is sometimes referred to as 'the London Bach' or 'the English Bach', due to his time spent living in the British capital....
, who was her music teacher. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always...
, then aged eight, dedicated his Opus 3 to her at her request after they met in London in 1764. Charlotte sang an aria accompanied by Mozart. When Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn was an Austrians composer. He was one of the most prominent composers of the classical music era, and is called by some the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet"....
 visited London in 1794, Charlotte invited him to stay at Windsor.

The queen also founded orphanages and a hospital for expectant mothers. The education of women was a great importance to her, and she saw to it that her daughters were better educated than was usual for young women of the day. However, she insisted that her daughters live restricted lives close to their mother, and refused to allow them to marry until they were well-advanced in years, with the result that none of her daughters had legitimate issue (one, Princess Sophia, may have had an illegitimate son).

The queen was a well-educated amateur botanist
Botany

Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the Scientific method of plant life and development....
 and helped establish what is today Kew Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive gardens and Greenhouses between Richmond, London and Kew in southwest London, England....
. Her interest in botany led to the magnificent South African flower, the Bird of Paradise, being named Strelitzia reginae
Strelitzia reginae

Strelitzia reginae is a monocotyledonous flowering plant indigenous to South Africa. Common names include Strelitzia, Crane Flower or Bird of Paradise, though these names are also collectively applied to other species in the genus Strelitzia....
 in her honour.

In 2004, the Queen's Gallery
Queen's Gallery

The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery located at Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarchy, in London. It exhibits works of art from the Royal Collection Department on a rotating basis; about 450 works are on display at any one time....
 at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal entertaining, and a major tourist attraction....
 staged an exhibition illustrating George and Charlotte's enthusiastic arts patronage, which was particularly enlightened in contrast to that of earlier Hanoverian monarchs; it compared favorably to the adventuresome tastes of the king's father, Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales

The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the Kingdom of Hanover and British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II of Great Britain and father of George III of Great Britain....
. Among the royal couple's favored craftsmen and artists were the cabinetmaker William Vile
William Vile

William Vile was one of the best England cabinetmakers of his time during the Georgian Age of the Designer and overshadowed by Thomas Chippendale who was clearly the most famous....
, silversmith Thomas Heming, the landscape designer Capability Brown
Capability Brown

Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an England landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener"....
, and the German painter Johann Zoffany
Johann Zoffany

Johann Zoffany, Zoffani or Zauffelij was a German Neoclassicism painter, active mainly in England. His works appear in many prominent British national galleries such as the National Gallery, London and the Tate Gallery....
, who frequently painted the king and queen and their children in charmingly informal scenes, such as a portrait of Queen Charlotte and her children as she sat at her dressing table.

Up until 1788, portraits of Charlotte often depict her in maternal poses with her children, and she looks young and contented. However, in that year her husband fell seriously ill and became temporarily insane. It is now thought that the King was suffering from a genetic metabolic disorder, porphyria
Porphyria

Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins ....
, but at the time the cause of the King's illness was unknown. Sir Thomas Lawrence's
Thomas Lawrence (painter)

Sir Thomas Lawrence Royal Academy , was a notable England Painting, mostly of portraits.He was born in Bristol. His father was an innkeeper, first at Bristol and afterwards at Devizes, and at the age of six Lawrence was already being shown off to the guests of the Bear as an infant prodigy who could sketch their likenesses and declaim sp...
 portrait of her at this time marks a transition point after which she looks much older in her portraits. Indeed, the Assistant Keeper of Charlotte's Wardrobe, Mrs. Papendiek, wrote that the Queen was "much changed, her hair quite grey".

Relations with Marie Antoinette

The French Revolution
French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudalism for the aristocracy and Roman Catholic Church clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Age of Enlightenment principles of cit...
 of 1789 probably added to the strain that Charlotte felt. Queen Charlotte and Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette

For the 2006 film about this person that stars Kirsten Dunst, see Marie-Antoinette .Marie Antoinette was born an Archduchess of Austria and later became Queen of France and of Navarre....
 of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 kept a close relationship. Queen Charlotte was 11 years older than the Queen of France yet they shared many interests, such as their love of music and the arts in which they both enthusiastically took an interest. Never meeting face to face they kept the friendship to pen and paper. Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette

For the 2006 film about this person that stars Kirsten Dunst, see Marie-Antoinette .Marie Antoinette was born an Archduchess of Austria and later became Queen of France and of Navarre....
 confided in the Queen of Great Britain upon the outbreak of the French Revolution. Queen Charlotte had even organized apartments to be prepared and ready for the refugee royal family of France to stay in. After the execution of Marie Antoinette and the bloody events that followed, Queen Charlotte was said to be shocked and overwhelmed that such a thing could happen to a kingdom, and right on Britain's doorstep. King George lowered taxes to avoid a British revolution.

Husband's illness

After the onset of his madness, George III was placed in the care of his wife, who could not bring herself to visit him very often, due to his erratic behaviour and occasional violent reactions. However, Charlotte remained supportive of her husband as his illness, now believed to be porphyria
Porphyria

Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins ....
, worsened in old age. While her son, the Prince Regent, wielded the royal power, she was her husband's legal guardian from 1811 until her death in 1818.

Later life

The queen died in the presence of her eldest son, the Prince Regent
George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the king of Kingdom of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III of the United Kingdom, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later....
, who was holding her hand as she sat in an armchair at the family's country retreat, Dutch House
Kew Palace

Three buildings at Kew, which is now a western suburb of London, have been known as Kew Palace. One of them survives and is open to visitors....
 in Surrey
Surrey

Surrey is a counties of England in the South East England of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire....
 (now known as Kew Palace
Kew Palace

Three buildings at Kew, which is now a western suburb of London, have been known as Kew Palace. One of them survives and is open to visitors....
). She was buried at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle

St George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter. The chapel is governed by the Dean and Canons of Windsor....
. Her husband died just over a year later. She is the longest-serving consort in British history, having served as such from her marriage (on 8 September 1761) to her death (17 November 1818), a total of 57 years and 70 days.

Her eldest son, the Prince Regent, claimed Charlotte's jewels at her death, but the rest of her property was sold at auction from May to August 1819. Her clothes, furniture, and even her snuff was sold by Christie's
Christie's

Christie's is a leading art business and a fine arts auction house....
. It is highly unlikely that her husband ever knew of her death, and he died, blind, deaf, lame and insane, fourteen months later.

Titles, style, honours and arms

Titles and styles
  • 19 May 1744 – 8 September 1761: Her Serene Highness Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
  • 8 September 1761 - 17 November 1818: Her Majesty The Queen


Issue

NameBirthDeathNotes
George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the king of Kingdom of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III of the United Kingdom, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later....
12 August 176226 June 1830married 1795, Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Caroline of Brunswick

Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenb?ttel was the wife of George IV of the United Kingdom from 1795, and his queen consort from 29 January 1820 until her death....
; had issue
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany

The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Kingdom of Hanover and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of George III of the United Kingdom....
16 August 17635 January 1827married 1791, Princess Frederica of Prussia; no issue
William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Kingdom of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death. William, the third son of George III of the United Kingdom and younger brother and successor to George IV of the United Kingdom, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the House of Hanover....
21 August 176520 June 1837married 1818, Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen

Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. The Australian city of Adelaide is named after her....
; no surviving issue
Charlotte, Princess Royal
Charlotte, Princess Royal

The Princess Charlotte, Princess Royal was a member of the British Royal Family, the eldest daughter of George III of the United Kingdom. She was later the Queen consort of Frederick of W?rttemberg....
29 September 17666 October 1828married 1797, King Frederick of Württemberg; no surviving issue
The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn2 November 176723 January 1820married 1818, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom....
; had issue (Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was from 20 June 1837 the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India of the British Raj until her death....
)
The Princess Augusta Sophia8 November 176822 September 1840 
The Princess Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom

The Princess Elizabeth was a member of the British Royal Family, the 7th child and 3rd daughter of George III of the United Kingdom....
22 May 177010 January 1840married 1818, Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; no issue
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover5 June 177118 November 1851married 1815, Princess Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , Duchess of Cumberland and later Queen of Hanover, was the consort of Ernest Augustus I of Hanover, the fifth son and eighth child of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz....
; had issue
The Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex27 January 177321 April 1843(1) married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772
Royal Marriages Act 1772

The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain which made it illegal for any member of the British royal family under the age of 25 to marry without the consent of the reigning monarch....
, The Lady Augusta Murray; had issue; marriage annulled 1794
(2) married 1831, The Lady Cecilia Buggin
Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness

Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness was the second wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, sixth son of George III of the United Kingdom....
 (later 1st Duchess of Inverness); no issue
The Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge , was the tenth child and seventh son of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz....
24 February 17748 July 1850married 1818, Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel; had issue
The Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh

The Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh was a member of the British Royal Family, the eleventh child and fourth daughter of George III of the United Kingdom....
25 April 177630 April 1857married 1816, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh was a member of the British Royal Family, a great-grandson of George II of Great Britain and nephew of George III of the United Kingdom....
; no issue
The Princess Sophia
Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom

The Princess Sophia was a member of the British Royal Family, the twelfth child and fifth daughter of George III of the United Kingdom....
3 November 177727 May 1848 
The Prince Octavius
Prince Octavius of Great Britain

The Prince Octavius was a member of the British Royal Family, the thirteenth child and eighth son of George III of Great Britain....
23 February 17793 May 1783 
The Prince Alfred
Prince Alfred of Great Britain

The Prince Alfred was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourteenth child and ninth son of George III of Great Britain....
22 September 178020 August 1782 
The Princess Amelia
Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

For other persons known as Princess Amelia, see Princess AmeliaThe Princess Amelia , was a member of the British Royal Family....
7 August 17832 November 1810 


Ancestors

Charlotte's ancestors in three generations
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Father:
Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow

Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg, Prince of Mirow was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the father of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz....
 Paternal grandfather:
Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Adolf Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Adolf Friedrich II was the first Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz [-Strelitz] reigning from 1701 to his death. His state was part of the Holy Roman Empire....
 Paternal great-grandfather:
Adolf Friedrich I of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Paternal great-grandmother:
Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Paternal grandmother:
Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen		 Paternal great-grandfather:
Christian Wilhelm I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Paternal great-grandmother:
Antoine Sybille of Barby-Muhlingen
Mother:
Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen was a member of the reigning family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz during the 18th century.She was born a daughter of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and his wife Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach ....
 Maternal grandfather:
Ernest Frederick I of Saxe-Hildburghausen		 Maternal great-grandfather:
Ernest III of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Maternal great-grandmother:
Sofie of Waldeck
Maternal grandmother:
Sofie Albertine of Erbach-Erbach		 Maternal great-grandfather:
Georg Ludwig I of Erbach-Erbach
Maternal great-grandmother:
Amelie Katherine of Waldeck-Eisenberg


Legacy


Claims of African ancestry

Mario de Valdes y Cocom, a historian of the African diaspora, has argued that a description of Charlotte by her physician, Baron Stockmar describes her as having "a true mulatto face". Valdes y Cocom says that Allan Ramsay
Allan Ramsay (1713-1784)

Allan Ramsay , was a Scotland portrait-Painting....
, a noted abolitionist, frequently painted the Queen in works said to emphasize the alleged mulatto
Mulatto

Mulatto denotes a person with one White people parent and one Black people parent or a person who has black ancestry and white ancestry. It is perceived as pejorative and demeaning in some cultures....
 appearance of Charlotte, and that Ramsay's coronation portrait of Charlotte was sent to the colonies and was used by abolitionists as a de facto support for their cause. Valdes y Cocom goes on to state that, along with descriptions of a "mulatto face", the Queen's features had also been described as Vandalic
Vandals

The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Goths Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and regent of the Visigoths, was allied by marriage with the Vandals as well as with the Burgundians and the Franks under Clovis I....
, as exemplified by a poem written for the occasion of her marriage:
"Descended from the warlike Vandal race,
She still preserves that title in her face."


All this has led Mario de Valdes y Cocom to inquire about her ancestry and research her genealogy. Still according to Valdes y Cocom, one of the possibilities for Queen Charlotte's supposed racial features is that they were a concentration of traits inherited through three to six lines from a nine times removed ancestor of hers, Margarita de Castro e Souza
Margarita de Castro e Souza

Margarida de Castro e Souza, a 15th century Portugal noblewoman, was an ancestor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1744-1818, consort of George III of the United Kingdom, through her mother Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen....
, a 15th century Portuguese
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
 noblewoman who traced her ancestry six generations earlier to King Afonso III of Portugal
Afonso III of Portugal

Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian or the Brave , the fifth List of Portuguese monarchs and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, since 1249....
 and one of his lovers, Madragana
Madragana

Madragana Ben Aloandro, later Maior Afonso - was a famous algarvian mistress to king Afonso III of Portugal, in the 13th century, when he ended the Reconquista in Portugal by taking Faro in 1249....
.

Critics of this theory argue that Margarita's and Madragana's distant perch in the queen's family tree, respectively 9 and 15 generations removed, makes any presumed African ancestry, Northern
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
 or sub-Saharan negligible and no more significant in Charlotte than in any other member of any German royal house at that time, and therefore that Charlotte could hardly be accurately described as "mulatto" or "African".

Even more, Valdez y Cocom assumed that Madragana was a Black African
Black people

Black people is a term usually referring to a Race of humans with a dark skin color, but the term has also been used to categorise a number of diverse populations into one common group....
 woman, because a single author, Duarte Nunes de Leão, described her as a Moor
Moors

In the Spanish language, the term for Moors is Moro; in Portuguese language the word is mouro. There seems to have been some confusion about the relationship of the word moro/mouro to the word moreno , both from Greek language ma?ros, i.e....
, that is to say, in the context of the Iberian
Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
 Reconquista
Reconquista

The Reconquista was a period of 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula succeeded in retaking the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims....
, someone of Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic religion, regardless of actual ethnic origin (and that could have been Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
, North African Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
, or Muladi
Muladi

The Muladi...
 - native Iberian European Christians who converted to Islam after the arrival of the Moors, all of whom can be described as Caucasian
Caucasian race

The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the indigenous populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia....
 or White
White people

White people is a term which is usually used to refer to Human characterized, at least in part, by the light Human skin color. It often refers narrowly to people claiming ancestry exclusively from Europe....
). Modern researchers, however, believe Madragana to have been a Mozarab
Mozarab

The Mozarabs were Iberian Peninsula Christians who lived under Moors Muslim rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and Arab culture....
, that is to say an Iberian Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 living under Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 control, of Sephardi Jewish
Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews are a subgroup of Jews originating in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, usually defined in contrast to Ashkenazi or Mizrahi Jews....
 origin.

Valdez y Cocom has also argued, trying to defend the African origin of Queen Charlotte, that the Royal Household
Royal Household

The royal household in all the early medieval monarchies of Western Europe formed the basis for the general government of the country. In the modern period in Europe, royal households have become increasingly separate from government, where they still exist....
 itself, at the time of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
's coronation in 1952, referred to both her Asian and African bloodlines in an apologia it published defending her position as head of the Commonwealth. This is denied by Buckingham Palace. The issue remains important to those concerned with the history of the African diaspora
African diaspora

The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world - predominantly to the Americas, then later to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe....
.

Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital

Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital
Queen Charlotte's Hospital

Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, and until recently occupied a site on Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, West London....
 in London, England has been in existence since 1739, making it the oldest maternity hospital in the United Kingdom. Queen Charlotte's son, the Duke of Sussex, persuaded her to give her name to the hospital, which was a charitable institution at the time.

Portrayals

Queen Charlotte was played by actress Frances White
Frances White

'Frances White' is a United Kingdom actress, perhaps best known for her role as Miss Flood in the BBC sitcom May to December. She has also appeared in "The Pumpkin Eaters", Trevor's World of Sport; Crossroads ; Dangerfield ; A Very Peculiar Practice; as Cassandra, prophetess of Troy, in the Doctor Who story The Myth M...
 in the 1979 BBC series Prince Regent and later by Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren, Order of the British Empire is a multi-award winnning English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career....
 in the film The Madness of King George
The Madness of King George

The Madness of King George is a 1994 in film film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own Play The Madness of George III ....
 (1994).

Named in her honour

  • Vandalia
    Vandalia (colony)

    Vandalia was the name of a proposed British colonization of the Americas that never materialized. The colony was to be located south of the Ohio River, primarily in what is now the United States states of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky....
     and Charlotina
    Charlotina

    Charlotina was the name proposed for a colony, the establishment of which was suggested in a pamphlet appearing in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1763, entitled The Expediency of Securing our American Colonies by Settling the Country Adjoining the River Mississippi, and the Country upon the Ohio, Considered....
     (proposed but unrealized North American colonies)
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
    Charlotte, North Carolina

    Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The List of United States cities by population in the United States....
  • Charlotte County, Virginia
    Charlotte County, Virginia

    Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state ? officially, "Commonwealth " ? of Virginia. The county was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg County, Virginia, and it is named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of George III of the United Kingdom....
  • Mecklenburg County, Virginia
    Mecklenburg County, Virginia

    Mecklenburg County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 32,380....
  • Charlotte Hall, Maryland
    Charlotte Hall, Maryland

    Charlotte Hall is a census-designated place in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,214 at the 2000 census. The Maryland Veterans Home for disabled veterans, including a U.S....
  • Queensbury, New York
    Queensbury, New York

    Queensbury is a town in and the county seat of Warren County, New York, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York, New York, Glens Falls metropolitan area....
  • Charlotte Place, Sydney
    Sydney

    Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
    , New South Wales
    New South Wales

    New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
  • Charlottesville, Virginia
    Charlottesville, Virginia

    Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County, Virginia in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom....
  • Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
    Prince Edward Island

    Prince Edward Island is a Canada Provinces and territories of Canada consisting of an island of the same name. The Maritimes is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population ....
    , Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
  • Fort Charlotte, Kingstown
    Kingstown

    Kingstown, estimated population 15,900 , is the chief port of Saint Vincent , and the Capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located at ....
    , St. Vincent and the Grenadines
    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles island arc of the Caribbean Sea. Its territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines....
  • Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
    Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

    Mecklenburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2008, the population was 902,803. Its county seat is Charlotte, North Carolina....
     (named for Queen Charlotte's birth family)
  • Port Charlotte, Florida
    Port Charlotte, Florida

    Port Charlotte is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, Florida, United States. The population was 46,451 at the 2000 census....
  • Queen Charlotte
    Queen Charlotte merchant ship

    The Queen Charlotte was a British merchant ship in the late 18th century. It was named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III....
     (British merchant ship, after which the Queen Charlotte Islands
    Queen Charlotte Islands

    The Queen Charlotte Islands or Haida Gwaii , and originally in Haida language, Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai , are an archipelago on the British Columbia Coast, Canada....
     of British Columbia
    British Columbia

    British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
     were named)
  • HMS Queen Charlotte
    HMS Queen Charlotte

    Four ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Queen Charlotte after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom....
  • Queen's College, New Brunswick
    New Brunswick

    New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only Constitution of Canada bilingual province in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton....
    , New Jersey
    New Jersey

    New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
     (now Rutgers University
    Rutgers University

    Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the Colonial colleges in the United States....
    )
  • Queens University, Charlotte, North Carolina
    Charlotte, North Carolina

    Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The List of United States cities by population in the United States....
  • Queen Charlotte Sound
    Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand

    Queen Charlotte Sound is the easternmost of the main sounds of the Marlborough Sounds, in New Zealand's South Island. It is, like the other sounds, a drowned valley, and like the majority of its neighbours it runs southwest to northeast before joining Cook Strait....
    , New Zealand
    New Zealand

    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
  • Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital, The oldest maternity hospital in the United Kingdom
  • Queen Charlotte Islands
    Queen Charlotte Islands

    The Queen Charlotte Islands or Haida Gwaii , and originally in Haida language, Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai , are an archipelago on the British Columbia Coast, Canada....
    , British Columbia
  • Strelitzia reginae
    Strelitzia reginae

    Strelitzia reginae is a monocotyledonous flowering plant indigenous to South Africa. Common names include Strelitzia, Crane Flower or Bird of Paradise, though these names are also collectively applied to other species in the genus Strelitzia....
    , a flowering plant indigenous to South Africa
    South Africa

    The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
  • Mecklenburg Square, Bloomsbury, London


External links and references

  • at the PBS site*
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