Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (7 January 1796 – 6 November 1817)

She was the only child of George, Prince of Wales (later to become King George IV) and Caroline of Brunswick. Had she outlived her father and her grandfather, King George III, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died following childbirth at the age of 21.

King George III of England had 15 children with his wife Queen Charlotte. His eldest son George who later became King George IV had only one legitimate child and that is Princess Charlotte. She would have been Queen and her infant son would have been heir to the throne of England had she not died. Charlotte’s parents cant stand each other and only married for political reasons.  She was born at the time when the royal family was very much disliked by the masses. The people seemed to see them as dissolute people. So the people put all their hopes on Charlotte at the moment of her birth

When Charlotte  was only few months old,  her parents separated , leaving her alone as a child to a household of her own and governesses. Her father only allowed very limited visitations from her mother 

She was known to be bright but only in matters that interests her. Not feeling love from her parents,  growing up,  she became difficult headstrong teenager who was quite a tomboy and somewhat untamed . It was said she was prone to extreme. When she cries or laughs it seemed unending, But she was kind and very generous just like King George III (her grandfather who was very fond of her).

According to her biographer, Thea Holme, “The impression one gets from all the early recorded stories of Charlotte is of a happy recklessness, and a warm heart.”As Charlotte grew, her parents continued to battle, and to use the young girl as a pawn in their conflict, with both parents appealing to the King and Queen to take their side

Her education was provided by tutors who visited the princess. They were of such pedigree as composer and accomplished pianist Jane Guest, herself a former student of Johann Christian Bach. The princess loved the freedom which horseriding provided and she became a proficient horsewoman. This was one thing Princess Charlotte and her father connected on; he was proud of her ability to ride side-saddle and her skill in controlling the horse.

As Charlotte entered her teenage years, members of the Court considered her behaviour undignified. Lady de Clifford complained about Charlotte’s allowing her ankle length undersrawers to show. Lady Charlotte Bury, a lady-in-waiting to Caroline and a diarist whose writings have survived, described the Princess as a “fine piece of flesh and blood” who had a candid manner and rarely chose to “put on dignity”. Her father was proud of her horsemanship

By the time she was 15, Princess Charlotte was rebelling against her confinement and social isolation at every opportunity. She was not supposed to meet her mother alone, but there were times when the minders were ‘called away’ or became indisposed, allowing them quality time together. Prince George was about as popular with royal staff as he was with the general population, which meant there were sympathisers on Princess Caroline’s side.

The teenage princess managed to escape her chaperons so that she could meet up with her first cousin George FitzClarence, but when he was called away to regimental duties, she turned her attention to Lt Charles Hesse. These assignations were encouraged by her mother, who let them meet privately at her suite in Kensington Palace. Even Princess Caroline’s governess Lady de Clifford did not interfere, although she was scared of repercussions should Prince George find out. His temper was legendary, as the previous governess Lady Elgin found out to her cost. Lady Elgin had taken Princess Charlotte to visit the King but had done so without seeking the permission of her father beforehand, and she was ‘retired from duty’. Lt Hesse was also called up for regimental duties abroad; no doubt his departure invoked sighs of relief from those who did not wish to incur the wrath of the Prince Regent.

Princess Charlotte was 17 years old when news that she had been seen with William, Duke of Gloucester, reached the ears of her father, causing him to lose his temper with them both. When he had calmed down, the Prince Regent decided it was high time his daughter got married, so he invited William, Prince of Orange, to his upcoming birthday party, with the hope that Princess Charlotte might consider him a suitable match. She wasn’t impressed though, as Prince William got drunk. The Prince Regent persisted and arranged another meeting, this time a formal dinner, which was more successful.

Knowing her father’s plans but not wishing to rush into anything, she told him that she would never leave England, even if she were not destined to be Queen. This stipulation was drafted into the marriage contract but still she dithered

In the meantime the newspaper headline writers were having fun, coming up with ‘Princess Charlotte’s dilemma, would she choose Orange or Cheese’ Earl Grey replied she should take her time so the negotiations continued. While her father was distracted by her seeming compliance, Princess Charlotte became besotted with Prince Frederick of Prussia, but her hopes of a match with him were dashed when he announced his engagement to Princess Louise of Anhalt-Bernburg.

Then she met Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld at a party, and liked him so much that she invited him to tea. He was a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry and quite dashing, and he seemed just as taken with her. Following the tryst and before his departure back to his regiment, Prince Leopold had the good manners to write to the Prince Regent informing him of the tea visit with Princess Charlotte and hoping there had been no breach of protocol, a courtesy which Prince George appreciated. At that time he did not consider Prince Leopold to be a serious contender for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

Caroline did not approve of the choice of the Prince of Orange as husband for her daughter, and she wasted no time in informing the Prince Regent. Unfortunately for him, and to his great annoyance, the people agreed with her. Having dragged it out as long as she could, Charlotte resorted to subterfuge and agreed to marry the Prince of Orange, gaining her father’s full approval. She then requested an addendum to the marriage contract concerning her mother being able to visit her post-nuptially, a condition she knew would be unacceptable to her father, who must have been hoping to finally see the back of Princess Caroline following their daughter’s wedding.

When the request was turned down, Charlotte refused to go through with the wedding. The Prince Regent’s reaction was to confine his daughter to the house and order that she should have no visitors except for her grandmother Queen Charlotte. Princess Charlotte was so distressed when she heard about her virtual imprisonment that she ran away to the only sanctuary she knew – her mother’s house.

It took the combined efforts of the Whig politicians and members of the Royal Family to persuade her to return home, and Princess Charlotte agreed to go back the following day. The story of the sequestered young woman fleeing her oppressive father was hot gossip and it soon hit the newspapers. Just about everyone sided with the princess, but she returned to the gilded cage willingly. She did not want to add to her father’s unpopularity by showing public rebellion.

The Prince Regent sent her to live at Cranbourne Lodge, with staff who kept a 24-hour watch on the princess. Somehow she managed to get a message to her uncle the Duke of Sussex, who relayed questions to the Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson on her behalf. Princess Charlotte wanted to know if she was entitled to her own royal residence now she was 18 years old, and if she could visit the seaside. The questions went unanswered, but were reported back to the Prince Regent, who went to visit his daughter with the news about her mother’s intention of leaving the country. Princess Charlotte was so distressed by this unexpected development, she wailed:

…for God knows how long, or what events may occur before we meet again..

The following month the Prince Regent allowed Princess Charlotte to visit the seaside at Weymouth in Dorset and they spent a harmonious Christmas together in London.

With her mother out of the way, the Prince Regent again broached the subject of marriage with Charlotte. She refused to consider the Prince of Orange and suggested he approach Prince Leopold about the matter. He didn’t need much persuasion and as soon as they were betrothed, Leopold was afforded the title Knight of the Garter. The couple married in May 1816, and they moved into Claremont House. This was a happy relationship and the couple were popular both on the social circuit and with the British public. It was assumed that the union between the loving couple would bear fruit, providing the Royal Family with the next generation. Unfortunately Charlotte’s first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. Just months later she was pregnant again, with an expected delivery date of mid-October 1817.

When she passed that date with no sign of labour, her doctors put her on a limited diet in an attempt to try and reduce the size of the baby. It was normal medical procedure of the time to remove excess blood in a patient and Princess Charlotte was subjected to this bloodletting when her contractions began on 3 November. Her obstetrician, Sir Richard Croft, did not allow her to eat during the protracted labour, which, along with the bloodloss, must have considerably weakened her.

It took a total of 48 hours before a 9lb boy entered the world; he showed no sign of life at all, something his mother accepted as God’s Will. The exhausted princess suffered from post-partum bleeding and despite attempts to treat the condition, she died the following morning. She was just 21 years old. In one fell swoop the Royal Family had lost two generations of heirs and, though he was exonerated of any blame or medical negligence, Sir Richard Croft committed suicide not long after.

The distraught Prince Regent couldn’t bring himself to attend the joint funeral of his daughter and grandson. He did not inform his wife in Italy; instead he left that task to Prince Leopold, who was incoherent with grief. The entire kingdom mourned the loss of the popular girl who had been their future monarch. She was the one good result from the disastrous union of her parents; her loss was incalculable.

The Royal Family was thrown into disarray with no potential heir. Princess Charlotte’s unexpected death forced King George III to order his sons the Duke of Clarence (eventually King William IV), the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cambridge to locate suitable females to marry and make babies with. Princess Charlotte’s bereaved husband Prince Leopold offered to help and he introduced the Duke of Kent to his widowed sister Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. They married on 29 May, 1818, and the new Duchess of Kent produced a daughter, Alexandra Victoria, a year later. She inherited the throne as Queen Victoria at the age of 18 in 1837.