Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm
Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. If you've
Speaker 1: learned anything about the princesses and queens of history, particularly
Speaker 1: from this podcast, you know that, regardless of where they're from,
Speaker 1: their stories are almost always leaps and bounds away from
Speaker 1: the lives we imagine of princesses and queens in fairy tales,
Speaker 1: if a woman isn't in line for the throne of
Speaker 1: her own country, her origin story typically follows a format
Speaker 1: we hear time and time again. A girl is chosen
Speaker 1: as a suitable marriage candidate at a young age. She
Speaker 1: is promptly separated from her family and and her country
Speaker 1: and shipped to the court of another nation. She is
Speaker 1: expected to adapt to their customs, perhaps even their language,
Speaker 1: under the scrutiny of not only the court but the
Speaker 1: country at large. I think of Marie Antoinette in the
Speaker 1: Sophia Coppola film. There's a scene pulled directly from history.
Speaker 1: In the forest at the edge of the Austrian French border.
Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette's beloved pug is taken from her arms as
Speaker 1: she's told that when she gets to Versailles, she can
Speaker 1: have as many French dogs as she likes. If you
Speaker 1: found that movie scene as heartbreaking as I did, take
Speaker 1: comfort in the fact that in real life Marie Antoinette
Speaker 1: did eventually get her beloved Mops to meet her in
Speaker 1: France after the ceremonial aspect was complete. But the scene
Speaker 1: is dramatic and emblematic of the practice of all all
Speaker 1: but shipping princesses abroad to marry strangers for diplomatic purposes.
Speaker 1: That was common that princesses would arrive in a foreign
Speaker 1: land for a wedding, but most didn't marry their husband's
Speaker 1: six hours after their arrival. That is a situation almost
Speaker 1: unique to the then seventeen year old Sophia Charlotte or
Speaker 1: Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, or the soon to be Queen
Speaker 1: Charlotte of Great Britain and Ireland. As a friend of
Speaker 1: the real life Marie Antoinette, I imagine that scenario was
Speaker 1: something that the pair could have bonded over if they
Speaker 1: were ever to have let their minds wander back to
Speaker 1: what it must have been like to have been a
Speaker 1: young and terrified bride to be Charlotte had begun her
Speaker 1: journey from her native Germany to England on August seventeenth,
Speaker 1: seventeen sixty one, and arrived on September eighth, after a
Speaker 1: grueling sea voyage, during which the crew encountered three storms.
Speaker 1: As I'm sure we're all in agreement on, nothing screams
Speaker 1: romance like still being seasick during your vows, especially when
Speaker 1: they're being given in a language you don't understand. Charlotte
Speaker 1: spoke no English upon her arrival, and naturally, due to
Speaker 1: the timing, she would not learn it until after her
Speaker 1: marriage was official. You may be surprised, then, to learn
Speaker 1: that Charlotte and her husband George ended up in what
Speaker 1: is potentially as happy a marriage as is possible for
Speaker 1: the British monarchy. It was not a relationship without its trials,
Speaker 1: almost certainly due to the King's battles later in life
Speaker 1: with mental and physical illness. But it is because of
Speaker 1: those struggles that we know just how deeply Charlotte cared
Speaker 1: for and loved her husband. The couple have remained important
Speaker 1: cultural figures to this day, in part because of an
Speaker 1: ongoing fascination we have with the regency period and recently
Speaker 1: in larger part due to Netflix's Bridgerton, in which Charlotte
Speaker 1: is the only major character with a real life historical counterpart.
Speaker 1: In May, Netflix will release the prequel series Queen Charlotte,
Speaker 1: a Bridgerton story portraying the origin story of the tons
Speaker 1: beloved Queen, seemingly focused on her courtship with George. One
Speaker 1: thing that makes the real Queen Charlotte such an interesting
Speaker 1: character to have included in the television show is that
Speaker 1: the Bridgerton imagination of an integrated regency society cleverly aligns
Speaker 1: with a real long standing theory that Queen Charlotte was
Speaker 1: of mixed race. The reality behind that theory, as we
Speaker 1: will see, is in fact a bit more complicated, but
Speaker 1: it is interesting and it was an interesting nod for
Speaker 1: the show. Much of what we know of the real
Speaker 1: Charlotte's life provides the material for the case of her
Speaker 1: as a romantic heroine, but the knowledge we have of
Speaker 1: her outside of her relationship to George is more complex,
Speaker 1: that of a woman who was sheltered but intellectually curious,
Speaker 1: a patron of the arts, devoted to her husband and
Speaker 1: her children, and almost England's regent. I'm Danish Schwartz, and
Speaker 1: this is noble blood. Before we speak about Charlotte, we
Speaker 1: have to speak a little more broadly about the Hanovers.
Speaker 1: When Queen Anne died without any heirs, the Germanic House
Speaker 1: of Hanover began their monarchic reign when George the First
Speaker 1: was in seventeen fourteen, and their reign would end with
Speaker 1: the death of Queen Victoria in nineteen oh one. The
Speaker 1: Hanover Royal House had its origins in Germany, and there
Speaker 1: remained very much a German dynasty throughout their rule. Even
Speaker 1: Victoria spoke with a German accent. Their germanness was preserved
Speaker 1: through the sports draft that was royal matchmaking. Every Hanover
Speaker 1: heir married German princes or princesses, and George the Third
Speaker 1: was no exception. When it came time for that match
Speaker 1: to be arranged, however, George was being rather stubborn as
Speaker 1: the then Prince of Wales, he told Lord Bute, a
Speaker 1: favorite of the Prince and his future Prime Minister, that
Speaker 1: he would never marry whilst this old man lives. The
Speaker 1: old man in question was his grandfather, also known as
Speaker 1: George the Second. George the First and George the Second
Speaker 1: did not care for each other, and George the Third
Speaker 1: did not care for either of them. Number Three's ire
Speaker 1: towards his grandfather and great grandfather was largely in part
Speaker 1: due to behavior he considered immoral. George the First famously
Speaker 1: divorced his wife for adultery and then locked her in
Speaker 1: a castle for the rest of her life. George the
Speaker 1: Second had a better relationship with his wife than that,
Speaker 1: but kept a number of mistresses in rotation openly. He
Speaker 1: stayed true to his word and didn't marry while his
Speaker 1: grandfather reigned, but the youngest George's rebellion was forced to
Speaker 1: come to an end when George the Second died unexpectedly
Speaker 1: in October of seventeen sixty at twenty two years old.
Speaker 1: George the Third assumed the throne and was no longer
Speaker 1: in a position to avoid choosing a queen. The first
Speaker 1: Hannover king born in England, George was also arguably the
Speaker 1: first Hanover sovereign to be widely well liked, so even
Speaker 1: the public got involved in the search, although their lack
Speaker 1: of knowledge on the subject of minor German princesses meant
Speaker 1: that they weren't much help. Fortunately, the extended Hanover family
Speaker 1: had been preparing for this for as long as their
Speaker 1: dynasty had reigned, and so a number of names were
Speaker 1: being thrown around among the royal court. One name eventually
Speaker 1: stood out, Princess Sophias Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, a small
Speaker 1: North German duchy. She was the eighth child and second
Speaker 1: surviving daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg Strelits.
Speaker 1: Her older sister, Princess Christianne, was a spinsterly twenty five
Speaker 1: and thus obviously out of the marriage market for George.
Speaker 1: Christian was actually about to make a match with an
Speaker 1: English peer, but the King's intentions toward her sister ultimately
Speaker 1: forbase her from marrying one of his subjects. The buzz
Speaker 1: in court was that Charlotte, the younger daughter, had an
Speaker 1: admirable character and was well raised by her mother, But
Speaker 1: George's advisers worried that since she was from such a
Speaker 1: small duchy, she wouldn't have been able to receive the
Speaker 1: kind of education that she would require to thrive in
Speaker 1: British court life. Mecklenburg was small and overgrown. The Scottish
Speaker 1: essayist Thomas Carlyle once described it as a view of
Speaker 1: quote serene highness fallen into sleepy hollow. And it was
Speaker 1: true that by royal standards her education was lacking, but
Speaker 1: she received one comparable to that of the daughter of
Speaker 1: a country lord. She was competent in French, excellent in music,
Speaker 1: and she was educated in botany and natural sciences. The priority, however,
Speaker 1: in her education, had been religion and and household management.
Speaker 1: Still we know she was passionate about literature from an
Speaker 1: early age. A surviving letter from when she was around
Speaker 1: fifteen tells us she had been recently reading the memoirs
Speaker 1: of an unnamed man of quality, but would not be
Speaker 1: continuing with the works of Voltaire, whom she did not
Speaker 1: consider such an oms de quality. Emissaries were dispatched to
Speaker 1: Germany to look into accounts of Charlotte and her two
Speaker 1: strongest rivals in the race to be English queen. The
Speaker 1: report returned finding that one of the rivals was quote
Speaker 1: stubborn and ill tempered to the greatest degree, which eliminated her,
Speaker 1: and the other had a father who had seemingly fallen
Speaker 1: victim to a classic scam from visionnaire who claimed to
Speaker 1: put him in contact with the spirit world. All in
Speaker 1: all embarrassing and a bad look for the family. Reports
Speaker 1: on Charlotte, however, came back positive. These informants did not
Speaker 1: find her beautiful, but argued that she had quote enough
Speaker 1: charms for plane and quote the best heart in the world.
Speaker 1: With his candidate essentially chosen, George told Lord Butte that
Speaker 1: quote a little England's heir will soon give her the
Speaker 1: deportment necessary for a British queen end quote. And at
Speaker 1: the beginning of June seventeen sixty one, one Colonel Graham
Speaker 1: of the Scottish Brigade was dispatched to Germany at the
Speaker 1: behest of Lord Butte to meet with Charlotte's family, carrying
Speaker 1: a letter to Charlotte's mother. The Dowager Duchess could not
Speaker 1: actively join in the discussions, as she was afflicted with
Speaker 1: quote violent cramps which have sometimes deprived her of speech
Speaker 1: but without affecting her judgment end quote. She had recently
Speaker 1: had a particularly violent bout and was confined to bed
Speaker 1: her husband. Charlotte's father had died almost ten years earlier,
Speaker 1: which meant Charlotte's brother, Adolphus Frederick was the new Duke.
Speaker 1: Charlotte had not yet been told that the colonel was
Speaker 1: there because a decision had been made. Her family had
Speaker 1: decided that quote, having no disturbance in her mind, she
Speaker 1: would converse more freely end quote. So after dinner with
Speaker 1: the Colonel and her siblings, Charlotte was called to the
Speaker 1: Duchess's bedside, where her mother informed her of her matrimonial destiny.
Speaker 1: With that, the Duchess signed her reply to George historians today,
Speaker 1: noting that it must have been done with a very
Speaker 1: feeble hand. Twelve days later she would be dead. With
Speaker 1: the Duchess's reply, the Colonel sent his own description of
Speaker 1: Charlotte back to England, the most detailed one we had
Speaker 1: yet to see. She was quote delicate and fine, with
Speaker 1: an abundance of red, not to be called a high bloom,
Speaker 1: but sufficient to relevate the luster of a very fine white.
Speaker 1: He goes on to describe the size and shape of
Speaker 1: her features in detail, such as her nose being quote
Speaker 1: good and not flat emphasis his. And if you were
Speaker 1: wondering if he would give his opinion on her body,
Speaker 1: you are, of course in luck. As he remarks, it
Speaker 1: was quote not quite that of a woman fully formed,
Speaker 1: though the bosom full enough for her age in the
Speaker 1: same vein as earlier reports. He decides that she's not
Speaker 1: a great beauty, but her face quote rather agreeable than
Speaker 1: otherwise end quote. I note these descriptions because they are
Speaker 1: earlier indicators of what would become a long obsession with
Speaker 1: Charlotte's features. For a variety of reasons. Take Charles Dickens's
Speaker 1: A Tale of Two Cities, which lets us know very
Speaker 1: early on that quote there was a king with a
Speaker 1: large jaw and a queen with a plain face on
Speaker 1: the throne of England end quote. But we see that
Speaker 1: before she was even in the country, this was the
Speaker 1: prevailing opinion for every detail shared about her. We know
Speaker 1: very little of Charlotte's inner life at this point. How
Speaker 1: she felt about her mother's death, her marriage, her move
Speaker 1: to England practically lost to time. According to the colonel,
Speaker 1: she confided in him quote with flowing tears, that her
Speaker 1: mother's last words were a wish for her happiness, and
Speaker 1: that even during her grief, she was ready to quote
Speaker 1: render herself worthy of the station designed for her end quote.
Speaker 1: It was a good thing she had apparently steeled herself,
Speaker 1: because wedding plans were already under way. Her departure was
Speaker 1: to be delayed for a few weeks, the minimum propriety
Speaker 1: required for her mourning, but the court in England had
Speaker 1: already been buzzing for some time with preparations. The Colonel
Speaker 1: passed on Charlotte inquiry as to whether she would be
Speaker 1: allowed to quote carry with her any of the women
Speaker 1: who had been hitthro about her, and the King made
Speaker 1: it clear that England did not employ foreigners in service
Speaker 1: of their queen, and that the most she could bring
Speaker 1: was one or two women, if they were of the
Speaker 1: quiet sort. George the Third was a distrustful man, stemming
Speaker 1: from the behaviors of his grandfather and great grandfather. The
Speaker 1: clothing and jewels of the new Queen were all to
Speaker 1: be sourced in England, so very little of Charlotte's familiar
Speaker 1: life would be making the trip with her. On July
Speaker 1: twenty third, George held a ceremony to rename the Royal
Speaker 1: Caroline yacht as the Royal Charlotte, and it would be
Speaker 1: this charlotte duty to carry the human Charlotte to England.
Speaker 1: Two months after Colonel Graham's arrival, the Royal Charlotte docked
Speaker 1: on the coast of Stade and its company set off
Speaker 1: for Strelitt to pick up a future queen. The group
Speaker 1: was led by the first Earl of Harcourt, who carried
Speaker 1: with him a gift for Charlotte from the King, his
Speaker 1: own picture quote richly and prettily set round with diamonds
Speaker 1: and a diamond rose. George was already in possession of
Speaker 1: a portrait of his future queen and was said to
Speaker 1: be quote mighty fond of it, but won't let any
Speaker 1: mortal look at it. Charlotte was not used to finery,
Speaker 1: she had no reason to be, but she would have
Speaker 1: to adjust quickly for the voyage. She provided the outer
Speaker 1: wear of a heron plume and capissine, or hooded cape
Speaker 1: lined with ermine for the queen. She was to travel
Speaker 1: with the party sent by the King, along with her brother,
Speaker 1: the Duke, and Colonel Graham, who was appointed secretary to
Speaker 1: the new Queen and with whom she seemed to have
Speaker 1: formed a bond. Every step of their journey, the almost
Speaker 1: Queen would be met with parades and celebrations. When she
Speaker 1: made her first stop, not too far from her home,
Speaker 1: twelve young girls in white dresses and floral wreaths presented
Speaker 1: her with wreaths of Myrtle, which would incidentally later become
Speaker 1: the royal bouquet flower of choice after the wedding of
Speaker 1: Victoria and Albert. At Charlotte's next stop, she would bid
Speaker 1: her final farewell to her childhood country. Boarding the boat
Speaker 1: as it sailed to England, the Princess met duchesses, who
Speaker 1: would be her travel companions the rest of the way,
Speaker 1: but was warned by the colonel to quote not attach
Speaker 1: herself strongly to any of the ladies, as was the
Speaker 1: King's decree. As mentioned earlier, the trip was not smooth sailing,
Speaker 1: strong gales, hail, thunder lightning, pouring rain, the kind of
Speaker 1: tempest that would land you on an island with Caliban.
Speaker 1: But Charlotte thankfully was not to suffer the same fate
Speaker 1: as Miranda. The naval correspondent for Scott's magazine Imagine what
Speaker 1: a position, reported that quote, the Queen was not at
Speaker 1: all affected with the storm and bore the sea like
Speaker 1: a truly British queen. Almost a month after her initial departure,
Speaker 1: on September seventh, the truly British Queen to be would
Speaker 1: finally step foot on British so she spent one night
Speaker 1: in Essex before the royal procession carried her from the
Speaker 1: coast to London, as crowds gathered to catch a glance
Speaker 1: of their future queen in her carriage. As crowds gathered
Speaker 1: to catch a glimpse of their future queen in her carriage.
Speaker 1: At three point thirty pm the next day, she arrived
Speaker 1: at Saint James's Palace, where the King was waiting. An
Speaker 1: eyewitness described their meeting as as plain as possible, but
Speaker 1: it appears that through a telephone game like series of
Speaker 1: accounts we end up with this recorded breakdown. The King
Speaker 1: himself opened the gate and Charlotte was presented by her brother,
Speaker 1: upon which she threw herself at the King's feet. He
Speaker 1: raised her up and led her through the garden up
Speaker 1: the steps into the palace. Charlotte's first order of business
Speaker 1: was to meet future family, but the time for introductions
Speaker 1: would be brief. The King had already put to plans
Speaker 1: in motion to be married that very night. He led
Speaker 1: Charlotte to the apartments where his wedding gifts, a set
Speaker 1: of jewels, including a fairy like crown, were waiting, along
Speaker 1: with her wedding dress. Her wedding rings were also waiting
Speaker 1: for her. There three in total, including one to be
Speaker 1: worn on her little finger, featuring a likeness of the king.
Speaker 1: A full report of her wedding attire details that she
Speaker 1: was dressed in a silver tissued, stiffened bodied gown, embroidered
Speaker 1: and trimmed with silver. On her head, a little cap
Speaker 1: of purple velvet, quite covered with diamonds, a diamond ajette
Speaker 1: in the form of a crown, three dropped diamond ear rings,
Speaker 1: diamond necklace, diamond sprigs of flowers on her slip ve,
Speaker 1: and to clasp back her robe, a diamond stomacher. Her
Speaker 1: purple velvet mantle was laid with gold and lined with ermine.
Speaker 1: It was fastened on the shoulders with large toussls of pearls.
Speaker 1: End for a girl not used to finery, this was
Speaker 1: an exceptionally heavy outfit, and the night was the hottest
Speaker 1: of the year. According to a poet in London, on
Speaker 1: that point, I can actually relate exactly two hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty one years and one day later. I got married
Speaker 1: on a day where temperatures in Los Angeles hovered around
Speaker 1: one hundred and ten degrees, which, of course, given that
Speaker 1: I was also wearing a velvet robe and velvet hat,
Speaker 1: and diamonds and ermine. It was frankly quite a challenge,
Speaker 1: but we persevere. The Duke of York was set to
Speaker 1: escort Charlotte to the chapel, and as Charlotte began to
Speaker 1: feel constricted by the weight of her clothes and no
Speaker 1: doubt that temperature, he held her trembling hands and repeated
Speaker 1: courage Princess. Mon Dieu was apparently the princess's first remark
Speaker 1: upon seeing the bridesmaid assembled, her first glimpse of the
Speaker 1: ceremony to come. At ten o'clock in the evening, those
Speaker 1: bridesmaids carried her purple train down the aisle, her diamond
Speaker 1: egrette sparkling as she walked. Moments later, she was married
Speaker 1: to George Third by the Archbishop, officially beginning her life
Speaker 1: as Queen of England, only hours after she had arrived
Speaker 1: in the country for the very first time. The marriage
Speaker 1: of George and Charlotte was nearly instantly a happy one.
Speaker 1: Quote every hour more and more convinces me of the
Speaker 1: treasure I have got, George said to Lord Butte in
Speaker 1: the day's following. The next step was the coronation. While
Speaker 1: George had already been king for all intents and purposes
Speaker 1: for some time. The official deal wasn't to be sealed
Speaker 1: until after the marriage. On September twenty second, rose buds
Speaker 1: and autumn bloods were tossed from baskets and Charlotte walked
Speaker 1: upon them as she made her way to Westminster Abbey.
Speaker 1: She wore her hair in curls without adornment, as was
Speaker 1: custom for the coronation, waiting for the crown to be
Speaker 1: placed upon her head. The abbey was packed to capacity
Speaker 1: with spectators eager to see their new elegant queen and
Speaker 1: favorable king. With that business out of the way, it
Speaker 1: was finally time for the queen to adjust to life
Speaker 1: at Saint James. This included learning English, which she said
Speaker 1: to you have quickly picked up, though she would speak
Speaker 1: with a strong German accent. For life, still she struggled
Speaker 1: for a time. Even with her understanding French, which was
Speaker 1: spoken in court, she became the subject of some unfavorable gossip.
Speaker 1: She was also able to continue her musical studies, taking
Speaker 1: singing lessons three times a week from John Christian Bach,
Speaker 1: the son of the composure you might have heard of.
Speaker 1: Every Wednesday, the queen performed for the family, playing the
Speaker 1: harpsichord and singing. The King would not join her in
Speaker 1: performing on these occasions, but when the couple was alone,
Speaker 1: he was known to accompany her on the German flute.
Speaker 1: Their married life was comfortable, but the Queen was not
Speaker 1: forming social connections outside of her husband, but that was
Speaker 1: his design. She later wrote that she followed her quote
Speaker 1: dear Great King's strictness at d my arrival in England
Speaker 1: to prevent my making acquaintances. You might have suspected as
Speaker 1: much when he didn't allow her to bring her own
Speaker 1: ladies maids from Germany his reasoning, Charlotte remarks that he
Speaker 1: was constantly reminding her to know quote there never could
Speaker 1: be kept up a society without party, which was always
Speaker 1: dangerous for any woman to take part in, but particularly
Speaker 1: so for the royal family. This was a reflection of
Speaker 1: the King's distrustfulness and hints of paranoia, behavior encouraged by
Speaker 1: his mother, the Princess of Wales. George's brother, Prince William,
Speaker 1: once stated that George was quote raised to have a
Speaker 1: bad opinion of the world and dread human honor, and
Speaker 1: upon the queen's arrival, he was quote delighted with having
Speaker 1: entirely under his own training, a young innocent girl of
Speaker 1: seventeen determined she would be wholly devoted to him alone
Speaker 1: and should have no other friend in society. End quote. Whew,
Speaker 1: there is certainly, let's say allah to unpack there. But
Speaker 1: the King's warnings that socializing and frivolity could end badly
Speaker 1: for the royals, while taken to a far extreme with
Speaker 1: his wife, weren't without merit. Court politics were a messy,
Speaker 1: petty game that Charlotte was completely innocent to, while the
Speaker 1: King's possessiveness was isolating. Charlotte soon learned she did need
Speaker 1: to be careful as to who she could place her
Speaker 1: trust into. Nearly thirty years after her rival, she still
Speaker 1: wrote that she avoided quote meddling in politics, which I
Speaker 1: abhor equal to sin. Charlotte and George grew closer over
Speaker 1: shared passions, particularly the arts. He threw balls so they
Speaker 1: could dance. Other attendees would remark how much enjoyment she
Speaker 1: took in dancing and in snuff boxes, a love that
Speaker 1: would persist. He made sure that his queen would regularly
Speaker 1: attend the theater, much ado about nothing being the first
Speaker 1: show they attended together, and in Charlotte's private life she
Speaker 1: became known as an extensive patron of local arts. About
Speaker 1: a month shy of their first wedding anniversary, Charlotte gave
Speaker 1: birth to the couple's first child, George, Prince of Wales.
Speaker 1: It was reported that the Queen had had a very
Speaker 1: good time, which may be the only time in history
Speaker 1: that phrase was associated with giving birth, particularly giving birth
Speaker 1: in the eighteenth century and all of the medical technology
Speaker 1: at their disposal at that time. Young George would be
Speaker 1: the first berth out of fifteen, so maybe Charlotte actually
Speaker 1: did enjoy it. She was only eighteen years old at
Speaker 1: this point, but in a year of her life, Charlotte
Speaker 1: was married, became the Queen, and gave the nation its
Speaker 1: future king check check check. Earlier in the year, George
Speaker 1: had acquired a new property, a little place known as
Speaker 1: Buckingham House, which they called the Queen's House, intended as
Speaker 1: a private residence for Charlotte before the birth of her
Speaker 1: second child, Frederick a year later in seventeen sixty three.
Speaker 1: Charlotte wished to spend the pregnancy there for its open
Speaker 1: air and relative privacy. It wouldn't be long before the
Speaker 1: family transitioned the space to their full time residence. She
Speaker 1: would build an extensive library over the years, mainly curated
Speaker 1: by the Queen herself. Books on law, natural sciences, theology, history,
Speaker 1: and geography all expressed the Queen's desire to learn across subjects. Voltaire, however,
Speaker 1: was notably absent from her shelves beyond books for her
Speaker 1: own literary tastes. She would over the years acquire a
Speaker 1: number of educational treatises and works of children's literature in
Speaker 1: an effort to pass on her love of reading to
Speaker 1: her children. She wasn't only interested in the success of
Speaker 1: her own children. Around the time of Frederick's birth, she
Speaker 1: also began to support an eight year old pianist by
Speaker 1: the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The story goes that
Speaker 1: he sat at the palace's organ and accompanied the Queen
Speaker 1: when she sang in aria. She also began her lifelong
Speaker 1: investment in charity around this time. In eighteen o nine,
Speaker 1: she would fund the General Lying In Hospital for Expecting Mothers,
Speaker 1: which was subsequently renamed the Queen's Lying In Hospital and
Speaker 1: operates today as Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. One of
Speaker 1: the country's oldest maternity hospitals. While Charlotte kept out of politics,
Speaker 1: she began a royal precedent for exercising power in monetarily
Speaker 1: supporting women and children's welfare. It was in seventeen sixty
Speaker 1: five that George experienced the first episode of the mental
Speaker 1: illness that would come to define his life and reputation.
Speaker 1: While he was indisposed, George's mother attempted to hide the
Speaker 1: illness from Charlotte. Charlotte's closest confidante, Madame Schwellenberg, one of
Speaker 1: the two bedchamber women she was permitted to employ from Germany,
Speaker 1: challenged the dowager Princess on this decision. When George recovered,
Speaker 1: he shared the same opinion as his mother in regards
Speaker 1: to meddling women. He threatened to send Madame Schwellenberg back
Speaker 1: to Germany. We don't know exactly how aware Charlotte was
Speaker 1: of her husband's condition, but we do know that behind
Speaker 1: her back, talks of regency were being put into motion.
Speaker 1: The king had already publicly declared that in the case
Speaker 1: of his death, he wished for the Queen to be
Speaker 1: appointed as regent until his successor was eighteen. The minority
Speaker 1: of heir to The Crown Act of seventeen sixty five
Speaker 1: was passed in Parliament and Charlotte became the Regent elect.
Speaker 1: The king soon recovered this bout of madness was temporary,
Speaker 1: and Charlotte's time as regent did not come. One year later,
Speaker 1: seventeen sixty six, Queen Charlotte gave birth to her first daughter, Charlotte,
Speaker 1: in a classic Loralai Gilmore, naming her daughter Lorilai Gilmour.
Speaker 1: Move George and Frederick were now old enough that they
Speaker 1: were in care of governors for their education, but the
Speaker 1: education of the young daughter, Charlotte and the queen's other
Speaker 1: future daughters would be a responsibility she took on herself.
Speaker 1: The children's library mentioned earlier was likely designed with the
Speaker 1: girls in mind. The Queen was making sure their education
Speaker 1: would go beyond what was typically required of young ladies
Speaker 1: what her childhood education had been. The Queen was building
Speaker 1: a life for herself in England, but she was undoubtedly
Speaker 1: lonely and homesick. After a visit from her brother ended
Speaker 1: in seventeen seventy one, she solemnly wrote to him that
Speaker 1: her pleasures are over for the year, and that she
Speaker 1: dreaded the upcoming departure of one of her other brothers.
Speaker 1: By this point, she had been nearly constantly pregnant since
Speaker 1: seventeen sixty two, Eight of her fifteen children already born,
Speaker 1: and the births of her later children would come to
Speaker 1: be associated with tragedy. The seventeen eighties would be a
Speaker 1: difficult period for the Queen. During her pregnancy with Prince Albert,
Speaker 1: her oldest son, the Prince of Wales was engaging in
Speaker 1: bouts of public hedonism that would send her into a depression.
Speaker 1: This was followed by the loss of her musical tutor,
Speaker 1: John Christian Bach, who had been with the Queen since
Speaker 1: her earliest days at the palace. She paid for his
Speaker 1: funeral costs and provided a sum for his widow. The
Speaker 1: next death the Queen would face would possibly be the
Speaker 1: most devastating she could imagine. Prince Alfred, her son, had
Speaker 1: been sickly since his birth, and the Queen tried a
Speaker 1: number of remedies, but it was evident that he was
Speaker 1: not going to survive past infancy. In seventeen eighty two,
Speaker 1: aged only one year old, Prince Alfred died due to
Speaker 1: complications with his smallpox inoculation. He was not the first
Speaker 1: child the king and queen would lose. Only a year later,
Speaker 1: Alfred's elder brother, Prince Octavius, would die due to the
Speaker 1: same complications at age four. The queen would mourn her
Speaker 1: sons for a long time, her quote two dear little angels,
Speaker 1: as she called them. We don't have much in the
Speaker 1: way of the Queen's own writing at this time, beyond
Speaker 1: an instruction to her brother on the subject of Octavius's
Speaker 1: death quote, do not mention it. It is likely that
Speaker 1: Octavius's death would also contribute to triggering a spiral that
Speaker 1: the king would not recover from. At the time of
Speaker 1: Octavius's death, Charlotte was pregnant for the final time, and
Speaker 1: her depression persisted. She complained to her brother that all
Speaker 1: she had was her children and that life outside them
Speaker 1: was monotonous and burdensome. The birth of her final child
Speaker 1: seemed to have eased the queen of some of her pain,
Speaker 1: and she began to reinvest in her patronage and passion
Speaker 1: for Botany. Her relationship with her husband George had remained
Speaker 1: strong over the years. There's an anecdote from seventeen eighty
Speaker 1: six from a woman in the Queen's service. That reads.
Speaker 1: The Queen endeavored to kiss his the King's hand as
Speaker 1: he held them. He would not let her, but made
Speaker 1: an effort to kiss hers. I saw instantly in her
Speaker 1: eyes a forgetfulness that anyone was present, while drawing her
Speaker 1: hand away. If he presented him her cheek. He accepted
Speaker 1: her kindness with the same frank affection that she offered
Speaker 1: it end quote very sweet. Tragic days for the couple
Speaker 1: were soon to return, though. Seventeen eighty eight marked a
Speaker 1: major decline in the King's mental and physiological health. One afternoon,
Speaker 1: attending a sermon with the Queen and their daughters, the
Speaker 1: king quote started up, seemed to have lost all power
Speaker 1: over himself, embraced the Queen and princesses, and then burst
Speaker 1: into tears. He asked the princess, Elizabeth, you know what
Speaker 1: it is to be nervous, But was you ever so
Speaker 1: bad as this? She responded yes, and he fell quiet.
Speaker 1: The King's control over his own mind would only deteriorate
Speaker 1: from here. He soon became delusional and hostile towards Charlotte.
Speaker 1: He would accuse her of adultery while simultaneously believing he
Speaker 1: himself was in fact in love with one of her
Speaker 1: ladies of the bedchamber, even though the King had never,
Speaker 1: in their long marriage ever taken a mistress. We understand
Speaker 1: today that the King was suffering from paranoid delusions, likely
Speaker 1: the effect of the metabolic disorder porphyria, but Charlotte had
Speaker 1: no such reassurances at the time. Over the course of
Speaker 1: the king's decline, Charlotte's own mental health suffered and her
Speaker 1: hair turned prematurely gray. The same lady's maid who once
Speaker 1: recounted the scene of Charlotte and George's little love kiss exchange,
Speaker 1: later wrote that the Queen is almost overpowered with some
Speaker 1: secret terror. Today. She gave up the conflict when I
Speaker 1: was alone with her and burst into a violent fit
Speaker 1: of tears. It was very, very terrible to see. It
Speaker 1: was assumed that the King's illness was grave. He was
Speaker 1: not going to regain his capacities as he once did.
Speaker 1: In seventeen sixty five, Parliament was once again forced to
Speaker 1: assemble to discuss the inevitable regency and decide who would
Speaker 1: be appointed the regent, Charlotte or the Prince of Wales.
Speaker 1: Charlotte was weary of her son's ambitions, and, unlike others,
Speaker 1: held out hope that her husband would recover. The prince
Speaker 1: was ultimately declared the Regent elect, but the resulting bill
Speaker 1: was designed to limit his ability to consolidate power around
Speaker 1: him and gave Charlotte control over the king's person and household.
Speaker 1: Charlotte's hope was ultimately fruitful. The King did recover to
Speaker 1: a degree. That same year. He assured his wife that
Speaker 1: his delusions were nothing more than that, and they were
Speaker 1: able to reconcile. Charlotte and her eldest son's relationship, however,
Speaker 1: was permanently altered. Charlotte herself was permanently altered. Reports say
Speaker 1: she became angry even toward her beloved daughters, whom she
Speaker 1: relied on increasingly in her later years. The King's recovery
Speaker 1: was also only brief. The illness would return in eighteen
Speaker 1: oh one, and then again in eighteen o four. The
Speaker 1: next bout of illness in eighteen eleven marked the beginning
Speaker 1: of George's true and final decline, and in the last
Speaker 1: years of her life, Charlotte would live effectively as a widow,
Speaker 1: her husband confined to separate apartments. The Regency Act of
Speaker 1: eighteen eleven followed similar conditions to the one designed years earlier,
Speaker 1: only now her her son was officially the acting Prince Regent.
Speaker 1: Charlotte devoted the last years of her life to aiding
Speaker 1: the Prince in his rule as much as he would
Speaker 1: allow her. Her joy in later years was greatly derived
Speaker 1: from planning royal marriages, first of her eldest daughter, Elizabeth,
Speaker 1: with whom she was the closest, and that of the
Speaker 1: only granddaughter she lived to meet, Princess Charlotte. If you've
Speaker 1: listened to this podcast since its beginning, you might remember
Speaker 1: an episode on the poor, beloved, Doomed Princess Charlotte. This
Speaker 1: Princess Charlotte also happens to be a major character in
Speaker 1: my newest novel, Immortality, a Love Story. In eighteen seventeen,
Speaker 1: the Queen developed hydropaxi, or dropsy of the chest, which
Speaker 1: affected her in Bounce. Her last public appearance was April
Speaker 1: twenty ninth, eighteen eighteen, a visit to the Egyptian Hall
Speaker 1: at the Mansion House in London for a prize ceremony
Speaker 1: for children taught by the National Society for Promoting Education
Speaker 1: of the Poor. In November that same year, Charlotte died
Speaker 1: at Kew Palace, survived by her husband, who likely never
Speaker 1: knew of her death. Charlotte was subjected to a number
Speaker 1: of tragedies throughout her life, but beyond those, all surviving
Speaker 1: records paint the portrait of a woman who found passion
Speaker 1: beyond it all in her studies, her hobbies, her children,
Speaker 1: and in love. That's the story of Queen Charlotte. But
Speaker 1: stick around to hear a bit more on the theory
Speaker 1: of her possible Black ancestry. As I noted earlier, England
Speaker 1: maintained a fervent obsession with the looks of Queen Charlotte.
Speaker 1: One report from her physician in her later years is
Speaker 1: notable for a particular description quote small and crooked with
Speaker 1: a true mulatto face. Apologies for that word, but I
Speaker 1: think in this context it's important to understand that descriptions
Speaker 1: like these spurred interest, and a historian by the name
Speaker 1: of Mario de Valdes e co Combe is known for
Speaker 1: formulating the theory that Charlotte was of African ancestry, a
Speaker 1: theory that gave us the Bridgerton Charlotte we know today.
Speaker 1: The grounds for the theory are questionable, based on a
Speaker 1: portrait of the seventeen year old Charlotte by the official
Speaker 1: royal painter Alan Ramsay. The historian argues that the queen
Speaker 1: possesses what he perceives as quote subtleties in coloring and
Speaker 1: facial bone structure of individuals of African descent and quote.
Speaker 1: This is supported by his argument that the queen was,
Speaker 1: as described in the Guardian quote, directly descended from a
Speaker 1: black branch of the Portuguese royal family related to Margherita
Speaker 1: di Castro Issuza, a fifteenth century Portuguese noble woman nine
Speaker 1: generations removed whose ancestry she traces from the thirteenth century
Speaker 1: ruler Alphonso the Third and his lover Madragana, whom Valdaz
Speaker 1: takes to have been a more and thus a black
Speaker 1: African end quote. Historians today note that such an ancestral
Speaker 1: connection would be incredibly far removed, on top of already
Speaker 1: thin evidence that Madragana was even black in the thirteenth century.
Speaker 1: With the theories roots in a racist comment from a
Speaker 1: nineteenth century physician, perceived African features in a portrait, and
Speaker 1: an incredibly distant ancestral connection that cannot be proven, most
Speaker 1: historians share the consensus that when it comes to the
Speaker 1: question of Queen Charlotte being black, the answer is maybe,
Speaker 1: very very distantly possible, but incredibly unlikely. Noble Blood is
Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey.
Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danas Schwartz. Additional writing
Speaker 1: and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward,
Speaker 1: Courtney Sender, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by
Speaker 1: rima Il Kayali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive
Speaker 1: producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.