Tag: Caroline of Brunswick

Maria Fitzherbert, George IV’s Catholic Wife

On By RSBIn The House of HanoverLeave a comment

Maria_Anne_Fitzherbert1788

Before George IV married Caroline of Brunswick and embarked on one of the most disastrous and humiliating royal matches in British history, he took another wife, one of his own choosing. The problem was that she was Catholic, and not of the Stuart variety, but rather a nice Englishwoman who was only noble adjacent. Neither her social position nor her financial situation made her a viable contender for a royal marriage, and the prince who fell in love with her was none other than the heir to the throne.

Continue reading “Maria Fitzherbert, George IV’s Catholic Wife” →

Before Victoria: Princess Charlotte of Wales

On By RSBIn The House of HanoverLeave a comment

Charlotte_Augusta_of_Wales.jpg

Today is the 200th anniversary of the day Princess Charlotte of Wales died, changing the trajectory of British history and ushering Queen Victoria not only to the throne, but into existence. When I was younger and first becoming interested in the history of the British Royal Family, Princess Charlotte was one of my favorite figures. There’s something rather stunning about her story – from her likability in the face of her family’s unpopularity to her parents’ disastrous marriage to her own seemingly happy ending that was tragically cut short. Charlotte was born to become yet another one of the UK’s queen regnant and her death led to another. There are interesting parallels between Charlotte and Queen Victoria: both were headstrong women in leadership, both married men from Coburg and both were only children who grew up unnaturally alone. It seems fitting somehow that if history intended for Charlotte to be replaced then it was by another Hanoverian woman.

Continue reading “Before Victoria: Princess Charlotte of Wales” →

When the Princess of Wales Left England

On By RSBIn The House of Hanover3 Comments

george-and-caroline-of-brunswick.jpg

On August 8, 1814, the Princess of Wales left England and didn’t return until June 5, 1820 as the queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover. It was an extraordinary set of circumstances that made it both tenable and palatable for the heir to the throne’s wife to live abroad. Indeed, it was a set up so appealing to her husband that he took measures to block her from ever returning.

As laid out in more detail here, the marriage of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick was a disaster through and through. Sometimes comical, other times tragic, it remains a particularly damning example of arranged marriages gone wrong and an indictment of the bumper lanes put on royal unions per the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. Today, however, we’re going to zoom in on this nearly six-year period of Caroline’s exile the best we can because it was an unprecedented set of circumstances and one that has never been repeated.

Continue reading “When the Princess of Wales Left England” →

The Worst Couple in Royal History: George IV & Caroline of Brunswick

On By RSBIn The House of HanoverLeave a comment

1024px-Trial_of_Queen_Caroline_by_Sir_George_Hayter.jpg

One theory abounds that the Royal Family is at its most effective when it’s considered dull. If that’s the case then George IV was pretty much a disaster from start to finish, a fact that was solidified by his marriage to his cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick at the end of the 18th century. Their union was so scandalous, petty and embarrassing that, honestly, they make the domestic wars of the 1990s seems downright quaint.

Continue reading “The Worst Couple in Royal History: George IV & Caroline of Brunswick” →