Tag: George III

The Socialite: Edward, Duke of York

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While George III is most famous for his “madness,” he was in fact better-renowned in his younger days for being almost annoyingly upright and fastidious. He married responsibly, embraced a quiet family life, and was usually quite horrified when scandal touched any of his relations. Unfortunately for him that happened rather frequently, and while his children’s exploits are more famous, his siblings also gave him a run for his money. We’ve discussed before his younger sister, Queen Caroline Matilda of Denmark & Norway, as well as his brother, William, Duke of Gloucester and his marriage to Maria Walpole, but today we’re going to turn to the eldest of his younger brothers, Edward, Duke of York.

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The American Revolution & Britain’s Side of the Story

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The story of the American Revolution is integral to the psychology of today’s United States, though it has in many respects become just that – a story – and the foundations on which it sprouted roots are made up of equal parts fact and, well, let’s say convenient omissions. For one, this was less a “revolution” than it was a civil war – English colonists were of course British citizens, but some 100,000 of those colonists fled the colonies for England when they saw which way the wind was blowing.

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The (Very) Quiet Rebellion of George & Charlotte

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We’ve covered almost all of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s children, but we’ve paid very little attention to the Queen herself. Thanks to her children and her famous granddaughter, Queen Victoria, Charlotte is best-known in history as an aging matriarch, emblematic of the phrase, “Misery loves company.” But when you consider the role of her marriage in her life, it allows room for greater empathy when considering the often strident role she took in the lives of her adult children later on.

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Queen Victoria’s Father: Edward, Duke of Kent

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Of all of George III’s 15 children, only one managed to produce another sovereign – Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. Save the last 18 months of his life, very little would give you the idea he had either the motivation or capability of doing so and, indeed, it is perhaps for the best (albeit tragic) that he never had the opportunity to mold the character of his more famous daughter.

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The Independent Beauty: Mary, Duchess of Gloucester

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(c) Pembroke College, Cambridge; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Like all the daughters of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Mary’s life was a little bit tragic and a little bit mundane. Born in April 1776, Mary was the first of her parents’ children to arrive in the middle of the American Revolution. Ten other children preceded her in the royal nursery, but few of them would be able to match Mary in confidence or spirit, both of which may very well have stemmed from the fact she was early on considered the most attractive of her siblings.

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The Sussex Marriages

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As all bets indicate that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they marry this May, it seems as good a time as any to look at the last prince to hold this title and the two rather memorable marriages he made. To-date this title has only had one creation, though its second has garnered speculation for years. There was discussion when the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, became engaged that the title would be bestowed on him at his wedding, and it came up again in the lead up to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011, but the best intel has always said it was long ago set aside as Harry’s.

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The Private Life of Princess Augusta

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Princess Augusta bears the dubious honor of being George III’s most beautiful daughter, but that’s not exactly a high standard. She was born on November 8, 1768, the sixth child and second daughter of George and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her birth is famous for the anecdote that her father was enormously eager for another daughter after four boys and when the waiting physician said, “I think, sir, whoever sees those lovely princes above stairs must be glad to have another,” the King was none too pleased.

“Dr. Hunter,” replied George, “I did not think I could have been angry with you, but I am; and I say, however see that lovely child the Princess Royal above stairs must wish to have the fellow with her.”

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Did George III’s Daughter Have an Illegitimate Son?

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The short answer is “yes.” Princess Sophia was born to George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on November 3, 1777. It was an easy birth – or, as Charlotte later put it, “I was taken ill and delivered in the space of fifteen minutes.” Her father wasn’t present as he was then deeply enmeshed in the crisis of the American Revolution. By March, France and Britain had broken off diplomatic relations and the war wasn’t going particularly well – even so, Sophia was allocated funds during the Parliamentary session after birth to be paid out when she married or her father died, whichever came first.

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The One Who Got Away: Charlotte, Queen of Württemberg

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George III was famously disinclined to let his daughters marry thanks to the marital follies of his siblings. And while that feeling may have been spearheaded by George, it was supported by his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, particularly after George began showing signs of mental illness. Of the couple’s six daughters, only three married, but of those three, only one married before she was middle-aged. That daughter was the eldest: Charlotte, the Princess Royal.

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