Born on this date in 1744 was Charlotte Sophia von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom as spouse of King George III. She is Queen Victoria’s grandmother and Queen Elizabeth II’s great-great-great-great grandmother. She is also the second longest consort in British history. The longest reigning consort is Prince Philip, so she’d the longest reigning Queen Consort, having served a total of 57 years and 70 days.
She was born in Mirow, Germany, the youngest daughter of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz family. She was a minor princess, growing up in a rural area, and so it wasn’t seen as very important to educate her. She had a rudimentary education which included botany and religious studies and not much about managing a royal household. However, her lack of education was one of the things which made her the perfect choice for George III: he didn’t want a wife who would get involved in politics or interfere with his reign.
Charlotte and George were married at first sight. While he researched her background, they didn’t meet until their wedding day. They were married less than six hours after she landed on the coast of England. George was 22, and Charlotte was 17.
In spite of that, by all accounts it was a happy marriage and she provided him with an heir and 14 spares. When George became ill, she supported him as much as possible although at the height of his mental illness, she was afraid of him and refused to be alone with him.
She continued her education after she married. One of the first things she needed to learn was the English language, but it’s said she picked it up quickly. She retained an interest in Botany and was a regular visitor at Kew Gardens to learn more. In due course, a South African flower, the Bird of Paradise, was named Strelitzia reginae in her honour. She also made sure that her daughters all received the best education possible.
She was fond of animals, too. She brought with her two Pomeranians, Named Phoebe and Mercury, but also collected exotic wild animals. Her Zebra was often seen grazing outside Buckingham Palace and she kept an Elephant in the stables with her horses. Charlotte was known for gifting Kangaroos to her friends and loved ones.
Another of her great loves was music. She was friends with Johann Christian Bach and invited Mozart to play at the Palace when he was eight years old.
She was addicted to snuff, and owned over 90 snuff boxes and had a collection of over 350 different brands of snuff from the Royal Manufactory of Seville. Her favourite blend included ingredients like bitter almonds, ambergris, and green tea. George gave the habit a try when they’d been married for a couple of days, but couldn’t stop sneezing so never became a fan himself.
Marie Antoinette was her pen pal. They never met, but wrote to one another, mostly about art and music, although later on Marie Antoinette shared her concerns about the French Revolution. Charlotte had a plan to provide her friend with a refuge in England should they decide to flee, and was distraught to learn that the King and Queen of France had been executed.
It is said that Charlotte’s lineage can be traced back to the Portuguese royal family, and that one of her ancestors, Alfonso III of Portugal, took the town of Faro from the Moors. One of the spoils of war was the youngest daughter of the town’ Moorish governor. This woman and Alfonso had three children and there’s a popular belief that Charlotte was descended from that union and is therefore Britain’s first mixed race queen. Hence she is often portrayed by mixed race actresses on screen. Most scholars, however, don’t subscribe to the theory.
Although there were a number of royal residences, including St. James’s Palace and Frogmore House, Charlotte had a particular liking for Buckingham House, which was originally regarded as Charlotte’s private retreat and was even dubbed ‘The Queen’s House’. 14 of her children were born there. Today it’s known as Buckingham Palace. George III established the first debutante ball in 1780 in honour of his wife’s birthday, and Queen Charlotte’s Ball was held at Buckingham Palace every year until Queen Elizabeth II put a stop to it in the 1950s. Hence it’s thought that the portrayal of Charlotte as a gossip and a matchmaker in TV shows like Bridgerton may not have been far from the truth.
New!!!
The six richest people in Britain decide to hold a contest to settle the question of which of them is most successful. It will be a gladiator style contest with each entrant fielding a team of ten super-powered combatants. Entrepreneur Llew Powell sets out to put together his team, which includes his former lover, an employee of his company with a fascinating hobby, two refugees from another dimension (a lonely giant and a drunken sailor), two sisters bound together by a promise, a diminutive doctor, a former Tibetan monk initiate and two androids with a history. As the team train together, alliances form, friendships and more develop, while others find the past is not easy to leave behind.
Meanwhile, a ruthless race of aliens has its eyes on the Earth. Already abducting and enslaving humans, they work towards the final invasion which would destroy life on Earth as we know it. Powell’s group, Combat Team Alpha, stumble upon one of the wormholes the aliens use to travel to Earth and witness for themselves the horrors in store if the aliens aren’t stopped. Barely escaping with their lives, they realise there are more important things to worry about than a fighting competition.
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