The Hanoverian Queens & Consorts of The United Kingdom 7/8

queens and consorts of the united kingdom part 7 the hanoverians the lives of the many kings and handful of queens regnant who have held dominion over the kingdom of england and later the united kingdom take center stage in history but the lives of their spouses and mothers are often relegated to the wings in this series we will learn the stories of the mini queens consort and the handful of male consorts who have been at the monarch's sides through love hate adultery and sometimes murder these women and men have played vital roles in the history of england when queen anne died in 1714 without an heir parliament invited her closest protestant cousin to move to london and take the throne the elector of hanover in northern germany was crowned king george the first of great britain in addition to ruling at the state of hanover his title of elector meant that he was one of nine members of the electoral college that selected the holy roman emperor to rule over all of them the new king's ex-wife was sophia dorthea of cell daughter of the duke of brunswick she was the child of a love match and grew up in a warm and caring home she was therefore shocked when her new groom treated her coldly and scolded her for her informal manner and inferior parentage once sophia had given birth to two children george considered his duty done and he left his wife for his mistress sophia began an affair of her own with swedish soldier count philip von koenigsmark but per the marital double standard of the time this relationship was considered completely unacceptable after a violent argument with her husband the lovers plotted an escape but their plans were leaked to prince george and count philip disappeared mysteriously rumors spread that he had been murdered and his body had been thrown in the river or buried under the floorboards of the palace but the mystery has never been solved prince george divorced his wife and imprisoned her for the rest of her life he also forbid her from seeing her children ever again in 1725 her daughter by then queen of prussia and mother to the future frederick the great paid a visit to hanover sofia dressed in her finest clothes and waited by the window every day in the hopes that her daughter would pay her a visit but she was prevented from doing so sophia turned to food for comfort and suffered several health problems towards the end of her life she died in her sleep from a stroke at the age of 60. four weeks later her ex-husband by now king of great britain died of a stroke himself legend has it that he expired after reading sophia's last letter to him in which she cursed him for his decades of cruelty his son king george ii hated his father for his cruelty towards his mother among other things he had been determined to have a happier union so he married caroline of anspach daughter of a minor german noble her father died when she was 3 and her mother when she was 13. orphaned caroline was taken in by her mother's dear friend queen sophia charlotte of prussia sophia charlotte was the sister of king george the first and a highly intelligent liberal and strong-willed queen she kept a lively court that attracted many great scholars and philosophers caroline whose previous education had been basic thrived in the scholarly environment her new guardian adored her and called her the most agreeable princess in germany and as caroline was also very attractive she was a highly sought after bride the future holy roman emperor charles vi proposed to her but she declined as she did not wish to convert to catholicism queen sophia charlotte's nephew prince george visited the prussian court incognito in order to meet caroline and decide if he liked her he wanted to avoid a miserable marriage like his parents had and like her he did praising her comparable beauty and mental attributes caroline who was not fooled by the prince's disguise liked him as well and agreed to marry him shortly after the birth of her first child prince frederick caroline fell ill with smallpox and pneumonia she had to be separated from her baby for his protection but her husband remained devotedly by her side he caught the disease from her but they both recovered they had a pleasant marriage though george did take mistresses as was expected of him caroline tolerated his affairs and steered him towards her ladies in waiting so that she could keep an eye on them when queen anne of great britain died caroline moved to london to join her husband and the pair became prince and princess of wales she brought her three daughters with her but her son prince frederick was left behind to be raised by tutors caroline and her husband made many efforts to anglicize themselves they learned the language and customs and surrounded themselves with english people this greatly contrasted with king george the first who hated england and the english kept a court full of german nobles and refused to learn the language the prince and princess kept their own court at leicester house in opposition to the king and were far more popular the prince and his father hated each other and fought constantly the king kept his son locked out of political power at the baptism of caroline's second son prince george william the prince and his father got into an argument over the choice of godparents the king banished his son and daughter-in-law from court and kept their children from them baby prince george died at just three months old and a postmortem was conducted to prove that he had suffered from a polyp on his heart rather than from separation from his mother after the tragedy the king relented and allowed caroline to see her children she had 11 pregnancies two of which were miscarried one son was stillborn but seven of her children grew to adulthood much as her mentor sophia charlotte had done in prussia caroline played host to many great thinkers including mathematician john arbitnaut philosopher goldfried leibniz and gulliver's travels author jonathan swift caroline's intelligence far exceeded her husbands and she easily kept up with the lively discussions of these intellectual giants voltaire wrote of her she was born to encourage the arts and the well-being of mankind she is a benevolent philosopher and has never lost an opportunity to learn or to manifest her generosity caroline was also an early promoter of varialation the precursor to vaccination and had her children inoculated to protect them from smallpox caroline became friends with politician robert walpole who was appointed the first prime minister together they encouraged the king and prince to reconcile king george the first died in 1727 and his king george ii finally had political power he turned to his wife for guidance she promoted freedom of speech and of the press when queen anne's nephew bonnie prince charlie attacked in a failed bid to claim the throne caroline pleaded for clemency for his supporters the jacobites her eldest son prince frederick moved to britain as an adult after being raised in hanover he did not get along with the parents he barely knew as george ii had fought with his own father he now fought with his son and denied him political power he named caroline his regent on four occasions when he left the country enraging his son when the king's ship was briefly lost at sea caroline was disgusted that her son threw a party the prince stated that he would never allow his own consort to advise him and he manipulated his naive 17-year-old wife princess augusta of saxegotha after being denied an increase in his allowance to cover his gambling debts prince frederick retaliated by preventing his parents from witnessing the birth of his first child when augusta went into labor he smuggled her out of the palace and forced her to endure a bumpy two-hour carriage ride after the incident queen caroline lost any remaining love she had held for her son she remarked look there he goes that wretch that villain i wish the ground would open this moment and sink the monster to the lowest hole in hell during a formal reception the queen was struck with an intense abdominal pain she struggled through the rest of the event and then took to her bed where she discovered that part of her intestine was coming through her belly button this was due to an umbilical hernia she had been living with since the birth of her last child 13 years earlier she endured several days of bleeding purging and operations without anesthetic on her deathbed she gave her husband permission to remarry he replied that he would never consider it but would instead take mistresses she responded exasperatedly oh mondo queen caroline was laid to rest at westminster abbey in one of two matching coffins with removable sides when her husband died 23 years later his coffin was laid flush with hers so that they could mulder side by side for all eternity prince frederick was not invited to his mother's funeral he did not outlive his father to take the throne he was hit in the stomach by a tennis ball and the resulting ulcer burst and killed him his wife princess augusta of saxgotha gave birth to her ninth child after his death she was named prospective regent during the minority of her eldest son and the heir apparent thirteen-year-old george but his grandfather lived another nine years passing the throne onto george the third when he was 22 the king's mother no longer an innocent teenage bride had a heavy influence on her son she instilled in him the german style of monarchy absolute she was keen that he marry a member of her own german family so he read charlotte of mecklenburg strelitz the daughter of the duke of mecklenburg in northern germany charlotte has received a great deal of attention as of late for being britain's first biracial queen which is likely true if a bit exaggerated her ancestry has been traced to 13th century portuguese king alfonso iii and his lover madrigana who may have been a black moor queen charlotte's contemporaries said that she had an unmistakable african appearance while this is a fascinating possibility madrigana and charlotte were separated by 500 years and 15 generations so her moorish heritage would have been much less than one percent the 17 year old german princess had received a mediocre education a fact which her new husband prized as he wanted a wife without the political savvy of his mother and grandmother the king warned his bride not to meddle charlotte spoke not a word of english when she picked up the language she spoke with a thick accent and was shy conversing with people she didn't know she had a strained relationship with her mother-in-law augusta insisted on rigid court etiquette and prevented charlotte from making friends and she paid charlotte's staff to spy on her the new queen did get on well with her husband he preferred a relaxed domestic life in the country and playing with his children to the grandeur and protocol of court at the time the official royal residence was st james palace built by henry viii in the heart of london but george purchased a new more secluded residence buckingham house charlotte adored the property which came to be known as the queen's house she expanded and redecorated the palace with indian paper and bright colors queen charlotte gave birth to 15 children she maligned her state of constant pregnancy but loved her children dearly her two youngest sons alfred ii and octavius 4 died of smallpox charlotte was renowned for treating both her children and her servants with great kindness she founded an orphanage and a maternity hospital she ensured that her six daughters received far better educations than she had though she was reluctant to allow them to marry and leave her which they either never did or put off until they were in their 40s none of charlotte's daughters had any living children george and charlotte were both musical connoisseurs with german taste they favored george friedrich handle and hosted an eight-year-old wolfgang amadeus mozart the prodigy accompanied queen charlotte's singing of an aria he dedicated his opus 3 to her the queen had an interest in botany and expanded kew gardens adding hundreds of new plant species brought back by explorers including james cook and joseph banks the city of charlotte north carolina in the united states is named in her honor as is mecklenburg county in which it sits charlotte had little interest in politics and was uninvolved in the many tumultuous events which took place during her tenure namely the loss of the american colonies in the revolutionary war and the enclosure act which allowed the wealthy to grab up and fence off most of the country stealing common land that had been shared and farmed by communities for centuries this law caused the wealth gap in britain to widen to a chasm charlotte's lifelong friend and pen pal queen marie antoinette was toppled in the french revolution charlotte prepared rooms for the refugee french royal family but they were not able to escape imprisonment charlotte was devastated to learn that her friend had been guillotined in 1800 the irish parliament voted to unite with the british monarchy thus forming the united kingdom of great britain and ireland beginning in his late 20s king george had suffered occasional bouts of mental illness but at 50 his health went into dramatic decline he talked incessantly foamed at the mouth rampaged through the palace and held his wife and children tightly and refused to let them go he had many imagined conversations with his dead children alfred octavius and amelia who died of illness at 27. charlotte was terrified by her husband's violent outbursts and moved out of their shared bedroom she argued with her son george about which of them should become regent if the king did not recover george iii faded in and out of madness and lucidity for the next 20 years and charlotte became increasingly nervous and depressed visiting him less and less often in 1811 the king was permanently incapacitated and prince george was named regent as the prince was estranged from his wife his mother stood by his side at royal functions including the celebration of the defeat of napoleon in 1814 she also helped raise her granddaughter charlotte of wales queen charlotte died at the age of 74 while her son george held her hand her husband was unable to comprehend her death she had been queen consort for 57 years and 70 days the second longest tenure in british history after prince philip husband of queen elizabeth ii prince george continued to serve as regent until his father's death two years later 35 years earlier at the age of 21 prince george had secretly married a catholic commoner mariah fitzherbert a union that was illegal without the king's permission had it been binding george would have been barred from the succession for marrying a catholic king george bribed his son to leave mariah by paying off his staggering gambling debts the prince was instructed to marry a proper royal bride his cousin caroline of brunswick the daughter of princess augusta king george iii's elder sister most german princesses of the time were taught english in the hopes that they might be selected as bride to the british heir caroline was no exception she excelled in music but otherwise received a lackluster education young caroline was witty playful and very beautiful she had a strong desire to dance a pleasure denied her by her strict parents who secluded her from the opposite sex when dancing began at the wedding of her elder brother teenage caroline was sent to sit with the old ladies several german princes approached caroline's parents to propose a match with their beautiful daughter when she was 27 her parents overprotection finally paid off when she became engaged to the prince of wales despite the growing popularity of love matches the couple did not meet before their wedding day both were following parental orders on meeting his future wife for the first time george was disappointed and called for a glass of brandy she wasn't his type and the fastidious prince had concerns about her personal hygiene she remarked to a friend that the prince was very fat and nothing like as handsome as his portrait at dinner that night george was appalled by caroline's chattiness and jibes at the expense of his mistress also seated at the table she was disappointed by her groom's obvious preference for that other lady george was drunk at the wedding ceremony and only slept with his wife three times twice on their wedding night and once the next night after that the newlyweds lived apart caroline gave birth to a child princess charlotte nine months later prince george was hated by the people for his indulgent and expensive lifestyle while the rest of the nation lived under austerity during the napoleonic wars caroline seen as his wronged wife gained popularity for her open and friendly nature she moved into her own residence and while her daughter was kept away from her she adopted nine poor orphan children prince george eager to divorce his estranged wife launched an investigation to determine if she had been unfaithful and if one of the children might have been her own love child but his spies were not able to uncover any evidence against her after 16 years of miserable marriage george was appointed regent and his power grew substantially many abandoned caroline's social circle in favor of the region's extravagant parties george further limited his wife's access to their daughter princess charlotte was so upset that she ran away from her father's residence to visit her mother but after a few days she was forced to return home caroline grew increasingly isolated in britain so she moved to italy and bought a villa on lake como there she began a relationship with her servant bartolomeo peregmi the pair traveled the mediterranean together visiting tunisia constantinople and jerusalem and meeting the pope back in britain the popular and vibrant 21 year old heir to the throne princess charlotte married prince leopold the future king of the belgians charlotte died giving birth to her first child a son who was stillborn prince george refused to write to his wife to inform her of the tragedy so she heard of her only child's death from a passing courier george pushed even harder for a divorce and sent spies to italy to find evidence of caroline's adultery in 1820 george iii died and caroline traveled to britain to be acknowledged as queen consort she was greeted by crowds of supporters who saw her as an opposition to the unpopular king and government george ordered his ministers to get rid of her they brought before parliament two green bags filled with evidence of caroline's adultery which were opened in secret the house of lords voted to strip caroline of her title of queen and dissolve her marriage but the house of commons voted in her favor caroline joked that she had only committed adultery once with the husband of mrs fitzherbert queen caroline showed up to her husband's over-the-top and ridiculously expensive coronation but he ordered the doors slammed in her face fuming she returned home and took to her bed with a dose of lavenam she died three weeks later at the age of 53 probably of cancer george ordered her body to be sent back to germany without ceremony but a crowd of londoners rioted seized her coffin and paraded it through the streets as befitted a queen she was buried in brunswick under the epitaph here lies caroline the injured queen of england king george outlived her by nine years indulging his gargantuan appetites for food drink and luxury and hiding from the public out of shame he died at 67. as he had no living children the throne passed to his brother king william iv his queen was adelaide of soch's minin daughter of yet another german duke when princess charlotte died in childbirth king george iii's 12 living children didn't have a single legitimate child between them parliament offered generous allowances to the royal dukes if they would make legitimate marriages and father children they hope to avoid a future succession crisis for 20 years duke william had been living with a popular irish actress named dorthea bland with whom he had 10 children but the 53 year old prince left her and wed 26 year old princess adelaide in a double wedding with his brother prince edward duke of kent and his german princess victoria of leiningen the newlyweds settled in hanover which was less expensive than england despite the difference in their ages they had a contented companionship adelaide was a good influence on william he cut down on drinking and swearing and became more tactful their first child was born prematurely and only lived a few hours adelaide suffered a miscarriage and then gave birth to elizabeth georgiana adelaide who seemed strong but died at just three months of an inflammation of the bowels adelaide also gave birth to stillborn twin boys after these tragedies the couple gave up hope for more children william's brother edward and his wife welcomed a daughter victoria who was acknowledged as william's heir 13 years into their marriage william became king he had always hated royal pageantry and made a mockery of his coronation acting as though he was in a comic opera queen adelaide in contrast was the picture of serene dignity she was loved by the people for her piety philanthropy and tragic childbirth history she gave a great deal of money to charitable causes and founded a dispensary to treat victims of the cholera epidemic she expected impeccable virtue in her ladies at court and banned them from wearing low-cut dresses but the king who enjoyed ample expanses of that kind would not allow the ladies to be covered up reformers in the government were pushing for more equal representation and for expansion of the right to vote but the queen was strongly conservative and tried to influence the king against making changes she lost much of her popularity as the country came to the brink of revolution the king was forced to back down and the reform act of 1832 was instated adelaide was close to her niece victoria even as the king and victoria's mother got into terrible arguments after seven years on the throne william fell seriously ill adelaide remained by his side refusing to sleep for 10 days he died at 71 and his niece victoria was proclaimed queen adelaide lived another 12 years at marlborough house and traveling around europe she died at 57. the city of adelaide australia was named in her honor in the next chapter we'll meet the queens and consorts of the sox kolberg and gotha and later the windsor dynasty they brought britain and her expanding empire into the modern era and brought their people through two world wars don't want to wait to see the rest of the series patrons get exclusive early access now if you would like to become a patron and help me make more fascinating history videos check out the link in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 617,735

Keywords: royalty, bbc, the crown, historic costumes, queens of the world, european royalty, queens of europe, womens history, queens of england, Queens Consort, fairy tale Queens, Queens and Consorts of England, the hanoverian Queens and Consorts of England, 1700s, the georgians, the georgian queens, hanoverians, Caroline of Ansbach, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Caroline of Brunswick, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, biracial queen of england, queen charlotte

Id: _t8Ga2QPv9Q

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 06 2021