The life of the real QUEEN CHARLOTTE of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Who was married to George III?

What was the REAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE like? She’s been made famous through Netflix shows like Bridgerton, but who was Queen Charlotte really? Born Princess Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, she grew up to become the woman who was married to George III, the Queen with the most children in British history (or at least the highest number who survived infancy) and the first Queen of the United Kingdom. In this video on the history of the Hanoverians from History Calling I’ll reveal details of Charlotte’s entire life from her birth in 1744 to her death in Kew Palace in 1818 and I’ll answer the question, how many children did Queen Charlotte have and tell you why being the wife of George III was no easy task.

George is known to history for two things. One is being the King who lost America, after the American Revolution successfully ended British control in the country on his watch. The other is his famous mental health problems. But what happened when George III went mad, not once, but twice? How did his wife deal with the situation, especially when her eldest son became the Prince Regent and did Queen Charlotte love King George III, or was she stuck with an ailing spouse she didn’t even like at the best of times?

This video has all the answers. It will take you through the marriage of George III and Queen Charlotte, her experience of being his consort and her many children (she was the mother of George IV among others). Along the way I’ll tell you about the madness of King George III, explain what the Regency period was above all introduce you to the real Queen Charlotte.

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THUMBNAIL: Photo of India Amarteifio as Queen Charlotte from promotional poster for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Photo accessed on Wikimedia Commons, used under Fair Use (detail).
Portrait of Queen Charlotte, Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (detail).
Photo of Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte in Bridgeton. Photo from Netflix. Used under Fair Use (detail).

[HistoryCalling]

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[gloriadanvershypnosis]

My thought regarding her healthy pregnancies is that her husband being faithful meant that she was not subject to venereal diseases, which, in my opinion, accounted for many early terminated, pregnancies and sickly children in the royal family.

[emilybarclay]

Charlotte is one of my favourite English queen consorts simply because of how genuinely sweet and pleasant she was by all accounts and how much she suffered watching the man she so dearly loved descend into madness. Also, any woman who manages to have that many kids is some kind of superhuman!

[moi.]

Queen Charlotte Fun Facts:
Aged just eight, Mozart performed for the Queen and was invited to perform at the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the King’s accession in 1764. His Opus III was dedicated to the Queen when it was published in January 1765.

Queen Charlotte was an amateur botanist who took a great interest in Kew Gardens. In an age of discovery, when such travelers and explorers as Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks were constantly bringing home new species and varieties of plants, she ensured that the collections were significantly enriched and expanded. Her interest in botany led to the South African flower, the Bird of Paradise, being named Strelitzia reginae in her honor.

Queen Charlotte has also been credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Britain and its colonies. Queen Charlotte set up the first known English Christmas tree at Queen's Lodge, Windsor. That year, she held a large Christmas party for the children of all the families in Windsor and placed a whole tree in the drawing room, decorated with tinsel, glass, baubles, and fruits.

The queen founded orphanages and, in 1809, became the patron (providing new funding) of the General Lying-in Hospital, a hospital for expectant mothers. It was subsequently renamed as the Queen's Hospital, and is today the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.

In 1780, a May ball was held by King George III in honor of his wife, to raise money for a hospital, and it was widely thought to be the first notable debutante ball. It became an annual event, and each year an exclusive group of high-class young women, usually aged around 17 or 18, would be formally introduced to the monarch.

[khfanlife]

From all reports, Charlotte was a genuine and sweet woman. She treated her ladies and her children’s attendants with great respect and kindness. It’s a shame her life wasn’t entirely smooth sailing since her beloved husband kept lapsing into madness brought on by porphyria and she could only helplessly watch as he suffered from it. The fact they had 15 children was a testament of their love for each other.

[angierucinski]

It's really difficult to judge 18th century behaviours from a 21st century standpoint. Maybe Charlotte prevented her daughters' marriages in hopes of sparing them her own experience? Or, having been separated from everyone she knew upon her own marriage, she couldn't bear to lose any more close females?

[NickVenture]

It is easy to follow this presentation and learn a lot without efforts. And while listening I suddenly noticed that there is no music and no noise in the background. Very appreciated.

[kellmac]

The detail of that cameo at 12:39 is breathtaking! Hard to imagine even an expert craftsman getting such beautiful, fine details like those flowers without modern tools. Just gorgeous!

[namaschu]

15 children in 20 years - wow. That's indeed an record👶Thank you for this interesting video 📽️🎥

[VictoriaForSale]

I only can imagine how much it destroyed Charlotte to hear her beloved husband saying he never loved her even though she knew it was not true. It's the worst and the words everyone frightens most when in a happy loving relationship. (though I think he was awfully controlling)

[adrianseguras.]

Lol. So she wasnt black of course. Funny how even mentioning such a thing can be such a taboo these days. People being scared of speaking plain truths... What would Plato or Aristotle think on this? Theyd probably barf.

[sirwelch]

Queen Charlotte's life and reputation were astounding. The way she interacted with their children wasn't exactly irregular if you count the strenuous relationship between Caroline of Ansbach and a certain fee of her children or Charlotte's mother-in-law in turn with Caroline Matilda after her marriage.

[ceciland]

How did anyone think Charlotte wasn’t pretty? By her pictures, she was a lovely looking woman. Perfect classic looks. Those who say different are just haters. Plus we love Queen Charlotte!!!

[susanmorgan]

Given the amount of time the duties of a queen would have occupied Queen Charlotte, plus the actual time spent in pregnancy or just time alone with George, it's amazing she could have found much time at all to devote solely to nurturing her children. Getting her dressed and ready to face the court involved considerable time, something usually not considered as a time consumer today. And that was only the start to her day.

[ashlynsummers]

I mean, to be fair, she never was one to play on the floor most likely because she was always pregnant or had given birth not too long before. I couldn’t imagine trying to play on the floor with my kids, 10 months after giving birth and also being like 3 months pregnant

[emmarichardson]

Like other commenters have suggested, I wonder if her clinging to her daughters was the result of George isolating her so much. He didn't want her to make friends with the nobility, so the only "acceptable" (read: safe) companions were other members of the royal family.

[naomiskilling]

I really feel for poor Charlotte as her husband slowly devolves and their relationship shattered. Like, it's been all she's ever known since she was 17 years old and George seemed to deliberately make her depended on him and their marriage (which I have some serious raised eyebrows about because considering the time period she was already dependant on him anyways). I wonder if her desperate need to keep her daughters with her was somewhat to have a buffer between her and George so he had other people he could focus himself on and partially because they were the last thing she had to remind her of what she once had with a large family and a loving marriage. Like how Victoria kept her daughters close to her after Albert died and was very reluctant to let them marry and leave her.

[greylyn]

I live in Charlotte, NC named for Queen Charlotte in the county of Mecklenburg. There is a statue of her in the city and at the airport. Also in the museum we have a huge portrait of her.

[shylockwesker]

I remember her portrayal by Helen Mirren in the madness of king George. They were a well matched couple.

[annmoore]

It is always so difficult to understand the way nobles and especially royalty treated their children in earlier centuries. There was absolutely no empathy for them as people; they were simply markers on a huge game board where dynastic interests played out. Marrying daughters off to foreign royalty could often be as inhumane as keeping them tightly under wraps at home. Whatever George and Charlotte had in mind when refusing to countenance their children's marriages, it certainly wasn't their happiness or welfare. Thank you once again for a very well prepared glimpse into British history. When I get up at 2 a.m.tomorrow to watch the coronation, I will be thinking of your informative presentations on the jewels and other regalia. As you have so often emphasized, these visual symbols speak a language of their own and it will be interesting to observe what sorts of messages the world will receive from this spectacle. Who knows if there will ever be another quite so grand?