THE ROYAL BABY RACE | the birth of Queen Victoria | how Victoria became Queen | @HistoryCalling

How did the DEATH OF PRINCESS CHARLOTTE lead to the BIRTH of Princess Victoria? This is the story of the royal baby race, instigated in 1817 after the tragic death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte, heir to the throne, along with her baby son. With Charlotte and her child gone, there were no legitimate grandchildren of George III left and the succession to the throne of the United Kingdom looked to be in peril. If no legitimate children were born to any of the King’s offspring, the crown would have to pass from one elderly sovereign to the next, possibly for decades; hardly a recipe for a popular monarchy. In response to this crisis, George’s unmarried sons (a series of generally unpopular bachelor Princes) began to seek emergency marriages in an effort to become the father of the future King or Queen. His third son, Prince Edward, Duke of Clarence, dumped his long-term mistress and married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a sister-in-law of the deceased Princess Charlotte through Charlotte’s husband, Prince Leopold. Nine months later, Princess Victoria was born. Her route to the throne was not cleared yet though. It was only thanks to the death of her father before he and her mother could produce a brother to displace the little Princess and the failure of Edward’s older brothers to produce any surviving, legitimate offspring that Victoria finally rose to the top of the pile as the first in line to the throne. Disaster was averted as the crown went from tragedy to triumph.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE’S WEDDING DRESS
THE REAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE
QUEEN VICTORIA’S CORONATION
SPARES WHO BECAME HEIRS
THE DEATH OF PRINCE ALBERT
WHAT’S IN QUEEN VICTORIA’S COFFIN?

GEAR USED

SOME SOURCES:

Stewart Richards, Curtain Down at Her Majesty's: The Death of Queen Victoria in the Words of Those Who Were There (2018).

Tony Rennell, The Last Days of Glory: The Death of Queen Victoria (2001).

Michaela Reid, Ask Sir James: Sir James Reid, personal physician to Queen Victoria and physician-in-ordinary to three monarchs (1987)

Christopher Hibbert, Queen Victoria: A Personal History (2001).

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#QueenVictoria #RoyalBabyRace #PrincessVictoria

[HistoryCalling]

If you were in the position of the royal bachelors, would you have bothered entering the baby race? Let me know below and remember you can also find me at:

[jillkearns]

It amazes me that with 15 children there was still so few legitimate grandchildren till the panic of the baby race

[shannonb]

I have always felt so bad for Queen Adelaide, she had to be aware of the purpose assigned to her, and the pain that comes with loosing children must have been horrible for her. She seemed to stay a kind and dignified woman throughout it all.

Great video per the usual! ❤

[mbvoelker]

I don't know if you would consider it a compliment or not, but I like the fact that I can almost always listen to your work without having to look at the visuals. I like to have something on when I'm working on projects and your excellent storytelling is as good as an audiobook when my hands and eyes are busy.

[FandersonUfo]

well done sorting out that what if scenario - never seen that broken down so thoroughly before HC

[lfgifu]

Princess Charlotte’s story is really sad :/ but you’re right, the subsequent race to the heir was almost comical lmao, and led that nice little quip “Hot and hard each royal pair, are at it hunting for the heir”.
It baffles me how much of a failure George III and Charlotte (as well as his sons, bc the fact the daughters had no legitimate offspring was on their parents’ shoulders) were at continuing the bloodline😭

[AmynAL]

I didn’t know most of this and I’m not sure I’m clear on it now. Not due to your explanations. Yours was as clear as you could make it with their convoluted family tree. I’m sure you had a migraine after that study! Once again, though, you plodded through it and delivered to us an interesting and informative lesson on the trials and tribulations of the royals (tongue in cheek!). It is absolutely fascinating and I’m always “hooked” when I see your Monday posts. Please keep up the excellent work. I, like so many others, look forward to hearing from you. Have a great week! 😊

[thehammah]

One note that I think you could have emphasized is that George III and Queen Charlotte didn't allow their daughters to get married if at all until very late. Had they allowed them to get married it's almost certain one of them would have had a child. Not allowing them to get married is in large part what caused the succession crisis.

[mw]

Great job on this!! Would love to see a deep dive on the Duke of Kent. His story is so much deeper than the father of Queen Victoria

[Claire_T]

It honestly makes you realise how much of history could be changed if even one of the 'what ifs' had happened

[freedpeeb]

Queen Charlotte certainly did her duty of producing children admirably. One might argue that she was less successful in raising them. They seem to have be an absolute shambles.

[Collins_With_No_N]

When (3:30) History Calling "starts to lose the will to carry on", you KNOW it's going to be a confounding recounting of cousins clawing to claim the Crown. Well done again by a consummate historian and fantastic story teller!

[jeanne-marie]

Thanks for the Queen Victoria succession video.

[orlalavin]

Imagine all that would have happened if Charlotte had lived. What would have happened to Victoria's existence

[elisabethhopson]

This is a well executed explanation of the state of British royal family in the early 1800's. Makes it abundantly clear about the need for a line of succession, well planned and established. I have no idea why George and Charlotte did not require their sons to marry respectable wives, or for their daughters to be married off. Really shortsightedness. Thanks HC. 😁

[gillsinclair]

Oh what a circus! Heaven only knows what she was thinking ( Victoria) about all of this madness. Thanks for the video.

[daniellemaguire]

I JUST finished Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte mini series that highlights this race.

[elijahhodges]

I was excited to find out that William IV stayed alive on purpose until Victoria was 18 to prevent Victoria's mother from her desire to rule on high.

[Collins_With_No_N]

This video puts the convoluted and truly arcane gymnastics of royal succession into a clarity that only emphasizes the absurdity of its existence.

[helenastanser]

Have you made a video about George III? I loved this one!