British Royalty, Queen of Württemberg. Born Charlotte Augusta Matilda, she was the fourth child and eldest daughter of King George III and Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her offical title was HRH The Princess Royal. To her family she was simply "Royal". Like her younger sisters after her, Charlotte was raised in her mother's court, closeted away from the rest of the world. When she came of marriageable age, no suitor was good enough to please her mother or the King, and the princess began to chafe under the restrictive custody. Charlotte wouldn't marry until she was 30 years old. The man who finally met with the King's approval was Hereditary Prince Frederic of Württemberg. The couple were married on May 18, 1797 at St. James Palace. Their only child was a stillborn daughter born a year later. In 1803, in order to end the French occupation of Württemberg, Frederic formed an alliance with Napoleon, and became the Elector of Württemberg. Later, in exchange for a large army, he was made King. This decision to play along with Napoleon made him the political enemy of his father-in-law George III. Thereafter, George refused to acknowledge his daughter's title of Queen, either in correspondence or in speech. Charlotte was Frederic's second wife, and she eagerly threw herself into the role of loving stepmother to his children by his first marriage; William, Catherine, Sophia, and Paul. In her letters to her family, Charlotte professed to being content and happy in her marriage, but she also told of her husband's outbursts of anger, usually followed by elaborate gifts. These letters have led some historians to believe that Charlotte may have been a victim of domestic abuse. Following her husband's death in 1816, the Queen Dowager retired to the Ludwigsburg Palace and played affectionate grandmother. During her marriage, Charlotte never left Germany, and it wasn't until her her old age that she received visits from four of her siblings. She would only return home to England once, in 1827. Charlotte died at Ludwigsburg Palace at the age of 62.
British Royalty, Queen of Württemberg. Born Charlotte Augusta Matilda, she was the fourth child and eldest daughter of King George III and Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her offical title was HRH The Princess Royal. To her family she was simply "Royal". Like her younger sisters after her, Charlotte was raised in her mother's court, closeted away from the rest of the world. When she came of marriageable age, no suitor was good enough to please her mother or the King, and the princess began to chafe under the restrictive custody. Charlotte wouldn't marry until she was 30 years old. The man who finally met with the King's approval was Hereditary Prince Frederic of Württemberg. The couple were married on May 18, 1797 at St. James Palace. Their only child was a stillborn daughter born a year later. In 1803, in order to end the French occupation of Württemberg, Frederic formed an alliance with Napoleon, and became the Elector of Württemberg. Later, in exchange for a large army, he was made King. This decision to play along with Napoleon made him the political enemy of his father-in-law George III. Thereafter, George refused to acknowledge his daughter's title of Queen, either in correspondence or in speech. Charlotte was Frederic's second wife, and she eagerly threw herself into the role of loving stepmother to his children by his first marriage; William, Catherine, Sophia, and Paul. In her letters to her family, Charlotte professed to being content and happy in her marriage, but she also told of her husband's outbursts of anger, usually followed by elaborate gifts. These letters have led some historians to believe that Charlotte may have been a victim of domestic abuse. Following her husband's death in 1816, the Queen Dowager retired to the Ludwigsburg Palace and played affectionate grandmother. During her marriage, Charlotte never left Germany, and it wasn't until her her old age that she received visits from four of her siblings. She would only return home to England once, in 1827. Charlotte died at Ludwigsburg Palace at the age of 62.
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Bio by: Kristen Conrad