Caroline of Ansbach
| Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Queen Caroline, painted in 1735 by Jacopo Amigoni. | |
|
|
|
| Tenure | 11 June 1727 – 20 November 1737 |
| Coronation | 11 October 1727 |
| Spouse | George II of Great Britain |
| Issue | |
| Frederick, Prince of Wales Anne, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange Princess Amelia Princess Caroline Prince George William Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Princess Mary, Landgravine of Hesse Louise, Queen of Denmark and Norway |
|
| Full name | |
| Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline | |
| House | House of Hanover (by marriage) House of Hohenzollern (by birth) |
| Father | John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach |
| Mother | Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach |
| Born | 1 March 1683 Ansbach, Germany |
| Died | 20 November 1737 (aged 54) St. James's Palace, London |
| Burial | 17 December 1737 Westminster Abbey, London |
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline; 1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.
Contents |
Early life
Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was born at Ansbach in Germany, the daughter of John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and his second wife, Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach. Orphaned at an early age, Caroline grew up an intelligent, cultured and attractive woman, and was much sought-after as a bride.
Marriage
When the opportunity to become wife of the future Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, presented itself, she turned it down because it would have meant renouncing her Protestant faith.[1] She similarly refused Philip V of Spain, grandson of Louis XIV. Shortly afterwards, she met and married Georg August, son of the Elector of Hanover, who would later become heir to the throne of Great Britain and eventually George II of Great Britain. Their wedding took place in Hanover on 22 August 1705, and their first child, Prince Frederick, was born on 1 February 1707.
Princess of Wales
On the accession of George I in 1714, Caroline's husband automatically became Duke of Cornwall, and was invested, shortly afterwards, as Prince of Wales, whereupon she became Princess of Wales. They moved to England at this time. She was the first Princess of Wales for over two hundred years, the last one being Catherine of Aragon.
As King George I of Great Britain had repudiated his wife Sophia Dorothea of Celle in 1694 prior to his becoming King of Great Britain, there was no Queen consort, and Caroline was the highest ranking woman in the kingdom. Within three years of their arrival in England, however, her husband fell out with his father at the 1717 baptism of her fifth living child, George William.
Caroline had struck up a friendship with Sir Robert Walpole, politician and occasional Prime Minister, and his influence ensured that the Prince and Princess of Wales were able to maintain their position and lifestyle during the estrangement. He also played a role in the 1720 reconciliation.
Caroline's intellect far outstripped George's. As a young woman, she corresponded with Gottfried Leibniz, the intellectual colossus who was courtier and factotum to the House of Hanover. She also helped initiate the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence, arguably the most important of all 18th century philosophy of physics discussions, which is still widely read today.
By and large, however, George and Caroline had a successful marriage, though he continued to keep mistresses, as was customary for the time. The best-known of these was Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, one of Caroline's Ladies of the Bedchamber, who became Mistress of the Robes in 1731.
Queen and Regency
Caroline became Queen consort on the death of her father-in-law in 1727. In the course of the next few years, she and her husband fought a constant battle against their eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who had been left behind in Germany when they came to England. He joined the family in 1728, by which time he was an adult and had formed many bad habits. He opposed his father's political beliefs, and, once married, applied to Parliament for the increase in financial allowance which had been denied him. Caroline, despite having personally selected her new daughter-in-law, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, seemed determined that the marriage should not be a happy one, and was dismayed when she learned, in 1736, that Augusta was pregnant. A peculiar episode followed, in which the Prince, on discovering that his wife had gone into labour, sneaked her out of Hampton Court Palace in the middle of the night, in order to ensure that the Queen could not be present at the birth.
Queen Caroline held a powerful position; she was made Guardian of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and His Majesty's Lieutenant within the same during His Majesty's absence, thus acting as regent when her husband was in Hanover. She was co-heiress to Sayn-Altenkirchen through her mother, whose mother Johanette reigned as Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen, but ultimately never inherited it. Her grandson, George III, was compensated for this in 1803.
| Styles of Queen Caroline as consort |
|
|---|---|
.svg.png) |
|
| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
As Queen, Caroline continued to surround herself with artists, writers, and intellectuals, commissioning works such as terracotta busts of the kings and queens of England and even cottages. She collected jewellery, especially cameos and intaglios, acquired important portraits and miniatures, and enjoyed the visual arts.
A satirical verse of the period went:
- You may strut, dapper George, but 'twill all be in vain,
- We all know 'tis Queen Caroline, not you, that reign.
She is also subject of the popular children's nursery rhyme:
- Queen, Queen Caroline
- Washed her hair in turpentine.
- Turpentine made it shine,
- Queen, Queen Caroline.
Later life
Further quarrels with her son followed the birth of the Prince of Wales's daughter, and a complete estrangement between them occurred in the remaining months before Caroline's death.
She died of complications following a rupture of the womb on 20 November 1737, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Handel composed an elaborate 10-section anthem for the occasion, The ways of Zion do mourn / Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline. The King had arranged for a pair of matching coffins with removable sides, so that when he followed her to the grave (twenty-three years later), they could lie together again.
Queen Caroline famously asked him to remarry on her deathbed, to which he replied "No, I shall only have mistresses" or in French, "Non, j'aurai seulement des maîtresses!".
It is probable that, alongside Anne Boleyn, who promoted the Protestant Reformation, Mary of Modena, who was a chief cause of the Glorious Revolution, and Prince Albert, who determined foreign policy, Queen Caroline was one of the most influential consorts in British history.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 1 March 1683 – 22 August 1705: Her Serene Highness Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
- 22 August 1705 – 9 November 1706: Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Hanover
- 9 November 1706 – 1 August 1714: Her Serene Highness The Duchess of Cambridge
- 1 August – 27 September 1714: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge
- 27 September 1714 – 11 June 1727: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
- 11 June 1727 – 20 November 1737: Her Majesty The Queen
Honours
Caroline County in the British Colony of Virginia was named in her honour when it was formed in 1728.
Arms
The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom are impaled with those of her father, Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.[2]
Ancestry
Children
Caroline's nine pregnancies (from 1707–1724) resulted in eight live births - one of whom, Prince George William (13 November 1717 – 17 February 1718), died in infancy, and seven of whom lived to adulthood:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick, Prince of Wales | 1 February 1707 | 31 March 1751 | married 1736, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenberg; had issue |
| Anne, Princess Royal | 2 November 1709 | 12 January 1759 | married 1734, Prince Willem IV of Orange-Nassau; had issue |
| Princess Amelia | 10 July 1711 | 31 October 1786 | |
| Princess Caroline | 21 June 1713 | 28 December 1757 | |
| Prince Augustus George | 9 November 1716 | 9 November 1716 | stillborn |
| Prince George William | 13 November 1717 | 17 February 1718 | died in infancy |
| Prince William, Duke of Cumberland | 26 April 1721 | 31 October 1765 | |
| Princess Mary | 5 March 1723 | 14 January 1772 | married 1740, Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel); had issue |
| Princess Louise | 18 December 1724 | 19 December 1751 | married 1743, Frederick V, King of Denmark and Norway; had issue |
Notes and sources
References
|
Caroline of Ansbach
Born: 1 March 1683 Died: 20 November 1737 |
||
| British royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant
Title last held by
George of Denmarkas Prince consort of Great Britain |
Queen consort of Great Britain and of Ireland 1727–1737 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
| German nobility | ||
| Vacant
Title last held by
Sophia of Hanover |
Electress of Hanover 1727-1737 |
Succeeded by Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png)
|
|||||