Charlotte, Princess Royal: Part 2

Charlotte, Princess Royal: Part 2


A woman’s dream forever shattered. A kingdom’s fight for survival. A painful truth that could never be told.


File Under: Fascinating Royal and Noble Women

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Welcome to Part Two of two in the story of Charlotte, Princess Royal of Great Britain. We’ve already met Charlotte’s father, King George III of Great Britain and Ireland, his wife Queen Charlotte, and Charlotte’s new husband, Prince Frederick of Württemberg. Although Frederick had a troubled history that included abusing his first wife, Charlotte had been desperate to escape the family nunnery, as the British court was called. At age 30, she was the first of her sisters to marry and leave home. Our newlyweds left England in the year 1797 to start their new life together. But a stormy sea crossing had the press predicting trouble…and they were right, in more ways than one.

Unanswered Prayers

On the way to her new home, Charlotte and Frederick stopped to see her brother Adolphus in Hanover. Adolphus passed word to the family that Charlotte was happy. Her new husband called her “a blessing from heaven,” and Adolphus believed he meant it. Seeing the two of them together, he wrote, “…it is impossible to behave in a better manner towards a husband than she does to him.”1

When Charlotte arrived in Württemberg, her adopted countrymen gave her a warm welcome, lining up to cheer as she and Frederick made their way to the duchy’s capital of Stuttgart. As a thoughtful gesture, Frederick had made sure there was a portrait of her father already hanging in her room.2

Painting of Stuttgart, showing a castle tower, a church, and a town square with pedestrians walking through.
Stuttgart in 1869 by Franz Alt.

Just like she had in England, Charlotte spent much of her time in quiet pursuits like embroidering and painting. There are still pieces of furniture in Ludwigsburg Palace with upholstery that she embroidered.3 When it came to politics, Charlotte followed her mother’s example and left them to her husband – which was exactly how he liked it. He said of her, “As good as a woman can be, this one certainly is. Every day her character shows itself to be more than honest and good.”4

“As good as a woman can be, this one certainly is.”

Prince Frederick of Württemberg

But it wasn’t just a new country and a new lifestyle she had to adjust to. She now had three stepchildren: Wilhelm, Paul, and Katharina, nicknamed Trinette. The boys reminded her so much of her brothers that she was “both pleased and overcome.”5 As it turned out, she would spend much of her time running interference between father and sons. Frederick loved Trinette, but would repeatedly clash with the boys over what he saw as their lack of discipline and loyalty.

Three portrait miniatures of Queen Charlotte of Württemberg's stepchildren: Wilhelm, Katharina, and Paul. The boys are wearing military uniforms and Katharina is wearing a low-cut red dress with a stand-up neck ruff.
Charlotte’s stepchildren by an unknown artist, scanned from my copy of ‘V etoi imeni tselaia epokha.’ Velikaia kniaginia Elena Pavlovna v Rossii.

Just two months after arriving in Württemberg, Charlotte realized she was pregnant. Her family had sent her off with a full trousseau, including three years’ worth of baby clothes for a boy and a girl.6 Frederick urged her to take it easy, but life in Württemberg was getting increasingly stressful. Because of its location – between France and Austria – it was impossible for Württemberg to stay out of the way during the constant wars those countries fought after the French Revolution.

Map of Europe showing Württemberg's position between France and Austria.
Württemberg in 1812. Map by TRAJAN 117 CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons (recolored by yours truly).

French and Austrian troops marched through the duchy, taking supplies and food as they went, often without paying for them. It cost a lot to repair the damage to property and farmland, and the ruling duke – Frederick’s father – was running low on cash.7

That stress may have been too much for him. On December 23, 1797, Frederick’s father died, leaving all his duchy’s problems to his son.8 At six months pregnant, Charlotte was now the Duchess of Württemberg – with added responsibilities at court. Three short months later, her mother-in-law died, too. Up to that point, her stepdaughter Trinette had lived with her grandmother – but now, she was Charlotte’s responsibility. Although she loved the little girl, it was a lot to handle for a woman in the late stages of pregnancy. Charlotte wrote, “I am now very much taken up with Trinette, who unless, she has lessons, never leaves me for a moment.”9

Portrait of young Trinette. She has dark hair curled into ringlets and piled into a bun. Her white dress is trimmed with fur.
Trinette by an unknown artist.

A few weeks before her due date, Charlotte started bleeding. She thought she was going into labor, but the bleeding stopped and there were no contractions. For three weeks, she waited anxiously. When she finally went into labor on April 26, 1798, it was a long, slow, grueling process. She gave birth to a stillborn daughter who had likely died in the womb at the time of the bleeding.10 Frederick’s chamberlain wrote, “It was a beautiful big girl who…would have contributed strongly to her Highness’s happiness. We must hope for the future…”11 But Charlotte immediately developed a fever and the doctors began to fear for her life. Because her health was in danger, they didn’t tell her about the baby. Her daughter was buried in the ducal crypt the next night, in a private ceremony.12

A few days later, when the doctors thought she was strong enough, they told her the truth. Heartbroken, Charlotte had a small painting of her daughter made as a memento. The first letter she wrote during her recovery was to her father, King George III. She said, “…the loss of my dear child has deeply afflicted me…I frequently blame myself as God [h]as made her happier than my warmest wishes could have done.”13 A few days later, she wrote again, calling her daughter “my little angel.”14 To help her recover, Frederick took her to the spa town of Liebenzell for a cure. Back home, he also planted a flower garden outside her bedroom window to give her something beautiful to look at.15

“I frequently blame myself as God [h]as made her happier than my warmest wishes could have done.”

Charlotte, Duchess of Württemberg

The healing process took time, but Charlotte told her father she considered herself blessed to have parents she loved and respected, a husband who was affectionate towards her, sisters she loved, and caring friends.16 She never had another pregnancy. A year later, she wrote, “The sight of all children is a pleasure mixed with pain.”17

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Even without a baby, Charlotte had now realized part of her dream: she was mistress of her own court and household. Two years after her arrival, a Privy Counselor said of her, “You would not believe how well behaved and knowledgeable she is. In small circles she is extremely entertaining…Now she is no longer shy with me.”18

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg wearing a white dress with stand-up neck ruff and gold embroidery. She has fluffy ash-blonde hair and is wearing a tiara.
Charlotte painted by Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch.

And it was a good thing she was able to start building relationships, because she and Frederick needed all the allies they could get. At that time, it was nearly impossible for a ruler like Frederick to avoid choosing a side: was he for or against France? Make the right decision, and you, too, could win valuable cash and prizes. Make the wrong decision, and you could lose everything you own – just ask the Stadtholder of the Netherlands.

Charlotte’s husband wanted to stay neutral and let France and Austria fight it out, but that wasn’t an option. As part of the Holy Roman Empire, Württemberg was obliged to side with Austria. And anyone siding with Austria was automatically against France.

In the spring of 1800, French troops invaded Württemberg, forcing Charlotte and her two youngest stepchildren to flee to Prussia. Frederick and his eldest son headed for Vienna to ask for help defending their duchy.19 While in Prussia, Charlotte offered to sell her jewelry to help the people of Württemberg, who were suffering under French occupation. Frederick politely declined her offer.20

Frederick painted in three-quarter profile view, wearing a gray jacket with cream-colored embroidery and a diamond order pinned on the left lapel.
Duke Frederick of Württemberg by an unknown artist. Image via FindAGrave.com.

When France and Austria made peace the following year, Charlotte and the kids were finally able to return. 21 Frederick fumed with rage at the way the Austrians – supposedly his allies – had treated his duchy like a conquered territory, taking food, supplies, and horses as they went.22 He also saw how little help his relatives in England and Russia had been. Although his loyalties still lay with Austria and the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick vowed not to be caught off guard by unreliable allies ever again.

A few years later, in September of 1805, Austria and the other members of the Third Coalition declared war on France yet again. With Austrian troops marching west and French troops pressing east, it was a terrible time to travel to Württemberg. But Charlotte’s stepson Paul was getting married, and they’d already scheduled the wedding festivities for the last week of September. As the guests arrived and Charlotte and Frederick hosted a series of balls and dinners, Frederick made a fateful decision. He told his foreign minister to make a deal with the French. As the price of his friendship, he asked for more territory and for his palaces to be exempt from housing French troops.23

Now, all he could do was wait. Would Napoleon honor his request or brush it aside?

On the last night of the wedding celebrations, as Charlotte presided over a court ball at Monrepos Palace, a breathless messenger arrived with horrible news: the French army was only minutes away.24

Prince Frederick of Württemberg and a handful of his military officers gathered in front of Monrepos Palace.
Frederick at Monrepos, painted by Johann Baptist Seele.

All the guests were hurriedly packed into carriages and transported to safety at Ludwigsburg Palace, which Frederick had declared off-limits to French troops. He kept the gates closed and locked, and Napoleon’s troops under Marshal Ney pressed on to Stuttgart.25

Two days later, Napoleon himself arrived at their door and Frederick had no choice but to invite him in. Charlotte, as the daughter of a die-hard enemy of Napoleon, said, “You will easily believe…that this was not a pleasant moment for me.”26 Behind closed doors, the two men negotiated the future of Württemberg. When they emerged almost two hours later, they were allies. In return for sending soldiers to fight for Napoleon, Frederick not only kept his duchy but added to it, with promises of new territory and a king’s crown.

“You will easily believe…that this was not a pleasant moment for me.”

Charlotte, Duchess of Württemberg
Napoleon Bonaparte painted in three-quarter view, wearing luxurious green and gold ceremonial robes as King of Italy.
Napoleon painted by Andrea Appiani.

Over the course of their alliance, Napoleon would see Charlotte and Frederick in passing several more times. And many years later, in exile on St. Helena, Napoleon would recall one tidbit Frederick would never have wanted repeated. He said of Charlotte, “I had the pleasure of interfering to her advantage, when her husband, who was a brute…had ill-treated her, for which she was very grateful to me.”27 The phrase “ill-treated” means some form of abuse, possibly emotional but most likely physical. Frederick’s temper must have been out of control during this stressful interlude, and it appears he took it out on Charlotte, just as he had with his first wife Augusta all those years ago.

It was not the first time or the last time that rumors of Frederick’s domestic violence spread all across Europe.

Be Careful What You Wish For

By a treaty signed with Napoleon on December 26, 1805, Württemberg was elevated to a kingdom.28 As staunch enemies of Napoleon, Charlotte’s parents refused to acknowledge their new titles of king and queen.29 It didn’t seem to bother Charlotte, who now addressed her husband as “my very dear king.” The title, she said, couldn’t make her love him more because her heart belonged to the man and not the sovereign.30

But it wasn’t just Charlotte’s family who were now their enemies. The list also included Frederick’s first father-in-law and wingman, Duke Karl of Brunswick, whom we met in Part I. When Prussia decided to fight Napoleon as part of the Fourth Coalition in 1806, the Prussian king asked 70-year-old Duke Karl to come out of retirement and lead one of his armies. Karl accepted.

Karl painted in three-quarter view, wearing a blue jacket, white cravat, and wearing a diamond order pinned beneath his left lapel.
Duke Karl of Brunswick by an unknown artist.

Even Charlotte’s stepson Paul secretly joined the Prussian army rather than fight for Napoleon.31 It did not end well for either of them. Duke Karl was wounded so badly that he died a few days later.32 Prince Paul was captured by the French and returned to his father, who kept him under house arrest.33 Napoleon’s victory was complete.

Having subdued his enemies, the next Bonaparte order of business was to found a dynasty. He started by marrying members of his family into existing royal families. His stepson Eugène married the King of Bavaria’s daughter. His adopted daughter Stéphanie de Beauharnais married the Hereditary Prince of Baden. And now that Frederick was an ally, it was his turn to accept a Bonaparte into the family. In the summer of 1807, Charlotte’s stepdaughter married Napoleon’s youngest brother, Jérôme. It wasn’t what Frederick wanted for his favorite child, but he had little choice.

Napoleon and Josephine sit enthroned, surrounded by courtiers, as Jérôme and Trinette are married.
Jerome and Trinette’s wedding in Paris, painted by Jean-Baptiste Regnault.

Charlotte didn’t like the rumors she heard about Jérôme’s many love affairs, his spendthrift behavior, and poor management of the kingdom Napoleon had given him. But despite her misgivings about the youngest Bonaparte, she was forced to admit that Napoleon himself treated her with respect. He even gave her a special privilege: despite his naval blockade of Britain, she would still be allowed to write to her family. In fact, he personally promised to have her letters sent across the Channel.34 Later, when the queen of Bavaria asked Napoleon for a favor, he supposedly snapped back, “…consider who you are, the daughter of a minor margrave, while the Queen of Württemberg is after all the daughter of the greatest king in the world.”35

“…the Queen of Württemberg is after all the daughter of the greatest king in the world.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

As the years wore on, Napoleon’s demand for men to fight in his never-ending wars exhausted Württemberg. When Napoleon made plans to invade Russia, Frederick tried to get out of it with the excuse that he was still rebuilding his kingdom after the last war. Napoleon didn’t care. He wrote to Frederick, “I prefer enemies to unreliable friends.”36

King Frederick of Württemberg wearing a powdered wig that curls over his ears, a blue military jacket with gold dollar, and a wide red sash across his chest.
King Frederick of Württemberg by an unknown artist.

Frederick had no choice but to do as Napoleon asked. This time, however, he didn’t want a French general commanding his troops, so he asked his second son, Paul, to take the job. But Paul was still 100% anti-Napoleon and refused. Frederick had to risk the life of his oldest son and heir, whom he sent instead.37 And as we all know, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia did not go well. The tsar’s tactic of delay and retreat stretched Napoleon’s army and its supply chain to their limits. Even Charlotte, who had never been to Russia and was no military expert, understood what was happening. She wrote, “I fear that the Russians plan to let the Allies advance into inhospitable or deserted areas, where they will have to suffer a lot before a battle takes place, and if Emperor Napoleon even wins a few victories, this cruel war will drag on.”38

Mounted French soldiers trudging their way through snow on the way out of Russia. One older solder, presumably wounded, is being pulled in a makeshift sledge.
The French retreat from Russia, painted by Jan Chełmiński.

She was right.

Like so many of his soldiers, her stepson fell seriously ill and was sent home to recover. He avoided the slow and painful death by starvation or freezing that many of his men endured. Württemberg sent 15,800 men into Russia. Only about 300 came back. When Frederick’s quartermaster limped back into Stuttgart with a bullet wound in his thigh, Frederick barked at him, “Why have you left my army, General?” And the quartermaster replied, “Your Majesty no longer has an army.”39

It was the last straw for Frederick. He began looking for a way out of the French alliance.

The year 1812 was painful for Charlotte in other ways, too. That year, Frederick moved their entire family crypt to the castle church in Ludwigsburg. Her stillborn daughter’s tiny coffin was moved, too. She covered it with a gold-embroidered quilt that she had likely made herself, still grieving for the death of her only child.40

Panic Switch

After Napoleon’s retreat from Russia, the political landscape in Europe began to look different. Napoleon wasn’t invincible – he could make mistakes. The latest coalition of his enemies included Prussia, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Great Britain. Once again, every other ruler had to ask himself a question: am I on the winning side?

Allegorical painting showing Napoleon on his horse on a ledge above a ditch filled with skulls and bones.
Napoleon painted by Wojciech Kossak in 1910.

In the fall of 1813, Frederick learned that his rival, the King of Bavaria, had switched sides and joined the coalition against Napoleon. A showdown was coming, and as hundreds of thousands of troops converged in Saxony, Frederick knew the time had come to pick a side. Napoleon had failed in Russia, in Spain, and most recently, two of his marshals had failed to take Berlin. If he wanted to keep his country and his throne, he had to abandon France.

Two days before the coming battle, he wrote to tell Napoleon he was done. He did it, he said, “to save my kingdom from certain destruction.” And with that, Frederick signed a ceasefire with the Allies.41 He made his choice in the nick of time. After four days of slaughter and bloodshed, Napoleon lost the great Battle of the Nations at Leipzig. He retreated to Paris and abdicated the French throne in April of 1814. The exhausted armies of Europe breathed a collective sigh of relief. The long years of marching, fighting, and dying were finally over – it was time to rebuild.

Frederick and his oldest son attended the Congress of Vienna to ensure their kingdom remained exactly that. After all, it was Napoleon who had elevated him to a king. The victorious Allies could demote him just as easily.

Full-length portrait of King Frederick of   Württemberg in his coronation robe holding a scepter, standing beside a pedestal holding the crown of Württemberg.
King Frederick of Württemberg painted by Johann Baptist Seele.

But this is where Frederick’s family connections finally paid off. Thanks to his nephew, Tsar Alexander I, his brother-in-law, Emperor Franz II, and his other brother-in-law, the Prince Regent of Great Britain, he kept his title and territory. Charlotte was still a queen – this time, one her family would acknowledge.

With Napoleon out of the picture, both Charlotte and Frederick assumed Trinette would leave Jérôme. She refused, claiming she loved him unconditionally and would never abandon him. She said, “Death or my husband is the motto of my life.”42 For once, Frederick had met his match in terms of willpower.

“Death or my husband is the motto of my life.”

Katharina, queen of Westphalia

Since Jérôme was no longer a king, Frederick created a new title for them: Prince and Princess of Montfort. Trinette was grateful, but her husband couldn’t stand life under his father-in-law’s rule. The couple went to live in Austria and Trinette never saw her father again.

Queen Catherine of Westphalia in three-quarter view with her reddish-brown hair up in curled ringlets. She is wearing an Empire-waist prink dress trimmed with fur and a chiffon bow.
Trinette, the Queen of Westphalia, painted by François Kinson.

Thanks to all the stresses of the past two decades – the wayward children, constant war, and switching sides – Frederick’s temper had gotten noticeably worse. It was impossible to hide from courtiers and visitors. Even Frederick’s first granddaughter, born in 1807, later remembered two things about him: the first was his face, “lighted by a remarkable intelligence,” and the second was his violent temper.43

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg's step-granddaughter, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, wearing an off-the-shoulder blue velvet dress, an enormous sapphire and diamond brooch, a triple-strand pearl necklace, and pearl drop earrings.
Charlotte’s step-granddaughter Charlotte (later Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna), painted by S. Sheradam.

In early 1814, British newspapers published a report that Charlotte was coming home…for good. One report read, “It has long been reported that the Royal Pair did not subsist in a state of connubial happiness, and as there was little likelihood of a more harmonious state of affairs, it has been thought necessary, for their mutual comfort, that a separation should take place.”44

Despite this report, Charlotte stayed put. If she had gone home, it probably wouldn’t have been a happy reunion. Her brother’s disastrous marriage caused one scandal after another, and her father had been permanently incapacitated by another attack of his mysterious illness in 1810. Although Charlotte’s letters never hinted at any abuse, her family had their suspicions. When her oldest brother, now the Prince Regent, mentioned these rumors to her, she said not to listen to people who only wanted to cause trouble between her and her “adored husband.”45 Her siblings didn’t believe her. They thought she was simply too proud to admit her marriage was less than ideal.46

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg's brother, the Prince Regent, dressed in ceremonial robes with multiple layers of gold chains and a ceremonial sword.
Charlotte’s brother, the Prince Regent; studio of Thomas Lawrence.

Many years later, looking back on her life, she only hinted at the difficulties she may have faced. She wrote, “Perfect happiness is not to be sought for on this earth…the great mainspring of leading a comfortable married life is confidence in each other, and making it the rule to bear and forbear.”47 She had made her choice to escape, and come what may, she never looked back.

“Perfect happiness is not to be sought for on this earth.”

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg

In October of 1816, Frederick went out in bad weather to look at some newly excavated mammoth bones. He caught a cold that developed into a pulmonary edema and died on October 30.48 Luckily, Charlotte’s brother, the Duke of Kent, was visiting her at the time so she had a family member’s shoulder to cry on.49 For the first time, the crypt in Ludwigsburg Palace wasn’t sealed with bricks after his burial. It was kept open for her, complete with her own entrance, so she could visit him as often as she wanted. Charlotte wrote to a friend in England, “…I patiently await my end that will unite me with my husband in a better world.”50 Her stepdaughter Trinette was perhaps the only other person who loved Frederick and could have shared her grief. Trinette wrote to her, “…you who are gifted with an uncommon strength of soul will find that resignation which is the prerogative of virtue and courage.”51

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg in a garden, standing in a white Empire-waist dress with jeweled belt, tiara, and sheer veil.
Queen Charlotte of Württemberg painted by Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch.

Six Words

As the dowager queen, Charlotte got along well with her stepson, now King Wilhelm I. Thanks to the interest on her enormous dowry, she never had to worry about money.

Family and children still played a major role in her life. When her stepson Paul separated from his wife, he didn’t appear to show much interest in what happened to his two young daughters, Charlotte and Pauline. She took them in in early 1820.52 She was delighted when her sister Elizabeth came for Christmas that year. Elizabeth was awed by the 13 tables of presents Charlotte had arranged to make her step-granddaughters’ first Christmas Eve with her a special one.53 Charlotte kept herself so busy with the girls that, when an invitation to her brother’s coronation as King George IV arrived, she declined.

As a grandmother, however, her reviews were mixed. Her oldest step-granddaughter, also named Charlotte, thought she was boring and controlling and later said, “She was oppressed by her husband, and she, in turn, liked to crush opposition…”54 This little Charlotte was, like her grandfather, full of easily wounded pride and frequently clashed with her namesake. But her sister, Pauline, had very different feelings, as we’ll see in a moment.

The next summer, Charlotte’s sister Augusta came for a visit. Like Elizabeth, Augusta wrote that she hardly recognized Charlotte since she had gained so much weight and given up wearing a corset.

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg's sister, Augusta, in middle age, with braided brown hair curled over her ears, wearing a lacy bonnet, and dress with multi-layered lace collar with large bow.
Princess Augusta; print by Richard James Lane after Sir William Charles Ross.

Mobility was now an issue for Charlotte, and she rarely walked on her own anymore. Over the years, she’d heard news of the death of family members in England: her sister Amelia in 1810, her mother in 1818, her brother Edward and her beloved father in 1820, and her brother Frederick in early 1827. It couldn’t have been easy, and may have helped her decide to make a trip home. Sick with dropsy, she also hoped to seek out medical treatment.

When she arrived in June of 1827, crowds gathered along her route to cheer her on her way. Her brother, now King George IV, met her in London and gave her his apartments in St. James’s Palace. She also stayed with her sister Sophia in Kensington Palace.55 There, she met the future Queen Victoria, then only eight years old. Afterward, she added Victoria to her will, leaving her £1,500 and a piece of diamond jewelry.56

11-year-old Victoria with golden ringlets reading a book in the garden, with a little dog.
The future Queen Victoria as a girl, c. 1830, painted by Richard Westall.

But after four months in England, she found herself longing for home. When the journey home was just as storm-tossed and turbulent as the one that had brought her to Württemberg as a bride, she simply replied, “I’m in God’s hands here, just like at home in my bed.”57

“I’m in God’s hands here, just like at home in my bed.”

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg

But her health took a turn for the worse not long after she returned home. On October 5, 1828, she had trouble breathing and almost suffocated several times. The next day, her stepson, King Wilhelm, came to see her. He stayed by her side, giving her bread and wine until she fell asleep that afternoon and never woke up.58 After she died, her step-granddaughter Pauline stayed at her side for hours and had to be pulled away.59 She was 62 years old.

Queen Charlotte of Württemberg wearing a black dress, white lace bonnet, and a medallion featuring a portrait of her deceased husband.
Charlotte as a widow, painted by Franz Seraph Stirnbrand.

After she died, two sets of baby clothes from her trousseau were found among her belongings. Still untouched and unworn, she had kept them for more than 30 years, unwilling to part with the symbol of the part of her dream that had never come true. The baby clothes were sold, along with many of her other possessions.60

And now you know why I began part one with the famous six-word short story: For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

The End


About the Author

Jenni Wiltz

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Hi, I’m Jenni Wiltz, an award-winning writer obsessed with little-known royal women. With three degrees, including a master’s in English, I’m using my love of research and storytelling to bring you the stories of fascinating royal women and their jewels. I have two decades of experience in marketing and writing, with awards for my short fiction, romantic suspense, and creative non-fiction.


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Notes for Charlotte, Princess Royal, Part 2

  1. Hadlow, 467
  2. Fraser, 166
  3. Thomsen, 47
  4. Thomsen, 48; Sauer, 151
  5. Fraser, 166
  6. Fraser, 163; Thomsen, 36
  7. Fraser, 176
  8. Sauer, 152
  9. Fraser, 178
  10. Thomsen, 37
  11. Fraser, 179
  12. Thomsen, 37
  13. Aspinall, ed., 57
  14. Aspinall, ed., 58
  15. Fraser, 180
  16. Hadlow, 471
  17. Fraser, 180
  18. Sauer, 184
  19. Fraser, 187
  20. Sauer, 178
  21. Thomsen, 48
  22. Sauer, 177-8
  23. Sauer, 220
  24. Thomsen, 36
  25. Sauer, 221; Fraser, 213
  26. Fraser, 213
  27. O’Meara, 373
  28. Fraser, 213
  29. Fraser, 220
  30. Sauer, 238
  31. Thomsen, 34
  32. Fraser, 219
  33. Soroka and Ruud, 634.
  34. Fraser, 221; Thomsen, 57
  35. Thomsen, 57
  36. Sauer, 301
  37. Soroka & Ruud, 6
  38. Sauer, 306
  39. Mortality statistic: Sauer, 303, 310; quartermaster quote: Sauer, 311
  40. Thomsen, 37
  41. Sauer, 330
  42. Sauer, 441
  43. Soroka & Ruud, 5
  44. Morning Post, 19 Feb 1814, p 3
  45. Hadlow, 469
  46. Fraser, 297
  47. Hadlow, 469
  48. Sauer, 450
  49. Fraser, 297
  50. Thomsen, 53
  51. Ed. du Casse, 189
  52. Thomsen, 36
  53. Fraser, 334
  54. Soroka and Ruud, 7
  55. Thomsen, 58
  56. Thomsen, 59
  57. Thomsen, 60
  58. Thomsen, 60
  59. Fraser, 346
  60. Thomsen, 36

Sources for Charlotte, Princess Royal Parts 1 & 2

These are all my sources for both parts of this story. Any URL after the listing for a book is a free, public domain copy you can read online. Yay! Any link in the title of a book is my Amazon affiliate link.

Georgian Papers Online – Royal Archives, Windsor
http://gpp.rct.uk
Accessed February 27, 2025

GEO/MAIN/51401 George III to Prince Frederick of Württemberg, July 15, 1796.

GEO/MAIN/52135-52136 Duchess of Brunswick to George III, May 1, 1787.

RA GEO/MAIN/51398-51399 Prince Frederick of Württemberg to George III, December 12, 1795.

Books

Catherine de Westphalie. Correspondance inédite de la reine Catherine de Westphalie née princesse de Wurtemberg. Ed. Baron A. du Casse. Paris: Émile Bouillon, 1893. (URL)

Fraser, Flora. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

George III. The Later Correspondence of George III, Vol III: January 1798 to December 1801. Ed. A. Aspinall. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967.

Hadlow, Janice. A Royal Experiment: The Private Life of King George III. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2014.

O’Meara, Barry. Napoleon in Exile; or A Voice from St. Helena. Vol II. London: Jones & Co., 1827.

Roberts, Andrew. The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III. New York: Penguin Books, 2021.

Sauer, Paul. Der schwäbische Zar: Frederick – Württembergs erster König. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1984.

Soroka, Marina and Charles A. Ruud. Becoming a Romanov: Grand Duchess Elena of Russia and her World (1807-1873). New York: Routledge, 2015.

Thomsen, Sabine. Die württembergischen Königinnen: Charlotte Mathilde, Katharina, Pauline, Olga, Charlotte – ihr Leben und Wirken. Tübingen: Silberburg-Verlag, 2014.

Newspapers

Hampshire Chronicle
Hereford Journal
The Morning Chronicle
The Morning Post

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Additional Credits

  • All images public domain via Wikimedia Commons unless otherwise noted in the caption.
  • Header image: Stuttgart Alte Schloss painted by an unknown artist, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
  • Background music in audio post licensed via Envato Elements.

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