Royal Subject: Portraits of Queen Charlotte

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The research notes / rough draft for this work can be found here. Addendum 2: Mistakes in Gregory (2016) During the Regency of her son, Queen Charlotte continued to fill her role as first lady in royal representation because of the estrangement of the Prince Regent and his spouse. [6] As such, she functioned as the hostess by the side of her son at official receptions, such as the festivities given in London to celebrate the defeat of Emperor Napoleon in 1814. [6] She also supervised the upbringing of her granddaughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales. [6] Painting on copper by Johann Zoffany, bust length in robes of state. Royal Collection (Sir Oliver Millar, The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, I, 1969, no.1198).

Charlotte landed in England on September 8, 1761, and married George that same night, within six hours of her arrival. Two weeks later, the couple held a joint coronation; it ran so long that members of the congregation started eating during the sermon. Within a year of her wedding, Charlotte gave birth to the future George IV—the first of the couple’s 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood. George suffered his first major bout of mental illness in 1788. The king suffered both physical pain and mental distress, including periods of “ incessant loquacity” in which he talked until he foamed at the mouth. Unable to sleep, he spoke out of turn, accusing his wife of adultery and making inappropriate advances toward her attendants. On one occasion, George even physically assaulted his oldest son, George, Prince of Wales. It’s no secret that European royals, including those who ruled over Great Britain and especially those in the 18th century and earlier, attempted to protect their royal “purity” by only marrying other royals. Which is why Queen Charlotte’s ancestry has piqued so much interest. Lawrence implored the Queen for one more brief sitting so that he might paint her jewels, several of which were wedding presents from the King. The Queen refused, but allowed the Assistant Keeper of her Wardrobe to model the jewellery for Lawrence.Engraving by R. Houston after Robert Pile [presumably Pine] three-quarter length holding the infant Prince of Wales. The head taken from Frye’s mezzotint of 1762. My dear Miss Hamilton, What can I have to say? Not much indeed! But to wish you a good morning, in the pretty blue and white room where I had the pleasure to sit and read with you The Hermit, a poem which is such a favourite with me that I have read it twice this summer. Oh! What a blessing to keep good company! Very likely I should not have been acquainted with either poet or poem was it not for you. [19]

Painting by Allan Ramsay, half length, a fan in her right hand. Private Scottish collection (A. Smart, ed. J. Ingamells, Allan Tamsay, a complete catalogue of his Paintings, 1999, no.86). A contemporary version in St John's College, Oxford (Mrs R. L. Poole, Catalogue of Portraits in the possession of the University, Colleges and City and County of Oxford, III, p 183). Marble bust attributed to the studio of John Bacon sr. Southill (illus. S. Deuchat, Samuel Whitbread and British Art, exhibition catalogue, Museum of London, 1984, p 43). Presented to Samuel Whitbread c.1787 with a bust of the King derived from a Bacon type of 1774. Unattributed pastel, resembling the Ramsay pattern of 1762. The Prince of Hanover. With a companion piece of the King.These bouts of illness devastated the queen. “The queen is almost overpowered with some secret terror,” wrote Francis Burney, one of Charlotte’s attendants, in 1788. “I am affected beyond all expression in her presence, to see what struggles she makes to support serenity.” Over time, the bouts turned into lengthy episodes, and the king was isolated and even incarcerated.

The queen's arms changed twice to mirror the changes in her husband's arms, once in 1801 and then again in 1816. A funerary hatchment displaying the queen's full coat of arms, painted in 1818, is on display at Kew Palace. [75] [76] Etching by J. Spilsbury, half length, ‘Printed for Thomas Simes - Captain in the Queen’s Royal Regiment of Foot’. Miniature by Richard Cosway, bust length. Royal Collection (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, no.174). During the Regency [ edit ] Queen Charlotte in her later years, painted by Stroehling, 1807, Royal Collection A lead statue probably of Queen Charlotte, dating to c. 1775, stands on Queen Square in Bloomsbury, London, [65] [66] and there are two statues of her in Charlotte, North Carolina: at Charlotte Douglas International Airport [67] and at the International Trade Center. [68]Scott is not describing Charlotte herself, as she had been dead for eight years at time of writing, but rather oil paintings of Charlotte’s ancestors. Scott is recounting walking through the “old apartments” in Windsor Castle in October 1826 (eight years after Charlotte’s death), while they are being renovated. Scott is clearly commenting on the near-comical-bad paintings.