Queen Charlotte was born into the royal family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a duchy in northern Germany.
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43 Facts About Queen Charlotte
2.
Queen Charlotte was a patron of the arts and an amateur botanist who helped expand Kew Gardens.
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3.
Queen Charlotte introduced the Christmas tree to Britain, after decorating one for a Christmas party for children from Windsor in 1800.
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4.
Queen Charlotte was distressed by her husband's bouts of physical and mental illness, which became permanent in later life.
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5.
Queen Charlotte maintained a close relationship with Queen Marie Antoinette of France, and the French Revolution likely enhanced the emotional strain felt by Charlotte.
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6.
Queen Charlotte died in November 1818 with her son George at her side.
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7.
Queen Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg, Prince of Mirow and of his wife Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
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8.
Queen Charlotte's upbringing was similar to that of a daughter of an English country gentleman.
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9.
Queen Charlotte received some rudimentary instruction in botany, natural history, and language from tutors, but her education focused on household management and religion—the latter taught by a priest.
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10.
Around 1762 the King and Queen Charlotte moved to this residence, which was originally intended as a private retreat.
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11.
The Queen Charlotte came to favour this residence, spending so much of her time there that it came to be known as The Queen Charlotte's House.
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12.
Queen Charlotte turned to her German companions for friends, notably her close confidante Juliane von Schwellenberg.
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13.
Queen Charlotte endeared herself to her ladies and to her children's attendants by treating them with friendly warmth, reflected in this note she wrote to her daughters' assistant governess:.
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14.
Queen Charlotte did have some influence on political affairs through the King.
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15.
Queen Charlotte's influence was discreet and indirect, as demonstrated in the correspondence with her brother Charles.
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16.
Queen Charlotte used her closeness with George III to keep herself informed and to make recommendations for offices.
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17.
Queen Charlotte took an interest in the War of the Bavarian Succession, and it is possible that it was due to her efforts that the King supported British intervention in the continuing conflict between Joseph II and Charles Theodore of Bavaria in 1785.
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18.
The Queen Charlotte suspected the Prince of Wales of a plan to have the King declared insane with the assistance of Doctor Warren, and to take over the Regency.
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19.
The Queen Charlotte used this Bill when she refused the Prince of Wales permission to see the King alone, even well after he had been declared sane again in the spring of 1789.
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20.
From 1804 onward, when the King displayed declining mental health, Queen Charlotte slept in a separate bedroom, had her meals separate from him, and avoided seeing him alone.
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21.
King George III and Queen Charlotte were music connoisseurs with German tastes, who gave special honour to German artists and composers.
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22.
Queen Charlotte was an amateur botanist who took a great interest in Kew Gardens.
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23.
Queen Charlotte has been credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Britain and its colonies.
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24.
Queen Charlotte decorated the branch with the assistance of her ladies-in-waiting and then had the court gather to sing carols and distribute gifts.
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25.
In December 1800, Queen Charlotte set up the first known English Christmas tree at Queen's Lodge, Windsor.
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26.
In 1788 the royal couple visited the Worcester Porcelain Factory, where Queen Charlotte ordered a porcelain service that was later renamed "Royal Lily" in her honour.
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27.
Queen Charlotte founded orphanages and, in 1809, became the patron of the General Lying-in Hospital, a hospital for expectant mothers.
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28.
Up until 1788, portraits of Queen Charlotte often depict her in maternal poses with her children, and she looks young and contented; however, in that year her husband fell seriously ill and became temporarily insane.
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29.
Queen Charlotte was 11 years older than Marie Antoinette, yet they shared many interests, such as their love of music and the arts, in which they both enthusiastically took an interest.
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30.
Queen Charlotte had organized apartments to be prepared and ready for the refugee royal family of France to occupy.
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31.
Queen Charlotte was greatly distraught when she heard the news that the King and Queen of France had been executed.
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32.
However, Queen Charlotte remained supportive of her spouse as his illness, now believed to be porphyria, worsened in old age.
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33.
Queen Charlotte supervised the upbringing of her granddaughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales.
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34.
Queen Charlotte told the crowd that it was upsetting to be treated like that after such long service.
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35.
Queen Charlotte died in the presence of her eldest son, the Prince Regent, who was holding her hand as she sat in an armchair at the family's country retreat, Dutch House in Surrey.
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36.
Queen Charlotte is the longest-serving female consort and second-longest-serving consort in British history, having served as such from her marriage to her death, a total of 57 years and 70 days.
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37.
Certain personal assets that the Queen Charlotte had brought from Mecklenburg-Strelitz were to revert to the senior branch of that dynasty, while the remainder of her assets, including her books, linen, art objects and china, were to be evenly divided among her surviving daughters.
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38.
Rest of Queen Charlotte's property was sold at auction from May to August 1819.
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39.
Queen Charlotte's provision of funding to the General Lying-in Hospital in London prevented its closure; today it is named Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, and is an acknowledged centre of excellence amongst maternity hospitals.
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40.
Statues of Queen Charlotte stand on Queen Square in Bloomsbury, London, and at both Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the International Trade Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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41.
Queen Charlotte was played by Frances White in the 1979 television series Prince Regent, by Helen Mirren in the 1994 film The Madness of King George, and by Guyanese-British actress Golda Rosheuvel in the 2020 Netflix original series Bridgerton.
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42.
Queen Charlotte's arms changed twice to mirror the changes in her husband's arms, once in 1801 and then again in 1816.
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43.
Queen Charlotte's conclusion is based on various historical sources that describe Madragana as either Moorish or Mozarab, which Valdes interpreted to mean that she was black.
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