What do you make of Charlotte’s treatment of her daughters? Let me know below and don’t forget to check these out: BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): www.historycallingofficial.com/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/historycalling Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/historycalling Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling/
I think how she treated her daughters should be viewed in two ways. First as you said she was loyal and followed her husbands rule. Second as she aged and her husbands illness took him away she was lonely and was afraid. Both suck but that is my thought.
No racial equality today? Tell me then, what laws exactly do one ethnicity have that others do not? What law exactly oppresses any non white ethnicity?
@@Saffron-sugar queen Charlotte was molato asked your self why was her picture not with the rest of the royals but hiden away in a room all by it self her hair and nose is a big give away!
What a life! It's easy to be critical of QC based on today's standards, but let's not forget that she was only 17 years old when she arrived in England to marry King G III without any support and did not know the language or customs. KGIII basically isolated her and created a dependency on him for everything. Keep in mind the era, combined with the passion of your first love (and after 15 children one could say it was a love match) and his mental illness - How else would she have turned out? She was conditioned to never put anyone before him as a young woman - A child having children without a point of reference on how to parent. It was a recipe for disaster. I would imagine that KGIII was a larger-than-life figure to her and the KING (and she was just a woman - for those times) who exerted an enormous amount of control. It was toxic, unhealthy, and a tragedy for the entire family as a whole.
My thought regarding her healthy pregnancies is that her husband being faithful meant that she was not subject to venereal diseases, which, in my opinion, accounted for many early terminated, pregnancies and sickly children in the royal family.
I’m a little confused because in the video she said that the king declared to his queen that he never really loved her and that he was having an affair with one of the princess’s in waiting?
Charlotte is one of my favourite English queen consorts simply because of how genuinely sweet and pleasant she was by all accounts and how much she suffered watching the man she so dearly loved descend into madness. Also, any woman who manages to have that many kids is some kind of superhuman!
Yes, I think she would have been a nice person to sit and have a chat with, though dear love her, she would have been too worried about being 'proper' to really relax and enjoy the chat herself. It's incredible how many children she had without dying, especially in that time period.
@@HistoryCalling she’s on my list of ‘top 10 historical figures id invite to a dinner party’ (obviously negating language barriers) alongside Elenor of Aquitaine, Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier (historical charts has an amazing video on how she is the ancestress of a hidden matrilineal dynasty that covers the majority of Europe!), Cleopatra, Margret Beaufort, Wu Zetian, Queen Himiko, Queen Nzinga of Ndongo, Matamba, and Queen Liliuokalani, Ahilyabai Holkar, Hachepsut, etc! That may be more than 10 but history has a lot of people I’d like to talk to lol
I DO NOT believe that QUEEN CHARLOTTE hated any of her children!!! My GOD how she must have suffered giving birth to 15 children with NO MEDICAL assistance like we have now , not dying in childbirth, losing small sons to death, losing her older daughters to death from terrible illnesses, losing her granddaughter to death, losing her husband to his insanity, losing her other daughters to marriage & them moving far away, this poor woman had MANY tragedies in her life, not allowed to have any friends, I don't see how she stood it!!! She had a SAD LONELY life!!! And we DO NOT really know how she was as a mother, we just have biological information which a lot of could be FALSE information!!! She sounds to me like a LOVING wife, mother & queen!!! RIP QUEEN CHARLOTTE!!!
Queen Charlotte Fun Facts: Aged just eight, Mozart performed for the Queen and was invited to perform at the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the King’s accession in 1764. His Opus III was dedicated to the Queen when it was published in January 1765. Queen Charlotte was an amateur botanist who took a great interest in Kew Gardens. In an age of discovery, when such travelers and explorers as Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks were constantly bringing home new species and varieties of plants, she ensured that the collections were significantly enriched and expanded. Her interest in botany led to the South African flower, the Bird of Paradise, being named Strelitzia reginae in her honor. Queen Charlotte has also been credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Britain and its colonies. Queen Charlotte set up the first known English Christmas tree at Queen's Lodge, Windsor. That year, she held a large Christmas party for the children of all the families in Windsor and placed a whole tree in the drawing room, decorated with tinsel, glass, baubles, and fruits. The queen founded orphanages and, in 1809, became the patron (providing new funding) of the General Lying-in Hospital, a hospital for expectant mothers. It was subsequently renamed as the Queen's Hospital, and is today the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. In 1780, a May ball was held by King George III in honor of his wife, to raise money for a hospital, and it was widely thought to be the first notable debutante ball. It became an annual event, and each year an exclusive group of high-class young women, usually aged around 17 or 18, would be formally introduced to the monarch.
@@TomoMomoDomo Probably the Christmas tree tradition became popular and took root under Prince Albert and Queen Victoria's influence, but there are definitely contemporary stories of Queen Charlotte and her own Christmas trees.
From all reports, Charlotte was a genuine and sweet woman. She treated her ladies and her children’s attendants with great respect and kindness. It’s a shame her life wasn’t entirely smooth sailing since her beloved husband kept lapsing into madness brought on by porphyria and she could only helplessly watch as he suffered from it. The fact they had 15 children was a testament of their love for each other.
Children says nothong of love. A lot of people who hated each other had 20 children. There were no contraception or aborton sex outside of marriage was banned and women not allowed to say no to their husbands
idk😂 she is not that kind, she bad mouthed her children's governess named Mary Hamilton ( niece to Sir William Hamilton, husband of Emma Hamilton) long story short, she felt betrayed by the Queen, she wanted to quit her position due to constant flirting from the prince regent, she was finally permitted to quit but only after months. the Queen badmouth her but this part was censored in Hamilton's diary, her uncle agreed with her... her uncle was also target of her "bad manner" 😂 Charlotte and King George literally ask point blank sir William Hamilton who is he going to make his heir when he died, surely ur nephew charles Greville (he was standing next to him) William answered cleverly that something in the line that its secret... to be fair the whole Mary Hamilton situation, the Queen really like her company and felt hurt that she wanted to quit and lead her life😂..., because then she can't hang out with her anymore (no position nor means to appear in court)
It's really difficult to judge 18th century behaviours from a 21st century standpoint. Maybe Charlotte prevented her daughters' marriages in hopes of sparing them her own experience? Or , having been separated from everyone she knew upon her own marriage, she couldn't bear to lose any more close females?
There is a saying amongst historians, going back to to past is like going to another planet. You’re correct. We can’t judge the past through our eyes. That’s not to say the people involved (especially women) didn’t resent it. But surprisingly, most of them treated their daughters the same way.🤷♀️
THIS! People thought SOOO differently in the past- & they still think very differently in different places today- so you're on VERY shaky ground trying to theorise about their thought processes.
The king and queen's home life was very unusual for the time for aristocrats or royals. They lived together, and with their children (tho as noted the children were housed separately). George loved his children and I think especially babies. Charlotte was not quite so thrilled with the production of them but was dutiful. As the sons reached their majorities they received sums to set up their own household (£60K pa iirc, compared to the £9000 the girls eventually got). George's sister Caroline had a sad outcome in her own marriage to the king of Denmark (made famous in the movie A Royal Affair) which made him extra cautious with his own daughters. He finally told them he was looking into making alliances for them when it was all cut short with his bout of madness in 1788. After that even sane he never wanted to discuss it. So they didn't. The sad thing for his daughters was that they couldn't just find their own partners on their own. Also as unmarried women they remained effectively children unable to have their own establishments and forced to obey their parents in all things. This made them mad and sad though their feelings had to be repressed bc they were also forced to behave with decorum, again something their did not. They went from being the most eligible princesses in the world to the very worst of old maids. The unmarried ones were only able to be independent once their parents died but that was coupled with being "spares", one of their major values as royal women, building alliances through marriage and children effectively wasted. The second oldest Augusta may have been able to privately marry, Brent Spencer around 1812, ie once her brother was regent. There are rumors that Sophia's purported son was actually the result of rape by one of her brothers. In later life she was completely wiped out by embezzlement by John Conroy who ran Victoria's home when she was a child. And of course, we can't forget that Princess Charlotte's widower husband Prince Leopold rushed to get one of the prince brothers to marry his widowed sister. And she produced Victoria whom he as King of Belgium (chosen for the role bc of his history) encouraged to marry his nephew, Albert.
Personally I think it had to do with the king's experiences with his sister's marriages. The king loved his daughters and didn't want them to suffer. Hopefully that's all it was
The detail of that cameo at 12:39 is breathtaking! Hard to imagine even an expert craftsman getting such beautiful, fine details like those flowers without modern tools. Just gorgeous!
@@HistoryCalling it can be achieved with digital painting. I’m not talking about AI. I mean somebody skilled with 2D digital art. But, yes, I tend to feel that great artistic technical ability is something hard to find these days
It is easy to follow this presentation and learn a lot without efforts. And while listening I suddenly noticed that there is no music and no noise in the background. Very appreciated.
Queen Charlotte's life and reputation were astounding. The way she interacted with their children wasn't exactly irregular if you count the strenuous relationship between Caroline of Ansbach and a certain fee of her children or Charlotte's mother-in-law in turn with Caroline Matilda after her marriage.
I only can imagine how much it destroyed Charlotte to hear her beloved husband saying he never loved her even though she knew it was not true. It's the worst and the words everyone frightens most when in a happy loving relationship. (though I think he was awfully controlling)
Given the amount of time the duties of a queen would have occupied Queen Charlotte, plus the actual time spent in pregnancy or just time alone with George, it's amazing she could have found much time at all to devote solely to nurturing her children. Getting her dressed and ready to face the court involved considerable time, something usually not considered as a time consumer today. And that was only the start to her day.
Queen Charlotte is a more interesting figure than she usually gets credit for, and it’s pretty incredible that she had 15 children without dying or wrecking her physical health, even with more advanced medical technology that would be hard to do. I don’t think she was the best mother though, her daughters had to spend at least half of their expected lifespans on only doing what she wanted and not what they wanted, which seems really unfair.
I mean, wasn't that the foundations set by condition of her marriage? "Young (17), pliant and eager to please" amongst other signs, I'd imagine her mental heath & wellbeing was also a factor that went unnoticed right into her motherhood, caregiver to an "ailing" partner not to mention. In 2023, we're only just learning about trauma and its effect on the family dynamic, I can hardly imagine how they dealt with it during that time period.😅
I really feel for poor Charlotte as her husband slowly devolves and their relationship shattered. Like, it's been all she's ever known since she was 17 years old and George seemed to deliberately make her depended on him and their marriage (which I have some serious raised eyebrows about because considering the time period she was already dependant on him anyways). I wonder if her desperate need to keep her daughters with her was somewhat to have a buffer between her and George so he had other people he could focus himself on and partially because they were the last thing she had to remind her of what she once had with a large family and a loving marriage. Like how Victoria kept her daughters close to her after Albert died and was very reluctant to let them marry and leave her.
Yes, but Beatrice only was allowed to marry her love on the condition that he give up his responsibilities and move to live with Victoria and Beatrice after the Wedding. That's asking a little much of a Prince...or I would think so but he complied somehow.
@@annaverano5843 I agree with you. While I'm sure it's really overbearing, selfish even for mothers and fathers for that matter to try to control their children nowadays, back then, no one saw an issue with this, especially with royal parents, seeing as they were the rulers of the kingdom and everyone, including their children were their subjects.
@@HistoryCalling Queen Alexandra was the same; she wanted her daughters to stay at home. She managed to keep her daughter Princess Victoria under her thumb--Victoria never married and lived in the shadow of her mother until Alexandra's death.
I remember thinking what a conversation between Henry VII and George III would have been like. 15 live children? 7 surviving sons? All with one woman? No mistresses? Madness! Also, yes, the relationship that they had sounds awful. I don’t know if that kind of thing was normal in that period but still
@@HistoryCalling I loved the poignant scene when the demented king was being tied to his safety chair and the great coronation anthem "Zadok the priest" by Handel was being played in the movie soundtrack . So apt and moving!
I live in Charlotte, NC named for Queen Charlotte in the county of Mecklenburg. There is a statue of her in the city and at the airport. Also in the museum we have a huge portrait of her.
Yes, I've seen pictures of the statue. I sometimes wonder how Americans feel though about places being named after British royalty, given how it all ended (and in George III's reign no less).
@@HistoryCalling I live in Charlotte too, it's even nicknamed the Queen City. We seem to enjoy the association, there was an even a bit of a buzz here when Princess Charlotte's name was chosen. I know I was particularly interested to see this subject pop in my notifications! Thanks for your outstanding work as always!
Well in Charlotte our history is that the locals didn't care for Britain after a time. When General Cornwallis occupied the city for a time he was driven out by hostile residents. He said that Charlotte was a "hornet's nest of rebellion". That's how we got our nickname "The Hornet's Nest" Also our local history says: Local leaders came together in 1775 and signed the Mecklenburg Resolves, more popularly known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. While not a true declaration of independence from British rule, it is among the first such declarations that eventually led to the American Revolution. May 20, the traditional date of the signing of the declaration, is celebrated annually in Charlotte as "MecDec", with musket and cannon fire by reenactors in Independence Square. North Carolina's state flag and state seal also bear the date.
I became interested in Queen Charlotte while studying history for my A levels (we’re talking 60 years ago). I was amazed - still am - at how many pregnancies she had, and the fact that all but two of her children survived to grow up.
I believe that Queen Charlotte , understand and experience abuse first hand and we know now that mental health has been here since time being.. and for the daughter's, she didn't want them to experience that.
How did anyone think Charlotte wasn’t pretty? By her pictures, she was a lovely looking woman. Perfect classic looks. Those who say different are just haters. Plus we love Queen Charlotte!!!
In reviewing private correspondence of the time, Charlotte was universally described in unattractive terms. One writer, in an attempt to be kind, described her as “not as unattractive as she used to be.” Don’t be so quick to assume people with different opinions than your own are “haters.”
It's really stunning to me how a mother, who grew up in a large family herself, was so incredibly cruel to her own daughters. I really have to worry if she didn't actually hate them.
My impression is that she was very lonely and didn't want to let them go, but I agree that it was very selfish and she ruined a large portion of their lives.
I think she may have been a tad selfish in the regard that she didn’t let her daughters decide for themselves if they wanted to marry. If I wanted to marry, I’d be very upset with my mother for “locking me up” at home all day.
Lots of parents today do that even still, crippling them psychologically into dependence on them for whatever selfish reasons. Usually religious nuts, or maybe just nuts using religion to justify their actions.
It is always so difficult to understand the way nobles and especially royalty treated their children in earlier centuries. There was absolutely no empathy for them as people; they were simply markers on a huge game board where dynastic interests played out. Marrying daughters off to foreign royalty could often be as inhumane as keeping them tightly under wraps at home. Whatever George and Charlotte had in mind when refusing to countenance their children's marriages, it certainly wasn't their happiness or welfare. Thank you once again for a very well prepared glimpse into British history. When I get up at 2 a.m.tomorrow to watch the coronation, I will be thinking of your informative presentations on the jewels and other regalia. As you have so often emphasized, these visual symbols speak a language of their own and it will be interesting to observe what sorts of messages the world will receive from this spectacle. Who knows if there will ever be another quite so grand?
Yes, I suppose part of the problem was that so many of them came from dysfunctional families themselves and didn't know any better. It was just normal to them to marry off their teenagers to strangers or ruin their lives by keeping them as virtual prisoners. I'll be watching the coronation too, though at the slightly more humane time of 10am here in the UK. I hope you enjoy it :-)
I wonder if the appalling rates of infant mortality played a part? Might be difficult to get too attached to children when so many of them.did not survive infancy?
@@lilymarinovic1644 It was only during the late 18th century that a value began to be placed on children as people, and that increased of course in the Romantic period with more attention paid to families and childhood, but as HC points out, the royal families from which George and Charlotte came were pretty disfunctional in that regard.
That Queen Charlotte survived after bearing so many children in the 18th century amazes me.and yet despite so many kids who survived, none of her sons bore a legitimate heir until Edward Duke of Kent. So many children and yet it fell to one grandchild,Victoria to replenish the entire line and all of the great European houses in addition. So many of her children became dead branches but one and his daughter ended up single handedly spreading her house to nearly every royal line in Europe along with the king of denmark.
George IV had a legitimate heir - Princess Charlotte of Wales. But she died in childbirth, which led to the race for the other brothers to marry and produce heirs because Charlotte had been George III’s only legitimate grandchild. William IV technically won the race, as he was the older brother, but his daughter died after a few months. So Prince Edward really won the race because he was the next eldest brother who had a surviving child, who of course became Queen Victoria.
Like other commenters have suggested, I wonder if her clinging to her daughters was the result of George isolating her so much. He didn't want her to make friends with the nobility, so the only "acceptable" (read: safe) companions were other members of the royal family.
It's such a shame- it sounds like Charlotte and George got off to a really promising start and they were happy, I'm impressed that he choose so well, but their relationship ended up so twisted, I wonder if she clung to her daughters as some of the only companions she was allowed. Sounds like the whole family was torturing each other in various ways by the end of it 😢
I am about 13 minutes into this and I just have to bring this up; I love history, and adore the way you breathe new life into it, HC! I have tried watching other history based TH-camrs and no one keeps my interest quite the way you do with your sing-song speech patterns and occasional quips. That is saying a lot, as I am severely ADHD and unmedicated 😂. Thank you for bringing these historical characters to life for us! ❤ I appreciate it so much!
Thank you for all your videos on the fascinating and complicated history of the monarchy. As an American, I am filled with awe and confusion about the very idea of royalty. It seems fantastical and something that only takes place in fairytales. You bring all this history to us, well-researched and balanced, including rumors and their validity, legends surrounding the truth, and the humanity of the monarchs. You show them as real people with their achievements and failures, their strengths, their weaknesses, and make them come alive. In America, the idea of a royal coronation seems to many like an event of excess in an outdated political system. However, I was so thrilled to watch the coronation this morning. I was paying close attention to all the details I have learned from your videos. It gave more meaning to the “pomp and circumstance” and pageantry of it all, giving connections from past to present. I felt history coming alive and was honored to see it. I cannot imagine the UK without a monarch; the traditions and unity the monarchy brings were present in every face watching the procession, in the guests attending. I couldn’t help but be moved by William’s kiss on his father’s cheek and the flyby across the palace put tears in my eyes. I wish him the best of luck and strength for the UK.
Whoa! Charlotte was really a fertile Myrtle! Incredible! I have a deep respect for her for that capacity alone. I like her. Great portraiture. Good episode. Didn't get to see the coronation as by the time I woke up it was over due to the time difference. Did get to see some recorded highlights. Thanks for preparing us. You are a gem.
I mean, to be fair, she never was one to play on the floor most likely because she was always pregnant or had given birth not too long before. I couldn’t imagine trying to play on the floor with my kids, 10 months after giving birth and also being like 3 months pregnant
HC, your weekly posts are the highlight of my week. I’m excited to visit the UK with my daughter in 3 weeks to celebrate her graduation from grad school. As always, your research and presentation is much appreciated. Thank you for helping us all to keep learning!
I have been in the castle of Mirow in today's German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. There Queen Charlotte is being remembered as one of the three queens who desended from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. I liked your video better than the displays in Mirow because your information had been more detailed!
Thank you. I learn so much from your videos. I grew up in Charlotte (North Carolina) in Mecklenburg County. It's awesome learning about the lady who gave the city and county their names. 💜
Charlotte certainly had a lot to deal with within her family. If they were alive today, and of a lower social class, they would have come to the attention of social services on a number of issues. A wretched life.
Absolutely, but then again we could probably say the same about how an awful lot of children (of all backgrounds) were treated up until as late as the 1980s. Beating children in school was common in my parents' day for instance.
@@HistoryCallingwhile it wasn't always nice to be beaten (i was one of them on the receiving end- we've screwed up the present Gen Z so badly by indulgence and complete lack of boundaries, as well as no concept of basic wrong and right. They're a confused mess, who can't even figure out whether they're male or female! We've bred a weak, selfish, narcissistic generation. If given a choice between an occasional hiding for the former generation, or the emotional and psychological abuse of the latter, I know which one I'd choose!
A splendid history lecture with lovely pictures. How peculiar that the modern world thinks that anyone with her parentage was black! Where on earth did that idea come from !?
From black-Americans who follow the „afrocentric“ movement invented in the 50s or 60s in the USA. Actually to encounter the separation in education of the Jim Crow laws but sadly pretty fast been taken over by black-American race baiter like George G. M. James and Jesse Jackson who since then shoehorn literally everything possible in to their version of „blck“ history, no matter how ridiculous, far fetched or impossible their theories are, usually not even having any real existing historical evidence to backing up their claims, except the excuse that their is no evidence anymore because allegedly white Europeans have destroyed, rewritten, painted white or erased everything of black history and claimed for them selves, and sadly through the bad education in US public schools (the history curriculum being reduced from world history to almost entirely US-Centered history, told only in middle school and abolished at high school as well as geography being entirely abolished only mentioned in combination with US significant historical events in history class) their is nowadays a huge amount of uneducated Americans being gullible enough to believing irrational nonsense like: - Greeks and Italians being originally black as well as Israelis Egyptians, North Americans (Moroccans, Syrians etc.) and like the indigenous people of America (which according to them also being originally black) they all got invaded, colonized and probably killed by white Europeans or in case of North Africa by Arabs - they allegedly are also the first ones who invented ships which are being able of intercontinental sea travel resulting in them being the first discovering and colonizing America (till the Europeans attacked and took over) - Vikings are actually also black or at least mixed with south and west Africans (which the Wikings obviously must have found by shipping to far south instead of usual turning left into the Mediterranean Sea and immediately have started to entangle and trade in a very untypical non barbaric way as they usually do, with the tripes they have found in the subsahran part of Africa) -composer Ludwig van Beethoven and the German princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who married the British King George III and became Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as Black or interracial mixed just because in some paintings of them their facial structure appears to have some sort afrocentric features even when they both had incredible whit skin and and to justify their claims (even it is a fact that both of them coming from families which always have accurately recorded over centuries back their families traces) these Americans dared to made up false stories about one of Beethovens parents and one of Queen Charlottes ancestor from several hundred years bevor her had affairs with allegedly north African servants they being the results of it (even when back then there aren’t in both cases no evidence for any kind of subsaharan servants in areas lived in which later have become germany)
Perhaps, due to George’s controlling of her then illnesses, Charlotte held ever more tightly to her daughters as a way to preserve some sense of normality?
My great great great grandfather who was born in 1795 was illegitimate. He married a fourteen year old widow in 1817 out in India. They had fifteen children and only two didn't reach adulthood. It was said how much he resembled the Duke of Cambridge. Never be able to prove a relationship but I'm still trying to work out where my German dna comes from.
Question: and please forgive my ignorance, but did Queen Victoria ultimately treat her daughter’s very similar? Your observations and historical knowledge on this would be much appreciated. Seems to have been a Hanoverian trait perhaps? Thank you !
I have read that for Charlotte is very important the education of women, and she ensured that her daughters were better educated than was usual for young women of the day. However also insisted that her daughters live restricted lives close to their mother, and she refused to allow them to marry until they were well-advanced in years. As a result, none of her daughters had legitimate children. Also according to some historians , Queen Charlotte was descendant from the 13th century portuguese monarch Alfonso III and his north african mistress. However, there is no any conclusive proof. Also I heard that the Former Prime Minister David Cameron is being a descendant of Queen Charlotte. In the aspect of coronation,I like the fact that the anointment of the King is done in private, because it is a sacred moment between him and God. So meaningful. I thank you for all the details I have learned from your video.
I've become a new subscriber and you treat the subjects fairly, not ignoring their faults. I think there was more at play around Charlotte's oversmothering relationship with her daughters. Perhaps as they were coming to marriageable age, political struggles in her native Germany and the Revolution made her very protective, not wanting to send them anywhere that might go into revolution, or war with England. It's interesting that Queens Victoria and Alexandra showed the same smothering, though not to the same extent.
I have often wondered if Charlotte's isolation and loneliness was the cause of her (in my view) mistreatment of her daughters. I see a parallel with Queen Alexandra, who also was lonely in a strange land. I have read that her middle daughter, Princess Victoria, was not happy staying at home and unmarried, and wondered by Victoria didn't try to elope with someone.
I love all your videos and this one was no exception. One of my favorites. Could you please do follow-up videos on the period after King George III and Queen Charlotte, leading up to Queen Victoria?
@@jenylogan1 I stand corrected, Charlotte built the white house her "cottage" where they would go for summer getaways and picnics. She was very interested in gardening.
I love the woman who was cast for the show. Not because of her racial background -but her acting ability. She is quite enjoyable to watch. But if anyone knew how society was back then, you would know that racial background was supposed to align as well as keeping wealth in the family -was a must. All royal families across Europe were related in those days and they tried to keep the bloodlines as pure as possible.
She had an acestor from Portugal of Moorish descent *15* generations back. DNA is havled each generations that means she had at most 0.0030% of that ancestor's DNA. She was not black nor a "person of color". Just because one was darker than the whiter-than-white ideal of the time it dose not make one "black".
@@Cynnas can you please cite where you got your information? Because my sources say she was a family member of Queen Victoria's of England. He was too. They were cousins. As we all know now that the entire British Empire was guilty of heavy duty inbreeding for centuries. No moors. Sorry.
Watching the show, I looked for a background history of Queen Charlotte to give me more details. I’m a lover of stories of the British kings and queens. I came upon yours and tried it. I clicked like and subscribed within two minutes. Your storytelling is impeccable, facts and pictures very interesting, and your lovely voice made the whole video delightful. You have a new fan. Thank you! 👑👑👑
If George was alive today he would’ve probably received proper treatment for his bipolar disorder. Who knows what that could’ve meant for his relationship with Charlotte and their children.
Yes, it's incredibly sad for the whole family that there weren't better treatments options available for him. The poor man was literally in a strait jacket a lot of the time.
I bet a lot of the falling out within King George III's family would've NEVER happened and for Britain, they would've had to deal with his hopeless son, The future George IV. If only modern medicine had come sooner. 😢
It was a fate suffered by most European princesses as well. As royal princesses they weren't allowed to marry beneath them (or catholics) and kings and potential kings being in short supply as Denmark and Prussia were the only protestant monachies and Sweden was out having elected a French general as King, until Napoleon raised some other German Dukes to royal status.
It seems like her treatment of her children led from her own experience of being controlled by her husband. Instead of recognising and preventing those inclinations, she replicated the pattern.
Yes, it does look a case of someone who was emotionally abused becoming a kind of abuser in her turn. I don't know if she even had the self-awareness to realise what she was doing though.
Yep, cycle of abuse in a nutshell. Today, if you're lucky, one can escape and embark on a long journey of therapy treatment, but how can a renowned queen of England escape? It's one of those things that I get particularly frustrated about just thinking about it.
Charlotte had a huge burden to bear and I believe that she mostly did so with grace and dignity. While I feel for her children - because she was clearly a very insecure person who likely never got much (of any!) unconditional love in her life - at least they had plenty of siblings to seek comfort from! While I know this isn't about George...speaking as someone who has Porphyria - specifically Hereditary Coproporphyria - I do believe the diagnosis of an acute combined porphyria subtype seems very likely. My best guess based on my own experience with the condition is that he most likely had either AIP - Acute Intermittent Porphyria (and the rash complaint was incidental) or HCP, the type I have.
Well- Bridgerton is not to be taken as a real thing, I hope haha- starting by the costumes, passing by Daphne rejecting a Prussian prince because she didn’t love him, ending with Queen Charlotte herself haha! (I do like it though, it’s entertaining once you realise it’s not meant to be real :)
I have learned to find the Bridgerton series to be ok entertaining, tho the absolute sledgehammer, they take to history in all things big and small, still really annoys me. I have loved the Julia Quinn books from the first 1 onwards, for her excellent writing, captivating love stories and her thoroughly researched authentic history. So I was ecstatic, when I found out, the books were to be a series. And then I was completely horrified at how they completely butchered the books and history alike. I had to force myself through 2 episode, then finally I got to the point, where I chose to ignore any relation to my favorite books and instead decided to consider the series to be set in an alternate universe. Coz thats how badly done the history, the dress, the culture, the society, well, everything is done in the series. After that, I could finish the series, finding it fairly entertaining. Season 2 tho, not so much, still have only made it through 1½ episodes. Theres just a limit to how much appaling rewriting of history, I can handle. And 1 of the most appaling things is their portrayal of Queen Charlotte. Nothing to do with the acting, not for her or any of the other actors, its just.... everything else. Hollywood was never any good at historicals, but dear God, have they been increasingly bad the last couple of decades, and Bridgerton is probably the worst yet. Then again, its Netflix, even their true crime documentaries are so fictionalized, they shouldnt be anywhere near the docu section.
I'm almost done with the book on queen charlotte, 'Snuff, pugs, & lace the real history of queen charlotte.' It's a bunch of descriptions, articles, even some older pages from older books on queen charlotte, on what the title entitles. I highly recommend it.
👏👏Settling down after an extended dog walk and with my third cup of coffee to rewatch this mini-epic. Your devotion to detail really shines here, HC. Truth be told, I've never watched "Bridgerton". It's a personal glitch with me; I tend to gravitate toward decidedly dark historical dramas like "Vienna Blood" or "From Hell." Might have to give the series a go, as your video has piqued my interest. The repercussions of George's ailments on his family, coupled with her lonely existence, make this a very sad chronicle. Well done, HC! I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. Be well. 🙏🏼
Yes, it was a bit epic getting it done in time. I'd forgotten the new TV show was coming out and so only put this video together last week, finishing it on Sunday. That and the fact that it's one of my longest made it a bit stressful. Usually I have the videos done about 6 weeks in advance. Anyways, enjoy and do give Bridgerton a go if you fancy some light entertainment without too many pesky facts getting in the way :-)
I LOVE the name too. BTW my middle name is LEAH & I LOVE it, my daddy named me that because he thought it went good with my first name!! I believe that QUEEN CHARLOTTE was a very lonely sad lady who may have wanted much closer relationships with ALL of her children but didn't know how to have them with her children because she probably had the same kind of problems with her own parents!!! It usually goes from generation to generation as it did in my own family!!! It's SAD but TRUE!!!
Extremely interesting video! I think both of these royals had some problems as parents. Perhaps as the King’s health deteriorated and he began to treat her badly, she hung on to the girls. You mentioned in the beginning she did not have close friends. Perhaps she wanted them as friends and not children. Their dynamics would be a deep dive into a pretty dark hole. A very complicated story…
I wish I'd studied her in school. Thank you for doing this video, so those of us who watched the bridgerton shows, and wanted to know the truth, could find it in an understanding way.
@@aliceyoung7292 am not up set am happy she mixed even better if she was black but I dont think she was but definitely half back half white I was told about this story years ago but white people dont want to believe its true
That war was a tragedy and never should have happened. There could have been a sensible settlement where the colonies could have run their own affairs without all that bloodshed. Its great that both countries recognise their shared history, values and culture today though.
@@pommiebears my New England accent sounds so close to a British accent, that when I travel to our southern states people ask me where in England I'm from. 😆
I’m glad to see a telling of history of Queen Charolette without branching off in other areas like skin colour which is all anyone seems focused on, rather than her as a person.
@@natashagraham1686 At the VERY BEGINNING of the series, they introduce TEXT explaining that it is a FICTIONALIZED account of actual historical individuals. What else do you want, Bartholomew? Lol I sure hope that all of you forlorn citizens who are so profoundly torn up by this ADMITTED fictional account are more destined by politicians ACTIVELY TAKING American History OUT of textbooks. Are you Folks as passionate towards this crusade that msny of your so-called representatives have taken up against EDUCATION and Facts? This series isn't trying to pass itself off as Facts. I do find your reactions extremely telling..... ;) We See you....
I'm shocked! I always heard that George III & Charlotte had an extremely happy marriage, but it sounds like it looked better than it was cos Charlotte just put up & shut up if she was unhappy, which must've taken a lot of mental & emotional strength. I had no idea how controlling he was, or what an isolated life he forced on her- & their daughters, but she contributed to that too. I'm also shocked that Princess Sophia most likely had an illegitimate child- both cos it was utterly taboo for a woman & much harder to hide, & cos I've never heard a thing about it. I hate to think how Sophia would've been treated, but at least she wasn't locked up for life like Sophia of Zelle- honestly, the bar is in hell with the Hanovers!- & I hope she at least had some happiness with her lover before her disastrous pregnancy.
As an American George 3 was the last King. After research he seemed like Good decent man . To stay faithful to his Queen speaks volumes of his character. The Founding Fathers always said they didn’t have a problem with the King it was parliament that gave them problems
The weird thing about the whole Bridgerton thing is I’m not sure the king and Charlotte are mentioned in the books let alone the reference to any person of color at least to the best of my recollection. I think the series is fine on its face but it seems to me that other than the names of the characters and the title of the show there is little resemblance to the books. I loved the series when I read it but didn’t really care for the TV series. On another note true life is just as interesting as fiction sometimes more so. So I truly appreciate you and others who tirelessly continue to tell the stories from history.
They're not characters in the books. I enjoyed the first series but felt the second differed too much from the novel to be good. Not sure I'll watch series 3.
I suspect that you are much more of a specialist in this period than the 16th century? You are clearly very passionate about the 18th/early 19th centuries and this comes through very strongly. Excellent video and as always historically accurate 👏.
Queen Charlotte is really portayed as a tragic figure in the miniseries, I wish more of the interesting parts of her life were included. The one thing that really does annoy me is the inclusion of the "us" vs "them" narrative that Netflix just has to include in all thier adaptions (see thier upcoming one on Cleopatra that Egypt is suing over). It's not about having a diverse cast, it is about shoehorning thier 20th century social commentary in what otherwise is a lightharted and enjoyable show.
That was a particularly interesting episode. (You've never presented one that wasn't, btw.) Thanks for all that detail and careful research. As for Charlotte's relationship with her daughters, I have to wonder how much her husband's controlling of her, his queen, led Charlotte to become controlling of her daughters? The king may have taught her, not only the things he meant to, but some other, and negative, things as well.
It's really such a shame that Charlotte and George, having done so much to secure the succession as far as the next generation, failed so miserably in the grandchildren department. It's difficult to see why they would be so blind in this area. Unless they were in complete denial of the passage of time. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's lonely at the top. Clearly, they were not in the habit of trusting the motives of courtiers and hangers-on. They seemed to keep to themselves as much as possible, clinging to their children all the more after the deaths of 3 of them. So sad.
Queen Charlotte's disposition toward her children reminds me a great deal of how Queen Victoria was also unaffectionate toward her children. Victoria criticized her sons, especially her eldest, and was not keen on her daughters getting married. Victoria was prolific in childbearing, too, although she had only nine, to Charlotte's 15. In fact, Victoria kept her youngest daughter by her side always, and I don't believe she ever did marry, although she might have after Victoria's death. There's also something about the description of Charlotte's nostrils, apparent in portraits, that reminds me of the Windsor appearances. Although Victoria's relationship with Prince Albert was quite different than Charlotte's relationship with 'Farmer' George, they both enjoyed long reigns. I imagine the practice of having other people raise their children contributed to strained parent/child relationships. I don't blame her despondency toward George in his later, sicker years. It's a shame she never allowed her daughters to marry. I imagine the towns of Charlotte, NC, and Charlottetown, PEI were named after her. I admire Charlotte for her strength and perseverance, and pity her later life.
With regards to Charlotte not playing with the children on the floor -- I would think that has more to do with her corsets, as well as the fact that she was practically always pregnant, both making sitting on the floor VERY uncomfortable! I do have a question -- how would he have been able to have a whole entire wardrobe made for her before she arrived? A video on that, and maybe how the customs have changed and why over the centuries! Many know that clothing was usually repurposed, and people wore an undergarment in order to keep their outer layer (dresses) "clean". But I am sure there is much more to learn! And you would do the topic great justice!!
I read in a book that when king George first sent the men to ask her hand in marriage, he also had them take her measurements to have seamstresses make her wedding gown and other clothes made. But then when she arrived she had lost so much weight from the voyage that the clothes were hanging off her at first till she recuperated. 🙂
I am not sure what motivated Charlotte in her relationships with her children, but like Victoria later on, there was an element of not wanting the daughters to head off away from home in it I think, and it looks like George felt much the same. Charlotte obviously had a healty marriage in most respects, but she would have worried a lot about his mental health, it being on her mind that she wanted him to endure as little stress as possible. Thanks for another good video!
You're welcome. I only hope knowing the real history doesn't annoy you when you see the liberties they've taken. They say at the start though that they've changed history, which I appreciate. It reminds me of how The Great (which I love) treats the story of Catherine of the Great.
@@HistoryCalling I would love to have a real, historical series on the Hanoverians. S1 could start with Sophia of Hanover and her son in Hanover, follow George’s divorce and his mother’s death, his accession as King of England and his relationship with his mistresses and his son, and the rise of Robert Walpole. S2 would focus on the reign of George II and Queen Caroline, and Frederick, Prince of Wales, with the Jacobite rebellion and Bonnie Prince Charlie. S3 would cover as much of George III and Queen Charlotte as could be fitted in. S4 would cover George IV and William IV, the war with France and battle of Waterloo with Wellington and Nelson having large roles, and end with the death of William IV and accession of Queen Victoria. We have so much TV on the Tudors, I’d love to see something about other royal dynasties.
@@kittybee171😂 King George was also direct descendant from margarita e sousa's granddaughter margarita von erbach, Charlotte's descended from the brother, George from the sister
@Kittybee171 if you notice the TH-camr researched all other facts. But glazed right over that. Just stated she was not black. I have a mixed race child. With white skin. Straight to wavy hair That don't make her any less black.
Capt James Cook named the anchorage he used in New Zealand's South Island after her - Queen Charlotte Sound! A beautiful piece of the Marlborough Sounds in the north of NZ's South Island!
I love history on Queen Charlotte SS fate had me move to Mecklenburg co NC in 1972. I’m also of English decent and born on 5/15 so just so many uncanny coincidences. 15 kiddos! Wow- she deserves so much for that alone! Very interesting video. I love British history.
I think this is the most insight I’ve received on any royal marriage. It helps paint a better picture of King George III - which I appreciate as an American. The man wasn’t the monster depicted since I was a child - although I’m sure at times he could be. I believe he actually loved. And his wife, the subject of this documentary: she was exceptional! Yes, I came spurred by the rumor that she was a black woman - yet I came away just appreciating the strong woman she proved to be. To be a queen is no easy thing. Despite her flaws - which I feel were fairly covered here - she still holds up as an admirable example. I heard no talk of her affairs, no engaging in political intrigue. The term, “queen consort,” is used often here. I understand why. Still, this lady conducted herself in such a way as to deserve no qualification concerning her office. She was a queen in the fullest sense. Thank you!
Thank you. It's lovely to read a nice, regular comment under this video as so many of them are practically psychotic just because I don't agree that Queen Charlotte was black.
Thank you for saying the Bridgerton is fiction and not based in reality! We should admire not for their race but the measure of how they were and acted on when they were alive! Let's see what the reigning queen consort can do as of today.
I don’t know who would think that Bridgerton was real. However, there are many historians who know that Queen Charlotte came from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a branch of the Portuguese royal house that definitely had African blood since the occupation of Portugal by black and Arabic North Africans from 700 A.D. to 1100 A.D. permanently stamping African blood into the Portuguese ethnicity. This was augmented by the arrival of over 3000 African people in Portugal by the end of the 15th century. So, whilst Queen Charlotte was not black and not mixed race, as in having two parents of different ethnicities, she did have African ancestry.
Her attitude toward her daughters was perhaps due to not being allowed to have her own friends. She wanted equitable ( royal standing);female companions. But never developed the skills to do so. She seemed to have picked up George's habit of treating her female children as hostages.
Bipolar illness doesn't suddenly develop late in life. Some illnesses caused by viruses or bacteria can affect the mind for some time after the initial infection and would explain the improvements later on. Auto immune reactions to a bad illness like flu can also affect the mind. The porphyria is a close fit based on his symptoms, but some other illnesses can also fit the bill.
I think she must have been mentally ill herself after all those years of obsessive treatment by her husband, especially the isolation. My guess is she feared to be left alone when all her children moved out. I can think of a few more motivations along those lines, none of them flattering, frankly. I find her treatment of her children a tragedy though and would have wished for a better outcome at least for the children.
Yes, I think what happened to George really broke her at times. The poor woman probably needed a lot of therapy, some good friends and decent distractions instead of being cooped up in the fishbowl of royal life.
I have to wonder if the treatment of her daughters has anything to do with her isolation and unhappiness. I also think that Charlotte alone is not the one person to isolate her daughters or make them unhappy. That burden also needs to fall on George. If he was isolating Charlotte as much as he did, and as stated that he isolated his daughters and didn’t let them socialize, then the fault should fall on them equally or maybe more on George because he was the one in control. Maybe I’m completely off the mark, but those women did not have the luxury of leaving home and dating or marrying whomever they wished. The same goes for the men. I think if there were journals with real thoughts and emotions from either Charlotte or her girls, maybe we could get a more intimate idea of their relationships.
Lol. So she wasnt black of course. Funny how even mentioning such a thing can be such a taboo these days. People being scared of speaking plain truths... What would Plato or Aristotle think on this? Theyd probably barf.
The whole issue of colour blind casting for historical figures is certainly an interesting one, don't get me wrong, but I just don't think people could have a calm, rational conversation about it in the comments. I think it would descend into chaos very quickly.
Hey there. I absolutely agree with you. On another note. I absolutely adore your content. By far, my favorite when it comes to the study of the personal lives of royals and the such. So much detail, the pace of your voice, the fine editing applied to every single line. In short. Kudos. Your channel is fantastic
@@HistoryCalling its insane, as a black man I'm all for inclusivity but when you try and change history, its insane....there's now a depiction of Richard iii played by a black woman.... its getting nuts...
@@LostInSpace175 I honestly don't care if it's historical *fiction*. They change details of historical events all the time when doing tv shows and such to make it more entertaining so who cares if they play around with the cast too? If a black woman plays Richard III then as long as she does a good job I have no issue, and if anyone tries to claim Richard III was actually a black woman because of a tv show then hopefully everyone will see them for the nutty person they are. I do, however, very much agree that any portrayal which claims to be accurate ought to be backed by as much historical data as possible.
I love queen charlotte and George iii. However I really get annoyed by other TH-cam history channels that keep calling her biracial To respond to comments, there is ABSOLUTELY no evidence she was biracial, none of siblings or children show any evidence. She POSSIBLY had an ancestor that was a person of color 15 generations ago. An ancestor that was moorish. A term used more to describe religious association, not ethnicity, because ethnicity then was Not the same as today. She was not perceived or treated as a person of color by her contemporaries. Using the "One Drop" rule is a very racist eugenics belief. One used in Jim Crow era of the USA. To say she was biracial is racist and inaccurate. To say she POSSIBLY had an ancestor of color is accurate. I am done arguing with people's racist one drop beliefs
Yeah, even if her ancestor Mor Afonso _was_ Moorish/North African, she lived FIVE HUNDRED YEARS before Charlotte was born. That is NOT "biracial". There are lots of interesting people in European history who actually _were_ biracial or African- Dido Elizabeth Belle, Henry VIII's trumpeter John Blanke, or Mor Afonso herself, tho ofc there's very little info about her- not to mention _actual African royalty in Africa._ It's sad to overlook them for a fantasy.
@@ficfan3484 It's funny to me, how hard it is, to believe some do not think she was indeed an Afro-German. It has been noted in other portraits her skin tone was much darker with Afrocentic features, portraits of her with lighter skin tones has been white washed, to persevere the illusion of whiteness.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Queen Charlotte video and the refreshing way you brought history to life. I look forward to watching more of your videos now that I have discovered your work.( Side note Bridgerton is a tragedy even in its fictional form of cheap entertainment with no value to learning or understanding history)
It is not historically accurate and no she was not a person of color. He one ancestor they claim was "black" was from Portugal of Moorish deacent 15 generations back. Being darker than the ideal white of the time dose not make her "black".
@@Cynnas Of course ' others' trying to steal the identity of the British Royal Empire- it's been heavily documented for centuries the big time inbreeding the family insisted upon to keep the wealth within the British royal monarchy -these two people were cousins.
What do you make of Charlotte’s treatment of her daughters? Let me know below and don’t forget to check these out:
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It’s the TONE OF THIS WHITE LADY THAT got me real in my Brown Girl Feelings. How DARE she. How dare they all! Devils and devils Moms!
I think how she treated her daughters should be viewed in two ways. First as you said she was loyal and followed her husbands rule. Second as she aged and her husbands illness took him away she was lonely and was afraid. Both suck but that is my thought.
No racial equality today? Tell me then, what laws exactly do one ethnicity have that others do not? What law exactly oppresses any non white ethnicity?
@@Saffron-sugar queen Charlotte was molato asked your self why was her picture not with the rest of the royals but hiden away in a room all by it self her hair and nose is a big give away!
What a life! It's easy to be critical of QC based on today's standards, but let's not forget that she was only 17 years old when she arrived in England to marry King G III without any support and did not know the language or customs. KGIII basically isolated her and created a dependency on him for everything. Keep in mind the era, combined with the passion of your first love (and after 15 children one could say it was a love match) and his mental illness - How else would she have turned out? She was conditioned to never put anyone before him as a young woman - A child having children without a point of reference on how to parent. It was a recipe for disaster. I would imagine that KGIII was a larger-than-life figure to her and the KING (and she was just a woman - for those times) who exerted an enormous amount of control. It was toxic, unhealthy, and a tragedy for the entire family as a whole.
My thought regarding her healthy pregnancies is that her husband being faithful meant that she was not subject to venereal diseases, which, in my opinion, accounted for many early terminated, pregnancies and sickly children in the royal family.
That might be true because Queen Victoria also had 9 healthy children and her husband was faithful and some say a virgin in his wedding night.
I’ve never heard that theory. It makes sense!
I’m a little confused because in the video she said that the king declared to his queen that he never really loved her and that he was having an affair with one of the princess’s in waiting?
@@justinjjoachin448 I think that was after his madness set it. If he did have an affair, they were done having children by that point
I agree
Charlotte is one of my favourite English queen consorts simply because of how genuinely sweet and pleasant she was by all accounts and how much she suffered watching the man she so dearly loved descend into madness. Also, any woman who manages to have that many kids is some kind of superhuman!
Yes, I think she would have been a nice person to sit and have a chat with, though dear love her, she would have been too worried about being 'proper' to really relax and enjoy the chat herself. It's incredible how many children she had without dying, especially in that time period.
@@HistoryCalling she’s on my list of ‘top 10 historical figures id invite to a dinner party’ (obviously negating language barriers) alongside Elenor of Aquitaine, Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier (historical charts has an amazing video on how she is the ancestress of a hidden matrilineal dynasty that covers the majority of Europe!), Cleopatra, Margret Beaufort, Wu Zetian, Queen Himiko, Queen Nzinga of Ndongo, Matamba, and Queen Liliuokalani, Ahilyabai Holkar, Hachepsut, etc! That may be more than 10 but history has a lot of people I’d like to talk to lol
@@emilybarclay8831I'm a direct descendant of Elenor of Aquitaine!
You are aware of the record of cruelty and hatred she perpetrated on her own daughters?
I DO NOT believe that QUEEN CHARLOTTE hated any of her children!!! My GOD how she must have suffered giving birth to 15 children with NO MEDICAL assistance like we have now , not dying in childbirth, losing small sons to death, losing her older daughters to death from terrible illnesses, losing her granddaughter to death, losing her husband to his insanity, losing her other daughters to marriage & them moving far away, this poor woman had MANY tragedies in her life, not allowed to have any friends, I don't see how she stood it!!! She had a SAD LONELY life!!! And we DO NOT really know how she was as a mother, we just have biological information which a lot of could be FALSE information!!! She sounds to me like a LOVING wife, mother & queen!!! RIP QUEEN CHARLOTTE!!!
Queen Charlotte Fun Facts:
Aged just eight, Mozart performed for the Queen and was invited to perform at the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the King’s accession in 1764. His Opus III was dedicated to the Queen when it was published in January 1765.
Queen Charlotte was an amateur botanist who took a great interest in Kew Gardens. In an age of discovery, when such travelers and explorers as Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks were constantly bringing home new species and varieties of plants, she ensured that the collections were significantly enriched and expanded. Her interest in botany led to the South African flower, the Bird of Paradise, being named Strelitzia reginae in her honor.
Queen Charlotte has also been credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Britain and its colonies. Queen Charlotte set up the first known English Christmas tree at Queen's Lodge, Windsor. That year, she held a large Christmas party for the children of all the families in Windsor and placed a whole tree in the drawing room, decorated with tinsel, glass, baubles, and fruits.
The queen founded orphanages and, in 1809, became the patron (providing new funding) of the General Lying-in Hospital, a hospital for expectant mothers. It was subsequently renamed as the Queen's Hospital, and is today the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.
In 1780, a May ball was held by King George III in honor of his wife, to raise money for a hospital, and it was widely thought to be the first notable debutante ball. It became an annual event, and each year an exclusive group of high-class young women, usually aged around 17 or 18, would be formally introduced to the monarch.
My sister was born in Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. My mother always said that it was a marvellous place.
Pretty sure the christmas tree was a queen Victoria era introduction thanks to prince albert
QUEEN CHARLOTE FROM GERMANY BROUGHT 1ST XMAS TREE TO ENGLAND IN 1800
Wow. Such nice informations. Thanks 🤗👏
@@TomoMomoDomo Probably the Christmas tree tradition became popular and took root under Prince Albert and Queen Victoria's influence, but there are definitely contemporary stories of Queen Charlotte and her own Christmas trees.
From all reports, Charlotte was a genuine and sweet woman. She treated her ladies and her children’s attendants with great respect and kindness. It’s a shame her life wasn’t entirely smooth sailing since her beloved husband kept lapsing into madness brought on by porphyria and she could only helplessly watch as he suffered from it. The fact they had 15 children was a testament of their love for each other.
Love? or was it a way for the possessive, controlling King keep her "barefoot and pregnant" to give her something to do?
Or a lack of contraception, which could have made their life a bit happier, as she didn't want her daughters to suffer pregnancies.
Children says nothong of love. A lot of people who hated each other had 20 children. There were no contraception or aborton sex outside of marriage was banned and women not allowed to say no to their husbands
idk😂 she is not that kind, she bad mouthed her children's governess named Mary Hamilton ( niece to Sir William Hamilton, husband of Emma Hamilton)
long story short, she felt betrayed by the Queen, she wanted to quit her position due to constant flirting from the prince regent, she was finally permitted to quit but only after months.
the Queen badmouth her but this part was censored in Hamilton's diary, her uncle agreed with her...
her uncle was also target of her "bad manner" 😂 Charlotte and King George literally ask point blank sir William Hamilton who is he going to make his heir when he died, surely ur nephew charles Greville (he was standing next to him) William answered cleverly that something in the line that its secret...
to be fair the whole Mary Hamilton situation, the Queen really like her company and felt hurt that she wanted to quit and lead her life😂..., because then she can't hang out with her anymore (no position nor means to appear in court)
Like, she had a choice but to bear his children. 😀
It's really difficult to judge 18th century behaviours from a 21st century standpoint. Maybe Charlotte prevented her daughters' marriages in hopes of sparing them her own experience? Or , having been separated from everyone she knew upon her own marriage, she couldn't bear to lose any more close females?
There is a saying amongst historians, going back to to past is like going to another planet. You’re correct. We can’t judge the past through our eyes. That’s not to say the people involved (especially women) didn’t resent it. But surprisingly, most of them treated their daughters the same way.🤷♀️
THIS! People thought SOOO differently in the past- & they still think very differently in different places today- so you're on VERY shaky ground trying to theorise about their thought processes.
Thank you
The king and queen's home life was very unusual for the time for aristocrats or royals. They lived together, and with their children (tho as noted the children were housed separately).
George loved his children and I think especially babies. Charlotte was not quite so thrilled with the production of them but was dutiful.
As the sons reached their majorities they received sums to set up their own household (£60K pa iirc, compared to the £9000 the girls eventually got).
George's sister Caroline had a sad outcome in her own marriage to the king of Denmark (made famous in the movie A Royal Affair) which made him extra cautious with his own daughters.
He finally told them he was looking into making alliances for them when it was all cut short with his bout of madness in 1788. After that even sane he never wanted to discuss it. So they didn't.
The sad thing for his daughters was that they couldn't just find their own partners on their own. Also as unmarried women they remained effectively children unable to have their own establishments and forced to obey their parents in all things. This made them mad and sad though their feelings had to be repressed bc they were also forced to behave with decorum, again something their did not. They went from being the most eligible princesses in the world to the very worst of old maids. The unmarried ones were only able to be independent once their parents died but that was coupled with being "spares", one of their major values as royal women, building alliances through marriage and children effectively wasted.
The second oldest Augusta may have been able to privately marry, Brent Spencer around 1812, ie once her brother was regent.
There are rumors that Sophia's purported son was actually the result of rape by one of her brothers.
In later life she was completely wiped out by embezzlement by John Conroy who ran Victoria's home when she was a child.
And of course, we can't forget that Princess Charlotte's widower husband Prince Leopold rushed to get one of the prince brothers to marry his widowed sister. And she produced Victoria whom he as King of Belgium (chosen for the role bc of his history) encouraged to marry his nephew, Albert.
Personally I think it had to do with the king's experiences with his sister's marriages. The king loved his daughters and didn't want them to suffer. Hopefully that's all it was
The detail of that cameo at 12:39 is breathtaking! Hard to imagine even an expert craftsman getting such beautiful, fine details like those flowers without modern tools. Just gorgeous!
I know. It was such a skill. Nowadays it would probably just be done with a 3D printer :-(
@@HistoryCalling it can be achieved with digital painting. I’m not talking about AI. I mean somebody skilled with 2D digital art. But, yes, I tend to feel that great artistic technical ability is something hard to find these days
It is easy to follow this presentation and learn a lot without efforts. And while listening I suddenly noticed that there is no music and no noise in the background. Very appreciated.
Queen Charlotte's life and reputation were astounding. The way she interacted with their children wasn't exactly irregular if you count the strenuous relationship between Caroline of Ansbach and a certain fee of her children or Charlotte's mother-in-law in turn with Caroline Matilda after her marriage.
I only can imagine how much it destroyed Charlotte to hear her beloved husband saying he never loved her even though she knew it was not true. It's the worst and the words everyone frightens most when in a happy loving relationship. (though I think he was awfully controlling)
I think he did love her but wanted to protect her from his insanity with his condition. Just my thought.
He went mad. Who even was Lady Pembroke
He was KING of course he was CONTROLING. Far before "YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY"
@@falconeshieldshe was one of the queens lady in waiting
Yeah that was his madness speaking. He wasn't in his right mind when he said it.
Given the amount of time the duties of a queen would have occupied Queen Charlotte, plus the actual time spent in pregnancy or just time alone with George, it's amazing she could have found much time at all to devote solely to nurturing her children. Getting her dressed and ready to face the court involved considerable time, something usually not considered as a time consumer today. And that was only the start to her day.
Queen Charlotte is a more interesting figure than she usually gets credit for, and it’s pretty incredible that she had 15 children without dying or wrecking her physical health, even with more advanced medical technology that would be hard to do. I don’t think she was the best mother though, her daughters had to spend at least half of their expected lifespans on only doing what she wanted and not what they wanted, which seems really unfair.
Yes, I hate to think of 15 childbirths, poor thing. No, mothering wasn't her greatest forte unfortunately.
Perhaps explains why Queen Elizabeth I turned out the way she did after she ascended the throne
@@miadodson1938 How do you mean?
I mean, wasn't that the foundations set by condition of her marriage? "Young (17), pliant and eager to please" amongst other signs, I'd imagine her mental heath & wellbeing was also a factor that went unnoticed right into her motherhood, caregiver to an "ailing" partner not to mention. In 2023, we're only just learning about trauma and its effect on the family dynamic, I can hardly imagine how they dealt with it during that time period.😅
@@miadodson1938 ??
I really feel for poor Charlotte as her husband slowly devolves and their relationship shattered. Like, it's been all she's ever known since she was 17 years old and George seemed to deliberately make her depended on him and their marriage (which I have some serious raised eyebrows about because considering the time period she was already dependant on him anyways). I wonder if her desperate need to keep her daughters with her was somewhat to have a buffer between her and George so he had other people he could focus himself on and partially because they were the last thing she had to remind her of what she once had with a large family and a loving marriage. Like how Victoria kept her daughters close to her after Albert died and was very reluctant to let them marry and leave her.
Excellent comparison to Victoria. I'd forgotten about that. Thankfully she wasn't quite as extreme as Charlotte though and they did all marry.
Yes, but Beatrice only was allowed to marry her love on the condition that he give up his responsibilities and move to live with Victoria and Beatrice after the Wedding. That's asking a little much of a Prince...or I would think so but he complied somehow.
I agree with your well stated points . I also think it's time we stop judging our historical figures by the standards we practice in the 21st century.
@@annaverano5843 I agree with you. While I'm sure it's really overbearing, selfish even for mothers and fathers for that matter to try to control their children nowadays, back then, no one saw an issue with this, especially with royal parents, seeing as they were the rulers of the kingdom and everyone, including their children were their subjects.
@@HistoryCalling Queen Alexandra was the same; she wanted her daughters to stay at home. She managed to keep her daughter Princess Victoria under her thumb--Victoria never married and lived in the shadow of her mother until Alexandra's death.
I remember thinking what a conversation between Henry VII and George III would have been like. 15 live children? 7 surviving sons? All with one woman? No mistresses? Madness!
Also, yes, the relationship that they had sounds awful. I don’t know if that kind of thing was normal in that period but still
Henry VIII probably would have killed George out of jealousy, or at least tried to engineer a wife-swap.
@@HistoryCalling yeah probably!
Must get me one of them says Henry!
@@Rat_Queen86
Or Henry might have thought he should've kept the German princess.
Henry VIII and CHARLES II. You have your numbers incorrect.
I remember her portrayal by Helen Mirren in the madness of king George. They were a well matched couple.
I'd love to watch that again actually. It's been such a long time since I saw it and I remember it as being excellent.
@@HistoryCalling it was on channel 4 a few weeks ago. Terrific film
@@HistoryCalling I loved the poignant scene when the demented king was being tied to his safety chair and the great coronation anthem "Zadok the priest" by Handel was being played in the movie soundtrack . So apt and moving!
I think it’s on Tubi for free
A white woman playing a biracial woman?? Wow. SMH
I live in Charlotte, NC named for Queen Charlotte in the county of Mecklenburg. There is a statue of her in the city and at the airport. Also in the museum we have a huge portrait of her.
Yes, I've seen pictures of the statue. I sometimes wonder how Americans feel though about places being named after British royalty, given how it all ended (and in George III's reign no less).
I cant believe the racist lefties haven't tore that statue down or demand the name of the city be changed.
@@HistoryCalling I live in Charlotte too, it's even nicknamed the Queen City. We seem to enjoy the association, there was an even a bit of a buzz here when Princess Charlotte's name was chosen. I know I was particularly interested to see this subject pop in my notifications!
Thanks for your outstanding work as always!
Well in Charlotte our history is that the locals didn't care for Britain after a time. When General Cornwallis occupied the city for a time he was driven out by hostile residents. He said that Charlotte was a "hornet's nest of rebellion". That's how we got our nickname "The Hornet's Nest"
Also our local history says: Local leaders came together in 1775 and signed the Mecklenburg Resolves, more popularly known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. While not a true declaration of independence from British rule, it is among the first such declarations that eventually led to the American Revolution. May 20, the traditional date of the signing of the declaration, is celebrated annually in Charlotte as "MecDec", with musket and cannon fire by reenactors in Independence Square. North Carolina's state flag and state seal also bear the date.
I'm a native charlottean as well...
15 children in 20 years - wow. That's indeed an record👶Thank you for this interesting video 📽️🎥
I became interested in Queen Charlotte while studying history for my A levels (we’re talking 60 years ago). I was amazed - still am - at how many pregnancies she had, and the fact that all but two of her children survived to grow up.
I believe that Queen Charlotte , understand and experience abuse first hand and we know now that mental health has been here since time being.. and for the daughter's, she didn't want them to experience that.
How did anyone think Charlotte wasn’t pretty? By her pictures, she was a lovely looking woman. Perfect classic looks. Those who say different are just haters. Plus we love Queen Charlotte!!!
Portaits in those days were known to flatter the sitter
In reviewing private correspondence of the time, Charlotte was universally described in unattractive terms. One writer, in an attempt to be kind, described her as “not as unattractive as she used to be.” Don’t be so quick to assume people with different opinions than your own are “haters.”
we people of colour certainly do. she is one of us
@@sonjadidyk-tn4ccshe is not one of you. She is a white woman from Germany. Germans are called ugly all the time.
There are other pictures of her showing a blended phenotype; she was at least partially African descent! You’re not being truthful!
It's really stunning to me how a mother, who grew up in a large family herself, was so incredibly cruel to her own daughters. I really have to worry if she didn't actually hate them.
My impression is that she was very lonely and didn't want to let them go, but I agree that it was very selfish and she ruined a large portion of their lives.
Hurting people hurt others.
@@nadine8764 Exactly. Not in all cases, but in many
I think she may have been a tad selfish in the regard that she didn’t let her daughters decide for themselves if they wanted to marry. If I wanted to marry, I’d be very upset with my mother for “locking me up” at home all day.
Lots of parents today do that even still, crippling them psychologically into dependence on them for whatever selfish reasons. Usually religious nuts, or maybe just nuts using religion to justify their actions.
It is always so difficult to understand the way nobles and especially royalty treated their children in earlier centuries. There was absolutely no empathy for them as people; they were simply markers on a huge game board where dynastic interests played out. Marrying daughters off to foreign royalty could often be as inhumane as keeping them tightly under wraps at home. Whatever George and Charlotte had in mind when refusing to countenance their children's marriages, it certainly wasn't their happiness or welfare. Thank you once again for a very well prepared glimpse into British history. When I get up at 2 a.m.tomorrow to watch the coronation, I will be thinking of your informative presentations on the jewels and other regalia. As you have so often emphasized, these visual symbols speak a language of their own and it will be interesting to observe what sorts of messages the world will receive from this spectacle. Who knows if there will ever be another quite so grand?
Yes, I suppose part of the problem was that so many of them came from dysfunctional families themselves and didn't know any better. It was just normal to them to marry off their teenagers to strangers or ruin their lives by keeping them as virtual prisoners. I'll be watching the coronation too, though at the slightly more humane time of 10am here in the UK. I hope you enjoy it :-)
I wonder if the appalling rates of infant mortality played a part? Might be difficult to get too attached to children when so many of them.did not survive infancy?
@@lilymarinovic1644 It was only during the late 18th century that a value began to be placed on children as people, and that increased of course in the Romantic period with more attention paid to families and childhood, but as HC points out, the royal families from which George and Charlotte came were pretty disfunctional in that regard.
That Queen Charlotte survived after bearing so many children in the 18th century amazes me.and yet despite so many kids who survived, none of her sons bore a legitimate heir until Edward Duke of Kent. So many children and yet it fell to one grandchild,Victoria to replenish the entire line and all of the great European houses in addition.
So many of her children became dead branches but one and his daughter ended up single handedly spreading her house to nearly every royal line in Europe along with the king of denmark.
George IV had a legitimate heir - Princess Charlotte of Wales. But she died in childbirth, which led to the race for the other brothers to marry and produce heirs because Charlotte had been George III’s only legitimate grandchild. William IV technically won the race, as he was the older brother, but his daughter died after a few months. So Prince Edward really won the race because he was the next eldest brother who had a surviving child, who of course became Queen Victoria.
Go Alexandrine!!
Quality over quantity
Like other commenters have suggested, I wonder if her clinging to her daughters was the result of George isolating her so much. He didn't want her to make friends with the nobility, so the only "acceptable" (read: safe) companions were other members of the royal family.
It's such a shame- it sounds like Charlotte and George got off to a really promising start and they were happy, I'm impressed that he choose so well, but their relationship ended up so twisted, I wonder if she clung to her daughters as some of the only companions she was allowed. Sounds like the whole family was torturing each other in various ways by the end of it 😢
Yes, they certainly were a dysfunctional lot. 'The strangest family' was what one contemporary called them.
I am about 13 minutes into this and I just have to bring this up; I love history, and adore the way you breathe new life into it, HC! I have tried watching other history based TH-camrs and no one keeps my interest quite the way you do with your sing-song speech patterns and occasional quips. That is saying a lot, as I am severely ADHD and unmedicated 😂. Thank you for bringing these historical characters to life for us! ❤ I appreciate it so much!
Why are they doing this to history she wasn't colourd
Well said I agree.
@@christinedownton2302 excuse me Colored?!? What time frame are you living in?
@@christinedownton2302 Why are you jealous
@@MsLady-pv2ik I'm living in 2023. Maybe you should invest in a calendar?
Thank you for all your videos on the fascinating and complicated history of the monarchy. As an American, I am filled with awe and confusion about the very idea of royalty. It seems fantastical and something that only takes place in fairytales.
You bring all this history to us, well-researched and balanced, including rumors and their validity, legends surrounding the truth, and the humanity of the monarchs. You show them as real people with their achievements and failures, their strengths, their weaknesses, and make them come alive.
In America, the idea of a royal coronation seems to many like an event of excess in an outdated political system. However, I was so thrilled to watch the coronation this morning. I was paying close attention to all the details I have learned from your videos. It gave more meaning to the “pomp and circumstance” and pageantry of it all, giving connections from past to present. I felt history coming alive and was honored to see it. I cannot imagine the UK without a monarch; the traditions and unity the monarchy brings were present in every face watching the procession, in the guests attending. I couldn’t help but be moved by William’s kiss on his father’s cheek and the flyby across the palace put tears in my eyes. I wish him the best of luck and strength for the UK.
Americans have beau coupe Inaugural balls every four years.
Give me a break with that british english royal family whom we are all sick and tired of them..England is not the only Royallty.
Whoa! Charlotte was really a fertile Myrtle! Incredible! I have a deep respect for her for that capacity alone. I like her. Great portraiture. Good episode. Didn't get to see the coronation as by the time I woke up it was over due to the time difference. Did get to see some recorded highlights. Thanks for preparing us. You are a gem.
I mean, to be fair, she never was one to play on the floor most likely because she was always pregnant or had given birth not too long before. I couldn’t imagine trying to play on the floor with my kids, 10 months after giving birth and also being like 3 months pregnant
Yea I agree it would not be fun and it would be very uncomfortable.
HC, your weekly posts are the highlight of my week. I’m excited to visit the UK with my daughter in 3 weeks to celebrate her graduation from grad school. As always, your research and presentation is much appreciated. Thank you for helping us all to keep learning!
My congratulations to your daughter ❤️ 💖 💕
I have been in the castle of Mirow in today's German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. There Queen Charlotte is being remembered as one of the three queens who desended from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
I liked your video better than the displays in Mirow because your information had been more detailed!
Thank you. I learn so much from your videos. I grew up in Charlotte (North Carolina) in Mecklenburg County. It's awesome learning about the lady who gave the city and county their names. 💜
I was just thinking the same thing. I grew up in the Charlotte area as will
Charlotte certainly had a lot to deal with within her family. If they were alive today, and of a lower social class, they would have come to the attention of social services on a number of issues. A wretched life.
Absolutely, but then again we could probably say the same about how an awful lot of children (of all backgrounds) were treated up until as late as the 1980s. Beating children in school was common in my parents' day for instance.
@@HistoryCallingwhile it wasn't always nice to be beaten (i was one of them on the receiving end- we've screwed up the present Gen Z so badly by indulgence and complete lack of boundaries, as well as no concept of basic wrong and right. They're a confused mess, who can't even figure out whether they're male or female! We've bred a weak, selfish, narcissistic generation. If given a choice between an occasional hiding for the former generation, or the emotional and psychological abuse of the latter, I know which one I'd choose!
A splendid history lecture with lovely pictures. How peculiar that the modern world thinks that anyone with her parentage was black! Where on earth did that idea come from !?
From black-Americans who follow the „afrocentric“ movement invented in the 50s or 60s in the USA. Actually to encounter the separation in education of the Jim Crow laws but sadly pretty fast been taken over by black-American race baiter like George G. M. James and Jesse Jackson who since then shoehorn literally everything possible in to their version of „blck“ history, no matter how ridiculous, far fetched or impossible their theories are, usually not even having any real existing historical evidence to backing up their claims, except the excuse that their is no evidence anymore because allegedly white Europeans have destroyed, rewritten, painted white or erased everything of black history and claimed for them selves, and sadly through the bad education in US public schools (the history curriculum being reduced from world history to almost entirely US-Centered history, told only in middle school and abolished at high school as well as geography being entirely abolished only mentioned in combination with US significant historical events in history class) their is nowadays a huge amount of uneducated Americans being gullible enough to believing irrational nonsense like:
- Greeks and Italians being originally black as well as Israelis Egyptians, North Americans (Moroccans, Syrians etc.) and like the indigenous people of America (which according to them also being originally black) they all got invaded, colonized and probably killed by white Europeans or in case of North Africa by Arabs
- they allegedly are also the first ones who invented ships which are being able of intercontinental sea travel resulting in them being the first discovering and colonizing America (till the Europeans attacked and took over)
- Vikings are actually also black or at least mixed with south and west Africans (which the Wikings obviously must have found by shipping to far south instead of usual turning left into the Mediterranean Sea and immediately have started to entangle and trade in a very untypical non barbaric way as they usually do, with the tripes they have found in the subsahran part of Africa)
-composer Ludwig van Beethoven and the German princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who married the British King George III and became Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as Black or interracial mixed just because in some paintings of them their facial structure appears to have some sort afrocentric features even when they both had incredible whit skin and and to justify their claims (even it is a fact that both of them coming from families which always have accurately recorded over centuries back their families traces) these Americans dared to made up false stories about one of Beethovens parents and one of Queen Charlottes ancestor from several hundred years bevor her had affairs with allegedly north African servants they being the results of it (even when back then there aren’t in both cases no evidence for any kind of subsaharan servants in areas lived in which later have become germany)
Woke 😂
WOW
she was a direct descendant of the black Portuguese Margarita de Castro y Sousa.
America.
Perhaps, due to George’s controlling of her then illnesses, Charlotte held ever more tightly to her daughters as a way to preserve some sense of normality?
Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with it.
I literally find so much peace in your voice 🥰🥰
Living in Charlotte, NC (which is in Mecklenburg county) it's so interesting learning and seeing more on our namesake!
My great great great grandfather who was born in 1795 was illegitimate. He married a fourteen year old widow in 1817 out in India. They had fifteen children and only two didn't reach adulthood. It was said how much he resembled the Duke of Cambridge. Never be able to prove a relationship but I'm still trying to work out where my German dna comes from.
¹😊
Question: and please forgive my ignorance, but did Queen Victoria ultimately treat her daughter’s very similar? Your observations and historical knowledge on this would be much appreciated. Seems to have been a Hanoverian trait perhaps? Thank you !
Not as bad except for her daughter Beatrice .
I have read that for Charlotte is very important the education of women, and she ensured that her daughters were better educated than was usual for young women of the day. However also insisted that her daughters live restricted lives close to their mother, and she refused to allow them to marry until they were well-advanced in years. As a result, none of her daughters had legitimate children. Also according to some historians , Queen Charlotte was descendant from the 13th century portuguese monarch Alfonso III and his north african mistress. However, there is no any conclusive proof. Also I heard that the Former Prime Minister David Cameron is being a descendant of Queen Charlotte. In the aspect of coronation,I like the fact that the anointment of the King is done in private, because it is a sacred moment between him and God. So meaningful. I thank you for all the details I have learned from your video.
This is absolutely fascinating, what a tale of both the heights of love and the depths of woe. As always thank you for your efforts
I've become a new subscriber and you treat the subjects fairly, not ignoring their faults. I think there was more at play around Charlotte's oversmothering relationship with her daughters. Perhaps as they were coming to marriageable age, political struggles in her native Germany and the Revolution made her very protective, not wanting to send them anywhere that might go into revolution, or war with England. It's interesting that Queens Victoria and Alexandra showed the same smothering, though not to the same extent.
I have often wondered if Charlotte's isolation and loneliness was the cause of her (in my view) mistreatment of her daughters. I see a parallel with Queen Alexandra, who also was lonely in a strange land. I have read that her middle daughter, Princess Victoria, was not happy staying at home and unmarried, and wondered by Victoria didn't try to elope with someone.
With everything she went through, im not surprised to hear she treated her children that way. very sad😢
I love all your videos and this one was no exception. One of my favorites. Could you please do follow-up videos on the period after King George III and Queen Charlotte, leading up to Queen Victoria?
I adore her for her gardening passion and creating Kew Gardens.
It was George 3rd’s mother, Princess Augusta , who founded Kew Gardens.
@@jenylogan1 I stand corrected, Charlotte built the white house her "cottage" where they would go for summer getaways and picnics. She was very interested in gardening.
I love the woman who was cast for the show. Not because of her racial background -but her acting ability. She is quite enjoyable to watch.
But if anyone knew how society was back then, you would know that racial background was supposed to align as well as keeping wealth in the family -was a must.
All royal families across Europe were related in those days and they tried to keep the bloodlines as pure as possible.
She had an acestor from Portugal of Moorish descent *15* generations back. DNA is havled each generations that means she had at most 0.0030% of that ancestor's DNA. She was not black nor a "person of color".
Just because one was darker than the whiter-than-white ideal of the time it dose not make one "black".
@@Cynnas can you please cite where you got your information? Because my sources say she was a family member of Queen Victoria's of England.
He was too.
They were cousins.
As we all know now that the entire British Empire was guilty of heavy duty inbreeding for centuries.
No moors. Sorry.
Watching the show, I looked for a background history of Queen Charlotte to give me more details. I’m a lover of stories of the British kings and queens. I came upon yours and tried it. I clicked like and subscribed within two minutes. Your storytelling is impeccable, facts and pictures very interesting, and your lovely voice made the whole video delightful. You have a new fan. Thank you! 👑👑👑
Thank you! It was interesting to listen because I did not know anything about life of the Princess Charlotte
If George was alive today he would’ve probably received proper treatment for his bipolar disorder. Who knows what that could’ve meant for his relationship with Charlotte and their children.
Yes, it's incredibly sad for the whole family that there weren't better treatments options available for him. The poor man was literally in a strait jacket a lot of the time.
And what it would have meant for Britain! No Regency.
I bet a lot of the falling out within King George III's family would've NEVER happened and for Britain, they would've had to deal with his hopeless son, The future George IV. If only modern medicine had come sooner. 😢
@@PrincessQ-fj9ly well he probably still wouldn't have outlived Prinny, but there would not have been those years of limbo.
It was a fate suffered by most European princesses as well. As royal princesses they weren't allowed to marry beneath them (or catholics) and kings and potential kings being in short supply as Denmark and Prussia were the only protestant monachies and Sweden was out having elected a French general as King, until Napoleon raised some other German Dukes to royal status.
It seems like her treatment of her children led from her own experience of being controlled by her husband. Instead of recognising and preventing those inclinations, she replicated the pattern.
Yes, it does look a case of someone who was emotionally abused becoming a kind of abuser in her turn. I don't know if she even had the self-awareness to realise what she was doing though.
Yep, cycle of abuse in a nutshell. Today, if you're lucky, one can escape and embark on a long journey of therapy treatment, but how can a renowned queen of England escape? It's one of those things that I get particularly frustrated about just thinking about it.
Charlotte had a huge burden to bear and I believe that she mostly did so with grace and dignity.
While I feel for her children - because she was clearly a very insecure person who likely never got much (of any!) unconditional love in her life - at least they had plenty of siblings to seek comfort from!
While I know this isn't about George...speaking as someone who has Porphyria - specifically Hereditary Coproporphyria - I do believe the diagnosis of an acute combined porphyria subtype seems very likely.
My best guess based on my own experience with the condition is that he most likely had either AIP - Acute Intermittent Porphyria (and the rash complaint was incidental) or HCP, the type I have.
Well- Bridgerton is not to be taken as a real thing, I hope haha- starting by the costumes, passing by Daphne rejecting a Prussian prince because she didn’t love him, ending with Queen Charlotte herself haha! (I do like it though, it’s entertaining once you realise it’s not meant to be real :)
Yes, it reminds me a little bit of The Great which is also only based very loosely on history (but which is hysterical - I love it).
@@HistoryCallingI am still to watch The Great (though by watching edits and costume reviews I feel I already have😭😭)
It's very funny, but also very rude. Be careful who you watch it with to avoid blushes.
@@HistoryCalling 🤣 Right, but the rude humor of "The Great" is what I love most about the series.
I have learned to find the Bridgerton series to be ok entertaining, tho the absolute sledgehammer, they take to history in all things big and small, still really annoys me.
I have loved the Julia Quinn books from the first 1 onwards, for her excellent writing, captivating love stories and her thoroughly researched authentic history. So I was ecstatic, when I found out, the books were to be a series. And then I was completely horrified at how they completely butchered the books and history alike. I had to force myself through 2 episode, then finally I got to the point, where I chose to ignore any relation to my favorite books and instead decided to consider the series to be set in an alternate universe. Coz thats how badly done the history, the dress, the culture, the society, well, everything is done in the series. After that, I could finish the series, finding it fairly entertaining. Season 2 tho, not so much, still have only made it through 1½ episodes. Theres just a limit to how much appaling rewriting of history, I can handle.
And 1 of the most appaling things is their portrayal of Queen Charlotte. Nothing to do with the acting, not for her or any of the other actors, its just.... everything else. Hollywood was never any good at historicals, but dear God, have they been increasingly bad the last couple of decades, and Bridgerton is probably the worst yet. Then again, its Netflix, even their true crime documentaries are so fictionalized, they shouldnt be anywhere near the docu section.
I was watching Queen Charlotte last night and I was wondering if you would do a video on her and you did. Thank you!! Have a great weekend
Great minds think alike 😀
I'm almost done with the book on queen charlotte, 'Snuff, pugs, & lace the real history of queen charlotte.' It's a bunch of descriptions, articles, even some older pages from older books on queen charlotte, on what the title entitles. I highly recommend it.
👏👏Settling down after an extended dog walk and with my third cup of coffee to rewatch this mini-epic. Your devotion to detail really shines here, HC. Truth be told, I've never watched "Bridgerton". It's a personal glitch with me; I tend to gravitate toward decidedly dark historical dramas like "Vienna Blood" or "From Hell." Might have to give the series a go, as your video has piqued my interest. The repercussions of George's ailments on his family, coupled with her lonely existence, make this a very sad chronicle. Well done, HC! I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. Be well. 🙏🏼
Yes, it was a bit epic getting it done in time. I'd forgotten the new TV show was coming out and so only put this video together last week, finishing it on Sunday. That and the fact that it's one of my longest made it a bit stressful. Usually I have the videos done about 6 weeks in advance. Anyways, enjoy and do give Bridgerton a go if you fancy some light entertainment without too many pesky facts getting in the way :-)
@@HistoryCalling 👍🙏🏼 Try not to burn out; sounds like you're working 24/7.
I'm having the weekend off for the coronation and planning my summer holiday 😀
@@HistoryCalling Excellent!!!
I'd give it a pass personally - but then, I read the books first
I was going to name my daughter Charlotte but when she was here it wasn't her name, but it is still my favorite name ever.
I LOVE the name too. BTW my middle name is LEAH & I LOVE it, my daddy named me that because he thought it went good with my first name!! I believe that QUEEN CHARLOTTE was a very lonely sad lady who may have wanted much closer relationships with ALL of her children but didn't know how to have them with her children because she probably had the same kind of problems with her own parents!!! It usually goes from generation to generation as it did in my own family!!! It's SAD but TRUE!!!
Extremely interesting video! I think both of these royals had some problems as parents. Perhaps as the King’s health deteriorated and he began to treat her badly, she hung on to the girls. You mentioned in the beginning she did not have close friends. Perhaps she wanted them as friends and not children. Their dynamics would be a deep dive into a pretty dark hole. A very complicated story…
It was indeed. I suppose she was so used to being controlled, she liked being able to control others and (as you say), have them as friends.
I wish I'd studied her in school.
Thank you for doing this video, so those of us who watched the bridgerton shows, and wanted to know the truth, could find it in an understanding way.
She was white and she wasn't black she was mixed race look at her picture people are blind
@@meloo980 why are you upset because she's black it goes to show you that a black lady could be a queen that's a blessing
@@aliceyoung7292 am not up set am happy she mixed even better if she was black but I dont think she was but definitely half back half white I was told about this story years ago but white people dont want to believe its true
@@meloo980 I agree with you
@@aliceyoung7292Black women were already Queens in Africa
My maternal grandmother had 13 kids, all at home with only her sisters to help ❤ She started in 1918 and stopped with my mother in 1942
Her story is fascinating! I can’t imagine being pregnant year after year 😮
For nearly 20 years if my maths is correct! The physical toll that would take on one's body!
I live in New England, USA, many of my Ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. It still amazes me that my family is so closely tied to England. 😃
That war was a tragedy and never should have happened. There could have been a sensible settlement where the colonies could have run their own affairs without all that bloodshed. Its great that both countries recognise their shared history, values and culture today though.
I’m English, and I find many Americans don’t wish to recognise just how closely tied we are. Sad really. I’m glad you do! 😊
@@pommiebears my New England accent sounds so close to a British accent, that when I travel to our southern states people ask me where in England I'm from. 😆
I’m glad to see a telling of history of Queen Charolette without branching off in other areas like skin colour which is all anyone seems focused on, rather than her as a person.
Thank you. Yes, I think she deserves to be remembered for her real life and not a fictionalised version of it.
Maybe they should tell the truth
@@HistoryCalling Whoa....
@@natashagraham1686 At the VERY BEGINNING of the series, they introduce TEXT explaining that it is a FICTIONALIZED account of actual historical individuals.
What else do you want, Bartholomew? Lol
I sure hope that all of you forlorn citizens who are so profoundly torn up by this ADMITTED fictional account are more destined by politicians ACTIVELY TAKING American History OUT of textbooks.
Are you Folks as passionate towards this crusade that msny of your so-called representatives have taken up against EDUCATION and Facts?
This series isn't trying to pass itself off as Facts. I do find your reactions extremely telling..... ;)
We See you....
Yes, thank you. I was hesitant to click on this but HC always comes through!
I'm shocked! I always heard that George III & Charlotte had an extremely happy marriage, but it sounds like it looked better than it was cos Charlotte just put up & shut up if she was unhappy, which must've taken a lot of mental & emotional strength. I had no idea how controlling he was, or what an isolated life he forced on her- & their daughters, but she contributed to that too.
I'm also shocked that Princess Sophia most likely had an illegitimate child- both cos it was utterly taboo for a woman & much harder to hide, & cos I've never heard a thing about it. I hate to think how Sophia would've been treated, but at least she wasn't locked up for life like Sophia of Zelle- honestly, the bar is in hell with the Hanovers!- & I hope she at least had some happiness with her lover before her disastrous pregnancy.
As an American George 3 was the last King. After research he seemed like Good decent man . To stay faithful to his Queen speaks volumes of his character. The Founding Fathers always said they didn’t have a problem with the King it was parliament that gave them problems
The weird thing about the whole Bridgerton thing is I’m not sure the king and Charlotte are mentioned in the books let alone the reference to any person of color at least to the best of my recollection. I think the series is fine on its face but it seems to me that other than the names of the characters and the title of the show there is little resemblance to the books. I loved the series when I read it but didn’t really care for the TV series.
On another note true life is just as interesting as fiction sometimes more so. So I truly appreciate you and others who tirelessly continue to tell the stories from history.
They're not characters in the books.
I enjoyed the first series but felt the second differed too much from the novel to be good. Not sure I'll watch series 3.
I suspect that you are much more of a specialist in this period than the 16th century? You are clearly very passionate about the 18th/early 19th centuries and this comes through very strongly. Excellent video and as always historically accurate 👏.
Another brilliant video HC! Thankyou very much 👏🏼👏🏼
I think she sounds lovely 😊 how cruel that people called her ugly,
I’d love to see a video on Margaret Pole and also Perkin Warbeck,
Queen Charlotte is really portayed as a tragic figure in the miniseries, I wish more of the interesting parts of her life were included. The one thing that really does annoy me is the inclusion of the "us" vs "them" narrative that Netflix just has to include in all thier adaptions (see thier upcoming one on Cleopatra that Egypt is suing over). It's not about having a diverse cast, it is about shoehorning thier 20th century social commentary in what otherwise is a lightharted and enjoyable show.
Even TV commercials all include the "Message" of Modern Audiences.
That was a particularly interesting episode. (You've never presented one that wasn't, btw.) Thanks for all that detail and careful research. As for Charlotte's relationship with her daughters, I have to wonder how much her husband's controlling of her, his queen, led Charlotte to become controlling of her daughters? The king may have taught her, not only the things he meant to, but some other, and negative, things as well.
It's really such a shame that Charlotte and George, having done so much to secure the succession as far as the next generation, failed so miserably in the grandchildren department. It's difficult to see why they would be so blind in this area. Unless they were in complete denial of the passage of time. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's lonely at the top. Clearly, they were not in the habit of trusting the motives of courtiers and hangers-on. They seemed to keep to themselves as much as possible, clinging to their children all the more after the deaths of 3 of them. So sad.
I think they had many grandchildren. However the grandchildren were illegitimate.
Victoria was very similar in parenting style to Charlotte's. Nobility is a strange lifestyle indeed.
Queen Charlotte's disposition toward her children reminds me a great deal of how Queen Victoria was also unaffectionate toward her children. Victoria criticized her sons, especially her eldest, and was not keen on her daughters getting married. Victoria was prolific in childbearing, too, although she had only nine, to Charlotte's 15. In fact, Victoria kept her youngest daughter by her side always, and I don't believe she ever did marry, although she might have after Victoria's death. There's also something about the description of Charlotte's nostrils, apparent in portraits, that reminds me of the Windsor appearances. Although Victoria's relationship with Prince Albert was quite different than Charlotte's relationship with 'Farmer' George, they both enjoyed long reigns. I imagine the practice of having other people raise their children contributed to strained parent/child relationships. I don't blame her despondency toward George in his later, sicker years. It's a shame she never allowed her daughters to marry. I imagine the towns of Charlotte, NC, and Charlottetown, PEI were named after her. I admire Charlotte for her strength and perseverance, and pity her later life.
With regards to Charlotte not playing with the children on the floor -- I would think that has more to do with her corsets, as well as the fact that she was practically always pregnant, both making sitting on the floor VERY uncomfortable!
I do have a question -- how would he have been able to have a whole entire wardrobe made for her before she arrived? A video on that, and maybe how the customs have changed and why over the centuries! Many know that clothing was usually repurposed, and people wore an undergarment in order to keep their outer layer (dresses) "clean". But I am sure there is much more to learn! And you would do the topic great justice!!
I read in a book that when king George first sent the men to ask her hand in marriage, he also had them take her measurements to have seamstresses make her wedding gown and other clothes made. But then when she arrived she had lost so much weight from the voyage that the clothes were hanging off her at first till she recuperated. 🙂
I am not sure what motivated Charlotte in her relationships with her children, but like Victoria later on, there was an element of not wanting the daughters to head off away from home in it I think, and it looks like George felt much the same. Charlotte obviously had a healty marriage in most respects, but she would have worried a lot about his mental health, it being on her mind that she wanted him to endure as little stress as possible. Thanks for another good video!
Looking forward to a video about her DNA and the references to it while she was alive, and any support of her DNA within the royal record
I really enjoyed this video. The commentary and the photos were very nice.
I appreciate this primer! I always liked Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton and am glad I watched your video here before I watch the Queen Charlotte show
You're welcome. I only hope knowing the real history doesn't annoy you when you see the liberties they've taken. They say at the start though that they've changed history, which I appreciate. It reminds me of how The Great (which I love) treats the story of Catherine of the Great.
@@HistoryCalling I would love to have a real, historical series on the Hanoverians. S1 could start with Sophia of Hanover and her son in Hanover, follow George’s divorce and his mother’s death, his accession as King of England and his relationship with his mistresses and his son, and the rise of Robert Walpole. S2 would focus on the reign of George II and Queen Caroline, and Frederick, Prince of Wales, with the Jacobite rebellion and Bonnie Prince Charlie. S3 would cover as much of George III and Queen Charlotte as could be fitted in. S4 would cover George IV and William IV, the war with France and battle of Waterloo with Wellington and Nelson having large roles, and end with the death of William IV and accession of Queen Victoria. We have so much TV on the Tudors, I’d love to see something about other royal dynasties.
she was a direct descendant of the black Portuguese Margarita de Castro y Sousa.
@@kittybee171😂 King George was also direct descendant from margarita e sousa's granddaughter margarita von erbach, Charlotte's descended from the brother, George from the sister
@Kittybee171 if you notice the TH-camr researched all other facts. But glazed right over that. Just stated she was not black. I have a mixed race child. With white skin. Straight to wavy hair That don't make her any less black.
Capt James Cook named the anchorage he used in New Zealand's South Island after her - Queen Charlotte Sound! A beautiful piece of the Marlborough Sounds in the north of NZ's South Island!
I love history on Queen Charlotte SS fate had me move to Mecklenburg co NC in 1972. I’m also of English decent and born on 5/15 so just so many uncanny coincidences. 15 kiddos! Wow- she deserves so much for that alone! Very interesting video. I love British history.
great video unlike a lot of other videos ive seen this seems very well researched also i love the accent and voice im now subbed
Thank you very much and welcome :-)
There's something so appropriate about me watching this video while taking out the rag curlers I slept in.
Oh, bet you have gorgeous curls now ➰ (that was the best emoji I could find for curls - it's not great. Sorry!)
Thank you, the curls came out really well and I am pretty happy with that since my last two attempts at rag curling were less successful 😅
Still loving your videos. Thank you so much for all you research and bringing us the best history content.
I think this is the most insight I’ve received on any royal marriage. It helps paint a better picture of King George III - which I appreciate as an American. The man wasn’t the monster depicted since I was a child - although I’m sure at times he could be. I believe he actually loved.
And his wife, the subject of this documentary: she was exceptional!
Yes, I came spurred by the rumor that she was a black woman - yet I came away just appreciating the strong woman she proved to be. To be a queen is no easy thing. Despite her flaws - which I feel were fairly covered here - she still holds up as an admirable example. I heard no talk of her affairs, no engaging in political intrigue. The term, “queen consort,” is used often here. I understand why. Still, this lady conducted herself in such a way as to deserve no qualification concerning her office. She was a queen in the fullest sense. Thank you!
I'm a Mecklenburg. I enjoy the fun take on this part of history. Of course it's loosely based on facts.
Ok I finally got done watching this video 😂 (I’m a mom with little kids) It was a great summary of Queen Charlotte’s life! Thank you 😊
Thank you. It's lovely to read a nice, regular comment under this video as so many of them are practically psychotic just because I don't agree that Queen Charlotte was black.
@@HistoryCalling I appreciated that you stuck to truth and you tied it all so nicely! Thank you! I appreciated the video 😊
She sounds like Queen Victoria with her youngest two daughters!
Someone else mentioned that too and you're so right. At least those two women were allowed to get married earlier though.
And like Queen Victoria, she imposed a regime on her daughters which she had experienced and disliked herself.
Thank you for saying the Bridgerton is fiction and not based in reality! We should admire not for their race but the measure of how they were and acted on when they were alive! Let's see what the reigning queen consort can do as of today.
I don’t know who would think that Bridgerton was real. However, there are many historians who know that Queen Charlotte came from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a branch of the Portuguese royal house that definitely had African blood since the occupation of Portugal by black and Arabic North Africans from 700 A.D. to 1100 A.D. permanently stamping African blood into the Portuguese ethnicity. This was augmented by the arrival of over 3000 African people in Portugal by the end of the 15th century.
So, whilst Queen Charlotte was not black and not mixed race, as in having two parents of different ethnicities, she did have African ancestry.
Thank you. Completely agree.
she was a direct descendant of the black Portuguese Margarita de Castro y Sousa.
Her attitude toward her daughters was perhaps due to not being allowed to have her own friends. She wanted equitable ( royal standing);female companions. But never developed the skills to do so. She seemed to have picked up George's habit of treating her female children as hostages.
Bipolar illness doesn't suddenly develop late in life. Some illnesses caused by viruses or bacteria can affect the mind for some time after the initial infection and would explain the improvements later on. Auto immune reactions to a bad illness like flu can also affect the mind. The porphyria is a close fit based on his symptoms, but some other illnesses can also fit the bill.
To my knowledge, bipolar illness doesn't feature gastro-intestinal disturbance or urine discolouration among its symptoms either.
Isabella of France, Marguerite of Anjou, Anne Boleyn: some queen consorts who shaped history.
I think she must have been mentally ill herself after all those years of obsessive treatment by her husband, especially the isolation. My guess is she feared to be left alone when all her children moved out. I can think of a few more motivations along those lines, none of them flattering, frankly. I find her treatment of her children a tragedy though and would have wished for a better outcome at least for the children.
Yes, I think what happened to George really broke her at times. The poor woman probably needed a lot of therapy, some good friends and decent distractions instead of being cooped up in the fishbowl of royal life.
I have to wonder if the treatment of her daughters has anything to do with her isolation and unhappiness. I also think that Charlotte alone is not the one person to isolate her daughters or make them unhappy. That burden also needs to fall on George. If he was isolating Charlotte as much as he did, and as stated that he isolated his daughters and didn’t let them socialize, then the fault should fall on them equally or maybe more on George because he was the one in control.
Maybe I’m completely off the mark, but those women did not have the luxury of leaving home and dating or marrying whomever they wished. The same goes for the men.
I think if there were journals with real thoughts and emotions from either Charlotte or her girls, maybe we could get a more intimate idea of their relationships.
Lol. So she wasnt black of course. Funny how even mentioning such a thing can be such a taboo these days. People being scared of speaking plain truths... What would Plato or Aristotle think on this? Theyd probably barf.
The whole issue of colour blind casting for historical figures is certainly an interesting one, don't get me wrong, but I just don't think people could have a calm, rational conversation about it in the comments. I think it would descend into chaos very quickly.
Hey there. I absolutely agree with you. On another note. I absolutely adore your content. By far, my favorite when it comes to the study of the personal lives of royals and the such. So much detail, the pace of your voice, the fine editing applied to every single line. In short. Kudos. Your channel is fantastic
@@HistoryCalling its insane, as a black man I'm all for inclusivity but when you try and change history, its insane....there's now a depiction of Richard iii played by a black woman.... its getting nuts...
@@LostInSpace175 I honestly don't care if it's historical *fiction*. They change details of historical events all the time when doing tv shows and such to make it more entertaining so who cares if they play around with the cast too? If a black woman plays Richard III then as long as she does a good job I have no issue, and if anyone tries to claim Richard III was actually a black woman because of a tv show then hopefully everyone will see them for the nutty person they are. I do, however, very much agree that any portrayal which claims to be accurate ought to be backed by as much historical data as possible.
I thought she was of mixed race
I just finished the new series. This is perfect 🥰
You finished it already! That was some binge watch :-) I'm only 15 minutes into the first episode 😀
Which series? Thank you. Happy Friday! 😊
@@nefarious67 that would be the Bridgerton "Queen Charlotte" series.
I've been on holiday anyway, so just finished it myself :)
I love queen charlotte and George iii. However I really get annoyed by other TH-cam history channels that keep calling her biracial
To respond to comments, there is ABSOLUTELY no evidence she was biracial, none of siblings or children show any evidence. She POSSIBLY had an ancestor that was a person of color 15 generations ago. An ancestor that was moorish. A term used more to describe religious association, not ethnicity, because ethnicity then was Not the same as today. She was not perceived or treated as a person of color by her contemporaries.
Using the "One Drop" rule is a very racist eugenics belief. One used in Jim Crow era of the USA. To say she was biracial is racist and inaccurate. To say she POSSIBLY had an ancestor of color is accurate.
I am done arguing with people's racist one drop beliefs
I'm right there with you. It's utter tripe dreamed up by a pseudo-historian.
well she is called what she was - the first black queen of the uk. therefore she was biracial
She wasn't
Yeah, even if her ancestor Mor Afonso _was_ Moorish/North African, she lived FIVE HUNDRED YEARS before Charlotte was born. That is NOT "biracial". There are lots of interesting people in European history who actually _were_ biracial or African- Dido Elizabeth Belle, Henry VIII's trumpeter John Blanke, or Mor Afonso herself, tho ofc there's very little info about her- not to mention _actual African royalty in Africa._ It's sad to overlook them for a fantasy.
@@ficfan3484 It's funny to me, how hard it is, to believe some do not think she was indeed an Afro-German. It has been noted in other portraits her skin tone was much darker with Afrocentic features, portraits of her with lighter skin tones has been white washed, to persevere the illusion of whiteness.
Thank you for this!
You're welcome. :-)
I really enjoy your in-depth research. Thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Queen Charlotte video and the refreshing way you brought history to life. I look forward to watching more of your videos now that I have discovered your work.( Side note Bridgerton is a tragedy even in its fictional form of cheap entertainment with no value to learning or understanding history)
It is not historically accurate and no she was not a person of color. He one ancestor they claim was "black" was from Portugal of Moorish deacent 15 generations back. Being darker than the ideal white of the time dose not make her "black".
@@Cynnas Of course ' others' trying to steal the identity of the British Royal Empire- it's been heavily documented for centuries the big time inbreeding the family insisted upon to keep the wealth within the British royal monarchy -these two people were cousins.