Alfred of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover

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Portrait of Prince Alfred, 1782, painting by Thomas Gainsborough

Prince Alfred of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover (born September 22, 1780 in Buckingham Palace , † August 20, 1782 in Windsor Castle ) was a member of the British royal family. He was the fourteenth child and ninth son of the British King George III. and his wife Queen Charlotte . Alfred fell ill after a smallpox vaccination and died at the age of almost two years, together with the death of his brother Prince Octavius six months later, this was a severe shock for his parents. In his later fits of madness, King George had imaginative conversations with his youngest sons.

Life

Prince Alfred was born at Buckingham Palace on September 22, 1780. He was the fourteenth child and ninth son of King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The Little Prince was baptized by Frederick Cornwallis the Archbishop of Canterbury on October 21, 1780 in the Great Council Chamber of St James Palace . His godparents were his eldest brother, the Prince of Wales , his second eldest brother, Prince Friedrich, and his eldest sister, the Princess Royal . As the fourteenth child and ninth son of his parents, his birth was no great surprise, but the family was delighted; especially his sister Sophia , who, according to his sister Elisabeth , called him her "grandson".

Death and aftermath

In 1782 Prince Alfred was vaccinated against smallpox. This was too much for the baby, and in June he and his governess Lady Charlotte Finch were sent to Deal for recreation . It was hoped that the sea air, bathing in the water and horse riding would improve his condition. During his stay in Deal, Alfred made himself popular with many people, including an old woman, to whom he waved. Despite his charming character, he was troubled by erupting spots and chest problems. When he returned to Windsor in August 1782, the doctors examined him and discovered that the boy only had a few weeks to live. After attacks of fever and persistent chest problems, Prince Alfred died on August 20, 1782 in Windsor Castle at the age of two.

Although the household did not officially mourn (this was not required for royal children younger than fourteen), the loss hit his parents hard. According to Lady Charlotte Finch, the Queen wept profusely and "the loss pained her very much, as did the King". Alfred was buried in Westminster Abbey , and his remains were later transferred to St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on February 11, 1820. His father remained grieving for him, and the sight of the portraits of Alfred in a painting of the Thomas Gainsborough family nearly a year after Alfred's death made his three oldest sisters collapse in tears. Six months after Alfred's death, his older brother Octavius ​​also died of the smallpox virus, which further disturbed the king. In one of his fits of madness in 1812, King George had imaginary conversations with his two youngest sons.

Alfred's youngest sister, Princess Amalia , was conceived in the months following Alfred's death and was born almost exactly a year after he died. He was the first of George III and Queen Charlotte's children to die, 75 years before his older sister Mary, who was the last survivor of George and Charlotte's fifteen children. Alfred was the only one of the first fourteen children who never became an older sibling while he was still alive, the only younger child born after his death.

Web links

Commons : Alfred of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Weir, Alison (2008). Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09-953973-5 , p. 300
  2. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , p. 70
  3. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , p. 75
  4. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , p. 70
  5. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , pp. 75-76
  6. ^ Weir, Alison (2008). Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09-953973-5 , p. 300
  7. ^ Fritz, Paul S. (1982). "The Trade in Death: The Royal Funerals in England, 1685-1830". Eighteenth-Century Studies 15 (3): 291-316. Retrieved November 19, 2011, p. 305
  8. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , p. 76
  9. ^ Panton, Kenneth J. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarebrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-5779-0 , p. 39
  10. ↑ Holt, Edward (1820). The public and domestic life of His late Most Gracious Majesty, George the Third, Volume 1. London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, p. 256
  11. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , p. 77
  12. ^ Black, Jeremy (2006). George III: America's Last King. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-11732-9 , p. 156
  13. ^ Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4 , p. 78
personal data
SURNAME Alfred of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Member of the British royal family from the House of Hanover
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1780
PLACE OF BIRTH Buckingham Palace , London
DATE OF DEATH August 20, 1782
Place of death Windsor Castle