Augusta Sophia from Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover
Princess Augusta Sophia of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover (born November 8, 1768 in Buckingham Palace , † September 22, 1840 in Clarence House ) was a British-Hanoverian princess, the sixth child of the British King George III. and his wife Queen Charlotte .
Childhood and youth
Princess Augusta Sophia was the sixth child and second daughter of King George III. (1738–1820) born of Hanover and his wife Charlotte von Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her father wished so much that the expected child would be a girl that the doctor who supervised the birth protested: "Whoever sees the handsome princes on the stairs must be happy to have another one". The king was so upset at the prospect that he replied, "Whoever sees a child as lovely as the Princess Royal on the stairs need not wish for a boy." To the delight of the king and the relief of the queen, the baby was a pretty girl.
The little princess was baptized on December 6, 1768 by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury , in the Great Council Chamber of St James's Palace . Her godparents were Prince Karl of Mecklenburg (her maternal uncle, who was visiting England), Queen Caroline Mathilde of Denmark (her paternal aunt, who was represented by the Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven, the Queen's chief stewardess ) and the Duchess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg Augusta (her paternal aunt, represented by Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, the queen's lady-in-waiting).
Princess Augusta was the middle of the older trio of princesses, which consisted of her older sister Charlotte (born 1766) and her younger sister Elisabeth (born 1770). In 1771, the two older princesses began traveling to Kew to receive lessons under the supervision of Lady Charlotte Finch and Miss Planta. The princesses, who used to be very close to their brothers, now saw them very rarely, except when their paths crossed on their daily walks. In 1774 Martha Goldsworthy or "Gouly" became the new person in charge of her education. The princesses learned typically female occupations such as good manners, music, dance, and the arts, but their mother also made sure they learned English, French, German, and geography, and received well-trained educators.
The young Augusta was the darling of Miss Planta, who called her “the most beautiful of all princesses”, although she was “childish” compared to her older sister. The princess was morbidly shy and stuttered in front of people she didn't know. Her behavior ranged between annoying and well mannered. She sometimes had tantrums and then beat her governesses, but on the other hand she was also often calm and open-minded. The strong tensions between her older brothers and her parents, which had arisen since 1780, weighed on her and she preferred to join them to keep her coin collection busy. Like all of her sisters, Augusta was shielded from the outside world.
In 1782, Augusta made her debut at the king's birthday party. She was shocked by the crowd that her mother had told her about two days earlier. Augusta's youngest brother, Prince Alfred , died in August 1782 , followed eight months later by her next younger brother, Prince Octavius . When the Princesses went to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1783, they were so disturbed by the portraits of their two youngest brothers there that they broke down and cried in front of everyone. In August 1783, Amelia was born as the last child of the royal couple. Augusta became godmother, together with Charlotte and George . Although the birth of her sister did not erase the pain of the loss of her brothers, Augusta should not linger in grief like her father did.
When the three oldest princesses reached their teens, they spent a lot of time with their parents. They accompanied her to the theater, the opera and at court, her once academic lessons began to relax, the focus was now placed on music and art. They heard famous actresses like Sarah Siddons read, and along with Charlotte and her parents, Augusta met the second American President, John Adams , when he was introduced to the Queen. The three girls were always dressed the same way at public appearances, the only difference being in the color of their clothes. Although she was often in public, Augusta was still happiest at home, where she adored her younger brothers Ernest , Augustus and Adolphus . She also had a very close relationship with her sister Elizabeth, while Charlotte often appeared haughty and overly aware of her position as Princess Royal .
In adulthood
When they reached marriageable age, Augusta and the Princess Royal received their first ladies-in-waiting in July 1783. Augusta often wrote to her older brother William , who was undergoing military training in Hanover. She shared the latest family news with him and encouraged him to tell her what was happening in his life. Augusta enjoyed his attention and the little presents he sent her, although the Queen warned William not to over-waste his sister's precious time. Queen Charlotte disapproved of her daughters wasting their time and made sure the princesses spent long hours studying music, art, or learning crafts.
The princesses did not “dress” for dinner, they wore their morning clothes for most of the day. Members of the royal family often wore civil clothing, and even when they donned court clothes, they were far from the ornate splendor of other courts. Since there were six princesses, the queen's cost of clothing was enormous, and she tried to keep the cost down and within her budget. As the three eldest daughters grew up, expenses for the queen rose dramatically. The princesses constantly needed dresses, hats, accessories, fans and other items. The quarterly expense of her clothing came to £ 2,000, and the cost of her servants and tutors was added on. But the effort had an effect: the princesses quickly became a familiar sight in public. When their group portrait was shown, one marveled at the porcelain-like impersonal beauties. They were dressed alike and only the different accessories indicated that very different personalities were among the painted masks.
By 1785 Augusta and Charlotte had reached the age at which they were considered potential brides for foreign princes. That year the Crown Prince of Denmark had King George III. imply that he would discard all other discussed proposals of marriage in exchange for a marriage with a British princess. He is said to have preferred Augusta to her older sister. However, the king declared that after the terrible treatment of his sister by the Crown Prince's father he would never send one of his daughters to the Danish court. In 1797, at the age of 30 , her sister Charlotte married the first of the royal princesses. In the same year Augusta received an application from Prince Friedrich Adolf of Sweden , which he made without the consent of the Swedish royal family. A British princess, also the daughter of such a fertile mother, was considered desirable, but Augusta's father was less and less willing to give his daughters permission to marry because he wanted to keep them to himself.
Next life
According to a record held in the V&A Archives, Princess Augusta was a patroness of L. Bertolotto's flea circus .
She died unmarried on September 22, 1840 in Clarence House, St James, London, and was buried on October 2, after being laid out in Frogmore , in St. George's Chapel in Windsor .
title
- 1768–1840: Her Royal Highness. Princess Augusta Sophia of Great Britain and Ireland
literature
- Flora Fraser: Princesses - The six daughters of George III. Bloomsbury Publishing, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-4088-3253-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Flora Fraser: Princesses, the Six Daughters of George III. 2012.
- ↑ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings ( Memento of the original dated August 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Cecilia af Klercker: Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok VII 1800-1806 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte VIII 1800-1806) . PA Norstedt & Söners förlag, Stockholm, 1936, p. 270-271 (Swedish).
- ↑ Flora Fraser: Princesses, the Six Daughters of George III. 2012.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Augusta Sophia from Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Member of the British royal family from the House of Hanover |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 8, 1768 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Buckingham Palace , London |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 22, 1840 |
| Place of death | Clarence House , London |