Charlotte Auguste from Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover

Charlotte as Duchess of Württemberg, 1798

Charlotte Auguste Mathilde of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover, Princess Royal (born September 29, 1766 in Buckingham Palace , London , † October 5, 1828 in Ludwigsburg ) was a British-Hanoverian princess, Princess Royal and by marriage duchess and later the first queen of Württemberg .

Life

Charlotte as Queen of Württemberg, around 1810

Coat of arms of Charlotte as Princess Royal

Princess Charlotte Auguste Mathilde was born on September 29, 1766 in London as the eldest daughter of the British King George III. (1738–1820) from the House of Hanover and his wife Princess Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz .

On May 18, 1797, the Princess Royal married the Hereditary Prince Friedrich (1754-1816) of Württemberg in St James's Palace in London . The marriage should strengthen Württemberg's back against France . At the same time, the House of Hanover was known for providing its daughters with a high dowry. Their child, a daughter, was stillborn at the end of April 1798.

Despite the moods of their often bossy husband, Charlotte and Friedrich maintained a respectful relationship, as she admired him very much. An educated, pious, and warm-hearted woman, she left politics to him and concentrated entirely on household and family. Charlotte remained childless herself, but she looked after Friedrich's children from his first marriage to Princess Auguste Karoline von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , who was in turn a niece of Charlotte's father Georg III. Above all, Charlotte had a close connection to her stepdaughter, Princess Katharina von Württemberg (1783–1835), later Queen of Westphalia , whose upbringing she took over. In addition, Charlotte was committed to founding the Ludwigsburg Mathildenstift, which took care of neglected children.

When French troops occupied Württemberg in 1800, Friedrich and Charlotte fled to Erlangen . In the following year, Duke Friedrich entered into negotiations with Napoléon Bonaparte , on whose side he switched in 1803. Württemberg expanded considerably and was elevated to a kingdom on January 1, 1806. Charlotte was crowned the first queen of the country at the side of Friedrich in Stuttgart . Württemberg left the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and joined the Rhine Confederation , which was founded under Napoléon's pressure . With Friedrich and Württemberg now on the opposing side of Great Britain, Charlotte's mother, Queen Charlotte of Great Britain, refused to recognize the royal titles of her daughter and son-in-law. However, in 1813, due to his heavy losses in the Russian campaign of 1812, Friedrich again switched to the side of the Allied powers. As brother-in-law of the British Crown Prince Georg , he enjoyed privileges here despite his temporary apostasy: after the fall of Napoléon, he took part in the Congress of Vienna in 1814/1815 and was confirmed as King of Württemberg.

Queen Charlotte Mathilde was artistically active. She painted and embroidered; Objects she painted and embroidered furniture covers can still be seen in Ludwigsburg Palace today. Some of her work can also still be seen in English castles after she sent her father to England that she had made or decorated objects.

When King Friedrich died in 1816, he was buried in the crypt of Ludwigsburg Palace . Charlotte took up residence in Ludwigsburg Palace in order to be as close as possible to her husband. In 1819 Charlotte became the godmother of her niece Princess Victoria of Kent, who later became Queen Victoria , and thus her agent. In 1827 Charlotte returned to her British homeland for the first time since her marriage in 1797 with her personal physician Franz Heim to have a pulmonary edema treated there. The following year, on October 5, 1828, Charlotte died in Ludwigsburg. She was buried in the crypt of Ludwigsburg Palace next to her husband.

literature

• Sabine Thomsen: The Württemberg queens . Silberburg-Verlag , Tübingen 2006, ISBN 3-87407-714-4 , p. 8-65 .
• Otto Schanzenbach: Queen Mathilde of Württemberg and the Ludwigsburgs . Ludwigsburg 1897.
• Hansmartin Decker-Hauff: Women in the Württemberg house . Leinfelden-Echterdingen 1997. pp. 199-208.
• Hans Dieter Flach: Charlotte Auguste Mathilde (1766–1828), Crown Princess of Great Britain and Queen of Württemberg - house painter on Ludwigsburg porcelain . In: Keramos , Issue 205, July 2009, pp. 37–60.
• Flora Fraser: Princesses - The six daughters of George III. Bloomsbury Publishing, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-4088-3253-0 .
• Eberhard Fritz : "I can hardly wait until we go to Ludwigsburg". Castle and gardens in the letters from Charlotte Mathilde von Württemberg to her father, King George III. of England . In: Ludwigsburger Geschichtsblätter 71 (2017). Pp. 87-122.

Web links

Commons : Queen Charlotte of Württemberg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files