Charlotte, The Queen We Never Had

Princess Charlotte of Wales

These days, it seems impossible to imagine anyone but the great Queen-Empress Victoria ruling over the economic, political and industrial peak of the British Empire. Shockingly enough, the strict, motherly Victoria with her nine children and long widow's veil almost did not become Queen. She was not likely to ascend the throne at all and many thought she would live a quiet life as the only child of the fourth son of a King. The distinction of the beloved heir to the throne belongs to none other than Princess Charlotte of Wales.

Who? Well, Princess Charlotte of Wales was the woman that many thought and hoped would be their strong, popular monarch. She seemed to be hope for the future. In the early part of the 19th century, King George III (the monarch who lost the colonies) had gone insane, leaving his oldest son, George, to rule in his place as Prince Regent. Although George III was a strong monarch who famously "gloried in the name of Briton," his children were a different story. There were fifteen of them, and all of them seemed obese, socially stunted and obscenely self indulgent. Of the embarrassing children of George III, the Prince Regent was the worst. He spent millions, far over his allotted allowance, on great parties or opulent mansions. Everyone from the upper class to the working class looked at him with contempt. The Prince Regent was also famous for being overweight, a symbol of indulgence in Georgian Britain. On one occasion, he traveled to Scotland and his sizable gut hung below the hemline of the kilt (gross, right?).

King George III

Prince George, the Prince Regent

The public perception of the Prince Regent

Fortunately, behind the gloom of the Prince Regent was his only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales.The daughter of the heir and the only legitimate grandchild of King George III at the time, Princess Charlotte was destined to become Queen of the expanding British Empire. A breath of fresh air, Charlotte was beautiful, fun loving and witty. Her trade mark became the flowers she would wear in her hair. Charlotte was by far and away the most popular royal. Her mother had been Caroline of Brunswick and had long since separated from the Prince Regent and lived abroad. It seemed the hopes of a nation were riding on the shoulders of the teenage Princess. 

Princess Charlotte with her iconic flowers.

In 1816, after refusing the proposals of the Prince of Orange, Charlotte married Leopold of the German Duchy, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield (the future king of the Belgians). With a Prince in hand, the future of the monarchy seemed bright. In 1817, 21 year old Princess Charlotte revealed her pregnancy of a future heir. This kicked off a sense of celebration within Britain.Unfortunately, after a problematic birth, the baby died. Charlotte seemed fine at first but eventually became delirious and died shortly afterwards. 

The outcry after Princess Charlotte's death in 1917 was akin to that of Diana's in 1997. The nation went into statewide mourning. Everything from hastily written biographies to miniature effigies to commemorative tea pots were sold all over the country. The future of the monarchy seemed bleak and all of the Prince Regent's brothers rushed to sire heirs. The Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George IV, married a German princess named Viktoria and shortly afterwards, Princess Victoria of Kent was born. When the Duke of Kent's older brothers failed to produce heirs, Princess Victoria became next in line for the throne. She would later reign as Queen Victoria.