The Tragic Life of Princess Charlotte, or, A Guide to Completely Screwing Up Your Child

A large part of why Princess Charlotte's life tends to be viewed as "tragic" is, of course due to her (SPOILER) early demise at the age of one and twenty. This is understandable, of course. Charlotte was young and pretty, recently married with a child on the way. She was England's Golden Girl, the antithesis of her father and the savior of the royal family. 

Princess Charlotte as a child. 
Even the birds liked her.

Adding to that tragic element is the fact that the brief life she did live was largely sad and lonely. While it was customary for royals to have a "hands off" parenting style (which will obviously produce extremely functional adults), Charlotte's parents were especially removed. 

Understanding Charlotte's childhood requires some explanation of her parents and their relationship to each other. 

The Cliff's Notes version of that situation is as follows: The Prince of Wales (the future George IV) needed to get married. Getting married = getting more money from parliament. If there was anything George liked more than food, booze, and sex, it was money; probably to buy some more food, booze, and presents for his current mistress. At any rate, married he must be. 

Miniature portrait of George, circa 1792.
He may have needed the money for more fancy wigs.

How George came to choose Charlotte's mother ("choose" being used very loosely), is a story for another day. For more on this I suggest: Caroline and Charlotte, Regency Scandals, by Alison Plowden, or Becoming Queen Victoria, by Kate Williams. Both of these sources are great reads and provided the information for this post. 

In the end, George settled on Caroline of Brunswick, who was, naturally, his first cousin. To say that the couple's first meeting did not run smoothly is quite an understatement. If you know anything about this story, there is a decent chance you have heard Caroline's infamous line: "I think he is very fat and nothing like as handsome as his portrait". This was cruel but likely true. George was similarly unimpressed. 

Sad face Caroline

Although George got crazy drunk at his wedding, he appears to have manned up that night. Charlotte was born roughly nine months following her parent's marriage. 

The promise of a new generation was not enough to keep these two crazy kids together, and the couple was separated by the time Charlotte was born. 

Unfortunately for the child, she became a pawn between her parents, who used her as a way to demonstrate their mutual animosity. This was particularly true for George who attempted to keep Caroline away from her daughter, except for very minimal contact, always in the presence of nursemaids and/or governesses. 

At age eight, young Charlotte was given her own establishment at Montague House,  but she was starved for affection. If her parents weren't using her to harm each other, they barely noticed her existence. A particularly poignant letter written by a ten-year old Charlotte to her father has survived: 

Forgive me, my dearest papa, for writing to you when you have so much business, but I saw you so unwell last night that I could not help writing to see how you are. Believe me, my dearest papa, that my whole aim is to gain your regard and affection; if I should lose that, I shall be destitute of everything in this world most dear to me; but I trust that will never happen. Oh how I wish I could see more of you! but I hope I shall in time. I am sensible how irksome it must be to you to see me, feeling I can be no companion to you to amuse you when in health and spirits & am too young to sooth you when in affliction. Believe me, I am always truly happy when I do see you. 

In Becoming Queen Victoria, Williams writes that "[t]here is no recorded reply from the prince." The combination of neglect and control continued throughout Charlotte's adolescence, until her marriage to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg in 1816. 

NOTE: Charlotte's teenaged years are fascinating and will likely be covered in a future post