Caroline of Ansbach
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Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (or Anspach) (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline) (1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) as Queen Caroline was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain 1727-1737.
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Early life
Caroline was born on March 1, 1683, at Ansbach in Germany, the daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his second wife, princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach. Orphaned early on, she grew up an intelligent, cultured and attractive woman, much sought after as a bride. However, when the opportunity to become Queen of Spain presented itself, she turned it down because it would have meant renouncing her Protestant faith. Shortly afterwards, she met and married George, son of the Elector of Hanover, who would later become heir to the throne of Great Britain and eventually King George II of Great Britain. Their wedding took place in Hanover in 1705, and their first child, Prince Frederick Louis, was born in 1707.
Princess of Wales
On the accession of King George I of Great Britain in 1714, Caroline's husband became Duke of Cornwall and shortly afterwards Prince of Wales, whereupon she became Princess of Wales. Because her father-in-law had divorced his wife some years before, there was no queen, and Caroline was the most important woman in the kingdom. She soon struck up a friendship with Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, and his influence would help ensure that the Prince and Princess of Wales were able to maintain their position and lifestyle even after Prince George had fallen out with his father.
Caroline's mind far outstripped George's. For example, in her younger days, she corresponded with Gottfried Leibniz, the intellectual colossus who was courtier and factotum to the House of Hannover, and the correspondence was published in the 19th century. Nevertheless, Caroline's marriage to George was, by and large, a successful one, though he continued to keep mistresses. The best-known of these was Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, one of Caroline's ladies of the bedchamber.
A satirical verse of the period went:
- "You may strut, dapper George, but 'twill all be in vain,
- We all know 'tis Queen Caroline, not you, that reign."
Queen
Template:Infobox hrhstyles Caroline became Queen on the death of her father-in-law in 1727. In the course of the next few years, she and her husband fought a constant battle against their eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who had been left behind in Germany when they came to England, and only arrived to join them in 1728, by which time he was an adult and had formed many bad habits. The friction between Frederick and his parents, especially his mother, was constant and showed itself in numerous ways. He opposed his father's political beliefs, and, once married, applied to Parliament for the increase in financial allowance which had been denied him. Caroline, despite having personally selected her new daughter-in-law, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, seemed determined that the marriage should not be a happy one, and was dismayed when she learned, in 1736, that Augusta was pregnant. A peculiar episode followed, in which the prince, on discovering that his wife had gone into labour, sneaked her out of Hampton Court Palace in the middle of the night, in order to ensure that his mother could not be present at the birth.
Queen Caroline held some powerful positions; she was made "Guardian of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and His Majesty's Lieutenant within the same during His Majesty's absence," thus acting as regent when her husband was off on trips to Hanover.
It is also worth noting that she was co-heiress to Sayn-Altenkirchen through her mother, whose mother Johanette reigned as Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen.
Death
Further quarrels with her son followed the birth of the Prince of Wales's daughter, and a complete estrangement occurred in the remaining months before Caroline's death. Having given birth to ten children in the course of her marriage, she died of complications following a rupture of the womb. She died on November 20, 1737, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Her husband had arranged for a pair of matching coffins with removable sides, in order that, when he followed her to the grave twenty-three years later, they could lie together again.
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