Caroline of Brunswick is a marvellous Queen Consort. On paper, she had nothing going for her at all. But she ended up far more popular than her husband and she's one of the most recognizable of all consorts.
Caroline was hardly romantic queen material. She was categorised by her looks, like all princesses, and was found to be lower league by some. She was reported to have a distant relationship with her bathroom and rarely changed her clothes. Not keen on education or culture, she had little conversation. And just like her husband, she seemed to prefer the charms of people she wasn't married to.
The fateful wedding of George and Caroline took place on April 8th 1795
Caroline as Princess of Wales
From that moment, they hated one another. Some estimates put their total time together as man and wife at three days. However long it was, it was enough to produce a little girl called Charlotte who became heiress to the throne. When the little princess was around ten her parents indulged in a proper marital ding dong, played out in the courts, as the future king had his wife investigated after rumours emerged she had had a son with another man. Desperate for a divorce, he dragged his wife's name and reputation through the mud but not enough of it stuck to prove she had produced an illegitimate child and his poor treatment of her only added to her growing popularity. Even the tragic death of their daughter in childbirth in 1817 couldn't smooth the angry waters between them.
By the time he became king in 1820 his spending had taken any gloss off the gorgeous George of his youth while his wife's down to earth nature and humiliation at the hands of her royal husband made her an unlikely heroine for many. George attempted to erase her from his story and an investigation in the House of Lords into her behaviour caused a scandal that only made the woman he demanded no one call queen even more popular. He had waited decades to be king but the first part of his reign was dominated by his queen consort.
No wonder Caroline looked so annoyed in this portrait from the end of her life, her time as princess and queen had been pretty hard going
Her life ended with drama and tragedy. In 1821, George arranged a spectacular coronation for himself that was every bit as grand and expensive as everyone expected. However, one name wasn't on the guest list. Caroline. She turned up nonetheless, demanding to be crowned, only to have the doors of the Abbey barred to her several times. She became ill soon afterwards and died less than three weeks later. She wanted to be buried in Brunswick but even in death, Caroline caused contention as a fight broke out over the route her coffin should take to the boat that would carry her home. She was buried at Brunswick Cathedral. George IV would reign for another nine years but his legacy will always be intertwined with that of Caroline.
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