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List of monarchs III
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What if Prince Frederick Augustus, the second son of King George III and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, had issue?
Monarchs of Great Britain
1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
[SPOILER="Caroline I and William IV”]
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline too the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
2) William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.[/SPOILER]
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 2year old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, rehis distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III.
George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, ___________, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of.
His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
Family tree
King George III, b. 1738, r. 1760 to 1820, m. Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz
Monarchs of Great Britain
1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
[SPOILER="Caroline I and William IV”]
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline too the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
2) William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.[/SPOILER]
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 2year old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, rehis distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III.
George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, ___________, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of.
His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
Family tree
King George III, b. 1738, r. 1760 to 1820, m. Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz
1) King George IV, b. 1762, r. 1820 to 1830, (m) Maria FitzHerbert
a) many illegitimate children
2) Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, b. 1763, d. 1827, m. Frederica Charlotte of Prussia
a) Queen Caroline, b. 1792, r. 1830 to 1853, m. William Wellesley-Pole, Duke of Savoy and Middlesex, and of Mornington (1788 to 1857)
1) Caroline Frederica Katherine, Princess Royal, b. 1813, m. Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia
2) King William V, prev. Earl of Richmond, then Prince of Wales, b. 1814, r. 1853 to 1893, m. Augusta Byron (1815 to 1852)
a) King George V, b. 1836, r. 1893 to 1906, d. 1913 m. 1858, Wilhelmina Charlotte of Hannover, b. 1838, d. 1899.
b) Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, b. 1838, d. ? m. 1362, William, Prince of Orange, b. 1840, d. 1879.
c) A son b. ?
3) and four others
3) and others ...
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I think the naming relations are slightly incorrect - his maternal grandfather was called George, not John. Also we will need to add on a George as a brother of William IV to the family tree if he has an uncle called George.
We may also want to add in the line of the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I of Hanover, too.
I put dibs on the turn after Record, unless Asharella jumps in.
His maternal grandfather is Captain John Byron, as the father of Augusta Maria Byron?
William I of Hannover is otl William IV of the United Kingdom and Uncle George is George Byron isn’t he?
That would be good if some one can as I’m on a mobile at the moment.
King George III, b. 1738, r. 1760 to 1820, m. Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz
1) King George IV, b. 1762, r. 1820 to 1830, (m) Maria FitzHerbert
a) many illegitimate children
2) Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, b. 1763, d. 1827, m. Frederica Charlotte of Prussia
a) Queen Caroline, b. 1792, r. 1830 to 1853, m. William Wellesley-Pole, Duke of Savoy and Middlesex, and of Mornington (1788 to 1857)
1) Caroline Frederica Katherine, Princess Royal, b. 1813, m. Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia
2) King William IV, prev. Earl of Richmond, then Prince of Wales, b. 1814, r. 1853 to 1893, m. Augusta Byron (1815 to 1852)
a) King George V, b. 1836, r. 1893 to 1906, d. 1913 m. 1858, Wilhelmina Charlotte of Hannover, (1838 to 1899)
b) Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, b. 1838, d. ???, m. William, Prince of Orange, (1840 to 1879)
c) A son b. ?
3) and four others
3) William I, King of Hanover, prev. Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, b. r. 1830 to 1837, m. Victoria of Saxe Coburg Saalfield
a) William II, King of Hanover, b. 1804, r. 1837 to 1856, married
1) William III, King of Hanover, b. 18XX, r. 1856 to ???
2) Wilhemina Charlotte of Hanover, b. 1838, d. 1899, m. George V of the United Kingdom (1836 to 1913)
4) and others ...
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His maternal grandfather is Lord Byron, the infamous poet. His mother is Augusta Byron, the Ada Lovelace of OTL
Done. Also I couldn’t picture which otl person this king would look like, so it’s open for others to choose one.
What if Prince Frederick Augustus, the second son of King George III and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, had issue?
Monarchs of Great Britain
1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
1906-1942. Amelia I (House of Middlesex) [4]
[4] Mary Amelia was born in 1881, to Prince Henry, who was the only son of King George V’s younger brother, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. If you could only use one word to describe the princess in her youth, it would be energetic. Mary Amelia was always doing something whether that be running around or jumping up and down. It was typically a hassle for anyone to get the energetic princess to stay still or go to sleep.
As Marie Amelia grew older, her father increasingly pressured her to marry, however, she repeatedly refused several candidates for marriage. Shortly before King George V abdicated the throne, Prince Henry died after falling from a flight of stairs, and so, when the king abdicated, Marie Amelia became Queen of Great Britain. Amelia I was deeply enthusiastic about her many duties as Queen.
During her reign, Queen Amelia I promoted the idea of a great Commonwealth of the British Colonies, in which all were equal. The idea gained much traction and eventually resulted in her becoming Amelia I, Empress of the Commonwealth. She also promoted the idea that the people of the British Isles were actually not Europeans and thus should not interfere in affairs of Europe.
Marie Amelia died in 1942, and was suceeded by ________.
Monarchs of Great Britain
1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
1906-1942. Amelia I (House of Middlesex) [4]
View attachment 643492
Queen Charlotte Hanover, 1845
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
View attachment 643456
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
View attachment 643458
Princess Frederica Charlotte
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
View attachment 643465
Princess Caroline, 1810
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
View attachment 643472
William Wellesley-Pole
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline too the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
2) William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately, she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty-year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 2-year-old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, his distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III.
George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after the celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, ___________, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of.
His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
Queen Charlotte Hanover, 1845
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
View attachment 643456
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
View attachment 643458
Princess Frederica Charlotte
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
View attachment 643465
Princess Caroline, 1810
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
View attachment 643472
William Wellesley-Pole
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline too the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
2) William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately, she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty-year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 2-year-old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, his distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III.
George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after the celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, ___________, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of.
His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
As Marie Amelia grew older, her father increasingly pressured her to marry, however, she repeatedly refused several candidates for marriage. Shortly before King George V abdicated the throne, Prince Henry died after falling from a flight of stairs, and so, when the king abdicated, Marie Amelia became Queen of Great Britain. Amelia I was deeply enthusiastic about her many duties as Queen.
During her reign, Queen Amelia I promoted the idea of a great Commonwealth of the British Colonies, in which all were equal. The idea gained much traction and eventually resulted in her becoming Amelia I, Empress of the Commonwealth. She also promoted the idea that the people of the British Isles were actually not Europeans and thus should not interfere in affairs of Europe.
Marie Amelia died in 1942, and was suceeded by ________.
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I'm abdicating my claim, I've got too many issues with the recent post and would have spent most of my next installment trying to correct my issues with it.
Nope, what happened on the reign of Queen Anne was the political union of England and Scotland into the "Kingdom of Great Britain", the UK only came into being in 1801 with the union of Great Britain and Ireland during the reign of George III
And the Union happened nine years after the POD of this list (1792).
Yes, the Act of Union created the United Kingdom and therefore Britain and Ireland may have remained seperate Kingdoms, held in personal union. But as was stated, monarchs since Anne had already been styled as King/Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, which is the move here. The Constitution of 1782 had given Ireland a significant amount more legislative independence than it had previously had, and that is before our POD.
So exactly what has been achieved by Amelia?
What if Prince Frederick Augustus, the second son of King George III, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, had issue?
Monarchs of Great Britain
1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
1906-1908: Amelia I (House of Middlesex) [4]
1942-1966: Caroline II (House of Middlesex) [5]
Empress Caroline II[5] Caroline Middlesex of York and Albany was born in 1901, the first British monarch that was born in the 20th Century. She was the great, great granddaughter of Queen Caroline I through Caroline I's third child and second son, Prince Frederick Middlesex, who was made the Earl of York and Albany at his birth and made the 2nd Duke upon his grandfather's death in 1827 when the Prince was ten years old.
Prince Frederick's place in line for the throne changed throughout his long life.
In 1923 she married her second cousin, Richard Middlesex. Not only had she become the heir to the throne with her brother's death, but she also became the daughter-in-law of the sixth Duke and her husband became the Earl of York and Albany. (As her husband would become the seventh Duke in 1947 that meant she was the daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, and wife of a Duke.)
Unlike others in her family, Caroline and Richard had many children, all surviving to adulthood. They set up households in both York and Scotland upon their marriages and remained there after she was the heir to the throne, only visiting London as needed and staying with the Empress. Caroline was sent around the world to the various kingdoms of the Commonwealth as an Imperial Ambassador. She and the Earl were visiting the United States in 1942 when The Great War expanded with the fascist forces of Germany, France, and Spain attempting an invasion of Britain on April 19 starting with an air war and at the same time Imperial China invaded Japanese, American, and British colonies in Asia and the Pacific. All this resulted in bringing both the British Commonwealth and the United States into the war. The couple and their family hurried back to Britain, but it was while they were traveling that German bombers destroyed Buckingham Palace, killing the Empress.
The new Empress received the news at sea by radio and addressed the Empire by radio.
The Empress and her family arrived in Britain and instead of taking up residence in a safe place, returned to London and took up residence in the parts of Buckingham Palace that had not been destroyed. Her coronation was a quick, somber affair, broadcast over the radio, without much pomp or ceremony. Richard was made Prince Consort at the same ceremony. Richard had had a career in the Imperial Navy earlier in life and now insisted he have his duty reactivated. For the rest of war he only appeared in public in uniform. While the Empress spent her time in voluntary work helping the victims of the bombings, wearing the uniform of a nurse, he visited the troops encouraging them and placing himself in the same danger as them.
Prince Richard, Earl of York and AlbanyThe long brutal war finally came to a victory for Britain and her allies in 1947, shortly after the Earl inherited the Dukedom. By then the people of the Empire loved their Empress and her Prince for their steadfast work during the war. Radio addresses by the Empress were a weekly event. Now in the post war world, Britain could no longer isolate herself from Europe and Asia, as the Empire along with her allies were occupying the former European fascist states and Imperial China. A full peace was only established in 1953.
The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of prosperity and peace for the Empire. The Empress went from weekly radio addresses to seasonal ones, which in 1954 began to be broadcast on television.
In 1961, the Imperial Couple toured the Pacific and Asia nations of the Commonwealth by airship.
The Duke lived to a ripe old age of 88, dying peacefully in his sleep in 1987. He'd been a widower for over 20 years as the Empress had died in 1966 from a riding accident at their estate in Scotland when her horse missed a fence jump.
King George III, b. 1738, r. 1760 to 1820, m. Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz
Monarchs of Great Britain
1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
1906-1908: Amelia I (House of Middlesex) [4]
1942-1966: Caroline II (House of Middlesex) [5]
View attachment 643492
Queen Charlotte Hanover, 1845
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
View attachment 643456
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
View attachment 643458
Princess Frederica Charlotte
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
View attachment 643465
Princess Caroline, 1810
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
View attachment 643472
William Wellesley-Pole
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline took the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron[2] William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately, she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty-year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 20 year-old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, his distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III. George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after the celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, his niece, Marie Amelia, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of. His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
[4] Marie Amelia was born in 1881, to Prince Henry, who was the only son of King George V’s younger brother, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. If you could only use one word to describe the princess in her youth, it would be energetic. Marie Amelia was always doing something whether that be running around or jumping up and down. It was typically a hassle for anyone to get the energetic princess to stay still or go to sleep.
As Marie Amelia grew older, her father increasingly pressured her to marry, however, she repeatedly refused several candidates for marriage. Shortly before King George V abdicated the throne, Prince Henry died after falling from a flight of stairs, and so, when the king abdicated, Marie Amelia became Queen of Great Britain. Amelia I was deeply enthusiastic about her many duties as Queen.
In 1908, after repeatedly pressuring Parliament, Ireland was given equal status to Great Britain, she then became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.
During her reign, Queen Amelia I promoted the idea of a great Commonwealth of the British Colonies, in which all were equal. The idea gained much traction and eventually resulted in her becoming Amelia I, Empress of the Commonwealth. She also promoted the idea that the people of the British Isles were actually not Europeans and thus should not interfere in the affairs of Europe, instead she strengthened relations with the United States.
Marie Amelia died in 1942, with no children, and was succeeded by her second cousin once removed, Lady Caroline Middlesex.
Queen Charlotte Hanover, 1845
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
View attachment 643456
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
View attachment 643458
Princess Frederica Charlotte
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
View attachment 643465
Princess Caroline, 1810
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
View attachment 643472
William Wellesley-Pole
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline took the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately, she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty-year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 20 year-old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, his distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III. George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after the celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, his niece, Marie Amelia, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of. His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
As Marie Amelia grew older, her father increasingly pressured her to marry, however, she repeatedly refused several candidates for marriage. Shortly before King George V abdicated the throne, Prince Henry died after falling from a flight of stairs, and so, when the king abdicated, Marie Amelia became Queen of Great Britain. Amelia I was deeply enthusiastic about her many duties as Queen.
In 1908, after repeatedly pressuring Parliament, Ireland was given equal status to Great Britain, she then became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.
During her reign, Queen Amelia I promoted the idea of a great Commonwealth of the British Colonies, in which all were equal. The idea gained much traction and eventually resulted in her becoming Amelia I, Empress of the Commonwealth. She also promoted the idea that the people of the British Isles were actually not Europeans and thus should not interfere in the affairs of Europe, instead she strengthened relations with the United States.
Marie Amelia died in 1942, with no children, and was succeeded by her second cousin once removed, Lady Caroline Middlesex.
Empress Caroline II
Prince Frederick's place in line for the throne changed throughout his long life.
- 1817- At his birth, Prince Frederick was fifth in line to the throne. (George IV-Frederick-Caroline I-William IV-Frederick)
- 1820- Upon the death of his great grandfather, George III, he became fourth in line. (Frederick-Caroline I-William IV-Frederick)
- 1827- Upon the death of his grandfather, Prince Frederick, he became third in line. (Caroline I-William IV-Frederick)
- 1830- Upon the death of his granduncle, George IV, he became second in line. (William IV-Frederick)
- 1836- Upon the birth of his nephew, Prince George, he moved down to third in line again. (William IV-George V-Frederick)
- 1838- Upon the birth of his niece, Princess Caroline Augusta, he moved down to fourth in line again. (William IV-George V-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1842- Upon the birth of his nephew, Princess Henry, he now moved to down to fifth in line. (William IV-George V-Henry-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1853- Upon the death of his mother, Queen Caroline I, he moved up to fourth in line again. (George V-Henry-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1881- Upon the birth of his grandniece, Princess Amelia, he moved down to fifth in line again. (George V-Henry-Amelia I-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1893- Upon the death of his brother , King William IV, he moved down to fourth in line again. (Henry-Amelia I-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1897- Upon the death of his niece, Princess Caroline Augusta, he moved up to third in line again. (Henry-Amelia I-Frederick)
- 1906- Upon the death of his nephew, Prince Henry, he moved up to second in line again. (Amelia I-Frederick)
- 1906- With the abdication of his nephew, King George V, for the first time he was first in line.
In 1923 she married her second cousin, Richard Middlesex. Not only had she become the heir to the throne with her brother's death, but she also became the daughter-in-law of the sixth Duke and her husband became the Earl of York and Albany. (As her husband would become the seventh Duke in 1947 that meant she was the daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, and wife of a Duke.)
Unlike others in her family, Caroline and Richard had many children, all surviving to adulthood. They set up households in both York and Scotland upon their marriages and remained there after she was the heir to the throne, only visiting London as needed and staying with the Empress. Caroline was sent around the world to the various kingdoms of the Commonwealth as an Imperial Ambassador. She and the Earl were visiting the United States in 1942 when The Great War expanded with the fascist forces of Germany, France, and Spain attempting an invasion of Britain on April 19 starting with an air war and at the same time Imperial China invaded Japanese, American, and British colonies in Asia and the Pacific. All this resulted in bringing both the British Commonwealth and the United States into the war. The couple and their family hurried back to Britain, but it was while they were traveling that German bombers destroyed Buckingham Palace, killing the Empress.
The new Empress received the news at sea by radio and addressed the Empire by radio.
The enemies of all that is good, of all that is decent, of freedom and of a
society of equality, justice, and dignity, have made a fatal error in striking
at the heart of our Empire. We will never forget this infamous murder of
our beloved Empress and we will never rest until, with out new allies of Italy,
Russia, and Hungary, we take our vengeance on these monsters and end their
reign of terror. We will not rest. We will not shirk our duty. We will stop at
nothing short of total victory in defending our islands, our commonwealth, and
our allies. God is with us. Never forget that. The Earl and I are returning to
you to stand and fight with our brave and stubborn people. We are too stubborn
to surrender.
The Empress and her family arrived in Britain and instead of taking up residence in a safe place, returned to London and took up residence in the parts of Buckingham Palace that had not been destroyed. Her coronation was a quick, somber affair, broadcast over the radio, without much pomp or ceremony. Richard was made Prince Consort at the same ceremony. Richard had had a career in the Imperial Navy earlier in life and now insisted he have his duty reactivated. For the rest of war he only appeared in public in uniform. While the Empress spent her time in voluntary work helping the victims of the bombings, wearing the uniform of a nurse, he visited the troops encouraging them and placing himself in the same danger as them.
Prince Richard, Earl of York and Albany
The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of prosperity and peace for the Empire. The Empress went from weekly radio addresses to seasonal ones, which in 1954 began to be broadcast on television.
In 1961, the Imperial Couple toured the Pacific and Asia nations of the Commonwealth by airship.
The Duke lived to a ripe old age of 88, dying peacefully in his sleep in 1987. He'd been a widower for over 20 years as the Empress had died in 1966 from a riding accident at their estate in Scotland when her horse missed a fence jump.
King George III, b. 1738, r. 1760 to 1820, m. Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz
1) King George IV, b. 1762, r. 1820 to 1830, (m) Maria FitzHerbert
a) many illegitimate children
2) Frederick, 1st Duke of York and Albany, b. 1763, d. 1827, m. Frederica Charlotte of Prussia
a) Queen Caroline, b. 1792, r. 1830 to 1853, m. William Wellesley-Pole, Duke of Savoy and Middlesex, and of Mornington (1788 to 1857)
1) Caroline Frederica Katherine, Princess Royal, b. 1813, m. Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia
2) King William IV, prev. Earl of Richmond, then Prince of Wales, b. 1814, r. 1853 to 1893, m. Augusta Byron (1815 to 1852)
a) King George V, b. 1836, r. 1893 to 1906, d. 1913 m. 1858, Wilhelmina Charlotte of Hannover, (1838 to 1899)
b) Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, 1838-1897, m. William, Prince of Orange, (1840 to 1879) - had no issue
c) Prince Henry, Earl then Duke of Savoy and Middlesex, 1842-1906, m. Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal
i) Empress Amelia I, b. 1881, r. 1906-1942
3) Prince Frederick Middlesex, Earl then 2nd Duke of York and Albany, 1817-1912
a) Howard Clarence Middlesex, Earl then 3rd Duke of York and Albany, 1845-1917
i) David Howard Middlesex, Earl then 4th Duke of York and Albany, 1875-1927
---<a> Empress Caroline II, b. 1901, r. 1942-1966, m. 1923 Richard Middlesex, Earl of York and Albany
--- <b>Frederick David Middlesex, Earl then 5th Duke of York and Albany, 1903-1930
b) Reginald Middlesex, 1848-1873
i) Conrad Middlesex, 6th Duke of York and Albany, 1874 (posthumous)-1947
---<a> Richard Middlesex, Earl then 7th Duke of York and Albany, Prince Consort, 1899-1987 m. 1923 Caroline II
4) Princess Georgina Augusta, later Queen of Denmark, 1821-1869
5) Princess Mary, 1822-1838
6) Prince Richard, Earl then Duke of Mornington, 1825-1895
3) William I, King of Hanover, prev. Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, b. r. 1830 to 1837, m. Victoria of Saxe Coburg Saalfield
a) William II, King of Hanover, b. 1804, r. 1837 to 1856, married
1) William III, King of Hanover, b. 18XX, r. 1856 to ???
2) Wilhemina Charlotte of Hanover, b. 1838, d. 1899, m. George V of the United Kingdom (1836 to 1913)
4) and others ...
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1760-1820: George III (House of Hanover)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
1906-1942: Amelia I (House of Middlesex) [4]
1942-1966: Caroline II (House of Middlesex) [5]
1966-Present: Robert I (House of Middlesex) [6]
Robert I in a rare public appearance in 2017
[5] Robert I, born Robert Middlesex, is the current Emperor of the Commonwealth. Robert was born in 1934, he is the second son of Empress Caroline II and Prince Richard, Duke of York and Albany.
During the course of the Great War, Robert stayed in one of the family residences in Ireland, far from the reach of the fascist forces’ aerial capabilities. In his adolescence, Robert was characterized by his stubborn attitude and his lack of realism, and his love of eating. In 1959, Robert became heir apparent when his older brother, George died from malaria while on a vacation in the Bahamas.
When Empress Caroline II died in 1966, Robert became Emperor Robert I. Despite the optimism of some, Robert I still was stubborn and had an unrealistic view of government, something which significantly decreased his popularity among the political elite.
In recent years, the Emperor has not seen much in public and it has been speculated that he is suffering from a rare digestive disease, however, those are just scandalous and untrue rumours from those silly republicans, as Emperor Robert will definitely enjoy many more years of rule.
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1853: Caroline (House of Hanover) [1]
1853-1892: William IV (House of Middlesex) [2]
1892-1906: George V (House of Middlesex) [3]
1906-1942: Amelia I (House of Middlesex) [4]
1942-1966: Caroline II (House of Middlesex) [5]
1966-Present: Robert I (House of Middlesex) [6]
View attachment 643492
Queen Charlotte Hanover, 1845
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
View attachment 643456
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
View attachment 643458
Princess Frederica Charlotte
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
View attachment 643465
Princess Caroline, 1810
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
View attachment 643472
William Wellesley-Pole
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline took the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
[2] William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately, she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty-year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 20 year-old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, his distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III. George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after the celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, his niece, Marie Amelia, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of. His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
[4] Marie Amelia was born in 1881, to Prince Henry, who was the only son of King George V’s younger brother, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. If you could only use one word to describe the princess in her youth, it would be energetic. Marie Amelia was always doing something whether that be running around or jumping up and down. It was typically a hassle for anyone to get the energetic princess to stay still or go to sleep.
As Marie Amelia grew older, her father increasingly pressured her to marry, however, she repeatedly refused several candidates for marriage. Shortly before King George V abdicated the throne, Prince Henry died after falling from a flight of stairs, and so, when the king abdicated, Marie Amelia became Queen of Great Britain. Amelia I was deeply enthusiastic about her many duties as Queen.
In 1908, after repeatedly pressuring Parliament, Ireland was given equal status to Great Britain, she then became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.
During her reign, Queen Amelia I promoted the idea of a great Commonwealth of the British Colonies, in which all were equal. The idea gained much traction and eventually resulted in her becoming Amelia I, Empress of the Commonwealth. She also promoted the idea that the people of the British Isles were actually not Europeans and thus should not interfere in the affairs of Europe, instead she strengthened relations with the United States.
Marie Amelia died in 1942, with no children, and was succeeded by her second cousin once removed, Lady Caroline Middlesex.
Empress Caroline II
[5] Caroline Middlesex of York and Albany was born in 1901, the first British monarch that was born in the 20th Century. She was the great, great granddaughter of Queen Caroline I through Caroline I's third child and second son, Prince Frederick Middlesex, who was made the Earl of York and Albany at his birth and made the 2nd Duke upon his grandfather's death in 1827 when the Prince was ten years old.
Prince Frederick's place in line for the throne changed throughout his long life.
In 1923 she married her second cousin, Richard Middlesex. Not only had she become the heir to the throne with her brother's death, but she also became the daughter-in-law of the sixth Duke and her husband became the Earl of York and Albany. (As her husband would become the seventh Duke in 1947 that meant she was the daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, and wife of a Duke.)
Unlike others in her family, Caroline and Richard had many children, all surviving to adulthood. They set up households in both York and Scotland upon their marriages and remained there after she was the heir to the throne, only visiting London as needed and staying with the Empress. Caroline was sent around the world to the various kingdoms of the Commonwealth as an Imperial Ambassador. She and the Earl were visiting the United States in 1942 when The Great War expanded with the fascist forces of Germany, France, and Spain attempting an invasion of Britain on April 19 starting with an air war and at the same time Imperial China invaded Japanese, American, and British colonies in Asia and the Pacific. All this resulted in bringing both the British Commonwealth and the United States into the war. The couple and their family hurried back to Britain, but it was while they were traveling that German bombers destroyed Buckingham Palace, killing the Empress.
The new Empress received the news at sea by radio and addressed the Empire by radio.
The enemies of all that is good, of all that is decent, of freedom and of a
society of equality, justice, and dignity, have made a fatal error in striking
at the heart of our Empire. We will never forget this infamous murder of
our beloved Empress and we will never rest until, with out new allies of Italy,
Russia, and Hungary, we take our vengeance on these monsters and end their
reign of terror. We will not rest. We will not shirk our duty. We will stop at
nothing short of total victory in defending our islands, our commonwealth, and
our allies. God is with us. Never forget that. The Earl and I are returning to
you to stand and fight with our brave and stubborn people. We are too stubborn
to surrender.
The Empress and her family arrived in Britain and instead of taking up residence in a safe place, returned to London and took up residence in the parts of Buckingham Palace that had not been destroyed. Her coronation was a quick, somber affair, broadcast over the radio, without much pomp or ceremony. Richard was made Prince Consort at the same ceremony. Richard had had a career in the Imperial Navy earlier in life and now insisted he have his duty reactivated. For the rest of war he only appeared in public in uniform. While the Empress spent her time in voluntary work helping the victims of the bombings, wearing the uniform of a nurse, he visited the troops encouraging them and placing himself in the same danger as them.
Prince Richard, Earl of York and Albany
The long brutal war finally came to a victory for Britain and her allies in 1947, shortly after the Earl inherited the Dukedom. By then the people of the Empire loved their Empress and her Prince for their steadfast work during the war. Radio addresses by the Empress were a weekly event. Now in the post war world, Britain could no longer isolate herself from Europe and Asia, as the Empire along with her allies were occupying the former European fascist states and Imperial China. A full peace was only established in 1953.
The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of prosperity and peace for the Empire. The Empress went from weekly radio addresses to seasonal ones, which in 1954 began to be broadcast on television.
In 1961, the Imperial Couple toured the Pacific and Asia nations of the Commonwealth by airship.
The Duke lived to a ripe old age of 88, dying peacefully in his sleep in 1987. He'd been a widower for over 20 years as the Empress had died in 1966 from a riding accident at their estate in Scotland when her horse missed a fence jump.
Queen Charlotte Hanover, 1845
[1] Caroline Frederica Augusta Katherine Hanover was the only child of Prince Frederick Augustus, the Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, and Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, and his wife, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. The Royal couple married in Berlin on February 29th, 1791 and had another wedding in London the following November 23rd. The match was not a good one and the two did not get along. However, they did conceive after their London wedding and a healthy little girl was born August 17th, 1792. She was named after her paternal great grandmother, Queen Caroline, the wife of George II.
View attachment 643456
Prince Frederick, Duke of York
The Duke of York was a military man and the younger brother of the heir, George, who later became the Prince Regent and then King George IV. George was in a loving non-legal marriage to Catholic Maria Anne Fitzherbert and refused to give her up to have a marriage that could produce a legal heir. He declared he had many brothers who could produce a legal heir and he'd leave it to them. Once Princess Caroline was born he now had that heir in the next generation and the ongoing attempts of his family to have him marry an appropriate Protestant were given up. Thus at her birth, Caroline was third in line for the throne after her uncle and then her father.
View attachment 643458
Princess Frederica Charlotte
Caroline's mother was Princess Frederica Charlotte, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who'd been fostered to and raised by Queen Elisabeth Christine, the wife of her granduncle, Frederick the Great. When Frederica was two years old, her mother, also named Elisabeth Christine, had become pregnant in an affair and was banished by the King. He ordered his grandniece to be raised by his own wife. Frederica grew up to become an unusual person, more connected to her pets then to other people, especially her military husband.
The couple attempted to form a household to raise their daughter Caroline, but it was impossible for them to form a family due to their differences. The Duke was often away on military matters, especially after the kingdom went to war with Revolutionary France and he was promoted to a General. Frederica showed more interest in her dogs and cats than her daughter and finally the little child, ironically at the same age as her mother, was removed from her care at age two in 1794 and fostered to her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, a nd raised in the Royal Court.
The Princess deeply bonded with her grandmother, who during this time struggled with the growing insanity of the King and the power politics with the Prince of Wales over who would be regent. The result was that the Queen lived an isolated life raising her granddaughter and her youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, 9 years older than Caroline. They withdrew to the Queen's apartments and gardens and spent little time with anyone but themselves and trusted servants.
View attachment 643465
Princess Caroline, 1810
Caroline grew to be a shy and socially inept woman. This made it difficult for her when she was removed from her grandmother's household and forced to live at Carlton House with her uncle, the Prince of Wales, when he became the Regent upon her grandfather's insanity in 1810. She was just 17 and had little experience with dealing with social situations but now was forced to make public appearances. Now she was attending endless receptions, balls, and events. Part of this was an attempt to find a suitor for her that would be both someone she was compatible with and an appropriate future consort to the monarch.
View attachment 643472
William Wellesley-Pole
Among these suitors was a minor nobleman, William Wellesley-Pole, who was the son of the 3rd Earl of Mornington, also named William Wellesley-Pole. The family had risen to prominence as the younger William's uncle, Arthur Wellesley, had risen to prominence in the Napoleonic Wars until he was made the Viscount of Wellington and raised to the peerage in 1809. (In 1812 he became the Earl of Wellington and eventually the Duke.) As Wellington's nephew and an heir to an earldom, William moved in the social circles that attended the events that the Prince Regent required his shy niece to attend.
William was a charmer with a dynamic and outgoing personality. He was renown for his generosity and extravagance in entertaining. He'd set his sights on a rich heiress commoner and was wooing her when he met the Princess and decided to woo her instead. Why seek a union with a wealthy commoner when he could instead seek one with a wealthy heiress to the Crown?
Wellesley-Pole had many literary friends including Thomas Moore, the Irish Poet, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. He also was a trusted friend of the Prince Regent. It was easy for him to woo the Princess who instantly fell in love with him and appreciated his outgoing nature, allowing her to not have to create conversation but just listen to him and his friends. Of course to the Prince Regent, he was seen as a suitable consort and the marriage was approved.
Both the Duke of York and the Queen were not as thrilled with Wellesly-Pole. To the Duke, who'd worked with Wellington, the nephew of the great military man was not cut of the same cloth as his uncle. He saw him as a user and poser. To the Queen, Wellesly-Pole extravagance led her to mistrust him; she believed he was liable to spend what he didn't have and would not be a faithful husband.
But the Princess was too charmed to take seriously their objections. Also they both were distracted as her father was occupied with war and her grandmother was mourning the insanity of her grandfather and the recent death of her youngest aunt, Princess Amelia. So they had neither the time nor the energy to convince the Princess.
Wellesly-Pole was made the Duke of Savoy and Middlesex the morning of his marriage to Princess Caroline on April 12th, 1812. Savoy was 23 and Caroline was 19. They set up residence in the Savoy Manor estates in Middlesex granted to the Duke. They spent vacations at Brighton Pavilion at the sea with the Prince and stayed at Carlton House when visiting London.
During the reign of her uncle, George IV, both her mother and father died, leaving her the first in line for the throne. During his time, the King was having Buckingham House rebuilt into Buckingham Palace. That had been the residence of Queen Charlotte and where Caroline was raised. Queen Charlotte had died in 1818 and the new King decided it should be rebuilt into the new main residence. When he died in 1830, the Palace wasn't completed. So the new Queen took up residence at St. James Palace. Buckingham Palace was completed in the fifth year of her reign and she and the Prince Consort transferred their London residence to it.
When Queen Carline took the throne, she was 37 and the Duke was 42. Their oldest child was 17.
Queen Caroline reigned for 23 years. She fully accepted that the Prime Minister would be the leader of the majority in the House of Commons whether she approved of him or not. She completely divorced herself from politics and rarely spent time with her ministers, except to greet them when appointing them. She herself did few public appearances with her appearance at receptions and events being short and distant.
The Duke, however, spent a lot of time in social circles and entertaining. He also spent a lot of time away from the home traveling throughout the Kingdom and Europe. The Queen knew early on in their marriage that her father and grandmother were right about him. She had to put him on a budget once she was Queen. (Her uncle had indulged him often, paying off his debts.) She turned a blind eye to his many affairs, devoting herself to gardening, and following in the footsteps of her mother, her many lap dogs and cats.
Queen Caroline passed in 1853 when she was 60 years old on Epiphany Day from Sepsis that began with an infected wound she accidentally imposed on her hand when digging in her flower garden with a trowel and scraped herself. The throne passed to their oldest son, William, Prince of Wales. The Duke survived her and died in 1857 from heart disease. He'd succeeded his father as Earl of Mornington in 1845 and the Queen had elevated that to a Dukedom.
William V, then Prince of Wales, painted shortly ahead of his wedding to Lady Augusta Byron
[2] William (after his father and paternal grandfather) Frederick (after his maternal grandfather) George (after his four illustrious predecessors) was born in 1814, the second of the six Middlesex children, the eldest being his older sister, Caroline Frederica Katherine (after her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother) born in 1813. Prince William was styled from birth as Earl of Richmond, a subsidiary title of his father's dual Dukedom, with the plan that he would be created as Duke of Edinburgh upon his eighteenth birthday if at that point he had not succeeded to the Dukedom of Middlesex and Savoy, nor been made Prince of Wales, whilst his sister and other siblings were generally styled, "... of Middlesex" until the succession of their mother to the throne. And such, in 1830, William at sixteen became Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline was created as Princess Royal (the previous holder, Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg having died two years earlier).
It was with the determination of his grandfather, the Duke of York and Albany, and great grandmother, Queen Charlotte, that the education for William and his five siblings was carried out with much distance from their father. Both had seen the behaviour of George IV reflected in the Duke of Middlesex and neither wished the next generation of royals to take onboard those characteristics. Whilst Queen Caroline was shy and socially inept, and the Duke of Middlesex was famously described as "a gambler and a poser - by God, the man is the very definition of a cad and a bounder and he sits at the right hand of the future Queen ...", their children would be bright, intelligent, charismatic and whilst not miserly, at least somewhat financially cautious.
However, with his great uncles death and his mother's succession, this moderating influence was gone and whilst the future King had already been greatly moulded, his father would exert influence over his children's futures, notably with their choice of marriage partners. Whilst Caroline had already been engaged to Grand Duke Paul Konstantinovich of Russia (second son of Konstantin I), with the wedding itself scheduled for 1831, several brides had been considered for William but no final decision had been made. It was at one of his father's parties at which the infamous Lord Byron attended, that a proposition was explored, that William become engaged to Byrons daughter, Lady Augusta Byron (who was commonly referred to as Ada), and as a lot of vodka had been imbued, the match was agreed. William, by then created as Prince of Wales, married Augusta Byron, in 1833 (two years after the Princess Royal's wedding) and they would have three children from 1836.
Whilst Augusta, Princess of Wales, had been a drunk gentleman's connivance, she defied their expectations and despite the fact she passed away the year prior to her husband's accession, she left a definite mark on the monarchy. Through her father, she came into contact with Charles Babbage, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she was a scientist and a mathematician - a Princess markedly more intelligent than her Prince. Upon marriage, she established several funds in her areas of interest, and founded Princess Augusta University for Women in Cardiff in 1845. Unfortunately, she died in 1852 from cancer, and the beloved Princess Augusta would never be the expected Queen Ada.
Augusta, Princess of Wales, painted in 1839 by Alfred Edward Chalon, for the Prince of Wales' twenty fifth birthday
William continued his mother's withdrawal from the world of politics, but began a more open discussion process, mostly out of polite curiosity rather than any true interest in Parliament. "One supposes that we must feign an interest in their words, though their words are usually interminably dull ..."
After a forty-year reign, William who had never even considered another marriage, passed away whilst on a brief respite from duties at Bushy Park died from a fever contracted from his insistence on taking a brisk morning ride despite it being unseasonably cold for the time of year. As this was a sudden death, he died with only his staff around him, with his daughter, Caroline Augusta, Dowager Princess of Orange, being the first to arrive, mere minutes after he breathed his last. He was succeeded by his son, George, Prince of Wales.
[3] George (after his maternal grandfather and illustrious predecessors) William (after his father) Frederick (after his paternal great-grandfather) John (after his maternal great-grandfather) was born in 1836 as the oldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Augusta, Princess of Wales.
Growing up George was closer with his mother than his father, gaining her intelligence, working hard in his education and was hit hard when at 16, his mother died and although at a young age, he took on his mother’s roles as patron of her charities and university.
While his father was uninterested in politics, George, Prince of Wales, would entertain many politicians, statesmen and people of science, in his household.
In 1856, 20 year-old George, visited the Kingdom of Hannover, his distant cousin, William II of Hannover (1804-1856), son of George’s great uncle, former Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, William I, who became king of Hannover in 1830 following the death of George IV (being the male heir of George for Hannover, in 1795, William was sent as Viceroy to Hannover and would marry in 1802, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861)
It was during this visit that George fell in love with Wilhelmina, daughter of William II and sister of the new King William III. George sent word to his father stating he was staying longer on the continent and if his father would send his royal blessing for George to propose to Wilhelmina.
The reply came back a straight away and gave George the go ahead. George’s proposal was accepted and plans were arranged for the royal wedding.
The wedding would take place a year after her brothers coronation and took place at Westminster Abbey.
The couple enjoyed, 35 years as heirs, working tirelessly for charity and patrons of sciences and the arts.
At the age of 57, George became king, sadly 6 years into his reign, he lost his beloved Queen Wilhelmina.
Shortly after the celebrations of his 70th birthday, George suffered a stroke, that completely disabled him, leaving him unable to move anything on his left side.
George chose to abdicate the throne, ashamed to be seen by the public, he retreated to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which had been renovated during his reign.
He would only accept members of his family to visit him, but would keep in constant contact with his successor, his niece, Marie Amelia, through letters advising them on any issue they wished to speak of. His death came seven years after his stroke and his funeral was a private affair, held at the Carisbrooke castle.
[4] Marie Amelia was born in 1881, to Prince Henry, who was the only son of King George V’s younger brother, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. If you could only use one word to describe the princess in her youth, it would be energetic. Marie Amelia was always doing something whether that be running around or jumping up and down. It was typically a hassle for anyone to get the energetic princess to stay still or go to sleep.
As Marie Amelia grew older, her father increasingly pressured her to marry, however, she repeatedly refused several candidates for marriage. Shortly before King George V abdicated the throne, Prince Henry died after falling from a flight of stairs, and so, when the king abdicated, Marie Amelia became Queen of Great Britain. Amelia I was deeply enthusiastic about her many duties as Queen.
In 1908, after repeatedly pressuring Parliament, Ireland was given equal status to Great Britain, she then became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.
During her reign, Queen Amelia I promoted the idea of a great Commonwealth of the British Colonies, in which all were equal. The idea gained much traction and eventually resulted in her becoming Amelia I, Empress of the Commonwealth. She also promoted the idea that the people of the British Isles were actually not Europeans and thus should not interfere in the affairs of Europe, instead she strengthened relations with the United States.
Marie Amelia died in 1942, with no children, and was succeeded by her second cousin once removed, Lady Caroline Middlesex.
Empress Caroline II
[5] Caroline Middlesex of York and Albany was born in 1901, the first British monarch that was born in the 20th Century. She was the great, great granddaughter of Queen Caroline I through Caroline I's third child and second son, Prince Frederick Middlesex, who was made the Earl of York and Albany at his birth and made the 2nd Duke upon his grandfather's death in 1827 when the Prince was ten years old.
Prince Frederick's place in line for the throne changed throughout his long life.
- 1817- At his birth, Prince Frederick was fifth in line to the throne. (George IV-Frederick-Caroline I-William IV-Frederick)
- 1820- Upon the death of his great grandfather, George III, he became fourth in line. (Frederick-Caroline I-William IV-Frederick)
- 1827- Upon the death of his grandfather, Prince Frederick, he became third in line. (Caroline I-William IV-Frederick)
- 1830- Upon the death of his granduncle, George IV, he became second in line. (William IV-Frederick)
- 1836- Upon the birth of his nephew, Prince George, he moved down to third in line again. (William IV-George V-Frederick)
- 1838- Upon the birth of his niece, Princess Caroline Augusta, he moved down to fourth in line again. (William IV-George V-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1842- Upon the birth of his nephew, Princess Henry, he now moved to down to fifth in line. (William IV-George V-Henry-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1853- Upon the death of his mother, Queen Caroline I, he moved up to fourth in line again. (George V-Henry-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1881- Upon the birth of his grandniece, Princess Amelia, he moved down to fifth in line again. (George V-Henry-Amelia I-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1893- Upon the death of his brother , King William IV, he moved down to fourth in line again. (Henry-Amelia I-Caroline Augusta-Frederick)
- 1897- Upon the death of his niece, Princess Caroline Augusta, he moved up to third in line again. (Henry-Amelia I-Frederick)
- 1906- Upon the death of his nephew, Prince Henry, he moved up to second in line again. (Amelia I-Frederick)
- 1906- With the abdication of his nephew, King George V, for the first time he was first in line.
In 1923 she married her second cousin, Richard Middlesex. Not only had she become the heir to the throne with her brother's death, but she also became the daughter-in-law of the sixth Duke and her husband became the Earl of York and Albany. (As her husband would become the seventh Duke in 1947 that meant she was the daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, and wife of a Duke.)
Unlike others in her family, Caroline and Richard had many children, all surviving to adulthood. They set up households in both York and Scotland upon their marriages and remained there after she was the heir to the throne, only visiting London as needed and staying with the Empress. Caroline was sent around the world to the various kingdoms of the Commonwealth as an Imperial Ambassador. She and the Earl were visiting the United States in 1942 when The Great War expanded with the fascist forces of Germany, France, and Spain attempting an invasion of Britain on April 19 starting with an air war and at the same time Imperial China invaded Japanese, American, and British colonies in Asia and the Pacific. All this resulted in bringing both the British Commonwealth and the United States into the war. The couple and their family hurried back to Britain, but it was while they were traveling that German bombers destroyed Buckingham Palace, killing the Empress.
The new Empress received the news at sea by radio and addressed the Empire by radio.
The enemies of all that is good, of all that is decent, of freedom and of a
society of equality, justice, and dignity, have made a fatal error in striking
at the heart of our Empire. We will never forget this infamous murder of
our beloved Empress and we will never rest until, with out new allies of Italy,
Russia, and Hungary, we take our vengeance on these monsters and end their
reign of terror. We will not rest. We will not shirk our duty. We will stop at
nothing short of total victory in defending our islands, our commonwealth, and
our allies. God is with us. Never forget that. The Earl and I are returning to
you to stand and fight with our brave and stubborn people. We are too stubborn
to surrender.
The Empress and her family arrived in Britain and instead of taking up residence in a safe place, returned to London and took up residence in the parts of Buckingham Palace that had not been destroyed. Her coronation was a quick, somber affair, broadcast over the radio, without much pomp or ceremony. Richard was made Prince Consort at the same ceremony. Richard had had a career in the Imperial Navy earlier in life and now insisted he have his duty reactivated. For the rest of war he only appeared in public in uniform. While the Empress spent her time in voluntary work helping the victims of the bombings, wearing the uniform of a nurse, he visited the troops encouraging them and placing himself in the same danger as them.
Prince Richard, Earl of York and Albany
The long brutal war finally came to a victory for Britain and her allies in 1947, shortly after the Earl inherited the Dukedom. By then the people of the Empire loved their Empress and her Prince for their steadfast work during the war. Radio addresses by the Empress were a weekly event. Now in the post war world, Britain could no longer isolate herself from Europe and Asia, as the Empire along with her allies were occupying the former European fascist states and Imperial China. A full peace was only established in 1953.
The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of prosperity and peace for the Empire. The Empress went from weekly radio addresses to seasonal ones, which in 1954 began to be broadcast on television.
In 1961, the Imperial Couple toured the Pacific and Asia nations of the Commonwealth by airship.
The Duke lived to a ripe old age of 88, dying peacefully in his sleep in 1987. He'd been a widower for over 20 years as the Empress had died in 1966 from a riding accident at their estate in Scotland when her horse missed a fence jump.
Robert I in a rare public appearance in 2017
During the course of the Great War, Robert stayed in one of the family residences in Ireland, far from the reach of the fascist forces’ aerial capabilities. In his adolescence, Robert was characterized by his stubborn attitude and his lack of realism, and his love of eating. In 1959, Robert became heir apparent when his older brother, George died from malaria while on a vacation in the Bahamas.
When Empress Caroline II died in 1966, Robert became Emperor Robert I. Despite the optimism of some, Robert I still was stubborn and had an unrealistic view of government, something which significantly decreased his popularity among the political elite.
In recent years, the Emperor has not seen much in public and it has been speculated that he is suffering from a rare digestive disease, however, those are just scandalous and untrue rumours from those silly republicans, as Emperor Robert will definitely enjoy many more years of rule.
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