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Suppose Queen Victoria had become an adult without being the queen. What would she have done? .....................................

“… There are few sadder stories in the history of the House of Hanover than the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1817.

Charlotte was the only legitimate child of George, the Prince Regent , and the only legitimate grandchild of the ruling monarch, King George III. As her father was considered an unpleasant wastrel and her grandfather was considered mad as a hatter, the general public rightly saw Charlotte as a beacon of hope for the future.

Her marriage to Prince Leopold was both popular and happy, and crowds cheered them when they went to the theatre. Public delight and fascination increased when it was known that Charlotte was expecting a child. Betting shops set up books on what sex the child would be! Some economists at that time predicted that the birth of a prince would raise the London stock market by 6%; the birth of a princess would only raise it by 2.5%, showing how little women were valued at that time.

In another example of how poorly women – even the highest in the land – were treated , Charlotte’s pregnancy was attended, not by a physician , not by a capable midwife, but by a male midwife. Forceps were not used because they were not fashionable. Tragically the child was stillborn and Charlotte died shortly after. The country was plunged into sincere and genuine mourning. The male midwife in the case, Mr Croft , committed suicide three months later.

Meanwhile on a national level, the monarchy faced a crisis. It was later calculated that George III still had 56 grandchildren – but none of them were legitimate ! There was now considerable pressure on the King’s unmarried sons to find wives.

The King’s fourth son, Prince Edward, quickly and unkindly dismissed his mistress, Julie de St Laurent and set about finding that wife. He soon married Leopold’s sister, Victoria.

Prince Edward was an interesting man in that he was the first member of the Royal Family to spend an extended period of time in North America. He is also credited with being the first person to use the word “Canadian” to describe the inhabitants of that country. However he also had a justified reputation for severe cruelty, to a vile level of brutality, being willing to have troops who deserted be flogged 999 times.

There was some public relief when Victoria became pregnant in the autumn of 1818. On May 24th 1819 at 02:15 am she safely gave birth to a baby girl, Alexandrina Victoria.

And twenty minutes later she gave birth to a baby boy, Victor George Edward.

There were now two heirs, but under the male supremacy rules of that time, it was the younger child who would succeed to the throne because he was male..”



Excerpt from a BBS radia broadcast to mark the 150th anniversary of the coronation of King Victor.
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