Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 6

A look at the royal women of King & Conqueror

The BBC historical drama King and Conqueror is set to premiere next week in the United Kingdom. Let’s take a closer look at the royal women we will meet. It will feature  James Norton as Harold Godwinson and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William the Conqueror.

Lady Emma/Emma of Normandy

Emma of Normandy was the daughter of Richard I, Count of Normandy. At the age of 13, she was married to King Æthelred the Unready, and they had three children together: Alfred, Edward the Confessor, and Goda, Countess of Boulogne. In 1013, Aethelred and Emma were forced to flee to Normandy, following the invasion of the Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Cnut. Sweyn died the following year, and Æthelred was invited back as King. He died in 1016 and was succeeded by Edmund Ironside, his son from his first marriage. Edmund and Cnut battled over the throne, and eventually Cnut emerged as the winner. Emma married Cnut in 101,7 and her sons were exiled. They went on to have two children, Harthacnut (born 1017) and Gunhilda (born 1020). The sons from her first marriage lived at the court of William, Duke of Normandy. In 1035, Cnut died, leaving behind many who felt they had a claim to the throne. Harald Harefoot, Cnut’s son by his previous marriage, succeeded in becoming King while Emma promoted Harthacnut for the position. He died not long after, and Harthacnut became King. He died just two years later under mysterious circumstances. Edward the Confessor became the last man standing, and he became King in 1042. His mother, Emma, died in 1052.

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret of Scotland, also known as Margaret of Wessex, was the daughter of Prince Edward the Exile and his wife Agatha. Her father was a son of Edmund Ironside and Ealdgyth. Margaret was born in Hungary during her family’s exile and returned to England with her father when he was recalled in 1057 as a possible successor to Edward the Confessor, his uncle. Her father died upon arrival, and Margaret and her siblings remained at the English court. After the Battle of Hastings, they went to Scotland, where Margaret married King Malcolm III. They went on to have eight children together. Margaret died on 16 November 1093, three days after her husband and eldest son died in battle. She was canonised in 1250.

Gytha Thorkelsdóttir

Clare Holman as Gytha – BBC / CBS Studios

Gytha was the daughter of Danish chieftain Thorgil Sprakling. She was the wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex. Her brother had married Estrid Svendsdatter, the sister of King Cnut. Gytha and her husband had at least nine children together, including Harold Godwinson and Edith of Wessex, who married Edward the Confessor. Gytha probably left England after the Battle of Hastings and died a few years later.

Edith the Fair

Edith is believed to have been a daughter of Thorkell the Tall, a Danish warlord. She was probably Harold Godwinson’s first wife, and according to folklore, she identified his body after the Battle of Hastings. She died circa 1086.

Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir

Bo Bragason as Queen Gunhild – BBC / CBS Studios

Gunhild is believed to have been queen consort of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and of King Sveinn II of Denmark, but some assert that there were two separate Queens at the time.

Matilda of Flanders

Matilda was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and Adela of France. She married William, then Duke of Normandy, around 1051, and they had at least eight children together. She governed Normandy in her husband’s absence during the Norman Conquest, and she became Queen of England following her husband’s victory at the Battle of Hastings. She died on  2 November 1083. Judith of FlandersJudith of Flanders and her second husband (public domain)Judith was the daughter of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders and Eleanor of Normandy, and she was an aunt of Matilda. Her first husband was Tostig Godwinson, a brother of Harold Godwinson. It is unclear how many children they had. They were exiled to Flanders in 1065, and her husband was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September 1066. Judith moved to Denmark and in 1071, she married her second husband, Welf I, Duke of Bavaria and moved to Ravensburg. They had at least three children together. She died on 5 March 1095.

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Who would be Queen of Bavaria today?

The Kingdom of Bavaria existed between 1806 and 1918. The Kingdom is now a part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

However, the heirs of the lost kingdom still exist today. The kingdom operated under Salic law, which did not allow for the succession of women. The Queens mentioned are, therefore, consorts and not reigning Queens. Any claimed titles since the end of the kingdom are titular.

Rupprecht and Antonia (public domain)

The last King of Bavaria was King Ludwig III. He was married to Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, with whom he had thirteen children. After King Ludwig was forced to abdicate, she fled with the family to Wildenwart Castle, where she died a few months later. King Ludwig survived her for 2,5 years, and he died in 1921.

He was succeeded as titular King by his eldest son, Crown Prince Rupprecht. By then, Rupprecht was on his second marriage. His first marriage had been to his kinswoman, Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria, a niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She died of renal failure at the age of 34 in 1912. Of their five children, only a son named Albrecht survived to adulthood. Rupprecht remarried Princess Antonia of Luxembourg shortly before his father’s death in 1921. They went on to have six children together. Rupprecht pressed his claims to the Bavarian throne but never succeeded in becoming King. Upon his death in 1955, his claim was inherited by his eldest son, Albrecht.

Albrecht went by the titular title of Duke of Bavaria, and he had married Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan in 1930. This was originally considered an unequal marriage, but it was later ruled to be dynastic. They went on to have four children together before Maria’s death in 1969. He remarried Countess Marie-Eugenie Jenke Keglevich of Buzin in 1971 but had no further children. Upon his death in 1996, he was succeeded in his claim by his eldest son, Franz.

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Franz was born in 1933. He has been together with Thomas Greinwald since 1980, but they have never married. As such, the position of titular Queen of Bavaria is currently vacant. Franz’s heir is his brother, Prince Max, who is married to Countess Elisabeth Douglas. They have five daughters together but no sons. The claim is set to pass to their male-line second cousin, Prince Luitpold.

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Prince Luitpold is married to Beatrix Wiegand, with whom he has five children.

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Book News Week 34

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Book News week 34 – 18 August – 24 August 2025

Anne de France and Her Family (1325–1522): Genealogies of Premodern Gendered Power and Influence (Queenship and Power) 

Hardcover – 24 August 2025 (US)

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Mathilde de Morny – Queen Hortense’s unconventional grandchild (Part three)

Read part two here. 

In 1904, the Marquis and Marquise de Belbeuf were finally officially divorced after a separation of many years. Despite not having been together, the actual divorce would have still been a huge scandal, so the proceedings happened in the utmost secrecy. The Marquis died quite suddenly in early 1906.

Around the time of the divorce, Mathilde had three young men among their close circle of friends whom they called “my three sons.” They were Sacha Guitry, Auguste Heriot and Prince Ghika. While some used the words “sons”, “daughters”, or “children” to refer to lovers, for Mathilde, there was no sexual attraction. They unofficially adopted their “sons”, and they were loyal to Mathilde until death. To keep things private, Mathilde founded their own private club, “the Cercle des Arts et de la Mode”, and they rented the apartment next door. They settled on a monthly dinner to bring together artists and authors. The first one, on 27 March 1905, brought Colette to them.

Colette and Mathilde (public domain)

Colette was the author of the well-known Claudine books, and she was no stranger to taking women as lovers, despite being married to Henry Gauthier-Villars. Mathilde began by supporting Colette’s aspirations for the theatre and rented a small theatre for her debut. Mathilde never missed a performance and even taught Colette how to walk like a man. Not much later, Mathilde and Colette spent the summer together in a rented villa.1 In November 1906, Colette left her husband, having fallen in love with Mathilde. They were soon inseparable, but the relationship also brought trouble with the press. While they had previously been somewhat discreet when writing about Mathilde, they now used their full name. When Mathilde was persuaded to perform with Colette in the Moulin Rouge, their on-stage kiss nearly caused a riot. When it was reported upon, Mathilde’s brothers refused to see them anymore. Even their beloved stepfather, the Duke of Sesto, could no longer officially receive them.2

Colette’s husband officially divorced her, but Mathilde was there to catch her, and she was installed in her own apartment with a maid. Once while performing in Paris, Colette wrote to Mathilde, “I love you. I am with you, to the depths of my being, profoundly grateful for everything you are to me, for everything you do for me. I embrace you with all my heart, my darling love.”3 Life began to revolve around Colette’s career, and Mathilde took care of everything.

By 1910, Mathilde had begun to doubt Colette’s fidelity. Attempts to reassure Mathilde were hampered when flowers arrived from a woman. However, Colette did not intend to leave Mathilde and wrote to them every day when she was away. Meanwhile, Mathilde tried to hide their sorrows with ether. In August 1911, it was over.

The start of the First World War made Mathilde’s mental state worse. Their Russian cousins wrote to them about the carnage and eventual revolution in Russia. When Emperor Nicholas II abdicated, Mathilde thought back to the fall of the French Empire and the abdication of Queen Isabella II. When the war finally ended, the world had changed.

By 1920, Mathilde had moved into the apartment they would spend the rest of their life in. They travelled between Paris and Switzerland, where they were the financier of a magazine. They also financed a newsletter to allow for the exchange of news in the aftermath of the war. They met Pierre Gilliard, who had taught the Romanov children, and he told them about the massacre. Mathilde, who had always believed that their mother was an illegitimate daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, was haunted by what had happened to their cousins. They tried to help Russian friends who arrived in Paris as much as they could.

The 1920s had more family tragedies for Mathilde. In 1920, their brother, Auguste, the second Duke of Morny, died. Two years later, their second brother died of cancer. Mathilde’s niece, Anita de Morny, died in 1924, following an operation, but nobody bothered to invite Mathilde. That same year, the Spanish royal family was sent into exile again, which must have been a deja vu for Mathilde. To take their mind off the many tragedies, they turned to cinema. They also found themself reconciling with old partners, such as Colette.

As the years passed, there were inevitably more deaths. Their nephews, who subsequently were known as the 3rd and 4th Duke of Morny, died in 1935 and 1943, respectively. Their mother, Mathilde’s sister-in-law, died in 1939. One of the last major events that Mathilde attended was the wedding of the last of their three “sons”, Sacha. Mathilde attended wearing a monocle and a top hat.4 Mathilde spent the war years in their apartment on the Rue des Eaux.

At the end of May 1944, Mathilde took a dagger and committed harakiri, a sort of disembowelment. They were found in time and saved. One month later, on 29 June 1944, Mathilde stuck their head inside the gas stove and died kneeling. They were 81 years old.

Colette, who had been out of touch with Mathilde for two years, wrote, “She signified to me that she wouldn’t see me again, and I took good care not to protest. She proceeded to lose more and more of her memory, and couldn’t find her way around Paris, even with little notes to remind her of where she was going. There is nothing gay about the end of her life…”5

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The Japanese Crown Princely Wedding Tiara

This tiara goes by several names, but it has been the star of two Crown Princely weddings in Japan.

The first to wear it was Michiko Shōda when she married Crown Prince Akihito on 10 April 1959. She wore a matching necklace with the tiara.

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Several decades later, their soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Masako Owada, wore the tiara for her wedding to Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993. She also wore the matching necklace.

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Since Crown Prince Naruhito’s accession, the tiara is now worn by the new Crown Princess of Japan, Kiko.

Embed from Getty Images

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Mathilde de Morny – Queen Hortense’s unconventional grandchild (Part two)

Read part one here.

Since turning 16, Mathilde had joined the very exclusive Cercle, a so-called “love society”, frequented by French and Spanish aristocracy. All of their correspondence was in code to prevent anything from leaking. Mathilde once performed acrobatics on a trapeze while they were naked. The Cercle was also very well known for bisexual and homosexual relationships. Mathilde’s first love was Princess Catherine Poniatowska, who also happened to be their niece.1 as the daughter of their (illegitimate) half-sister, Leopoldina Louise le Hon.2 Meanwhile, their family was looking for a husband for Mathilde.

The first option was Lord Hume, whom Mathilde considered “a very handsome boy, he adored me.”3 Nevertheless, his proposal was turned down. Mathilde met Maria Christina of Austria, who had married King Alfonso XII in 1879 after the death of his first wife, Mercedes. They reportedly had a soothing effect on the Queen, and they knew how to speak German, which helped. Mathilde planned to run away with Princess Catherine, but Catherine believed that marriage was not a prison but rather a door to independence.4 Mathilde would soon have no more choice – a groom had been chosen.

His name was Jacques Godart, 6th Marquis de Belbeuf, and they had met several times before. He was 13 years older than Mathilde. The press jumped on the engagement, and several articles were written about Mathilde’s wedding dress. It was made of velveteen, which was a new invention at the time. The Duke of Sesto ensured that Mathilde was well-off financially, and the wedding took place on 11 December 1881. Queen Maria Christina sent them a brooch in the form of a diamond shell with a pearl emerging, which they wore during the wedding banquet.5 The newlyweds settled in Paris, where Mathilde immediately had a trapeze installed in their rooms. Soon, a circle of secretly lesbian women formed around Mathilde and their trapeze practices. In public, Mathilde was a celebrity, and they were also an easy target for the early paparazzi. They also became a sculptor and a painter, devoting their afternoons to art. In the early years of their marriage, Mathilde had a miscarriage after falling from their horse.

Mathilde was in Spain in 1885 when King Alfonso XII lay dying. Mathilde was struck with grief when he died on 25 November 1885, leaving behind a pregnant widow. The couple had two daughters, but if the child proved to be a boy, he would be King from birth. When Mathilde’s grandmother died shortly after the King’s death, they fell ill and had to take the waters at Salies. While there, their husband wrote to ask “his little darling” when they would return home.6 The following year, sthey celebrated their 23rd birthday in a well-known meeting place for homosexuals in Montmartre, earning them the nickname “Mount Lesbos.”7

Some of their adventures got them into trouble as well. Mathilde had an affair with a young gardener and, during a moment of “amorous rage”, had bitten off the woman’s clitoris. To buy the woman’s silence, they had to ask another mistress, Madame Elzéar, for help.8 Madame Elzéar gave them diamonds, which Mathilde pawned to pay off the gardener. Meanwhile, their husband had grown fed up with them, and a news article on 25 April 1887 announced their separation. Mathilde settled in a “sumptuously furnished hotel.”9

In 1889, London was rocked by its first homosexual scandal and in 1885, male homosexuality had been made a crime.All homosexual acts of ‘gross indecency’ were illegal.'>10 However, lesbianism simply “didn’t exist.”11 Paris became a refuge for those persecuted in their home countries, if they were wealthy enough to afford it. Meanwhile, Mathilde had reportedly fallen in love with a maid, whom they had paid handsomely. When the maid died suddenly, it was rumoured that Mathilde went to the morgue and threw themself upon the body, shouting, “I want to enjoy it again!”12 The Paris rumour mill went wild.

Liane de Pougy (public domain)

Mathilde and their family were invited to the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, and even their husband went along as he often did for official functions. The lavish functions swept even Mathilde off their feet, but only their brother and their mother had seats inside the cathedral. For Mathilde, the coronation brought about a change. It would be the last official ceremony attended by them. The same year, on 9 August, Mathilde’s mother died of pleurisy at the age of 58. Mathilde had rushed to France from Tangiers, where they had begun to spend every summer. Their stepfather and their brothers were also by their mother’s side when she died. Their mother was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. Mathilde’s quick return to society gave rise to the term “Sesto mourning”, which became synonymous with not caring.

The death of their mother marked a turning point in Mathilde’s life. After 1900, they threw out the ambiguous clothes and wore exclusively men’s clothes, down to the folded overcoat on their arm. They began to wear their hair almost cropped, and they hid their breasts with a rubber band. It is likely that they also had their breasts removed after having their ovaries removed. They demanded that their servants start calling them “Monsieur le Marquis”, and their younger friends called them “Uncle Max.” Only a select few still call them by their childhood nickname, Missy.13

Liane de Pougy, one of Mathilde’s lovers, wrote, “She dresses like a man, shaves her hair, smokes big cigars… She had traded her name of Mathilde for the debonair designation of Uncle Max.”14

Part three coming soon.

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Mathilde de Morny – Queen Hortense’s unconventional grandchild (Part one)

Mathilde de Morny was born on 26 May 1863 as the fourth and final child of Charles de Morny, Duke of Morny and Sofia Sergeyevna Trubetskaya. Their father, Charles, was the illegitimate son of Hortense de Beauharnais and Charles Joseph, Comte de Flahaut, making him a half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III. Their mother, Sofia, was officially the daughter of Prince Sergey Vasilyevich Trubetskoy, but she may have been fathered by Emperor  Nicholas I of Russia.

Charles, Duke de Morny (public domain)

Mathilde would not get to know their father very well as he died on 10 March 1865. He had been sick for a few days when doctors felt he was likely to die in a few days. Sofia had collapsed in a fit of screams when confronted with the news. Charles had been close to the children while Sofia was rather indifferent to them, preferring to leave them with governesses. Mathilde, known as Missy in childhood, had been brought to their father with the rest of their siblings to say goodbye. When the time came to leave, they clung to the bed and had to be carried out.

Charles’s death hit Sofia hard, and she began to live as a recluse. She could barely stand to look at Mathilde, who looked so much like their father. They were eventually sent to England by their grandfather to stay with Lady Shelburne while their father’s collection was sold off. Meanwhile, Sofia desperately tried to contact her husband through mediums.1  Three years later, she was ready to remarry. On 4 April 1868, she married José Osorio, 9th Duke of Sesto, but the new match was poorly received by the Imperial relations.

Mathilde and their siblings would have their world changed completely, and they moved to Spain to grow up among the Infantas and Infantes of Spain. Mathilde grew to care for their stepfather and called him “Papa.”2 They enjoyed the court culture and Mathilde immersed themself in theatre, charades, dancing and hunting. Then they had to follow Queen Isabella II into exile to Paris. Mathilde, their sister Marie, and the Spanish Infantas were enrolled at the Couvent du Sacré-Cœur, and they went from a life of luxury to relative poverty and no one to attend to their every need.

Nevertheless, Mathilde received a velocipede (a type of bicycle) from their “papa.” On 25 June 1870, Mathilde and their mother witnessed how Queen Isabella II of Spain was forced to sign away her dynastic rights. Afterwards, she told her son, “Alfonso, give your hand to Pepe (the Duke of Sesto), he has succeeded in making you King.”3

Sofia, Duchess de Morny (public domain)

After this, the family travelled to Switzerland with the Spanish royal family, and it was in Geneva that they learned of the death of their grandfather, the Comte de Flahaut. That same year, Emperor Napoleon III was removed as Emperor following the abolishment of the monarchy. When Mathilde was ten years old, they were able to return to Spain and Mathilde and the Duke of Sesto went on a tour of the Duke’s estate to rally support for King Alfonso XII. He often dressed Mathilde in boys’ clothes during outings to his estates. After months of freedom, they returned to Madrid, which Mathilde found difficult. They found an outlet in horse riding, and their horsemanship was later praised.

Mathilde and their sister Marie were sent back to Paris when there was unrest in Madrid to stay with their grandmother, Princess Trubetskoy, but they were allowed to return to Madrid when King Alfonso XII was restored to the throne. For their 13th birthday in 1876, Mathilde received an apartment from the Duke of Sesto. They were also assigned a footman and received a hunting carriage. A pair of pugs, a rarity at the time, had been a gift from the Duke after a trip to England, and Mathilde often rode the carriage with the pugs under the seat. They also gained a new passion – bullfighting, and they met the famous female bullfighter, La Fragosa, who told them, “What a man does, a woman can do too.”4

In 1877, Mathilde’s elder sister, Marie, married José Ramón Gil Francisco de Borja Nicolás Osório y de Heredia, the 9th Conde de La Corzana, a Grandee of Spain, chamberlain to the King, and nephew of the Duke of Sesto. The King attended the wedding, and he lovingly referred to Marie as “his sister.”5 Shortly after the wedding, the former Queen and the Infantas were allowed to return to Spain, and Mathilde was delighted to see their childhood friends, Pilar, Eulalia and María de la Paz. Pilar’s sudden death two years later would be a great sorrow to Mathilde.

The Duke of Sesto (public domain)

Mathilde’s first ball would be the one given to celebrate the engagement of King Alfonso and Mercedes of Orléans. However, the celebrations soon turned to sorrow as Mercedes died just six months after the wedding. Mathilde was shocked by the Queen’s sudden death, which caused them to question their role in society. Alfonso worried about his sisters, and they were given secluded apartments. However, this did not stop Mathilde from being caught smoking with Eulalia. Mathilde had also brought Eulalia texts from Charles Fourier, who is credited with coining the word “feminism.” Mathilde and Eulalia began to feel that their lives would be better if they were boys. Eulalia was angry that she wasn’t born a boy and felt she was “born to govern.”6

Nevertheless, their education as perfect society hostesses went full steam ahead. Mathilde joined the Infantas for lessons in posture, curtsying, and dancing. Because Mathilde was tall, they were often asked to play the role of the partner. Mathilde’s growing androgyny made it easy for them to go from ballgowns to uniforms. At the time, they were described as “a tall young girl, slender, blonde, very pretty, but faded by her boldness as a marauding soldier. […] Her brown eyes glowed.”7

During this time, they also had their first experience with a man. Mathilde later wrote, “He told me he wanted to kill himself if I resisted him, so… I didn’t resist, but I refused any repeat offence.”8

Part two coming soon.

The post Mathilde de Morny – Queen Hortense’s unconventional grandchild (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Book News Week 33

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Book News Week 33 – 11 August – 17 August 2025

Henry’s Roses: The Lives of Elizabeth of York, Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France 

Hardcover – 15 August 2025 (UK)

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Six Queens: The Wives of Henry VIII

Hardcover – 14 August 2025 (UK)

From Romanov to Windsor: King Charles III’s Romanov Blood 

Hardcover – 15 August 2025 (UK)

Bloody Mary: A Graphic Biography of Mary Tudor 

Hardcover – 14 August 2025 (UK)

The Last Empress of France: The Rebellious Life of Eugénie de Montijo 

Hardcover – 14 August 2025 (UK)

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New birthday photo of Princess Anne

A new photo of the Princess Royal has been released to mark her upcoming 75th birthday.

The Princess is joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, in the image taken by Chris Jackson of Getty Images at Windsor Castle.

The royals are pictured ahead of the State Banquet hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle for French President Emmanuel Macron in July 2025.

(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Buckingham Palace)

This new photograph was released ahead of Princess Anne’s 75th birthday on 15 August.

In typical fashion for the Royal Family’s hardest-working royal, Anne has declined a big party for her 75th birthday and will, instead, spend it sailing.

The post New birthday photo of Princess Anne appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Frederica Charlotte of Prussia- The forgotten Duchess of York (Part three)

Read part two here.

Frederica’s support returned when she showed an interest in Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; she agreed he was the best of all the princes who had come to court Charlotte. However, she told Charlotte, “I beg as a favour you will never let it be known you mentioned it to me, for as I happen to be nearly related to him… like him very much, and am in constant correspondence with him, it would be directly said that I managed this match.”1 As Charlotte lobbied for a chance with Leopold with her father, who was now the Prince Regent for his ailing father, she had the support of both Frederica and her husband. The couple was eventually married on 2 May 1816. They spent a honeymoon at Oatlands, but found the air polluted by the smell of the Duchess’s animals.

The newlyweds moved into Claremont House, which wasn’t far from Oatlands. Charlotte wrote, “We like her so much. We are excellent neighbours and very sociable.”2 They attended Frederica’s Christmas party in 1816 and Charlotte wrote, “Xmas eve is a great day always at Oatlands; the Duchess has a sort of fêtte and fair for everybody… It was the gayest and prettiest sight I ever saw I think, the numbers of children, their parents, and all the happy merry faces, the noises they make with their toys and things.”3

Charlotte was soon pregnant, and she was radiantly healthy for the duration of her pregnancy. Frederica and her husband were invited to a party to celebrate Charlotte and Leopold’s wedding anniversary in May. Charlotte’s tragic death in childbirth on 6 November 1817 devastated the family and the country. When Frederica faced the family again, she was described as “so altered.”4 As the unmarried brothers hurried to find a suitable bride to produce a new heir to the throne, Queen Charlotte’s health declined. Meanwhile, the Duke of Clarence married Princess Adelaide of Meiningen, the Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (coincidentally the sister of Prince Leopold), and the Duke of Cambridge married Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. Queen Charlotte was confined to her bedroom at Kew and died on 17 November 1818.

The first new royal heir was born on 26 March 1819 to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Duchess of Clarence gave birth to a stillborn daughter on 27 March 1819. The Duchess of Kent gave birth to the future Queen Victoria on 4 May 1819. Victoria went ahead of her Cambridge cousin as she was born to King George III’s fourth son, and he was born to King George III’s seventh son.

King George III died on 29 January 1820 at the age of 81, and the Prince Regent was King George IV at last. However, Frederica would not live to see his coronation.

Frederica’s health was declining as well. It was reported that, “The declining state of her royal highness’s health had long been a subject of fearful anxiety among her friends and domestics; but within a few weeks previous to her dissolution, nature seemed to have gained a triumph, and hopes were entertained that the virulence of her disease had received an effectual check. Unhappily, those expectations were fallacious, and the spasmodic attacks to which she had been long subject returned with alarming violence. […] On the evening of Saturday, however, he [the Duke] received a fresh summons and repaired with all possible despatch to Oatlands, where he found his amiable consort in the most dangerous state, and the spark of life fast declining towards final extinction.”5

The report added, “Everything that medical art could suggest, or diligence perform, to prolong the vital energies, was had recourse to, but in vain, and soon after nine o’clock on the morning of the 6th, her royal highness expired, in the presence of her husband and attendants. This event, though anticipated, produced the strongest sensations of grief in the mind of the Duke, and some time elapsed before he could collect his spirits sufficiently to communicate the sad intelligence to the members of his family, and the ministers of state .”

Frederica had died on 6 August 1820 after suffering from a “grave illness.”6 She requested that she be buried in a “small vault which was prepared by her own orders in the parish church of Weybridge.”7 She was buried close by “the remains of the former wife of Colonel Bunbury”, who had been a dear friend of hers.8

Her charitable acts were lauded with the words, “This illustrious princess never turned away her ear from the prayer of want, or the complaint of misery. On the contrary, she had a hand as open as day to melting charity; so that it might be truly said, the blessing of the poor and needy was upon her in life, and that their tears followed her to the grave.”9

Her husband was happy to continue her many charitable acts and donations. He survived her for seven years, dying on 5 January 1827.

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