Desmond Shawe-Taylor, a surveyor of the Queen’s pictures, believes that the theory of Queen Charlotte’s ancestry isn’t supported by Ramsay’s portraits. During the Regency of her son, Queen Charlotte continued to fill her role as first lady in royal representation because of the estrangement of the Prince Regent and his spouse. [6] As such, she functioned as the hostess by the side of her son at official receptions, such as the festivities given in London to celebrate the defeat of Emperor Napoleon in 1814. [6] She also supervised the upbringing of her granddaughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales. [6] Medal by Wilmore, Alston & Co (L. Brown, A Catalogue of British Historical Medals 1760-1960: The Accession of George III to the Death of William IV, 1980, nos.278-79).

See also: Descendants of GeorgeIII King GeorgeIII wit After the onset of his permanent madness in 1811, GeorgeIII was placed under the guardianship of his wife in accordance with the Regency Bill of 1789. [6]

George and Charlotte’s relationship

Unattributed pastel, resembling the Ramsay pattern of 1762. The Prince of Hanover. With a companion piece of the King. Engraving by F. Bartolozzi after William Beechey, bust length, the King’s miniature worn at her breast, as 'Patroness of Botany and of the Fine Arts' (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, fig.19; M. Levey, A Royal Subject, Portraits of Queen Charlotte, National Gallery, 1977, p 6). Miniature by Richard Cosway, bust length. Royal Collection (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, no.174). Notice the finer brushstrokes that create the rich decorative patterns on the queen’s coronation dress. Engraving by R. Houston after Robert Pile [presumably Pine] three-quarter length holding the infant Prince of Wales. The head taken from Frye’s mezzotint of 1762.

Queen Charlotte’s fondness for flora became known to many of her famous explorer subjects, such as Captain James Cook, who showered her with gifts of exotic plants which she placed in her gardens at Kew Palace. Painting by Thomas Gainsborough, whole length. Royal Collection (E. K. Waterhouse, Gainsborough, 1958, no.130; Sir Oliver Millar, The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, I, 1969, no.775). Exhibited RA 1781 (168). 'Tis actual motion, and done with such a light, airy, facility' (Northcote); 'the only happy likeness we ever saw portrayed of Her Majesty' (M. Levey, A Royal Subject, Portraits of Queen Charlotte, National Gallery, 1977, p 15). Engraved G. Dupont 1790, whose preparatory oil sketch was formerly with the Countess of Athlone. An oval bust-length version by Gainsborough also in the Royal Collection (Sir Oliver Millar, The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, I, 1969, no.777). Painting by Thomas Gainsborough, bust-length painted oval. Royal Collection (E. K. Waterhouse, Gainsborough, 1958, no.132; Sir Oliver Millar, The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, I, 1969, no.779, pl.50). Replica in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and a copy in the Victoria and Albert Museum (91.1879). In the Royal Collection an enamel miniature by Henry Bone 1804, and two miniature copies attributed to Richard Collins (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, nos.749, 170-71); further miniature copies, by Robert Bowyer, Richard Crosse, William Grimaldi, and Anne Mee, are listed by Walker (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, p 85). While most of this work focuses on the evolution and variations of the myth, we will start with a brief overview of her. Queen Charlotte was played by Frances White in the 1979 television series Prince Regent, by Helen Mirren in the 1994 film The Madness of King George, [71] by Golda Rosheuvel in the 2020 Netflix original series Bridgerton, [72] and by India Amarteifio in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.Drawing by Henry Edridge, whole-length seated. Royal Collection, where there is also a duplicate dated 1804 (A. P. Oppé, English Drawings, Stuart and Georgian periods, in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle, 1950, nos.198-99, pl.10). A half-length miniature copy attributed to John Hopkins in the Royal Collection (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, no.833); another by Paul Fischer, dated 1823, sold Sotheby’s, 10 June 1993, lot 173, from Stanton Harcourt. The scene shows the family are resting during a walk in the park, the over-excited children vying for the attention of a favourite uncle, Ernst. Charlotte wishes to show off her doll; William, held affectionately round the waist, seeks generally to monopolise and must be pushed aside by his mother so that she can get a word in edgeways. Karl watches indulgently from the sidelines. The whole scene breathes the spirit of Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose ideas concerning the purity and innate goodness of natural inclinations and affections were popular in enlightened circles in England and Germany. In later life Prince Karl instigated a Rousseauesque festival for the local population in his picturesque English garden at Hohenzieritz, near Neustrelitz. The French Revolution of 1789 probably added to the strain that Charlotte felt. [47] Queen Charlotte and Queen Marie Antoinette of France had maintained a close relationship. Charlotte was 11 years older than Marie Antoinette, yet they shared many interests, such as their love of music and the arts, about which they were both enthusiastic. Never meeting face to face, they confined their friendship to pen and paper. Marie Antoinette confided in Charlotte upon the outbreak of the French Revolution. Charlotte had organized apartments to be prepared and ready for the refugee royal family of France to occupy. [48] Painting by Nathaniel Dance, whole length standing with robes of state. Uppark (illus. D. Goodreau, Nathaniel Dance, exhibition catalogue, Kenwood, 1977, fig.8). Exhibited RA 1769 (31) with a companion piece of the King. Versions belong to the Prince of Hanover, and a three-quarter length version of the Queen alone was on the Munich art market 1931. Gregory critically mixes up the work of Rogers, Springer, and Valdes. Gregory mistakenly states that Brunold Springer claimed in 1929 that Charlotte was of the “blond Negroid type.” This was probably a misreading fo the Feb 22, 1989, article from The Charlotte Observer, and Gregory never read Rogers’ work directly. The section discussing Springer mixes up writing by Springer and J. A. Rogers and imprecisely states arguments from each of them. Springer’s book is in German, was never translated to English, has not been publicly digitized, and is quite rare. It is unlikely Gregory is presenting information in that book not available in the New York Times article quoted by J. A. Rogers. Springer’s work (from 1929) never mentions Charlotte, so he certainly does not make any claims about her, Rogers never says that it does (from 1940), and Rogers never mentions the “Portuguese bloodline,” as this evidence not come later until Valdes’ work (in 1999).

Medal by Thomas Wyon sr. and T. Martyn, with conjoined busts of the King and Queen (L. Brown, A Catalogue of British Historical Medals 1760-1960: The Accession of George III to the Death of William IV, 1980, no.628). Medals by Thomas Wyon sr. and C. H. Küchler with conjoined busts of the King and Queen (L. Brown, A Catalogue of British Historical Medals 1760-1960: The Accession of George III to the Death of William IV, 1980, nos.338-40). He was a court painter to King George III and was a prolific portrait painter, creating numerous portraits of royal figures. Near the end of his life, a dislocation of his right arm left him unable to continue painting. He also pursued other disciplines like literary and scholarly studies. ordinary in features, but the farthest possible from anything like vulgarity. A professor might despise it, but in the

Was Charlotte really Britain’s first Black queen? 

Miniature by Ozias Humphry half-length, looking curiously unregal. Royal Collection (R. J. B. Walker, The eighteenth and early nineteenth century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1992, no.231). Probably that exhibited Society of Arts, London, 1767 (747 as Queen Charlotte 'painted from the life'). A miniature version by Edward Shiercliffe sold Christie’s, 11 May 1994, lot 29. Charlotte landed in England on September 8, 1761, and married George that same night, within six hours of her arrival. Two weeks later, the couple held a joint coronation; it ran so long that members of the congregation started eating during the sermon. Within a year of her wedding, Charlotte gave birth to the future George IV—the first of the couple’s 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood. When the King had his first, temporary, bout of mental illness in 1765, her mother-in-law and Lord Bute kept Charlotte unaware of the situation. The Regency Bill of 1765 stated that if the King should become permanently unable to rule, Charlotte was to become regent. Her mother-in-law and Lord Bute had unsuccessfully opposed this arrangement, but as the King's illness of 1765 was temporary, Charlotte was aware neither of it, nor of the Regency Bill. [6]