Caroline of Ansbach

Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (or Anspach) (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline) (1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) as Queen Caroline was the Queen Consort of King George II of Great Britain

Early life

Caroline was born on 1 March 1683, at Ansbach in Germany, the daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his second wife, Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach. Orphaned at an early age, Caroline grew up an intelligent, cultured and attractive woman, and was much sought after as a bride.

Marriage

However, when the opportunity to become Queen of Spain presented itself, she turned it down because it would have meant renouncing her Protestant faith. Shortly afterwards, she met and married George, son of the Elector of Hanover, who would later become heir to the throne of Great Britain and eventually King George II of Great Britain. Their wedding took place in Hanover in 22 August 1705, and their first child, Prince Frederick Louis, was born on 1 February 1707.

Princess of Wales

On the accession of King George I of Great Britain in 1714, Caroline's husband became Duke of Cornwall and shortly afterwards Prince of Wales, whereupon she became Princess of Wales. They moved to England at this time.

As George I had divorced his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, in 1694, there was no Queen of England, and Caroline was the most important woman in the kingdom. Within three years of their arrival in England, however, her husband quickly fell out with his father at the 1717 baptism of her fourth living child, George William. The Duke of Newcastle was put forth as a godfather to the child, but George I despised him and put forth instead his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, as a candidate. For this action, the Prince of Wales was temporarily arrested, banned by his father from St. James's Palace, and excluded from all public ceremonies.

Caroline had struck up a friendship with Robert Walpole, politician and occasional Prime Minister, and his influence ensured that the Prince and Princess of Wales were able to maintain their position and lifestyle during the estrangement. He also played a role in the 1720 reconciliation.

Caroline's mind far outstripped George's. As a young woman, she corresponded with Gottfried Leibniz, the intellectual colossus who was courtier and factotum to the House of Hanover. She also helped initiate The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence, arguably the most important of all 18th-century philosophy of physics discussions, which is still widely read today.

By and large, however, George and Caroline had a successful marriage, though he continued to keep mistresses, as was customary for the time. The best-known of these was Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, one of Caroline's ladies of the bedchamber.

Queen

Styles of Queen Caroline

Reference style	Her Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty
Alternative style	Ma'am

Caroline became Queen on the death of her father-in-law in 1727. In the course of the next few years, she and her husband fought a constant battle against their eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who had been left behind in Germany when they came to England. He joined the family in 1728, by which time he was an adult and had formed many bad habits. He opposed his father's political beliefs, and, once married, applied to Parliament for the increase in financial allowance which had been denied him. Caroline, despite having personally selected her new daughter-in-law, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, seemed determined that the marriage should not be a happy one, and was dismayed when she learned in 1736 that Augusta was pregnant. A peculiar episode followed, in which the prince, on discovering that his wife had gone into labour, sneaked her out of Hampton Court Palace in the middle of the night, in order to ensure that Caroline could not be present at the birth.

Queen Caroline held a powerful position; she was made "Guardian of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and His Majesty's Lieutenant within the same during His Majesty's absence," thus acting as regent when her husband was in Hanover. It is also worth noting that she was co-heiress to Sayn-Altenkirchen through her mother, whose mother Johanette reigned as Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen, but ultimately never inherited it. Her grandson, George III, was compensated for this in 1803.

As Queen, she continued to surround herself with artists, writers, and intellectuals, commissioning works such as terracotta busts of the kings and queens of England and even cottages. She collected jewelery, especially cameos and intaglios, acquired important portraits and miniatures, and enjoyed the visual arts.

A satirical verse of the period went:

"You may strut, dapper George, but 'twill all be in vain,

We all know 'tis Queen Caroline, not you, that reign."

Later life

Further quarrels with her son followed the birth of the Prince of Wales's daughter, and a complete estrangement between them occurred in the remaining months before Caroline's death. Having given birth to nine children in the course of her marriage, she died of complications following a rupture of the womb.

She died on 20 November 1737, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. George II had arranged for a pair of matching coffins with removable sides, so that when he followed her to the grave (twenty-three years later), they could lie together again.

Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms

Titles

1683-1705: Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
1705-1714: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge
1714: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge
1714-1727: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
1727-1737: Her Majesty Queen Caroline of Great Britain and Ireland

Issue

Caroline's nine pregnancies (from 1707-1724) resulted in eight live births - one of whom, Prince George William (13 November 1717-17 February 1718), died in infancy, and seven of whom lived to adulthood:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
HRH The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales	1 February 1707	31 March 1751	married 1736, Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenberg; had issue
HRH The Princess Anne, Princess Royal	2 November 1709	12 January 1759	married 1734, Prince Willem IV of Orange-Nassau; had issue
HRH The Princess Amelia Sophia Eleanor	10 July 1711	31 October 1786
HRH The Princess Caroline Elizabeth	21 June 1713	28 December 1757
HRH The Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland	26 April 1721	31 October 1765
HRH The Princess Mary	5 March 1723	14 January 1772	married 1740, Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; had issue
HRH The Princess Louisa	18 December 1724	19 December 1751	married 1743, Frederick V, King of Denmark and Norway; had issue

Preceded by: Prince George of Denmark	Queen Consort of Great Britain 1727–1737	Succeeded by: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Princesses of Wales
dates they were Princess of Wales in brackets

* Camilla does not use the Princess of Wales title, but instead uses her subsidiary title, Duchess of Cornwall.