On This Day In History . 6 November 1817 . Princess Charlotte of Wales died after giving birth to a stillborn son. . . About Charlotte; . ◼ Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, born 7 January 1796 was the only child of George, Prince of Wales (later to become King George IV) & Caroline of Brunswick. . 👑 Had she outlived both her grandfather King George III & her father, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom, but she died following childbirth at the age of 21. . ◼ Charlotte's parents disliked each other from before their arranged marriage & soon separated. The Prince of Wales left most of Charlotte's care to governesses & servants, but only allowed her limited contact with the Princess of Wales, who eventually left the country. As Charlotte grew to adulthood, her father pressured her to marry William, Hereditary Prince of Orange (later King of the Netherlands), but after initially accepting him, Charlotte soon broke off the intended match. . ◼ This resulted in an extended contest of wills between her & her father, & finally the Prince of Wales permitted her to marry Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later King of the Belgians). After a year & a half of happy marriage, Charlotte died after giving birth to a stillborn son. . ◼ Charlotte's death set off tremendous mourning among the British, who had seen her as a sign of hope & a contrast both to her unpopular father & to her grandfather, whom they deemed mad. As she had been King George III's only legitimate grandchild, there was considerable pressure on the King's unmarried sons to find wives. . ▪ King George III's fourth son, Edward, Duke of Kent, fathered the eventual heir, Victoria, who was born 18 months after Charlotte's death. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #TheYear1817 #CharlottePrincessofWales #PrincessCharlotte #HouseofHanover #History #BritishMonarchy #D6Nov Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019 (at Surrey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4iVh4CAdOd/?igshid=9tn9rwl3l0cg













