Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 10.djvu/131

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Charlotte
123
Charlton

There is no evidence that Charlotte Augusta played a part in any of these transactions, which must, however, have largely added to the anxieties of her life. Her marriage with Frederick, who had had three children by his first wife, remained childless, with the exception of a stillborn daughter. During her later years the Dowager Queen of Würtemberg was much afflicted by dropsy, and her size increased abnormally. In 1827 she visited England, to obtain, if possible, relief from the skill of Sir Astley Cooper and other physicians. But her journey was made in vain, for on 6 Oct. 1828 she died, rather suddenly, at Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart.

[Annual Register for 1828. For reminiscences of the early life of Charlotte Augusta see the Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay, vols, iii–vi. (7 vol. edition, London, 1854). Of the career of her husband a good account is given in Pfaff's Geschichte des Fürstenhauses und Landes Wirtemberg (Stuttgart, 1839), vol. iii. pt. 2, and in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. viii. For the gossip concerning the fate of his first wife see Wraxall's Memoirs of my own Time, i. 203–15; cf. Preface to his Posthumous Memoirs (2nd ed. 1836), v–viii.]

A. W. W.


CHARLOTTE SOPHIA (1744–1818), queen of George III, king of England, was the youngest daughter of Charles Lewis, brother of Frederic, third duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. When a young girl she was so distressed at the ravages of the Prussian troops on a relative's territory, that she wrote a letter to their king begging him to restrain them. This letter found its way to England, and is said to have done something to direct the attention of the English court to her as a suitable consort for George (Mahon, History of England, iv. 331, 1846). The inquiries made resulted in a formal proposal, which was accepted, and the princess set off for England. The voyage from Cuxhaven to Harwich took ten days, for the ship was delayed by contrary winds. Charlotte beguiled the time by practising English tunes on the harpsichord. On 7 Sept. 1761 she landed in England. The next day she saw George for the first time at St. James's. From that moment till the king's illness she said that she never knew real sorrow. They were married late that same evening. Their coronation took place on 22 Sept. of that year (a minute description is given in Richard Thomson's Faithful Account, &c., 1820). Her appearance at this time is briefly described by Horace Walpole: 'She is not tall nor a beauty. Pale and very thin; but looks sensible and genteel. Her hair is darkish and fine; her forehead low, her nose very well, except the nostrils spreading too wide. The mouth has the same fault, but her teeth are good. She talks a great deal, and French tolerably' (Letters, iii. 434). The records of Charlotte's life are entirely of a domestic nature. She was merely a lay figure in the numerous state pageants in which her position obliged her to take part, and she had no interest in nor influence over English politics, which she probably scarcely understood. The king, though a devoted husband, never discussed affairs of state with her. She was a woman of little ability, but she certainly acted up to her own standard of duty. Court life during this long reign was perfectly decorous, and it must be added very dull and colourless. Scandal could only say of her that she was somewhat mean in money matters; but this was probably from early training (the story of an intrigue with the Chevalier d'Eon hardly requires serious mention; see Thom, Queen Charlotte and the Chevalier d'Eon, reprinted from Notes and Queries, 1867). In 1788, when the king became ill, the care of his person and the disposition of his household were placed in her hands, and in 1810, when, on the death of the Princess Amelia, George became permanently insane, much the same arrangements were made. The queen died at Kew 17 Nov. 1818, and was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Of the fifteen children born of her marriage, the last three, Octavius, Alfred, and Amelia, predeceased their mother.

[There are Lives of Queen Charlotte (with portraits) by W. C. Oulton, 1819, and T. Williams, 1819, but they are merely external. In the numerous memoirs of the period there is much information about the queen's private life. Walpole's Letters, Miss Burney's Memoirs, and Mrs. Delany's Autobiography are the chief of these; others will be found quoted in Jesse's Memoirs of Life and Reign of George III, 3 vols. 1867. In Brit. Mus. Cat. under this heading is a list of funeral sermons, satires, &c., relating to the queen, and among the manuscripts are a number of her official papers.]

F. W-t.


CHARLTON. [See also Charleton.]

CHARLTON or CHERLETON, EDWARD, fifth and last Lord Charlton of Powys (1370–1421), was the younger son of John Charlton, the third baron, and his wife, Joan, daughter of Lord Stafford. During the lifetime of his elder brother John, the fourth lord [see Charlton, John, ad fin,], Edward married, very soon after her husband's death in Ireland (20 July 1398), the widowed Countess of March. Her lordships and castles of Usk and Caerleon thus fell into his hands. This brought him into relations with the chronicler Adam of Usk, who speaks of