Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (7 August 1783 – 2 November 1810) was a member of the British Royal Family
as the youngest daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom
and his queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
.
, Windsor
, the youngest of George III
and Queen Charlotte
's fifteen children as well as the only of her siblings born at Windsor Castle. It is often said that she was her father's favorite, and accordingly, he affectionately called her, "Emily". She was born after the early deaths of her two elder brothers: Octavius
(23 February 1779 - 3 May 1783) and Alfred
(22 September 1780 - 20 August 1782). The death of these two princes left a gap of almost six years between Amelia and her nearest surviving sibling, Princess Sophia
. She was twenty-one years younger than her eldest sibling George
and nearly seventeen years younger than her eldest sister Charlotte
. As the daughter of the monarch, she was styled HRH The Princess Amelia from birth.
Amelia was christened at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace by John Moore
, The Archbishop of Canterbury
, on 17 September 1783. Her godparents were The Prince of Wales
(Amelia's eldest brother), The Princess Royal
(her eldest sister), and The Princess Augusta Sophia
(her second eldest sister). She was the fifteenth sibling christened there.
Coming so soon after the death of Octavius and shortly before the end of the war between Great Britain and the United States, Amelia's birth was felt to be a beginning of a new period of hope, and much was expected of her, even from birth. "Our littlest sister is without exception one of the prettiest children I have ever seen," her oldest sister wrote to Prince William when Amelia was only a month old. She was expected to be as beautiful, charming, and winning as Octavius, her father's previous favorite child, had been. As a result of her two brothers' deaths, Amelia was considered her father's favourite.
From an early age, Amelia was conscious of her rank. A popular tale relates that when the famous tragedian, Sarah Siddons
, expressed a desire to kiss the beautiful baby, Amelia "...instantly held her little hand out to be kissed, so early had she learnt the lessons of Royalty." When Amelia was three, Fanny Burney, the Queen's Keeper of the Robes, commented that the princess could be "decorous and dignified when called upon to act en princess to any strangers, as if conscious of her high rank, and the importance of condescendingly sustaining it." As the youngest of the thirteen surviving children, Amelia was grouped with her sisters Mary and Sophia
, and spent most of her time with them, living in various royal residences. From the beginning, the three younger princesses did not receive as much parental attention as their elder sisters had, and spent a good deal of time away from the King and Queen, communicating with them mostly by letter.
It seems that the three youngest princesses were much more wild than their elder sisters, as evidenced by their behavior when they sat for a portrait in 1785. In 1770, Zoffany had been able to paint the King, the Queen, and all six eldest children with little difficulty. In 1785, however, Copley had so much difficulty getting the dogs, birds, and especially the three royal children to sit still, he never painted another portrait. Compared to the carefully planned education that Charlotte, Augusta, and Elizabeth had been given, the education given to Mary, Sophia, and Amelia was based solely on what had come before. Amelia was only five years old when her father suffered his first bout of madness
. As a consequence of her father's declining health, she never experienced the closeness and affection that had characterized the family during her eldest sisters' early years.
Amelia and her sisters, Charlotte, Augusta Sophia, Elizabeth
, Mary and Sophia were over-protected and isolated, which restricted their meeting eligible suitors of their own age.
for recovery. She wrote her father, "Certainly the vapour and warm sea bath are of use and therefore I hope that I shall be able to assure you that I am better." The following year Amelia temporarily recovered enough to join her family at Weymouth, where she doted upon her niece Princess Charlotte of Wales. Throughout her life Amelia was often in poor health; at the age of fifteen, she started to suffer the early symptoms of what turned out to be tuberculosis
.
In 1801 the princess was sent for a seaside cure at Weymouth to improve her health. Among those staying with her was Hon. Sir Charles FitzRoy, an equerry
21 years older than herself, and the son of Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton
. Amelia fell in love with the equerry, desiring to marry him. The Queen was told of the affair by a servant, but turned a blind eye. It was hoped that such discretion would prevent the King from discovering the liaison, which may have risked sending him into one of the bouts of mental illness to which he was becoming increasingly prone. Though she never gave up hope of marrying him, Amelia knew she could not legally marry FitzRoy due to the provisions of the Royal Marriages Act
passed by her father's Parliament (at least until she reached the age of 25, after which she could receive permission by assent of the Privy Council). She would later tell her brother Frederick that she considered herself to be married, taking the initials A. F. R. (Amelia FitzRoy).
In 1808, Amelia had a severe attack of measles
and the depressed atmosphere at home with her mother in Windsor made her even more miserable. The anxious King George decided to send Amelia to Weymouth accompanied by her sister Mary. Her health was improved only a little, but she found comfort in quietly resting. In 1809 she could occasionally take short walks in the garden. This improvement was but temporary, however, and in August 1810 her sufferings grew sharper, whilst in October of that year she was seized with St. Anthony's fire (erysipelas
), which cut off all hope and confined her to her bed on the 25th. The king summoned his daughter's physicians to him at seven o'clock every morning and three or four other times during the day, questioning them minutely as to her condition. She lingered a few days more, waited upon to the last by her favourite and devoted sister, the Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
. Her 2 November death occurred on her brother Edward's birthday.
The dying princess had a mourning ring made for the king, composed of a lock of her hair, under crystal, set round with diamonds. He purportedly burst into tears upon receiving it. Otherwise, her will dictated all her possessions be given to Charles FitzRoy. Amelia was buried in the royal vault in St George's Chapel, Windsor
. Her eldest brother, later George IV
, was her godfather
and is reputed to have requested her death mask
.
, and younger brother of Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
, attempted to blackmail the King and Queen with letters belonging to Amelia, after the disappearance of £280,000 in his control. Villiers was father of later diplomat and statesman George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
.
Her death is partly credited to the decline in her father's health which resulted in his insanity and the subsequent invocation of the Regency Act of 1811. According to his doctor Dr Willis, the king would later cry "in a wild, monotonous, delirious way, 'Oh Emily [Princess Amelia], why won't you save your father? I hate all the physicians..." Another of King George's delusions included the belief that a healthy Amelia was only staying in Hanover with a large family of her own, where she would "never grow older and always be well."
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
as the youngest daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and his queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
.
Early life
Princess Amelia was born on 7 August 1783, at the Royal LodgeRoyal Lodge
The Royal Lodge is a house in the civil parish of Old Windsor, located in Windsor Great Park, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and south of Windsor Castle. It was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1952 until her death there in 2002. Since 2004 it has been the...
, Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, the youngest of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
's fifteen children as well as the only of her siblings born at Windsor Castle. It is often said that she was her father's favorite, and accordingly, he affectionately called her, "Emily". She was born after the early deaths of her two elder brothers: Octavius
Prince Octavius of Great Britain
The Prince Octavius was a member of the British Royal Family as the thirteenth child and eighth son of King George III and his queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Six months after the death of his brother Prince Alfred, Octavius was inoculated from the smallpox virus. Several days...
(23 February 1779 - 3 May 1783) and Alfred
Prince Alfred of Great Britain
The Prince Alfred was a member of the British Royal Family as the fourteenth child and ninth son of King George III and his queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...
(22 September 1780 - 20 August 1782). The death of these two princes left a gap of almost six years between Amelia and her nearest surviving sibling, Princess Sophia
Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom
The Princess Sophia was a member of the British Royal Family, the twelfth child and fifth daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte...
. She was twenty-one years younger than her eldest sibling George
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and nearly seventeen years younger than her eldest sister Charlotte
Charlotte, Princess Royal
The Princess Charlotte, Princess Royal was a member of the British Royal Family, the eldest daughter of George III. She was later the Queen Consort of Frederick of Württemberg...
. As the daughter of the monarch, she was styled HRH The Princess Amelia from birth.
Amelia was christened at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace by John Moore
John Moore (Archbishop)
John Moore was a bishop in the Church of England.-Life:Moore was the son of George Moore, butcher, and his wife Jane.He was born in Gloucester and was educated at the Crypt School there...
, The Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, on 17 September 1783. Her godparents were The Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
(Amelia's eldest brother), The Princess Royal
Charlotte, Princess Royal
The Princess Charlotte, Princess Royal was a member of the British Royal Family, the eldest daughter of George III. She was later the Queen Consort of Frederick of Württemberg...
(her eldest sister), and The Princess Augusta Sophia
Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom
The Princess Augusta Sophia was a member of the British Royal Family, second daughter of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was a Princess of the United Kingdom and a Princess of Hanover....
(her second eldest sister). She was the fifteenth sibling christened there.
Coming so soon after the death of Octavius and shortly before the end of the war between Great Britain and the United States, Amelia's birth was felt to be a beginning of a new period of hope, and much was expected of her, even from birth. "Our littlest sister is without exception one of the prettiest children I have ever seen," her oldest sister wrote to Prince William when Amelia was only a month old. She was expected to be as beautiful, charming, and winning as Octavius, her father's previous favorite child, had been. As a result of her two brothers' deaths, Amelia was considered her father's favourite.
From an early age, Amelia was conscious of her rank. A popular tale relates that when the famous tragedian, Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
, expressed a desire to kiss the beautiful baby, Amelia "...instantly held her little hand out to be kissed, so early had she learnt the lessons of Royalty." When Amelia was three, Fanny Burney, the Queen's Keeper of the Robes, commented that the princess could be "decorous and dignified when called upon to act en princess to any strangers, as if conscious of her high rank, and the importance of condescendingly sustaining it." As the youngest of the thirteen surviving children, Amelia was grouped with her sisters Mary and Sophia
Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom
The Princess Sophia was a member of the British Royal Family, the twelfth child and fifth daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte...
, and spent most of her time with them, living in various royal residences. From the beginning, the three younger princesses did not receive as much parental attention as their elder sisters had, and spent a good deal of time away from the King and Queen, communicating with them mostly by letter.
It seems that the three youngest princesses were much more wild than their elder sisters, as evidenced by their behavior when they sat for a portrait in 1785. In 1770, Zoffany had been able to paint the King, the Queen, and all six eldest children with little difficulty. In 1785, however, Copley had so much difficulty getting the dogs, birds, and especially the three royal children to sit still, he never painted another portrait. Compared to the carefully planned education that Charlotte, Augusta, and Elizabeth had been given, the education given to Mary, Sophia, and Amelia was based solely on what had come before. Amelia was only five years old when her father suffered his first bout of madness
Porphyria
Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme bio-synthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...
. As a consequence of her father's declining health, she never experienced the closeness and affection that had characterized the family during her eldest sisters' early years.
Adulthood
Prior to 1788, King George had told his daughters that he would take them to Hanover and find them suitable husbands despite misgivings he had, which stemmed from his sisters' own unhappy marriages. He remarked, "I cannot deny that I have never wished to see any of them marry: I am happy in their company, and do not in the least want a separation." However, the King suffered his first bout of madness that year, when Amelia was aged five. Further lapses into insanity occurred in 1801 and 1804, thus forestalling talk of marriage for his daughters. The question of matrimony was rarely raised; Queen Charlotte feared the subject, something which had always discomforted the King, would push him back into insanity. Furthermore the queen, strained from her husband's illness, wanted the princesses to remain close to her.Amelia and her sisters, Charlotte, Augusta Sophia, Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom
The Princess Elizabeth was a member of the British Royal Family, the seventh child and third daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte...
, Mary and Sophia were over-protected and isolated, which restricted their meeting eligible suitors of their own age.
Illness
In 1798 Princess Amelia developed a pain in the joint of her knee, and was sent to the large seaside town of WorthingWorthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
for recovery. She wrote her father, "Certainly the vapour and warm sea bath are of use and therefore I hope that I shall be able to assure you that I am better." The following year Amelia temporarily recovered enough to join her family at Weymouth, where she doted upon her niece Princess Charlotte of Wales. Throughout her life Amelia was often in poor health; at the age of fifteen, she started to suffer the early symptoms of what turned out to be tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
In 1801 the princess was sent for a seaside cure at Weymouth to improve her health. Among those staying with her was Hon. Sir Charles FitzRoy, an equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
21 years older than herself, and the son of Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton
Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton
Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton was a British statesman and soldier.The second son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy and a grandson of the 2nd Duke of Grafton, FitzRoy joined the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards as an ensign in 1752...
. Amelia fell in love with the equerry, desiring to marry him. The Queen was told of the affair by a servant, but turned a blind eye. It was hoped that such discretion would prevent the King from discovering the liaison, which may have risked sending him into one of the bouts of mental illness to which he was becoming increasingly prone. Though she never gave up hope of marrying him, Amelia knew she could not legally marry FitzRoy due to the provisions of the Royal Marriages Act
Royal Marriages Act 1772
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribes the conditions under which members of the British Royal Family may contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages that could diminish the status of the Royal House...
passed by her father's Parliament (at least until she reached the age of 25, after which she could receive permission by assent of the Privy Council). She would later tell her brother Frederick that she considered herself to be married, taking the initials A. F. R. (Amelia FitzRoy).
In 1808, Amelia had a severe attack of measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
and the depressed atmosphere at home with her mother in Windsor made her even more miserable. The anxious King George decided to send Amelia to Weymouth accompanied by her sister Mary. Her health was improved only a little, but she found comfort in quietly resting. In 1809 she could occasionally take short walks in the garden. This improvement was but temporary, however, and in August 1810 her sufferings grew sharper, whilst in October of that year she was seized with St. Anthony's fire (erysipelas
Erysipelas
Erysipelas is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection of the deep epidermis with lymphatic spread.-Risk factors:...
), which cut off all hope and confined her to her bed on the 25th. The king summoned his daughter's physicians to him at seven o'clock every morning and three or four other times during the day, questioning them minutely as to her condition. She lingered a few days more, waited upon to the last by her favourite and devoted sister, the Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
The Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh was a member of the British Royal Family, the eleventh child and fourth daughter of George III....
. Her 2 November death occurred on her brother Edward's birthday.
The dying princess had a mourning ring made for the king, composed of a lock of her hair, under crystal, set round with diamonds. He purportedly burst into tears upon receiving it. Otherwise, her will dictated all her possessions be given to Charles FitzRoy. Amelia was buried in the royal vault in St George's Chapel, Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
. Her eldest brother, later George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, was her godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
and is reputed to have requested her death mask
Death mask
In Western cultures a death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits...
.
Death and aftermath
After Amelia's death, George Villiers, the King's bailiffBailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
, and younger brother of Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon , known as Lord Hyde from 1776 to 1786, was a British peer and Tory Member of Parliament....
, attempted to blackmail the King and Queen with letters belonging to Amelia, after the disappearance of £280,000 in his control. Villiers was father of later diplomat and statesman George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon KG, GCB, PC , was an English diplomat and statesman.-Background and education:...
.
Her death is partly credited to the decline in her father's health which resulted in his insanity and the subsequent invocation of the Regency Act of 1811. According to his doctor Dr Willis, the king would later cry "in a wild, monotonous, delirious way, 'Oh Emily [Princess Amelia], why won't you save your father? I hate all the physicians..." Another of King George's delusions included the belief that a healthy Amelia was only staying in Hanover with a large family of her own, where she would "never grow older and always be well."
Titles and styles
- 7 August 1783 – 2 November 1810: Her Royal Highness The Princess Amelia
Arms
As of 1789, as a daughter of the sovereign, Amelia had use of the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of three points, the centre point bearing a rose gules, the outer points each bearing a heart gules.Ancestors
See also
- British Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
- Descendants of George III and Queen CharlotteDescendants of George III and Queen CharlotteHere a list of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of King George III of the United Kingdom and his queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Their children include King George IV of the United Kingdom, King William IV of the United Kingdom and King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover. Their...