Queen Charlotte in the Morristown Collection [MORR 9303]
The collection object highlighted in this post is MORR 9303,
an album that contains twenty portrait engravings of King George III’s family,
who have recently enjoyed a resurgence of public interest. Although King George
is more famous for his associations with the American Revolution – indeed, a
portrait of him is posted in our own galleries – his wife, Queen Charlotte, has
become recently popular due to the regency-era romantic fantasies portrayed in
the TV series Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte.
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| Portrait, Queen Charlotte, MORR 9303 |
The engraved, water-color portraits show the King, Queen, and children at
various stages of life, as each portrait was copied from paintings completed at
different times. The portrait in this album shows a middle-aged Queen
Charlotte, gazing pensively back at the viewer in addition to a signed,
hand-written note (added much later by a collector). Besides being featured in
the album, Queen Charlotte was instrumental in its creation: it was
commissioned by the Queen and produced by her private librarian, publicist, and
engraver Edward Harding. In addition to being a fine example of turn of the
century portraiture, it is an interesting articulation of Georgian consumer
culture and reading habits that were engaged by people of all stations of life. Keep reading below for more information about Queen Charlotte, Edward Harding,
and the portrait book!
Who was Queen Charlotte, Consort of George III of England?
Born to Duke Charles Louis of Mecklenburg and Princess
Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghhousen in 1744 , Charlotte Sophia of
Mecklenberg-Stelitz was a princess of a small principality of the Holy Roman
Empire in what is now Germany. She lived a secluded childhood on countryside
estate in Mirow and her upbringing was comparable to that of a member of the
English gentry. Charlotte was described as short, slender, and plain according
to the beauty standards of her time. Her education was typical for a well-to-do
countrywoman (though perhaps considered “mediocre” for a member of the
nobility), focusing mainly on religion and household management. She was,
however, also an enthusiastic botanist, fluent in French, and was a competent musician. [i]
[ii]
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| Portrait, Queen Charlotte, MORR 478 |
At age 17, in July 1761, Princess Charlotte was selected to be the bride of King George III of England. George III had recently ascended to the throne unmarried, and the government was keen for him to settle down. Charlotte was chosen from a list of potential candidates and her obscure German origins, lady’s education, protestant religious background, and “agreeable temper” were her prime credentials. It was thought that her modest education and background would make her a more compliant wife to the king and keep her out of politics. By September 7th, Charlotte arrived in England, and she was wed to King George a day later at St. James’s Palace. The wedding was a small, with only the royal family and a small group of guests in attendance. Although the wedding was rushed affair, the coronation of the new Queen was carried out with full ceremony. Her “unfailing good humor,” animated presence, intelligence, and unpretentiousness made her popular amidst her introduction to the English court.[iii] [iv]
Queen Charlotte’s court was filled with art and
intellectuals. She and her husband were both connoisseurs of music and
Charlotte had a particular preference for German composers, making Johann
Christian Bach, the 11th son of Johann Sebastian Bach her personal
music-master. The Queen even hosted a performance by a young Mozart, who
eventually dedicated his Opus 3 to her in 1765. Her interests in botany
and natural history also spilled over onto the grounds of her home at Kew
Palace, where she spent many hours cataloging plants in the gardens and tending
to a menagerie that famously housed kangaroos – the first of their kind in
Britain. Members of the Bluestockings, an 18th century women’s
intellectual movement, were also known to be part of her inner circle. She was
interested in education, particularly the education of women, and ensured that
her children undertook coursework that reflected the scientific enterprises of
the Enlightenment. The early period of their marriage was purportedly happy,
and the first of 15 children was born within a year of their wedding.[v]
[vi]
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| Portrait, King George III, MORR 9303 |
However, life was not always happy or simple for the royal couple, and their domestic life was frequently interrupted by the interference of George III’s mother and the politics of the nobles and courtiers surrounding them. Their tenure as sovereigns was also marked by major disruptive events, both personal and political. America’s revolution against Great Britain was particularly notable. Although Queen Charlotte largely eschewed politics, she took a special interest in the events of the war – perhaps because of the deployment of German troops to aid the British war effort. Their lives were also interrupted by King George’s bouts of illness, speculated by some medical historians to be a hereditary condition called porphyria. The King’s illness significantly impacted his mental health and ability to rule and, after a particularly severe episode in 1788, his faculties began to decline. In 1811, George III was determined to be unfit to rule and his eldest son acted as Prince Regent from 1811 through his death in 1820. Queen Charlotte was appointed the legal guardian of the King, his court, and his underaged children, a role that she held until her own passing. [vii] [viii] [ix]
Edward Harding: Engraver, Printer, and Publicist of Queen Charlotte
Born in 1755, Edward Harding was the younger brother of popular miniature painter Silvester Harding. After receiving an education at the Royal Academy, Edward joined his brother in opening a very successful print and bookseller business. Silvester was particularly notable for his skill at copying portraits, a reputation that became an asset for the shop during a period of public interest in engravings and small portraiture. This fad gained traction after the publication of Rvd James Grangers illustrated Biographical History of England (1769), which featured portraits with the text. Including these types of portraits and illustrations came to be known as “Grangerising,” and the Harding brothers, along with their employees and other family members, took up the business of creating these portraits for book
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| King George in the Gallery, MORR 3262 |
printers and the public.[x]
When the Harding brothers broke up their business, Edward Harding went on to be librarian to Queen Charlotte, who had begun her own personal collection of papers and books beyond the royal library – many of these were self-bound books in which she had collected prints and her own manuscripts. Most of these were stored at Windsor, a favored place of the royal family in their later years. Harding helped the Queen create and catalogue these unique volumes. In the early 1790s, Frogmore House was acquired for the personal use of Queen Charlotte, who used it as a place of respite. She also moved her vast collection of books – more than 4,500 titles – to Frogmore, where whole new wings were built to accommodate them. Eventually, it also housed Frogmore Press, which was founded as a private printing press in 1809.[xi]
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| Letter, Queen Charlotte, MORR 2303 |
Harding also worked with other members of the royal family,
particularly Princess Elizabeth, who designed and produced her own etched
plates. He continued to publish projects at the behest of the Queen, which
included prayer and hymn books, poetry collections, theatrical prints,
botanical guides and illustrations, and national histories of Europe. Many of
these publications were given out as gifts from the Queen, although it is
uncertain how many she authored herself. After Queen Charlotte’s death ,
Harding remained employed by the royal family, working for both George IV and
Prince Ernest. [xiii]
[i]
“Queen Charlotte,” Historic Royal Palaces, Queen
Charlotte | Kew Palace | Historic Royal Palaces (hrp.org.uk).
[ii]
“Queen Charlotte (19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818),” The Royal Family |
Encyclopedia, Queen
Charlotte (19 May 1744 - 17 November 1818) | The Royal Family.
[iii]
“Queen Charlotte,” Historic Royal Palaces.
[iv]
Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald, The Good Queen Charlotte (London: Downey
& Co. 1899), 1- 36.
[v]
“Queen Charlotte,” Historic Royal Palaces.
[vi]
Queen Charlotte (19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818),” The Royal Family.
[vii]
Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald, The Good Queen Charlotte, 43-52.
[viii]
Julie Miller, “Bridgerton and the Real Queen Charlotte,” Library of Congress, “Bridgerton”
and the Real Queen Charlotte (loc.gov).
[ix]
“Queen Charlotte (19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818),” The Royal Family
[x] Jane
Roberts, “Edward Harding and Queen Charlotte,” Burning Bright: Essays in
Honor of David Blindman (UCL Press, 2015), 146 – 147.
[xi]
Jane Roberts, “Edward Harding and Queen Charlotte,” 147 – 152.
[xii]
Jane Roberts, “Edward Harding and Queen Charlotte,” 151.
[xiii]
Jane Roberts, “Edward Harding and Queen Charlotte,” 151 – 159.
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