20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The princess who might have been queen, April 11, 2008
This review is from: Charlotte & Leopold: The True Story of the Original People's Princess (Hardcover)
James Chambers has selected, from the British monarchy's treasury of sensational history, the romantic and tragic story of Princess Charlotte (1796-1817, the daughter of the dissolute prince who would become George IV) and her husband Leopold (1790-1865, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld). This is a light biography, told sensationally and often novelistically, with a lot of dialogue, and there are no foot- or endnotes (the author claims that all quotes are already identified in the text, but I didn't find this to be true). It's also very light on the national politics and international background, with events like the Napoleonic Wars being mentioned rather than explained.
Princess Charlotte was the product of the disastrous marriage between George, Prince of Wales (the eldest son of George III) and Caroline of Brunswick. The Waleses split up almost immediately, and Charlotte was brought up under a series of governesses and educated under Bishop John Fisher (whom she called the "Bish-UP", and the author annoyingly mimics this habit). Princess Charlotte was quite popular with the people, and her father, apparently in fits of jealousy, did everything he could to make her life miserable, keeping her away from her mother, firing servants that she grew close to, slighting her publicly, and treating her like a child even after she came of age. She was even grilled about her mother's activities when the Prince of Wales tried (unsuccessfully) to divorce his wife.
The Prince of Wales was good enough, however, not to force Charlotte into marriage, so after an attempted match with the hereditary Prince of Orange, and an encounter with the rakish Prince August of Prussia that could have ruined her reputation, Charlotte finally met and settled on marrying a handsome officer of the Russian heavy cavalry, Prince Leopold. Even though he had not been her first choice for a husband, she quickly grew to love him, and by all accounts they had a happy and down-to-earth marriage. They did almost everything together, and Chambers relates a charming scene in which an old friend comes to visit and finds the couple at a table engrossed in piles of paper. In response to her hesitancy, Charlotte invited her in, saying, "`[T]is only Mr and Mrs Coburg settling their accounts."
Things took a tragic turn when, after a worrisome pregnancy and a difficult labor, Charlotte delivered a stillborn son and then passed away shortly afterwards. The future of the monarchy was left uncertain and Leopold distraught (as was the obstetrician, whose death would complete what is known to medical history as the "triple obstetrical tragedy"). Although Leopold never really got over her untimely death (he died saying her name), he remarried fifteen years later and named his daughter Charlotte (later Empress Carlota of Mexico).
Overall, this book was entertaining but a bit disappointing for its lack of depth. It's a decent introduction to Charlotte's life, but for depth and insight, a better (if older) choice is
Prinny's daughter: A life of Princess Charlotte of Wales.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting book on a little-known princess, March 15, 2009
This review is from: Charlotte & Leopold: The True Story of the Original People's Princess (Hardcover)
Visitors to St. George's Chapel within Windsor Castle cannot help but be moved by the beautiful and poignant memorial to Princess Charlotte commissioned by her father, King George IV. It shows mother and child being directed to heaven by the angels, one of whom holds her dead baby, while her draped body below is attended by draped mourners. She had given birth to a stillborn son in 1817 and died the next day from complications, age 21. If she and her son had survived, she would have succeeded her father as Queen, her son would have followed her, and Victoria never would have been Queen.
Charlotte's and Leopold's marriage was brief and a love match. He survived her for 48 years, becoming the first King of the Belgians in 1831, marrying a second time and was the great-great-grandfather of the current Belgian King. After his death in December, 1865, Queen Victoria placed his statue near his wife's memorial, with the inscription "Her (Victoria's) maternal uncle, who was as a father to her, as she was to him a daughter".
This is a must read for lovers of British royal history, especially the stories of fringe members who have merited only small footnotes till now.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A look at the life of a nearly forgotten English princess, June 13, 2009
This review is from: Charlotte & Leopold: The True Story of the Original People's Princess (Hardcover)
One of the more shadowy figures from the nineteenth century in British royal history tends to be overlooked. Which is sad, considering how important she would become, and helped to shape the rest of the century. The man that she loved and married also turned out to be quite a power player in the decades to come. Unfortunately, most biographers of the time tend to give this pair a bare mention, and then quickly move on, viewing their lives as a mere blip on the timeline.
Author James Chambers takes this intriguing couple, and gives them a clearer voice, and shows just how different European history might have been if fate had taken a less tragic outcome. For the story begins with a suicide, and a wave of national mourning that would not have its equal until nearly two centuries later.
Despite having a multitude of children, King George III only had one legitimate grandchild, Princess Charlotte of Wales, by his eldest son, George, the Prince Regent -- known as 'Prinny' to his friends. Prinny's marriage to his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, was possibly the most disastrous in English history -- it is said that at the first sight of her, the prince muttered to his companion, "Harris I am not well, pray get me a glass of brandy." Caroline was uneducated, loudmouthed, and not too careful in her hygiene and personal habits -- everything that was the opposite of what Prinny liked in his women. But lured by the promise that Parliament would increase his allowance and make it possible to pay off his enormous debts, the Prince married his bride and bedded her -- for just one night. Fortunately, the new Princess of Wales produced a child nine months later, and if it was a girl, well, nevermind -- a daughter could inherit.
Charlotte Augusta was a clever child, gifted with talents for mimicry and could be best described as a tomboy. Unfortunately, she was also a pawn in an eternal tug-of-war between her parents. Her mother was coarse and delighted in making trouble for her husband, who in turn loathed her, and did everything he could to try and divorce her and get her out of England. From the time of her birth, Charlotte was raised by a household of servants and governesses, all of whom could be dismissed on a whim from Prinny. And Prinny wasn't exactly the best of parents -- he viewed Charlotte as a rival for people's affections, and played the game of 'I love you, I love you not' with his precocious daughter as the whim took him. As a result, Charlotte grew up trusting only a few close friends that she had managed to keep, several sympathetic uncles, and tried to very carefully navigate a course between her parents.
But as the long war with Napoleon started to draw to a close, Charlotte was of an age to start being courted seriously, and she was the most eligible bride in Europe, for one day it was very likely she would be Queen of England. When Tsar Alexander I and his sister, Grand Duchess Catherine, arrived in London for the celebrations surrounding Napoleon's exile to Elba, Charlotte would find herself noticed -- and several princes started to pay attention to her. She had grown up to be an attractive girl, still a bit uncertain and a trifle gauche from her treatment by her parents (who still brawled and scandalized European society). But one prince took the prize.
He was considered to be one of the most handsome men in Europe and had served heroically with the Tsar's army. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was ambitious, and smart enough to use his brain to negotiate what he wanted. As a poverty stricken, very minor prince, he had little but his good looks to recommend him. But Charlotte was dazzled, and she leapt at the chance to marry -- not out of romantic love, but for the simple fact that it would allow her to set up her own household and finally be free of her parent's manipulations. And Leopold was grabbing at a chance to become the consort of England's queen-to-be...
But the story took on a very different twist when Charlotte became pregnant, and what happened later would change European history. I will not reveal what happened next, but it would firmly place Leopold as a major player in history, and led to one politician to later remark that the Duchy of Coburg had become the 'stud-farm of Europe.'
James Chambers' biography is rather slight, coming in at only just over 200 pages. Leopold's life after Charlotte is quickly reduced to just a few pages, and that part left me feeling a bit cheated. However, the exploration of Charlotte's life through her own letters, and those around her turned her into a lively, sympathetic heroine to cheer for. Another clever use was that of the beginning public press, and Charlotte was a darling for them, for people were very curious about her, and every mention or sighting of her was wildly cheered.
Along with the narrative, there are notes and an index, along with an insert of black and white and colour reproductions of paintings and drawings of the various players in this drama. The two cartoons are risqué and very telling for the time and place -- I don't think the press would dare print up anything like this today, but satirists had a field day with England's royals and every misstep was gleefully parodied.
The prose flows along reasonably well. My only complaint was that there really wasn't enough about Leopold, and the description of his later life was far too brief. For those who enjoy tales of royalty, it's an interesting read, and one of the few that helped to make sense of the incredible baby-derby that started up at Charlotte's early death.
Four stars overall. Recommended.
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