Charlotte was the wife of George III of England, dubbed “the mad kingâ€. She lived from 1744 to 1818 and while enjoying some measure of respect as the namesake of Charlotte, North Carolina, unfortunately fares less well by her own adopted country. Largely overlooked, she has been the subject of recent speculation that she is of African origin. As a young princess in Germany, she was picked, sight unseen, to be the king’s consort. The couple had a solid marriage until his unfortunate descent, in 1788, into what was thought to be madness. They brought up 13 out of 15 children to adulthood. Charlotte was the grandmother of Queen Victoria. She was an accomplished botanist and helped to expand Kew Gardens. She was a patroness of the arts. She founded several orphanages and she was concerned for the general welfare and education of women. She saw to the comfort of her husband during his illness. However, the abiding notion is that she was “ugly†(Dickens wrote of her as the “queen with a plain faceâ€) and had African forbears. So be it. In our opinion, that would give the current royal family a feather in its cap along with a little cachet – they should hope it is true.
