Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach, after Kneller, 1716. Photo: National Portrait Gallery, London.
It seems very apt to be kicking off a new month and what looks set to be a brilliant season of Georgian frolics with the portrait of Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of George II, who was born on this day in 1683. I have an enormous fondness for Caroline, who for some reason isn’t one of our better known Queens but certainly deserves to be, and I hope that this year’s excellent programme of Georgian events all over the country will make her a favorite with lots of other people too.
I remember first really encountering Caroline in an eighties book about the various Princesses of Wales, which was clearly mainly designed to be a vehicle for going on about the wondrousness of Princess Diana but which got me interested in her historical predecessors from the always glamorous sounding Joan of Kent (who knew that someone called Joan could be so alluring?) to Augusta of Saxe-Gotha and on to the present day. It’s certainly a title that has had some really interesting incumbents and I remember thinking that Caroline of Ansbach, reportedly so intelligent, pretty and erudite, was perhaps one of the most fascinating.
Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach, studio of Jervas, 1727. Photo: National Portrait Gallery, London.
I know that the general impression that people seem to have of the Hanoverian men is that they were a pack of square faced, rather stupid, blunt minded, women chasing louts, lacking in finesse and esprit, and in some respects this is a fair assessment to make, however, they were generally pretty fortunate when it came to their womenfolk and I definitely think that George II, who was perhaps one of the least prepossessing of our monarch’s completely lucked out when he gained Caroline’s hand in marriage – especially as she was apparently a much sought after bride due to a combination of excellent breeding, blonde German good looks, intelligence, intellectual curiosity and enormous charm. In short she clearly came from good stock.
It wasn’t all perfect though – as was the Hanoverian way, from George I all the way down to Queen Victoria, who despite her best efforts to distance herself from her rakish immediate ancestors (and connect herself with the rather better behaved and altogether more naturally uxorious Stuarts) was a true Hanoverian in every possible sense of the word, Caroline showed a marked antipathy towards her eldest son and the heir to the throne, Prince Frederick (known to his many admirers as Prince Fred) and did her best to make his life as awkward as possible. It’s sad really that a woman who was so admirable in so many other respects behaved with so little affection and care towards her own son, even if it seems to have been something of a Hanoverian family tradition for the poor heir to be treated with callous contempt and dislike by his parents.
Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Amigoni, 1735. Photo: National Portrait Gallery, London.
Anyway, you’ll no doubt be hearing a LOT more about Queen Caroline and her family from me over the next year as we get underway with the celebrations for the two hundredth anniversary of the Hanoverian ascent to the throne. I was lucky enough to spend all of Monday in the company of the Historic Royal Palaces press team taking a really fascinating and exciting look behind the scenes of their dazzling upcoming programme of Georgian themed events at Hampton Court Palace, Kew Palace and Kensington Palace and will be sharing some of the highlights with you over the next few days.
Have a good weekend everyone!
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