Charlotte & Leopold

by Chambers, James

• ISBN13: 9781905847235
• ISBN10: 1905847238
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-05-01
• Publisher: Old Street Pub

Summary

The tragic story of the doomed romance between Charlotte, heir to the English throne, and Leopold, uncle of Queen Victoria and first King of the Belgians. A story that Jane Austen famously declined to tell, declaring: ;I could no more write a romance than an epic poem. ; Charlotte was the only legitimate royal child of her generation, and her death in childbirth resulted in a public outpouring of grief the like of which was not to be seen again until the death of Diana, over 150 years later. Charlotte's death was followed by an unseemly scramble to produce a substitute heir. Queen Victoria was the product. James Chambers masterfully demonstrates how the personal and the political inevitably collide in scheming post-Napoleonic Europe, offering a vivid and sympathetic portrait of a couple whose lives are in many ways not their own. From the day she was born, Charlotte won the hearts of her subjects and yet, behind the scenes, she was used, abused, and victimized by rivalries-between her parents; between her father (the Prince Regent, later King George IV) and (Mad) King George III; between her tutors, governesses, and other members of her discordant household; and ultimately between the Whig opposition and the Tory government. Set in one of the most glamorous eras of British history, against the background of a famously dysfunctional royal family, Charlotte & Leopold: The True Story of The Original People's Princessis an accessible, moving, funny, and entertaining royal biography with alluring contemporary resonance. James Chambersis a professional historian and author of many books on British and colonial history, including The Daily Telegraph History of the British Empire, which sold over 250,000 copies. He has also written extensively for television and made countless BBC TV and radio appearances.

Table of Contents

Prologue: 'Daughter of England'	p. 1
'The Brunswick Bride'	p. 5
Warwick House	p. 17
'The Delicate Investigation'	p. 25
First Love	p. 33
The Radical Princess	p. 43
'Protracted Childhood'	p. 51
'Infamous Insinuations'	p. 57
'Slender Billy'	p. 67
Making the Best of it	p. 79
'The Summer of the Tsars'	p. 87
The Pulteney Hotel	p. 93
The Officer at the Foot of the Stairs	p. 101
'I Have Run Off'	p. 109
State Prisoner	p. 117
'Princess Charlotte Is Made of Ginger-bread'	p. 125
A Crisis at Christmas	p. 133
Waterloo	p. 143
Waiting in Weymouth	p. 149
An Inappropriate Relationship	p. 157
'Bless Me, What a Crowd'	p. 163
'The Perfection of a Lover'	p. 169
'The House that Never Prospered'	p. 177
'A Brunswick Heart'	p. 185
'A Serious Misfortune'	p. 197
Out of Favour	p. 207
The Hottentot	p. 217
Epilogue: King of the Belgians	p. 225
Bibliography, Plates	p. 233
Index	p. 236
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