{"id":200,"date":"2017-02-17T13:30:21","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T10:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germanyforkids.com\/blog\/?p=200"},"modified":"2017-02-17T18:37:39","modified_gmt":"2017-02-17T15:37:39","slug":"the-local-girl-who-became-queen-of-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schlossleizen.com\/blog\/blog\/2017\/02\/17\/the-local-girl-who-became-queen-of-england\/","title":{"rendered":"The local girl who became Queen of England"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Allan<\/a>
Queen Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>The region around Schloss Leizen is famous for its history of nobles; dukes, duchesses, princes and princesses. In fact there\u00a0are over 2000 castles, stately homes and manor houses in Mecklenburg Vorpommern, of which our home, Schloss Leizen is one. In one such palace, only 17 miles from Germany For Kids, a girl was born and raised, who went on to become the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.<\/p>\n

Only a short drive from Schloss Leizen is the small town of Mirow, also in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (Mecklenburg Lake District) it is surrounded by lakes, indeed it is possible to canoe from our\u00a0nearby lake the M\u00fcritz \u00a0through the secluded waterways of the National Park direct to Mirow. On an island (the Scchlossinsel) near the centre of this quiet and tiny town are the two former palaces of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It is here where Sophie Charlotte, in the “lower” castle was born\u00a0on the 19th July 1744.<\/p>\n

\"Mirow<\/a>
Schloss Mirow<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>Though her father was duke and she herself a princess and despite the fact that the family’s standard of living was considerably higher than their local subjects, they were in fact a minor noble family, with a much less grand life than the King of England. She was schooled in Botany, the Arts and French.<\/p>\n

in October of 1760 when Sophie Charlotte was 17 years old, 700miles away\u00a0in London a young man she had never met was being crowned King George III. The new king and his mother were keen that he be married as soon as possible. As was customary at the time marriages were often arranged, partly to find someone suitable to the role of queen and partly to strengthen noble family ties and alliances. The Prince himself set conditions that his new queen should be relatively simple and not wish to meddle in the world of politics.<\/p>\n

The King’s advisors set about a process of selecting prospective new Queens for George, most\u00a0candidates hailed from Germany as the British Royal family descend directly from German\u00a0noble families themselves. Finally only three potential brides remained, neither of whom knew their potential new life ahead of them, finally, only 9 months after his coronation George announced he would be married and a team of Escorts let by Earl Harcourt was sent to \u00a0rural Northern Germany to make arrangements with the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to allow his daughter to become Queen Consort to the King of England!<\/p>\n

They arrived in this area on the 14th August 1761,\u00a0only three days later, accompanied by her brother and the Escorts, princess Charlotte left quiet Mirow, not yet able to speak any English, on her way to a completely different life as Queen of Britain and Ireland and wife\u00a0to one of the most important men in the world.<\/p>\n

It took only 5 days to reach the North Sea Port of Cuxhaven where a small Fleet was waiting for her, however the sea journey was not to be so simple, sea conditions were bad and it took two weeks to complete the voyage to Harwich where they made land\u00a0on the 8th September. The very next day she arrived at St James Palace in London where she met her future husband for the first time.<\/p>\n

Despite not having known each other previously it is said that theirs was a successful and loving marriage, indeed they produced many children. As King George wished she generally did not meddle in political affairs, however this did not mean she did not have a profound influence on British culture, check out our interesting facts below.<\/p>\n

Sadly King George III is now best known for his mental illness, suffering his first bout in 1780, from which he recovered, but then from 1811 his condition was permanent and incurable. The story of his illness and his family life is portrayed in the well known film “The Madness of King George<\/a>“, the role of Queen Charlotte being played by Award-Winning Actress Helen Mirren<\/a>, who acts in the film with a German accent.<\/p>\n

\"Queen<\/a>
Queen Charlotte by Sir Thomas Lawrence 1789<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\u00a0Queen Charlotte died at Kew Palace on 17th November 1818 and is buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor castle, her husband died a year later. She was the second longest serving consort (wife or husband of a ruling monarch) for\u00a057 years and 70 days, only the current Duke of Edinburgh has served longer.<\/p>\n

Being so close\u00a0to Schloss Mirow we visit often as part of our program of regional trips, our young guests get a rare opportunity to visit the birthplace of a British Queen\u00a0well away from the fuss and crowds of tourists in\u00a0major cities.<\/p>\n

Interes<\/span>ting facts about Queen Charlotte<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n