Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Infobox British Royalty|royal
name =Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
title =Princess of Wales

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caption =Portrait by Charles Philips, 1736
spouse =Frederick, Prince of Wales
issue =Princess Augusta Charlotte of Wales
George III
Edward, Duke of York
Princess Elizabeth Caroline of Wales
William, Duke of Gloucester
Henry, Duke of Cumberland
Princess Louisa Anne of Wales
Prince Frederick William of Wales
Caroline Matilda of Wales
titles ="HRH" The Dowager Princess of Wales
"HRH" The Princess of Wales
"HSH" Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
royal house =House of Hanover
House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
father =Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
mother =Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
date of birth =birth date|1719|11|30|df=y
place of birth =Gotha, Germany
date of death =Death date and age|1772|2|8|1719|11|30|df=yes
place of death =Carlton House, London
date of burial =February 15 1772
place of burial =Westminster Abbey, London|

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (30 November 1719 – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three holders of the title who never became queen. Princess Augusta's eldest son succeeded as George III of the United Kingdom in 1760, as her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died nine years earlier.

Early life

Princess Augusta was born in Gotha to Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676-1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1676-1740). Her paternal grandfather was Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, eldest surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg.

Marriage

At age 16 and speaking virtually no English, she arrived in Great Britain for a wedding ceremony which took place almost immediately, on 17 April 1736, at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London. Despite a twelve-year age difference, the marriage seems to have been a happy one. They had nine children, the last born after Frederick's death. The birth of their first daughter, Princess Augusta Charlotte of Wales, on 31 August 1737, took place at St James's after Princess Augusta was forced by Frederick to travel from Hampton Court Palace while in labour, simply to prevent his hated parents, George II and Queen Caroline, from being present at the birth.

Throughout their marriage, Princess Augusta went along with her husband's wishes in the feud with his parents. Following the Prince of Wales' death, her role as mother of the heir-apparent to the throne became a more important one, and she was named prospective regent, which caused a political controversy. Shortly afterwards, she began to be influenced by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, her son's tutor, and rumours spread that they were having an affair. This was due to her being adamant that Bute was visiting her, and not her son, during his back door visits to tutor the prince. Both were pilloried in the press. Even after George III's accession, Princess Augusta suffered widespread hostility from the public. After she died of cancer of the throat at age 52 at Carlton House, her funeral procession attracted troublemakers who followed the coffin to the grave shouting insults.

Kew Gardens

Princess Augusta enlarged and greatly extended Kew Gardens after her husband's death. Sir William Chambers built several garden structures for her. One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761, still remains. [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. " [http://www.kew.org/heritage/people/augusta.html Augusta, Princess of Wales] ". Retrieved October 6, 2005.]

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

*30 November 1719 – 17 April 1736: "Her Ducal Serene Highness" Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
*17 April 1736 – 30 March 1751: "Her Royal Highness" The Princess of Wales
*31 March 1751–8 February 1772: "Her Royal Highness" The Dowager Princess of Wales

Issue

Legacy

*In the 1730s the settlement of Augusta, in the then-British colony of Georgia, was named in her honour.
*Augusta County, Virginia was also named in her honor.

External links

* [http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1740.htm A short profile of Augusta alongside other influential women of her time]

References

* [http://ftp.cac.psu.edu/~saw/royal/r10.html#I332 Henry Churchyard "Royal Genealogies, Part 10"]
* [http://www.anusha.com/pafg733.htm#27418 Sam Sloan "Big Combined Family Trees (pafg733)"]