Princess Augusta is the mother of King George III.
History[]
George's Betrothal[]
Wanting to strengthen their family's position, Princess Augusta began looking for a bride for her son. In her search, she found Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. When she told her son, he was uninterested as he didn't want to marry. When she told him that the betrothal contracts were already signed, he started muttering to himself, so she cleared the room and held him.
She then gathered a group of doctors to examine him. They all suggested possible treatments, but as conventional treatments had already failed him, she decided to go with John Monro's experimental approach of trying to cure him by talking.[2]
George's Wedding[]
When Charlotte arrived on the wedding day with her brother, Princess Augusta was surprised by how brown she was. She examined Charlotte and told her her job was to have as many babies as possible for King George. When she finished examining Charlotte, she sent her with Brimsley to get her wedding dress fitted, ignoring the fact that Charlotte had brought her own dress.
Princess Augusta expressed her shock at Charlotte being brown to Earl Harcourt and Lord Bute. Earl Harcourt reminded her that he'd told her that Charlotte had moor blood, but it didn't matter because they'd already made trade deals and they couldn't cancel the wedding on the day. She said that a problem wasn't a problem unless the Palace said it was and so they had to make it clear the king's choice was intentional. To aid in this, they expanded the guest list to include people who looked more like Charlotte.
When the guests arrived, she said she'd greet the new guests first to make the king's intentions clear. She went first to the Danburys, whom she addressed as Lord and Lady Danbury. She said they'd receive official proclamation of their titles from the king soon, then moved on to inform the next couple of the same news. The wedding went forward as planned, despite Charlotte attempting to run away to avoid getting married.[3]
In the days following the wedding, Princess Augusta met with Lord Bute and Earl Harcourt and they discussed what parliament was calling The Great Experiment. They said they needed to be sure the marriage was consummated as if would put the Great Experiment in jeopardy if it weren't. Princess Augusta had the king and queen's valets summoned to her and she asked them if the marriage had been consummated. They assured her that it was, which placated Lord Bute and Earl Harcourt.
When Princess Augusta learned that Lady Danbury had met with Queen Charlotte during what was meant to be the queen's honeymoon, she had Lady Danbury brought to her. She, Lord Bute, and Earl Harcourt questioned Lady Danbury about what they'd talked about. Lady Danbury brokered a deal with Princess Augusta to give her information in exchange for Augusta going to the other families in the ton and compelling them to include the newly titled gentlemen.
Princess Augusta then went to her son to see if he had done his duty. He got angry with her, laying out all the demands she'd made of him. He said he'd fulfilled all of them, just as was his duty.[4]
Tea and First Ball[]
Princess Augusta invited Lady Danbury to tea, where Lady Danbury said that the queen and king were happy together and had a wonderful honeymoon. She also said she'd spoken to Queen Charlotte about an heir.
At another meeting, Lady Danbury told Princess Augusta that Queen Charlotte showed no signs of being with child. Princess Augusta asked her to keep watching as there was a lot of pressure on it. A royal baby would seal the Great Experiment. Lady Danbury suggested that a ball might also help and said she'd liked to throw the first one of the year. Princess Augusta said that wouldn't be accepted, but when Lady Danbury pressed, Princess Augusta promised to take it up with Lord Bute.
Princess Augusta was surprised when Lady Danbury started sending out invitations to the ball, but told Lord Bute she had it handled. They wanted Lady Danbury to withdraw the invitations, but Princess Augusta said she couldn't ask Lady Danbury to do that. Lord Bute remained insistent that Lady Danbury cancel the ball.
Despite this interference, the ball went forward and when the king and queen declared they would be attending, the other families in the ton attended as well. Princess Agusuta attended the ball and noted that King George was happy like she'd never seen him before as he danced with Queen Charlotte.[5]
King George's Condition[]
After an episode in which King George ended up outside calling to Venus in the middle of the night, Queen Charlotte went to Princess Augusta and asked what was wrong with him. She's noticed that when the king arrived, all the sharp knives were removed from Buckingham House and the windows were sealed shut. Princess Augusta maintained that King George was not mad and was simply tired from carrying the weight of his country on his shoulders. She assured Queen Charlotte that once she produced an heir, she'd understand the position Princess Augusta was in and would do anything to stop the cracking.[2]
Princess Augusta returned to the palace with Dr. Hunter to confirm that Queen Charlotte was pregnant. Lord Bute wanted to announce right away, but Princess Augusta said to wait until quickening. Princess Augusta also decided to move in, not wanting to leave Queen Charlotte alone even for a moment.
Later, while they enjoyed a musical performance, Princess Augusta told Queen Charlotte she'd done her duty and didn't have to see King George again until they needed another heir.
When Lady Danbury brought her son, Dominic, to meet Princess Augusta, she nearly referred to him as Lord Danbury, his father's title, but Lord Bute stopped her and reminded her that the question of inheritance for the new titles hadn't been settled.[6]
Princess Augusta met with Doctor Monro and asked him about the king's treatment. She was surprised to learn that the queen had discontinued his services and the king wasn't receiving any treatment. Despite this, she assured Lord Bute and Earl Harcourt that all was well. Lord Bute said he'd let parliament know King George was available for an address.
Princess Augusta then met with Lady Danbury and tried to pressure Lady Danbury into giving her information about the king and queen, with the indication that she could help settle the matter of Lady Danbury's son's title if she got what she was looking for.
Impatient, Princess Augusta went to Kew to see the king, but he refused to see her. Instead, Queen Charlotte came to tell Princess Augusta that the king did not wish to see her. Princess Augusta expressed her upset that Queen Charlotte wasn't pushing King George to continue his treatment, saying it was allowing him not to try. He needed to face parliament.
Princess Augusta returned again when Queen Charlotte went into labor. After the baby was born, she asked if he was healthy. King George said he was their next king so he was perfection.
Princess Augusta met with Lady Danbury again and Lady Danbury asked if there was any news about the title. Princess Augusta tried to leverage that for more information, but Lady Danbury started to cry. Princess Augusta sent everyone out of the room, then poured a drink for each of them. She shared her experience in coping with the death of her husband and having to secure her future by throwing herself at the mercy of her husband's father, a cruel man who abused her and her son. Despite that, she found a way to control her own fate. She said she didn't like Lady Danbury, but considered her an admirable adversary and said she wasn't allowed to come in and sob. She needed to endure and keep control of her fate. Then she asked again how things were going at Buckingham House. Lady Danbury said that depended on what would become of her son's title.
When Lord Bute and Earl Harcourt learned that the king and queen were throwing a ball to introduce the newborn prince, they asked Princess Augusta about it and quickly realized she didn't know anything. They made it clear that King George had to perform at the ball or they would start talking about removing him.
At the ball, Princess Augusta went to Queen Charlotte and told her she only ever wanted King George to be happy.[7]
Relationships[]
Romantic[]
She was married to George's father until he died.
Familial[]
Notes and Trivia[]
- Princess Augusta's actress, Michelle Fairley, previously played the historical character Margaret Beaufort, who was also the mother of an English king but who never served as queen consort.
Gallery[]
|
A more complete gallery with pictures of Princess Augusta (Netflix) can be found here. |
Appearances[]
| Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story | |||||
| #01 | "Queen to Be" | #03 | "Even Days" | #05 | "Gardens in Bloom" |
| #02 | "Honeymoon Bliss" | #04 | "Holding the King" | #06 | "Crown Jewels" |
References
|