Caroline of Brunswick (May 17, 1768 - August 7, 1821), was Princess of Wales from April 8, 1795 - January 29, 1820 and, technically, Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from January 29, 1820 - August 7, 1821.

Biography

Caroline was born on May 17, 1768 at Braunschweig (Brunswick) in Germany, daughter of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Augusta of the United Kingdom, eldest sister of King George III. She married the British king's eldest son, her first cousin, on April 8, 1795, at St James's Palace in London. Her new husband, then the Prince of Wales, regarded Caroline as unattractive and unhygienic; he also suspected that she was not a virgin when they married. For her part, she found him equally unattractive, and the prince's correspondence reveals that the couple only had sexual intercourse three times during their marriage. Princess Charlotte Augusta, George's only legitimate child, was born from one of these unions on January 7, 1796. The Prince and Princess of Wales never lived together afterwards, and appeared separately in public.

Caroline was prevented from seeing her daughter on a day-to-day basis, and was eventually banished in 1799 to a private residence ('The Pagoda') in Blackheath, where she allegedly had affairs with the politician George Canning and the admiral, Sir Sidney Smith. Following an investigation into her personal affairs by her husband, she left the country and went to live abroad, running up large debts throughout Europe and taking other lovers. During this period, the couple's daughter, who had married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, died after giving birth to her only child, a stillborn son.

Her estranged husband's accession to the throne in 1820 brought Caroline back to Britain in 1820, whereupon he began divorce proceedings against her. The Pains and Penalties Bill 1820 was introduced in Parliament in order to strip Caroline of the title of Queen and dissolve her marriage to the King. The bill was defeated, but Caroline was still in exile, and she was turned away from the coronation. Despite the King's best attempts, Caroline retained a very strong popularity amongst the masses. She died on August 7, 1821, still legally queen, and was buried in her native Brunswick.