![]() Charly was known to call Feodora stupid and often left her in the care of her mother, Vicky, or with governesses. Queen Victoria’s disappointment in her eldest granddaughter only increased when Charlotte became a mother herself. She was described as difficult by many who knew her. She gave birth to Victoria’s first great grandchild, Feodora Victoria Auguste Marie Marianne, and promptly forgot all about her.Ĭharlotte of Prussia in middle age. Seventeen year old Princess Charlotte of Prussia married 26 year old Prince Bernhard on February 18 th 1878 and on May 12 th 1879, the eldest granddaughter of Victoria provided another first for the Queen Empress. He was a good marriage prospect and the fact that he would remove difficult Charly from under their palace roof meant that this royal wedding got the go ahead from her parents without much argument. Her intended was Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, heir to the duchy of the same name. Relations between parents and daughter had become so strained that there was little opposition when a very young Charlotte announced she wanted to marry. This princess’ later reputation as a trouble maker or difficult person, can perhaps be traced back to her childhood when her maternal relatives struggled with her behaviour while her paternal family encouraged it. She lived with her family in Prussia (and she was very close to her paternal grandparents, King Wilhelm I and Queen Augusta), but its impact was far reaching.Ĭharly’s reaction to the criticism that came her way from an early age was to learn to set herself against those who didn’t approve of her. Charlotte didn’t see that on a regular basis. Added to that was Queen Victoria’s extreme grief that changed the whole dynamic of the family forever. Vicky had been very close to her father, and his loss was a huge blow. When Charly was eighteen months old her maternal grandfather, Prince Albert, died. In her very early year, little Charlotte also saw her mother experience intense anxiety. ![]() Queen Victoria wrote to Vicky noting she should ‘tell Charlotte I was appalled to hear of her biting her things. And her grandmother was far from amused either. But at the time, she was regarded as a problem and her mother became increasingly agitated by her behaviour. If so, her anxious behaviour even at this early age may be attributable to that. Later evidence suggests Charlotte may have inherited porphyria from her great, great grandfather George III. As soon as these measures, or others like sewing up her pockets, were stopped little Charlotte displayed the same traits of anxiety as before. She may well have sensed the anger that her behaviour produced in those around her for it didn’t stop. She bit her nails and pulled at her clothes, sometimes until they tore, but rather than finding out why this little princess was so nervous those around her made her stand still with her hands tied up to stop her tearing at things. And then the problems began.įor from a very early age, Charlotte began to show anxious traits that were treated as challenging behaviour but may in fact have been caused by illness. In the end they chose Viktoria Elisabeth Auguste Charlotte but the baby girl was always known by the last of her names. Queen Victoria rather liked the idea of her first granddaughter having her name while the little princess’ Prussian relations were all for naming her after a great aunt called Charlotte who was now Dowager Empress of Russia. But almost immediately difficulties over her name arose. They already had a baby son, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, and their daughter’s birth was received with great joy. That princess, another Victoria known as Vicky, had married the heir to the throne of Prussia, a man who would later rule briefly as Frederick III. She was born on July 24th 1860 at Potsdam as the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter. The first granddaughter of Queen Victoria seemed to struggle with life in many ways and her tale is ultimately rather uneasy. And that’s before we get to a scandal which rocked German society in the 1890s and provided a challenging chapter in the legacy of this princess. Her health was difficult, and her role as a mother also cause her huge problems. From her maternal grandmother to her governesses, nearly everyone she met found her problematic. It was a reputation she found hard to shake off. The one word consistently used about little Charlotte in her childhood was difficult. Princess Charlotte of Prussia, eldest granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was born on July 24th 1860
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