The True Fairy Tale Romance

A Royal Wedding 

The day of the royal wedding arrived. And much like when Diana and Charles, Wills and Kate even Meghan and Harry, the crowds gathered outside Clarence House along the Mall between Carlton House and Buckingham House long before the wedding time at nine pm. 

In the early afternoon, Leopold visited his bride before returning to Clarence House. The crowds outside yelled for him throughout the day, that he was compelled to come out onto the balcony every quarter of an hour to wave. As his last day as a single bachelor, Leopold dined with a few gentlemen while Charlotte dined with her grandmother, Queen Charlotte then changed into her wedding dress. 

The young Charlotte’s wedding gown befitted a princess, costing ten thousand pounds. The gown was a white and silver slip covered with a transparent silk net embroidered with shells and flowers in silver lamé. Brussels lace trimmed the sleeves and the six-foot long train constructed of the same material as the slip. The train fastened like a cloak with a diamond clasp. Charlotte wore a wreath of diamond leaves and roses along with a diamond necklace and earrings that her father gave her and a diamond bracelet gifted to her from Leopold. 

The bride departed Buckingham House (it wasn’t a palace yet) and drove down the Mall to meet her groom. 

For the first time, Leopold donned the scarlet British uniform and carried a jewel-encrusted sword given to him by the queen. The ceremony was short and dignified except for Charlotte’s giggle when her poor groom promised to endow her with all his worldly goods. 

Outside, the church bells pealed. Bonfires were lit. Fields guns cracked their salute in St. James’s Park and down the Thames, the Tower of London’s cannons added their boom.  

Now changed into a traveling dress with white satin bonnet trimmed with lace and accented with a plume of ostrich feathers over one shoulder in the latest fashion and a pelisse with a ermine collar and cuffs. 

The royal couple climbed in a green carriage for their journey off alone to Oatlands, which the Duke and Duchess of York had lent the couple for their honeymoon. 

A Royal Marriage

After the honeymoon, Charlotte and Leopold returned to London and set up residence at Claremont. These first weeks of their marriage the young couple learned about each other and discovered they had a lot in common. 

Naturally, the royal couple attracted everyone’s notice but people whispered about how the “uninhibited princess sat with her hand resting on her husband’s arm.” Meanwhile, Leopold wrote, “except when I went out to shoot, we were together always, and we could be together, we did not tire.” The lovebirds read to each, played duets on the piano, strolled in the park and drove together. However, Charlotte no longer rode due to a miscarriage she suffered early in their marriage. The doctors didn’t think it wise and Leopold did not approve of it. Their married life seems to have been bliss. 

Charlotte loved to spoil and care for her husband, regularly combing his hair and even folding his cravats. Leopold grew a mustache, which was rare in England to please his wife since she had loved the one her deceased uncle—the Duke of Brunswick—had.  Their home life was describe as a place where harmony reign, along with peace and love. 

“My master is the best of all husbands in all the five quarters of the globe; and his wife bears him an amount of love, the greatness of which can only be compared with the English national debt.” 

Leopold schooled Charlotte to behave more like a proper princess. He did so “light-heartedly and lovingly.” He would whisper, “doucement, Cherie, doucement,” whenever the princess became loud and animated. So, she nicknamed Leopold “doucement.” 

Naturally, it was believed Leopold was strict. But years later when he wrote to Queen Victoria, “I know that you have been told that she ordered everything in the house and liked to show that she was mistress. It was not so. On the contrary, her pride was to make me appear to my best advantage and even to display respect and obedience when I least wanted it from her.” 

The Christmas season arrived with the couple at Oatlands with the Duchess of York. Presents were given and the German custom of a little pine tree decorated with baubles and candles was on display. 

On Charlotte’s twenty-first birthday on January 7, Charlotte was ill yet they would have happy news to share. April 30^th arrived with Leopold calling on the Prince Regent at Carlton House to share the joyful news. Charlotte was over three months pregnant. 

Get Me To The Church On Time

Wishing And Hoping

Now, that Charlotte had chosen the prince for her, she wished to receive her father’s approval and quickly. Her uncle advised her to wait until November when Parliament would sit so another push would be made. Meanwhile, Charlotte was now at Warwick House with even less freedom while Leopold was on the continent with the Russian army to destroy Napoleon’s army. 

Soon, Charlotte had a reason to be overjoyed. Napoleon had been defeated and Leopold was safe since the Russians were too far away to participate in the battles of 1815. So, the Princess wrote to the Prime Minister requesting he represent her with her father and to request him to offer her hand in marriage to the Prince. And if her request was denied, she’d remain a spinster and deny all other offers for her hand. 

Luckily, a mutual friend Charlotte and Leopold helped the couple exchange letters since it was improper for an unengaged female to write to an unmarried man. Another lucky break for Charlotte, Slender Billy announced engagement to Tsar’s younger sister, Grand Duchess Anne. 

On 6 January 1816, Charlotte along with her grandmother, the Queen and two aunts traveled to Brighton. The next day, her twentieth birthday, her father hosted a party for her at the Brighton Pavilion. With her father cornered, Charlotte pressured her father to agree to the marriage. It seems to have worked because Prinny asked about Leopold and liked what he heard so he summoned Leopold to England with a letter from Lord Castlereagh informing him that the Prince Regent intended to offer the princess’s hand. 

Only Have Eyes For You

Near the end of February 1816, Leopold landed at Dover. This time the Prince stayed at Clarendon Hotel on Bond Street, where a suite of rooms had been reserved for him. But the poor prince was ill but he still traveled to Brighton to dine with Charlotte, the Queen, and her aunts. Leopold bewitched everyone with his charm, good looks and grace. Queen Charlotte even forged her after dinner game of cards to talk to the Prince. 

Yet, it seemed the young royal couple only had eyes for each other.  In Charlotte and Leopold: The True Story of The Original People’s Princess, “Charlotte and he were totally absorbed in each other, anxiously reassuring, eagerly planning,…” Later that night, she wrote to her friend, “I find him quite charming, & I go to bed happier than I have ever done yet in my life…I am certainly a most fortunate creature & have to bless God. A Pss. (Princess) never, I believe, set out in life (or married) with such prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people. I’m so very grateful at my lot I cannot express it sufficiently to you. All he said was so very charming & so right & so everything in short I could wish.” 

Yet, the royal lovebirds were kept apart so the wooing happened through letters since they met occasionally. “As their wedding day approached, they were still as eager and optimistic as they had been when they first dined together in Brighton, but, as Leopold readily admitted, they hardly knew each other any better.” 

Clint, George; The Betrothal of Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold;

A Wedding Plan

While the wedding preparation carried on, Leopold learned English though his health hadn’t improved. Leopold also was made “naturalized as a British subject”. The Prince Regent even offered him a dukedom, which Leopold refused. “He acquiesced in everything when the marriage contract was drawn up, and he took no part in the financial discussions.” Parliament provided the royal couple two houses. The London residence, Camelford House, a very unroyal building located on the corner of Park Lane and Oxford Street. Their country residence was in Surrey, which Charlotte though the most beautiful house.” The previous owner, Charles Rose Ellis, had put it up for sale because his wife died in childbirth within its walls. The couple also received a single payment of 60,000 and for living expenses, Leopold was granted 50,000 and Charlotte 10,000. 

For the new household, Charlotte settled on “six footmen, not eight as her father suggested, and their state livery was to be a simple green, not gaudy crimson and green like the Prince Regent’s house. She was also loyal and kept on many of the people who had been closest to her at Windsor and Warwick House.” 

The Queen ordered Charlotte’s dress from Mrs Triand of Bolton Street even though, a few alterations were required, it didn’t delay the wedding. The Prince Regent’s gout did that. 

But the wedding date had been set 2 May 1816.

Better Than Prince Charming

Prince Leopold

A Boy General…

On 16 December 1790, the youngest of six children of the Duke Francis of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld entered the world. Prince Leopold George Christian Fredrick hailed from a family with seven hundred years of family history. 

As the youngest child, Leopold would not inherit the dukedom so he would have to make his own way in the world either as a solider or a diplomat. Naturally, he was educated as a gentleman, learning Christian ethics, Latin, Russian, French, and English. He was taught to draw, play the piano, ride and to fence. 

Though, his family had a long history, they were all ambitious, desiring power, position and wealth. His sister, Julia, married the brother of Tsar of Russia, the Grand Duke Constantine and Leopold found favor and patronage in the Russian Court. 

At twelve years of age, Leopold was made a general. In 1806, Coburg, a capital of the Duchy of Sax-Coburg Gotha and Saalfeld fell to Napoleon. Two years later, Leopold would return to his home but four years after his return (1812), Napoleon summoned the princes of the German Confederation to Dresden. The Corsican planned to invade Russian. Leopold didn’t heed the summon especially since he was an officer in the Tsar’s army so he traveled to Italy while the invasion happened and the French were decimated. 

In February 1813, Russian and Prussian leaders gathered to form alliance against Napoleon. Leopold was counted among the leaders and received the rank of colonel and was attached to the staff of the Imperial Guard in the Imperial Russian Army. 

Leopold’s first battle was at Lutzen where he commanded a brigade of cavalry. Three weeks later, he fought at Bautzen, taking charge of a brigade himself. He led it out in front of advancing French and covered the allied retreat into Silesia. His bravery was displayed once again in the victory of Kulm and was decorated in the field with the Cross of St. George. Then was award the Cross of Maria Theresa at Leipzig. As the campaign drew to a close, Leopold led the Russian heavy Calvary from Switzerland toward Paris, where during the journey, he engaged the French army at Brienne, Fere-Champenoise and Bellville. 

A Marriage Would Do Nicely

On 31 March 1814, Leopold, now a Lieutenant-General and the head of his own cuirassiers, escorted the Tsar of Russia and the King of Prussia into Paris. 

This handsome prince didn’t know he fit into the Tsar’s plans. For the Tsar, the marriage of Charlotte and Prince William of Orange wasn’t to his benefit so what better way to end that disaster than a dashing prince in military uniform (swoon) so Leopold was now part of the Tsar’s entourage and London town awaited.

Leopold prepared for his visit by borrowing a carriage from his brother-in-law (his sister Sophia’s husband) and he lent him a castle in Austria (ah the castle life). He visited the best Parisian tailors. But money was still tight so once in England, he rented two rooms on Marylebone High Street. 

So, it was not a stroke of luck that Leopold was at the bottom of the stairs as Charlotte left the Tsar’s rooms. The Tsar departed England but gave Leopold “permission to stay here as long as it suits me.” 

Leopold knew what was required of him. He wrote to his sister telling her, “My chances are, alas, very poor, because of the father’s opposition, and he will never give his consent. But I have resolved to go on to the end, and only to leave when all my hopes have been destroyed.” 

For his first visit to Charlotte at Warwick House, Leopold donned full dress uniform. Mrs. Mercer (a trusted friend of Charlotte) knew Leopold and approved of him. So, she schemed to have Leopold appear whenever Charlotte was in Hyde Park. “Each time the princess acknowledged him with a nod, and each time, in response, the Prince trotted up to her carriage and rode beside her for a while.”

The Prince Regent still pressured his daughter to wed Prince William so Leopold wrote to Prinny to tell him his intentions were honorable. This displeased Charlotte since her father confronted her. To make matters worse, he had her household replaced so she ran away. After some negotiations, Charlotte went to her father where he stowed her away at Cranbourne Lodge. She was watched twenty-fours and was even watched in her sleep. 

Leopold worried for her and yearned to see her but he had to sail away to Vienna. At the same time, her mother traveled to France. Charlotte never saw her mother again. Charlotte was alone again.

Only One Would Do

In September, Charlotte vacationed at Weymouth to recover from her misery. She enjoyed her time there, sailing, attending the theatre, balls at the Assembly Rooms and gave dinner parties.

This joyful, free life would only continue with marriage. Her choice was Leopold. In 1815, she enjoyed her nineteenth birthday while she sought out information on the man she decided upon or as she called him “the Leo” 

In March of 1815, Napoleon escaped Elba so Leopold couldn’t return to England since he had to rejoin the Russian army to take up his old command. 

During this time, Charlotte wrote to the Prime Minister to represent her with her father and request him to offer her hand in marriage to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. If her father didn’t agree, Charlotte would remain a spinster. 

All Leopold had to do was survive the coming war. 

A Princess In Need Of A Prince

Royal marriages rarely include love instead duty is the other four-letter word used. Most royal couples hope for some form of compatibility between the prospective bride and bridegroom. And for Princess Charlotte and the Prince of Orange, such an outcome was hoped for as well. The first meeting between the royal pair was to happen over a dinner party her father was throwing.

For the party, Charlotte donned a “violet satin, trimmed with black lace.” The gown didn’t help hide how pale she was  or her agitation. At dinner, Lord Liverpool sat on her left and to her right was the Prince of Orange. 

Charlotte described the future King William III of Netherlands as “very plain but he was so lively and animated that it quite went off…” 

After dinner and allowing the two strolling in the gallery,  an impatient Prinny drew his daughter to a corner to learn her opinion of Slender Billy. Charlotte said, “I like his manner very well, as much as I have seen it.” All her father heard was her agreement to wed the prince so he summoned the Prime Minister (actually entitled First Lord of the Treasury) Lord Liverpool and his wife who offered their felicitations, which was followed by the surprised Prince of Orange. 

It seems Slender Billy was smart than Prinny since in truth he didn’t think he impressed her much. And he hadn’t. She “thought him particularly plain and sickly in his look, his figure very slender, his manner rather hearty and boyish, but not unpleasant in a young soldier.” Not words of affection not even a stir of such feeling. In fact, Charlotte wrote, “I am persuaded I shall have a very great regard and opinion of him which perhaps is better to begin with and more likely to last than love.”

The next day, Prince William called upon her. It wasn’t a success. He informed Charlotte that she would have to spend two or three months a year in Holland when he visited his home country. 

She was devastated. The prince promised that she wouldn’t have to accompany him on his every visit and when she did, she could bring her ladies with her. 

Such a concession had to be enough for her though. That didn’t stop her anger with her father. Slender Billy was chance at freedom from her father nevertheless, the government held the position that the Princess never leave England’s shores.

On January 7 1814, Charlotte spent her eighteenth birthday by visiting her mother during the day and the evening, at a concert with her uncles, the royal dukes. 

The next two months the marriage negotiations raged. Charlotte kept informed of every detail of the negotiations by having them put in writing. Her father was a feckless man who would change anything to suit his whims and that included sending his daughter to Holland. 

A Peace Party

While the talks continued, Napoleon was defeated and all of Europe (except France of course since they lost) and their sovereigns journeyed to England, including the Tsar’s favorite sister, the Grand Duchess Catherine, to celebrate. Much like everyone else, the Grand Duchess was impressed by the Princess. She described her as “the most interesting member of the family…She is blonde, has a handsome nose, a delicious mouth and fine teeth…She is full of spirit and positive in character. She seems to have an iron will in the smallest things…Her manners are so extraordinary that they take one’s breath away… She walks up to any man, young or old, especially takes them by the hand, and shakes it with all her strength… She looks like a boy, or rather a ragamuffin.” 

That strong will the duchess noticed in Charlotte stood firm against her father and his demands of her to visit Holland after her marriage. The princess refused to give in. To irritate her father even more the Prince of Orange didn’t want her to do anything against her will. In the end, the marriage contract specified that Charlotte would not have to leave England against her will. 

While Charlotte signed the marriage contract, Prince of Orange was at Ascot, getting rip roaring drunk. He had to be sent back to London in a coach. Two days later, Charlotte attended a great banquet at Carlton House (the only state occasion she was permitted to attend). Prince William also attended and as was his habit, he got drunk. 

Charlotte was becoming disheartened by the arrangement. She learned Slender Billy’s true nature. Her impression of him changed. To her, he was a “callow, scruffy boy who could not even hold his liquor.” 

Charlotte’s yearning for freedom wasn’t enough to marry Prince William and for three solid reasons. The first was that she wished to marry another prince since Slender Billy was a “dismal prospect”. The second reason was another prince had caught her eye, a certain handsome Prince August. The third was her duty to stand by her mother who would protect her own position as heir presumptive. 

Back Away Not So Slowly

On June 16 1814, Charlotte and Prince of Orange met at Warwick House where she informed him that she’d marry him only if her mother would always be welcome in their home. William wouldn’t agree to that (the two parties hated each other thanks to European politics). She couldn’t marry him without it. 

A shocked William plead for her to think over her decision. Of course, the Whigs and her mother were happy. Prinny not so much. 

 The Princess didn’t know what awaited her.  Soon after her meeting with Billy, she and a companion called upon the Tsar and his sister, who happened to be staying at the same hotel as the Prince of Orange. During the visit, the Tsar attempted to persuade Charlotte to change her mind. She wouldn’t budge. When Charlotte was departing, the Grand Duchess Catherine sent her to the back stairs to avoid William. 

She took the stairs where a small group lingered at the foot of them. Charlotte spotted “A tall, dark, handsome officer wearing the all-white uniform of the Russian heavy cavalry. The officer turned. He was not more than twenty-four years old, but his badges signified that he was already a Lieutenant-General.” 

The handsome Lieutenant-General asked if he could assist the ladies and the princess’s companion informed him of Charlotte’s identity and asked him to see them to her carriage. He did.

The drop-dead gorgeous officer was the General Officer Commanding Cavalry of the Tsar, Prince Leopold Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. 

Love had come for the Princess. 

A Regency Princess

It’s 1811 and George III is mad and his son, George has gone from the Prince of Wales to the Prince Regent. And George did as George loved to do—he decided to throw a grand fête at Carlton House. As the invites went out, Charlotte waited for her own to appear on her table. She waited in vain. Public favor and attention couldn’t be ripped off the Prince Regent and set upon his daughter or worse, her mother. Charlotte wasn’t his daughter and heir but his rival. Yet, the people expected her attendance at the June 5 occasion. The public favored the young princess and the Prince Regent believed a glimpse of Charlotte would increase the unpopularity even more than it was. According to one lady, the Prince Regent was “avoiding everything which could look like a recognition of her as the heir presumptive to the crown.”

If she had attended, society would have seen the young Princess changed. Now, fifteen-years-old, Charlotte was described as “…grown and improved in looks.” Charlotte was described as “very graceful” as well as “forward, dogmatic on all subjects, puckish about horses, and full of exclamations very like swearing.” Even in a letter, Charlotte wrote, she described her temperament as Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. This young lady also was very aware of her political position. She was a Whig who was “sincere, committed, and above all radical.” 

Life As Before

Sadly, for the lively Charlotte, life continued much as it had before, being watched by her father’s household spies and hidden away from the outside but for few moments of freedom. In November when she visited Oatlands and experienced her first whirlwind of society. Two balls were given and even her father was in attendance. He welcomed her with great joy and warmth then, proceeded to ignore her until she was learning the dance entitled Highland Flurry, the Prince Regent forced himself into the instruction. 

The Princess’s social world was expanding beyond her rooms. At the end of the year, the Prince Regent opened Parliament and invited his daughter. The only reason he issued the offer was because otherwise her absence would reflect badly on him. On his return to Carlton House, the crowds chanted, “Down with the Regent” while Charlotte received cheers and shouts of her name. That must have riled the narcissistic Prinny.

In February 1812, she attended the opera and with youthful enthusiasm, she waved at everyone she knew. So, people that was improper but most loved her freshness. And her open demeanor endeared her even more to the people. 

Freedom Delayed

January 1813, the Princess turned seventeen and her gift was a new governess. At this age, the proper protocol was for her to have ladies-in-waiting. When she raised her objections, her father responded with “Depend upon it, as long as I live you shall never have an establishment, unless you marry.” Her only route to freedom started at a church’s aisle. 

At least, Charlotte began to have more of a social life even attending the February 5, 1813 ball at Carlton House. She had hoped to dance with the Duke of Devonshire. She had enjoyed his company when she met him before and even got the shy duke (who was deaf so isolated himself) to “talk a great deal.” Instead, she danced with her uncles and older men but she was free of her apartments. 

While all this was happening, the nation was at war—The Peninsula War—and she was still dealing with the war between her parents. Her mother’s letter to her father was published by the Morning Chronicle, which stated the curtailment of the visits with her daughter. This letter started The Delicate Investigation. This hoopla had Charlotte all but locked away since it wouldn’t be proper for her to be seen and her social life only included events that occurred in her father or uncle’s homes or strolls or drives in her carriage. The Prince Regent even prohibited Charlotte from  sitting for a painting. 

Meanwhile, the Prince Regent was seeking to arrange a marriage between Charlotte and the Hereditary Prince of Orange. 

But love would come for the Princess. 

Charlotte Augusta: The People’s Princess

The lone child of the Prince of Wales and his utterly unwanted wife resided above her parent’s apartments in the nursery of Carlton House. When Charlotte was a year old, her mother moved out of Carlton House and to a place five miles away in Blackheath.

Charlotte, Princess Of Wales

Not that either parent could be describe as tentative yet, she saw more of her father than her mother since she lived at Carlton House, the Prince’s residence though his attendance there was spotty at best. Charlotte’s staff raised her. When she was an eight-year-girl, Charlotte left behind that place and moved into Warwick House. With this move as well, the staff that had been with her since her first days were replaced. Warwick House was east of Carlton House and nothing more than a crumbling old brick building.

Her new governess was dowager Lady de Clifford. This fifty plus woman was in charge of the “…temperamental tomboy…” The good-natured woman couldn’t discipline her effectively since the princess who may not behave as a princess yet she knew her position and used it to her benefit. Like children everywhere still do.

Nevertheless, the two ladies grew fond of each other and Lady de Clifford did all to make Charlotte’s life less lonely. She had one of her grandsons, the Honorable George Keppe befriend her, a friendship that would last through her lifetime. These two kids got up to much trouble. Later in Keppe’s life when he became the Earl of Albemarle, he wrote a memoir of their childhood. In his memoir, he shared stories which include stories of “..fisticuffs, bolting horses and tears.” He even shared the time that when Charlotte and George visited his parents at their home named Earl’s Court. She slipped through a side gate and joined in the back of the crowd that had gathered outside the house to see the princess.

Yet, it was all fun. Children especially Princess’s must be educated. That task fell to Retired Reverend Dr. John Fisher, Bishop of Exeter. The man had tutored the Duke of Kent and had a long list of court positions. “He was sincerely pious and a connoisseur of painting and drawing. But he was pompous, homourless, dogmatic, willful and absurdly old-fashioned.” The man “…still wore a wig and spoke affectedly.” That man pronounced bishop as “bishup”. At nine, Charlotte graced him with the nickname “the Great UP.”

Charlotte, described as blue-eyed and with peculiarly blonde hair with beautifully shaped hands and feet, had a great talent for acting and mimicry. So, when Lady de Clifford and the “Great Up” argued about Charlotte’s lessons, the Princess would stand behind the bishop and mock him. Lady de Clifford struggled to hold back her laughter while trying to best the man. She would stand behind him, “…jutting out her lower lip, waving her arms and generally ridiculing his expressions and mannerisms in an exaggerated mime.”

This young Princess was educated in religious studies, English, Latin, ancient history, and religious instruction as well as reading, writing, French, German, modern history, and music, dancing, drawing, and writing. For her excellent education, the young princess was much like other children. If in trouble, she wasn’t about a little lie to get out of trouble or her studies.

In 1806, Charlotte saw one of her household writing and asked her what she was doing and was told that she was making her will. The Princess declared that she would too. She left many of her belonging to various staff and her birds to a Mrs. Gagrin and her dog or dogs to Mrs. Anna Hatton, her chambermaid.

In 1809, Charlotte’s tutor was replaced because Dr. Nott, tutor to the Princess had written to Princess Caroline. And no pleading save him, the man who was an “adoptive parent” and Charlotte wrote, “If we never meet again, keep for me your regard and affection.”

Yet, she met another who would love her–the Duke of Brunswick, her uncle William. He is describe as “bluff but dignified and patient.” The loving uncle listened to Charlotte’s “lisping chatter” and never tired of hearing it. The princess loved him so that she returned home and “painted a black moustache on her face and marched up and down in military manner barking guttural expletives, which she hoped very much sounded like German swear words.” Just like her uncle.

Also came the Honorable Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, a companion and confidante for the Princess.

As she grew older, Charlotte learned that she would have to be careful in deed and word, whether written or spoken. Now fifteen, her life would change. In January 1811, the government presented the Regency Bill. On February 6, the Prince of Wales was sworn in as Prince Regent.

The Regency began.

A Lady of Talent and Strength

During my education, I took many Art History classes. I learned about the old masters—Dutch, English, Spanish, and Italian. Yet, I never learned about my favorite artist. Artemisia Gentileschi.

I first learned about this female baroque Italian artist from a historical fiction novel entitled, The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland. After reading this book, I had to learn more about this woman and her art. That is why the next two months Historical Costume posts center on this grand dame

Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi was born on July 8, 1593 in Rome. She was the eldest child of Prudenzia di Ottaviano Montoni and Tuscan painter, Orazio Gentileschi. In 1605, her mother died and she began painting in her father’s workshop. In those times, an artist learned by apprenticing with an artist. Artemisia showed talent and love for art that her siblings lacked. There she learned drawing, how to mix color, and how to paint.

By her later teenage years, she showed great talent and her father proclaimed she had no peer. 

She took after her father’s style which was inspired by Caravaggio. Yet, this great talent had a style of her own. She was highly naturalistic. 

In 1611, her father was working with Agostino Tassi to decorate the vaults of Casino delle Muse located inside the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome. In May of that year, Tassi visited the household where he raped Artemisia. In those days, a rape survivor had to marry her rapist to restore (I write that with a sneer, snort, and great derision) her reputation and secure her reputation. Her father pressed charges against Tassi but not for the rape but his failure to marry Artemisia. 

The trial lasted seven months. During the trial, Artemisia was tortured to discover if she was lying. Thumbscrews were used on her hands, which could have destroyed her artist life. During the torture, it is recorded that she cried out repeatedly, “It’s true. It’s true.”

Tassi was found guilty and banished from Rome, a sentence that was never carried out thanks to the pope who wanted him to stay so he could continue creating art for him. 

During this time, her father was trying to save his daughter from ruin. He wrote to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany pleading for her to intervene in the trial. He also found a husband for his daughter. 

On November 29, 1612, Artemisia married a Florentine named Pierantonio di Vincenzo Stiattesi in Rome. Soon after her marriage, she and her husband departed for Florence where with the Grand Duchess’s—Christina of Lorraine— support she found a place in the Medici court and thrived as a court painter. In 1613, on September 21, Artemisia gave birth to her first child, a son named Giovanni Battista. During her seven years in Florence, Artemisia produced great works of art that I encourage you to seek out as well as three more children. On November 9, 1615, she gave birth to her second son Cristofano and on August 2, 1617, her daughter, Prudenza, was born and October 13, 1618, her last child, Lisabella, made her appearance. Sadly, Lisabella died less than a year later.

Artemisia continued to create art and sold to the great collectors of the time period throughout Europe. And her works brought much recognition. Artemisia was the first woman to be accepted in the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno on July 19, 1616.

Yet, she did not remain in Florence. In 1621, Artemisia and her family returned to Rome where she continued to paint. In 1623, her husband leaves and she lost all contact with the man. 

Her works were so in demand that she traveled to Venice, Naples and even joined her father in England and Charles I’s court. She departed England as the English Civil War began. She continued to paint even to an old age. It is believed she died around 1656.

Esther Before Ahasuerus By Artemisia Gentileschi c.1630

This month’s work of art is entitled Esther Before Ahasuerus. For this month’s Historical Costume post, I will be focusing on the female named Esther or the Queen’s outfit. Next month, I will be breaking down the king’s garments.

Esther Before Ahasuerus is dated to 1630 and the garments confirm that date. The style of the sixteenth century changed at this time from the decades before this time.

Esther’s garment is soft and shimmering satins (made of silk) of the luxurious golden yellow or a bright mustard yellow. The robin’s blue egg sash is of the same material and reflects the light on our fainting figure. The upper half of the sleeves, which are called Virago Sleeves are the same yellow satin of the dress. The lower half of the sleeves are damask and embroidered with gold flower and leaf pattern. Lace peeks out at the end of the sleeves and along the bodice. She’s donned a bejeweled belt and with a jeweled- brooches pinned at the virago sleeve. 

Beneath this striking gown, Esther must be wearing a chemise made of linen and corset that is shorter than the bodice, that are a looser design than the style of the previous decade’s stiff style that ended lower on the waist. The gown’s natural bodice is high waisted and styled with a jeweled belt. The undergarments that gave the previous decades that wide-hipped, stiff look has vanished. The soft and natural look is all the rage. Yet, women are donning a padded roll or the French Farthingale so the skirt, now closed all around, has a rounded, soft shape that falls at folds to the ground. According to my research, the garment called an unfitted gown. An unfitted gown’s silhouette is loose and with long hanging sleeves, which brush against the floor. (Bottom left of the painting). The bodice has a low square neckline with white lace trim. 

Naturally, the rest of the look changed. Esther’s hair is curled and wavy hair in a style and most likely, uncovered as was fashionable during this era. She wears a gold crown with spikes. 

I encourage you to research the tale behind Esther Before Ahasuerus to learn the story behind this great work of art. 

The Dawn of The Tudor Dynasty

Henry and Elizabeth’s vows have been spoken and now comes time for the celebration, which was a lavish nuptial feast of “roasted peacocks, swans, larks and quails, followed by sugared almonds and fruit tarts.”

Palace of Westminster in the time of Henry VIII

After the celebrations, Elizabeth spent her wedding night in the King’s Bedchamber, which was the Painted Chamber of the Palace of Westminster. The newlyweds went to bed to do their duty to England and untied the two Houses of York and Lancaster so peace would come to the realm. It was this time that the white and red roses of York and Lancaster were combined to the Tudor Rose. Henry VII actively promoted the design. The English people hoped that peace would come to their shores. Meanwhile, the young couple was falling in love.

The first morning as husband and wife, Henry presented Elizabeth with Giovanni de Gigli’s poem, which was her morning gift. Next, there was the traditional ceremony of her uprising as a new wife. Now, Elizabeth was expected to bind up her hair and cover it with a hood. She would only be permitted to wear her hair loose on ceremonial occasions when she donned a crow.

The new King of England was “a man of vast abilities and hidden depths. He knew four languages, was well read, good at economics, and well versed in the arts of the period.” Good characteristics because the king would need this skills to lead. Henry planned to secure his throne, increase the coffers of the realm and the standing of the isle nation in Europe. To accomplish that, he used his cleverness, shrewd mind, hard-working personality and his family to make it happen.

But Henry wasn’t just King. He lavished his wife with gifts and his servants. He enjoyed court ceremony, being witty and cheerful. Elizabeth and Henry enjoyed a full social life at court. They spent much time together, sharing a common piety and sense of humor. Elizabeth and Henry traveled together even. There has never been talk about an affair or a scandal. The only bastard child of Henry VII is Roland de Velville conceived during his time in Brittany before his marriage.

Elizabeth in turn was a helpmate to her husband. She promoted his interests. And never openly complained or interfered in his ruling. Elizabeth was unlike her mother, never aligning with factions at court and did not promote her relatives. However, as they had deep affection and love for each other, she must have voiced her opinion to her husband but her main focus was the household, estates and court.

Not an easy task but Elizabeth was described by her contemporaries as a charming woman who was generous who had many charities she supported that included orphans, “took children under her wing and raised them and liberated debtors from London prisons.” All this, she had her mother-in-law around. Margaret Beaufort has a strong influence at court. Margaret even had her own state of cloth that she sat beneath. Yet, Elizabeth didn’t seem to battle against her for whatever reason and seemed to have a fine relationship with her mother-in-law who lived only for her son.

So, their marriage pressed on. With Elizabeth’s court as magnificent as her father’s (Edward IV) who modeled his on the Burgundy court. Their court would be the scene for lavish feasts, tournaments, and pageants. All the necessary events for a grand court.

This young couple wished for their own private world. It was Henry VII who created “the Privy Chamber, the department of state comprising the influential and often powerful gentlemen who waited personally upon the sovereign and thus able to influence him and bestow patronage. Elizabeth had her own apartments as well.

By Lent of 1486, Elizabeth was expecting her first child. However, there had been no coronation. Nevertheless, many expressed joy for the coming child. In March, Pope Innocent VIII issued a bull confirmed the dispensation issued by Bishop of Imola for their marriage. Then a couple weeks later, Pope also granted a dispensation that recognized Henry VII as King and threatened any who rose against him with excommunication. Henry papered England with the dispensation. The pope also confirmed Henry’s title so if Elizabeth died without issue then Henry’s children could inherit the English throne.

Not all was happy in England even as Rome sent good news. That summer Henry had to ride to the north to stop sedition. Meanwhile, Elizabeth grew increased. By the end of August, Henry and Elizabeth moved into Winchester, “the ancient capital of England, where Henry wanted his heir to be born, for he believed it to be the site of Camelot, King Arthur’s fabled seat, and that being born there would be portentous for the prince who would bring a new golden age to England.

It was during this time that Henry concocted the series of ordinances governing the running of the royal household and set the ceremonials to be observed there “Including ordinances as to what preparation is to be made against deliverances of the Queen and the christening of the children. The Royal Book, as it was known. According to Alison Weir’s book, Elizabeth of York, “These determined the color and quality of the furnishing for her chamber and bed, which was to be made up with pillows of down and a scarlet counterpane bordered with ermine, velvet, or cloth of gold.”

In the early hours of September 20, 1486, also known as St. Eustace’s Day, Arthur Tudor was born. Through born in his eighth month, Arthur was born, as Alison Weir quotes, “vital and vigorous, contrary to the rules of physicians.” It seems that the young couple enjoyed the wedding night before partaking the ceremony.

Elizabeth meanwhile was weak from the birth and she is “recorded as suffering an ague–an acute fever–during her lying-in period. But the queen recovered enough to be churched and now returned to her daily life though, she didn’t recover her full bloom.

Yet, the Tudor Dynasty was born and would grow.

A Favorite Queen: Queen Anne

Queen Anne by Sir Godfrey Kneller

Around 1690, Sir Godfrey Kneller painted the portrait of Queen Anne of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which during her reign these nations would become the United Kingdom. This portrait is 92 inches by 56 1/4 and is oil on canvas. Sir Godfrey was German born and a Dutch trained painter. In 1676, Kneller traveled to England to see Van Dyck’s works who dominated English art for more than 30 years. He became principal painter to the King–William III of William and Mary and the Glorious Revolution. This portrait of Queen Anne was not his first portrait of this Stuart Queen. His other works date circa 1686 portraits. This portrait can be seen in the Primary Collection at the National Portrait Gallery in London. That is after the coronavirus pandemic ends.

On February 6 1665 at St. James’s Palace, Anne was born to her mother Anne Hyde and her father, James, heir presumptive to Charles II. She was the second daughter. On 6 February 1685, James, the Duke of York, became King of England, Scotland and Ireland but in 1688, the Glorious Revolution happened and James was deposed. His eldest daughter, Mary, who was married to William III of Orange became the isle nation’s monarchs.

By this Anne was married to Prince George of Denmark who she wed in 1683. Since Mary and William did not have children, Anne was the heir apparent. Roughly a year later, Anne gave birth to her first child, a daughter who was stillborn. This would be the beginning of tragedy for the Stuart Queen. She was pregnant seventeen times in life. None of her children survived, either she miscarried, the child was stillborn or lived for a month or a couple of years. Only one child lived the longest–Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, died at eleven on July 30 1700Her last child–a stillborn–was born fourteen years before her death. A woman who never enjoyed great health these losses must have destroyed her body, heart and soul with each loss.

As a child, Anne was suffered an eye condition that caused excessive watering. She was sent to France for medical treatment. And her health never improved. She developed gout, which impaired her mobility so she was carried around on a sedan chair, and she grew obsese. Modern doctors speculated about possible causes for her health issues but certainly the pregnancy wrecked her body as well as the loss of her children. That must have ripped pieces of her.

Nevertheless, Queen Anne changed history. On March 8, 1702, Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. She was crowned on 23 April 1702. In May of that year, England entered the War of Spanish Succession. But the most enduring act she had committed was the Acts of Union. Wales formed part of the English crown. Scotland was independent sovereign state. In 1707, the Acts of the Union was signed and these nations became known as the United Kingdom.

In October 1708, her husband died. Then in 1713, the queen lost the ability to walk. By March she was seriously ill and all awaited her. She still attended to her state duties but cancelled on in July 1714. She suffered a stroke on 30 July and died on 1 August 1714.

Anne was buried beside her husband and children in Henry VIII chapel in Westminster Abbey on 24 August 1714.

In the 1690s Queen’s Anne’s style of costume was at the height of fashion. Nothing less is expected of a monarch.

Anne has donned a mantua, a style that would exist at the height of fashion for more than fifty years in different variations. The woman’s overdress or gown was worn over an underskirt. The unboned bodice, loosely fitted, attached to the overskirt with a long train. The overskirt parted in the front to reveal the petticoat. This outfit was worn on social and formal occasions.

Let’s dissect her costume. The mantua is a gold pattern silk, bejeweled by pearls and a black stone, onyx perhaps or even black diamonds (She is queen after all) The train is lined in ermine, the royal fur.

Her body is tightly corseted and the gold silk is cut to fit precisely over the corset. It feels as if we have caught still dressing and the costume has a more relaxed feel to it. The deeply scooped neckline of the bodice seems to barely hang onto her shoulders and hanging from the arms is the scalloped sleeve with black, teardrop jewels on each scalloped edge and dotted with a pearl. The shape of the sleeve has an Roman quality to it as if Queen Anne is telling the world that the UK is the new empire, which it would transform into one day.

Beneath her bodice, she has a done a lace trimmed chemise. The lace probably Flanders lace peeks out from the bodice edge and hangs from the full, loose sleeves to drape to her forearm.

Anne would also have donned stocking and shoes which cannot be seen in the portrait. In this time period, her shoes would have been heeled and constructed of matching material. She would have spent the money on such a luxury.

And a luxury she could have enjoyed was to be dripping in jewels. Yet, she has no necklace, earrings, or rings. However, this time period, less jewelry was worn than before and the jewelry of choice was pearl.

Anne has pearls on. A pearl and black stone slash cuts across from her left shoulder to her waist. A rosette or brooch of black gems holds or simulates the holding of her long train draped about her lower body, which would dragged behind her and require servants to hold. Another Roman influence, perhaps. But on the pedestal, we can see a crown, golden and jeweled, just to remind people she is the monarch.

If Anne wanted to put on that crown, I think it would have been fitting for her hairstyle. The fashionable one of the era. Her dark hair is brushed back from her face and piled high on her head. The top would be curled and pinned and long curls draped over her shoulder, the fashion length.

Queen Anne was a fascinating woman with a tragic life. I hope this post and the fictional movie The Favorite and novel by the same name sparks your interest in this queen.

Mary, Queen of Scots and the Men in her life.

You may not know this but I love–and I mean love Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland. I first learned of her when I was a little girl about nine or ten years old. And I must confess that I was heartbroken when I learned of her execution. When I say heartbroken, I mean that I mourned her as I have never mourned a person I did not know personally let alone one who had been dead for hundreds of years.

So when the Mary, Queen of Scots movie was released I was thrilled. I must confess something else that is very shameful. I haven’t seen the film yet. Every time I plan to go something comes up and I’m unable to go to the movies.

Naturally, I had to write Mary Stuart and the men she married. First is Francis, the Dauphin of France and her first husband. Their love story doesn’t start with their marriage. The story begin in Scotland.

Mary Stuart was born on 8 December 1542. About a week old and this tiny infant became Queen of Scotland. Her father, James V died days after the defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. She was crowned September 9, 1543.

Henry VIII, the king of England, decided that the Scottish Queen should marry his five-year-old son, Prince Edward and that the young queen be reared in the English court.

Well her mother, Mary of Guise, didn’t agree with that. So started the Rough Wooing. At this time, the future Dauphin Francis (The title for the French heir to the throne) was not yet born so to Henry’s thinking who else but the future king of England for the Scottish queen. That would bring England and Scotland under one crowned couple. Henry’s attitude to Scotland was burn it to the ground. During this time, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh was fought. The queen was moved from castle to castle, home to home in order to keep her safe and far from English hands.

In 1548, her mother made a marriage agreement with France (her home nation) for Mary to wed Francis. In July, she sailed to France.

Francis of Valois was born in 1544 to the King of France and Catherine de Medici. He was sickly from birth. The cause was believed due to all the concoctions Catherine took to get pregnant. It took her ten years before she had Francis.

Mary met her future husband and these two got along from the start. Mary was raised in the nursery alongside Francis and his sister Elisabeth as royal children. There she lived in luxury and in the splendour that is France and its castles. She learned to speak French, her preferred tongue, but this Queen of Scots never lost the Scots tongue.

The time came for the young royal couple to wed. On Sunday, April 24, 1558, Francis and Mary wed in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Mary–according to Antonia Fraser’s biography Mary Queen of Scots— “was dressed in a robe as white as lilies, so sumptuous and rich that the pen of the contemporary observer fell from his hands at the thought of describing it.”

White was a favorite shade of Mary since she looked best in that color. But it was also the traditional color of mourning for the queens of France. The wedding celebrations were a three-day affair.

These two seemed to have a very caring, loving relationship with reports of them sitting in the corners of the court, apart from everyone with their heads together and giving kisses to each other. Though, they were different in nature. Mary was fearless and Francis was timid.

Now whether their marriage was consummated is up for debate. Francis had a delicate nature as well as a deformity–undescended testicles, which lead to his stunted height and lacking physique. Mary towered over him as she did with most people.

Yet, Mary says that it did. However, people say that as an untried miss ignorant of such things, she would think that sleeping together in the same bed and some petting and such would mean that the royal couple had sex.

On July 10, 1559, King Henry II of France died and now Francis was king and Mary was Queen of France and Scotland. They were just teenagers with the king fifteen and Mary sixteen. The French court went into mourning.

Francis was crowned in September but Mary wasn’t since she was already Queen of Scotland there was no need to confirm her royal state. The court returned to mourning.

It was during this time her mother died. Then in 1560, Francis complained of a ghastly ear-ache then a few days later he fell down in a faint. He had a large swelling behind his left ear. Mary and her mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici nursed him themselves. Mary left his side once to go to church to pray for Francis’ recovery. Other than that, she was at his side.

Francis died a month before his seventeenth birthday. At eighteen, Mary was a widow and Dowager Queen of France. Her and Francis had never been apart for longer than a few months. He had been at her side since she was a girl of five. Mary must have felt lost. No doubt, that they loved each other. But I believe that their relationship was a love that didn’t burn with a passion but was warm and sometimes brotherly and sisterly but was a partnership for them both.

Mary grief was heavy and she wrote a poem (as she did and there is a book of her verses.)

Wherever I may be
In the woods or in the fields
Whatever the hour of day
Be it dawn or the eventide
My heart still feels it yet
The eternal regret...
As I sink into my sleep
The absent one is near
Alone upon my couch
I feel his beloved touch
In work or in repose
We are forever close...

Now, Mary could no remain in France so to Scotland, she was to go. Where she will meet the English Lord Henry Darnley.

Fraser, Antonia (2001). Mary Queen of Scots. New York, New York: Bantam Dell.