Princess Augusta Sophia (8 November 1768 – 22 September 1840) was the sixth child and second daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte.

Her father so dearly wanted the new baby to be a girl that the doctor presiding over the labour thought fit to protest that "whoever sees those lovely Princes above stairs must be glad to have another."

[1] The newborn princess was christened on 6 December 1768, by Frederick Cornwallis, The Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Great Council Chamber at St. James's Palace.

In 1771, the two elder princesses began travelling to Kew to attend lessons under the supervision of Lady Charlotte Finch and Miss Frederica Planta.

The young Augusta was a great favourite of Miss Planta, who called her "the handsomest of all the Princesses" though compared to her older sister, she was considered "childish".

She strongly disliked the political tensions that by 1780 had sprung up between her elder brothers and their parents, and preferred to occupy herself with her coin collection.

When the princesses went to see the summer exhibition in 1783 at the Royal Academy, they were made so distraught by the portraits of their two youngest brothers that they broke down and cried in front of everyone.

They heard famous actresses such as Sarah Siddons read, and along with Charlotte and their parents, Augusta met John Adams when he was presented to the Queen.

Though their academic lessons were nearly over, the Queen was loath to have her daughters waste time, and made sure that the Princesses spent hours studying music or art, learning many types of speciality work from different masters.

[2] A British princess, especially from so fertile a mother, was a prize, but Augusta's father seemed increasingly unwilling to allow his daughters to marry.

[3] Largely denied access to personal relationships with men of their own rank, several of the daughters of George III embarked on such romances with gentlemen at court.

As she wrote to her brother, the future King George IV, then Prince Regent, in 1812, the two had entered into an understanding around 1803, while Spencer was stationed in England.

The couple conducted their romance with the utmost privacy, and Augusta asked the Prince Regent in 1812 to consent to her marrying Spencer, promising further discretion in their behaviour.

Augusta was buried in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor on 2 October, after lying in state at Frogmore.