She was expected to ascend the British throne after the deaths of her grandfather, George III, and her father, but died in childbirth at the age of 21, predeceasing them both.

Charlotte's death set off tremendous mourning among the British, who had seen her as a sign of hope and a contrast to both her unpopular father and mentally ill grandfather.

She had been George III's only legitimate grandchild and her death prompted a succession crisis, as there was a chance the throne would pass to a distant relative.

Three days after the birth, George drew up a will directing that his wife have no role in the upbringing of their child, and bequeathed all his worldly goods to his mistress, Maria Fitzherbert.

[9] Despite Caroline's demands for better treatment now that she had given birth to the second-in-line to the throne, George restricted her contact with the child, forbidding her to see their daughter except in the presence of a nurse and governess.

In addition to tomboy tales of horses and fisticuffs, he remembered them seeing a crowd gathered outside the Keppel house at Earl's Court, who were hoping to see the young Princess.

The Prince of Wales hoped that what was termed "the Delicate Investigation" would turn up evidence of adultery that would permit him to get a divorce, and forbade Charlotte to see her mother.

The ten-year-old was deeply hurt when mother and daughter caught sight of each other in the park, and Caroline, obedient to the Prince's command to have no contact with Charlotte, pretended not to see her.

[23] To George's bitter disappointment, the investigating committee found no evidence Caroline had had a second child, though it noted that the Princess's behaviour was very much open to misconstruction.

On 6 February 1811, Charlotte's father was sworn in as Prince Regent before the Privy Council,[29] as she rode back and forth in the gardens outside Carlton House, trying to catch glimpses of the ceremony through the ground-floor windows.

Charlotte was outraged by what she saw as her father's treason, and, at the opera, demonstrated her support by blowing kisses in the direction of the Whig leader, Earl Grey.

He gave her a clothing allowance insufficient for an adult princess, and insisted that if she attended the opera, she was to sit in the rear of the box and leave before the end.

FitzClarence was, shortly thereafter, called to Brighton to join his regiment, and Charlotte's gaze fell on Lieutenant Charles Hesse of the Light Dragoons, reputedly the illegitimate son of her uncle, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.

[37] Dr. Henry Halford was detailed to sound out Charlotte about the match; he found her reluctant, feeling that a future British queen should not marry a foreigner.

[51] The story of Charlotte's flight and return was soon the talk of the town; Henry Brougham, a former MP and future Whig Lord Chancellor, reported "All are against the Prince", and the Opposition press made much of the tale of the runaway Princess.

He asked whether Charlotte was free to come and go, whether she was allowed to go to the seaside as doctors had recommended for her in the past, and now that she was eighteen, whether the government planned to give her a separate establishment.

[54] At the end of July 1814, the Prince Regent visited Charlotte in her isolation and informed her that her mother was about to leave England for an extended stay on the Continent.

[57] As the princess's coach stopped along the way, large, friendly crowds gathered to see her; according to Holme, "her affectionate welcome shows that already people thought of her as their future Queen".

[59] Charlotte spent time exploring nearby attractions, shopping for smuggled French silks, and from late September taking a course of heated seawater baths.

"[63] Faced with the united opposition of the Royal Family, George finally gave in and dropped the idea of marriage to the Prince of Orange, who became engaged to Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia that summer.

[66] To Charlotte's frustration, Leopold did not come to Britain after the restoration of peace, even though he was stationed in Paris, which she deemed to be only a short journey from Weymouth or London.

On her return to Windsor, she wrote her father, "I no longer hesitate in declaring my partiality in favour of the Prince of Coburg—assuring you that no one will be more steady or consistent in this their present & last engagement than myself.

On 14 March, an announcement was made in the British House of Commons to great acclaim, with both parties relieved to have the drama of Charlotte's romances at an end.

At nine o'clock in the evening in the Crimson Drawing Room at Carlton House, with Leopold dressing for the first time as a British General (the Prince Regent wore the uniform of a Field Marshal), the couple were married.

[79] Two days after the marriage, the Prince Regent visited the couple at Oatlands; he spent two hours describing the details of military uniforms to Leopold, which according to Charlotte "is a great mark of the most perfect good humour".

[80] The couple returned to London for the social season, and when they attended the theatre, they were invariably treated to wild applause from the audience and the singing of "God Save the King" from the company.

On 7 January, the Prince Regent gave a huge ball there to celebrate Charlotte's 21st birthday, but the Coburgs did not attend, having returned to Claremont and preferring to remain there quietly.

[88] She ate heavily and got little exercise; when her medical team began prenatal care in August 1817, they put her on a strict diet, hoping to reduce the size of the child at birth.

[96] Henry Brougham, one of the chief advisers to Queen Caroline, wrote of the public reaction to Charlotte's death, "It really was as though every household throughout Great Britain had lost a favourite child.

One such leading article reached the King's fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, at his home in Brussels, where he was living with his mistress, Julie de St Laurent.