Augusta of Great Britain (Augusta Frederica; 31 July 1737 – 23 March 1813) was a British princess, granddaughter of George II and the only elder sibling of George III. She was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by marriage to Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick. Her daughter Caroline was the spouse of George IV.

Early life
Life in Brunswick
Later life
Arms
Issue
Sources
See also

Early life

Augusta aged 14 in a family portrait of 1751 by George Knapton.

Princess Augusta, aged 17, by Liotard

Princess Augusta was born at St. James's Palace. As she was the first born child of Frederick, Prince of Wales and the first born grandchild of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, Augusta was second in line for the throne of Great Britain, which changed a year later in 1738, when her brother Prince George (later George III of Great Britain) was born.

Fifty days later, she was christened at St. James's Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Her godparents were her paternal grandfather, the King (represented by his Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Grafton), and her grandmothers, Queen Caroline and the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Gotha (both represented by proxies). Her third birthday was celebrated by the first public performance of "Rule, Britannia!" at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire.

Augusta was given a careful education. She was not described as a rare beauty, having a loose mouth and long face.

In 1761–62, a marriage was discussed between Augusta and her second cousin, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The negotiations were delayed because her mother disliked the House of Brunswick.

On 16 January 1764, Augusta married Charles William Ferdinand at the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace. The wedding was followed by a state dinner at Leicester House, congratulations from the Houses of Parliament, a ball given by the Queen, and an opera performance at Covent Garden. The couple departed from Harwich on the 26th.

Life in Brunswick

Augusta by Angelica Kauffman, 1767; Royal Collection, London

The Duchess never fully adapted to life in Brunswick. She always viewed Great Britain in very high regard all her life and disregarded anything "east of the Rhine". This attitude did not change with time, and twenty five years after her marriage, she was described as: "wholly English in her tastes, her principles and her manners, to the point that her almost cynical independence makes, with the etiquette of the German courts, the most singular contrast I know".

After her first pregnancy in 1764, she returned to Great Britain in the company of her husband to give birth to her second child. Whilst in England, it was noted that the couple was cheered on by crowds every time they showed themselves in public. This, reportedly, exposed them to suspicion at court. During their visit, her sister-in-law Queen Charlotte apparently refused them some honours at court, such as military salutes. This attracted negative publicity toward the hosting royal couple. During the negotiations thirty years later for the marriage of her daughter to the Prince of Wales, Augusta commented to the British negotiator, Lord Malmesbury, that Queen Charlotte disliked both her and her mother because of jealousy dating from the visit of 1764.

Augusta saw the court of her mother-in-law as boring and dull, especially during the summer months when her husband was absent at camp. A summer retreat was built for her in the southern part of Braunschweig where she could spend time away from court, built by Carl Christoph Wilhelm Fleischer and called Schloss Richmond to remind her of England. In her retreat, Augusta amused herself spending her days eating heavy luncheons, gossiping and playing cards with her favourites, often receiving English guests.

Their marriage was arranged for dynastic purposes. However, Augusta thought Charles to be very handsome and was initially pleased with him. Shortly after the birth of her first daughter, she wrote: "No two people live better together than we do, and I would go through fire and water for him", and it was noted that she seemed to be unaware of his flirtations in London.

In 1771–72, Augusta visited England on her mother's invitation. On this occasion, she was involved in another conflict with her sister-in-law Queen Charlotte. She was not allowed to live at Carlton House or St. James Palace despite the fact that it was empty at the time, but was forced to live in a small house on Pall Mall. The queen disagreed with her about etiquette, and refused to let her see her brother the king alone. According to Mr. Walpole, the reason was jealousy on the part of the queen. She attended her mother's deathbed during her second visit to England, and upon her return to Brunswick, extended her period of mourning, which eventually led to her retirement from participation in court life.

.....

In 1777, Augusta announced to her husband that she would retire from court life to oversee the upbringing of their children and perform religious studies under the Bishop of Fürstenberg. The reason was her disapproval of the relationship between Charles and Louise Hertefeld whom he, in contrast to his previous mistress Maria Antonia Branconi, had installed as his official royal mistress at the Brunswick court.

In 1780, Charles succeeded his father as sovereign Duke of Brunswick, and Augusta thus became Duchess consort.

Of Augusta's four sons, the eldest three were born with handicaps.

Later life

In 1806, when Prussia declared war on France, her husband, the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, 71 at the time, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Prussian army. On 14 October of that year, at the Battle of Jena, Napoleon defeated the Prussian army; and on the same day, at the Battle of Auerstadt, the Prince was seriously wounded, dying a few days later. Augusta, with the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess, fled to Altona, where they were present at her dying spouse's side. Because of the advancing French army, they were advised by the British ambassador to flee, and they left shortly before the death of the Prince.

They were invited to Sweden by the Hereditary Princess's brother-in-law King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. However, Augusta preferred to stay at the Duchy of Augustenborg, where her nephew-in-law was sovereign. She remained there with her niece, the Duchess of Augustenborg (daughter of her sister the late Queen Caroline Mathilde of Denmark), until her brother George III of the United Kingdom finally relented in September 1807, and allowed Augusta to come to London. There she resided at Montagu House, at Blackheath in Greenwich, with her daughter, the Princess of Wales, but soon Augusta fell out with her, and purchased the house next door, Brunswick House. Augusta lived out her days there and died in 1813 aged 75. She was buried in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Arms

Augusta was granted use of the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points, the centre bearing a cross gules, the other points each bearing a rose gules.

Issue

Together the couple had 7 children:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Duchess Augusta	3 December 1764	27 September 1788	married 1780, Duke Frederick of Württemberg; had issue
Hereditary Prince Karl Georg	8 February 1766	20 September 1806	married 1790, Princess Louise of Orange-Nassau; no issue
Duchess Caroline	17 May 1768	7 August 1821	married 1795, George IV of the United Kingdom; had issue
Duke Georg William	27 June 1769	16 September 1811	Declared an invalid; Excluded from line of succession
Duke August	18 August 1770	18 December 1822	Declared an invalid; Excluded from line of succession
Duke Frederick William	9 October 1771	16 June 1815	married 1802, Princess Marie of Baden; had issue
Duchess Amelie	22 November 1772	2 April 1773

Sources

Beckett, William A.: Universal Biography. London: Isaac, 1836.
Kwan, Elisabeth E.; Röhrig, Anna E.: Frauen vom Hof der Welfen. Göttingen: MatrixMedia 2006, ISBN: 3-932313-17-8, p. 115−126.

Princess Augusta of Great Britain facts for kids

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