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I'm delighted to welcome Catherine Curzon to my blog once again as she celebrates the publication of her new book, Kings of Georgian Britain. In this intriguing excerpt Catherine gives us a little insight into the relationship between the first King George and his new bride-to-be Sophia Dorothea of Celle. It's a fascinating article and I'm sure, like me, you'll want to know more!
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I'm delighted to welcome Catherine Curzon to my blog once again as she celebrates the publication of her new book, Kings of Georgian Britain. In this intriguing excerpt Catherine gives us a little insight into the relationship between the first King George and his new bride-to-be Sophia Dorothea of Celle. It's a fascinating article and I'm sure, like me, you'll want to know more!
‘I will not marry the
pig snout!’
The Georgian era was glittering, revolutionary, and
tumultuous. It was a time when the world changed, when the landscape of the
United Kingdom was redrawn and when the Stuart dynasty, once the rulers of
England, were pushed aside in favour of the House of Hanover. Yet the
beginnings of that new British dynasty were far from secure, and from the very
beginning, the marriage of the first King George was destined to end in tears.
George was not a king, not even a prince when, as a
young man in Hanover, he was told that he was to marry his cousin, Sophia
Dorothea of Celle. The two had never met yet their union would secure the House
of Hanover in every sense of the word, uniting territories, swelling coffers
and ensuring that no suitor from another family could claim the young lady’s hand, and her
inheritance with it.
A marriage in which the groom’s mother takes a dislike to her future
daughter-in-law is not uncommon, of course, and so it was with Sophia, the
future Electress of Hanover and her son, George. Sophia had conspired to
arrange the marriage for its many benefits, yet she was well aware of its many
perceived flaws too. The mother of the bride, far from being a woman of
impeccable credentials, was the polar opposite of what Sophia thought of as
ideal, and she never let Sophia Dorothea forget it.
 |
| George 1 |
Éléonore Desmier d’Olbreuse, the mother of the
bride, was a Huguenot of noble but not royal birth and her marriage to Sophia
Dorothea’s
father, George William, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, had been morganatic. Sophia
Dorothea’s
legitimacy at birth had been questionable at best and though the couple were
later officially married and their daughter legitimised, it was hardly the
perfect start in life for a future queen.
The future Electress of Hanover regarded her potential
daughter-in-law with disdain and, perhaps, more than a touch of snobbery. Money
is a tremendous leveller however, so Sophia agreed to the wedding despite her
doubts.
She was not the only one to wonder if it was a good
idea.
Upon being told of the planned nuptials, Sophia
Dorothea smashed a miniature of George on the floor and howled, “I will not marry the pig snout!”. Think of Sophia Dorothea: spoiled, pampered, adored, the apple of her
parents’ eyes. For sixteen years she had grown up in Celle, hearing grim stories
of the austere and strict court of Hanover, the place where duty and ceremony
trumped everything. She had been raised to believe that Sophia was a
cold-hearted monster, her eldest son a joyless, humourless sourpuss despite his
young age. Now that ill-humoured young man was to be her husband, his battleaxe
mother was to be her mother-in-law and nobody was doing anything to stop the
union.
 |
| Sophia Dorothea |
On her first meeting with the sullen George, Sophia
Dorothea fainted clean away, yet she couldn’t stay out cold forever and, on 22 November 1682, the
couple were married. Despite Sophia Dorothea’s despair, at first things didn’t go as badly as we might
suspect. She got on splendidly with her new father-in-law but the world of the
Hanoverian court was bewildering and, assailed by protocol and the expectations
of others, things began to weigh heavily on the young woman’s shoulders.
Sophia Dorothea and George put their differences aside
long enough to produce not one but two children. They were George Augustus, who would later be famed to history as King
George II, and a daughter, also named Sophia Dorothea. These were rare moments
of happiness for the couple and as the years passed, their marriage descended
into violence and hatred, it would eventually end in murder.
References
Belsham, W. Memoirs
of the Kings of Great Britain of the House of Brunswic-Luneburg, Vol I.
London: C Dilly, 1793.
Belsham, William. Memoirs
of the Reign of George III to the Session of Parliament Ending AD 1793, Vol III.
London: GG and J Robinson, 1801.
Benjamin, Lewis Saul. The
First George in Hanover and England, Volume I. London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909.
Black, Jeremy. The
Hanoverians: The History of a Dynasty. London: Hambledon and London,
2007.
Hatton, Ragnhild. George
I. London: Thames and Hudson. 1978.
Morand, Paul. The Captive
Princess: Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Florida: American Heritage Press, 1972.
Ward, Adolphus
William. The Electress Sophia and Hanoverian Succession. London:
Longmans, Green and Co, 1909.
Wilkins, William
Henry. The Love of an Uncrowned Queen. London: Hutchinson & Co,
1900.
Wilkins, William
Henry. A Queen of Tears. London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1904.
Williams, Robert
Folkestone. Memoirs of Sophia Dorothea, Consort of George I, Vol I.
London: Henry Colburn, 1845.
Williams, Robert
Folkestone. Memoirs of Sophia Dorothea, Consort of George I, Vol II.
London: Henry Colburn, 1845.
Catherine Curzon is a royal historian
who writes on all matters 18th century at www.madamegilflurt.com.
Her work has been featured on HistoryExtra.com, the official website of BBC
History Magazine and in publications such as Explore History, All
About History, History of Royals and Jane Austen’s Regency World.
She has provided additional research for An Evening with Jane Austen at the V&A and spoken at venues
including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton,
Lichfield
Guildhall, he National Maritime Museum and Dr
Johnson’s
House.
Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Film
and when not dodging the furies of the guillotine, she lives in Yorkshire atop
a ludicrously steep hill.
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About the Book
For over a century of turmoil,
upheaval and scandal, Great Britain was a Georgian land.
From the day the German-speaking
George I stepped off the boat from Hanover, to the night that George IV,
bloated and diseased, breathed his last at Windsor, the four kings presided
over a changing nation.
Kings of Georgian Britain offers a fresh perspective on the lives of the four Georges
and the events that shaped their characters and reigns. From love affairs to
family feuds, political wrangling and beyond, peer behind the pomp and follow
these iconic figures from cradle to grave. After all, being
a king isn’t always grand
parties and jaw-dropping jewels, and sometimes following in a father’s footsteps can be
the hardest job around.
Take a trip back in time to meet the
wives, mistresses, friends and foes of the men who shaped the nation, and find
out what really went on behind closed palace doors. Whether dodging assassins,
marrying for money, digging up their ancestors or sparking domestic disputes
that echoed down the generations, the kings of Georgian Britain were never
short on drama.