Plus, everything you need to know about all 15 of their children.
Now that you’ve emotionally recovered (sort of) from binge-watching Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the regency era spin-off, you might be wondering about the royal family tree that inspired the fictional story. The Netflix show covers young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and King George III’s (Corey Mylchreest) early years of marriage as well as the birth of their first child, George IV. Easy enough to follow, right?
But the family tree becomes more complicated as time jumps in the show reveal that Queen Charlotte ended up having fifteen children in total. Following the death of her granddaughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) scolds her thirteen living, adult children for the dozens of illegitimate babies they had conceived and implored them to find worthy partners to help produce a legitimate heir. Eventually, Prince Edward and his wife told Queen Charlotte that they were pregnant with her first grandchild, Princess Alexandrina Victoria.
Below, all of the details you need to know about Queen Charlotte’s full family tree, from her marriage to her children and her grandson.
Queen Charlotte
Born: May 19, 1744
Died: November 17, 1818
Queen Charlotte was born Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and she married King George III when she was 17 years old. She gave birth to her first child, Prince George Augustus Frederick, less than a year after she was married.
King George III
Born: June 4, 1738
Died: January 29, 1820
King George III was born Prince George William Frederick of Wales, and he was 23 years old when he married Charlotte. King George III became apparent heir at age 13, when his father Prince Frederick died, and became monarch at age 22, when his grandfather died.
King George IV
Born: August 17, 1762
Died: June 26, 1830
Prince George Augustus Frederick was the first of fifteen children born to Queen Charlotte and King George. You might remember his birth scene on Queen Charlotte — Prince George arrived not long after his parents nuptials. Prince George married Maria Anne Fitzherbert in 1785, but the Crown did not recognize their marriage. He later married his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick. The couple had a daughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales, who died in childbirth in 1817. He became king in 1820.
Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York
Born: August 16, 1763
Died: January 5, 1827
Prince Frederick Augustus was the second son of Queen Charlotte and King George. He briefly married Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, and had no children.
King William IV
Born: August 21, 1765
Died: June 20, 1837
Prince William Henry, the third son of Queen Charlotte and King George, had 10 illegitimate children with Irish actress Dorothea Bland starting in 1791. They separated in 1811, and in 1818 Prince William married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meinigen. They had no children. He became king in 1830.
Charlotte, Queen of Württemberg
Born: September 29, 1766
Died: October 5, 1828
Princess Charlotte was the oldest daughter of Queen Charlotte and King George. She married Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg, who went on to become Duke of Württemberg. They had no surviving children. The couple became King and Queen of Württemberg in 1805, and Charlotte became Dowager Queen in 1816 when her husband died.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
Born: November 2, 1767
Died: January 23, 1820
Prince Edward is the fourth son of Queen Charlotte and King George. He married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (a widow and mother of two) in 1818. The couple had one child together, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. Princess Alexandrina was Queen Charlotte and King George’s first legitimate, surviving grandchild, and went on to become Queen Victoria in 1837.
Princess Augusta Sophia
Born: November 8, 1768
Died: September 22, 1840
Princess Augusta Sophia was Queen Charlotte and King George’s second daughter. She was never officially married, although she was thought to be secretly married to British Army officer Sir Brent Spencer. She had no children.
Princess Elizabeth
Born: May 22, 1770
Died: January 10, 1840
Princess Elizabeth, the third daughter of Queen Charlotte and King George, married Prince Frederick of Hesse-Homburg in 1817 at 47 years of age. She had no children.
Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover
Born: June 5, 1771
Died: November 18, 1851
Prince Ernest Augustus was the fifth son of Queen Charlotte and King George. His mother did not approve of or recognize his marriage to his first cousin, Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in 1815. They had one son, Prince George of Cumberland, in 1819.
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
Born: January 27, 1773
Died: April 21, 1843
Prince Augustus was Queen Charlotte and King George’s fifth son and ninth child. He secretly married Lady Augusta Murray in 1793 in Rome and then in London. Although the marriage was never approved and was eventually annulled, the couple had two illegitimate children: Augustus Frederick d’Este and Augusta Emma d’Este. After Lady Augusta died, Prince Augustus married Lady Cecilia Buggin in 1831. This marriage was not approved by the Crown, and they had no children together.
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
Born: February 24, 1774
Died: July 8, 1850
Prince Adolphus was the 10th child that Queen Charlotte and King George had together. He married his second cousin Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel in 1818, and they had three children: Prince George of Cambridge, Princess Augusta of Cambridge, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.
Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester
Born: April 25, 1776
Died: April 30, 1857
Queen Charlotte and King George’s 4th daughter, Princess Mary, outlived all of her siblings. She fell in love with Dutch Prince Frederick, but did not marry him because her older sisters weren’t yet married at the time. In 1816, she married her first cousin Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. They had no children.
Princess Sophia
Born: November 3, 1777
Died: May 27, 1848
Princess Sofia, the 12th child and 5th daughter of Queen Charlotte and King George, never married. However, she was rumored to have had an illegitimate child with Major-General Thomas Garth.
Prince Octavius
Born: February 23, 1779
Died: May 3, 1783
Queen Charlotte and King George’s 13th child died from the smallpox vaccine when he was just 4 years old, six months after the death of his little brother Prince Alfred.
Prince Alfred
Born: September 22, 1780
Died: August 20, 1782
Prince Alfred, the 14th child, died at 2 years old after a sickness brought on by the smallpox vaccine. He was the first child to die, followed shortly by his older brother Prince Octavius.
Princess Amelia
Born: August 7, 1783
Died: November 2, 1810
Princess Amelia was Queen Charlotte and King George’s youngest and 15th child. She was 21 years younger than her oldest brother. Princess Amelia never married, but she did fall in love with her equerry, Charles FitzRoy.
