Hanover’s Prince George Travels Incognito To Meet Caroline in Ansbach
Her Serene Highness Margravine Wilhemina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the lady that the future King George II of Britain, then the Electoral Prince of Hanover, hoped to marry although they’d never met.
In the summer of 1705 George travelled from Hanover to her property Triesdorf in Ansbach using the alias of Monsieur de Busch because he wanted to meet Wilhemina, known as Caroline, incognito and evaluate her suitability as his bride before he revealed his identity.
George’s father Georg Ludwig, later King George I, was determined that whoever his 21 year old son and heir married it should be a love match. His own tumultuous dynastic union with his first cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Their marriage ended in scandal, divorce and Sophia’s incarceration.
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach’s Challenging Childhood
Caroline was a member of the Hohenzollern dynasty that also ruled Prussia. She was eight months older than George and in the early 1700s she was popular on the European marriage market despite having no fortune for a dowry. In 1704 she refused to convert to Catholicism to marry Spain’s next ruler Archduke Charles of Austria of the Habsburg dynasty.
Caroline’s parents Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his second wife Eleonore of Saxe-Eisenach died when she was a child. This left Caroline and her brother Wilhelm (William) orphans dependent on the kindness of their relations and friends.
Wilhelm lived in Ansbach with Margrave Georg Friedrich II; he pursued a military career and in 1703 he became the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Caroline was sent to the Berlin court of Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg, later King Friedrich I of Prussia, and his cultivated wife Figuelotte or Sophia Charlotte. She was the only sister of the future George I of Britain and so George II’s paternal aunt.
Sophia Charlotte’ of Prussia’s Influence on Caroline
Caroline was influenced by the music loving, philosophical Figuelotte and she proved herself an eager student, inquisitive and intelligent. She held liberal views and she was thought beautiful.
Figuelotte called Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach “the most agreeable princess in Germany,” with “incomparable beauty and mental attributes.” She recommended Caroline as a bride for George to her mother Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. She shared her daughter’s enthusiasm. Sadly, Figuelotte died on 1st February 1705 before she could realise her marriage plan.
Monsieur de Busch: The Future King George II of Britain
When George, Electoral Prince of Hanover and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach met, she quickly identified “Monsieur de Busch” as George. He was attracted to her and they got on well. She was more of a scholar than him and he was a philistine while she was a patron of the arts, used to meeting the leading minds and creators in Europe, but she grew fond of George.
A report was dispatched to George’s father in Hanover giving him positive news: “the good character that he had of her…he would not think of anybody else.” The marriage contract was drawn up. For Caroline, marriage to George represented a welcome exit from life as an orphan with little money or status.
George and Caroline married in the chapel at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover on the evening of 2nd September 1705, a few hours after she arrived in the electorate.
On 1st February 1707 their first son, Duke Friedrich Ludwig of Brunswick-Lűneburg was born in Hanover. He was the father of King George III.
George and Caroline’s marriage lasted thirty two years, until Caroline’s death. They were happier than most royal couples despite George keeping mistresses. He promised Caroline on her deathbed that he wouldn’t marry again and that he would keep mistresses. He was true to his word.
Further Reading:
https://thegeorgianera.co.uk/beau-brummell-georgian-celebrity-style-icon
