When Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz first met George III in 1761, she “threw herself at his feet” in supplication, prompting the English king to raise her up, embrace her and lead her through the garden “up the steps into the palace,” as one observer recounted. Just a few hours later, the German princess married George, becoming England’s newest queen.
In poor health following a rough voyage at sea, Charlotte was so thin she could barely support the weight of her diamond-adorned wedding gown. As art collector and author Horace Walpole wrote in a letter the following day, “Her violet-velvet mantle and ermine [were] so heavy that the spectators knew as much of her upper half as the king himself.”
