Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
Princess of Wales
Portrait by Charles Philips, 1736
Spouse	Frederick, Prince of Wales
Issue
Princess Augusta George III of the United Kingdom Edward, Duke of York Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain William, Duke of Gloucester Henry, Duke of Cumberland Princess Louisa Prince Frederick Caroline Matilda of Wales
House	House of Hanover House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Father	Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Mother	Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
Born	30 November 1719(1719-11-30) Gotha, Germany
Died	8 February 1772 (aged 52) Carlton House, London
Burial	15 February 1772 Westminster Abbey, London

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (30 November 1719 – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three holders of the title who never became queen. Princess Augusta's eldest son succeeded as George III of the United Kingdom in 1760, as her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died nine years earlier.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Marriage 3 Kew Gardens 4 Titles, styles, honours and arms 4.1 Titles and styles 5 Issue 6 Legacy 7 Ancestors 8 External links 9 References

[edit] Early life

Princess Augusta was born in Gotha to Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676-1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1676-1740). Her paternal grandfather was Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, eldest surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg.

[edit] Marriage

At age 16 and speaking virtually no English, she arrived in Great Britain for a wedding ceremony which took place almost immediately, on 17 April 1736, at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London. Despite a twelve-year age difference, the marriage seems to have been a happy one. They had nine children, the last born after Frederick's death. The birth of their first daughter, Princess Augusta, on 31 August 1737, took place at St James's after Princess Augusta was forced by Frederick to travel from Hampton Court Palace while in labour, simply to prevent his hated parents, George II and Queen Caroline, from being present at the birth.

Throughout their marriage, Princess Augusta went along with her husband's wishes in the feud with his parents. Following the Prince of Wales' death, her role as mother of the heir-apparent to the throne became a more important one, and she was named prospective regent, which caused a political controversy. Shortly afterwards, she began to be influenced by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, her son's tutor, and rumours spread that they were having an affair. This was due to her being adamant that Bute was visiting her, and not her son, during his back door visits to tutor the prince. Both were pilloried in the press. Even after George III's accession, Princess Augusta suffered widespread hostility from the public. After she died of cancer of the throat at age 52 at Carlton House, her funeral procession attracted troublemakers who followed the coffin to the grave shouting insults.

[edit] Kew Gardens

Princess Augusta enlarged and greatly extended Kew Gardens after her husband's death. Sir William Chambers built several garden structures for her. One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761, still remains.^[1]

[edit] Titles, styles, honours and arms

[edit] Titles and styles

• 30 November 1719 – 17 April 1736: Her Ducal Serene Highness Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
• 17 April 1736 – 31 March 1751: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales
• 31 March 1751 – 8 February 1772: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Princess of Wales

[edit] Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
HRH Princess Augusta	31 August 1737	31 March 1813	married 1764, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; had issue
HM George III	4 June 1738	29 January 1820	married 1761, Charlotte-Sophia, Duchess of Mecklenburg; had issue
HRH Prince Edward, Duke of York	14 March 1739	17 September 1767
HRH Princess Elizabeth	30 December 1740	4 September 1759
HRH Prince William, Duke of Gloucester	14 November 1743	25 August 1805	married 1766, Maria Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave; had issue
HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland	27 November 1745	18 September 1790	(an alleged marriage to Olive Wilmot in 1767 did not occur) married 1771, The Hon. Lady Anne Luttrell; no issue
HRH Princess Louisa	8 March 1749	13 May 1768
HRH Prince Frederick	13 May 1750	29 December 1765
HRH Princess Caroline Matilda	11 July 1751	10 May 1775	married 1766, Christian VII, King of Denmark, had issue

[edit] Legacy

• In the 1730s the settlement of Augusta, in the then-British colony of Georgia, was named in her honour.
• Augusta County, Virginia was also named in her honor.
• Fort Augusta, Northumberland County, United States of America- Named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Fort Augusta was the largest of the Provincial forts. It was dismantled in 1794. Fort Augusta was a stronghold in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the upper Susquehanna Valley from the time of the French and Indian War to the close of the American Revolution. The fort was erected by Col. William Clapham in 1756 at a site now within the limits of the city of Sunbury, in an area the Indians called "Shamokin." It was first constructed as part of the British defense against the raids of the French and Indians from the upper Allegheny region. Later, it served as an American fortress to aid in protecting settlers of the upper Susquehanna from Britain's Indian allies to the north.

[edit] Ancestors

v • d • e Ancestors of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

16. John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar               8. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha                       17. Dorothea Maria of Anhalt               4. Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg                             18. Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg               9. Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg                       19. Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               2. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg                                   20. Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony               10. August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels                       21. Magdalene Sybille of Prussia               5. Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels                             22. Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg               11. Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                       23. Anna Maria of Ostfriesland               1. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha                                         24. Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst               12. John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst                       25. Magdalene of Oldenburg               6. Prince Charles of Anhalt-Zerbst                             26. Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp               13. Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp                       27. Maria Elisabeth of Saxony               3. Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst                                   28. Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony (= 20)               14. August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (= 10)                       29. Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp (= 21)               7. Sophie of Saxe-Weissenfels                             30. Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg (= 22)               15. Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (= 11)                       31. Anna Maria of Ostfriesland (= 23)

[edit] External links

• A short profile of Augusta alongside other influential women of her time

[edit] References

1. ^ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Augusta, Princess of Wales. Retrieved 6 October 2005.
2. ^ Maclagan, Michael; Louda, Jiří (1999), Line of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, London: Little, Brown & Co, pp. 30, ISBN 0-85605-469-1 

• Henry Churchyard "Royal Genealogies, Part 10"
• Sam Sloan "Big Combined Family Trees (pafg733)"

v • d • e British princesses by marriage 1st generation Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach 2nd generation Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha 3rd generation Maria Walpole · Anne Luttrell 4th generation Duchess Caroline of Brunswick · Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia · The Princess Mary* · Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen · Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld · Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz · Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel 5th generation Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg 6th generation Princess Alexandra of Denmark · Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia · Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia · Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont · Princess Thyra of Denmark 7th generation Princess Mary of Teck · Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein · Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife* · Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia 8th generation Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon · Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott · Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark · Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg · Countess Monika of Solms-Laubach · Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark 9th generation Birgitte Henriksen · Katharine Worsley · Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz 10th generation Lady Diana Spencer · Camilla Shand · Sarah Ferguson · Sophie Rhys-Jones · * also princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in her own right.

v • d • e Princess of Wales Camilla Shand (2005 – present) Diana Spencer (1981–1996) · Mary of Teck (1901–1910) · Alexandra of Denmark (1863–1901) · Caroline of Brunswick (1795–1820) · Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1736–1751) · Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1714–1727) · Catherine of Aragon (1501–1502) · Anne Neville (1470–1471) · Joan of Kent (1361–1376)