Princess Amelia Sophia Eleonore of Great Britain
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''The London Gazette'' refers to her as "(the) Princess Amelia"
/ref> (10 June 1711 ( Old Style and New Style dates, New Style) – 31 October 1786) was the second daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Queen Caroline.

Early life

Princess Amelia was born at

Herrenhausen Palace Herrenhausen Palace (German: ''Schloss Herrenhausen'') is a former royal summer residence of the House of Hanover in the Herrenhausen district of the German city of Hanover. It is the centerpiece of Herrenhausen Gardens. The original palace ...

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, on 30 May 1711 (

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

). At the time of her birth, her father was Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, son and heir of the

Elector of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

. Her mother was Caroline of Ansbach, daughter of

Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (18 October 1654 – 22 March 1686) succeeded his father Albert II as margrave of Ansbach in 1667. He married his second wife Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach on 4 November 1681. Their da ...

. She was known to her family as Emily.

Great Britain

On 1 August 1714, Queen Anne of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

died. Princess Amelia's grandfather succeeded her to become

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first ...

, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701. Amelia's father, now heir apparent to the throne of Great Britain, was made Duke of Cornwall and created

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

on 27 September 1714. She moved to

with her family and they took up residence at St James's Palace in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Though comparatively healthy as an adult,Van der Kiste, p. 130. Amelia was a sickly child and her mother employed Johann Georg Steigerthal and

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

to treat her as well as secretly asking advice from physician John Freind. In 1722, her mother, who had progressive ideas, had Amelia and her sister Caroline inoculated against

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

by an early type of immunisation known as

variolation Variolation was the method of inoculation first used to immunize individuals against smallpox (''Variola'') with material taken from a patient or a recently variolated individual, in the hope that a mild, but protective, infection would result. Var ...

, which had been brought to England from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, who later served a ...

and Charles Maitland. On 11 June 1727, George I died and her father succeeded him as George II. She lived with her father until his death in 1760. Amelia's aunt Sophia Dorothea, Queen of Prussia suggested Amelia as a suitable wife for her son

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(later known as

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

) but his father Frederick William I of Prussia forced his son to marry Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern instead. Amelia greatly enjoyed riding and hunting. She was disliked by artistic fops such as

John, Lord Hervey John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, (13 October 16965 August 1743) was an English courtier and political writer. Heir to the Earl of Bristol, he obtained the key patronage of Walpole, and was involved in many court intrigues and literary quarrel ...

, and Lady Pomfret considered her "one of the oddest princesses that ever was known; she has ears shut to flattery and her heart open to honesty." Amelia may have been the mother of composer Samuel Arnold (1740–1802) through an affair with a commoner of the name Thomas Arnold.

Later life

In 1751, Princess Amelia became ranger of

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...

after the death of

Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford, KB (1701 – 31 March 1751), was a British peer and politician, styled Lord Walpole from 1723 to 1745. Origins He was the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the King's First Minister, now re ...

. Immediately afterwards, the Princess caused major public uproar by closing the park to the public, only allowing few close friends and those with special permits to enter. This continued until 1758, when a local brewer, John Lewis, took the gatekeeper, who stopped him from entering the park, to court. The court ruled in favour of Lewis, citing the fact that, when

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

enclosed the park in the 17th century, he allowed the public right of way in the park. Princess Amelia was forced to lift the restrictions. The Princess was generous in her gifts to charitable organisations. In 1760 she donated £100 to the society for educating poor orphans of clergymen (later the Clergy Orphan Corporation) to help pay for a school for 21 orphan daughters of clergymen of the Church of England. In 1783 she agreed to become an annual subscriber of £25 to the new County Infirmary in Northampton. In 1761, Princess Amelia became the owner of Gunnersbury Estate,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, purchased from the estate of Henry Furnese. Princess Amelia used Gunnersbury as her summer residence. She added a chapel and at some time between 1777 and 1784, she commissioned a bath house, extended as a folly by a subsequent owner of the land in the 19th century, which still stands today with a Grade II

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

listing and is known as ''Princess Amelia's Bathhouse''. She also owned a property in

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much la ...

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

, where she died unmarried on 31 October 1786, at which time she was the last surviving child of King George II and Queen Caroline. A miniature of Prince Frederick of Prussia was found on her body. She was buried in the

Henry VII Lady Chapel The Henry VII Lady Chapel, now more often known just as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, paid for by the will of King Henry VII. It is separated from the rest of the abbey by brass gates a ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

Legacy

Medal of George II and his Family MET DP-180-155

Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlanti ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, is named for her, as is Amelia County in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States.

Arms

On 31 January 1719, as a grandchild of the sovereign, Amelia was granted use of the arms of the realm, differenced by a ''label argent of five points ermine''. On 30 August 1727, as a child of the sovereign, Amelia's difference changed to a ''label argent of three points ermine''.

Ancestors

References

Bibliography

* * Van der Kiste, John (1997) ''George II and Queen Caroline''. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. .

External links

Letters from or relating to Princess Augusta Sophia Eleanor
at the Royal Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Amelia Of Great Britain, Princess 1711 births 1786 deaths 18th-century British people 18th-century British women British princesses House of Hanover Burials at Westminster Abbey Nobility from Hanover German people of Scottish descent German expatriates in England Children of George II of Great Britain Residents of White Lodge, Richmond Park Daughters of kings