Cranbourne Lodge was a keeper's lodge for the royal hunting grounds of Cranbourne Chase, once adjoining but now part of

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...

in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. All that remains of it today is the

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Cranbourne Tower.

History

The house's origins date from when the

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

of Windsor was divided up in the 13th century. A substantial house was certainly built there in the reign of King Henry VII. During the reign of his son,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, it was the residence of his favourite, Richard Weston.

Anne Hyde Anne Hyde (12 March 1637 – 31 March 1671) was the first wife of James, Duke of York, who later became King James II and VII. Anne was the daughter of a member of the English gentry— Edward Hyde (later created Earl of Clarendon)—and met ...

was born there in 1638. The building was rebuilt and expanded several times in its history, notably by Sir

George Carteret Vice admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet ( – 14 January 1680 New Style, N.S.) was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon ministry, Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy. ...

, who was visited there by

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

. The largest house on the site, including the surviving tower, was erected in 1808.

Princess Charlotte

In 1814, the young

Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to: People * Charlotte of the United Kingdom (disambiguation), various princesses ** Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015), granddaughter of King Charles III and only daughter of William, Prince of Wales * Charlott ...

, daughter of

the Prince Regent George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

(later George IV), was made a virtual prisoner at the Lodge. George and her mother,

Caroline of Brunswick Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her ...

, had long been estranged and his relationship with their daughter was little better. As was not unusual at the time, his solution was to marry off this problematic daughter as soon as possible. An engagement with

William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wi ...

was made in 1814, but this was soon broken off. Charlotte became infatuated with the minor prince Augustus of Prussia, despite his being seen as below the station of a likely future Queen of the United Kingdom. The fact he was already married would have been its own hindrance too. In July 1814, George dismissed her loyal servants, expelled her from her previous home at Warwick House, and forced her to move to Cranbourne, with a staff of his choice. The Prince Regent had been increasingly unpopular with the people, whilst Charlotte and her Whig sympathies were seen as populist reformers. Her incarceration was also unpopular, drawing attention from the Romantic poets

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

and Shelley. Charlotte also attracted the attention of Prince Leopold of

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld () was one of the Ernestine duchies, Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin. Established in 1699, the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield line lasted until the reshuffle of the Ernestine territories that occurred f ...

. After gaining the Prince's permission to court her at Cranbourne, Charlotte was released from her house arrest in January 1816 and they were married at

Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...

in May. The marriage was a tragic one though, and little over a year later, Charlotte died in childbirth. As the only surviving legitimate grandchild of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, and thus the only clear royal heir, this dynastic crisis led to "a mad dash towards matrimony by most of her bachelor uncles", a race to provide a further heir that in turn led to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Cranbourne Tower

Today only the Cranbourne Tower remains, as a private residence. The main house fell into disrepair during the 19th century, particularly the main roof. It was demolished in 1865, although this tower was spared as a somewhat independent structure.

References

{{coord, 51.44924, N, 0.64404, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Windsor Great Park Country houses in Berkshire Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire Grade II* listed houses Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817) Anne Hyde