Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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Paternal Family Tree: Mecklenburg
In 1250 Martim Afonso Chichorro was born illegitimately to Alfonso III King Portugal [aged 39] and Madragana Bat Aloandro aka Mór Afonso [aged 20]. It is through this descent that Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England is considered by some to have had African ancestry - Martim is Charlotte's 12 x Great Grandfather. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.
On 5th February 1735 [her father] Charles Louis Frederick Duke of Mecklenburg [aged 26] and [her mother] Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen [aged 21] were married.
On 19th May 1744 Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England was born to [her father] Charles Louis Frederick Duke of Mecklenburg [aged 36] and [her mother] Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen [aged 30].
On 5th June 1752 [her father] Charles Louis Frederick Duke of Mecklenburg [aged 44] died.
On 2nd October 1760 Garrett Wellesley 1st Earl Mornington [aged 25] was created 1st Earl Mornington, 1st Viscount Wellesley of Dangan Castle by [her future husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 22] in reward for his services to music and philanthropy. Anne Hill Countess Mornington [aged 18] by marriage Countess Mornington.
On 25th October 1760 King George II of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 76] died at Kensington Palace. His grandson [her future husband] George [aged 22] succeeded III King Great Britain and Ireland. Duke Cambridge merged with the Crown.
In 1761 Frances Bishopp [aged 20] was appointed Maid of Honour to Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 16].
In 1761 Simon Harcourt 1st Earl Harcourt [aged 47] was appointed special ambassador to Mecklenburg-Strelitz, to negotiate a marriage between [her future husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 22] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 16] who he subsequently conducted to England.
In 1761 Elizabeth Gunning Duchess Hamilton and Argyll [aged 27] was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber to Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 16].
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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On 29th June 1761 [her mother] Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen [aged 47] died.
On 8th September 1761 King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 23] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 17] were married at Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. She by marriage Queen Consort England. He the son of Frederick Louis Hanover Prince of Wales and Augusta Saxe Coburg Altenburg [aged 41]. They were third cousins. He a grandson of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland.
After 8th September 1761 Susan Tracy Keck Maid of Honour [aged 16] was appointed Maid of Honour to Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 17].
On 22nd September 1761 [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 23] was crowned III King Great Britain and Ireland at Westminster Abbey [Map].
Charles Compton 7th Earl of Northampton [aged 24] was the Bearer of the Ivory Rod with the Dove.
William Talbot 1st Earl Talbot [aged 51] was appointed Lord High Steward.
Francis Hastings 10th Earl Huntingdon [aged 32] was the bearer of the Sword of State although the actual Sword of State couldn't be found and the Lord Mayor's Pearl Sword was substituted.
Around 1762. Allan Ramsay [aged 48]. Portrait of Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 17].
On 4th May 1762 [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 23] created a number of new peerages...
Edward Noel 1st Viscount Wentworth [aged 46] was created 1st Viscount Wentworth.
William Courtenay 7th Earl Devon [aged 53] was created 1st Viscount Courtenay.
Thomas Pelham Holles 1st Duke Newcastle-under-Lyne [aged 68] was created 1st Baron Pelham of Stanmer in Sussex with default to his cousin Thomas Pelham [aged 34].
Caroline Lennox 1st Baroness Holland [aged 39] was created 1st Baroness Holland in Lincolnshire. Henry Fox 1st Baron Holland [aged 56] by marriage Baron Holland in Lincolnshire.
John Perceval 2nd Earl Egmont [aged 51] was created 1st Baron Lovel and Holland of Enmore in Somerset.
John Montagu 1st Baron Montagu [aged 27] was created 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.
Joseph Damer 1st Earl Dorchester [aged 44] was created 1st Baron Milton of Milton Abbey in Dorset.
Edward Hussey-Montagu 1st Earl Beaulieu [aged 41] was created 1st Baron Beaulieu of Beaulieu in Hampshire with a special remainder to his heirs male with his current wife Isabella Montagu Duchess Manchester [aged 56].
On 12th May 1762 George Venables-Vernon 1st Baron Vernon [aged 53] was created 1st Baron Vernon of Kinderton in Cheshire. Martha Harcourt Baroness Vernon of Kinderton [aged 46] by marriage Baroness Vernon of Kinderton in Cheshire.
George Fox Lane 1st Baron Bingley [aged 65] was created 1st Baron Bingley. Harriet Benson Baroness Bingley [aged 57] by marriage Baroness Bingley.
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On 12th August 1762 [her son] King George IV of Great Britain and Ireland was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 24] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 18]. He married (1) 15th December 1785 Maria Anne Smythe aka "Mrs Fitzherbert" (2) 8th April 1795 his first cousin Caroline of Brunswick Queen Consort England and had issue.
On 16th August 1763 [her son] Prince Frederick Hanover Duke of York was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 25] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 19]. He married 29th September 1791 his third cousin Frederica Charlotte Hohenzollern.
On 19th November 1764 [her brother-in-law] William Henry Hanover 1st Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 20] was created 1st Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh, 1st Earl Connaught.
In 1766 [her brother-in-law] William Henry Hanover 1st Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 22] and Maria Walpole Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 29] were married in secret at Pall Mall [Map]. She by marriage Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh. He the son of Frederick Louis Hanover Prince of Wales and [her mother-in-law] Augusta Saxe Coburg Altenburg [aged 46].
Around 1766 Johan Joseph Zoffany [aged 32]. Portrait of Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 21].
On 29th September 1766 [her daughter] Princess Charlotte Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 28] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 22] at Buckingham House [Map]. She married 18th May 1797 her third cousin King Frederick Wilhelm Karl Württemberg and had issue.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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On 22nd October 1766 [her brother-in-law] Henry Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Cumberland and Strathearn [aged 20] was created 1st Duke Cumberland and Strathearn.
On 8th November 1766 Christian VII King of Denmark and Norway [aged 17] and [her sister-in-law] Caroline Matilda Hanover Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [aged 15] were married at Christiansborg Castle. She by marriage Queen Consort Denmark and Norway. She the daughter of Frederick Louis Hanover Prince of Wales and [her mother-in-law] Augusta Saxe Coburg Altenburg [aged 46]. He the son of Frederick V King of Denmark and Norway and Louise Hanover Queen Consort Denmark and Norway. They were first cousins. He a grandson of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland. She a granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland.
On 2nd August 1767 [her son] Edward Augustus Hanover 1st Duke Kent and Strathearn was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 29] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 23] at Buckingham House [Map]. He married 29th May 1818 his third cousin once removed Marie Luise Victoria Saxe Coburg Gotha Duchess Kent and Strathearn, daughter of Francis Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha and Augusta Reuss Duchess Saxe Coburg Gotha, and had issue.
On 17th September 1767 [her brother-in-law] Prince Edward Hanover 1st Duke of York [aged 28] died at York Room, Prince's Palace. Duke of York and Albany extinct.
Around 1768. Nathaniel Dance-Holland [aged 32]. Portrait of Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 23].
On 8th November 1768 [her daughter] Princess Augusta Sophia Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 30] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 24].
On 22nd May 1770 [her daughter] Princess Elizabeth Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 31] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 26].
In 1771 [her brother-in-law] Henry Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Cumberland and Strathearn [aged 25] and Anne Luttrell Duchess Cumberland and Strathearn [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Duchess Cumberland and Strathearn. She the daughter of Simon Luttrell 1st Earl Carhampton [aged 58] and Judith Maria Lawes Countess Carhampton [aged 51]. He the son of Frederick Louis Hanover Prince of Wales and [her mother-in-law] Augusta Saxe Coburg Altenburg [aged 51].
On 5th June 1771 [her son] Ernest Augustus King Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 33] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 27] at Buckingham House [Map]. He married 1815 his first cousin Frederica Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort Hanover and had issue.
On 27th January 1773 [her son] Prince Augustus Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Sussex was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 34] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 28] at Buckingham House [Map]. He married (1) 4th April 1793 Augusta Murray Duchess Sussex, daughter of John Murray 4th Earl Dunmore and Charlotte Stewart Countess Dunmore, and had issue (2) 2nd May 1831 Cecilia Gore aka Underwood Duchess of Inverness, daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore 2nd Earl Arran and Elizabeth Underwood Countess of Arran.
On 24th February 1774 [her son] Adolphus Hanover 1st Duke Cambridge was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 35] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 29]. He married 1st June 1818 his second cousin Princess Augusta Hesse-Kassel Duchess Cambridge and had issue.
On 10th May 1775 [her sister-in-law] Caroline Matilda Hanover Queen Consort Denmark and Norway [aged 23] died.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 25th April 1776 [her daughter] Mary Hanover Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 37] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 31]. She married 22nd July 1816 her first cousin William Frederick Hanover 2nd Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh, son of William Henry Hanover 1st Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh and Maria Walpole Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh.
1777. Benjamin West [aged 38]. Portrait of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 32].
On 3rd November 1777 [her daughter] Princess Sophia Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 39] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 33].
On 23rd February 1779 [her son] Prince Octavius Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 40] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 34]. He died aged four in 1783.
On 22nd September 1780 [her son] Prince Alfred Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 42] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 36]. He died aged one in 1782.
On 20th August 1782 [her son] Prince Alfred Hanover [aged 1] died.
On 3rd May 1783 [her son] Prince Octavius Hanover [aged 4] died.
On 7th August 1783 [her daughter] Princess Amelia Hanover was born to [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 45] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 39].
On 15th December 1785 King George IV of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 23] and Maria Anne Smythe aka "Mrs Fitzherbert" [aged 29] were married secretly in the drawing room of her house in Park Street, London; her third marriage, his first. The marriage was invalid under English civil law because his father had not given his consent. Her uncle Henry Errington and her brother John Smythe were witnesses. The ceremony was performed by one of the prince's Chaplains in Ordinary, the Reverend Robert Burt, whose debts of £500 were paid by the prince to release him from Fleet Prison [Map] to preside at the ceremony.. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 47] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 41].
In 1790 George Harcourt 2nd Earl Harcourt [aged 53] was appointed Master of the Horse to Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 45] which position he held until his death in 1809.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 18th September 1790 [her brother-in-law] Henry Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Cumberland and Strathearn [aged 44] died. Duke Cumberland and Strathearn extinct.
On 29th September 1791 Prince Frederick Hanover Duke of York [aged 28] and Frederica Charlotte Hohenzollern [aged 24] were married at Charlottenburg, Berlin. She the daughter of Frederick William II King Prussia [aged 47] and Crown Princess Elisabeth Christine of Prussia [aged 44]. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 53] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 47]. They were third cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland.
On 4th April 1793 Prince Augustus Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Sussex [aged 20] and Augusta Murray Duchess Sussex [aged 25] were married at Rome, Italy [Map] in secret contrary to the Royal Marriages Act which required him to seek permission before marrying. She the daughter of John Murray 4th Earl Dunmore [aged 63] and Charlotte Stewart Countess Dunmore [aged 63]. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 54] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 48].
In August 1794 [her son] Prince Augustus Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Sussex [aged 21] and [her daughter-in-law] Augusta Murray Duchess Sussex [aged 26] marriage annulled by the Court of Arches which deemed the marriage contrary to the Royal Marriages Act. The couple continued to live together until 1801 when they separated. She received a grant of £4000 each year and custody of their children.
On 8th April 1795 King George IV of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 32] and Caroline of Brunswick Queen Consort England [aged 26] were married at Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 56] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 50]. They were first cousins. She a great granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland.
On 18th May 1797 [her son-in-law] King Frederick Wilhelm Karl Württemberg [aged 42] and Princess Charlotte Hanover [aged 30] were married. She the daughter of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 58] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 52]. They were third cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland.
In December 1800 [her husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 62] created a number of peers who supported the Act of Union...
On 21st December 1800 Charles Stanley Monck 1st Viscount Monck [aged 46] was created 1st Viscount Monck.
On 29th December 1800....
Murrough O'Brien 1st Marquess Thomond [aged 74] was created 1st Marquess Thomond. Mary Palmer Marchioness Thomond [aged 50] by marriage Marchioness Thomond.
Charles Tottenham aka Loftus 1st Marquess Ely [aged 62] was created 1st Marquess Ely in County Wexford. Jane Myhill Marchioness Ely by marriage Marchioness Ely in County Wexford.
James Alexander 1st Earl Caledon [aged 70] was created 1st Earl Caledon in County Tyrone.
In 1802 Charlotte Elizabeth Digby [aged 23] was appointed Maid of Honour to Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 57].
On 25th August 1805 [her brother-in-law] William Henry Hanover 1st Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 61] died. His son [her future son-in-law] William [aged 29] succeeded 2nd Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh, 2nd Earl Connaught.
On 2nd November 1810 [her daughter] Princess Amelia Hanover [aged 27] died.
In 1815 Ernest Augustus King Hanover [aged 43] and Frederica Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort Hanover [aged 36] were married. She by marriage Duchess Cumberland and Teviotdale. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 76] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 70]. They were first cousins.
On 22nd July 1816 [her son-in-law] William Frederick Hanover 2nd Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 40] and Mary Hanover Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 40] were married at St James's Palace [Map]. She by marriage Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh. She the daughter of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 78] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 72]. He the son of William Henry Hanover 1st Duke Gloucester and Edinburgh and Maria Walpole Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh. They were first cousins. He a great grandson of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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On 29th May 1818 Edward Augustus Hanover 1st Duke Kent and Strathearn [aged 50] and Marie Luise Victoria Saxe Coburg Gotha Duchess Kent and Strathearn [aged 31] were married at Ehrenburg Palace. She by marriage Duchess Kent and Strathearn. She the daughter of Francis Saxe Coburg Gotha I Duke Saxe Coburg Gotha and Augusta Reuss Duchess Saxe Coburg Gotha [aged 61]. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 79] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 74]. They were third cousin once removed.
On 1st June 1818 Adolphus Hanover 1st Duke Cambridge [aged 44] and Princess Augusta Hesse-Kassel Duchess Cambridge [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Duchess Cambridge. The difference in their ages was 23 years. He the son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 79] and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 74]. They were second cousins. She a great granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland.
On 17th November 1818 Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 74] died.
On 29th January 1820 [her former husband] King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 81] died at Windsor Castle [Map]. His reign the third longest after Victoria and Elizabeth II. His son George [aged 57] succeeded IV King Great Britain and Ireland. Caroline of Brunswick Queen Consort England [aged 51] by marriage Queen Consort England.
Adeline Horsey Recollections. After my dear mother's [aged 43] death I visited a great deal with my father [aged 53], and one year we went for the shooting to Lord Huntingfield's place, Heveningham Hall, Suffolk. I slept in the bedroom once occupied by the famous Chevalier d'Éon, who had been a frequent guest at Heveningham, and about whom there were many stories told. It was said that the Chevalier was the one and only lover of cross-grained Queen Charlotte, and that her son, George IV, was the result of their intimacy, although his paternity was of course admitted by King George III. The animosity always displayed by the old Queen to her grand-daughter, Princess Charlotte, was supposed to arise from the fact that as heiress to the throne she innocently dispossessed the other Royal Dukes from the succession. It is certainly a fact that the Princess's untimely death in childbirth was attributed to foul play at the time, and when later the accoucheur [obstetrician] Sir Richard Croft, committed suicide, all classes of society were loud in condemnation of the Queen and the Prince Regent. I do not vouch for the accuracy of Queen Charlotte's love affair. I only give the Heveningham gossip as I heard it.
Note A. D'Eon was undoubtedly one of the most picturesque and mysterious personages of the eighteenth century I was naturally interested in these somewhat scandalous stories.
The Chevalier died when he was eighty-three years of age, after a most extraordinary career. He was at one time aide-de-camp to the Comte de Broglie, and fought in the French army; but later on for some mysterious reason he discarded man's attire and passed as a woman for thirty-four years. Often when I went into my room I half expected to see a ghostly figure seated at the escritoire where the Chevalier wrote his secret cipher communications, and I wondered whether the brocade crowns and frills and furbelows that he wore as a woman had ever hung in the old wardrobe which I used.
My father and I also stayed with the Westmorlands at Apethorpe Hall; we visited the Earl [aged 38] and Countess of Chichester [aged 36] at Stanmer Park, and we were welcome guests at Cadlands, Silverlands, Chiswick House, West Park, and my uncle Lord Stradbroke's place, Henham Hall, which was afterwards burnt down.
I had visited Deene Park, Northamptonshire [Map] with my mother in 1842, but I must deal with my future home in the chapter devoted to Deene and its associations.
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On 28th June 1853 Francis Charteris 8th Earl of Wemyss Douglas 4th Earl March [aged 81] died. His son Francis [aged 56] succeeded 9th Earl Wemyss, 2nd Baron Wemyss of Wemyss in Fife. Louisa Bingham Countess Wemyss [aged 55] by marriage Countess Wemyss.
His obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine by Sylvanus Urban Volume XL reads as follows:
THE EARL OF WEMYSS AND MARCH June 28 At Gosford House East Lothian in his 81st year the Right Hon Francis Wemyss Charteris Wemyss sixth Earl of Wemyss and Lord Elcho and Methel 1633 Baron Wemyss of Elcho 1628 Earl of March Viscount of Peebles and Lord Niedpath, Lyne and Munard 1697 all dignities in the peerage of Scotland Baron Wemyss of Wemyss co Fife 1821 and Lord Lieutenant of Peebleshire.
He was born on the 15th April 1772 the only son of Francis Lord Elcho son and heir apparent of the fifth Earl by Miss Susan Tracy Keck one of the Maids of Honour to Queen Charlotte the second daughter of Anthony Tracy Keck esq of Great Tew co Oxford by Lady Susan Hamilton fourth daughter of James fourth Duke of Hamilton and first Duke of Brandon KG and KT.
In early life his lordship had a commission in the army and from 1793 to 1797 was aide de camp to his grand uncle Lord Adam Gordon Commander in chief of the forces in Scotland He quitted the army in 1797.
His father Lord Elcho died on the 20th June 1808 and his grandfather on the 24th August following whereupon he succeeded to the Earldom of Wemyss and its attendant titles. On the death of William fourth Duke of Queensberry [aged 83] in Dec 1810 he inherited the barony of Niedpath and the extensive property which had belonged to his Grace in the county of Peebles in pursuance of the terms of the marriage contract of the first Earl of March his Grace's grandfather. He also succeeded to the dignities of Earl of March, Viscount of Peebles and Lord Douglas of Niedpath, Lyne and Munard the patent of creation being to Lord William Douglas et heredes masculos de ejus corpore quibus deficientibus alios ejus hæredes masin culos et talliæ contentos in ejus infeofa mentis terrarum et dominii de Niedpath.
His Lordship was created a peer of the united kingdom by the title of Baron Wemyss at the Coronation of King George IV by patent dated 17th July 1821. He supported the Conservative party in parliament but took but little interest in politics.
He married May 31 1794 Margaret [aged 16] fourth daughter of Walter Campbell esq of Shawfield [aged 54] by his first wife Eleanor daughter of Robert Kerr of Newfield eldest son of Lord Charles Kerr second son of Robert first Marquess of Lothian. By that lady who died in 1850 he had issue two sons and nine daughters 1 Francis his successor 2 Lady Eleanor [aged 1] married in 1820 to Walter Frederick Campbell of Woodhall co Lanark esq eldest son of Colonel John Campbell [aged 26] by Lady Charlotte [aged 21] daughter of John fifth Duke of Argyle [aged 73] and died in 1832 3 the Hon Walter died 1818 4 Susan who died in infancy 5 Lady Margaret married in 1824 to Lieut Colonel John Wildman and died in 1825 6 Lady Katharine married in 1824 to her cousin George Harry Lord Grey of Groby who died in 1835 and she died in 1844 leaving issue the present Earl of Stamford and Warrington and Lady Margaret Milbanke 7 Lady Charlotte [aged 1] married in 1825 to Andrew Fletcher esq of Salton Castle East Lothian 8 Lady Louisa Antoinetta [aged 1] married in 1832 to William Forbes esq of Callendar co Stirling late MP for Stirlingshire 9 Lady Harriet [aged 1] married in 1829 to Sir George Grant Suttie Bart 10 Lady Jane and 11 Lady Caroline. The present Earls in 1796 married in 1817 Lady Louisa Bingham fourth daughter of Richard 2d Earl Lucan [aged 31] by whom he has issue Francis Lord Elcho four other sons and daughters.
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Kings Wessex: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 13 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 26 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Philip V King France I King Navarre
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Albrecht VII Duke Mecklenburg
Great x 3 Grandfather: Duke John Albert I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anna Hohenzollern Duchess Mecklenburg 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Duke John VII of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Albert "The Elder" Hohenzollern I Duke Prussia 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anna Sophia Hohenzollern 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothea Oldenburg 
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Duke Adolphus Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: King Frederick I of Denmark
Great x 3 Grandfather: Duke Adolph Oldenburg of Holstein-Gotorp
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophie of Pomerania Queen Consort of Denmark and Sweden
Great x 2 Grandmother: Sophia Oldenburg 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Landgrave Philip I of Hesse 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Christine Hesse 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Christine of Saxony 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
GrandFather: Duke Adolphus Frederick II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ernest I Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Sophie of Mecklenburg
Great x 2 Grandfather: Julius Ernst Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Maria Katharina 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Father: Charles Louis Frederick Duke of Mecklenburg 14 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Günther Schwarzburg 1st Count of Schwarzburg Sondershausen
Great x 3 Grandfather: Christian Günther I Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anna of Oldenburg
Great x 2 Grandfather: Anton Günther I Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Great x 1 Grandfather: Christian William I Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
GrandMother: Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Johann Wilhelm Wettin Duke Saxe Weimar 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Johann Wettin II Duke Saxe Weimar 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothea Susanne Palatine Duchess Saxe Weimar
Great x 2 Grandfather: Ernest "The Pious" Saxe Gotha I Duke Saxe Gotha 13 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Dorothea Maria Anhalt
Great x 1 Grandfather: Ernest Saxe Gotha 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Friedrich Wilhelm Wettin I Duke Saxe Weimar 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Johann Philipp Wettin Duke Saxe Altenburg 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anna Maria Countess Palatine of Neuburg 
7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elisabeth Sophie Saxe Altenburg Duchess Saxe Gotha 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Julius Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Oldenburg 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
GrandFather: Ernest Frederick Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Mother: Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: George Albert Count of Erbach-Schönberg
Great x 1 Grandfather: George Louis I Count of Erbach-Erbach
GrandMother: Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach