In her new book Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II, historian Tracy Borman revisits the forgotten life of Charlotte of Wales, the original ‘People’s Princess’
She was the wildly popular princess who eclipsed other members of the royal family, died tragically young and came from a broken home – but despite the similarities, we’re not talking about Princess Diana.
Tracy Borman, a British historian, has described the untold story of Princess Charlotte of Wales (the only child of King George IV) in her memoirs.
Born in 1796, Charlotte grew up largely without her parents’ care but eventually found the love she desired by marrying Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – before sadly dying at just 21-years-old after giving birth to a stillborn son.
She died in a nation-wide mourning. So severe were the fears of companies that they would go out of business as a result of the length of time they had to shut down their shops.
And the loss felt by Britain isn’t the only similarity between that Princess of Wales and Princess Diana, noted Borman, who is the joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, and has recently released a new book Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II.
Tracy Borman has written about the different aspects that Charlotte and Diana led similar lives, suggesting history does indeed repeat itself.
History Extra was told by her how their mothers left them young, became more famous than their husbands, and then died young, sending the country into mourning.
Here, FEMAIL explores the ways in which the original people’s princess tragic story mirrored that of Princess Diana’s.
1. GREW UP IN A BROKEN HOME
Princess Charlotte
Princess Charlotte of Wales, a tug of love child was involved in war between future George IV (and his wife Princess Caroline)
George, then Prince of Wales and known as ‘Prinny’, apparently hated his wife from the moment he saw her and their arranged marriage only lasted long enough to produce one heir, Charlotte.
After her birth, they separated, never to be reconciled and Charlotte was left to grow up alone at Warwick House, near her father’s home on The Mall.
Although she was only the child of Prince William, there were expectations that one day she would be Queen. But she didn’t have the proper parents.
She had to accept the indifference and eccentricity of her father, as well as her own self-importance, which she did not appreciate.
Princess Caroline of Brunswick and her daughter Princess Charlotte of Wales. The tug-of-love baby Princess Charlotte of Wales, was caught in the conflict between George IV and Princess Caroline of Brunswick.
George III was becoming more worried about his daughter’s isolation and took an increased interest in her education. The governess brought in a comprehensive curriculum, which included Latin history, art, music and drawing.
Her mother was only a visitor and she moved with her to Windsor Castle eight months.
As she grew up Charlotte tried to maintain contact with her mother, but under Prinny’s instructions, was prevented from any meaningful relationship.
Prince Caroline was hated and despised by her courtiers. They would sometimes pick out a gentleman from their company to take into another room with locked doors.
One courtier said: ‘She has a coarse mind without any degree of moral taste,’ according to The Daily Mail.
Caroline invited the Princess to enjoy herself and a Hussars officer one time when she met her mother as a 16-year old.
Charlotte at seventeen demanded her household and was immediately appalled.
Charlotte was eventually separated from her parents by a bitter divorce.
After Charlotte dismissed her preferred suitor, the Prince Of Wales barred her mother from seeing her child and eventually she moved away.
Princess Diana
Diana also came from a broken home with her mother Frances Shand Kydd, who passed away in 2004, aged 68, leaving the princess’ father John Spencer for wallpaper tycoon Peter Shand Kydd in 1969.
Frances was just 18 years old when her and the Earl Spencer Johnnie were married in 1954.
She moved out of the family home when the princess was just seven -and went to live with her new husband in Scotland after losing a custody battle for her four children, in which she was dubbed ‘the bolter’.
Diana and her mother were in a difficult relationship. They weren’t on speaking terms prior to Diana’s death in 1997.
Diana, like her mother Frances Shand Kydd is also from a dysfunctional home. She died in 2004 and was 68 years old. John Spencer, the wallpaper tycoon Peter Shand Kydd left behind Diana.
The royal’s brother Earl Spencer revealed in 2020 how a heartbroken Diana ‘used to wait on the doorstep for her mother to return’ home following her parents’ divorce.
Charles Spencer, 56, who lives in Althorp House, his family seat in the Northamptonshire countryside, told The Sunday Times: ‘While she was packing her stuff to leave, she promised Diana she’d come back to see her. Diana would wait at her door, but never showed up.
‘Our father was a quiet, constant source of love, but our mother wasn’t cut out for maternity… she couldn’t do it. Her love was for someone else and she became infatuated with him.
Earl Spencer claimed that he suffered from an emotionally traumatic childhood after his mother divorced when he turned two.
He admitted that he’s been in and out of therapy for 20 years, working on his unhappy childhood, where he and Diana were ‘very much in it together’.
Charles said that Althorp was “cold and scary” for him as a child and that his father and grandfather were not happy there.
Frances candidly spoke out about her relationship with husband in 1997 magazine interviews. She said that while she believed remorseful and regret were vitally needed when we’ve failed other people, repetitive apologies can be a form self-pity.
2. OTHER ROYALS ARE MORE POPULAR
Princess Charlotte
During her teenage years, it is said the princess showcased a rebellious streak, refusing to ‘put on dignity’, according to one of her mother’s ladies-in-waiting.
However, the young royal enjoyed ‘immense popularity with the public – a lively, personable and apparently virtuous young woman, providing a welcome contrast to her “mad” grandfather, George III, and her profligate father, the prince regent – and was met with cheering crowds wherever she went,’ said Borman.
Her father was jealous of her daughter’s popularity and punished her.
When he was appointed prince regent in 1811 upon his father’s final descent into ‘madness’, he used his new powers to place harsh restrictions on his daughter’s routine.
Princess Charlotte, the only child between George IV of Great Britain (1796-1817), and Caroline de Brunswick (1790-1865).
He cut her allowance on clothing and made it more common for her to spend her free time at Windsor’s maiden aunts. This also meant that she was less likely to be with her mother.
The princess’ popularity reached fever pitch when it was announced she was pregnant – after falling in love with Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, whom she wed on May 2, 1816, when she was 20.
Huge crowds gathered to celebrate their wedding at Carlton House – with Charlotte stunning in a wedding dress made from cloth of silver and priced at £10,000.
The couple, who had suffered an earlier miscarriage, announced Charlotte’s pregnancy in April 1817 and economists reportedly predicted that the birth of a girl would increase the stock market by 2.5 per cent and a boy by 6 per cent.
Princess Diana
As soon as Lady Diana Spencer was a possible bride to Prince Charles, it became an important figure in the public eye.
Time magazine described the couple as “the most glamourous on Earth” at their 1981 wedding.
Most royal historians, however, have pointed out that there was an internal popularity contest between them.
Even the Queen’s cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson, detailed in 2018 the moment when Charles realised he was being upstaged by Diana, who became one of the most photographed and talked-about people in the world.
PEOPLE – Lady Elizabeth Anson said: “[Diana]It was a transformation of a blonde, elegant beauty.
They did a visit to Wales which was the beginning of, for Prince Charles, realising, “They’ve come out to see my wife, they haven’t come out to see me.”‘
The couple traveled to North Wales after they had finished their honeymoon in Balmoral.
Even Diana noted her husband’s jealousy. Channel 4 broadcast her frustrations for the first time in 2017. It was in the program ‘Diana In Her Own Words.’ This is a compilation from recorded conversations she had with her voice coach between 1992 and 1993.
It was in these audio recordings that the Princess of Wales insisted Charles had become ‘jealous’ of her popularity.
She said: ‘Everybody always said, when we were in the car, “Oh, we’re on the wrong side. We want to see her, we don’t want to see him”. As we walked down the streets, that was all we heard.
‘And, obviously, he wasn’t used to that; nor was I. I was furious. He was jealous. I understood the jealousy, but I couldn’t explain that I didn’t ask for it.’
The remarks were made about Prince William’s first overseas trip, which was to Australia and New Zealand in March 1983.
During a speech at the time, Charles, in what appeared to be a nod to the public favouring Diana, said: ‘I’ve come to the conclusion, that really it would have been far easier to have had two wives, to have covered both sides of the street, and I could have walked down the middle, directing the operation.’
Patrick Jephson was Diana’s former press secretary on ITV’s Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals in 2020.
“If she laughed and smiled more, it wasn’t because she was having fun more; it was that she knew that it made him nervous.”
But despite the 73-year-old heir to the throne apparently feeling overshadowed by his popular wife during their life together, the Prince of Wales is reportedly not threatened by renewed interest in Diana thanks to The Crown’s series.
A royal expert said that he was frustrated at the way his past is being brought up as he tried to move on.
9Honey was told by Ms Nicholl: “I am absolutely certain he doesn’t see that sudden revived concern in her at all as a threat. He is frustrated that the past keeps being dug up, even though he’s trying to move ahead.
Time magazine proclaimed the Princess and Prince of Wales as “the most glamorous couple in Earth” at their 1981 wedding (pictured).
3. TRAGIC DEATHS AT YOUR YOUNG AGE
Princess Charlotte
Charlotte’s baby was due in October 18th 1817. But her labor pains began only November 3.
After her first labour, she gave birth on November 5 to a stillborn boy.
Next day, she died from shock and post-partum hemorhage. Only 21.
The princess (pictured) died of post-partum haemorrhage and shock in 1817 after giving birth to a still born son
Princess Diana
In August of 1997, a year after she finalised her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana remained a fixture on front pages around the world, despite losing her HRH titles in her divorce.
Diana had been enjoying a summer vacation in France while her two children, the Princes William and Harry, spent time with their father and grandmother, The Queen, in Balmoral, Scotland, but her final days were far from relaxing.
Photographers trying to get a shot of the princess with Dodi Fayed, her boyfriend, chased her.
Still, after facing Tory backlash over her apparent criticism of their policy concerning landmines during the previous government, Diana decided to extend her vacation – a move that would ultimately lead to her untimely death.
After the car in which she was riding crashed into the Pont de l’Alma bridge in Paris, Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997.
After receiving extensive medical care on site, Diana was rushed to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. After suffering two heart attacks and extensive internal bleeding, she was declared dead at 4:45 AM.
Princess Diana was in a Mercedes S280 with her driver Henri Paul, her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed – son of Harrods billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – and Fayed’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones at the time of her tragic crash.
Paul lost control and crashed into the concrete pillar of the tunnel, traveling at 65 mph. This was twice the tunnel speed limit which is 31 mph. Dodi, Paul and their infant son died at the scene. Diana, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, later died at a French hospital. Rees Jones was the only one to make it out of the accident.
Just moments before the crash, they were being followed by paparazzi.
Frederic Mailliez was an off-duty doctor who stopped by the scene to aid the victims. He dialled emergency services, tried to help Diana as best he could and was completely unaware she was Princess of Wales.
Diana was photographed in London, in 1997. This picture is one year after her final divorce settlement with Prince Charles.
4. INTENSE PUBLIC MOURNING
Princess Charlotte
According to the author, after Charlotte’s death, there was intense mourning that lasted several weeks.
“Linen drapers ran out black cloth and the homeless went about in black armbands,” she stated.
“Eventually, ribbon-makers and fancy-goods manufacturers (which were not allowed to be worn during mourning periods) petitioned government for a shorter period. They feared they would lose their business.
The British shops were closed for 2 weeks, as was the Royal Exchange, Docks and Law Courts.
Charlotte was laid to rest in the presence of people from all over the globe. St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The author reports that the nation was in deep mourning after Charlotte’s death (pictured).
Princess Diana
The world was shocked to learn that Diana died tragically in an automobile accident on the final day of August 1997.
Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, coined the expression “The People’s Princess” as a public tribute. It means: “That is how she will be, and how we will keep her in our hearts, our memories, forever.”
The funeral, which she attended on September 6th, became one of the most popular television shows ever. Estimated 2.5 billion people watched as her loved ones mourned her premature death.
Her young children, Prince Charles, Prince Phillip and brother Prince Charles were there for her for 30 minutes. As the hearse travelled through central London passing over a million supporters, it reached its destination.
The funeral of Princess Diana remains the most watched live event in the UK with 31 million viewers. This is in contrast to the wedding which was seen by 22 million people and 750 millions globally.
It is believed that more than 1.3 million tributes to flowers were planted at Kensington and Buckingham palace gates.
Diana’s London residence, Kensington Palace was the scene of thousands of flowers left by her mourners.
5. GRIEF IS TURNED INTO OUTRAGE
Princess Charlotte
After Charlotte died, national mourning quickly became outrage. Many citizens accused her father for not showing enough sorrow.
Even the threat of a rebellion sparked fears that the monarch might fall. However, her death prompted her uncles, George III’s younger sons, to marry in the hope of producing heirs.
Edward, Duke of Kent, the king’s fourth son, was successful after he married a German princess, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, in May 1818, when he was 50- years-old.
12 months later she gave birth, and the future Queen Victoria was born. She became almost as famous as Charlotte, her tragic cousin, but all too soon faded away from public memory.
Princess Diana
Following Diana’s passing, The Royal Family kept their doors closed in Balmoral. But, on the streets of London it seemed like they had lost compassion.
The Queen’s decision not to leave Scotland was met with shock. However, there was fury at Buckingham Palace for failing to lower its flag to half-mast.
‘Where Is Our Queen?’ yelled the headlines. ‘Let the flag fly at half mast,’ demanded others.
The Royal reverse was quiet until Thursday, September 4th when Charles held Harry’s hand and they appeared together at Balmoral gates to view the flowers that had been left.
The monarch, who was dressed in black but subdued and somber, returned to London to pay respects to Diana. She also met the mourners at The Mall, where they lined up to sign condolence cards.
In a touching tribute to her mother-in-law, She appeared on television.
The following day she would permit, for the first time ever, a Union Jack to be flown at half mast from Buckingham Palace in honour of Diana’s funeral and, memorably, she would bow her head before the Princess’s coffin.
In London, the day before Diana’s funeral, the Queen (pictured left and right) meets crowds queuing to sign books of condolence before giving a speech live on television