Notes:

[royalfam.ged]

Victoria, queen of Great Britain and Ireland (r. 1837-1901), the longest-reigning monarch i n English history, established the monarchy as a respected and popular institution while it w as irrevocably losing its place as an integral part of the British governing system.

Born in Kensington Palace, London, on May 24, 1819, Victoria was the only child of Edward, du ke of Kent and son of George III, and Princess Victoria, daughter of the duke of Saxe-Coburg . Emerging from a lonely, secluded childhood to take the throne on the death of her uncle, Wi lliam IV, Victoria displayed a personality marked by strong prejudices and awillful stubbornn ess. She was strongly attached to the Whig prime minister Lord Melbourne; after he resigned i n 1839, Sir Robert Peel, his would-be successor, suggested that she dismiss the Whig ladies o f her court. Victoria, however, refused. In part because of this "bed chamber crisis," Melbou rne resumed office for two more years.

Victoria and her court were greatly transformed by her marriage to her first cousin, Prince A lbert of Saxe-Coburg, in 1840. Although her name now designates a supposedly prudish age, i t was Albert who made a point of straitlaced behavior, and introduced a strict decorum in cou rt. He also gave a more conservative tinge to Victoria's politics, leading her to become clos e to Peel. The couple had nine children. Victoria populated most of the thrones of Europe wit h her descendants. Among her grandchildren were Emperor William II of Germany and Alexandra , consort of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

Albert taught Victoria the need for hard work if she was to make her views felt in the cabine t, and during the prince's lifetime Victoria did, by insistently interjecting her opinions, f orce the ministers to take them into account. Opposing the policy of Lord Palmerston of encou raging democratic government on the Continent, for example, she was partly responsible for hi s departure as foreign secretary in 1851. She also helped form cabinets. Her political import ance was based, however, upon the temporarily factionalized state of Commons between 1846 an d 1868, when royal intervention was needed to help glue together majoritycoalitions.

Always prone to self-pity, Victoria fully indulged her grief at Albert's death in 1861. She r emained in mourning until her own death, making few public appearances and spending most of e ach year on the Isle of Wight and in the Scottish Highlands, where her closest companion wa s a dour Scottish servant, John Brown. Her popularity declined as a result, and republican se ntiment appeared during the late 1860s.

Victoria, however, regained the people's admiration when she resumed her determined efforts t o steer public affairs. She won particular esteem for defending the popular imperialist polic ies of the Conservative ministries of Benjamin Disraeli, who flattered her relentlessly and m ade her empress of India in 1876. Conversely, she flayed William E. Gladstone, the Liberal pr ime minister, whom she intensely disliked, for ostensibly weakening the empire. Although Vict oria also attacked Gladstone for encouraging democratic trends, the celebrations of her golde n and diamond jubilees in 1887 and 1897 demonstrated her great popularity.

In Victoria's later career, her attempts to influence government decisions ceased to carry si gnificant weight. The Reform Act of 1867, by doubling the electorate, strengthened party orga nization and eliminated the need for a mediator--the monarch--among factions in Commons.

Victoria died on Jan. 22, 1901. She was succeeded by her son, Edward VII.Her letters have bee n published in three series (1907; 1926-28; 1930-32).

Birth:
Kensington Palace

Victoria married Prince Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Albert Francis Augustus Charles on 10 Feb 1840 in London, England, Great Britain. Albert (son of Duke Ernest Of Saxe-Coburg, I and Louise of Saxe-Coburg- Altenburg) was born on 26 Aug 1819 in Schloss Rosenau, Near Coburg, Coburg, Bayern, Germany; died on 14 Dec 1861 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England; was buried in 1861 in Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, Windsor, England, Great Britain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Chapel Royal, St. James Palace

1. Princess Royal Victoria Adelaide Mary was born on 21 Nov 1840 in Buckingham, London, England, Great Britain; was christened on 10 Feb 1841 in Throne Room, Buckingham Palac, England; died on 5 Aug 1901 in Friedrichshof, Near, Kronberg, Taunus; was buried in Friedenskirche, Potsdam, Germany.
2. King of England Albert Edward Wettin Windsor, VII was born on 9 Nov 1841 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; was christened on 25 Jan 1842 in Windsor, Berkshire, England; died on 6 May 1910 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; was buried on 20 May 1910 in Windsor, Berkshire, England.
3. Princess of Saxe-Coburg Alice Maud Mary was born on 25 Apr 1843 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 14 Dec 1878 in Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany.
4. Prince Alfred Ernest Albert was born on 6 Aug 1844 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England; died on 30 Jul 1900 in Schloss Rosenau, Near Coburg, Coburg, Bayern, Germany.
5. Princess Helena Augusta Victoria Of Saxe-Coburg was born on 25 May 1846 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 09 Jun 1923 in Schomberg House, Pall Mall, London, England.
6. Princess Of Saxe-Coburg Louise Caroline Alberta was born on 18 Mar 1848 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 03 Dec 1939 in Kensington, London, England; was buried in Frogmore, England.
7. Prince Arthur William Patrick Of Saxe-Coburg was born on 1 May 1850 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 16 Jan 1942 in Bagshot Park, Surrey, England.
8. Prince Leopold George Duncan Of Saxe-Coburg was born on 07 Apr 1853 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 28 Mar 1884 in Cannes, France; was buried in 1884 in Windsor, Berkshire, England.
9. Princess Beatrice Mary Victoria was born on 14 Apr 1857 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 26 Oct 1944 in Bantridge Park, Balcombe, Sussex, England.

Notes:

Christened:
St. James Palace

Buried:
Kent Mausoleum

Edward married Victoria Mary Louisa on 11 Jul 1818 in Kew, Surrey, England, Great Britian. Victoria (daughter of Duke of Saxe-Coburg Francis Frederick and Countess Augusta Carolina Reuss-Ebersdorf) was born on 17 Aug 1786 in Coburg, Bayern, Germany; died on 16 Mar 1861 in Windsor, Berkshire, England; was buried on 25 Mar 1861 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Frogmore House

Notes:

Married:
Kew Palace

Notes:

George III was the longest reigning of male British monarchs. Born onJune 4, 1738, he was th e son of Frederick, prince of Wales, and the grandson of George II. He succeeded his grandfat her in 1760, his father having died in 1751.

George had high but impractical ideas of kingship. On his accession he sought to rule withou t regard to party, to banish corruption from political practice, and to abandon the Hanoveria n preoccupations of his predecessors. The chief minister chosen to implement his new system o f politics, the third earl of Bute (1713-92), however, was an unpracticed politician who mere ly succeeded in disrupting the established politics of the day without creating a viable alte rnative. The result was 10 years of ministerial instability and public controversy, which end ed only in 1770 with the appointment of Frederick, Lord North, an able and congenial minister .

Although never an autocratic monarch in the sense that his opponents contended, George III wa s always a powerful force in politics. He was a strong supporter of the war against America , and he viewed the concession of independence in 1783 with such detestation that he consider ed abdicating his throne. At the same time, he fought a bitter personal feud with the Whig le ader Charles James Fox, and his personal intervention brought the fall of the Fox-North minis try in 1783. He then found another minister, William Pitt, the Younger, who suited him. Eve n as late as 1801 he preferred, however, to force Pitt to resign as prime minister rather tha n permit Catholic Emancipation, a measure that he interpreted as contrary to his coronation o ath to uphold the Church of England.

After 1801 George III was increasingly incapacitated by an illness ,sometimes identified as p orphyria, that caused blindness and senility. His recurring bouts of insanity became a politi cal problem and ultimately compelled him to submit to the establishment of a formal Regency i n 1811.The regent was his oldest son, the future George IV, one of 15 children borne him by h is wife, Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

George III was bitterly criticized by Whig historians of his own and later days. But 20th-cen tury scholarship has somewhat redressed the balance, and he is now seen as a strong-minded bu t public-spirited monarch who perhaps ascended the throne at an overly young and impressionab le age. He learned quickly, however, and developed into a shrewd and sensible statesman, alth ough one of conservative views. To the court he brought a sense of public duty and private mo rality that proved popular in a society already being transformed by the evangelical revival . He showed considerable interest in agricultural improvement and was an avid collector of pa intings and books. The best loved of the Hanoverian rulers, he enjoyed a personal reputatio n that stood his house in good stead during the disastrous reign of his son George. George II I died on Jan. 29, 1820.

> Can anyone point me to a good online source for the children of King
> George III of England including illegitimate, what's known of. I used
> to think there was a newsgroup for royalty but couldn't find one,
> apologies this being off-topic.

1) George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (1762-1830)
2) Frederick, Duke of York (1763-1827)
3) William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV (1765-1837)
4) Edward, Duke of Kent (1767-1820) (father of Queen Victoria)
5) Princess Augusta (1768-1840)
6) Princess Elizabeth, m. Frederick of Hesse-Homburg (1770-1840)
7) Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, later King of Hanover (1771-1851)
8) Augustus, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843)
9) Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850)
10) Princess Sophia (1777-1845)
11) Prince Octavius (1779-1783)
12) Prince Alfred (1780-1782)
13) Princess Amelia (1783-1810)
14) Princess Mary, m. the Duke of Gloucester (1776-1857)

George III had no illegitimate children, having a most un-Hanoverian fidelity to Queen Charlotte.

Birth:
Norfolk-House, St. James Square

Christened:
Norfolk-House, St. James Square

Buried:
St. George Chapel, Windsor Castle

Died:
Windsor Castle

George married Lady of Mecklenburg Charlotte on 08 Sep 1761 in St. James' Palace, Westminster, Middlesex, England. Charlotte (daughter of Duke of Mecklenburg Charles Louis Frederick and Elizabeth of Saxe- Hildburghausen Albertin) was born on 19 May 1744 in Mirow, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany; was christened on 20 May 1744 in Mirow, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany; died on 17 Nov 1818 in Kew, Surrey, England, Great Britian; was buried on 2 Dec 1818 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Buried:
St. George Chapel, Windsor Castle

Died:
Kew Palace

Francis married Countess Augusta Carolina Reuss-Ebersdorf in 1777 in Ebersdorf, Reuss-Jhungere-Linie, Thuringia. Augusta (daughter of Count Henry of Reuss-Ebersdorf, XXIV and Countess of Erbach Schonberg Karoline Ernestine) was born on 09 Jan 1757 in Saxe-Coburg, Germany; died on 16 Nov 1831 in Coburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia; was buried on 20 Nov 1831 in Herz. Hofgarten, Coburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Buried:
Westminster Abbey

Died:
Leicester-House

Frederick married Princess of Saxe-Gotha Augusta on 08 May 1736 in Westminster, London, Middlesex, England. Augusta (daughter of Duke Frederick Of Saxe-Gotha, II and Princess of Anhalt Magdalene Auguste) was born on 30 Nov 1719 in Gotha, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia; died on 8 Feb 1772 in Carlton House, Westminster, Middlesex, England; was buried on 15 Feb 1772 in Westminster, Middlesex, London, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Buried:
Westminster Abbey

Notes:

Married:
Chapel Royal, St. James Palace

Charles married Elizabeth of Saxe- Hildburghausen Albertin in 1735. Elizabeth was born in 1713 in Mecklenburg, Germany; died in 1761. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ernst married Princess Sofie Antonie Brunswick-Wolfenbhuttel in 1749 in Wolfenbhuttel, Braunschweig, Germany. Sofie (daughter of Ferdinand Albrecht Brunswick Wolfenbuttel, II and Antoinette Amalie Brunswick-Wolfenbhuttel) was born on 23 Jan 1724 in Wolfenbhuttel, Braunschweig, Germany; died on 17 May 1802 in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia; was buried in St. Moritzkirche, Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Countess of Erbach Schonberg Karoline Ernestine on 28 Jun 1754 in Thurnau, O-Frnk, Bavaria. Schonberg (daughter of George Augustus and Ferdinanda) was born on 20 Aug 1727 in Gedern, Oberhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt; died on 22 Apr 1796 in Ebersdorf, R-J-L, Thuringia; was buried on 28 Apr 1796 in Ebersdorf, R-J-L, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]