Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-1751), loved Britain, unlike his Hanover worshipping father, King George II, and his grandfather, George I. Because of this and his habit of playing music through an open window to the passing crowds, Frederick could do no wrong in the Georgian peoples’ eyes.

George II was considered dull and lacking intelligence, whilst his accomplished and well educated wife Caroline of Ansbach was said to rule the country with Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Britain. Frederick and his parents were frequently at odds; they much preferred another of their sons, William, Duke of Cumberland.

A Royal Wedding

On 27th April 1736, 29 year old Frederick, Prince of Wales married the 17 year old Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1719-1772) in the Chapel Royal, St. James’ Palace, in a ceremony carried out by Edmund Gibson, the Bishop of London.

The bride converted from the Lutheran church to the Church of England after Queen Caroline threatened to send her back to her parents in disgrace and unmarried if she refused.

Augusta’s parents never taught her English because they incorrectly believed that with the House of Hanover as their rulers, the British would have adopted the German language. Queen Caroline translated for her, and Augusta clutched a doll throughout the wedding.

Augusta Wins Frederick’s Affection

Augusta was a welcome contrast to Frederick’s parents. She was placid, patient, uncomplicated, and committed to learning English. She soon realised that by not contradicting or criticising him, she could enjoy Frederick’s affection. Augusta understood the value of prizing British products and culture above foreign imports and she became a fashion trendsetter.

Debt-ridden Frederick, Prince of Wales applied to parliament for an increase in his allowance as he was now a married man; he asked for an amount that equates to £3 million per annum today. George II offered a much lower sum; George believed that Frederick would use the money to set up a rival court to damage his and Caroline’s reputations.

Frederick refused his parsimonious and paranoid father’s offer. Parliament voted against Frederick’s sum, and it was only when Robert Walpole intervened that George begrudgingly raised his son’s allowance.

A Royal Pregnancy Raises Questions

Augusta fell pregnant, but the queen did not celebrate. Instead, she became obsessed with trying to prove that Frederick was not the child’s father. She claimed to others at court that he was impotent, and she interviewed his friends in the hope that they would confirm this. She believed that the Wales’ firstborn would be a wechselbag, a changeling, as George II had often suggested about the detested Frederick.

Caroline frequently questioned Augusta about the more delicate details of her state, but the princess frustrated her by offering vague or brief answers.

In June 1737, Frederick banned his parents from the birth of his first child, and he told them that the due date was in October 1737. Augusta was actually due to give birth in late July or early August.

Royal Baby Drama

On the 31st of July, Frederick and Augusta were staying at Hampton Court Palace with the king and queen. Princess Augusta went into labour and Frederick set his dangerous plan into action. He endangered his wife and their unborn child’s lives to ensure that his heir was not born under his parents’ roof.

As the Wales’ shuffled their way down the servant stairs, Augusta was in pain and her waters had broken. They mopped the flow of liquid so that there were no signs of her labour. She was bundled into a carriage and taken along rough roads at speed to St. James’ Palace. Frederick hurt his back, holding down an agonised Augusta.

The St. James’ Palace staff were not prepared for visitors, so Augusta gave birth between two sheets on a table at around 11 p.m. and the newborn was wrapped in a napkin. Miraculously, both mother and daughter were unharmed by the dramatic journey.

A further insult was levelled at the queen. Following family tradition would have meant that their newborn daughter received the name Caroline, but she was named after her maternal grandmother Augusta instead, with Caroline as her middle name. Princess Augusta Caroline would go on to be the mother of the notorious Caroline of Brunswick, wife of King George IV.

The Prince of Wales Creates A Constitutional Crisis

Frederick, Prince of Wales was well aware that by stealing away to St. James’, he was inviting a constitutional crisis. His child was second in line to the throne, and since the days of King James II and the bedpan plot of 1688 in which one baby was allegedly switched for another, it had been imperative that royal births were witnessed so that the succession was never in question.

Queen Caroline was alerted to the Wales’ departure and she sped to St. James’ Palace. She was apparently rather pleased that Augusta had borne “a poor, ugly little she-mouse.”

The fragility of the “she-mouse” compelled Caroline to concede that the child could not possibly have been substituted for another. The baby was christened exactly 50 days after her birth at St. James’ by John Potter, the Archbishop of Canterbury. George and Caroline were appointed Augusta’s godparents, but they refused to attend the ceremony.

King George’s Revenge Backfires

The king banished Frederick and Augusta from St. James’ Palace, a step that George I had once taken against him, but presumably remembering the pain that estrangement from his children had caused him, he did not take custody of baby Augusta. The Wales’ left the palace to supportive cheers from the crowd. Frederick and Augusta were heroes, and George II was cast as a villain.

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