From secret marriages to scandalous pregnancies and leeches to love
affairs, the six daughters of George III and their isolated world are
bought vividly back to life.
In the dying years of the 18th century, the corridors of Windsor echoed
to the footsteps of six princesses. They were Charlotte, Augusta,
Elizabeth, Mary, Sophia, and Amelia, the daughters of King George III
and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Though more than fifteen
years divided the births of the eldest sister from the youngest, these
princesses all shared a longing for escape. Faced with their father's
illness and their mother's dominance, for all but one a life away from
the seclusion of the royal household seemed like an unobtainable
dream.
The six daughters of George III were raised to be young ladies and each
in her time was one of the most eligible women in the world. Tutored in
the arts of royal womanhood, they were trained from infancy in the
skills vial to a regal wife but as the king's illness ravaged him,
husbands and opportunities slipped away.
Yet even in isolation, the lives of the princesses were filled with
incident. From secret romances to dashing equerries, rumors of
pregnancy, clandestine marriage and even a run-in with Napoleon, each
princess was the leading lady in her own story, whether tragic or
inspirational. In The Royal Nunnery: Daughters of George III, take a
wander through the hallways of the royal palaces, where the king's
endless ravings echo deep into the night and his daughters strive to be
recognized not just as princesses, but as women too.
