Queen Caroline English pearlware commemorative plate early 19th century

Dated: 1820 England

A fine quality commemorative pearlware pottery relief molded plate with a good central image in polychrome colours of Queen Caroline wife of King George IV. The border is decorated with crowns thistles, roses, bows and emblems related to the United Kingdom and the Prince of Wales English early 19th century. The reverse of the plate has an impressed crown mark.

Diameter: 9.5 inches

Current Condition: Fine unrestored

Literature: Wikapedia: Caroline of Brunswick QueenCaroline1820.jpg Portrait c. 1820 by James Lonsdale, "Principal Painter in Ordinary to the Queen". Her wedding ring is displayed prominently to emphasise fidelity to marriage vows. Queen consort of the United Kingdom and Hanover Tenure 29 January 1820 – 7 August 1821 Born 17 May 1768 Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire Died 7 August 1821 (aged 53) Hammersmith, Middlesex, England Burial 25 August 1821 Brunswick Cathedral Spouse George IV Issue Princess Charlotte of Wales Full name Caroline Amalie Elisabeth House Brunswick-Bevern Father Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Mother Princess Augusta of Great Britain Caroline of Brunswick (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom by marriage to King George IV from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821. She was the Princess of Wales from 1795 to 1820. Her father, Charles William Ferdinand, was the ruler of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in Germany, and her mother, Augusta, was the sister of the British king George III. In 1794, she was engaged to her first cousin and George III's eldest son, George, despite the two of them never having met and George already being illegally married to Maria Fitzherbert. George and Caroline married the following year, and nine months later Caroline had a child, Princess Charlotte of Wales. Shortly after Charlotte's birth, George and Caroline separated. By 1806, rumours that Caroline had taken lovers and had an illegitimate child led to an investigation into her private life. The dignitaries who led the investigation concluded that there was "no foundation" to the rumours, but Caroline's access to her daughter was restricted. In 1814, Caroline moved to Italy, where she employed Bartolomeo Pergami as a servant. Pergami soon became Caroline's closest companion, and it was widely assumed that they were lovers. In 1817, Caroline was devastated when her daughter Charlotte died in childbirth; she heard the news from a passing courier as George had refused to write and tell her. He was determined to divorce Caroline, and set up a second investigation to collect evidence of her adultery. In 1820, George became king of the United Kingdom and Hanover. George hated her, vowed she would never be the queen, and insisted on a divorce, which she refused. A legal divorce was possible but difficult to obtain. Caroline returned to Britain to assert her position as queen. She was wildly popular with the British populace, who sympathized with her and who despised the new king for his immoral behaviour. On the basis of the loose evidence collected against her, George attempted to divorce her by introducing the Pains and Penalties Bill to Parliament, but George and the bill were so unpopular, and Caroline so popular with the masses, that it was withdrawn by the Tory government. In July 1821, Caroline was barred from the coronation on the orders of her husband. She fell ill in London and died three weeks later; her funeral procession passed through London on its way to her native Brunswick, where she was buried.

£585    $789