text: caroline of ansbach wilhelmina charlotte caroline of brandenburg - ansbach ( 1 march 1683 – 20 november 1737 ) , commonly known as caroline of ansbach , was queen of great britain as the wife of king george ii . her father , margrave john frederick of brandenburg - ansbach , belonged to a branch of the house of hohenzollern and was the ruler of a small german state , the principality of ansbach . caroline was orphaned at a young age and moved to the enlightened court of her guardians , king frederick i and queen sophia charlotte of prussia . at the prussian court , her previously limited education was widened , and she adopted the liberal outlook possessed by sophia charlotte , who became her good friend and whose views influenced caroline all her life . as a young woman , caroline was much sought - after as a bride . after rejecting the suit of the nominal king of spain , archduke charles of austria , she married george augustus , the third - in - line to the british throne and heir apparent to the electorate of hanover . they had eight children , seven of whom grew to adulthood . caroline moved permanently to britain in 1714 when her husband became prince of wales . as princess of wales , she joined her husband in rallying political opposition to his father king george i. in 1717 , her husband was expelled from court after a family row . caroline came to be associated with robert walpole , an opposition politician who was a former government minister . walpole rejoined the government in 1720 , and caroline 's husband and king george i reconciled publicly , on walpole 's advice . over the next few years , walpole rose to become the leading minister . caroline succeeded as queen and consort in 1727 , when her husband became king george ii . her eldest son , frederick , became prince of wales . he was a focus for the opposition , like his father before him , and caroline 's relationship with him was strained . as princess and as queen , caroline was known for her political influence , which she exercised through and for walpole . her tenure included four regencies during her husband 's stays in hanover , and she is credited with strengthening the hanoverian dynasty 's place in britain during a period of political instability . caroline was widely mourned following her death in 1737 , not only by the public but also by the king , who refused to remarry . early life caroline was born on 1 march 1683 at ansbach , the daughter of john frederick , margrave of brandenburg - ansbach , and his second wife , princess eleonore erdmuthe of saxe - eisenach . her father was the ruler of one of the smallest german states ; he died of smallpox at the age of 32 , when caroline was three years old . caroline and her only full sibling , her younger brother margrave william frederick , left ansbach with their mother , who returned to her native eisenach . in 1692 , caroline 's widowed mother was pushed into an unhappy marriage with the elector of saxony , and she and her two children moved to the saxon court at dresden . eleonore erdmuthe was widowed again two years later , after her unfaithful husband contracted smallpox from his mistress . eleonore remained in saxony for another two years , until her death in 1696 . the orphaned caroline and william frederick returned to ansbach to stay with their elder half - brother , margrave george frederick ii . george frederick was a youth with little interest in parenting a girl , and so caroline soon moved to outside berlin , where she entered into the care of her new guardians , frederick , elector of brandenburg , and his wife , sophia charlotte , who had been a friend of eleonore erdmuthe . education frederick and sophia charlotte became king and queen of prussia in 1701 . the queen was the daughter of dowager electress sophia of hanover , and the sister of george , elector of hanover . she was renowned for her intelligence and strong character , and her uncensored and liberal court attracted a great many scholars , including philosopher gottfried leibniz . caroline was exposed to a lively intellectual environment quite different from anything she had experienced previously . before she began her education under sophia charlotte 's care , caroline had received little formal education ; her handwriting remained poor throughout her life . with her lively mind , caroline developed into a scholar of considerable ability . she and sophia charlotte developed a strong relationship in which caroline was treated as a surrogate daughter ; the queen once declared berlin was " a desert " without caroline whenever she left temporarily for ansbach . marriage an intelligent and attractive woman , caroline was much sought - after as a bride . dowager electress sophia called her " the most agreeable princess in germany " . she was considered for the hand of archduke charles of austria , who was a candidate for the throne of spain and later became holy roman emperor . charles made official overtures to her in 1703 , and the match was encouraged by king frederick of prussia . after some consideration , caroline refused in 1704 , as she would not convert from lutheranism to catholicism . early in the following year , queen sophia charlotte died on a visit to her native hanover . caroline was devastated , writing to leibniz , " the calamity has overwhelmed me with grief and sickness , and it is only the hope that i may soon follow her that consoles me . " in june 1705 , queen sophia charlotte 's nephew , george augustus , the electoral prince of hanover , visited the ansbach court , supposedly incognito , to inspect caroline , as his father the elector did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he himself had . the nephew of three childless uncles , george augustus was under pressure to marry and father an heir to prevent endangering the hanoverian succession . he had heard reports of caroline 's " incomparable beauty and mental attributes " . he immediately took a liking to her " good character " and the british envoy reported that george augustus " would not think of anybody else after her " . for her part , caroline was not fooled by the prince 's disguise , and found her suitor attractive . he was the heir apparent of his father 's electorate of hanover and third - in - line to the british throne of his distant cousin queen anne , after his grandmother dowager electress sophia and his father the elector . on 22 august 1705 , caroline arrived in hanover for her wedding to george augustus ; they were married that evening in the palace chapel at herrenhausen . by may of the following year , caroline was pregnant , and her first child prince frederick was born on 20 january 1707 . a few months after the birth , in july , caroline fell seriously ill with smallpox followed by pneumonia . her baby was kept away from her , but george augustus remained at her side devotedly , and caught and survived the infection himself . over the next seven years , caroline had three more children , anne , amelia , and caroline , all of whom were born in hanover . george augustus and caroline had a successful and loving marriage , though he continued to keep mistresses , as was customary for the time . caroline was well aware of his infidelities , as they were well known and he told her about them . his two best - known mistresses were henrietta howard , later countess of suffolk , and , from 1735 , amalie von wallmoden , countess of yarmouth . howard was one of caroline 's women of the bedchamber and became mistress of the robes when her husband inherited a peerage in 1731 ; she retired in 1734 . in contrast with her mother - in - law and husband , caroline was known for her marital fidelity ; she never made any embarrassing scenes nor did she take lovers . she preferred her husband 's mistresses to be ladies - in - waiting , as that way she believed she could keep a closer eye on them . the succession of her husband 's family to the british throne was still insecure , as queen anne 's half - brother james stuart contested the hanoverian claim , and queen anne and caroline 's grandmother - in - law dowager electress sophia had fallen out . anne refused permission for any of the hanoverians to visit britain in her lifetime . caroline wrote to leibniz , " i accept the comparison which you draw , though all too flattering , between me and queen elizabeth as a good omen . like elizabeth , the electress 's rights are denied her by a jealous sister [ queen anne ] , and she will never be sure of the english crown until her accession to the throne . " in june 1714 , dowager electress sophia died in caroline 's arms at the age of 84 , and caroline 's father - in - law became heir presumptive to queen anne . just weeks later , anne died and the elector of hanover was proclaimed as her successor , becoming george i of great britain . princess of wales george augustus sailed to england in september 1714 , and caroline and two of her daughters followed in october . her journey across the north sea from the hague to margate was the only sea voyage she took in her life . their young son , prince frederick , remained in hanover for the rest of george i 's reign to be brought up by private tutors . on the accession of george i in 1714 , caroline 's husband automatically became duke of cornwall and duke of rothesay . shortly afterwards , he was invested as prince of wales , whereupon she became princess of wales . caroline was the first woman to receive the title at the same time as her husband received his . she was the first princess of wales for over two hundred years , the last one being catherine of aragon . as george i had repudiated his wife sophia dorothea of celle in 1694 prior to his becoming king of great britain , there was no queen consort , and caroline was the highest - ranking woman in the kingdom . george augustus and caroline made a concerted effort to " anglicise " by acquiring knowledge of england 's language , people , politics and customs . two separate courts developed with strong contrasts ; the old king 's had german courtiers and government ministers , while the wales 's court attracted english nobles out of favour with the king , and was considerably more popular with the british people . george augustus and caroline gradually became centres of the political opposition to the king . two years after their arrival in england , caroline suffered a stillbirth , which her friend the countess of bückeburg blamed on the incompetence of english doctors , but the following year she had another son , prince george william . at the baptism in november 1717 , her husband fell out with his father over the choice of godparents , leading to the couple 's placement under house arrest at st. james 's palace prior to their banishment from court . caroline was originally allowed to stay with their children , but refused as she believed her place was with her husband . she and her husband moved into leicester house , while their children remained in the care of the king . caroline fell sick with worry , and fainted during a secret visit to her children made without the king 's approval . by january , the king had relented and allowed caroline unrestricted access . in february , prince george william fell ill , and the king allowed both george augustus and caroline to see him at kensington palace without any conditions . when the baby died , a post - mortem was conducted to prove that the cause of death was disease ( a polyp on the heart ) rather than the separation from his mother . further tragedy occurred in 1718 , when caroline miscarried at richmond lodge , her country residence . over the next few years , caroline had three more children : william , mary and louise . leicester house became a frequent meeting place for the ministry 's political opponents . caroline struck up a friendship with politician sir robert walpole , a former minister in the whig government who led a disgruntled faction of the party . in april 1720 , walpole 's wing of the whig party reconciled with the governing wing , and walpole and caroline helped to effect a reconciliation between the king and her husband for the sake of public unity . caroline wanted to regain her three eldest daughters , who remained in the care of the king , and thought the reconciliation would lead to their return , but negotiations came to nothing . george augustus came to believe that walpole had tricked him into the reconciliation as part of a scheme to gain power . the prince was isolated politically when walpole 's whigs joined the government , and leicester house played host to literary figures and wits , such as john arbuthnot and jonathan swift , rather than politicians . arbuthnot told swift that caroline had enjoyed his gulliver 's travels , particularly the tale of the crown prince who wore one high - heel and one low - heel in a country where the king and his party wore low heels , and the opposition wore high ones : a barely veiled reference to the political leanings of the prince of wales . caroline 's intellect far outstripped her husband 's , and she read avidly . she established an extensive library at st. james 's palace . as a young woman , she corresponded with gottfried leibniz , the intellectual colossus who was courtier and factotum to the house of hanover . she later facilitated the leibniz - clarke correspondence , arguably the most important philosophy of physics discussion of the 18th century . she helped to popularise the practice of variolation ( an early type of immunisation ) , which had been witnessed by lady mary wortley montagu and charles maitland in constantinople . at the direction of caroline , six condemned prisoners were offered the chance to undergo variolation instead of execution : they all survived , as did six orphan children given the same treatment as a further test . convinced of its medical value , caroline had her children amelia , caroline and frederick inoculated against smallpox in the same manner . in praising her support for smallpox inoculation , voltaire wrote of her , " i must say that despite all her titles and crowns , this princess was born to encourage the arts and the well - being of mankind ; even on the throne she is a benevolent philosopher ; and she has never lost an opportunity to learn or to manifest her generosity . " queen and regent caroline became queen consort on the death of her father - in - law in 1727 , and she was crowned alongside her husband at westminster abbey on 11 october that year . she was the first queen consort to be crowned since anne of denmark in 1603 . though george ii denounced walpole as a " rogue and rascal " over the terms of the reconciliation with his father , caroline advised her husband to retain walpole as the leading minister . walpole commanded a substantial majority in parliament and george ii had little choice but to accept him or risk ministerial instability . walpole secured a civil list payment of £ 100 , 000 a year for caroline , and she was given both somerset house and richmond lodge . courtier lord hervey called walpole " the queen 's minister " in recognition of their close relationship . for the next ten years , caroline had immense influence . she persuaded the king to adopt policies at the behest of walpole , and persuaded walpole against taking inflammatory actions . caroline had absorbed the liberal opinions of her mentor , queen sophia charlotte of prussia , and supported clemency for the jacobites ( supporters of the rival stuart claim to the throne ) , freedom of the press , and freedom of speech in parliament . over the next few years , she and her husband fought a constant battle against their eldest son , frederick , prince of wales , who had been left behind in germany when they came to england . he joined the family in 1728 , by which time he was an adult , had mistresses and debts , and was fond of gambling and practical jokes . he opposed his father 's political beliefs , and complained of his lack of influence in government . the regency act 1728 made caroline rather than frederick regent when her husband was in hanover for five months from may 1729 . during her regency , a diplomatic incident with portugal ( where a british ship had been seized on the tagus ) was defused , and the negotiation of the treaty of seville between britain and spain was concluded . from may 1732 , she was regent for four months while george ii was again away in hanover . an investigation into the penal system uncovered widespread abuses , including cruel treatment and conspiracy in the escape of wealthy convicts . caroline pressed walpole for reform , largely unsuccessfully . in march 1733 , walpole introduced an unpopular excise bill to parliament , which the queen supported , but it gathered such strong opposition that it was eventually dropped . caroline 's entire life in britain was spent in the south - east of england in or around london . as queen , she continued to surround herself with artists , writers and intellectuals . she collected jewellery , especially cameos and , acquired important portraits and miniatures , and enjoyed the visual arts . she commissioned works such as terracotta busts of the kings and queens of england from michael rysbrack , and supervised a more naturalistic design of the royal gardens by william kent and charles bridgeman . in 1728 , she rediscovered sets of sketches by leonardo da vinci and hans holbein that had been hidden in a drawer since the reign of william iii . caroline 's eldest daughter anne married william iv of orange in 1734 , and moved with her husband to the netherlands . caroline wrote to her daughter of her " indescribable " sadness at the parting . anne soon felt homesick , and travelled back to england when her husband went on campaign . eventually , her husband and father commanded her to return to holland . final years in mid - 1735 , frederick , prince of wales , was further dismayed when caroline , rather than himself , again acted as regent while the king was absent in hanover . the king and queen arranged frederick 's marriage , in 1736 , to princess augusta of saxe - gotha . shortly after the wedding , george went to hanover , and caroline resumed her role as " protector of the realm " . as regent , caroline considered the reprieve of captain john porteous , who had been convicted of murder in edinburgh . before she could act , a mob stormed the jail where he was held and killed him . caroline was appalled . the king 's absences abroad were leading to unpopularity , and in late 1736 he made plans to return , but his ship was caught in poor weather , and it was rumoured that he had been lost at sea . caroline was devastated , and disgusted by the insensitivity of her son , who hosted a grand dinner while the gale was blowing . during her regency , the prince of wales attempted to start a number of quarrels with his mother , whom he saw as a useful proxy to irritate the king . george eventually returned in january 1737 . frederick applied to parliament unsuccessfully for an increased financial allowance that had hitherto been denied him by the king , and public disagreement over the money drove a further wedge between parents and son . on the advice of walpole , frederick 's allowance was raised in an attempt to mitigate further conflict , but by less than he had asked . in june 1737 , frederick informed his parents that augusta was pregnant , and due to give birth in october . in fact , augusta 's due date was earlier and a peculiar episode followed in july in which the prince , on discovering that his wife had gone into labour , sneaked her out of hampton court palace in the middle of the night , to ensure that the king and queen could not be present at the birth . george and caroline were horrified . traditionally , royal births were witnessed by members of the family and senior courtiers to guard against supposititious children , and augusta had been forced by her husband to ride in a rattling carriage for an hour and a half while heavily pregnant and in pain . with a party including two of her daughters and lord hervey , the queen raced over to st. james 's palace , where frederick had taken augusta . caroline was relieved to discover that augusta had given birth to a " poor , ugly little she - mouse " rather than a " large , fat , healthy boy " as the pitiful nature of the baby made a supposititious child unlikely . the circumstances of the birth deepened the estrangement between mother and son . according to lord hervey , she once remarked after seeing frederick , " look , there he goes — that wretch ! — that villain ! — i wish the ground would open this moment and sink the monster to the lowest hole in hell ! " in the final years of her life , caroline was troubled by gout in her feet , but more seriously she had suffered an umbilical hernia at the birth of her final child in 1724 . on 9 november 1737 , she felt an intense pain and , after struggling through a formal reception , took to her bed . her womb had ruptured . over the next few days she was bled , purged , and operated on , without anaesthetic , but there was no improvement in her condition . the king refused frederick permission to see his mother , a decision with which she complied ; she sent her son a message of forgiveness through walpole . she asked her husband to remarry after her death , which he rejected saying he would take only mistresses ; she replied " ah , mon dieu , n pas " ( " my god , that doesn 't prevent it " ) . on 17 november , her strangulated bowel burst . she died on 20 november 1737 at st. james 's palace . she was buried in westminster abbey on 17 december . frederick was not invited to the funeral . george frideric handel composed an anthem for the occasion , the ways of zion do mourn / funeral anthem for queen caroline . the king arranged for a pair of matching coffins with removable sides , so that when he followed her to the grave ( 23 years later ) , they could lie together again . legacy caroline was widely mourned . the protestants lauded her moral example , and even the jacobites acknowledged her compassion , and her intervention on the side of mercy for their compatriots . during her lifetime her refusal to convert when offered the hand of archduke charles was used to portray her as a strong adherent to protestantism . for example , john gay wrote of caroline in a letter to a lady ( 1714 ) : the pomp of titles easy faith might shake , she scorn 'd an empire for religion 's sake : for this , on earth , the british crown is giv 'n , and an immortal crown decreed in 'n . she was widely seen by both the public and the court as having great influence over her husband . a satirical verse of the period went : you may strut , dapper george , but ' twill all be in vain , we all know ' tis queen caroline , not you , that reign – you govern no more than don philip of spain . then if you would have us fall down and adore you , lock up your fat spouse , as your dad did before you . the memoirs of the eighteenth century , particularly those of john , lord hervey , fed perceptions that caroline and walpole governed her husband . peter quennell wrote that hervey was the " chronicler of this remarkable coalition " and that she was hervey 's " heroine " . using such sources , biographers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries credit her with aiding the establishment of the house of hanover in britain , in the face of jacobite opposition . r. l. arkell wrote " by her acumen and geniality , [ caroline ] ensured the dynasty 's rooting itself in england " , and w. h. wilkins said her " gracious and dignified personality , her lofty ideals and pure life did much to counteract the unpopularity of her husband and father - in - law , and redeem the early georgian era from utter grossness . " although modern historians tend to believe that hervey , wilkins and arkell have overestimated her importance , it is nevertheless probable that caroline of ansbach was one of the most influential consorts in british history . titles , styles , honours and arms titles and styles 1683 – 1705 : her serene highness princess caroline of brandenburg - ansbach 1705 – 1714 : her serene highness the electoral princess of hanover 1714 – 1727 : her royal highness the princess of wales 1727 – 1737 : her majesty the queen honours caroline county in the british colony of virginia was named in her honour when it was formed in 1727 . arms the royal coat of arms of the united kingdom are impaled with those of her father , john frederick , margrave of brandenburg - ansbach . the arms of her father were quarterly of fifteen , 1st , per fess gules and argent , within a bordure counter - changed of the same ( for magdeburg ) ; 2nd , argent , an eagle displayed sable , crowned or ; 3rd , or , a griffin segreant gules , crowned ; 4th and 5th , argent , a griffin segreant gules ; 6th , or , a griffin segreant sable ; 7th , argent , an eagle displayed sable ( for ) ; 8th , per pale argent and gules within a bordure counter - changed of the same ( for halberstadt ) ; 9th , argent , an eagle displayed sable ; 10th , or , a lion rampant sable , crowned , within a bordure argent and gules ( for nuremberg ) ; 11th , gules , two keys in saltire or ( for minden ) ; 12th , quarterly argent and sable ( for hohenzollern ) ; 13th , the field gules , the figure argent ; 14th , per fess gules and argent ; 15th , plain field of gules ( for right of regalia ) ; overall an inescutcheon , argent , an eagle displayed gules ( for brandenburg ) . issue caroline 's ten pregnancies resulted in eight live births , of whom one died in infancy , and seven lived to adulthood . ancestry