DAUGHTERS OF GEORGE III: Sisters & Princesses

In the dying years of the 18th century, the corridors of Windsor echoed to the footsteps of six princesses. They were Charlotte Princess Royal (1766-1828), Augusta (1768-1840), Elizabeth (1770-1840) he "farmer", Mary Duchess of Gloucester (1776-1857), Sophia (1777-1848), and Amelia (1783-1810), the daughters of King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Though more than 15 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. 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, rumours 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. Raised in seclusion, although one would escape, her sisters were destined to remain the prisoners of a turbulent royal household. From Windsor to Württemberg via summer jaunts to Weymouth, their lives were forever changed by the infamous madness of George III. Meet urbane equerries and gossiping governesses, secret marriages to scandalous pregnancies and leeches to love affairs in a world where protocol was everything. 32 illus, 186 pages.