Queen Charlotte Medal

On the afternoon of 17 November 1818, just months before her granddaughter Queen Victoria was born, Queen Charlotte passed away at Kew Palace. Queen Charlotte was born in May 1744 in Germany, the youngest daughter of Charles Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Seventeen years later, on the evening of 8 September 1761 she became Queen of Great Britain upon her marriage to King George III, who had succeeded to the throne a year earlier after the death of his grandfather George II. Their joint six-hour coronation took place a fortnight after the wedding.

Queen Charlotte featured on several medals and tokens, portrayed alone and alongside her husband. The item depicted is a trial electrotype of an unofficial medal for the coronation, one of more than forty different medals that commemorated this important occasion. The design on some medals conjoined their busts, but this one by English medallist Thomas Pingo, gave each spouse a side. On the obverse is a portrait of George III, who faces left, and on the reverse is a portrait of Queen Charlotte who faces right. Pingo portrayed the Queen’s youthfulness by her long, flowing hair, filled with lovelocks, a romantic style to show devotion to her husband. Her hair is fixed with a flat beaded ribbon and she has brooches to secure the draped material on her shoulder. Underneath the bust is the date of their marriage and coronation.

During their fifty-seven years of marriage, they had fifteen children together and she greatly supported her husband throughout his periods of illness. George III died just two years after his late wife.