Prince Alfred of Great Britain

Prince Alfred (22 September 1780 – 20 August 1782) was a member of the British Royal
Prince Alfred
Family as the fourteenth child and ninth and youngest son of King George III and his
queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Alfred became ill after his inoculation
against the smallpox virus; his early death at the age of nearly two, along with the demise
of his brother Prince Octavius six months later, was a shock to their parents. In his later
bouts of madness King George would have imagined conversations with both of his
youngest sons.

Contents
Life
Death and aftermath
Title and style
Ancestry
Notes Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough,
1782
References
Born 22 September 1780
Bibliography
Windsor Castle, Windsor,
Berkshire, England

Life Died 20 August 1782 (aged 1)

Windsor Castle, Windsor,
Prince Alfred was born on 22 September 1780, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England.[1] Berkshire, England
His father was King George III, his mother Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The prince Burial 27 August 1782
was baptised by Frederick Cornwallis, The Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Great Westminster Abbey
Council Chamber at St James's Palace on 21 October 1780. His godparents were The 11 February 1820
Prince of Wales (his eldest brother), The Prince Frederick (his second brother) and The St George's Chapel,
Princess Royal (his eldest sister).[2][3] As his parents' fourteenth child and ninth son, his Windsor Castle
birth was no surprise but it did bring joy to his family, especially to his older sister Sophia,
House Hanover
who, their sister Elizabeth reported, called the new baby her "grandson".[4]
Father George III of the United
Kingdom
Death and aftermath
Mother Charlotte of Mecklenburg-
In 1782, Prince Alfred was inoculated against smallpox. The sickness proved too much Strelitz
for the child and in June he was taken to Deal with his governess Lady Charlotte Finch to
recover.[5][6] It was hoped that the sea air, bathing in the water, and horseback riding would improve his condition. While he was
there, Alfred endeared himself to many, including an old woman to whom he waved. In spite of his charming disposition, he
continued to break out in spots and his chest was troubling him.[5] When he returned to Windsor in August 1782, the doctors
inspected him and realized that the boy had only weeks to live. After suffering bouts of fever and continuing problems with his
chest,[7] Prince Alfred died on 20 August 1782, at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, not even two years old.[1][8]

Although the household did not go into mourning (it was not prescribed for royal children younger than fourteen),[9] his parents
took the loss harshly. According to Lady Charlotte Finch, the Queen "cried vastly" and was "very much hurt by her loss and the
King also."[10] Later in August 1782 the Queen sent Finch a lock of Alfred's hair stating "Receive This ... as an
Acknowledgement for Your very affectionate attendance upon my dear little Angel Alfred, and wear the inclosed Hair, not only in
remembrance of that dear Object, but also as a mark of esteem from Your Affectionate Queen".[11] Alfred was buried at
Westminster Abbey,[12] though his remains were later moved to the Royal Vault in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on 11
February 1820.[13][14][15] His father continued to dwell on his death, and the sight of Alfred's posthumous portrait in a family
painting by Thomas Gainsborough nearly a year after Alfred's death sent his three eldest sisters into tears.[16] Six months after
Alfred's death, his elder brother Octavius succumbed to the smallpox virus, further devastating the king.[17][18] During one of his
bouts of madness in 1812, George would have imaginary conversations with his two youngest sons.[note 1]

His youngest sister Princess Amelia was conceived in the months after Alfred's death, born almost exactly a year after he died.[19]
The first of George III and Queen Charlotte's children to die,[12][20] Alfred died nearly seventy five years before his older sister
Mary, who was the last survivor of George III and Queen Charlotte's fifteen children.[21] Alfred is also unique among their first
fourteen children for never being an older sibling while he was alive, as the only child younger than him was born after his
death.[22]

Title and style

22 September 1780 – 20 August 1782: His Royal Highness The Prince Alfred

Ancestry
Ancestors of Prince Alfred of Great Britain[23]
8. George II of Great Britain
4. Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales
9. Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
2. George III of the United Kingdom
10. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
5. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
11. Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
1. Prince Alfred of
Great Britain
12. Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
6. Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
13. Princess Christiane Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
3. Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
14. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
7. Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
15. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach

Notes
1. Jeremy Black lists these conversations occurring in 1812,[17] while Kenneth Panton believes they happened the
previous year, in 1811.[12] The King's last bout of madness occurred from 1811 until his death in 1820, so either
date is possible.

References
1. Weir 2008, p. 300. 13. "Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805" (https://web.
2. Sheppard 1894, p. 59. archive.org/web/20110927024852/http://www.stgeorg
3. Watkins 1819, p. 276. es-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/buri
al/burials-in-the-chapel-since-1805.html). College of
4. Fraser 2004, p. 70. St. George. Archived from the original (http://www.stg
5. Fraser 2004, p. 75. eorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connectio
6. Watkins 1819, p. 282. n/burial/burials-in-the-chapel-since-1805.html) on 27
7. Fraser 2004, pp. 75-76. September 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
8. Holt 1820, p. 251. 14. "Royal Burials in the Chapel by location" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20100122103842/http://www.stgeorg
9. Fritz 1982, p. 305. es-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/buri
10. Fraser 2004, p. 76. al/burials-in-the-chapel-by-location.html). College of
11. "RA GEO/ADD/15/443a-b - Letter from Queen St. George. Archived from the original (http://www.stg
Charlotte to Lady Charlotte Finch, probably August eorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connectio
1782" (http://gpp.royalcollection.org.uk/Record.aspx? n/burial/burials-in-the-chapel-by-location.html) on 22
src=Catalog&id=DOCUMENTARY%2f14). Georgian January 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
Papers Project. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 15. Holt 1820, p. 256.
3 February 2017.
16. Fraser 2004, p. 77.
12. Panton 2011, p. 39.
17. Black 2006, p. 156.
18. Fraser 2004, pp. 74-77.
19. Fraser 2004, p. 78.
20. Hibbert 2000, p. 99.
21. Fraser 2004, pp. 398-399. 23. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre
22. Fraser 2004. inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons
souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=AINPAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA
5) [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all
the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe
currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic
Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 5.

Bibliography
Black, Jeremy (2006). George III: America's Last King. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-11732-9.
Fraser, Flora (2004). Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6109-4.
Fritz, Paul S. (1982). "The Trade in Death: The Royal Funerals in England, 1685-1830". Eighteenth-Century
Studies. 15 (3): 291–316. doi:10.2307/2738157 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2738157). JSTOR 2738157 (https://w
ww.jstor.org/stable/2738157).
Hibbert, Christopher (2000). George III: A Personal History. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02724-5.
Holt, Edward (1820). The public and domestic life of His late Most Gracious Majesty, George the Third, Volume 1
(https://books.google.com/books?id=mWMBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA256&dq=prince+octavius&hl=en&ei=ih1bTtSmK-ni
0QHOxOmUCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=prince%20
octavius&f=false). London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones.
Panton, Kenneth J. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy (https://books.google.com/books?id=Biyy
ueBTpaMC&pg=PA359&dq=prince+octavius+1783+smallpox&hl=en&ei=inddTsqdFMXngQeHwbn6AQ&sa=X&oi=
book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q&f=false). Scarebrow Press, Inc.
ISBN 0-8108-5779-0.
Sheppard, Edgar (1894). Memorials of St. James's Palace, Volume 2 (https://books.google.com/books?id=pYkxA
QAAIAAJ&pg=PA419&dq=prince+alfred+1780&hl=en&ei=RR5bTuGKIIPC0AHsr-yTCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct
=result&resnum=9&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=prince%20alfred&f=false). London: Longmans, Green,
and Co.
Watkins, John (1819). Memoirs of Her most excellent Majesty Sophia-Charlotte: Queen of Great Britain, Volume 1
(https://books.google.com/books?id=X9NCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA291&dq=prince+octavius+1783+smallpox&hl=en&ei
=B4JdTpmaCeHG0AHeh5mbAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAzgU#v=onepa
ge&q=octavius&f=false). London: Henry Colburn.
Weir, Alison (2008). Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09-
953973-5.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prince_Alfred_of_Great_Britain&oldid=934599752"

This page was last edited on 7 January 2020, at 12:40 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.