William Collins
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First published in Great Britain by William Collins 2014
Copyright © Janice Hadlow 2014
Janice Hadlow asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
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Cover image: Queen Charlotte, 1779 (oil on canvas) by West, Benjamin (1738–1820)/Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2015/Bridgeman Images
Source ISBN: 9780007165193
Ebook Edition © August 2014 ISBN: 9780008102203
Version: 2015-06-29
George III, Queen Charlotte and six princesses (watercolour, attributed to William Rought)
FOR MARTIN, ALEXANDER AND LOUIS,
AND FOR MY PARENTS, WHO DID NOT LIVE TO READ IT
Contents
WHEN QUEEN CHARLOTTE WAS ASKED by the artist, botanist and diarist Mrs Delany why she had appointed the writer Fanny Burney to the post of assistant dresser in her household, she answered with characteristic clarity: ‘I was led to think of Miss Burney first by her books, then by seeing her, then by hearing how much she was loved by her friends, but chiefly by her friendship for you.’ If questioned about why I wrote this book, I am not sure I could answer with such confident precision. In one sense, it simply crept up on me, emerging from a long love affair with the period and