1817 Death of British Princess Charlotte of Wales Silver Medal

A mint condition British Sterling silver commemorative medal mourning the death of HRH Charlotte Augusta, Princess of Wales, the daughter of Prince George (later George IV).

Had she not died very young, she would have been Queen of England. The obverse shows the portrait bust of the popular royal, with H. R. H. PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AUGUSTA – BORN JAN. 7, 1796. MARRIED MAY 2. 1816. There is also the medallist designer WEBB.F.-W.PUB:. On the reverse is the seated figure of a distraught Britannia, with the lion laying next to her. It has the text WEEP BRITAIN THOU HAST LOST - THE EXPECTANCY AND ROSE - OF THE FAIR STATE and DIED NOV VI MDCCCXVII. Along the edge of the medal is the engraved name of the recipient GEORGE CATT. The condition is extremely fine, close to mint. The medal comes with a 1817 Death of Princess Charlotte small memorial brass coin measuring 25.5mm (1 inch).

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (1796-1817) was the only child of George, Prince of Wales and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick. She was expected to ascend the British throne after the deaths of her grandfather, George III and her father, but died in childbirth at the age of 21, predeceasing them both. She married Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later King of the Belgians). After a year and a half of happy marriage, Charlotte died of complications after delivering a stillborn son.
Charlotte's death set off tremendous mourning among the British, who had seen her as a sign of hope and a contrast to both her unpopular father and her mentally ill grandfather. She had been George III's only legitimate grandchild and with her death, there was now a chance that the throne would pass to a distant relative. The King's ageing and unmarried sons looked for wives; it was his fourth son, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who fathered the eventual queen, Victoria.

Size: 49 x 3 mm (1 15/16 x 2/16 inches)
Weight: 53.1g