Princess Caroline Of Great Britain

Princess Caroline of Great Britain (Caroline Elizabeth), born on 10 June 1713 at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Germany, was the fourth child and third daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach. She was a granddaughter of the Elector of Hanover and was styled Princess Caroline of Hanover at birth. Her father was George Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Hanover, and her mother was Caroline of Ansbach, daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

Following her birth, Princess Caroline was baptised at Herrenhausen Palace the day after her birth. She was a member of the House of Hanover and was seventh in the line of succession to the British throne under the Act of Settlement 1701.

In 1714, upon the death of Queen Anne, her grandfather ascended to the throne as King George I, and her father became Prince of Wales. At the age of one year, Caroline accompanied her mother and her elder sisters, the Princesses Anne and Amelia, to Great Britain, where the family resided at St James's Palace in London. At this time, she was styled as a Princess of Great Britain.

In 1722, at her mother's direction, she was inoculated against smallpox through variolation, an early form of immunisation popularised by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Charles Maitland. A list from January–February 1728 records her personal expenses, including charitable contributions to several Protestant groups in London.

Princess Caroline was known as her mother's favourite and earned the nickname "the truth-telling Caroline Elizabeth" or "the truth-loving" due to her tendency to speak candidly. When disagreements arose among royal children, her parents would reportedly say, "Send for Caroline, and then we shall know the truth!"

During her later years, it is suggested that her unhappiness stemmed from her love for Lord Hervey, a courtier who was bisexual and may have had an affair with her elder brother, Prince Frederick. Lord Hervey was also romantically linked with several women at court, including Frederick's mistress, Anne Vane. Upon Lord Hervey's death in 1743, Caroline retired to St. James's Palace, where she remained largely inaccessible to outsiders and devoted herself to charity work.

Princess Caroline remained unmarried and childless at the time of her death on 28 December 1757, at the age of 44, at St James's Palace. She was buried at Westminster Abbey. Her death was noted by Horace Walpole, who commented on her constant goodness, extensive charity work, and generous nature, despite her prolonged illness and confinement.

In her lifetime, Caroline was granted use of the arms of the realm as a granddaughter of the sovereign on 31 January 1719, with a differencing coat of arms featuring a label argent of five points, each bearing three roses gules. Later, on 30 August 1727, as a child of the sovereign, her arms were differenced by a label argent of three points, each bearing three roses gules.

Her ancestry traces back through the House of Hanover and related European noble lines, linking her to various historic figures in German and British nobility.

See also: List of British princesses, House of Hanover.