Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales was laid to rest on 19 November 1817, and it can truly be said that the entire nation mourned. The 21 year old princess, second in line to the throne, had died of childbirth complications on 6 November, to the dismay of the kingdom. A royal death wouldn’t create such grief again… Read more The Funeral of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, died on 17 November 1796, less than 24 hours after suffering a massive stroke. She was not anywhere near a horse. She was one of the strongest and most capable rulers that Russia, and the world, has ever known. She dragged Russia into its place as a modern European… Read more The Non-Equestrian Death of Catherine the Great
The birth of a baby is incredibly influenced by culture. I know that seems odd, since it is a biological reality that appears to transcend cultural differences, but it is true nonetheless. In modern Western and Westernised culture birth has been centered around the technological achievements of biomedical practitioners, although that is changing as the… Read more The Woman in the Straw
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales died as a result of complications following the birth of her stillborn son on 6 November 1817. She was only 21, and the darling of Britain. The public mourning over her death would only be matched by the loss of Princess Diana nearly 180 years later. The reasons the public… Read more The Unpreventable Death of Princess Charlotte of Wales
In the 18th and 19th centuries the wives (and sometimes the mistresses) of naval officers would accompany their men aboard ship. One of these stalwart women was Elizabeth “Betsey” Wynne Fremantle, wife of Captain Thomas Francis Fremantle, and she left an amazing 40 volume diary to enrich the historical record. Their marriage was happy, as… Read more Captain Fremantle and Betsey