tirsdag den 26. november 2019

Blue blooded with a touch of black


Poor George III of England started out as a stout and very honorable man, but was stricken with a sickness that turned him mad. For many years he was a lunatic who suffered insults from his son George IV and was the laughing stock for people who should have known better.
Luckily enough, he had a loving consort in his wife, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The people loved her even though she wasn't considered pretty. Her ancestry was quite special as she was supposed to be the descendant of the mistress of the Portugese ruler Alfonso III, Madragana, who was a Black African. Several people noticed the "moorish" features of Queen Charlotte, but none of her children or grandchildren inherited her looks. (One of these grandchildren was Queen Victoria).


She never was considered a beauty, not even in her youth, but nobody saw her as a "Moor".
Actually, Queen Charlotte may not even have been the first "black" queen of England as the consort of Edward III, Philippa of Hainault (1314-69), may have been the first one with an African heritage.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/12/race-monarchy

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