Monday, June 24, 2013

Painting of the Day: Queen Caroline and Princess Charlotte, 1801


Caroline, Princess of Wales,
and Princess Charlotte
Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1801
Later purchased by Queen Victoria
The Royal Collection

Despite the luxuries of her station, Queen Caroline, reportedly, was an unhappy woman, owing largely to her turbulent marriage to King George IV. It was said that her one great joy—aside from time spent with her daughter, Princess Charlotte, was the time she spent playing her harp. The Queen was painted with both her instrument and her daughter in 1801 by Sir Thomas Lawrence.


Half a century later, Queen Victoria purchased this painting of Queen Caroline and was so fond of it that she commissioned two miniatures of Caroline’s face as seen in this painting. 




Miniature of Queen Caroline
Circa 1850
Watercolor on Ivory
Gugliemo Faija
The Royal Collection

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