After the overwhelming hate Meghan Markle, the rumored Black girlfriend of Prince Harry, received on social media following British media’s reports of their love affair, NewsOne thought it necessary to point out the African ancestry of Britain’s royal family––directly embodied by Queen Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Here are four things you may or may not know about Britain’s first Black queen:
Source: Print Collector / Getty
1. Queen Charlotte, the eighth child of Duke Charles Louis Frederick and Elizabeth Albertine, was born on May 19, 1744, according to PBS Frontline. She descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a Black branch of the Portuguese Royal House, the report says. Queen Charlotte eventually married King George III and bore 15 children, 13 of whom survived, African-American Registry writes. She is the great, great, great-grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II.
2. Artists who depicted the Queen were told to downplay her African features for fear of revealing the monarch’s history of intermixing and inbreeding, writes Frontline: “The Negroid characteristics of the Queen’s portraits certainly had political significance since artists of that period were expected to play down, soften or even obliterate undesirable features in a subject’s face.” She was an avid supporter of the arts and a novice botanist, and helped found Kew Gardens, a leading institution in plant biology, according to the Registry.
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty
3. Johann Christian Bach was reportedly a friend and supporter of Queen Charlotte, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dedicated his Opus 3 in her honor, the Registry writes.
4. Queen Charlotte died on November 17, 1818, but her legacy lives on in America-––the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, or the “Queen City,” is named in her honor, according to the Atlanta Black Star.
ALSO TRENDING:
- Solange, Jay Z Reunite In An Elevator & It Was Captured On Camera
- Beyonce’, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Unite For #MannequinChallenge
- Lil Wayne’s Daughter Reginae Slams T.I. For Putting Her Dad On Blast
Want news at your fingertips? Text “QCREW” to 24042 to join our text club!
The Latest Music, Celebrities and Interviews: Follow @‘92qjamsbmore’
Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
SOURCE: PBS Frontline, African-American Registry, Atlanta Black Star | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: YouTube
Watch The Throne: Meet Queen Charlotte, Britain’s First Black Queen was originally published on newsone.com
