Editing Caroline of Ansbach (section)

==Early life==
[[File:De Merian Frankoniae 108.jpg|thumb|left|Ansbach in the 17th century]]
Caroline was born on 1 March 1683 at [[Ansbach]], the daughter of [[John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]], and his second wife, [[Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach]].<ref name="Weir">Weir, pp. 277–278.</ref><ref name="odnb">Taylor.</ref> Her father was the ruler of one of the smallest German states; he died of [[smallpox]] at the age of 32, when Caroline was three years old. Caroline and her only full sibling, her younger brother [[William Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|Margrave William Frederick]], left Ansbach with their mother, who returned to her native [[Eisenach]].<ref>Arkell, p. 5.</ref>
In 1692, Caroline's widowed mother was pushed into an unhappy marriage with the [[John George IV, Elector of Saxony|Elector of Saxony]], and she and her two children moved to the Saxon court at [[Dresden]]. Eleonore Erdmuthe was widowed again two years later, after her unfaithful husband contracted smallpox from his mistress.<ref>Arkell, p. 6; Van der Kiste, p. 12.</ref> Eleonore remained in [[Saxony]] for another two years, until her death in 1696.<ref name=odnb/><ref>Arkell, p. 6; Hichens, p. 19.</ref> The orphaned Caroline and William Frederick returned to Ansbach to stay with their elder half-brother, [[George Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|Margrave George Frederick II]]. George Frederick was a youth with little interest in parenting a girl, and so Caroline soon moved to [[Lützenburg]] outside [[Berlin]], where she entered into the care of her new guardians, [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg]], and his wife, [[Sophia Charlotte of Hanover|Sophia Charlotte]], who had been a friend of Eleonore Erdmuthe.<ref>Arkell, pp. 6–7.</ref>

===Education===
Frederick and Sophia Charlotte became king and queen of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in 1701. The Queen was the daughter of [[Sophia, Dowager Electress of Hanover]], and the sister of [[George I of Great Britain|George, Elector of Hanover]]. She was renowned for her intelligence and strong character, and her uncensored and liberal court attracted a great many scholars, including philosopher [[Gottfried Leibniz]].<ref name="H19">Hichens, p. 19.</ref> Caroline was exposed to a lively intellectual environment quite different from anything she had experienced previously. Before she began her education under Sophia Charlotte's care, Caroline had received little formal education; her handwriting remained poor throughout her life.<ref name=odnb/><ref name="vdk13">Van der Kiste, p. 13.</ref> With her lively mind, Caroline developed into a scholar of considerable ability.<ref name=H19/> She and Sophia Charlotte developed a strong relationship in which Caroline was treated as a surrogate daughter;<ref>Hanham, p. 279.</ref> the Queen once declared Berlin was "a desert" without Caroline whenever she left temporarily for Ansbach.<ref name=odnb/><ref name=vdk13/>