Editing Caroline of Ansbach (section)

==Marriage==
[[File:George II, Queen Caroline, and children.jpg|thumb|left|Engraving of the royal couple and their seven children who survived infancy]]
An intelligent and attractive woman, Caroline was much sought-after as a bride. Dowager Electress Sophia called her "the most agreeable Princess in Germany".<ref>Arkell, p. 18.</ref> She was considered for the hand of [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Archduke Charles of Austria]], who was a candidate for the throne of Spain and later became Holy Roman Emperor. Charles made official overtures to her in 1703, and the match was encouraged by King Frederick of Prussia. After some consideration, Caroline refused in 1704, as she would not convert from [[Lutheranism]] to [[Catholicism]].<ref name=odnb/><ref>Arkell, pp. 9–13.</ref> Early in the following year, Queen Sophia Charlotte died on a visit to her native Hanover.<ref name="vdk14">Van der Kiste, p. 14.</ref> Caroline was devastated, writing to Leibniz, "The calamity has overwhelmed me with grief and sickness, and it is only the hope that I may soon follow her that consoles me."<ref name=vdk14/>

In June 1705, Sophia Charlotte's nephew [[George II of Great Britain|Prince George Augustus of Hanover]] visited the Ansbach court, supposedly incognito, to inspect Caroline, as his father the Elector did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he himself had.<ref>Arkell, p. 18; Fryer ''et al''., p. 33; Hichens, p. 19; Van der Kiste, p. 15.</ref> The nephew of three childless uncles, George Augustus was under pressure to marry and father an heir to prevent endangering the Hanoverian succession.<ref>Hanham, p. 281.</ref> He had heard reports of Caroline's "incomparable beauty and mental attributes".<ref>Hanoverian envoy Baron Philipp Adam von Eltz, quoted in Quennell, p. 19.</ref> He immediately took a liking to her "good character" and the British envoy reported that George Augustus "would not think of anybody else after her".<ref name=odnb/><ref>Arkell, p. 19; Van der Kiste, p. 15.</ref> For her part, Caroline was not fooled by the prince's disguise, and found her suitor attractive.<ref name="Fryer33">Fryer ''et al''., p. 33.</ref> He was the heir apparent of his father's [[Electorate of Hanover]] and third-in-line to the English throne, then held by his distant cousin [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]], after his grandmother Dowager Electress Sophia and his father the Elector.<ref name=Fryer33/>

On 22 August 1705, Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding to George Augustus; they were married that evening in the palace chapel at [[Herrenhausen]].<ref name=Weir/><ref name=odnb/><ref>Van der Kiste, p. 17.</ref> By May of the following year, Caroline was pregnant, and her first child [[Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince Frederick]] was born on 20 January 1707.<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 18–19.</ref> A few months after the birth, in July, Caroline fell seriously ill with smallpox followed by [[pneumonia]]. Her baby was kept away from her, but George Augustus remained devotedly at her side, catching the infection himself. They both survived.<ref>Arkell, pp. 38–39; Van der Kiste, p. 21.</ref> Over the next seven years, Caroline had three more children, [[Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Anne]], [[Princess Amelia of Great Britain|Amelia]], and [[Princess Caroline of Great Britain|Caroline]], all of whom were born in Hanover.<ref name="Fryer34">Fryer ''et al''., p. 34.</ref>

[[File:Henrietta Howard.jpg|thumb|[[Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk]] (pictured), was one of Caroline's [[Women of the Bedchamber]] in addition to being one of Caroline's husband's mistresses.]]

George Augustus and Caroline had a successful and loving marriage, though he continued to keep mistresses, as was customary for the time.<ref name="H21">Hichens, p. 21.</ref> Caroline was aware of his infidelities; they were well known and he told her about them himself. His two best-known mistresses were [[Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk|Henrietta Howard, later Countess of Suffolk]], and, beginning in 1735, [[Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth]]. Howard was one of Caroline's [[Women of the Bedchamber]] and became [[Mistress of the Robes]] when her husband inherited a peerage in 1731; she retired in 1734.<ref>Arkell, pp. 70, 149.</ref> In contrast with George Augustus and his mother, [[Sophia Dorothea of Celle|Sophia Dorothea]], Caroline was known for her marital fidelity; she never made any embarrassing scenes nor did she take lovers.<ref name=H21/> She preferred her husband's mistresses to be her ladies-in-waiting so that she could keep a closer eye on them.<ref>Fryer ''et al''., p. 36.</ref>

After the [[union of England and Scotland]] in 1707, the succession of George Augustus's family to the united British throne was confirmed but insecure, since Queen Anne's half-brother [[James Francis Edward Stuart|James Stuart]] contested the Hanoverian claim, and Anne had fallen out with Dowager Electress Sophia. The Queen refused permission for any of the Hanoverians to visit Britain in her lifetime.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 30.</ref> Caroline wrote to Leibniz, "I accept the comparison which you draw, though all too flattering, between me and [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth]] as a good omen. Like Elizabeth, the Electress's rights are denied her by a jealous sister [Queen Anne], and she will never be sure of the English crown until her accession to the throne."<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 28.</ref> In June 1714, Sophia died in Caroline's arms at the age of 83, and Caroline's father-in-law became Queen Anne's [[heir presumptive]]. Just weeks later, Anne died, and the Elector of Hanover was proclaimed her successor, becoming George I of Great Britain.<ref>Arkell, p. 57.</ref>