Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
It was one of the MOST PAINFUL ROYAL DEATHS in British history, but what killed Queen Caroline, who was the wife of George II and how did her husband ensure that she had perhaps the most romantic royal burial in English history? In this week’s video from History Calling on Hanoverian history, we find out.
Who was Queen Caroline? Born in 1683 as Princess Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, in 1705 she married the future George II, who would become King of Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover in 1727. Together they had eight children. The death of Queen Caroline occurred on 20 November 1737 and she’s one of the many royal consorts who’s buried in Westminster Abbey. Far from dying peacefully in her sleep though, she only expired after a long and incredibly painful illness brought on by a hernia which had emerged after her final living child was born but which she had kept secret. Her condition was exacerbated by some truly awful medical treatments, including an operation performed while she was awake which seems to have ruptured her intestines and would nowadays be considered torture and even murder. It led to her excrement pouring out of her body through the wound and was a hideous way to die. Despite this though, it may surprise you to hear that she was laughing during the procedure thanks to the ineptitude of her doctors.
Her distraught husband had a new vault built under the chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey and a large marble sarcophagus made so that when the time came his coffin could be set into it next to his Queen’s. He then did something even more unusual; he ordered that the side of Caroline’s coffin be removed once she was in place so that we he died and was interred next to her, the same could be done to his, thus allowing their bones and eventually dust to mingle for eternity. When George II died in 1760, twenty-three years after his consort, that is exactly what happened and reports from the following century spoke of the coffin lids propped up next to the grave.
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Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
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ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES PLAYLIST
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SCANDALOUS LOVE LIFE OF GEORGE I
youtu.be/Ycoh_arGzi8
THE REAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE
youtu.be/ZIORImLJ3gg
6 GRAVES FOR 6 WIVES
youtu.be/w9zfwyXIuqA
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
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GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
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Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
[Free] Lucy Worsley, ‘Poor Queen Caroline and her horrible death’
lucyworsley.com/poor-queen-caroline-and-her-horrible-death
Janice Hadlow, The strangest family: the private lives of George III, Queen Charlotte and the Hanoverians (2014), available at amzn.to/43XfdqG
Jeremy Black, The Hanoverians: the history of a dynasty (2004), available at amzn.to/3mRbGd6
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
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PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
THUMBNAIL: Portrait of Queen Caroline. Image from Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
It was one of the MOST PAINFUL ROYAL DEATHS in British history, but what killed Queen Caroline, who was the wife of George II and how did her husband ensure that she had perhaps the most romantic royal burial in English history? In this week’s video from History Calling on Hanoverian history, we find out.
Who was Queen Caroline? Born in 1683 as Princess Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, in 1705 she married the future George II, who would become King of Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover in 1727. Together they had eight children. The death of Queen Caroline occurred on 20 November 1737 and she’s one of the many royal consorts who’s buried in Westminster Abbey. Far from dying peacefully in her sleep though, she only expired after a long and incredibly painful illness brought on by a hernia which had emerged after her final living child was born but which she had kept secret. Her condition was exacerbated by some truly awful medical treatments, including an operation performed while she was awake which seems to have ruptured her intestines and would nowadays be considered torture and even murder. It led to her excrement pouring out of her body through the wound and was a hideous way to die. Despite this though, it may surprise you to hear that she was laughing during the procedure thanks to the ineptitude of her doctors.
Her distraught husband had a new vault built under the chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey and a large marble sarcophagus made so that when the time came his coffin could be set into it next to his Queen’s. He then did something even more unusual; he ordered that the side of Caroline’s coffin be removed once she was in place so that we he died and was interred next to her, the same could be done to his, thus allowing their bones and eventually dust to mingle for eternity. When George II died in 1760, twenty-three years after his consort, that is exactly what happened and reports from the following century spoke of the coffin lids propped up next to the grave.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
ROYAL WOMEN PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HnqxlXmoJ1C3iQK3bXNO_g
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
SCANDALOUS LOVE LIFE OF GEORGE I
youtu.be/Ycoh_arGzi8
THE REAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE
youtu.be/ZIORImLJ3gg
6 GRAVES FOR 6 WIVES
youtu.be/w9zfwyXIuqA
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
[Free] Lucy Worsley, ‘Poor Queen Caroline and her horrible death’
lucyworsley.com/poor-queen-caroline-and-her-horrible-death
Janice Hadlow, The strangest family: the private lives of George III, Queen Charlotte and the Hanoverians (2014), available at amzn.to/43XfdqG
Jeremy Black, The Hanoverians: the history of a dynasty (2004), available at amzn.to/3mRbGd6
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
THUMBNAIL: Portrait of Queen Caroline. Image from Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
