Memorial to Princess Charlotte, St George's Esher

This refers to the Belgian Empire!

This is the right hand panel of a Memorial to Princess Charlotte in St George's Church Esher in Surrey. The Memorial is by F. J. Williamson.

Princess Charlotte was the only child of George IV and heiress presumptive to the throne. She lived at Claremont House nearby. Tragically she died in child birth thus precipitating the succession crisis which lead to the race by George IV's younger brothers to have legitimate heirs. Of course the Duke of Kent's daughter Victoria was the eventual successor to William IV, George's brother who had no legitimate heirs although 10 children by his mistress the great actress Mrs

Princess Charlotte of Wales was supposed to be married to Willima Herditary Prince of Orange, but Charlotte defied her father and met married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Sallfeld, who was a Lieutenant-General in the Russian cavalry, which he had joined as a German patriot in the wars to oppose Napoleon. After a prolonged period when Charlotte was confined by her father. eventually the Prince Regent consented and they were married on 2 May 1816. Sadly after a year and a half of happy marriage she died giving birth to a stillborn son. Her death set off a period of mourning in Britain, probably not equalled until the death of Princess Diana of Wales.

Leopold was granted the title of Royal Highness and continued to reside at Claremont. He was offered the throne of Greece but turned it down, however in 1830 the newly independent Belgian National Congress asked Leopold to become the first King of the Belgians.

This panel appears to show Britannia offering Leopold the Crown of the Belgians. However this may be a completely wrong interpretation, since this happened in 1830 and Charlotte died in 1817.