| Collection | The papers of Princess Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg |
| Admin History | Princess Elizabeth was born at Buckingham House on 22 May 1770 to become the seventh child and third daughter of George III and Queen Charlotte. Christened at St. James's Palace on 17 June 1770, she went on to have a notoriously sheltered upbringing alongside her sisters. Although Princess Elizabeth and her sisters longed for marriage, in 1808 she was compelled to decline a proposal from Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, due to her mother's disapproval and the fact that he was a Catholic. It would be ten more years before her long held desire for marriage was fulfilled on 7 April 1818, when she wed Frederick, Hereditary Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1769-1829) at Buckingham House, and she could finally leave the oppressive environment of her familial home and gain more freedom. In January 1820, after the death of his father, Frederick became the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, with Elizabeth inheriting the title of Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg. They lived in the Palace at Homburg and remained married, in a supposedly happy union, until Frederick's death in 1829, but marrying later in life their union was without issue. Elizabeth died on 10 January 1840 at Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, and was interred in the Landgraves' of Homburg Mausoleum on the 17 January the same year.
Princess Elizabeth had been a charitable woman, founding a school in Hanover, and, in common with her father, possessed an interest in farming and had her own model farm in Old Windsor. She was also a talented artist, producing a book of her own engravings. |
| Custodial History | The majority of these records are believed to have been part of the original acquisition from Apsley House in 1912. See Sub-series and File levels for alternative custodial history. |