England’s First Black Queen, Sophia Charlotte: A Bougie Thread

There’s been rumors that Queen Sophia Charlotte of England had black blood in her for many years. If you’re a person who believes in the “purity” of the English bloodline, this isn’t for you
Photo: Leslie Hutchinson, lover of Princess Margaret

In Europe, the Moors were a group of black people who had a significant influence on European history. They gave us many things like oranges and lemons, cotton and silk and they taught Europe how to bathe regularly

Prince Alfonso III of Portugal was known for having a preference for Moorish women. In other words, he liked him some chocolate.

He took a Moorish mistress, Madragana. She had children for him. Conveniently, all artistic renditions of her have been “lost to time”

But it’s possible that they were destroyed because of the taboo nature of the relationship, interracial couples were common in Spain & Portugal at that time.
Photo: A “casta painting”

And so artists make their own guesses as to how she looked. Despite her being a Moor, many believe her to have looked like this.

Another of Charlotte’s ancestors, Jean II. de Neufchâtel is said to have had a child with the Moorish woman, Margarita de Castro e Sousa

Fast forward to May 19th, 1744 and little Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born

Her father was Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg, a German duchy and her mother was Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Take a closer at her mother. She is the one who is believed to have had the black ancestry

Charlotte was *rich*, she casually grew up in a castle named Untere Schloss located in Mirow, Germany

Sophia Charlotte was just a normal country girl living in her mansion, until King George II chose her to be his bride. He was 22, she was 17.

She never anticipated being Queen, so she never prepared for it. She was smart in most subjects, but when it came to “household management and religion” she struggled. You know; the important stuff.

She wasn’t greeted warmly upon arriving. Her lack of knowledge about being a Queen made her country upbringing stand out even more

And her strong facial features didn’t go unnoticed. Her physician, Baron Christian Friedrich Stockmar commented “small and crooked, with a true mulatto face”

Which confirms that people questioned her racial identity

Royals were known to have a few touches added to their paintings here and there. They gave off a lot of Khloe Kardashian energy in micromanaging how they were painted.

Queen Charlotte became known as being ugly because of her African features. They contrasted the Eurocentric beauty standards... like being baldheaded and looking dead

To combat this, Queen Charlotte began having artistic renditions of her tweaked to hide her African features. They’d make her look extra pale, her nose extra thin, etc.

Later paintings of the Queen are practically unrecognizable compared to the paintings of her when she first arrived to the palace

She was honestly so pretty, I wish she allowed herself to keep her face looking like this

Once she got that ring and that crown, Queen Charlotte learned English almost naturally

She popped out 15 kids in her life. If I were here, I’d stay away from the dick by kid 3 but I guess she was securing her place as Queen

And she was known for being a free spirit. She seemed to have actually liked being married to King George, because they’d go off walking together unattended. Probably how they got all them damn kids.

They spent most of their time at Windsor Castle, the current Queen’s residence as of 2021

But when Charlotte and George were staying there, it was a new construction

She was also a good friend of Marie Antoinette, who she stuck with even during the French Revolution. Surprisingly enough, they never met in person but they’d write each other often

When they were ready to cut my girl’s head off with the guillotine, Queen Charlotte had apartments built so that Marie Antoinette could reside in England for safety. We all know how that ended.

Queen Charlotte also had some political influence, especially when King George found himself having mental health issues.

This is covered in Bridgerton, which features both Queen Charlotte and King George

Charlotte was a visionary. She took in a young 8-year old Mozart who she believed would be a musical genius (we love a Queen who’s right)

And she also had Johann Christian Bach reside in her castle, a descendent of THE Bach

Charlotte also spent her time tending to Kew Gardens, which was growing at the time from all of the expeditions the English were doing

One flower that emerged was named specifically after her, “Strelitzia reginae” meaning Bird Of Paradise

Being a lover of kids, Queen Charlotte opened orphanages

And she even started a hospital, which is now known as The Queen’s Hospital.

If she were black, it would be amazing because she truly was a Queen that seemed to care for her people. She spent her life making opportunities to help those in need.

That’s all for this thread! (And idk why they had to do my girl like that with this side profile damn)