On the twenty-fifth of October, 1760, the Prince of Wales, who was yet unmarried, and had but just completed his twenty-second year, succeeded to the throne of his grandfather, by the title of George III., King of Great Britain and Ireland, &c.; and shortly afterwards, a copy of the above letter falling into his hands, he exclaimed to Lord Hertford, “This is the lady whom I shall select for my consort: here are lasting beauties, on which the man who has any mind may feast and not be satisfied. If the disposition of the Princess but equals her refined sense, I shall be the happiest man, as I hope, with my people's concurrence, to be the greatest monarch in Europe."

Not a moment was to be lost, and General Græme, a Scotchman, who previously had been dispatched with the utmost secresy to the courts of Germany to discover a suitable consort for his Majesty, and had made choice of Charlotte, was employed to pay another secret visit to the court at Strelitz. He met with a favourable reception; and on his return to England, and whilst the court and the nation were being amused with the rumours that the King was about to form a matrimonial alliance either with a princess of the House of Brandenburgh, with one of his own subjects-either Lady Sarah Lennox, or Hannah Lightfoot, to the latter of whom a report prevailed that he had been married a few years previously-or with some other royal or noble-born damsel, his Majesty, in an extraordinary council, convened on the eighth of July, 1761, made the following declaration :

"Having nothing so much at heart as to procure the welfare and happiness of my people, and to render the same stable and permanent to posterity, I have ever since my accession to the throne turned my thoughts towards the choice of a princess for my consort; and I now, with great satisfaction, acquaint you that, after the fullest information and mature deliberation, I am come to a resolution to demand in marriage the

Strelitz, a princess distinguished by every eminent virtue and amiable endowment, whose illustrious line has constantly shown the firmest zeal for the Protestant religion, and a particular attachment to my family. I have judged proper to communicate to you these my intentions, in order that you may be fully apprised of a matter so highly important to me and to my kingdoms, and which I persuade myself will be most acceptable to all my loving subjects."

Although the council was taken by surprise, this declaration was published in the Gazette the same evening, accompanied by an order for the coronation to be solemnized on the twenty-second of September. The Earl of Harcourt, as ambassador extraordinary, accompanied by General Græme, as the confidential agent, sailed from Harwich on the eighth of August, arrived at Strelitz on the fourteenth, and the next morning formally demanded the Princess Charlotte in marriage for the King, his master. The same day, the marriage-treaty was signed, and her Royal Highness, after receiving the compliments of the states of the duchy, partook of a sumptuous banquet, given in honour of the occasion. At this banquet she sat at a separate table, with her sister, Christina, and her grand-aunt, the Princess of Schwartzburg. The Earl of Harcourt, and several nobles and ladies of his suite, dined with the Duke of Mecklenburg in the grand saloon, and in two other apartments four tables were served, with upwards of one hundred and sixty choice and delicate dishes. During the banquet the guns fired, in the evening the castle and the town were illuminated, and the next day was devoted to festivity and rejoicing.

Sorrow and joy, however, are common companions, and the bride elect parted in tears from her relations and friends. She commenced her journey on the seventeenth of August, and the honours paid to her on this occasion by the inhabitants of the old town of Strelitz, are thus mentioned by M. Tangatz, who himself witnessed the pleasing scene.

"On a plain, at no considerable dis

tance from the ducal palace, was erected a superb triumphal arch, decorated with natural foliage and festoons, and surmounted with two globes, exhibiting the conquests of England, and over which were the arms of Great Britain and Mecklenburg united; close to the arch, on a platform, were drawn up the town militia under arms. On either side of the front of the arch were bowers and tents, where the numerous spectators might obtain refreshments. On each side, within the arch, stood six young maidens, clothed in white, and each bearing a wreath of myrtle in her hand. The procession, conducted by a captain of Mecklenburg horse, was headed by Marshal Zesterflesh, with two running footmen; then came in coaches and six, his Highness, the Duke, with his brother, Prince Charles, attended by running footmen and horse-guards; and as they passed through the arch, the burghers saluted them with their arms, colours, and music. After the march of the horse, came, in a coach of state and six, the bride elect, with her sister, and the Countess of Cocceius. Beneath the arch her Highness paused, whilst the burgomaster, Tangatz, addressed her in the name of the corporation and citizens, and each of the maidens recited to her congratulatory verses, and flung myrtle-wreaths into her coach. These addresses concluded, she expressed her satisfaction in the most gracious terms; and proceeding onward, was followed by twelve horse-guards, an empty coach, and then, in a coach and six, the Earl of Harcourt, who paused to view the arch, and presented each of the maidens with a ducat. After the Earl, the rear of the procession was brought up by Councillor Hardenburg, from Hanover, followed by about thirty coaches."

In this order the royal train proceeded to Mirow, where Charlotte bade an affecting farewell to her sister, and, with a heart more sad than joyous, hastened on her journey. Proceeding through Perleburgh and Letzen, she, on the twentieth, reached Ghorde; and having twice dined there in public, crossed a branch of the Elbe, and dined in a grand tent on the river's bank on

the twenty-second; and the same evening entered Strade in public procession, amidst the booming of cannon, the ringing of bells, and the blaze of a general illumination. The streets through which she passed were lined with the burgesses under arms, and adorned with triumphal arches, and congratulatory verses were presented to her by the principal ladies of the town. The next day, Sunday, she passed at Buxtehude, where, having courteously received an address from the members of the Hamburg Company, she, on the following morning, embarked on board the yacht Charlotte, amidst the acclamations of the assembled populace; and accompanied by her brother, Prince Charles, by the Duchesses of Ancaster and Hamilton, and by the Earl of Harcourt and Lord Anson. Immediately the Princess embarked, the whole squadron destined to escort her to England, fired a salute; but adverse winds prevented the yacht from weighing anchor till the next day, the twenty-fifth, when the Royal Charlotte got under sail, put Prince Charles on shore the next morning at Cuxhaven; and on the twenty-eighth, although the weather was wild and stormy, the whole squadron put to sea. As the King was anxious that the ceremony of the nuptials should precede that of the coronation, there was not a moment to lose, and Lord Anson made every exertion to speedily reach the Nore; but the wind blew against him with such violence, that it was only after a ten days' voyage, and twice sighting Falmouth Head, and each time being driven to sea again with considerable damage and danger, that he at last entered the road of Harwich, on the evening of Sunday, September the sixth. Her Highness, storm-tossed as she had been, had enjoyed excellent health and spirits throughout the voyage; and, as no preparations had been made at Harwich for her arrival, she remained on board the yacht till three P.M. the next day. In the interval, her route was settled, and instructions received as to the manner of her proceeding to St. James's. On landing, she was received by the mayor and aldermen of Harwich, in their usual formalities.

The same