"The Highest Rank in England," Princess Amelia of Great Britain as Benedict Swingate Calvert's Mother

 

Princess Amelia of Great Britain (1711-1786)

Credit:  Wikipedia

Born at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Germany, her grandfather became King George I of Great Britain at the death of Queen Anne in 1714.  Amelia and her family moved to London, taking up residence in St. James Palace, although as a result of family infighting, her parents were ordered to leave the palace while their daughters were raised by their governess, Jane Temple Bentinck, Dowager Countess of Portland (1672-1751).  George I left the care, education, health and recreation of his grandchildren entirely to her disposition.

Calvert family papers in my possession identify Amelia as Benedict Swingate Calvert's mother through Charles Calvert (1699-1751), 5th Lord Baltimore.  Because he was the great-grandson of King Charles II, Charles was a distant cousin to the royal family and became a close friend of Frederick, Prince of Wales, Amelia's brother.  

Amelia was known for being a brilliant horsewoman who did not always live according to societal expectations.  On one occasion, while riding with the much older Duke of Grafton, they reportedly lost their way in Windsor Forest, and spent the night in woodsman's cottage, returning to much consternation the next morning.  She is also thought to have been the mother of composer Samuel Arnold (1740-1802) as a result of a liaison with a commoner called Thomas Arnold.

A further development of my thesis can be found in Nancy Calvert-Koyzis, "'Of the Highest Rank in England': the Search for Benedict Swingate Calvert's Mother" [click on the title] found in the current issue of the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal.

Stay tuned for further postings about the scandalous separation and attempted divorce of Charles Calvert's brutal father, the 4th Lord Baltimore, Benedict Leonard Calvert (1679-1715) from his wife Charlotte Lee Calvert and Oxford antiquarian Thomas Hearne's relationship with their son, Benedict Leonard Calvert (1700-1732).

Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore (1699-1751)

Credit:  Wikipedia