Charlotte Finch
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Lady Charlotte Finch (née Fermor[1]) (1725 - June 1813) was governess of the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. She was the daughter of Thomas Fermor, 1st Earl of Pomfret and Henrietta Louisa Jeffreys.[1] Charlotte on 9 August 1746 married the Hon. William Finch (1731-1766), by whom she had four children.[1][2] She was sworn in as royal governess the day succeeding the birth of her first charge, George, Prince of Wales (future King George IV).[3] Shortly after her selection, William began to lose his mind. Fearing for her safety, she abandoned her husband, bringing with her their children, for an apartment in St. James's Palace and a small house in Kew.[4]
An enthusiastic botanist, Lady Charlotte's tenure as governess to the royal children spanned over 30 years.[5][6] Princess Amelia -- whom Charlotte left without a governess by her November 1792 resignation -- was thereafter raised by one her mother's attendants.[7]
She died in June 1813. Her most notable child was George Finch, who succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham in 1769.
References
- Fraser, Flora: Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III, John Murray, 2004, London, ISBN 0-7195-6108-6