Enormous debt would later lead Ernest to attempt another marriage with a princess from the House of Holstein-Gottorp, but Charlotte managed to dissuade him. Ernest eventually became the military governor of Celle in the Electorate of Hanover, of which his brother-in-law George III was the head. Ernest died in 1814 at the age of 71 during the reign of George III but under the regency of his nephew George IV.
Life
Ernest (left) with his brother Charles, sister Charlotte, and three of her children, most likely Charlotte, William, and baby Ernest (held by the royal nanny, Lady Charlotte Finch). Ernest had been baptised in July 1771, with his namesake, Prince Ernest, standing as godfather. [1] Painted by Johann Zoffany, c. 1771–72.[1]
Ernest was described by novelist Sarah Scott as a "very pretty sort of man, with an agreeable person."[2] In March 1762 Ernest was said, according to Scott, to have "fallen desperately in love with" Mary Eleanor Bowes,[2] the richest heiress in Britain and possibly the richest in Europe.[3] Scott speculated that were the marriage to take place, Ernest would become even richer than his elder brother Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg. However, King George III disallowed the marriage, as he disapproved of his brother-in-law marrying someone not of royal blood.[2]Charlotte Papendiek, Queen Charlotte's wardrobe keeper, wrote many years later that the match would "have made him a Prince indeed; but as he was a younger brother, it might have disturbed the harmony of the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz."[4][5] Ernest does not appear in Mary's letters, and it does not seem likely that his affection was reciprocated.[6]
Extract from Observations on the Transit of Venus, a manuscript notebook from the collections of George III, showing Charlotte, Ernest and George among the observers.
In 1782 Ernest attempted to enter into a marriage with a princess from the House of Holstein-Gottorp in an effort to pay his numerous debts. However, both the fact that he was a third son and the uncle of a male heir limited his appeal to potential dynastic alliances. Charlotte advised her brother to drop the match, as the dowry of the princess in question would not be enough to settle his debts; furthermore, neither she nor her husband would be able to help with his finances. She hoped that Christian VII of Denmark would provide a large dowry, as the princess was a member of his house, but concluded that no one would blame Ernest if he stopped pursuing the marriage. This frank advice was later praised by their brother Charles,[13] and Ernest never married.[10] He died on 27 January 1814 at the age of 71.
Grewolls, Grete (2011). Wer war wer in Mecklenburg und Vorpommern. Das Personenlexikon (in German). Rostock: Hinstorff Verlag. p. 2580. ISBN978-3-356-01301-6.
Campbell Orr, Clarissa (2004). "Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Great Britain and Electress of Hanover: Northern Dynasties and the Northern Republic of Letters". In Campbell Orr, Clarissa (ed.). Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press. pp. 368–402. ISBN0-521-81422-7.
Moore, Wendy (2009). Wedlock: The True Story of the Disastrous Marriage and Remarkable Divorce of Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore. New York: Three Rivers Press.
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