Memorial plaque

Dedicated to: 
Inscription: 

‘Sacred to the memory of her Royal highness the late Princess Charlotte Augusta, Daughter of his Royal highness the Prince Regent, Consort of his Serene highness Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg and heiress of the British Crown, being just delivered of a still born son, Died on the 6th November 1817 aged 22 years, much lamented by all the Nation, who hoped to have been blessed in her Succession…
‘But death's strong hand struck such a blow
as like has laid their bodies low.
which stroke cost many mournful sighs,
But their souls are happy 'bove the skies
So therefore now our grief must cease
God will in time supply their place.’

Erected by: 
Interbild
Date: 
1986
Material: 
Metal
Location:
Corner of Dundee Road and Victoria Road, Broughty Ferry
Images: 
Photograph of the memorial plaque to Princess Charlotte Augusta
Additional information: 

This metal plaque dates back only as far as 1986. In 1901, when the house that stood in these grounds was called Viewfield, the owner Mr Oglivie demolished a small cottage in the grounds and discovered a headstone-shaped stone, bearing the inscription above, hidden within the cottage. The stone was of local sandstone, possibly from the nearby quarries at Carmyllie or Denfind. Viewfield was renamed Burnbank House in the 1920s but demolished in 1986. By this time, the memorial stone was considered beyond preservation, but the local builder who developed the new residential properties in the grounds placed a metal replica in the boundary wall.

Local legend has it that Charlotte and her husband had travelled to his homeland, against the wishes of the Prince Regent and Parliament, to take advantage of better medical facilities there. Their ship was blown off course in a storm, and the couple were forced to take refuge in the Tay Estuary. Charlotte went into labour and subsequently gave birth in a small cottage at West Ferry, where she and the baby died. The locals were sworn to secrecy and the bodies were both taken back to London before the official announcement was made.

However, the circumstances of Princess Charlotte’s death shortly after midnight on November 6th, 1817, at Claremont House, Surrey, are well documented.

Despite the outpouring of grief at her death, there seem to be remarkably few memorials to Princess Charlotte in the United Kingdom. Notable exceptions are her magnificent monument in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and the recently restored obelisk at Red House Park, West Bromwich.

The origin of the original Broughty Ferry memorial remains a mystery. The shape of the memorial stone, similar to local gravestones, could indicate that the stone was intended to stand outside, perhaps even in a cemetery. A local resident, a Bletchley Park veteran, also proposed that there was a hidden clue encoded in the wording of the verse included in the inscription, suggesting some significance in the use of 'place' rather than 'peace'.