Queen Victoria: Birth and Family history In 1817, the Prince Reagent (later King George IV)’s only child, Princess Charlotte died after a 50-hour labour to a stillborn male. A succession crisis ensued, who was the rightful heir to the throne?2 Despite having fifteen children, King George III had no grandchildren born into a lawful marriage and hence no legitimate heir. A series of marriages followed as George III’s children raced to marry an appropriate suitor and father the next heir.5 The fourth son of George III, Edward Augustus Duke of Kent, was fifty in 1817 when he proposed to Mary Louisa Victoria, a German princess commonly known as Victorie.2 Around the same time the Duke of Kent’s brothers, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of