Queen Charlotte Walks in her Garden - Charlotte, NC - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Queen Charlotte Walks in her Garden is a 1989 sculpture of the city's namesake - Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz - located at 200 N College St, Charlotte, NC 28202 in front of the Wake Forest University School of Business.

The SIRIS listing describes the monument as: "Life-size figure of eighteenth century British monarch Queen Charlotte stands on a low, round base. She wears an embroidered long-sleeved gown with petticoat and train. Her hair is braided, pinned up and topped with a jewel. There is a pearl choker at her neck and a bracelet with a cameo of King George III on her proper right arm. Two puppies frolic at her feet." The remarks further explain: "Sculpture honors Queen Charlotte, for whom the City of Charlotte is named. The wife of King George III, Charlotte was Queen of England from 1761 to 1818."

There is an informational placard at the base of the statue that reads:

In 1761, colonial Americans were fascinated by the royal wedding of England's King George III to a 17 year-old German princess, Charlotte Sophia of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Settlers here were rebellious toward the king and his agents but named their town and county in her honor, in hopes of gaining royal favor.

She was a small woman, "easy, genteel, and agreeable," who bore 15 children, played the harpsichord, learned botany, and took pleasure in kew and richmond gardens. Her dogs, one named Presto, followed her on daily walks. Her appearance and informal apparel are modeled after portraits in English museums.

King George III, plagued by recurring illness, called her "my physician, my friend." She is remembered as a great benefactor of hospitals. Queen Charlotte was the grandmother of Queen Victoria.

"She is full of sense and graciousness, mingled with delicacy of mind and liveliness of temper."
Fanny Burney, court attendant and novelist of the period.

"A most agreeable countenance, vastly genteel, with an air notwithstanding her being a little woman, truly majestic."
A noblewoman reports the queen's coronation, 1761

TITLE: Queen Charlotte Walks in her Garden ARTIST(S): Graham Weathers DATE: Dedicated Jan. 26, 1989 MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze with green patina; Base: polished granite. CONTROL NUMBER: IAS NC000375 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: 200 N College St. Charlotte, NC 28202 DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: It is at 5th and College, not 6th and College

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