Hannah Harrison Lowe

Hannah Harrison Barnes (née Lowe), 1795–1883,[1] is believed by some descendants and others (see below, "The claim") to have been the daughter of George IV of the United Kingdom and his early wife and continuing paramour Maria Fitzherbert,[2][3] a relationship whose trajectory was defined when the marriage was declared illegal for want of royal approval (as required by the Royal Marriages Act of 1772).

Lowe was born at Knightsbridge, London in 1795 and lived a simple life in Coventry; she married Samuel Barnes and is reported to have worked many years as a ribbon maker, and to have died alone in a workhouse (see below). She died at age 87 in January 1883 (date discrepancy, 26 or 29 January), and was predeceased by her husband Samuel in 1875 (aged 79) with whom she is buried at London Road Cemetery in Coventry.[4]

The claim of royal descent comes from Barnes' extensive personal journal, which establishes that she believed herself to be the daughter of King George IV; the yet unpublished, and personally held document is reported to contain details and dates that corroborate the claim. The matter was investigated for an on-air television segment by a biographer of George IV's early life and academic military historian Saul David,[5] Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham, with some attribution of credibility.[6] Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate issue of King George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, died in childbirth at the age of 21, leaving no descendants of this later union approved by King George III.

Given the early and childless death of Princess Charlotte, should the Lowe history be further substantiated, the line descended through the Barnes family joins the list of claimed surviving descendants of King George IV. In addition to James Ord (who was father of American Civil War General Edward Ord and so grandfather of at least 13, also reportedly from the long-term affair with Fitzherbert), the reported list of lineages include the Herveys (of the East India Company, from 1786 liaison with Lady Anne Barnard née Lindsay), the Croles (from 1798 liaison Eliza Crole), the Hampshires (from 15 year mistress Sarah Brown), and the Candy descendants (from an otherwise unknown Frenchwoman with that name); in each of these cases, largely inexplicable financial care was expressed directly or indirectly to the immediate descendant, by the person of or peers in relation to King George IV.[7][8][9][10] Notably, any such historical claim is accompanied by controversy, and many on the preceding list have been challenged.[11][12]

A consolidated list based on genealogical research in Coventry has Lowe's descendants to include:[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/Disappearing-Coventry/Hannah-Harrison-Lowe.html, accessed 11 September 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/reality-tv/so-you-think-youre-royal-george-iv/, accessed 11 September 2011.
  3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hannah-Harrison-Lowe/127902080622862?v=info, accessed 11 September 2011.
  4. ↑ http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/Disappearing-Coventry/Hannah-Harrison-Lowe.html, accessed 11 September 2011.
  5. ↑ Saul David, The Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency (Grove Press, 2000), pages 76-78.
  6. ↑ http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/reality-tv/so-you-think-youre-royal-george-iv/, accessed 11 September 2011.
  7. ↑ Saul David, The Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency (Grove Press, 2000), pages 76-78.
  8. ↑ See also reference to James Ord at Maria Fitzherbert.
  9. ↑ There is apparent current lack of available historical evidence connecting Lowe to George and Fitzherbert, and also of evidence of financial or other support going to Lowe. However, it should also be noted that the Lowe claim is more recently emerging than most (via the evidence of the journal). Moreover, the most thoroughly reviewed cases in the David biography are of potential male descendants, and of the >75 extramarital liaisons of Prince George/George IV catalogued by A.J. Camp (see David 2000 and Camp 2007, in this reference section), all from an historical period before reliable contraception and most being liaisons with women of child-bearing age (see next ref.), only 2 of 34 possible offspring are reported as "fact" or "probably fact", and both are male. These observations suggest the possibility of lost evidence (e.g., there being greater than the recorded number of conceptions per liaison), and a possible bias in reporting (e.g., there being greater historic recording of males vs. females conceived out of wedlock). Finally, it is notable that none of the 13 possible claims investigated by A.J. Camp regarding possible children by George and Fitzherbert were considered to be anything more than "fiction"—suggesting the possibility of an inability by Fitzherbert to conceive over the 20 years of their relationship (if Camp is correct), or the loss, or overly stringent review, of evidence (if Camp is incorrect). These matters require further historical attention.
  10. ↑ In 18th century France, data suggest that almost 1/4 of newly married women became pregnant in their first month of marriage (datum, 23%; parameter, mean fecundability), and that the median dates of last birth, sterility, and menopause—where half of observed dates were higher, and half lower—were much elevated over those observed today (for 1670-1829 French data: 41, 45, and 51 years, respectively); see H. Leridon, 2005, who cites and analyzes the data of L. Henry appearing in the work of I. Seguy; H. Leridon, 2005, How effective is assisted reproduction technology? A model assessment. Rev. Epidemiol. Sante Publique, 53:2S119-2S127, and references therein.
  11. ↑ anthonyjcamp.com/page7.htm, accessed 11 September 2011; see also: A.J. Camp, 2007, Royal Mistresses and Bastards: Fact and Fiction, 1714-1936, self-published by author, ISBN 978-0-9503308-2-2.
  12. ↑ http://anthonyjcamp.com/, accessed 11 September 2011.
  13. ↑ http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/Disappearing-Coventry/Hannah-Harrison-Lowe.html, accessed 11 September 2011.
  14. ↑ http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BARNES/2006-10/1159708625, accessed 11 September 2011.
  15. ↑ http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BARNES/2006-10/1159708625, accessed 11 September 2011.
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