2024-04-01 14:13:51
“I will not resist or cry out”
And it all started with marriage. in 1816 May 2 the princess married the future King Leopold I of Belgium (1790–1865). At that time, the nobles diligently took care of the abundance of heirs, so Charlotte soon began to wait.
The increase of the family was planned around 1817. in mid-October, but the preparations were already in full swing at the end of the summer. A medical team was formed for the birth: Sir Richard Croft, Dr. Baillie, a nurse named Griffiths, and Dr. John Sims.
R. Croft, who led the parade, got a bedroom in the princess’s palace for free and assigned her a strict diet. It sounds strange today, but it was expected that a pregnant woman would lose weight even before giving birth.
Another doctor’s order is regular bloodletting procedures. 19th century doctors especially liked this method. It was believed that in this way it is possible to cleanse the body of “dirty fluids”.
What do you think? Charlotte grew weaker, and the new life stubbornly refused to knock into the world. The first contractions brought the princess 2 weeks later than planned – on November 3. in the evening
“I won’t resist and I won’t shout,” Charlotte promised the nurse.
At midnight, she started to feel sick, and around 3:30 a.m. R. Croft decided to call witnesses. In those days, the births of potential English monarchs were monitored by a special council that made sure the addition to the royal family went smoothly.
Early in the morning several members of the government arrived, the Archbishop of Canterbury himself and a real helper – Doctor Baillie.
The entourage gathered, but there was almost no progress in labor. The evening came, and the exhausted princess was tired – 24 hours. without food and 36 hours without sleep. The same doctor R. Croft forbade Charlotte to rest.
The hours passed, and the doctors wondered if the newborn would have to be pulled out with forceps. However, this tool has already been negatively evaluated in the medical community. Cesarean section is also not decided, because it could end in the death of the mother.
Another day passed like this. Around 6 o’clock in the evening, the child’s first excrement came out on the sheet. The baby was clearly suffering.
After 3 hours, witnesses were told that the princess had given birth to a stillborn son, and the nurse allowed the authorities to examine the evidence, the baby’s corpse.
8 days of mourning
Charlotte was bleeding at the time because her uterus had not fully retracted. Doctors removed the placenta by hand, and the bleeding seemed to stop.
The starving woman finally got to eat, she was given camphor, which was supposed to stimulate the heart. Late in the evening, an hour before midnight, the witnesses dispersed and medics reassured them that the princess was fine.
Leopold wrote a sad letter to his father and was probably given sedatives to help the shocked man sleep more easily.
During the night, Charlotte got worse, the woman was vomiting, bleeding, breathing hard, but at intervals she grabbed her stomach and cried out in pain.
Warm water bottles near the body and a sheet were to warm the patient. As the princess’s condition did not improve, Dr. Baillie decided that the princess needed wine and brandy.
After 15 minutes, a gurgling sound came from Charlotte’s throat, she pulled her knees to her chest and fell silent.
There was no more pulse. Princesses too.
The shrouded bodies of Charlotte and the baby were placed in separate coffins, and England went into 8 days of mourning.
After almost 2 weeks, three carriages moved towards Windsor Castle – in the first the prince who had never seen this world, in the second Charlotte, and in the tail of the caravan – her heartbroken husband.
The doctor committed suicide
There was no witch hunt after the tragedy. The widowed Leopold and the Prince Regent, who lost his daughter, sent their thanks to Dr. R. Croft.
An official examination was carried out and after the results of the biopsy it was decided that the doctors did everything right during the birth.
However, the death of the princess did not give R. Croft peace. A few months passed and the doctor couldn’t take it anymore.
in 1818 on February 13, aged 56, R. Croft. Next to his body was found an open book of William Shakespeare with this passage: “Righteous sir, may God keep you!” Where is the princess?’
Princess Charlotte’s pregnancy is known in medical history as the “triple obstetric tragedy” because it ended in the deaths of the baby, the mother and the obstetrician.
And for many years after that, the doctors who attended the births of the royal family remembered this sad story with a troubled heart.
2024-04-01 14:13:51