By David Maillu
Published December 19, 2024
I have just finished writing a controversial novel titled “Heritage” in which I tried to bring into light and discussion one weird story that has fascinated me for years. It is about the British Queen Charlotte born in 1744 arguably regarded as Britain’s first Black Queen. She married King George III when she was 15 years old. Charlotte and King George had 15 children. Historians have been debating whether Charlotte’s ancestral ties to Portuguese aristocracy mean she had brown skin.
In some portraits she has been given an African feature based on being light-skinned, although in others portraits she has been disassociated with African color. Some describe her ancestry as “Moorish.” Moors were people inhabiting North Africa. Many people have settled on the claim that, since it’s impossible to determine how Charlotte really looked in real life, the argument will likely never be settled.
RELATED: How Far Can Kenya’s Cultural Development Go Without the Government Support of the Book Industry?
Princess Charlotte is Queen Elizabeth’s fifth great grand-child. The two have a special relationship, from a shared name to physical similarities. Princess Charlotte looked exactly like Queen Elizabeth II. Obviously, the argument is an indication that Queen Charlotte was not white. Racism might play the hide-and-seek game to hide her identity.
RELATED: The Door to Novel-Writing: Lesson 5
So, in order to give people food for thought, arguments and discussions, I gave Queen Charlotte a fictitious origin and family in Africa where her grandmother was Asali and Sophia was her European citizen mother. In the novel Charlotte is survived by a covenant that she designed for her African ancestry.
Remember that Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya in 1952 when on her second day of visit her father died and she had to be flown home to become the Queen instantly. Ask why his son, King Charles III, chose Kenya as his first official visit in the world shortly after his inauguration.