Parallel lives
CHILDHOOD
Warring parents led to years of misery
Charlotte: Charlotte’s parents’ marriage was one of convenience. The relationship got off to a disastrous start. Upon meeting Caroline, George fled from the room in horror, leaving his prospective bride to reflect: “I think he’s very fat, and he’s nothing as handsome as his portrait.”
They separated almost immediately, but not before George had got his new wife pregnant. Charlotte’s birth drove a further wedge between the couple, and the very public spats between the
