Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte, NC, and the county containing it are named in honor of the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg, who had become queen consort of British King George III in 1761 - the year before the city's founding.Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744 - 1818) was a Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen of the United Kingdom as the consort of King George III. She was also the Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and electress of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire until the promotion of her husband to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814, which made her Queen consort of Hanover. Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts, known to Johann Christian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others. She was also an amateur botanist who helped expand Kew Gardens. George III and Queen Charlotte had 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood.
The Queen and the music: In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then aged eight, arrived in Britain with his family as part of their grand tour of Europe and remained from April, 1764, until July, 1765. The Mozarts were summoned to court on 19 May, and played before a limited circle from six to ten o'clock. Johann Christian Bach, eleventh son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach, was then music-master to the Queen, put the difficult works of Handel, Bach, and Abel before the boy. He played them all at sight, and those present were quite amazed. Afterwards he accompanied the Queen in an aria which she sang, and played on the flauto traverno in a solo. On 29 October, they were in town again, and were invited to court to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the King's accession. As a memento of the royal favor, his father Leopold Mozart published six sonatas composed by Wolfgang, known as Mozart's Opus 3, and were dedicated to the Queen on 18 January 1765, dedication she rewarded with a present of fifty guineas.
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