Frederica Planta or Friderica Planta (10 November 1750 – 2 February 1778) was governess and English teacher for the children of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

of Great Britain. She was the daughter of pastor Andreas Planta, assistant librarian at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, and the sister of librarian

Joseph Planta Joseph Planta GCH (2 July 1787 – 5 April 1847) was a British diplomat and politician of Romansh-Swiss descent. He was the MP for Hastings, England. Planta's father, also named Joseph Planta (1744–1827), moved from Switzerland to England a ...

. After her unexpected early death, she was succeeded as teacher of the royal children by her sister , called Peggy.

Early life and family

Planta was born on 10 November 1750, while her father Andreas Planta (1717–1773), originally a Swiss reformed pastor, worked at the

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a ...

court of

Charles William Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach Charles William Frederick (12 May 1712 – 3 August 1757), nicknamed ''der Wilde Markgraf'' (the ''Wild Margrave''), was the margrave of the Principality of Ansbach from 1723 to his death. Early life Charles William Frederick was the son of W ...

and likely also taught mathematics at the Gymnasium Carolinum. Her mother was Margarete Scartazzini de Bolgiani from Bondo. Planta's first name Frederica, atypical for her mother's

Val Bregaglia The Val Bregaglia ( lmo, Val Bregaja; german: Bergell, ; rm, ) is an alpine valley of Switzerland and Italy at the base of which runs the river Mera ( lmo, Maira in Switzerland). Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja i ...

region of origin and more typical of Brandenburg, may have been chosen in honour of her father's employer and family. She had several sisters and one brother,

(1744–1827), later principal librarian of the British Museum. In 1752, her father moved to London to become pastor of the German Reformed congregation at the

Savoy Chapel The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy, is a church in the City of Westminster, London. Facing it are 111 Strand, the Savoy Hotel, the Institution of Engineering and Te ...

in London where he became assistant librarian at the

in 1758. After 1761, he taught Italian to

Work at court

George III, Queen Charlotte and their Six Eldest Children

In July 1771, Planta was engaged as governess at the court of

and Queen Charlotte, under the main governess

Lady Charlotte Finch Lady Charlotte Finch (''née'' Fermor; 14 February 1725 – 11 July 1813) was a British royal governess. She was governess to the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte for over thirty years, holding the position from 1762 to 1793. He ...

. The royal family had first tried to hire her older sister Elizabeth Planta, but she had declined as she preferred to continue to work for

Mary Eleanor Bowes Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (24 February 1749 – 28 April 1800) was a notable member of the British aristocracy during the Georgian period (18th century). Referred to by some as "The Unhappy Countess", she was a ...

. Previously, Frederica had been working as a governess for Lady Hoskyns and was only released from that employment after the Queen's personal intervention, despite her previous employer's protest. Planta, who knew seven languages including Latin and Greek, was supposed to teach the children first English, then other languages, as well as reading, writing and the foundations of all subjects. She was described as "a most pious Christian" and lived close to the Royal Family at

Kew Palace Kew Palace is a British royal palace within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames. Originally a large complex, few elements of it survive. Dating to 1631 but built atop the undercroft of an earlier building, the main surv ...

. Queen Charlotte was interested in theory and practice of education, and was an early supporter of education delivered through play. Planta delivered this, "gain ngtheir affection by making their learning much play as possible", as she wrote in a letter. For education in history of England, she had designed cards that her charges should put in the correct order, and she considered this as a successful teaching tool, to be used together with stories. Planta's salary was £100 a year ($ in ); from 1773, she received an additional £50 ($ in ) for food, tea, chocolate, coffee and sugar. Her sister Elizabeth considered Frederica's working conditions and salary to be "quite mediocre".

Death

Planta died on 2 February 1778, of an "accidental illness". Like her father, she was buried at St George's, Bloomsbury. Her sister (known as "Peggy") succeeded her sister as governess and English teacher at court.

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Planta, Frederica 1750 births 1778 deaths Governesses to the British Royal Household 18th-century Swiss educators Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom 18th-century British educators 18th-century British women 18th-century Swiss women Planta family