The most important event to the royal family of the year was the birth of the heir-apparent, on the twelfth of August. He was christened George Augustus Frederick the following month,--the Princess Dowager of Wales, the Duke of Cumberland, and the Duke of Mecklenburgh acting as sponsors. This prince reigned as George IV., and we shall tell more about him hereafter. [[A.D. 1763.]] Queen Charlotte was so happy in the possession of a child of her own that she decided to do something for those who were so unfortunate as to have lost their parents early in life; so she established a home in Bedforshire for orphan children. A lady was placed at the head of this establishment who received a salary of five hundred pounds per annum, in consideration of which she was expected to instruct the orphan girls of the Home in embroidery. Even in this act of benevolence Queen Charlotte was somewhat calculating, for the first piece of work produced by each girl went to her, and it always consisted of something that could be used for window curtains, chair or sofa-covers, or bed-quilts for one of the palaces. To be sure, her majesty paid well for this handiwork, and performed many really charitable acts which made her exceedingly popular. [[A.D. 1765.]] She interfered very little with politics, but devoted much of her time to the care of her sons, of whom she had at this time, besides the Prince of Wales, Frederick, {160}afterwards Duke of York, and William Henry, afterwards Duke of Clarence. In a letter to his son, written at this period, Lord Chesterfield says of the queen: "She is a good woman, a good wife, a tender mother, and an unmeddling queen. The king loves her, but I verily believe has never yet spoken to her one word about business." This is probably true, yet it is strange; for there was much anxiety and distress in England, and politics were in a most troubled condition. [[A.D. 1766.]] There had been many important changes in the ministry, and war with the colonies had increased the national debt heavily. Lord Bute, the king's favorite, had been turned out of office, and succeeded by George Grenville, at whose suggestion exorbitant taxes were imposed on the American colonies. In spite of violent opposition, the stamp act was passed by parliament, and caused great indignation among those whom it affected. Everybody knows the important consequences of this act, and the excitement it occasioned in the house of representatives in Virginia, when that eloquent and popular orator, Patrick Henry, exclaimed, "Cæsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third----------".