Why is Charlotte known as the ‘Queen City’? What to know about its royal namesake
While America doesn’t formally recognize a monarch such as Queen Elizabeth II like the United Kingdom does, many places — including Charlotte — have connections to the throne.
Charlotte has been known as the “Queen City” for more than 250 years. It was also the first major U.S. city to adopt the moniker.
Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, according to the city’s website.
Settlers in Charlotte wanted to honor the queen’s husband, King George III, the ruler of Great Britain and Ireland, and persuade the colonial N.C. General Assembly to build the county’s courthouse there to serve as a hub for visitors, according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website.
Charlotte officially became a city in 1768, which entitled the city to a courthouse and a prison, according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
Who was Queen Charlotte?
Born in 1744 in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a province in what is now northern Germany, Queen Charlotte was well-versed in botany, natural history, language, housekeeping and religion, according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Women rarely had the ability to read and write during that time, but her royal status allowed her to have access to tutors.
She was engaged to King George III at 17 and later gave birth to 14 of her 15 children in what is known today as Buckingham Palace, according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
Queen Charlotte has also been credited with starting the tradition of decorating trees for Christmas, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Some genealogists consider Queen Charlotte to be the second biracial queen of England, with early portraits showing “hints of African physical attributes,” according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
Cities with the same nickname
Cincinnati is the only other major city in the U.S. with the same nickname when it was incorporated two decades after Charlotte was established, The Enquirer reported.
During the late 1800s, Meridian, Mississippi, a city in the southeast part of the state, became known as the Queen City because it was an important stop along a rail line that went from Louisiana to Ohio, The Meridian Star reported.
Buffalo, New York has also been called the Queen City for being the largest city along the Great Lakes at the end of the 1800s.
