, 1779 Charlotte and her husband were music connoisseurs, who gave special honour to German artists and composers. They were admirers of the music of
George Frideric Handel. In April 1764,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then aged eight, arrived in Britain with his family as part of their
grand tour of Europe and remained 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. He put difficult works of Handel, J. S. Bach, and
Carl Friedrich Abel before the boy: he played them all
at sight, to the amazement of those present. Afterwards, the young Mozart accompanied the Queen in an
aria that she sang, and played a solo work on the flute. On 29 October, the Mozarts were in London again, and were invited to court to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the King's accession. As a memento of the royal favour,
Leopold Mozart published six sonatas composed by Wolfgang, known as Mozart's
Opus 3, that were dedicated to the Queen on 18 January 1765, a dedication she rewarded with a present of 50 guineas. Charlotte was an amateur
botanist who took a great interest in
Kew Gardens. In an age of discovery, when such travellers and explorers as
Captain James Cook and
Sir Joseph Banks were constantly bringing home new species and varieties of plants, she ensured that the collections were greatly enriched and expanded. Her interest in botany led to the South African flower, the bird of paradise, being named
Strelitzia reginae in her honour. Charlotte has also been credited with introducing the
Christmas tree to Britain and its colonies. Initially, Charlotte decorated a single
yew branch, a common Christmas tradition in her native Mecklenburg-Strelitz, to celebrate Christmas with members of the royal family and the royal household. She decorated the branch with the assistance of her ladies-in-waiting and then had the court gather to sing carols and distribute gifts. That year, she held a large Christmas party for the children of all the families in
Windsor and placed a whole tree in the drawing-room, decorated with tinsel, glass,
baubles and fruits. In 1788, the royal couple visited the Worcester Porcelain Factory (founded in 1751, and later to be known as
Royal Worcester), where Queen Charlotte ordered a porcelain service that was later renamed "Royal Lily" in her honour. Another well-known porcelain service designed and named in her honour was the "Queen Charlotte" pattern. The Queen founded orphanages and, in 1809, became the patron (providing new funding) of the General Lying-in Hospital, a hospital for expectant mothers. It was subsequently renamed as the Queen's Hospital, and is today the
Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. Up until 1788, portraits of Charlotte often depict her in maternal poses with her children, and she looks young and contented; however, that year, her husband fell seriously ill and became temporarily insane. It is now thought that the King had
porphyria, though
bipolar disorder has also been named as another possible underlying cause for his condition. Sir
Thomas Lawrence's portrait of Charlotte at this time marks a transition point, after which she looks much older in her portraits; the assistant keeper of Charlotte's wardrobe,
Charlotte Papendiek, wrote that the Queen was "much changed, her hair quite grey". ==Friendship with Marie Antoinette==