Elizabeth, Princess of England

Elizabeth Plantagenet (5 June 1752 – 19 August 1783) was the daughter, and only child, of Harold V of England and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Saxony, who died in childbirth.

Her life from childhood was the first of the Angevin royal family to be documented closely by newspapers and magazines, who dramatised her as an adventurous, 'swashbuckling' princess. She was adored in popular culture, and expected to be Harold V's heir had she lived.

Her unexpected death at age 31 left both her father, the future King Harold V, and her husband, the future Eric XVI of Sweden grief-stricken. Her part in their lives coloured both their reigns.

Early Life
Elizabeth's birth came with it the death of her mother, who it is believed Harold V married for love[1]. Harold V did not remarry, but he did find a new raison d'être in the form of his daughter. The two were known to be very close as she grew up, residing in one of the smaller countryside Châteaus of the royal family, away from the court and from politics.

Adulthood and Marriage to Eric XVI
It was believed for some time that Elizabeth would never take a suitor for a husband. She was rarely in court at Anjou, and rarely even in the Realm. Known for her voyages into the uncharted West, and the exotic East, which were delighted in by the press; she never took the time for courtship and was regarded as fiercely independent.

At a ball in Florence in 1773, Elizabeth is believed to have first met with Eric of Sweden. The following year, they married in Stockholm, with her father (Prince of the Britons at the time), but not her Grandfather (Harold IV of England and France) in attendance.

Much to the dismay of his father, Eric XV, Eric took immediately to Elizabeth's adventurous lifestyle. They toured Enconnes together in 1775, and the Indies in 1781. Their travels were mostly aboard merchant vessels destined for the regions with cargo, rather than on royal naval vessels with servants and guards, but the papers in Europe compiled accounts of their travels from sailors, merchants, locals and statements from the royal couple. 'The Journeys of Elizabeth and Eric in Enconnes' and 'The Journeys of Elizabeth and Eric in the Indies' were both published as long-form books by popular English magazine The Yeoman's Writ, and were among the best-selling books of their time.

Death
Shortly after her return from the Indies, Elizabeth fell ill. She was tended to by multiple doctors, but no treatment prevented the rapid decline of her health. She was pronounced dead in Stockholm on the 19th August 1783, with the cause of death listed as a 'bloodied lung'.