Indeed, during his time in London, Leopold asked the Prince of Wales for Charlotte’s hand. There is no record of Charlotte and Leopold meeting again during his initial stay in London yet it seems Leopold thought he had made a good first impression and was determined to exploit every opportunity to engage further with Charlotte. Careful not to put a foot wrong, Leopold wrote a letter to Charlotte’s father, explaining his virtuous and friendly reasons for visiting the princess. Subsequent to this serendipitous meeting, Leopold kept to his word, and called upon Charlotte at Warwick House. Before her carriage drove away Leopold promised to rectify this error. Charlotte asked him why he had not called upon her, like the other visiting princes. Immediately, Leopold cordially offered to escort the princess safely to her carriage. This dashing figure just so happened to be Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. While descending the staircase she bumped into a handsome solider dressed in Russian uniform. Trying to avoid meeting the Prince of Orange himself, Charlotte slipped out of the hotel using the back staircase. In June 1814, Charlotte met with the Emperor of Russia in the Pulteney Hotel to explain why she had broken off her engagement to William of Orange.
