27. The Princess Maid
Upon arrival in Baltimore, jailbird and penal exile Sarah Wilson was taken off the convict ship and sold as an indentured servant. However, she escaped within a few days. She had managed to hang on to some of Queen Charlotte’s belongings, and wearing the queen’s dress, she claimed to be Queen Charlotte’s sister, “Princess Susana Caroline Matilda of Mecklenberg-Strelitz”. She explained her presence in the American Colonies by inventing a royal family quarrel, and a scandal that required her to leave Britain until things calmed down temporarily.
During her time as a maid in Buckingham Palace, Sarah had observed royal mannerisms and aristocratic etiquette. She managed to pull off a convincing imitation that duped many Colonials into believing that she really was a princess, and parlayed that into a life of luxury. For years, the criminal “Princess Susana” traveled up and down the American Colonies, from New Hampshire in the north all the way down south to the Carolinas. She was hosted in style by many government officials, wealthy Americans, social climbers, and others eager to befriend and win the favor of a royal.