Charlotte Prentiss

Sophie as Charlotte Prentiss in The King George Job

Charlotte Prentiss, Duchess of Hanover, is one of Sophie’s oldest and most solid aliases.

History:

At one point, Sophie was recruited into Ramsey's crew alongside Arthur Wilde doing art forgeries. Ramsey got Sophie into high society, most likely under the aliases Charlotte Prentis, where she would sell Arthur’s forgeries. This was when Sophie met the Duke of Hanover, most likely William. The two began to develop feelings for each other despite the duke being older than Sophie. Eventually, someone discovered the art pieces were forgeries, and Sophie’s boss convinced her to let Arthur take the fall. Sophie agreed to keep her place in high society and not relieve herself from William.

At one point, Sophie married the duke, earning her the title of Duchess of Hanover. She also became the stepmother to his child, Astrid.

Sophie implies that Ramsey had her stealing from the duke. To escape Ramsey and his influence, Sophie left the duke and her marriage. Presumably, after this, William realized that Sophie and Ramsey had coned him, breaking his heart. William died shortly, having “drunk himself to death”.

When the team heads to London for a job in The King George Job, Sophie uses her title as the Duchess of Hanover. Later the mark invited the Countess of Kensington to ensure Sophie’s legitimacy. Sophie and the countess are well acquainted as Sophie calls her Auntie. The countess seems to be a relative of William’s.

Mentions:

• The King George Job
• The Lonely Hearts Job
• The Debutant Job
• The One Man’s Trash Job

Trivia

• Sophie states that her Duchess persona was a solid one, seven years in the making.
• Sophie introduces herself as Charlotte Prentiss, 18th Duchess of Hanover. In the correct form, she would either introduce herself as Charlotte Hanover or Charlotte, Duchess of Hanover. She would never use her family name or the title's generation (18th). Similarly, she would never defer to her aunt, who has the lower title of Countess, when speaking
• A small, but telling error: when Sophie had afternoon tea with Keller, she fails to remove her gloves. This is a sure sign of lower-class birth, and lack of familiarity with how and when gloves are worn among the gentry. An upper-class woman would remove her gloves upon being seated, before she began afternoon tea, yet Sophie drinks tea, adds milk to her cup and eats a sandwich with them on. Later, Sophie grabs the milk jug using an overhand grip, rather than through the handle, another sign of lower-class birth.