COMEDY AND ROMANCE OF ROYALTY

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 23, 28 January 1928, Page 3 (Supplement)

COMEDY AND ROMANCE OF ROYALTY

(By J. W. POYNTER.)

H —i. rfrpet outside Westminster Abbey ' on June 19, 1821, of an singularly strange and pathetic; $ ® c ' d ®; Ss than that of a Queen of -% wttoe pressing at the door and rfiz to be crowned-a demand which defused and she herself denied even " ti the Abbey, although what M on within was the coronation Ifl j j,er husband as King. M . tin Elizabeth Caroline was the I S dSter of Charles William M Duke of Brunswick-Wolf enSKid of the British Princess Auguste, H |; King George 111. She was born '1 Court X of the Dukes of Brunswick M * that time indeed a strange place. % riii-p'a father had been one of the rala 0 f Frederick the Great of Prussia, J| uter was destined to be killed while I fitSg valiantly at the Battle of Jena, if - 1806 His wife, the Duchess Augusta, ®.. nf loose and reckless conduct—of Sch she even talked freely to the Duke I IfMalmesbury when the latter was sent 1 to Germany to request the hand of § Stress Caroline for the Prince of Slies Duke Charles William himself, a ii his military bravery, was by no I neans a model of marital fidelity. It «« then, in these surroundihgs that the I roM Princess Caroline was reared, who ; • ' afterwards to become Queen of LngW and to hand down to future times a nd atory of indiscretions, ill-treatment II nd sorrow , , Caroline herself, however, was by nature of a good disposition, but lier fining in such surroundings had made la superficial and faulty. Her father, the Duke, was always absent on the wars then interminably waging. Her mother vu frivolous and vain, and seemed confined with little more than petty intrigues and the withstanding of slights pnt upon her by her husband. Caroline, then, had heen given over to the futile : guardianship of old, ignorant and super- 1 ititions servants, who, as it has been recorded, "taught her few things of solid Torfh and many ceremonial trivialities — ; to give signs of approval by a gesture, to ipeak in general and indefinite terms, to djgplay Benevolence to one and all, and to learo by heart certain verses from the ' I I Bible." v ! She was, moreover, by no means extremely beautiful, though some distinguishing features she had—a great quantity of fair hair, large blue eyes, and a lively and excitable temperament. Her age was twenty-six when, in 1794, the Duke of Malmesbury came to the Court of Brunswick to demand her in mar- . page with the Prince of Wales. , ,;V Prince and Profligate. i George, that Prince (afterwards King \ George IV.), was he of whom Thackeray ' aid, with biting scorn: "He must have ; had an individuality—the dancing master whom he emulated, nay, surpassed; the trig-maker who curled his toupee for him; ! the tailor who cut his coats, had that. : But about George we can get at nothing actual" He was the eldest son of George : EI, and was created Prince of Wales five days after his birth in 1762. He was well educated Slid strictly disciplined, but in , time he showed an ungovernable temper. After he had attained his majority he compensated himself for the hard regime he had had to to by abandoning himself to extravagance and profligacy. , Ta» years before the time when Caroline's hand was sought for him he had contracted a marriage with a handsome Mrs. Fitzherbert. —■ . That romance is a famous chapter in . English Royalty's history. Maria Anne Smythe was the daughter of a gentleman of Brambridge, in Hampshire. Born in 1756 the married at the age of nineteen, Edward Weld, who died the same year, hi 1778 the wa wedded to Thomas Fitzherbert* and was the second time left a ! widow in 1781. Four years later she met the Prince of Wales, who was four years ; her junior. He fell in love with her at first sight, but she repulsed his advances and went away to the Continent to be rid of him. At the end ef 1785, however, ' ihe returned to England tnd was married to him on December 21. The marriage was never either public avowed nor disavowed It was, however, undoubtedly performed according to the laws of the Roman Catholic Church, of which Mrs. Fitzhprbert was a member. None the less, two fatal defects were inherent in it according to English law. By the Royal Marriage Act of 1772, if any member of the Koyal Family under twenty-five years of age contracted a marriage without the ; King's consent, such marriage was invalid. By the Act of Settlement of the Crown 0®8)> if the_ heir-apparent married a SomanCatholic, he forfeited his right of nccodon to the throne. The Fitzhcrbert njarriage, then, inyolved these complica-hona-it if were a real wedding, the Prince could never be King. It was not, » fact, a real marriage in English civil *w, yet, in the eyes of the canon law of her Church, Mrs. Fitzherbert was certainly the Prince's only true wife. A •range episode. Thoe was, however, a general under* Jwndmg (though the actual facts were •wt): in society, that the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert were married. She was ttewed in the best social circles. Howwer, he had ceased to live with her some fene before he sought the hand of Caroline Brunswick. He resumed the association, Joy ever, even after he had married that ' ftincess. It was finally terminated only £ . M a result of Mrs. Fitzherbert's complaints Ma* o his attentions to Lady Hertford. died in 1837, seven j-cars than George*. A Moral Outlaw. This, then, was the Prince of Wales, no sought the hand of the Princess of nrmywiek. Already he had had for years f i the eyes, if not of the civil .law, feet and religion. •Not only was there this complication, rj" a y® the Prince was noted for the s®eral looseness of his life. Although his . e ? le ? B > versatility, and gracious manhad earned him the nickname, "first wJ, Europe," his moral lawU 680 """k i* impossible that he should ..Po pular with- the generality of the J. He had numerous mistresses. One in 1i 686 - Robinson, an actress, gloried v,, J~™tngues, and a memorial thereof mt, v ll ■ ™ the shape of a book which titW «mf n -.*?• British Museum, en- ■ Lwo. of Royalty, or the and Perdita" ("Perdita," pen.n. ® \ ' being Mrs. Robinson's i one his letters to her, Jv I ' a pnm^ p , r<^ n f. the Prince replying to tayg- he was neglecting her toean iL does my angelic Perdita • * and « «. 86 accusations? Engagements, « a thousand avocations, have driven t • hL n „ om y ? D - B "t to be still- more night wAr l 4 a n mabl y drunk the and C a kst> with those bucks D—t lincfcT my head bas not been clear If * demoliiticJ , narrowly escaped being loose in nLv y a bulldog that was let °f his 8 y ' anc * aTe some marks JL " p ° n , me yet; and had not Pitchfnri™ * r ° m the stable with a : tT^wJ^ eVer Bh ?, uld have b <*n able m - ¥ °"™ '»«* ■ '•horn i°i P*™ 1 " 1 *' the ?». was one in £.•*:- theless tKo were visible. Never8, lns'th? £? ma ee took place. On April £ *ie<L It th : a^ e , and Caroline were marr' the part n ° w \ lUng Co Ment on m >ifedfrom P " nce himse «- He re>v At larf oT rr_!"|. reß *r a ! nt3 of mar ried life. of the cfon as to the necessity r **Kry^'4L Ba,d to . the Duke of Mal«ricide as a 5" T an ? me to commit Let rt be L or my difficulties. tuuHtge." my Personality in ia his life of entitled "A Queen of Indiso*.

CAROLINE THE FORSAKEN,

tions," says of the marriage ceremony, '"The nuptial celebration took place in the St. James' Palace Chapel late on the evening of April 8, 1795. But the princely bridegroom who had been seeking solace in stimulants, was by this time so drunk that if the Duke of Bedford, who was in attendance upon him had not held him up forcibly at the moment that the procession set out, he would have fallen to the ground like any common clown. .This was the first step upon the matrimonial ladder which was to lead twenty-five years afterwards to the turbulent close." Less than two months had passed after the wedding when Caroline realised that her husband had no intention of maintaining for long a husband's part to her. They made a journey to Brighton, and on a pretext _ that she had been unduly familiar with a naval lieutenant, Prince George had a violent quarrel with her. He even suggested that they should separate. This, however, was hindered by the approach of her maternity. On January 7, 1796, was born the Princess Charlotte Augusta. Patience and Resignation. The Prince deserted Caroline immediately after the birth of the child. An agreement of separation was come to, the Prince writing to her: /'Our inclinations are not in our power, nor should either of us be held answerable to the other because nature has not made us suitable to each other," and she to him: "I retain every sentiment of gratitude for the situation in which I find myself as Princess of Wales, enabled by your means to indulge in the free exercise of a virtue dear to my heart, I mean charity. I will lead my life as an example of patience and resignation under every trial." The scurvy treatment she had received from the profligate PHnce made $he sympathies of the people turn strongly towards her. However, in the year 1806 reports about her own conduct became so serious that a commission was appointed to inquire into them. She had gone to travel on the Continent, and the "Annual Register" of 1820, referring to the charges against her, said: "It was not of a mere common act of immoral gallantry that she was suspected; the charge against her was that of living in a state of habitual adultery with a man whom she had raised from the rank of a menial servant." The commission acquitted her of the accusation, but censured her for imprudence. In 1820, on the death of the insane King George 111., the Prince of Wales became King as the fourth of that name. Caroline, at the time the old king died, was in Italy; at Livorno. She had come on to that town from Marseilles. Scarcely had she reached her hotel when her attendant, John Jacob Sicard, appeared before her, accompanied by two noblemen of the Florentine Court, and in an emotional tone said, "You are Queen!" She determined to return to England and claim her full rights as Queen. For years she had not seen her husband, but — now he was King! At home, so she was informed, a strong popular feeling on her behalf had arisen in consequence of the omission of her name from the new "Prayers for the Royal Family" in the. Church of England Prayer Book. On her arrival at Dover, she was received with acclamation by the people. A vast crowd assembled to witness her disembarkment, and banners were displayed; cheers were raised in great volume: "God Save Queen Caroline." The Formal Rebuff. She had, however, no welcome from her husband or from the Government. The , offer was made to her that, if she retired gracefully, she should have a good monetary allowance. "The King is willing to recommend to Parliament to enable His Majesty to settle an annuity of £50,000 upon the Queen, provided she will engage not to come into any part of the British Dominions, and provided she engages to take some other name or title than that of Queen." This queen, however, was not the person to whom to make such a proposal. She declined all arrangements which fell short of full recogmtion of her as Queen. A bill was introduced into Parliament to dissolve her marriage with the King, but it failed to pass. The sympathy of the people was still strongly with her. Eventually she was allowed to assume the title of Queen, and the _ £50,000 annuity was settled on her, the intention being to exclude her from all the actual rights of Queen. The coronation of George TV came. The magnificent ceremony was about to begin within the Abbey. Immense crowds were gathered outside. The Government had ignored Caroline altogether. She, however, was for insisting on her claim. She came before the door, demanding admission and the right to be crowned as Queen. In vain! A contemporary record says: "The door-keepers refused to allow her to enter as Queen; she was coldly received even by the collected mob; and she was forced to submit to the mortification of retiring, without even having succeeded in marring the joyonsnesa of the splendid ceremony. _ ... . . She did not long survive this final tragic rebuff. Taken ill at a theatre, she returned home hurriedly, and on August 4 died; luckless, forsaken toy of a Royal rake. Her husband, the King, survived her just nine years, during which time many famous political events took place; the Battle of Navarino leading to the independence of Greece," and Catholic Emancipation in England, standing out prominently. In his private life, however, George IV.—particularly when Prince of Wales—has given a bitter pungency to the phrase, 'the first gentleman of Europe."