Categotry Archives: History
By George! The Duke of Clarence Wants a Wife
After George IV’th daughter died. leaving no heir, England turned to George’s brothers. Unluckily, it was slim pickings there. If the Duke of Clarence knew what he was getting into while searching for a wife, he might have had second thoughts. Fortunately for you, dear reader, he didn’t, so…First to be asked was Catherine Tylney-Long, a “lovely nice little angel worth 40,000 pounds a year.” She held out for the Duke of Wellington’s nephew. Next up was the equally wealthy […]
By George! A Girl is Sprung!
The English royalty during the Regency had bad luck in marriage. Or should I say they were dysfunctional? We’ve already seen how his brother, the Duke of Cumberland made out. The next sibling to marry was a princess. Princess Mary was the Prince Regents favorite sister. She kept up a steady flow of chatty, gossip filled letters from the “nunnery” and he reciprocated with small gifts. The truly astounding thing about the marriage, however, is that The Queen approved of […]
By George! It's the Tale of an Unwanted Duke
George IV’s daughter, Charlotte, suffered horribly from her father’s mismanagement. He tried to stiff arm her into marriage with an unattractive lout. She finally married the man of her dreams only to die in child birth. And where did this leave England? And now dear readers, I find myself having to backtrack a bit. My sincerest apologies, but I goofed. There actually were some dukes who married before Charlotte, and one princess. Had Charlotte lived, these marriages would have been […]
By George! The Prince Has Sisters?
George the Fourth’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth not long after he ditched is wife, Princess Caroline. Now the Regent has no heir and no wife. We return for another installment of Mr. Al’s take on the life and times of George IV. As distraught as the Prince Regent was over Charlotte’s death, there were many who believed him partly responsible. Or ,at least, not being as deeply affected as he claimed to be. As the grief of Charlotte’s […]
By George! Dr. Croft Knows His Stuff, He Thinks
After so much difficulty overcoming her father’s objections, Princess Charlotte enjoyed her marriage to Prince Leopold. And now, on to the happy occasion of the birth of her child. It wasn’t until November 3 that Charlotte went into labor. Doctor Croft continued to issue rosy reports. Twenty four hours passed. Although Charlotte’s pain grew worse as the labor progressed, she was determined that she would “neither bawl nor shriek.” And she didn’t. Other doctors were standing by, ready to assist. […]
By George!
After having her father, George IV, try to railroad her into a bad marriage, Princess Charlotte not only escaped his claws, she found true love. Everyone was happy, except her dad, who still couldn’t resist throwing a party. The wedding took place May 2, 1816. Carlton House was the venue and everything ran like clockwork. Charlotte had dinner with her grandmother and her aunts at the Queen’s House and it was there that she prepared. Wearing a “shimmering silver wedding […]
By George! She Found Her Man.
Prince George IV and his daughter, Princess Charlotte, didn’t see eye to eye on whom she should marry. He thought she should marry a buddy of his; an alcoholic bounder. She thought not. It became a contest of wills. If the Prince Regent thought he held all the high cards in his showdown with Charlotte, he overlooked something rather obvious. No amount of privation would change Charlotte’s mind. She was right, being kept in Cranbourne Lodge wasn’t pleasant, but it […]
By George! She's Been Abandoned.
Just when Princess Charlotte needed her mother’s backing the most, Princess Caroline threw in the towel. She was more than willing to allow Charlotte and any heirs to Charlotte lose their place in the British monarchy just to get away from Prince George. What is a princess to do? The first week of August 1814, Princess Caroline boarded the frigate H.M.S. Jason with as motley an assortment of flunkies, hangers-on and servants as had ever set foot on one of […]
By George! It's a Jail Break!
Princess Charlotte, daughter of Prince George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, was ordered by her father to marry a man she could not tolerate. When she refused, her father replaced all her servants and brought her before a bishop. What is poor Charlotte to do? Having resolved not to submit to her fathers demands, Charlotte did the only thing she could think to do. She ran away from home. Her own home no less. Leaving dad and the Bishop of […]
By George! What's Charlotte's Beef?
Previously in By George! Mr. Al left a little cliff hanger regarding the marriage of Princess Charlotte. With her father, George IV, pushing one of his drinking buddies on her and her mother sensing and opportunity to get under George’s skin, Charlotte is certainly put on the spot. While desiring to remain in England was the public face of Princess Charlotte’s refusal to marry William, there were other issues as well. Williams drinking was but one. One of Charlotte’s biggest […]
By George! Princess Charlotte to Marry?
As Gereorge IV’s wife, Princess Caroline was so sure she knew her place that she took a bribe from him to quit her public life and leave England. Then she turned around and attended one of his parties without his invitation. Princess Caroline finally left England in the first week of August, 1814. I say finally because there was a slight hitch before she could leave. Namely, her daughter had become convinced, with reason, that dad was trying to force […]
By George! The Wrath of a Princess
I believe last week’s post about the newspapers during the Regency was a digression. Mr. Al takes up this week with another look at Princess Caroline and her relationship with George IV. Things had not been going well for the Princess at all. She had been growing more and more concerned with the public aspects of her life as the Princess of Wales. I should say she had been growing more concerned with her husbands ability to thwart what she […]
By George! I have no idea
Mr. Al sent this week’s By George! in last night. I know I should have stayed up for it, but I didn’t so it’s late and I haven’t even read it yet. Forget about having a picture with it. Anyway, I hope it’s good. In our time when communication with anyone nearly anywhere on the planet instantaneously is a fact of life, it’s hard to imagine a time when communication was more or less limited to the people one could […]
By George! What to Do With The Woman?
Mr. Al has now brought us well into the Regency, touching on such topics as Tsar Alexander, and Boue Brummel, but what of his dear wife, Princess Caroline? The Prince’s treatment of his wife netted her a great deal of public sympathy. While he could exclude her from his personal life and from official functions, his control over her personal life was limited. He had to support her, parliament made sure of that. As long as she had her own […]
By George! What to Do With a Tsar.
Last week Mr. Al talked about how poorly George IV got along with a certain Tsar’s sister, and hinted there might be problems because of it. Let’s see what he meant. The Prince saw King Louis off for his return to France at Dover, then returned to London to begin preparations for the arrival of Frederick William III, King of Prussia, Prince Metternich, who was representing the Emperor of Austria, and Tsar Alexander I. Having already received an unhealthy dose […]
