Categotry Archives: Mr. Al
By George! He’s the Consummate Host
For the last several weeks we have been looking at a straight progression of events and George IV grows into the crown. Now, with the crown firmly on his head, and his wife firmly out of the picture, what does he do? Let’s pause to take a look. While His Majesties political life was less than satisfactory, he could take some measure of satisfaction in the fact that people who did not live in England liked him. As we have […]
By George! The Power Behind the Throne
George IV celebrated the death of his wife, Queen Caroline. What kind of mischief could he get into? At least His Majesty could take some measure of solace in the arms of a new girlfriend. He still had his old girlfriend, Lady Hurtford, but that was getting a bit stale. What with his detested wife dead and all, time for something new. Lady Conyngham was the something new. She was “a fat, kindly, religious, rich and rapacious woman of fifty-two.” […]
By George! Where Queen Caroline Ended Up
George IV might not have been able to divorce his queen, but he could still cut her out of his life. Including his coronation. Queen Caroline had spent several weeks getting ready to attend the coronation. She had even sent a letter to her husband, asking him what she should wear. Rather cheeky, that. It was returned, unopened, “in uniformity with a resolution adopted more than twenty years ago, and since invariably adhered to by the King.” Lord Liverpool assured […]
By George! How to Become King
If you know anything about George IV, you know he can’t let a little thing like his own coronation go by without a celebration. In the end the King never did receive the divorce he so ardently sought, but the Queen never officially became queen, either. And Caroline was going to discover that Wilberforce was correct, a mob was a fickle thing indeed. Once they lost interest… After the trial, the public mood began to change. For many, it was […]
By George! The Lords Are… Determined?
At this point in Mr. Al’s narrative George IV has become king, but has not yet become coronated. When he began his divorce proceedings it was his desperate hope to be rid of Princess Caroline as quickly and conveniently as possible. On August 17, 1820, the House of Lords began it’s inquiry. The Queen moved to a house in St. James Square, to be close at hand. She spent so much time at a front window, waving and bowing to […]
By George! She’s Come Home To Roost.
George IV made himself quite ill over how to rid himself of his wife, Queen Caroline. If he couldn’t do it before his father died, while she was merely a princess, how can he do it once she was queen? In June, 1820, Queen Caroline decided to return to England. It was not a sudden decision, but once she made up her mind to do so, nothing could stop her. Her demand for a royal yacht to pick her up […]
By George! He’s Really Taken Ill.
Life can be so hard for a royal who isn’t getting his way. When George IV can’t railroad through a divorce, he tries drinking himself to death. The newly minted King George the IV remained seriously ill for some weeks. Both friends and enemies were discussing the possibility that one of the Dukes might soon become their new king. For the Whigs. Any Duke called upon would be bad news. The Duke of Kent seemed to lean toward the Whig […]
By George! What to do With An Unwanted Wife
George IV never much cared for his wife, Princess Caroline, who at this time was still on the Continent. So when she took up with another man he saw it as a perfect opportunity to get rid of her. Although Brougham’s plan had been well thought out and looked, on paper, to be solid, a few small points had been overlooked. One, he learned from Lord Lauderdale, was that Parliament could not pass an act “ratifying the separation unless the […]
By George! He Will Have Her Head.
When Princess Charlotte died, her mother, Princess Caroline, was off toodling around in Europe while being watched by an eager to dislodge husband, George IV. It’s hard to imagine that Princess Caroline did not know about all the people following her. What is really amazing is that she didn’t seem to care what her behavior was doing to her reputation. Said one historian; “For months past the Regent had been closely following his wife’s wild progress with intentness and disgust. […]
By George! What a Ride.
While George IV’s daughter, Charlotte, struggled with her father over whom to marry, her mother was off gallivanting around Europe. But how much trouble could a wayward princess get into? And what of Princess Caroline? When we last saw her she was skipping the country, much to Charlotte’s annoyance, while Charlotte was the unwilling guest at Cranborne Lodge. It was this act that convinced Charlotte that she had been truly abandoned to her fate. It also gave Charlotte the plan […]
By George! Who Can Provide?
When Prince Goerge IV’s only children died, England turned to his siblings for a new heir. There were certainly plenty to chose from, but who could produce? The duke of Kent was in the same boat as his brother, wife-wise. He needed to marry, but unlike the Duke of Clarence he was in no hurry to put aside his mistress, Mme de St Laurent. He considered himself so far down the list of heirs to the throne that perhaps no […]
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 […]
