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 her to marry Prince William of Orange. The Prince Regent was anxious that she marry, had told her repeatedly that he would never force her to marry someone she found unacceptable.

What the Prince could not understand is why a fellow he found perfectly acceptable would not be viewed in the same light by his daughter. Part of the problem was that no one found him strongly objectionable at first. Indeed, she sorta, kinda liked him after his second or third visit. He wasn’t as ugly as she first thought him to be, but he wasn’t at all handsome.

He was no match for the Princess intellectually, but she was, for a time, willing to overlook that. What she wasn’t willing to overlook was that he drank like a fish and couldn’t hold his liquor. Although he behaved himself while around Charlotte, there were many confirmed stories of him getting roaring drunk at social functions and making an ass of himself.

Charlotte decided she could do better than that for a husband. In her mind Prince William was out of the running. As one historian noted; “He had spent two years at Oxford, had served on the Duke of Wellington’s staff in Spain, and was shortly, at age twenty-two, to be given a command at Waterloo which he was to execute with notable incompetence.” There were other fellows that Princess Charlotte had her eye on. German Princes that her father regarded with suspicion. They were older and a bit too worldly for Prinny’s taste. He told his daughter so.

For a number of reasons, mostly political, he favored Prince William and was careful to make sure that Charlotte knew he was daddy’s first choice. Lord Grey was also careful to point out to Charlotte that her father had no authority from the law, God or anyone else to force her to marry someone she didn’t wish to marry. Alas, the Prince Regent got it into his head, through misconstruing an innocent comment Charlotte had made about Prince William; “I like his manner very well. As much as I have seen of it.” To be her declaration that she would marry him.

Charlotte, in order to avoid a fight with her father, did nothing to correct the situation. Indeed, she seemed to resign herself to marrying William. This course of action, or inaction, would bear very bitter fruit for all involved. The Prince Regent informed William of his daughters happy choice. William was delighted. What a catch! Not just any English princess, but the heir to the throne! Woohoo! When William and dad dropped by Warwick House, Charlotte’s home, dad left the two lovebirds in the study to talk about their future happiness.

William informed Charlotte that their future happiness would involve moving to Holland. This “reduced the Princess to tears.” They were not tears of joy. As time went on her apprehensions at marrying William grew stronger. He didn’t help matters by writing to her from Holland, telling her how god-awful boring it was. How the formalities and court etiquette that had to be observed were “quite against his nature.” But Hey? Whattayagonnado? Family is family and mom and dad insist that we live in Holland.

The Princess of Wales was less than no help. Her daughters plans were tossing a spanner into her own plans to leave the country. She didn’t seem to really care who her daughter married, or if she got married at all. Adding a bit of spice to the broth was the belief, on the part of Lord Liverpool, that the Russians were conspiring to destroy the engagement in order to prevent a union of the House of Orange and the English throne. One of the persons alleged to be involve in the alleged plot was none other than the Tsar’s sister, the Duchess of Oldenburg. The Prince Regent had no trouble believing that.

Princess Charlotte, at Lord Grey’s’ suggestion, wrote to dad and asked for a copy of the marriage contract. The fact that a contract existed was no secret. This wasn’t just any old marriage, it was a union of two powerful Houses. A contract was absolutely necessary. Charlotte’s idea was to insert a clause saying that Her Highness would not have to leave the country if she didn’t want to.

Dad blew a gasket. He knew damned well this was the work of his daughters Whig “legal advisors.” He wouldn’t stand for it. The same day he received the letter, he ordered Miss Cornelia Knight, a member of the Queen’s household who had been appointed to the Princess as a chaperon, to a meeting at Carlton House. Toot sweet!

When Miss Knight arrived, Prinny got right to the point. What in God’s name was going on at Warwick House? Did Miss Knight know of the letter? Did the Princess realize that not even her future husband had been allowed to see the contract? It was none of his business! The contract was sent to the Prince’s mom and dad. That’s the way these things worked. It was a Royal mom and dad thing!

Did the princess also realize that the impending marriage was not just a union of two people, but a matter of state? If the Prince remembered that the King had told him the very same thing when he first broached the subject of divorce from Caroline, he didn’t let on. And besides, the Prince concluded, it was her idea to marry the lush. He was all for it, but he never told her she had to. And he could distinctly remember telling Charlotte that if she married the Prince of Gin Lane she would have to move to Holland. She made no objection at the time, why was she making a fuss about it now?

Miss Knight was to inform the Princess that if she withdrew the letter, he would forgive her. If she didn’t, the matter would have to be laid before the Cabinet and the Privy Council. The House of Orange would never agree to Charlotte’s demand and would insist on voiding the contract. And wouldn’t THAT be a fine kettle of fish!

The Princess responded the next day. She was very sorry she had upset His Royal Highness, “but I cannot with all that respect and affection retract one word of my determination.” As to the marriage being her idea, Yeah, right! “I was astonished to hear from Miss Knight you thought this was first proposed by me, and that it was to gratify my wishes you gave your consent.” Prinny sent anyone he could think of that his daughter might listen to to speak with her, but to no positive effect.

Her mother wrote to her that if she was going to hold her ground and make a public showing of her determination not to marry, she shouldn’t forget dear old mom. The Princess of Wales wrote; “It is not for me to give advice upon such a delicate subject, but all those friends as Lord Grey, Lansdowne, Mr Whitbread, Brougham and Co are particularly anxious that you should manifest your feelings very publicly at the great insult your mother has received from the Queen and that you ought to refuse your attendance at Court which would raise you very much in the estimation of the world to take publicly the part of your oppressed and persecuted mother.”

As if Charlotte’s plate weren’t full enough. Mom closed the letter with a sentence that has been uttered by mothers since the dawn of time. “However you are perfectly at liberty to act after your own judgment.”

To be continued…

– Mr. Al