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 Princess was found guilty of infidelity, or confessed to it.” Brougham approached her about the possibility of confessing. As soon as there was public ice skating in hell; he was told. There was still separation by mutual consent.

Both parties agree to separate. After, of course, some agreement had been reached as to the Princess’s annuity. Neither party was agreeable to this. Much too…impermanent. Both wanted to be well shut of the other. Besides, the Prince was convinced he had the goods on his wife and wanted her publicly humiliated. Didn’t the Milan Commission have eighty-five sworn statements? The Prince ran up against his own Cabinet. They were very reluctant to agree to a divorce unless the Princess was actually guilty of adultery

His Highness was vexed beyond endurance. “Of course she’s guilty! Sworn statements! The Milan Commission! Pink top boots! What in heaven’s name have we been talking about all this time? Burn her at the stake!” (My words, poetic license) The Cabinet respectfully disagreed. The Milan Commission had eighty-five statements from “foreigners, most of them not above the rank of menial servants and the master and attendants in hotels wholly unacquainted with the English language.”

There was also the not insignificant subject of the Prince Regent’s own “secret” marriage to Mrs Fitzherbert,his current relationship with Lady Hurtford, and any number of women he dallied with in the past. Princess Caroline’s legal advisors were not to be underestimated. The Cabinet dithered and put the Prince on hold so that they could “Take the whole case into their mature consideration.”

This was precisely what His Highness did not want. Something had to be done, and done quickly. Ever since the Queen’s death on November 17, 1818, the Prince Regent had been praying that nothing would carry away dad until his wife had been firmly dealt with. Getting rid of a princess was proving to be exceedingly difficult, how much more so would be getting rid of a queen?

As the year 1819 progressed, the Prince Regent had ever increasing reasons to worry. Not only was the Milan Commission not panning out the way he had hoped, but his wife had the cheek to actually defend herself! What was the world coming to? And now his own Cabinet, the men he trusted most, were telling him to reduce to quarter-speed and double the watch. They were in dangerous waters and had to proceed with caution. The Prince wanted “damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.” He would not get it.

And now his biggest worry was manifesting itself. The news from Windsor regarding dad was turning grim. Dad was hanging on, reported the Duke of York, but for how much longer, none could say. The Prince Regent should hold himself in readiness, because the end could come quickly. This was more than just bad news, it put His Highness under a great deal of stress, which he treated with a great deal of alcohol. He himself was soon well and truly sick. and those closest to him thought he might not pull out of it.

Bed-ridden, the Prince could only wonder, who would die first? Himself or dad? What had he ever done to deserve such a fate? It was while the Prince was in this state that the hammer fell. “His Majesty expired at 32 minutes past 8 o’clock p.m. 29 January 1820.” The news of his accession was delayed for a day. January 30th was the anniversary of the execution of King Charles the I. Not an auspicious date to take the throne.

On January 31st, the Prince Regent, surrounded by most of his brothers, “emerged from Carlton House to stand in the cold air while the aged Garter King of Arms read out the traditional formula in a slow and quavering voice.” With the ceremony done, King George the IV went back inside and collapsed. The new Queen of England, Caroline, could not be reached for comment.

– Mr Al