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 camp, but his position was merely in opposition to his father. He didn’t really hold any Whig principles. This possibility was soon mooted when the Duke died before His Majesty had recovered.

That left “that Prince of Blackguards, Brother William.” and …(shudder)… the Duke of Cumberland. Should Cumberland come to the throne, the Whigs were convinced he would slaughter them wholesale. And he probably would have, or at least tried to. To almost everyone’s relief, His Majesty began to recover. Slowly. He missed his father’s funeral, he was so sick. He didn’t help the recovery process by worrying himself into a lather over how to get rid of his wife.

According to one historian, “He had spent whole evenings in very serious agitation, studying all the prayer-books in the Carlton House library, hoping to find a precedent that would support his determination not to allow Church congregations to pray for the well-being of Queen Caroline and to exclude her name and title entirely from the Liturgy.”

It would seem that he was partly successful in this, although he did get into a spat with the Archbishop of Canterbury over the matter. At length, more or less recovered, he could devote himself full-time to destroying his wife. Although those around him were careful to refer to her as “princess”, everyone was painfully aware that Caroline was now, semi-officially, Queen of England. Getting rid of a Queen was going to be exceedingly bad for business all around. The refusal of his Cabinet to move forward with the Milan Commission’s findings and bring Caroline to trial for High Treason really basted His Majesties turkey.

Some suggested the “mutual separation” gambit again. Bribe her to renounce the throne and stay out of England. His Majesty was beside himself. Was no one listening to him? He wanted his wife gone! As in, “And no one ever saw or heard from her again.” not “Oh look, you got a postcard from your sort-of ex-wife, she says “Hi” and “Send money.” Prime Ministers were screamed at. Lords fired, re-hired, and fired again. The Duke of Wellington, the hero of Waterloo,was commanded to “Hold his tongue.” on the subject when he suggested a compromise that would avoid a public trial.

His wife wasn’t the only fly in the King’s soup. He was King now, wasn’t he? Well then, where was the money for the completion of Brighton Pavilion? He had some serious shopping to do and he had been waiting all of his adult life to do it with a free hand. He also had pals that needed rewarding by being added to the Civil List. Basically, the dole for those who Really Didn’t Need It. Said Lord Eldon; “He has pretty well disposed to part with us all because we would not make additions to his revenue.” And he would have done so had there been any responsible men to take their places. There were none. At least, no responsible men who wanted those jobs. Working closely with King George the IV was not a job for the faint of heart.

While he continued to fret over all the injustices heaped upon his Royal Head, his biggest chicken was about to come home to roost.