By Geroge! What More Can Edward Do?

As if turning his solider’s quarters into a place for his mistress wasn’t enough, Prince Edward had to go throwing his weight around.  We continue with Mr. Al’s take on the brothers of George IV.

His Majesty was not pleased when the press reported the arrival of Prince Edward’s ladyfriend. He was also distraught to learn the that the Royal Fusiliers of Gibraltar had, to a man – NCO’s and enlisted men – mutinied against their commanding officer.

It would seem that Edward was a stickler for having the rules obeyed. He insisted on it more, much more, than the average officer was wont to do. He was not averse to inventing new rules when the ones on the books were not enough. More importantly, he was not at all averse to doling out the maximum punishments for the most trivial offenses. Military discipline in the British army was, by modern standards, savage. Officers assumed that the common soldier came from the dregs of society. That’s the way they were treated.

Even an offense such as failing to salute an officer could be punished by flogging. There was the time-honored tradition of turning big rocks into very little rocks. And the wheel. Basically, a man would be tied to a wagon wheel and left there without food, water or shelter from the Sun for, oh…two or three days. Any man caught bringing aid and comfort to a man being punished thus would get the same.

Prince Edward imposed these punishments, and more, for the slightest offense. Considering his own attitude that The Rules didn’t apply to him, there was trouble. There was bloody rioting. There was a mutiny. For his own safety, and in the interests of the regiment, Prince Edward was removed from his command.

The King decided that Gibraltar was, after all, not far enough away. To remedy that, the King told Edward to pack his bags because he was going on a trip. Edward was going to take an ocean cruise to…Canada. Mlle de St. Laurent must have been in love with Edward; or at least been a hell of a sport, because she volunteered to go with him.

Once there, Edward wasted no time in writing home that Canada was worse than Geneva and Gibraltar combined. It was, he wrote to The Prince of Wales, “The most dreary and gloomy spot on the face of the earth.” That was his opinion of Quebec. Some people just can’t be happy anywhere. Quebec wasn’t much of a city in those days, especially by London standards. But it wasn’t a log fort in the wilderness along the Great Lakes; filled with stinky, drunken fur traders and rebellious Yanks. There were numerous British forts that fit that description back then. Edward was lucky that dad didn’t send him to one of them.

Prince Edward very much wished to share in the military glory some of his other brothers were experiencing. It was natural that he should write to his eldest brother. He was in London; he could put in a good word with dad. For some reason, dad wasn’t answering any of Edward’s letters.

What Prince Edward didn’t seem to know was that the Prince of Wales didn’t like him. He never had. And as time went on, he liked him less and less. For reasons known only to himself, The Prince took pity on his younger brother’s situation and decided to have a word with the King. Even more surprisingly, the King listened to him.

If Fast Eddie wanted to be a hero, well then, dad would send him to a place where he would get the chance.