By George! It's a Wedding… er, Another Wedding.

Regardless of all his misgivings, Prince George went ahead and married his cousin Princess Caroline.

The Big Day was 8 April 1795. The ceremony was held in the Chapel Royal at St. James Palace. The Princesses dress was so heavily embroidered that the weight of it almost caused her to fall over. The bridegroom was about ready to fall over also, but not from the weight of his clothing. The bride was led into the chapel by the Duke of Clarence. Said one historian, “She approached the alter confidently and stood there chatting away with the Duke with characteristic gusto as she awaited the arrival of the bridegroom. When he came, supported by the un-married Dukes of Bedford and Roxburghe, he was seen to be extremely nervous and agitated. He had obviously been drinking.”

Said Lord Melbourne, who served as a Gentleman in waiting, “The Prince was like a man doing a thing in desperation … … and he was quite drunk.” The Duke of Bedford, who had seen the Prince consume several brandies, had difficulty keeping the Prince on his feet. According to Lady Maria Stuart, he was so “agitated during the ceremony that it was expected he would soon burst into tears.” The Prince was not the only one to cause tongues to wag during the ceremony.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, John Moore, obviously had a problem with the proceedings that had nothing to do with the Prince being drunk. When he came to the place in the ceremony where he asked if there was any lawful reason why the marriage should not take place, he “lay down the book and looked earnestly at the King as well as the bridegroom, giving unequivocal proof of his apprehension that the previous marriage had taken place…Not content with this tacit allusion, the Archbishop twice repeated the passage in which the Prince engages to live from that time forward in nuptial fidelity with his consort…The Prince was much affected and shed tears.”

The reception was held in the Queen’s apartments. A number of people noted that the Prince didn’t speak to his new wife at all. Said Lady Maria Stuart; “He looked like death and full of confusion, as if he wished to hide himself from the looks of the whole world. I think he much to be pitied. The bride, on the contrary, appeared to be in the highest spirits when she passed us first, smiling and nodding to everyone…What an odd wedding.”

The oddness didn’t stop at the wedding.

The Big Day is, of course, followed by the Big Night. While the Prince behaved himself at the reception, to the point where one guest described him as “very civil and gracious” he began to get edgy again as the festivities drew to a close. He also began drinking again. So much so that by the time he had to consummate his marriage he, according to one historian, “Made his way into her bedroom, he fell insensible into the fireplace where he remained the rest of the night and where she left him. In the morning he had recovered sufficiently to climb into bed with her.”

Oddly enough, the first few months of the marriage went much better than anyone had a reasonable right to expect given it’s horrid beginning. The Princess seemed quite happy. She was seen taking walks with her uncle, the King, both of them smiling and laughing. Princess Elizabeth reported that Caroline spoke to her of her “present happiness” and that she professed herself to be deeply in love with her husband. The Prince reported to the Queen that Caroline was much taken with Brighton, (She aught to have been, it cost enough.) and that, bad weather aside, the two of them were getting on very well.

The Queen was delighted that things seemed to be turning out so well. Perhaps the Prince’s wild lifestyle really was a thing of the past. If that were so, she was deeply grateful to Princess Caroline for making it so. The whole family was overjoyed when news arrived from Brighton that the Princess was pregnant.

Caroline’s pregnancy progressed without trouble. As the time for her delivery drew closer the Prince was observed to be very concerned for Caroline’s well being. On January 7th 1796, Princess Caroline gave birth to a girl. Wrote the Prince to the Queen; “The Princess, after a terrible hard labor of above twelve hours, is this instant brought to bed of an immense girl, and I assure you not withstanding we might have wished for a boy, I received her with all affection possible.”

The King wrote a letter saying that he was very happy that there had been no problems. He went on, “You are both young and I trust will have many children and this newcomer will equally call for the protection of it’s parents and consequently be a bond of additional union.”

The “union” was going to need all the bonds it could get.