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IRINCKSSES 


N.GLAND 


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the  Harris  family 


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a 


H.R.H.  THE  PRINCESS  LOUISE. 


LONDON : 

'  ,D   rj.,   PRINTERS,   CHAXDOS  STREET 
COYENT  GARDEN. 


648190 

* 


465 


L(O 


CONTENTS, 


PAGJB 

SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OP  HANOVER,  QUEEN  OP  PRUSSIA,  DAUGHTER   OF 
GEORGE   I ] 

ANNE     OP     HANOVER,      PRINCESS     ROYAL,      ELDEST     DAUGHTER     OF 

GEORGE   II.,    AFTERWARDS   PRINCESS   OP   ORANGE 45 

AMELIA    SOPHIA     ELEANORA    OF   HANOVER,    SECOND    DAUGHTER    OF 

GEORGE   II 80 

CAROLINE  ELIZABETH  OF  HANOVER,  THIRD  DAUGHTER  OF  GEORGE  II.  114 
MARY  OF  ENGLAND,  LANDGRAVINE  OF  HESSE  CASSEL  .  .  .  .126 
LOUISA  OF  ENGLAND,  QUEEN  OP  DENMARK .  133 

AUGUSTA,  DUCHESS  OF  BRUNSWICK,  ELDEST  DAUGHTER  OP  FREDERICK, 

PRINCE   OF   WALES f      .      .       .      .    138 

ELIZABETH  CAROLINE  AND  LOUISA  ANNE,  DAUGHTERS  OP  FREDERICK, 

PRINCE   OF   WALES 166 

CAROLINE   MATILDA,   QUEEN   OF   DENMARK,  YOUNGEST   DAUGHTER  OF 

FREDERICK,    PRINCE   OF   WALES 173 

CHARLOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA,  PRINCESS  ROYAL,  ELDEST  DAUGHTER 

OF    GEORGE   III.,    AFTERWARDS   QUEEN   OF   WURTEMBERG     .       .       .216 

AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,    SOPHIA,    AND    AMELIA 305 


IV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
ELIZABETH   OP  ENGLAND,  LANDGRAVINE  OF    HESSE  HOMBURG,  THIRD 

DAUGHTER  OP   GEORGE   III 333 

PRINCESS   MARY,    DUCHESS    OF   GLOUCESTER,    FOURTH   DAUGHTER   OP 

GEORGE   III 344 

CHARLOTTE   CAROLINE   AUGUSTA,  DAUGHTER   OP   GEORGE   IV.        .      .   366 

VICTORIA   ADELAIDE   MARY   LOUISA,    PRINCESS    ROYAL   OP   ENGLAND 

AND    PRINCESS   OP   PRUSSIA 389 

ALICE    MAUD     MARY,    SECOND   DAUGHTER  OF     HER  MAJESTY   QUEEN 
VICTORIA,    AND   PRINCESS   LOUIS   OF   HESSE-DARMSTADT        .      .      .   477 

PRINCESS   HELENA   AUGUSTA   VICTORIA,    THIRD    DAUGHTER    OP   HER 

MAJESTY 499 

LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA .  516 


THE   ROYAL  PRINCESSES, 

JOT  tfc*  fnp  0f  imp  %  first 


SOPHIA  DOBOTHEA  OF  HANOVEB, 

QUEEN    OF   PRUSSIA,    DAUGHTER   OF    GEORGE    I. 

History  of  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell,  her  mother — Her  father,  George  I. 
— George  II.  and  his  sister  brought  up  under  their  grandmother's 
care — Character  of  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Hanover — Sophia  Charlotte, 
First  Queen  of  Prussia,  sister  of  George  I. — Her  excellent  character 
— Charlottenburg  named  from  her — Her  death — Offers  made  to  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Prussia — Refuses  all — Marries  the  Princess  of 
Hanover — Preparations  for  the  wedding — Remark  of  the  French 
king — Marriage  solemnity — Sophia  Dorothea's  public  entiy  into 
Berlin — Public  festivities — Birth  of  her  daughter — Her  baptism — 
Prediction  about  her  marriage — Queen  follows  her  husband  in  his 
warlike  expedition  against  Sweden — Her  return — Education  of  her 
children — Her  own  accomplishments — Prince  Royal,  afterwards 
Frederic  the  Great — Difference  of  taste  of  the  King  and  Queen — 
Projected  alliances — Death  of  Frederic  I. — Story  of  the  White 
Woman  of  Brandenburg — Despotism  of  the  new  King — Ill-treats 
his  family — Taken  ill — Sends  for  Queen — Makes  his  will — Cabal 
against  the  Queen — Death  of  her  grandmother,  Sophia  of  Hanover 
— Her  father  becomes  King  of  England — Mon  Bijou — The  Czar 
Peter  the  Great  visits  the  Court  of  Berlin— Death  of  Sophia 
Dorothea — Death  of  George  1. — Parsimony  of  the  King  of  Prussia 
— Allowance  granted  his  Queen  from  England — Interviews  between 
George  and  Sophia  Dorothea — Treaty  of  marriage  broken  off- 
Scene  between  the  Crown  Prince  and  his  father — Illness  and  death 


2  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

of  Frederic  William  I. — His  obsequies— Tall  regiment  disbanded 
— "Widowed  Queen  kindly  treated  by  her  son — No  share  in  his 
government  allowed  her — Frederic  enlarges  her  residence,  Mon- 
l)ijou — Treatment  of  his  Queen — Death  of  the  Queen  Mother,. 
Sophia  Dorothea — Her  family. 

ONE  of  the  most  ill-fated  marriages  recorded  in  the  aunah 
of  history  was  that  which  gave  to  this  throne  a  line  of 
sovereigns  of  the  House  of  Hanover. 

George  Augustus,  Elector  of  Hanover,  inherited  the 
crown  of  England  in  right  of  his  mother,  Sophia,  to  whom, 
in  failure  of  her  own  issue,  it  was  bequeathed  by  Queen 
Anne.  That  aged  and  intellectual  Princess  did  not  live  to 
wear  it  herself,  for  she  preceded  Anne  to  the  tomb ;  and  on 
the  Queen's  death,  in  1714,  George,  Elector  of  Hanover, 
came  over  to  England,  and  assumed  the  crown. 

Many  years  prior  to  the  accession  of  George  I.,  in  1682, 
Frederick  Ernest  Augustus  being  yet  alive,  and  his  son 
only  Electoral  Prince,  George  had  espoused  his  cousin 
Sophia  Dorothea,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Zell,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children,  both  born  at  Hanover — George 
Augustus,  afterwards  George  II.,  King  of  England,  and 
Sophia  Dorothea,  subsequently  Queen  of  Prussia  by  her 
union  with  Frederic  William  I.,  a  son  of  King  Frederic  I., 
by  Sophia  Charlotte,  sister  of  George  I.,  his  wife's  aunt. 
Sophia  Dorothea,  Queen  of  Prussia,  and  her  husband,  were 
therefore,  like  their  brother,  the  King  of  England,  equally 
descended  from  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  daughter  of  James  I., 
and  the  House  of  Stuart.  Frederic  the  Great,  so  re- 
nowned in  the  history  of  Europe,  was  the  offspring  of  this 
marriage,  and  his  sister  was  also  ancestress  of  the  Royal 
family  of  Wurtemberg,  into  which  Charlotte  Augusta, 
Princess  Royal  of  England,  eldest  daughter  of  George  III., 
subsequently  married.  With  such  materials  as  these,  the 


SOPHIA   DOEOTIIEA   OF   HA^OYEE.  3 

history  of  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Prussia  becomes  important 
and  interesting  in  the  last  degree ;  but  before  proceeding 
to  its  details,  some  account  merits  here  to  be  given  of  her 
ill-fated  mother,  that  much-injured  and  ill-fated  lady,  the 
Princess  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell.  Although  that  unfortu- 
nate Princess  was  never  destined  to  wear  the  crown- 
matrimonial  of  England,  to  which  she  was  as  much  entitled 
as  her  husband  was  to  the  crown-potential,  but  had  been 
divorced  from  the  Elector  prior  to  his  accession  to  the 
throne  of  this  country,  and  consigned  to  an  imprisonment 
only  to  terminate  with  her  existence ;  her  right  as  a  woman, 
a  wife,  a  mother,  was  to  have  inherited  the  regal  honours ; — 
and  though  in  this  respect  to  be  compared,  perhaps,  to 
Berengaria  of  Navarre,  that  she  never  set  foot  on  English 
shores,  Sophia  Dorothea  would  have  held  an  honourable 
and  graceful  rank  among  the  most  dignified  of  our  English 
female  Sovereigns.  Wit,  beauty,  gentleness,  and  all  the 
attributes  of  womanly  virtue  so  pre-eminently  possessed 
by  the  Queens  of  England,  were  united  in  the  wife  of 
George  I. ;  but  alas  !  those  eyes  and  that  heart,  where  the 
merit  should  have  been  most  appreciated,  did  not  warm 
beneath  so  genial  an  influence.  Let  me  narrate  in  as  few- 
words  as  possible  the  particulars  here  necessary  to  be 
given  of  her  sad  history,  and  then  pass  from  it  to  that  of 
her  Eoyal  daughter. 

William,  Duke  of  Brunswick  Lunebourg,  grandfather 
of  George  I.,  had  seven  sons,  who,  anxious  to  build  up  their 
Electoral  dignity,  agreed  on  his  death  that  one  only  of 
their  number  should  marry,  in  order  to  convey  the  inherit- 
ance undivided  to  his  children.  The  assembled  Princes 
drew  lots  in  the  hall  of  their  deceased  parent  as  to  which 
it  should  be,  and  George,  the  sixth  son,  was  the  fortunate 
individual ;  he  it  was  who,  by  marrying  Anne  Eleanora, 


4  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

daughter  of  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Darmstadt,  became 
father  of  Frederick  Ernest  Augustus,  husband  of  the 
Princess  Sophia,  to  whom  Queen  Anne  bequeathed  her 
crown,  and  father  of  our  King  George  I.,  who  had  the 
good  fortune  to  live  to  wear  it,  and  through  whom  it  was 
transmitted  to  our  most  gracious  Sovereign,  Queen  Victoria. 

George  William,  another  of  the  seven  sons  of  George, 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  was  afterwards  Duke  of  Zell.  Although 
he  had  entered  into  an  engagement  with  his  brother  Ernest 
Augustus,  heir  to  the  Dukedom  of  Brunswick,  and  Bishop 
of  Osnaburg,  that  he  would  never  marry,  he  was  not  proof 
against  the  charms  of  the  fascinating  and  amiable  Eleanor 
d'Olbreuse.  He  became  so  deeply  in  love  that,  finding  no 
other  way  of  securing  a  prize  he  so  much  coveted  than  by 
marriage,  he  obtained  the  lady's  consent  to  a  "  morganatic" 
union,  or  marriage  called  "left-handed,"  which  union 
does  not  entitle  the  issue  to  inherit,  as  children  of  a  tie 
contracted  in  the  usual  manner  would  do.  By  this  artifice 
the  future  Duke  of  Zell  settled  the  matter  according  to 
his  own  conscience,  as  regarded  the  keeping  unimpaired 
and  undivided  the  family  estates.  He  married  Eleanor, 
the  woman  of  his  choice,  and  a  more  happily  united  pair 
in  tastes  and  pursuits  could  scarcely  have  been  found  than 
they  turned  out  to  be ;  nor  was  their  affection  diminished 
when  to  their  home  were  added  successivelv  four  smiling 
infant  faces,  in  testimony  of  the  parents'  love.  Not  long, 
however,  were  they  permitted  to  be  so  blessed.  But  one 
of  the  four  survived  the  perils  of  infancy — the  fair  girl,  their 
first-born,  to  whom  had  been  given  the  name  of  Sophia 
Dorothea,  the  meaning  of  which,  when  translated,  is  "  Wis- 
dom, the  gift  of  God." 

An  only  daughter  and  rich  heiress,  the  hand  of  Sophia 
Dorothea  was  likely  to  be  eagerly  courted.  While  yet  a 


SOPHIA  DOROTHEA   OF    HANOVEE.  5 

child  of  seven  years  old,  her  playfellow  in  the  gardens  and 
galleries  of  Zell  had  been  Philip  Christopher  von  Konigs- 
mark,  a  handsome  Swedish  youth,  whose  father  was  the 
intimate  friend  of  the  Duke  of  Zell.  But  the  intimacy 
was  not  long  continued,  though  after  events  connected  the 
circumstance  with  the  fortunes  of  Sophia  Dorothea,  and 
render  the  notice  of  its  occurrence  important. 

Before  she  attained  her  tenth  year  she  was  promised  to 
Augustus  Frederick,  Crown  Prince  of  Brunswick  Wolfen- 
buttel.  The  fortune  of  war  was,  however,  inauspicious  to 
this  match  ;  the  young  Prince  was  cut  off  in  the  flower  of 
his  age  at  Philipsburg,  and  such  was  the  youth  of  Sophia 
Dorothea  that  she  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  felt  the 
loss.  At  a  subsequent  period  Augustus  William,  brother 
of  the  deceased  Prince,  became  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of 
Sophia,  the  coveted  prize  of  many  an  aspirant.  In  this 
instance  the  young  lady  was  not  indifferent ;  but  though 
her  mother  favoured  the  hopes  of  the  young  lovers,  the 
Duke,  her  husband,  did  not  approve  of  his  daughter  being 
matched  with  the  brother  of  a  former  suitor,  and  was  re- 
luctantly prevailed  on  to  grant  his  assent.  His  love  for 
his  child,  however,  prevented  his  interposing  his  parental 
authority  any  further  than  to  signify  his  opinion,  so  that 
Sophia  Dorothea  and  Augustus  William  looked  forward 
to  a  happy  future.  How  little  of  foresight,  alas !  is  there 
in  the  range  of  human  calculation  !  Could  the  fair  young 
girl,  not  yet  in  her  seventeenth  year,  have  gazed  upon  the 
face  of  her  future,  as  it  was  to  be,  what  would  she  have 
seen  ?  Let  me  not  be  beforehand  with  that  sorrow-fraught 
tale. 

It  was  at  this  very  juncture  that  Ernest  Augustus, 
Elector  of  Hanover,  "  presumptive  heir  to  his  brother 
George  William  in  the  Duchy  of  Zell,  as  a  masculine  fief 


G  THE    EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

was  likewise  desirous  of  securing  the  allodial  or  personal 
inheritance  of  the  elder  branch  of  his  family.  He  de- 
manded, therefore,  the  Princess  Sophia  Dorothea  in  mar- 
riage for  his  son  George  Louis,  the  Hereditary  Prince  of 
Hanover.  The  Duke  of  Zell  consented  to  the  proposal ;  but 
it  is  universally  asserted  that  neither  the  Duchess,  his 
wife,  nor  the  young  Princess  herself,  submitted  to  it  with- 
out great  reluctance  and  considerable  opposition.  The 
nuptials  were  nevertheless  solemnized  in  November,  1682. 
In  the  following  year  she  brought  into  the  world  a  son, 
who  was  afterwards  King  George  II.  His  birth  was  one 
year  afterwards  followed  by  a  daughter,  who,  by  her 
marriage  with  Frederic  William  L,  became  Queen  of 
Prussia."* 

Various  portraits  of  Sophia  Dorothea  still  exist  in  the 
Palace  of  Hanover,  as  well  as  in  that  of  Herenhausen. 
Mr.  Wraxall  says,  "  I  have  studied  them  with  attention  ; 
and  if  I  were  compelled  to  name  any  person  now  living  to 
whom  they  bear  a  particular  resemblance,  I  should  say  it 
was  to  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Draper,  better  known  under 
the  name  of  Sterne's  Eliza ;  but  the  Princess  was  -unques- 
tionably by  far  the  most  beautiful  of  the  two  women.  In 
a  very  capital  picture  of  her,  which  struck  me  yesterday 
at  Herenhausen,  she  appears  to  be  in  the  bloom  of  youth. 
The  contour  of  her  face  is  more  round  than  oval,  the  fea- 
tures regular,  and  their  expression  gay,  pleasing,  and  ani- 
mated. Her  eyes  are  hazel,  and  her  brown  hair  plays 
negligently  over  her  forehead.  The  painter  has  dressed 
her  in  a  lilac  coloured  dress,  richly  embroidered,  which  is 
closely  fitted  to  her  body,  and  calculated  to  display  the 
delicacy  of  her  shape.  Over  her  left  shoulder  is  buckled 
a  blue  mantle,  adorned  with  flower-de-luces ;  and  behind 
*  Wraxall,  "  Courts  of  Berlin,"  &c. 


SOPHIA  DOROTHEA    01'    HANOVER.  7 

her  stands  a  negro  girl,  who  holds  out  to  her  a  scarlet 
riband.  This  portrait  was  probably  done  soon  after  her 
marriage  in  1682,  when  she  was  about  seventeen,  and  can- 
not be  considered  without  emotions  of  concern  for  her 
subsequent  fate." 

Soon  after  the  birth  of  his  daughter,  which  took  place 
a  twelvemonth  later  than  that  of  the  son,  George  Louis 
openly  neglected  his  wife,  mixing  in  the  society  of  worth- 
less characters  about  the  Court ;  treating  the  unfortunate 
Princess  with  unkindness,  even  outrage ;  nor  could  she 
walk  through  the  apartments  of  her  own  Palace  without 
her  presence  being  insulted  by  the  sight  of  some  of  her 
husband's  abandoned  favourites.  A  discarded  servant  of 
Madame  von  Platen — one  of  those  worthless  creatures 
who  exercised  an  improper  influence  over  George  Louis — 
having  been  received  under  the  protection  of  the  Duchess 
of  Zell,  mother  of  Sophia  Dorothea,  she  determined  upon 
effecting  that  ill-fated  lady's  ruin.  Unambitious  in  her- 
self, Sophia  Dorothea  was  yet  unhappy  amidst  the  opening 
prospects  of  her  husband's  family,  through  the  absence  of 
conjugal  affection;  and,  while  blest  with  two  children, 
could  have  known  little  enough  of  domestic  enjoyment. 

It  has  been  argued  that  if  George  Louis,  on  the  one 
hand,  neglected  his  wife  for  other  companions,  her  heart, 
on  the  other,  was  pre-occupied  by  a  former  attachment ; 
not  to  the  young  Prince  Augustus  of  Wolfenbuttel,  but 
to  a  still  earlier  associate,  the  playmate  of  her  infancy,  the 
handsome  Swedish  youth  already  named,  Konigsmark. 
The  fortunes  of  this  individual,  destined  himself  to  figure 
so  prominently  in  the  tragical  history  of  Sophia  Dorothea, 
had  up  to  this  period  led  him  into  countries  distant  from 
the  beautiful  child,  whom  in  early  years  he  had  regarded 
with  boyish  affection  ;  and,  at  a  momentous  epoch  for  the 


8  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

Crown  Princess,  they  met  once  more  at  the  Court  of 
Hanover — fatally,  it  might  be  said,  for  both.  Not  that 
Sophia  Dorothea,  by  the  worst  of  her  enemies,  could  ever 
be  accused  of  condescending  to  any  renewal  of  an  acquaint- 
ance which,  under  her  altered  circumstances,  must  have 
been  regarded  as  criminal  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  But 
her  conduct,  if  not  criminal,  is  allowed  to  have  been 
at  least  so  far  imprudent  as  to  admit  Konigsmark  not 
unfrequently  to  her  own  private  apartments,  where  they 
sometimes  would  sup  together,  and  remain  at  table,  or  in 
conversation,  till  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
When  Konigsmark  retired,  he  descended  by  a  little  pri- 
vate staircase,  near  the  great  gate  of  the  Ducal  Palace, 
which  conducted  him  into  the  town.* 

Imprudent  as  these  visits  were,  and  thoughtless  as 
Sophia  Dorothea  appears  to  have  been  of  what  construc- 
tion might  be  put  on  them,  they  afforded  but  too  ready  a 
tool  to  the  designing  characters  who  surrounded  the  young 
and  artless  Crown  Princess,  to  injure  her  in  the  opinion  of 
her  husband,  if  not  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  On  one  of 
these  occasions,  through  the  contrivance  of  the  worthless 
Countess  von  Platen,  the  Elector  Ernest  Augustus  was 
informed  that  Konigsmark  was  in  the  chamber  of  his 
daughter-in-law ;  and  so  exasperated  was  he  at  the  manner 
in  which  the  communication  was  made,  that  it  is  thought 
he  himself  sanctioned  the  act  of  violence  by  which  the  un- 
fortunate Konigsmark  lost  his  life.  He  was  slain  by  four 
men  in  masks,  as  he  passed  through  an  apartment  adjoin- 
ing that  in  which  he  had  left  the  not  less  unfortunate 
Princess.  Konigsmark,  indeed,  perished  on  the  spot,  inno- 
cent, as  it  is  generally  believed,  of  more  than  imprudence 
towards  that  Royal  lady.  But  Sophia  Dorothea — what  a 
*  Wraxall. 


SOPHIA   DOEOTHEA   OF    HANOVER.  9 

fate  was  in  reserve  for  her !     Her  present  as  well  as  future 
unfolded  only  to  misery. 

Little  more  has  to  be  said  here  of  the  mother  of  the 
Queen  of  Prussia. 

If  what  Wraxall  states  be  true,  that  at  the  time  of 
Ivonigsmark's  death  George  Louis  was  in  Hungary,  he 
must  be  acquitted  of  all  blame  in  the  transaction  of  the 
death  of  Konigsmark;  and  the  fact  that  his  separation 
from  his  wife  was  consented  to  with  reluctance,  and  at  the 
desire  of  his  father  the  Elector,  is  a  proof  of  the  esteem 
which  he  must  still  have  internally  felt  for  Sophia 
Dorothea.  In  December,  1694,  a  sentence  of  separation 
was  pronounced  between  the  Prince  and  Princess ;  but  no 
divorce,  in  the  most  extensive  sense  of  the  term,  as  totally 
dissolving  the  marriage  between  them  and  enabling  each 
party  to  marry  again,  ever  took  place.  Sophia  Dorothea 
continued  to  reside  at  Ahlden  till  the  death  of  her  father- 
in-law,  the  Duke  of  Hanover,  which  happened  in  1698 ; 
and  from  the  time  of  her  being  first  removed  thither  to 
the  end  of  her  life,  she  was  commonly  known  under  the 
name  of  "  Princess  of  Ahlden." 

George  II.  passed  his  youth  under  the  care  of  his 
grandmother,  Sophia  of  Hanover.  His  sister — but  a  year 
younger  than  he  was  at  the  time  the  Act  of  Succession 
was  passed,  which  opened  a  throne  to  her  father — had 
attained  her  fifteenth  year;  in  failure  of  her  brother's 
heirs,  the  succession  had  been  fixed  in  her  person  ;  she 
too,  had  passed  her  childhood  under  the  eye,  not  of  a  fond 
and  loving  mother,  but  of  that  learned  and  philosophic 
guardian,  her  grandmother  Sophia. 

Toland  describes  the  Princess  Sophia  Dorothea  in  these 
words: — "In  minding  her  discourse  to  others,  and  by 
what  she  was  pleased  to  say  to  myself,  she  appears  to  have 


10  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

-a  more  than  ordinary  share  of  good  sense  and  wit.  The 
whole  town  and  Court  commend  the  easiness  of  her  man- 
ners and  the  evenness  of  her  disposition ;  but,  above  all 
her  other  qualities,  they  highly  extol  her  good  humour 
which  is  the  most  valuable  endowment  of  either  sex,  and 
the  foundation  of  most  other  virtues.  Upon  the  whole, 
•considering  her  personal  merit  and  the  dignity  of  her 
family,  I  heartily  wish  and  hope  to  see  her  some  day 
<^ueen  of  Sweden."  Such,  however,  was  not  the  destiny 
of  Sophia  Dorothea !  She  became  the  wife  of  Frederic 
William,  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  her  cousin. 

The  first  King  of  Prussia  was  the  husband  of  Sophia 
Charlotte,  a  sister  of  George  I.  On  the  foundation  of  this 
new  kingdom  the  Eoyal  pair  were  solemnly  crowned,  and 
the  full  details  of  the  ceremony  are  given  in  the  very 
interesting  Memoirs  of  the  Baron  de  Pollnitz.  They  are, 
however,  irrelevant  to  our  present  purpose.  Not  so, 
however,  can  we  esteem  the  testimony  to  the  memory  and 
virtues  of  that  most  excellent  Princess,  which  certainly 
deserves  a  place  among  the  Princesses  of  her  family.  It 
must  never  be  forgotten  that  it  was  at  the  Court  of  Sophia 
Charlotte  that  Caroline  of  Anspach,  Queen  of  George  II., 
received  her  education,  and  there  that  she  imbibed  those 
tastes  by  which  she  became  so  eminently  distinguished  as 
the  patroness  of  art  and  literature  in  England. 

The  following  very  pleasing  memorial  of  the  talents  and 
virtues  of  Sophia  Charlotte,  aunt  of  our  heroine,  and  first 
Queen  of  Prussia,  wife  of  Frederic  I.,  is  from  the  pen  of 
the  ever  to  be  lamented  Caroline  Matilda,  Queen  of  Den- 
mark, sister  of  our  English  monarch  George  III.,  a  lady 
likewise  distinguished  for  eminent  literary  endowments  : — 

"Frederic  I.  founded  an  Academy  at  Berlin,  at  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  Sophia  Charlotte.  Her  Court  was 


-  SOPHIA.   DOROTHEA.   Or    nAXOYEE.  11 

a  temple  where  was  preserved  the  sacred  fire  of  the  vestals, 
the  asylum  of  arts  and  sciences,  and  the  seat  of  elegance, 
taste,  and  politeness.  That  Princess  had  the  genius  of  a 
great  man,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  most  learned ;  she 
thought  it  was  not  below  the  dignity  of  a  Queen  to  honour 
a  philosopher.  This  was  Leibnitz ;  and  as  those  who 
have  received  from  heaven  privileged  souls,  raise  themselves 
on  the  level  with  Sovereigns,  she  admitted  Leibnitz  to  her 
conversation  with  that  freedom  which  characterizes  true 
merit  and  discernment.  She  proposed  him  as  the  only 
man  capable  to  lay  the  foundation  of  her  new  Academy. 
Leibnitz,  who  had  more  than  one  soul,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  use  the  expression,  was  worthy  of  being  the 
first  president  of  a  society  which  he  might  have  repre- 
sented alone. 

"All  the  learned  in  Europe  mourned  at  her  death. 
This  celebrated  Princess  joined  to  all  the  exterior  accom. 
plishments  and  the  most  endearing  charms,  the  graces  of 
the  mind  and  the  most  superior  understanding.  She  had 
travelled  in  her  youth  in  France  and  Italy  with  her  august 
parents.  She  was  destined  for  the  throne  of  France: 
Louis  XIV.  was  struck  with  her  beauty,  but  political  rea- 
sons prevented  this  marriage.  She  brought  into  Prussia 
the  spirit  of  society,  true  politeness,  and  the  love  of  the 
Fine  Arts.  She  seated  upon  her  throne  the  Muses ;  and 
her  curiosity  was  such  in  philosophical  inquiries,  that  she 
aspired  to  know  the  principles  of  things.  Leibnitz,  whom 
she  pressed  one  day  upon  that  subject,  said  to  her  Ma- 
jesty— '  Madam,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  give  a  satisfac- 
tory answer  to  your  sublime  questions  ;  you  want  to  know 
what  no  mortal  is  capable  to  explain.' 

"  Charlottenburg  was  the  rendezvous  of  men  of  exquisite 
taste  and  literature ;  all  sorts  of  feasts  and  entertainments, 


32  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

diversified  with  that  splendour  and  magnificence  which 
stamped  all  her  public  diversions,  made  this  abode  delight- 
ful, and  her  Court  more  brilliant  than  any  in  Europe." 

As  Charlottenburg,  where  the  present  King  of  Prussia 
is  now  residing,  is  peculiarly  connected  with  the  sister 
of  George  I.,  some  notice  of  it  merits  to  be  given  here. 
Baron  Pollnitz,  in  his  Memoirs,  says,  "Charlottenburg 
was  formerly  called  Lutzenbourg.  It  was  a  small  village 
belonging  to  M.  Doberginsky,  steward  of  the  household 
to  the  Queen*  (the  King's  mother).  He  had  built  a 
trifling  house  there,  and  the  Queen  taking  the  air  there 
one  day,  liked  the  situation  of  the  place  so  well,  that  she 
bought  it,  and  set  about  building  there ;  but  she  died  be- 
fore all  the  works  she  had  undertaken  were  finished.  How- 
ever her  husband,  King  Frederic  I.,  caused  them  to  be 
carried  on,  and  made  considerable  additions  to  them ;  and, 
in  order  to  perpetuate  the  Queen's  name,  which  was 
Sophia  Charlotte,  he  caused  Lutzenbourg  to  be  called 
Charlottenburg."  The  same  author  describes  the  Castle 
as  one  of  the  most  considerable  structures  in  Germany, 
the  apartments  of  which  are  grand  and  splendid,  and  the 
furniture  very  rich.  In  it  is  a  cabinet  of  the  choicest 
porcelain,  ranged  in  a  most  surprising  manner;  another 
cabinet  containing  lustres,  a  tea-table,  with  dishes,  a, 
coffee-pot  and  the  whole  equipage,  of  solid  gold.  The 
Chapel  is  most  superb,  and  every  side  of  it  adorned  with 
gold  and  painting.  The  orangery  is  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  in  Europe,  not  only  for  the  beauty  and  num- 
ber of  its  trees,  but  the  size  of  the  building  in  which  they 
are  kept  during  the  winter. 

"  Sophia  Charlotte  (continues  her  Royal  biographer) 
had  a  magnanimous  soul ;  her  religion  was  pure  and  free 
*  Mother  of  Frederic  William  I. 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OF   HANOVEB.  13 

from  prejudices  and  bigotry,  the  vices  of  little  minds. 
Her  mind  was  ornamented  with  the  knowledge  of  the  best 
French  and  Italian  books.  She  died  at  Hanover  in  the 
bosom  of  her  family.  A  Lutheran  minister  having  been 
introduced  into  her  apartment  in  her  last  moments,  '  Le£ 
me  die  in  peace/  said  she,  '  without  controversy.'  One  of 
her  ladies  of  honour,  whom  she  tenderly  loved,  was  bathed 
in  tears  ;  '  Do  not  grieve  for  me,'  said  she ;  ' 1  shall  satisfy 
my  curiosity  on  the  principles  of  things  which  Leibnitz 
could  never  explain  to  me — on  the  space,  the  infinite,  our 
being,  and  the  consequences  of  our  dissolution ;  and  as 
the  King,  my  husband,  is  fond  of  pageantry  and  empty 
shows,  I  prepare  for  him  the  pomp  of  my  solemn  funeral.' 
She  recommended  in  dying  the  learned,  to  whom  she  had 
granted  a  generous  protection,  and  the  arts,  which  she  had 
cultivated,  to  the  Elector,  her  brother.  Frederic  I.  made 
sumptuous  obsequies,  and  found  in  that  ceremony  a  con- 
solation for  the  loss  of  a  consort  whom  he  could  never  re- 
gret enough." 

The  death  of  Sophia  Charlotte  occurred  in  1705.  In  1706 
the  marriage  of  the  Crown  Prince  to  Sophia  Dorothea,  her 
niece,  took  place.  The  object  of  Frederic  William  at  so 
early  an  age  entering  into  those  ties  was,  that  the  elder 
line  of  the  Eoyal  family  might  be  continued  as  soon  as 
possible,  his  father's  lialf -brothers  being  the  sole  represen- 
tatives of  the  younger. 

The  sister  of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden,  a  Princess  of 
Saxe  Zeitz,  or  a  Princess  of  Orange,  who  was  niece  of  the 
Prince  of  Anhalt,  were  offered  by  the  King  to  the  Crown 
Prince  as  suitable  matches  ;  the  regard  Frederic  William 
had  ever  testified  for  the  Prince  of  Anhalt,  made  him  sup- 
pose the  Prince's  choice  would  fall  on  the  last ;  but  the 
charms  of  the  Princess  of  Hanover  had  captivated  his 

c 


14  THE    HOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

fancy,  and  he  not  only  declined  his  father's  propositions, 
but  by  intrigues  and  entreaties  persuaded  him  to  consent 
to  his  union  with  Sophia  Dorothea.  The  Prince  of  Anhalt 
never  forgave  the  Princess  Eoyal  for  having  had  the  pre- 
ference. To  prevent  her  obtaining  the  heart  of  her  con- 
sort he  sowed  seeds  of  disunion  between  them.  Aware  of 
the  Prince's  inclination  to  jealousy,  he  excited  him  to  be 
jealous  of  his  wife,  who  had  to  endure  the  most  cruel  tor- 
ments from  his  violent  temper ;  and  in  spite  of  the  proofs 
she  gave  him  of  her  virtue,  nothing  but  patience  could 
cure  him  of  the  unjust  prejudices  he  had  imbibed  against 
her. 

The  Prince  Royal's  marriage  was  concluded  at  Hanover, 
in  a  journey  the  King  made  thither  with  the  Prince,  his 
son,  who  had  long  entertained  for  Sophia  Dorothea  all 
the  veneration  which  exalted  merit  was  capable  of  in- 
spiring. A  contemporary  writer*  says :  "  Of  all  the 
Princesses  in  the  world  she  was  likely  to  be  the  most  ac- 
ceptable to  her  subjects  ;  she  represented  to  us  the  idea  of 
the  late  Queen,f  and  as  she  was  her  niece,  and  designed  to 
succeed  to  her  dominions,  she  seemed  also  to  have  in- 
herited all  the  great  qualities  that  made  the  former  adored 
at  our  Court.  The  Electoral  Prince  of  Hanover  married 
her  at  Hanover  by  proxy,  in  presence  of  the  Count  de 
Finck,  the  King's  Ambassador."  At  the  time  the  event 
took  place,  Sophia  Dorothea's  mother  was  still  pining  in 
her  solitary  captivity,  but  the  circumstance  seems  to  have 
been  unheeded  by  the  joyous  party  assembled  on  the 
happy  occasion;  at  least,  if  remembered  at  all,  might  it  not 
have  been  present  at  the  heart  of  the  bride  herself,  who 
seems  on  this  occasion  to  have  resembled  another  Princess 
of  her  Royal  family  in  later  times,  the  much-lamented 
*  Baron  de  Pollnitz.  f  Sophia  Charlotte. 


SOPHIA  DOKOTI1EA   OF   HAXOTER.  15 

Charlotte  Augusta  of  Wales,  who  was  similarly  situated 
when  she  gave  away  her  hand  to  the  Prince  of  Saxe 
Cobourg  ?  Taking  it  altogether,  the  wedding  might  be 
truly  called  a  joyful  one,  and  was  performed  with  all  pos- 
sible splendour,  attended  with  the  usual  pomp  and  mirth 
which  accompany  such  events,  although  there  was  no  de- 
ficiency of  sympathy  in  the  fair  bride  for  the  mother 
whom  she  remembered  to  have  watched  over  her  infant 
years,  and  for  whom,  in  subsequent  periods  of  her  own  life, 
she  felt  much  more  keenly  still.  Three  Englishmen  of 
note  were  present  at  the  Royal  wedding — Lord  Halifax, 
Sir  John  Vanbrugh,  and  Joseph  Addison,  a  circumstance 
not  uninteresting  in  itself. 

Some  days  after,  the  Princess  departed  from  Hanover 
with  a  train  becoming  her  present  and  her  future  dignity. 
The  Elector,  her  father,  had  given  her  the  most  magnifi- 
cent suits  of  apparel  arid  jewels  that  could  be  got  for 
money,  and  they  were  purchased  at  Paris  by  a  man  sent 
on  purpose.  The  Duchess  of  Orleans  was  desirous  to 
choose  and  give  directions  for  the  clothes,  and  she  after- 
wards showed  them  to  Louis  XIV.,  who  thought  them  so 
rich  that  he  said  it  were  to  be  wished,  for  the  sake  of  the 
mercers  of  Paris,  that  there  were  more  Princesses  that 
could  afford  to  make  such  purchases. 

The  bride  repaired  with  her  husband  to  Brussels  imme- 
diately after  her  marriage,  with  the  hope  that  Queen  Anne 
would  invite  them  over  to  England;  but,  contrary  to  their 
expectation,  the  Queen  took  no  notice  whatever  of  the 
circumstance. 

Sophia  Dorothea  made  her  public  entry  into  Berlin  on 
November  27th,  1706.  "  The  King  met  her  about  half  a 
league  out  of  the  town.  As  soon  as  her  Royal  Highness 
perceived  the  King's  coach  she  alighted,  as  the  King  did 


1G  THE    ROYAL   PKINCESSES. 

also  from  his,  and  went  to  meet  her.  After  having  em- 
braced  the  Princess,  he  presented  the  Prince  Boyal  to 
her,  together  with  his  brothers  and  the  two  princesses. 
Then  the  King  took  coach  again,  where  the  Princess  placed 
herself  on  the  King's  left  hand,  and  the  two  Margraves 
sat  over  against  them ;  the  Prince  Koyal  and  the  King's 
three  brothers  being  mounted  on  horseback.  The  entry 
was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  that  was  ever  seen.  All 
the  troops  then  at  Berlin  were  under  arms,  as  well  as  all 
the  city  militia,  and  drawn  up  in  a  line  from  the  out  parts 
of  the  town,  quite  to  the  palace.  The  next  day  after  the 
Princess's  arrival  there  was  a  sumptuous  feast,  at  which 
the  Prince  Eoyal  and  the  Princess  had  arm-chairs,  but  for 
that  day  only  ;  for  the  next  day  their  Royal  Highnesses 
sat  in  upright  chairs  at  the  two  ends  of  the  table. 

"  Our  Court  was  then  as  splendid  as  in  the  time  of  the 
late  Queen.  There  was  a  continual  round  of  pleasures, 
and  every  day  was  remarkable  for  feasts,  balls,  comedies, 
&c."  It  was  upon  this  occasion  of  the  Princess  Royal's 
arrival,  that  an  interlude  was  acted  at  the  Theatre  of 
Berlin  entitled  "  Beauty  triumphing  over  Heroes,"  at 
which  the  Margraves  Frederic  Albert  and  Christian  Lewis 
the  King's  brothers,  danced,  with  all  the  young  courtiers. 

Frederica  Sophia  Wilhelmina,  Princess  Royal  of  Prussia, 
was  born  in  1709.  Baron  de  Pollnitz,  in  his  memoirs, 
writes — "  I  was  at  Berlin  at  the  ceremony  of  her  baptism, 
which  was  performed  in  the  chapel  of  the  castle,  in 
presence  of  Frederic  IV.  King  of  Denmark,  Frederic 
Augustus  King  of  Poland,  and  Frederic  I.  King  of 
Prussia.  The  birth  of  this  Princess,  and  the  circum- 
stance of  three  Kings  and  a  Queen  attending  at  her  bap- 
tism, gave  occasion  to  a  great  many  copies  of  verses.  All 
the  poets  said  that  the  presence  of  these  three  Kings  was 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA    OF    HANOVER.  17 


A  sign  that  she  would  one  day  have  possession  of  three 
crowns.  They  had  then  in  view  the  crowns  of  Great 
Britain,  that  were  to  devolve  to  the  family  of  Hanover; 
in  which  there  was  a  young  Prince  who,  it  was  then 
imagined,  was  to  be  in  time  the  husband  of  this  Princess. 
Whether  this  match  will  ever  take  place,  and  whether  the 
Princess  will  be  Queen,  I  can't  say ;  but  if  she  is  not, 
Fortune  will  not  do  justice  to  her  merit." 

The  young  Prince  alluded  to  was  Frederic,  afterwards 
known  as  Prince  of  Wales,  eldest  son  of  George  II., 
King  of  England.  All  Europe,  as  well  as  the  poets  of 
that  time,  expected  the  match  would  take  place.  Both 
the  Queens  of  Prussia  and  England  (Caroline  of  Anspach) 
desired  it.  The  young  Princess  herself  was  brought  up 
in  that  expectation ;  but  when  it  was  least  of  all  antici- 
pated, certain  reasons  of  State  cancelled  all  these  views, 
and  the  King  of  Prussia  thought  fit  to  marry  his 
daughter,  in  1731,  to  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Branden- 
burg Bareith.* 

Sophia  Dorothea,  though  again  pregnant,  followed  the 
King  her  husband  in  his  expedition  against  the  Swedes. 
This  campaign  ended  gloriously  to  Prussia,  great  part  of 
Swedish  Pomerania  being  taken. 

On  the  return  of  the  Queen  she  was  charmed  with  the 
improvement  in  her  young  daughter,  on  whom  she  be- 
stowed the  tenderest  caresses.  This  beloved  child,  not 
long  after,  had  a  severe  illness.  On  her  recovery,  the 
Queen  strove  to  avail  herself  of  the  prodigious  facility 
in  learning  of  her  daughter,  who  says  in  her  Memoirs, — 
"  She  gave  me  several  masters ;  among  others,  the 
famous  La  Croze,  who  has  been  celebrated  for  his  histo- 
rical knowledge,  and  his  profound  acquaintance  with  the 
*  Pollnitz's  "  Memoirs." 


IS  THE    ROYAL   PllINCESSES. 

languages  of  the  East,  and  with  sacred  and  profane  anti- 
quities. My  whole  day  was  taken  up  with  teachers,  who 
succeeded  each  other,  and  left  me  very  little  time  for 
my  recreations." 

The  Baron  de  Pollnitz  writes  from  Berlin  : — "  Not 
many  days  after  my  arrival  here,  the  King  having  gone  to 
visit  his  kingdom,  I  had  the  honour  of  waiting  on  the 
Queen.  This  Princess,  whose  name  is  Sophia  Dorothea, 
is  sister  to  the  present  King  of  Great  Britain,*  being  the 
daughter  of  George  I.,  the  late  King,  and  of  Sophia 
Dorothea,  Princess  of  Brunswick  Zell;  and  she  does 
everything  that  is  worthy  of  her  august  extraction ;  for 
surely  never  did  daughter  more  resemble  a  father:  she 
has  the  same  benignity  and  wisdom,  the  same  equity  and 
justice,  and  sweetness  of  temper.  Like  him,  she  knows 
the  charms  of  a  private  life  and  friendship  on  a  throne ; 
like  him,  she  is  adored  by  her  subjects  and  her  domestics, 
and  is  the  chief  blessing  and  darling  of  both.  To  ex- 
tend goodness  and  affability  farther  were  impossible ; 
there  being  no  foreigners  but  what  are  charmed  with  the 
gracious  manner  in  which  the  Princess  receives  them.  To 
a  thousand  virtues  worthy  of  veneration  she  has  added 
the  singular  talent  of  speaking  the  languages  of  several 
countries  which  she  never  saw  with  as  much  delicacy  as 
if  they  had  been  her  mother  tongues.  The  French 
language,  especially,  is  so  familiar  to  her,  that  one  would 
take  her  to  be  a  Princess  of  the  Royal  family  of  France  ; 
and  the  grandeur  and  majesty  that  accompany  all  her 
actions  induce  those  who  don't  know  her  to  be  of  opinion 
that  she  was  born  to  reign. 

"That  which  still  more  endears  this  Queen  to  her 
people  is,  the  care  she  takes  of  the  education  of  her 
*  Geonre  II. 


SOPHIA   DOEOTIIEA   OF   HANOYEK. 


19 


family,  which  consists  of  four  Princes  and  six  Princesses. 
The  eldest  of  the  sons  is  styled  the  Prince  Royal.  This 
young  Prince  is  handsome,  charms  every  one  by  his  kind- 
ness and  good  nature,  and  loves  reading,  music,  the  arts, 
and  magnificence.  His  sentiments,  his  behaviour,  and  his 
actions,  make  it  probable,  that  if  he  comes  to  the  crown, 
his  reign  will  be  one  of  those  mild  and  peaceable  reigns 
which  procure  kings  that  love  of  their  people  wherein  con- 
sists their  true  glory.  The  care  of  the  Prince  Royal's 
education  was  committed  first  of  all  to  Madame  de  Kamke, 
one  of  the  Queen's  Ladies  of  Honour,  and  governess  of 
the  children  of  Prussia.  But  this  lady  left  the  charge  of 
the  latter  to  the  sub-governess,  Madame  de  Rocoule,  and 
her  daughter,  Mademoiselle  de  Month  ail.  Madame  de 
Rocoule  had  also  the  honour  to  be  sub-governess  to  the 
King,  so  that  she  was  no  novice  in  the  forming  of 
young  Princes.  As  she  talks  nothing  but  French,  she 
has  taught  it  to  the  King's  children,  who  speak  it  with  as 
much  ease  as  they  do  the  German  language.  At  seven 
years  of  age  the  Prince  Royal  was  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  women,  and  the  Count  de  Fincks,  of  Fruchenstein, 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  King's  forces,  a  knight  of  his 
order,  and  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  horse,  was  appointed 
his  Royal  Highness's  governor ;  and  the  Baron  de  Kales- 
tein  was  made  sub-governor.  The  King's  choice  of  both 
these  gentlemen  was  universally  applauded.*  The  Queen 
influenced  her  son  in  forming  a  taste  entirely  opposed  to 
all  he  saw  about  him,  rather  tending  to  literature  than 
arms. 

"Sophia  Dorothea  had  never  adopted  the  tastes  and 
views  of  her  husband;  the  simple,  straitened  household, 
denuded  of  all  the  ornament  and  enjoyment  of  life,  did 
*  Baron  de  Pollnitz. 


20  THE   EOTAL   PEIXCESSES. 

not  satisfy  her ;  she  blamed  many  of  the  King's  projects, 
and  suffered  her  two  elder  children  to  do  the  same ;  she 
directed  their  attention  to  countries  where  life  afforded 
more  enjoyment ;  she  loved  and  encouraged  learning. 
Under  such  influences,  with  such  a  thirst  after  mental 
culture,  the  young  Prince  began  to  regard  the  strict  and 
narrow  military  life  to  which  he  was  condemned  as  a  sort 
of  pedantry,  and  to  conceive  a  disgust  at  reviews  and 
parades.  He  thought  that  a  taste  for  intellectual  plea- 
sures, such  as  are  afforded  by  music,  the  theatre,  and 
agreeable  society,  was  not  less  becoming  in  a  Prince.  It 
was,  therefore,  a  great  event  in  his  life  when,  in  February, 
1728,  he  was  allowed  to  visit  the  Court  of  Dresden."* 

"  The  superiority  of  Dresden  in  the  cultivation  of  music 
formed  a  permanent  bond  of  union  between  the  two 
Courts,  The  Crown  Prince  and  his  elder  sister,  as  we  are 
told  by  their  mother,  cherished  a  passion  for  music.  At 
the  request  of  the  Queen,  who  spoke  to  the  ambassador, 
Augustus  II.  had  the  courtesy  to  permit  his  musicians, 
Quanz  and  Weiss,  to  make  a  considerable  stay  at  Berlin 
from  time  to  time,  though  he  would  not  give  up  their 
services  altogether.  Weiss  gave  lessons  to  the  Princess 
on  the  lute,  while  Quanz  taught  the  flute  to  the  Prince. 
The  exquisite  skill  with  which  the  inventive  master  first 
constructed,  and  then  used  that  instrument,  is  well  known. 
This  accomplishment  was  a  source  of  endless  pleasure  to 
Frederic  during  the  whole  of  his  life.  At  that  time  he 
thought  himself  happy  if,  after  parade  and  dinner,  he 
could  throw  aside  his  uniform,  put  on  his  brocade  dressing- 
gown,  and  occupy  himself  with  books  and  music.  But 
such  pursuits  were  in  direct  opposition  to  the  wishes  and 
views  cherished  by  his  father,  and  to  the  whole  turn  of 
*  Eanke's  "  Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Brandenburg." 


SOPHIA  DOROTHEA   OF    HANOYER.  21 

his  mind  ;  and  Frederic  soon  began  to  experience  his  dis- 
pleasure. At  a  later  period,  after  his  accession  to  the 
throne  permitted  him  to  follow  the  bent  of  his  own  inclina- 
tion, it  was  his  custom  in  the  evening  to  take  part  in  a 
little  concert ;  he  played  the  flute,  as  some  Saxon  musi- 
cians have  told  us,  almost  too  well — better  than  became  a 
Ring.  Leave  to  be  present  at  these  concerts  was  granted 
as  a  very  great  favour." 

Let  us  hear  what  the  Queen  (Sophia  Dorothea),  says 
Sulm,  announces  on  the  30th  of  July,  that  she  had  thanked 
the  King  of  Poland  for  his  kindness,  "en  luy  envoyant  des 
gens  de  sa  musique,  et  en  lui  permettant  de  les  garder 
quelque  terns."  She  then  adds,  "  Vous  savez  la  passion  de 
mes  enfans  pour  la  musique,  ils  m'ont  engage  a  augmenter 
le  nombre  de  mes  musiciens,  il  me  manque  un  homme 
com  me  Quanz ;  pourrois-je  esperer  que  le  Hoi,  qui  a  un  si 
grand  nombre  d'habiles  gens  voulut  me  ceder  celui-la,  je 
lui  en  aurois  bien  de  robligation."  More  especially  the 
Crown  Prince,  "  qui  apprend  a  jouer  la  flute  traversiere 
avec  un  succes  etonnant,"  wished  for  Quanz,  who  had 
already  arrived  (6th  August).  Shortly  afterwards  the 
Queen  thanks  the  King  of  Poland  for  allowing  four  of  his 
best  musicians  to  remain  so  long  : — "  Qu'elle  ne  serviroit 
de  la  liberte  que  vous  me  lui  donne  dc  faire  venir  de  terns 
en  terns  Quanz."* 

The  Margravine  of  Bareith  in  her  Memoirs  thus  de- 
scribes her  mother  : — "  The  Queen  never  was  handsome. 
Her  features  are  strongly  marked,  and  some  of  them  fine. 
Her  complexion  is  pale  ;  her  hair  a  dark  brown  ;  her  shape 
has  been  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the  world ;  her  noble 
and  majestic  gait  inspires  all  who  behold  her  with  respect ; 
a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  world  and  a  brilliant  un- 
*  Kanke. 


22  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

derstanding,  seem  to  promise  more  solidity  than  she  is 
possessed  of.  Her  heart  is  benevolent,  generous,  and  kind ; 
she  cherishes  the  arts  and  sciences  without  having  ever 
devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of  them.  No  one  is  with- 
out faults ;  the  Queen  has  hers.  All  the  pride  and 
haughtiness  of  the  House  of  Hanover  are  concentrated  in. 
her  person.  Her  ambition  is  unbounded ;  she  is  exces- 
sively jealous,  of  a  suspicious  and  vindictive  temper,  and 
never  forgives  those  by  whom  she  fancies  she  has  been 
offended. 

"  The  alliance  which  she  had  projected  with  England 
through  the  marriage  of  her  children  was  the  most  ardent 
wish  of  her  heart,  and  she  nattered  herself  she  should 
gradually  succeed  in  governing  the  King.  Her  second  ob- 
ject was  to  secure  a  strong  protection  against  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Prince  of  Anhalt,  and,  lastly,  to  obtain  the 
guardianship  of  my  brother  in  case  of  the  King's  decease. 
The  King  was  subject  to  frequent  diseases,  and  the  Queen 
had  been  told  he  would  not  live  long." 

The  Princess  of  Prussia  had  given  birth  to  a  son  in  1707, 
who  only  lived  to  the  age  of  twelve  months.  On  the  3rd 
of  July,  1709,  a  daughter  was  born,  much  to  the  annoyance 
of  all  those  who  longed  for  male  issue.  This  was  the 
afterwards  celebrated  Marchioness  of  Bareith :  she  was 
christened  Frederica  Sophia  Wilhelmina,  and  a  great 
favourite  with  her  grandfather,  the  old  King.  Again  the 
Princess  Royal  had  a  son,  who  did  not  live ;  but  on  the 
24th  of  February,  1712,  a  third  Prince  saw  the  light,  and 
on  him  was  bestowed  the  name  of  Frederic.  He  was 
known  afterwards  as  "  the  Great." 

Mademoiselle  Letti,  companion  of  Madame  Kilmanseck, 
was  appointed  governess  to  the  little  daughter  of  the 
Princess  Royal,  who  had  become  much  charmed  with  her. 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA    OF   HANOVER.  23 

The  Prince  Royal  had  attended  the  Princess  to  Hanover, 
and  the  Electoral  Princess  (Caroline  of  Anspach)  having 
a  son  born  in  1707,  whose  age  agreed  with  that  of  the 
little  daughter  of  Sophia  Dorothea,  they  agreed  to  unite 
them  hereafter  in  marriage.  The  Princess  of  Bareith,  in 
her  Memoirs,  writes — "  My  little  admirer  began,  even  at 
that  time,  to  send  me  presents,  and  no  post-day  passed 
without  these  Princesses  corresponding  about  the  future 
union  of  their  children."  "  Her  Majesty  brought  the 
bridal  rings  to  me  (says  her  daughter)  ;  I  even  opened  a 
correspondence  with  my  little  admirer,  and  received  several 
presents  of  him." 

Frederic  I.  married  the  Princess  of  Mecklenburg  after- 
wards,* which  circumstance  caused  great  changes  at  Court. 
Among  other  new  arrangements  made,  the  Princess  Royal 
kept  her  Court  at  her  own  lodgings  twice  a  week,  viz.,  on 
those  days  when  there  was  no  circle  at  the  Queen's ;  for 
upon  the  drawing-room  days  she  went  to  her  Majesty's 
apartment,  as  did  most  of  the  Princesses,  and  they  stayed 
there  to  sup. 

The  death  of  Frederic,  the  Great  Elector,  was  singular. 
His  third  wife,  during  an  illness,  was  subject  to  sudden 
attacks  of  frenzy,  arising  from  her  disorder;  in  one  of 
these  she  escaped  from  her  attendants  into  the  King's 
presence,  smashing  a  glass  door  through  which  she  entered 
his  chamber,  and  addressing  him  in  the  most  violent 
language.  As  she  was  clad  in  white,  and  her  face 
streaming  from  the  wounds  of  the  broken  glass,  the  King, 
in  waking  from  sleep,  took  her  for  a  ghost,  and  no  less  a 
one  than  the  "White  Woman,"  said  to  appear  always  in 
the  Palace  of  the  Princes  of  Brandenburg  prior  to  the 
death  of  any  one  of  the  family.  The  circumstance  threw 
*  M.  de  Pollnitz. 


24  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

him  into  a  fever,  from  which  he  never  recovered,  though, 
indeed,  he  lingered  full  six  weeks  after.*  After  his  death, 
the  Queen  returned  to  her  former  home,  in  Mecklenburg, 
for  the  advantage  of  her  health. 

As  the  King  felt  the  approaches  of  death,  he  took  an 
affectionate  leave  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  Royal,  and 
afterwards  sent  for  both  his  grandchildren  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  to  whom  he  gave  his  blessing. 

To  Frederic  I.  succeeded  his  son  Frederic  William, 
the  most  harsh  and  unamiable  of  Princes,  whose  principal 
felicity  seemed  to  consist  in  forming  and  disciplining  a 
grand  regiment  of  guards,  the  wonder  and  the  ridicule  of 
foreign  nations.  Parsimonious  in  every  other  article  of 
pleasure  or  expense,  he  retained  about  him  no  trace  of  his 
father's  splendour. 

The  Court  of  Berlin,  to  which  there  was  a  great  influx 
of  strangers,  consisted  chiefly  of  military.  The  Queen 
held  a  drawing-room  every  evening  during  the  absence  of 
the  King,  who  was  generally  at  Potsdam,  a  small  town  at 
the  distance  of  four  German  miles  from  Berlin.  There  he 
lived  more  as  a  private  gentleman  than  as  a  King.  His 
table  was  served  with  frugality  ;  it  never  exceeded  neces- 
saries. Frederic  William  was  terrible  in  his  anger,  in- 
flexible in  his  prejudices,  and  inexorable  in  his  resentment ; 
he  punished  the  transgressions  of  his  children  with  un- 
exampled severity.  So  strictly  did  he  avoid  unnecessary 
ostentation,  that  he  addressed  his  family  by  the  terms  of 
"my  son,"  "my  wife,"  "the  country,"  not  choosing  to 
adopt  those  of  "  our  well-beloved  son,  the  Electoral  Prince," 
"our  dearly  beloved  consort,"  or  " magnificent  land,"  as 
his  father  had  done. 

It  is  asserted  by  an  author  of  celebrity,  that  Frederic 
*  M.  de  Pollnitz. 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA    OF    HANOVER.  25 

did  not  possess  "  the  gentler  virtues  which  adorn  and  bless 
domestic  life."  Some  one  was  once,  later  in  her  life, 
speaking  to  this  Queen,  "  with  admiration  of  the  excellent 
qualities  of  heart  and  mind  displayed  by  her  cousin,  the 
Empress  of  Austria;*  she  readily  admitted  her  own  infe- 
riority ;  but,  she  added,  that  it  had  been  much  easier  lor 
the  Empress  to  improve  the  gifts  she  had  received  from 
nature,  than  for  her ;  on  her  cousin  the  world  had  smiled, 
whereas  she  had  passed  her  life  in  never-ceasing  disquiet. "f 

Formed  to  be  the  charm  and  grace  of  an  amiable  and 
polished  circle,  she  was  consigned  to  the  arms  of  a  savage, 
who,  totally  insensible  to  her  fascinations,  and  incapable 
of  appreciating  her  fine  qualities,  treated  her  so  unjustly, 
that  it  may  with  truth  be  said,  there  was  scarcely  a 
greater  slave  in  Prussia  than  its  Queen. 

"Never,"  sa}rs  Voltaire,  "  were  subjects  poorer,  or  king 
more  rich."  According  to  that  author  (whose  statements, 
however,  must  be  taken  cum  grano  sails),  he  bought  up 
the  estates  of  his  nobility  at  a  despicable  price ;  farmed 
out  his  lands  to  tax-gatherers,  each  of  whom  held  the  double 
post  of  collector  and  judge ;  so  that  if  a  tenant  did  not 
pay  his  rent  on  the  day  it  became  due,  the  collector  put  on 
his  judicial  robes,  and  condemned  the  defaulter  in  double 
the  debt ;  and  if  the  collector  and  judge  did  not  pay  the 
King  his  arrears  in  full,  on  the  last  day  of  the  month,  the 
following  morning  his  Majesty  mulcted  him  in  the  same 
ratio  as  he  had  mulcted  the  landholder.  The  King  had 
an  ambassador  at  the  Hague,  who, .having  cut  down  and 
used  for  fuel  some  of  the  trees  in  the  garden  of  Houslar- 
dick,  which  then  belonged  to  the  Royal  House  of  Prussia, 
his  Most  Gracious  Sovereign,  as  he  was  informed  by  his 

*  Maria  Theresa. 

f  Eanke's  "  Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Brandenburg." 


26  THE   EOYAL   PKINCESSES. 

next  despatches,  stopped  his  year's  salary  to  defray  the 
damage.  The  poor  ambassador,  in  a  fit  of  despair,  cut  his 
throat  with  the  only  razor  he  had  ;  but  his  life  was  saved 
by  an  old  valet  who  came  to  his  assistance. 

"  The  King  had  a  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  crowns 
in  the  cellars  of  his  palace ;  his  apartments  were  filled  with 
articles  of  massive  silver ;  and  he  gave  to  his  Queen — in 
charge  only,  be  it  observed — a  cabinet,  the  contents  of 
which  were  all  gold." 

"When  he  took  his  walk  through  the  town,  after  having 
reviewed  his  regiment  of  Guards,  many  of  whom  were  seven 
feet  high,  everybody  fled  at  his  approach.  If  he  met  a 
woman  in  the  street  he  would  tell  her  to  begone  home, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  her  a  kick,  a  box  011  the  ear,  or 
.a  few  strokes  on  the  shoulders  with  his  cane.  His  son, 
wearied  with  his  brutality,  determined  to  quit  the  country  ; 
but  parental  economy  had  deprived  him  of  the  means  of 
travelling,  even  as  the  son  of  an  English  tradesman ;  and 
lie  was  obliged  to  borrow  a  few  hundred  ducats  for  his  in- 
tended journey.  Two  young  men,  one  named  Katt,  and 
the  other  Kelt,  were  to  have  accompanied  him,  but  the 
King  obtained  information  of  the  project,  and  arrested  the 
trio.  Keit  afterwards  escaped;  but  Katt  was  executed, 
and  the  Prince's  head  held  out  of  a  window  by  some  grena- 
diers, at  his  father's  command,  in  order  that  he  might  be 
obliged  to  behold  the  melancholy  spectacle.  On  another 
occasion,  the  King  ordered  the  daughter  of  a  schoolmaster, 
for  whom  his  son  had  affected  a  passion,  to  be  conducted 
round  Potsdam,  where  she  resided,  by  the  common  hang- 
man, and  then  whipped  in  the  Prince's  presence.  After 
having  regaled  him  with  this  spectacle,  he  sent  him  to  a 
citadel  in  the  midst  of  a  marsh,  where  he  kept  him  for 
six  months  in  a  sort  of  dungeon,  without  a  single  servant ; 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OP   HANOVER.  27 

and  then  graciously  permitted  him  to  have  a  soldier  for 
an  attendant. 

Suspecting  that  his  daughter  Wilhelmina  was  concerned 
in  the  Prince's  intended  elopement,  he  proceeded  to  kick 
her  out  of  a  large  window  which  reached  from  the  ceiling 
to  the  floor ;  and  her  mother  (the  subject  of  our  present 
memoir),  who  was  present  at  this  achievement,  with  great 
difficulty  saved  her  by  catching  hold  of  her  garments. 
"The  Princess,"  continues  Voltaire,  "received  a  contusion  of 
her  left  breast,  which  mark  of  her  father's  affection  she 
preserved  through  life,  and  did  me  the  honour  of  permitting 
me  to  see  it." 

It  is  impossible  to  dwell  upon  the  many  scenes  of  do- 
mestic discord  which  darkened  the  existence  of  Sophia 
Dorothea  of  Hanover.  The  conduct  of  Frederic  William 
towards  her  was  brutal  in  the  extreme,  bordering,  indeed, 
on  insanity.  He  took  from  her  the  guardianship  of  her 
young  family ;  and,  though  immensely  rich,  provided  her 
so  ill  with  the  requisites  of  life,  that  but  for  a  revenue  of 
SOOZ.  allowed  her  by  her  brother,  the  King  of  England, 
she  would  have  been  destitute  of  the  commonest  necessa- 
ries. To  say  that  such  a  man  was  universally  disliked  by 
his  people  must  be  sufficient  here,  without  entering  into 
the  many  details  given  of  the  various  methods  he  took  of 
exasperating  them,  of  which  the  above  was  one  instance 
only.  His  wife  and  children  had  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion nearly  fallen  victims  to  his  extravagant  conduct. 
On  one  occasion  the  high-spirited  and  noble  Frederic 
fled  from  his  persecutions,  and  had  almost  lost  his  life 
through  it ;  as  it  was,  he  was  consigned  to  a  prison,  and 
lost  his  friend. 

The  poor  Queen,  under  so  many  indignities,  was  driven 
to  stoop  to  many  a  meanness,  not  from  principle,  but  ne- 


28  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

cessity.  She  made  her  daughter,  young  as  she  wa?,  a  sort 
of  confidante,  and  employed  her  as  a  spy  on  her  own 
father ;  obtained  the  aid  of  those  who  surrounded  her, 
and  who  received  money  from  her  only  to  betray.  The 
Memoirs  of  the  Marchioness  of  Bareith  afford  a  pic- 
ture too  painful  to  be  dwelt  on,  of  all  the  domestic  broils 
of  the  married  life  of  Sophia  Dorothea.  They  are  like 
the  scenes  in  which  Lord  Hervey's  pen  depicts  the  Prin- 
cesses Amelia  and  Caroline  at  a  later  date  to  have  figured 
in  England,  neither  instructive  nor  amusing,  and  therefore 
will  be  purposely  omitted  here. 

It  was  the  happiness  of  Sophia  Dorothea  to  survive 
this  ill-suited  husband  for  a  woman  of  refined  taste  and 
intellect,  and  to  enjoy  in  after-life  a  tranquillity  she  had 
been  for  so  many  years  deprived  of.  She  exhibited  much 
virtue  in  her  latter  days ;  an  evidence  that  her  apparent 
faults  had  been,  in  the  lifetime  of  her  husband,  attribut- 
able rather  to  his  ill  usage  than  her  own  disposition. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  King  becoming  ill  at  Branden- 
burg, he  requested,  by  an  express,  the  Queen  to  join  him. 
Sophia  Dorothea  set  out  directly,  and  arrived  at  Branden- 
burg in  the  evening.  She  found  the  King  extremely  ill,  and 
busy  making  his  will,  as  he  thought  his  death  very  near. 

"  The  Queen  (says  her  daughter)  was  appointed 

Regent  of  the  kingdom  during  the  minority  of  my  brother, 
and  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  England  were  named 
his  guardians.  No  mention  was  made  of  either  Grumkow 
or  the  Princess  Anhalt.  Before  their  arrival  the  will  was 
signed,  and  as  the  King  had  omitted  to  name  them  in  it, 
he  expected  their  reproaches ;  to  avoid  which,  he  imposed 
a  solemn  promise  of  secresy,  as  to  the  contents,  on  those 
who  had  attested  it,  viz.,  the  Queen  and  witnesses.  One 
copy  of  it  had  been  handed  to  the  Queen,  and  the  original 


SOPHIA.   DOKOTHEA.   OF    HANOVER.  20 

deposited  in  the  archives  of  Berlin.     On  the  King's  reco- 
very, the  Queen  followed  him  to  Wusterhausen." 

Grumkow,  the  Prussian  Minister,  perceiving  the  Queen 
had  influence  over  her  hushand,  and  that  this  was  on  the 
increase,  determined  to  injure  her  in  his  opinion — a  design 
imparted  by  him  to  M.  de  Kamken,  the  Minister  of  State, 
who,  too  honest  to  be  a  party  to  such  an  attempt,  revealed 
it  to  the  Queen. 

Grumkow  had  found  out  that  Sophia  Dorothea  was 
given  to  play,  and  having  had  great  losses,  had  been  forced 
to  borrow  secretly  a  capital  of  30,000  dollars  (50007. 
sterling).  The  King  had  recently  presented  her  with 
a  pair  of  brooched  diamond  ear-rings,  of  very  great  value. 
She  wore  them  but  rarely,  because  she  had  often  dropped 
them.  Grumkow,  imagining  the  Queen  had  pawned  these  ear- 
rings to  procure  the  large  sum  she  needed,  resolved  to  inform 
the  King,  who,  he  felt  sure,  from  his  love  of  money,  would 
be  highly  incensed.  He  was,  however,  forewarned  by  the 
Queen,  who  would  have  punished  Grumkow  for  his  base 
attempt,  but  the  King  had  not  the  proof  of  his  guilt ;  on 
which  she  named  M.  de  Kamken.  That  gentleman  at- 
tested what  she  had  stated  ;  but  Grumkow's  denial  had 
more  force,  and  thus,  through  the  imprudence  of  his 
Royal  mistress,  Kamken  was  sent  to  the  fortress  of 
Spandau. 

In  1712  Sophia  Dorothea  became  Queen  of  Prussia. 
In  1714  her  grandmother,  the  Electress  of  Hanover,  died, 
and  in  the  same  year,*  shortly  after  her,  Queen  Anne,  on 
which  George  Louis  became  King  of  England.  His  wife, 
meanwhile,  remained  incarcerated  in  her  lonely  residence 
at  Ahlden. 

Mr.  "Wraxall  says  that  he  waited  upon  the  Queen  at 
*  August  1st,  1714. 
D 


30  THE    110TAL   PEIIS'CESSES. 

Berlin,  and  that  she  had  then  just  received  the  tidings  of 
her  father,  the  Elector  of  Hanover,  being  called  over  to 
England,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  Queen  Anne. 
The  King  of  Prussia  made  an  offer  to  the  new  monarch 
of  any  assistance  he  might  have  occasion  for,  to  support 
him  on  his  throne.  Some  days  after  the  arrival  of  this 
great  news  the  writer  took  leave  of  the  Queen,  and  set 
off  for  Hamburg. 

"In  the  suburb  of  Spandau,"  says  M.  de  Pollnitz, 
"the  Queen  has  a  delightful  house  and  gardens.  The 
house  is  called  Mon  Bijou ;  a  very  proper  name  for  it,  be- 
cause 'tis  really  a  jewel.  'Tis  a  pavilion,  the  apartments 
of  which  are  laid  out  with  art,  and  furnished  with  great 
judgment  and  elegance.  The  gardens  are  charming,  and 
are  finely  open  to  the  river.  This  house  was  built  by  the 
Countess  de  Wartemberg,  wife  to  the  Prime  Minister  of 
King  Frederic  I.  As  her  husband's  power  and  favour  were 
at  that  time  so  great  that  he  did  whatever  he  pleased,  all 
the  King's  workmen  and  architects  used  the  utmost  dili- 
gence to  serve  her  well.  But  she  did  not  enjoy  this  fine 
house  long ;  for  it  was  scarce  completed  when  the  King 
removed  the  Count  from  all  his  employments,  and  banished 
him  to  Frankfort-on-the-Maine.  However,  he  settled  a 
pension  upon  him  and  his  lady  of  24,000  crowns ;  and  the 
Countess,  by  way  of  acknowledgment,  gave  the  King  this 
house,  which,  of  all  the  immense  treasure  that  she  has 
amassed,  was  the  only  piece  which  she  could  not  carry 
with  her.  The  King  gave  this  house  to  the  Princess 
Royal,  now  Queen,  who  has  added  great  embellishments 
to  it,  and  brought  it  to  its  present  state  of  perfection." 

It  would  not  do  to  omit  the  account  of  the  visit  of  the 
Czar,  Peter  the  Great,  to  Berlin,  who,  not  liking  society 
and  show,  took  it  into  his  head  to  request  the  King  would 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OF   HANOYEE.  31 

lodge  him  on  this  occasion  in  the  Queen's  summer-housq 
in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Berlin.  "Her  Majesty  was  ex- 
tremely sorry  for  this:  she  had  erected  a  very  pretty 
building,  which  she  had  decorated  in  a  style  of  great 
splendour.  The  porcelain  gallery  was  superb,  and  all  the 
rooms  were  adorned  with  beautiful  glasses.  As  this 
charming  retreat  was  really  a  jewel,  it  was  called  Mon 
Bijou.  A  very  pretty  garden  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
heightened  its  beauty.  In  order  to  prevent  the  mischief 
which  the  Russian  gentlemen  had  done  in  other  places 
where  they  had  lodged,  the  Queen  ordered  the  prin- 
cipal furniture,  and  whatever  was  most  brittle,  to  be  re- 
moved. The  Czar,  his  spouse,  and  their  Court,  arrived 
some  days  after,  by  water,  at  Mon  Bijou.  The  King  and 
Queen  received  them  on  their  landing,  and  the  King 
handed  the  Czarina  from  the  boat.  The  Czar  was  no 
sooner  landed,  than  he  held  out  his  hand  to  the  King, 
and  said,  i  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  brother  Frederic.1 
He  afterwards  approached  the  Queen  with  the  intention 
to  salute  her,  but  she  pushed  him  back.  The  Czarina 
first  kissed  the  Queen's  hands  several  times,  and  after- 
wards introduced  to  her  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Meck- 
lenburg, who  had  accompanied  them,  and  four  hundred 
pretended  ladies  of  their  suite.  These  were  mostly  Ger- 
man servant-girls,  who  officiated  as  maids  of  honour, 
waiting-maids,  cooks,  and  washerwomen.  Almost  every 
one  of  these  creatures  carried  in  her  arms  a  richly-dressed 
infant,  and  when  they  were  asked  whether  these  children 
were  their  own  ?  they  answered,  prostrating  themselves  in 
the  Russian  fashion :  '  tlie  Czar  has  done  me  the  honour 
to  malce  me  the  mother  of  this  child.''  The  Queen  would 
not  speak  to  these  creatures,  and  the  Czarina,  to  be  re- 
venged, treated  the  Princesses  of  the  blood  with  much 


32  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

haughtiness ;  and  it  was  with  very  great  difficulty  that 
the  King  prevailed  with  the  Queen  to  notice  the  Russian 
ladies.  I  saw  the  whole  of  this  Court  the  next  day,  when 
the  Czar  and  Czarina  came  to  visit  the  Queen.  Her  Ma- 
jesty received  them  in  the  State  Rooms  of  the  Palace, 
and  went  to  meet  them  in  the  Hall  of  the  Guards.  The 
Queen  gave  her  hand  to  the  Czarina,  placing  her  at  her 
right,  and  conducted  her  into  the  Audience  Hall. 

"  The  King  and  the  Czar  followed.  As  soon  as  the  latter 
saw  me  he  knew  me  again,  having  seen  me  five  years  be- 
fore. Pie  took  me  up  in  his  arms,  and  rubbed  the  very 
skin  off  my  face  with  his  rude  kisses.*  I  boxed  his  ears, 
and  struggled  as  much  as  I  could,  saying  that  I  would  not 
allow  any  such  familiarities,  and  that  he  was  dishonour- 
ing me.  He  laughed  very  much  at  this  idea,  and  amused 
himself  a  long  time  at  my  expense.  I  had  previously 
been  instructed  what  to  say,  and  I  spoke  to  him  of  his 
fleet  and  his  conquests  ;  which  delighted  him  so  much 
that  he  several  times  told  the  Czarina,  that  if  he  could 
have  a  child  like  me  he  would  willingly  give  up  one  of 
his  provinces.  The  Czarina  also  tenderly  caressed  me. 
She  and  the  Queen  placed  themselves  under  the  canopy, 
each  in  an  armchair  ;  I  was  by  the  side  of  the  Queen,  and 
the  Princesses  of  the  blood  opposite  to  her  Majesty. 

"  The  Czarina  was  short  and  stout,  very  tawny,  and  her 
figure  was  altogether  destitute  of  gracefulness.  Its  ap- 
pearance sufficiently  betrayed  her  low  origin.  To  have 
judged  by  her  attire  one  would  have  taken  her  for  a  Ger- 
man stage  actress.  Her  robe  had  been  purchased  of  an 
old  clothes  broker ;  it  was  made  in  the  antique  fashion, 
and  heavily  laden  with  silver  and  grease.  The  front  of 
her  stays  was  adorned  with  jewels,  singularly  placed  ;  they 
*  The  Princess  was  at  this  time  eleven  years  old. 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA    OF    HA^OTER.  33 

represented  a  double  eagle,  badly  set,  the  wings  of  which 
were  of  small  stones.  She  wore  a  dozen  orders,  and  as 
many  portraits  of  saints  and  relics,  fastened  to  the  facing 
of  her  gown  ;  so  that  when  she  walked,  the  jumbling  of  all 
these  orders  and  portraits,  one  against  the  other,  made  a 
tinkling  noise  like  a  mule  in  harness. 

"  The  Czar,  on  the  contrary,  was  very  tall,  and  pretty 
well  made  ;  his  face  was  handsome,  but  his  countenance 
had  something  savage  about  it  which  inspired  fear.  He 
was  dressed  as  a  navy  officer,  and  wore  a  plain  coat.  The 
Czarina,  who  spoke  very  bad  German,  and  did  not  well 
understand  what  was  spoken  to  her  by  the  Queen,  beckoned 
to  her  fool,  and  conversed  with  her  in  Russian.  This  poor 
creature  was  a  Princess 'Galitzin,  who  had  been  necessi- 
tated to  fill  that  office  in  order  to  save  her  life ;  having 
been  implicated  in  a  conspiracy  against  the  Czar,  she  had 
twice  undergone  the  punishment  of  the  Jcnout.  I  do  not 
know  what  she  said  to  the  Czarina,  but  the  latter  every 
now  and  then  laughed  aloud. 

"  At  length  we  sat  down  to  table,  when  the  Czar  placed 
himself  near  the  Queen.  It  is  well  known  that  this 
Prince  had  been  poisoned  in  his  youth ;  a  very  subtile 
venom  had  attacked  his  nerves,  whence  he  was  frequently 
subject  to  certain  involuntary  convulsions.  He  was  seized 
with  a  fit  whilst  at  table ;  he  made  many  contortions ; 
and  as  he  was  violently  gesticulating  with  a  knife  in  his 
hand  near  the  Queen,  the  latter  was  afraid,  and  wanted 
several  times  to  rise  from  her  seat.  The  Czar  begged  her 
to  be  easy,  protesting  that  he  would  not  do  her  any  harm  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  seized  her  hand,  which  he  squeezed 
so  violently  that  the  Queen  screamed  for  mercy,  which 
made  him  laugh  heartily  ;  and  he  observed  that  the  bones 
of  her  Majesty  were  more  delicate  than  those  of  his  Cathe- 


34i  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

rine.  Everything  was  prepared  for  a  ball  after  supper » 
but  he  ran  away  as  soon  as  he  rose  from  table,  and  went 
back  alone  and  on  foot  to  Mon  Bijou. 

"  The  next  day  everything  worth  seeing  at  Berlin  was 
shown  to  him,  and  among  the  rest  the  cabinet  of  medals 
and  antique  statues.  The  Czar  took  a  fancy  to  several, 
and  without  ceremony  asked  for  them,  which  the  King 
could  not  refuse.  He  did  the  same  with  a  cabinet  lined 
with  amber,  which  was  unique  in  its  kind,  and  had  cost 
immense  sums  to  Frederick  I. ;  and  this,  too,  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  be  taken  to  Petersburg,  to  the  great  regret  of 
every  one. 

"  Two  days  afterwards  this  Court  of  barbarians  set  out 
on  their  journey  back.  The  Queen  immediately  hastened 
to  Mon  Bijou,  and  what  desolation  was  there  visible  !  I 
never  beheld  anything  like  it ;  indeed,  I  think  Jerusalem, 
after  its  siege  and  capture,  could  not  have  presented  such 
another  scene.  This  elegant  Palace  was  left  by  them  in 
so  ruinous  a  state,  that  the  Queen  was  absolutely  obliged 
to  rebuild  nearly  the  whole  of  it."* 

After  Ernest  Augustus  died,  George  Louis  sought  a 
reconciliation  with  his  wife,  and  again,  after  his  elevation 
to  the  Crown  of  England.  But  though  a  deputation  of 
English  peers  and  gentlemen  waited  on  the  prisoner  of 
Ahlden,  requesting  to  approach  her  as  their  Queen,  she 
rejected  their  dazzling  overture,  and  declined  the  regal 
diadem.  Her  just  remark  was — "  If  I  am  guilty  of  the 
crime  imputed  to  me,  I  am  unworthy  to  be  your  Queen. 
If  I  am  innocent,  the  King  is  unworthy  to  be  my 
husband."  She  continued  to  be  treated  with  the  respect 
due  to  her  rank.  The  two  ladies  of  her  household,  the 
Chamberlain,  and  the  officer  who  commanded  the  guard, 
*  "  Memoirs  of  the  Marchioness  of  Bareith." 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OP    HANOYEK.  35 

constantly  dined  at  her  table.  She  was  allowed  to  go  in 
her  coach  to  the  distance  of  a  league  from  the  Castle. 
Persons  of  inferior  condition,  workmen,  and  tradesmen, 
had  free  access ;  but  no  man  or  woman  of  consideration 
was  allowed  to  approach  or  speak  to  her. 

Sophia  Dorothea  was  heiress  to  property  under  her 
mother's  control.  Her  husband  had  no  sympathy  for  the 
imprisoned  mother  of  his  wife,  but  was  eager  to  secure  to 
her  the  property  to  which  she  was  entitled.  He  cor- 
responded with  the  Lady  of  Ahlden  until  he  had  secured 
that  by  the  writings  of  his  mother-in-law ;  after  which  he 
desired  that  no  further  intercourse  should  be  kept  up 
with  her  by  his  wife.  Obedience  was  the  first  duty  of 
the  Queen  of  Prussia,  so  that  henceforward  her  consoling 
sympathy  was  lost  to  her  mother  for  ever,  "  By  the  con- 
curring testimony  of  all  persons,  Sophia  Dorothea  bore  her 
misfortunes  with  dignity  and  equanimity;  never  vented 
herself  in  reproaches  against  those  wiio  had  injured  or 
oppressed  her ;  and  preserved  the  cheerfulness  of  a  mind 
serene  and  innocent,  in  the  midst  of  her  hard  condition. 
Even  her  beauty  remained  in  a  great  degree  unimpaired 
to  a  late  period  of  her  life."* 

At  her  father's  death  she  succeeded  to  all  his  personal 
property,  and  subsequently  contrived  to  remit  large  sums 
annually,  from  her  separate  income,  to  her  son,  the 
Electoral  Prince,  who  maintained  with  her  a  correspon- 
dence of  an  affectionate  character.  She  never  quitted 
Ahlden.  That  place,  which  "  lies  across  an  unfrequented 
part  of  the  Electorate,  through  a  dreary  tract  of  country," 
and  is  not  less  than  thirty  miles  from  Hanover,  is  thus 
described : — 

"  Ahlden  is  surrounded  with  a  double  moat ;  the  building 
*  Wraxall. 


36  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

composed  only  of  brick  and  wood,  resembling  rather  a 
large  farm-house  than  a  Ducal  seat,  and  forming  three 
sides  of  a  square  in  figure. 

"  In  a  large  square  apartment,  which  was  the  eating- 
room,  are  preserved  two  portraits :  one  of  George  I.  at 
full  length,  in  his  robes  of  State ;  the  other  of  Sophia 
Dorothea  herself.  This  last  is  very  ill- executed ;  but  it 
resembles  all  the  other  portraits  of  her  which  I  have  seen. 
She  is  represented  in  a  sort  of  fancy  dress  embroidered, 
and  her  hair  ornamented  with  flowers.  The  face  is  charm- 
ing, and  there  is  in  its  expression  a  wildness  or  playfulness, 
which  adds  to  its  effect."* 

In  the  innermost  of  three  chambers  on  the  same  floor, 
one  within  the  other,  the  unfortunate  Princess  of  Hanover 
expired,  on  the  13th  of  November,  1726,  at  eleven  o'clock 
at  night,  after  a  short  indisposition,  at  the  age  of  sixty 
years  and  nine  months,  forty  of  which  she  had  passed  at 
Ahlden. 

It  was  not  George  I.'s  fate  long  to  survive  the  wife  he 
had  so  hardly  treated.  He  set  off  for  Hanover  June  23rd, 
1727,  and  a  week  after  died  at  Osnaburgh,  aged  sixty-seven 
years  and  thirteen  days.  Had  Sophia  Dorothea  been  his 
survivor,  it  was  the  intention  of  her  son  to  bring  her 
over  to  England,  and  proclaim  her  Queen  Dowager.  The 
very  morning  after  the  news  of  George  I.'s  death  reached 
England,  Lady  Suffolk,  going  into  Queen  Caroline's  dress- 
ing-room, was  surprised  to  behold  a  full-length  portrait 
of  a  lady  in  Eoyal  robes,  and  in  the  bedchamber  a  half- 
length  of  the  same  person,  neither  of  which  Lady  Suffolk 
had  ever  seen  before. 

The  Prince,  who  is  said  to  have  hated  his  father  as  much 
as  he  loved  his  mother,  had  kept  these  pictures  concealed, 
*  Wraxall. 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OF   HAtfOYER.  37 

not  daring  to  produce  them  during  the  King's  lifetime. 
The  whole-length  was  probably  sent  afterwards  to 
Hanover ;  the  half-length  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Princess  Amelia,  who  said  it  had  been  her  grandmother's 
property,  and  who  eventually  bequeathed  it,  with  other 
family  pictures,  to  her  nephew,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse. 

Walpole,  speaking  of  the  Queen  Dowager  of  Prussia, 
says — "  During  the  parsimonious  barbarity  of  her  hus- 
band, a  pension  of  800/.  a-year,  on  Ireland,  had  been 
privately  transmitted  to  her,  and  she  retained  it  to  her 
death.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  was  persuaded  to  ask  this 
for  the  Duchess's  sister,  Lady  Betty  Waldegrave,  and 
obtained  it." 

It  was  believed  that  George  I.  had  bequeathed  a  large 
sum  to  his  daughter,  the  Queen  of  Prussia ;  and  Frede- 
ric II.,  King  of  Prussia,  is  said  to  have  often  claimed  his 
mother's  legacy. 

Eanke  says — "  Whenever  George  I.  visited  Hanover,  he 
always,  if  possible,  arranged  a  meeting  between  himself  and 
his  daughter  and  son-in-law.  Sometimes  he  went  to  Berlin, 
in  order  to  see  his  grandchildren,  who  were  then  growing 
up ;  but  now,  often  the  King  and  Queen  of  Prussia  went 
to  Hanover,  or  to  a  hunting-seat  called  the  Gohrde,  on 
the  borders  of  the  Altmark,  where  huge  forests  of  oak  and 
beech  mark  the  ancient  boundaries  which  separated  the 
Saxon  and  the  Wendish  nations.  In  the  summer  of  1725 
King  George  I.  visited  Hanover,  accompanied  by  the 
English  Minister,  Lord  Townsend — a  man  who  combined 
fire  and  boldness  with  experience,  and  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  business.  Frederic  William  and  Sophia  Doro- 
thea went  to  see  him,  and  they  spent  most  of  their  time 
together  in  the  gardens  of  Herenhausen,  which  then 
passed  for  the  finest  in  the  world. 


SS  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

"  The  wish  entertained  by  the  Queen  of  Prussia  to  bring 
about  a  fresh  alliance  between  the  two  families,  was  ex- 
ceedingly favourable  to  the  policy  of  England.  Most 
likely,  this  scheme  had  often  been  talked  of  before,  but 
nothing  definitive  had  been  settled  until  now.  The  Queen, 
who  was  most  affectionately  received  by  her  father,  now 
hoped  to  obtain  a  positive  promise  from  him  to  this  effect; 
and  Lord  Townsend  says,  in  one  of  his  letters,  that  he 
does  not  think  that  there  will  be  any  difficulty  about 
the  matter." 

George  II.  continued  to  have  a  cherished  desire  to  ally 
two  of  his  own  children  with  two  of  his  cousins  of  the  King 
of  Prussia's  family.  Sir  Charles  Hotham,  the  English 
King's  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  Prussia,  proposed  that 
Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  should  marry  the  eldest 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  his  second  daughter 
that  King's  eldest  son.  The  King  of  Prussia  would  not 
agree  to  give  the  Prince  of  Wales  his  eldest  daughter 
without  having  the  eldest,  and  not  the  second  daughter  of 
George,  for  Frederic,  afterwards  known  as  the  Great. 
The  young  people  on  both  sides  deeply  desired  the  pro- 
posed unions  should  take  place.  To  further  his  sister's 
views,  Frederic,  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  formally  de- 
clared he  would  give  his  hand  to  no  other  than  an  English 
Princess.  The  Ministers  employed,  entering  into  a  cabal, 
seem  to  have  dissuaded,  by  their  artifices,  King  Frederic 
from  entering  into  this  cherished  alliance ;  representing 
that  Prussia  would  become  reduced  by  it  to  a  mere  pro- 
vince, and  himself  to  a  sort  of  dependent  Prince,  and  under 
the  influence  of  his  future  daughter-in-law.  The  King 
dreaded  nothing  more  than  such  a  prospect ;  and  after 
endless  negotiations,  the  whole  matter  fell  to  the  ground. 

In  1728  an  open  misunderstanding  broke  out  between 


SOPHIA    DOROTHEA   OF    IIAXOVEE.  3D 

the   King   and   the  young    Frederic.       Soon  after,    the 
following  occurrence  took  place : — 

"  There  was  a  great  dinner  at  Wusterhausen  in  celebra- 
tion of  St.  Hubert's  day ;  the  Prince  sat  opposite  to  the 
Queen,  next  to  the  Saxon  Minister,  Sulm,  and  repeated 
what  he  had  often  said  to  him  before,  that  he  could  no 
longer  endure  the  bondage  in  which  he  lived  ;  and  that  he 
entreated  King  Augustus  to  endeavour  to  obtain  permission 
for  him  to  travel,  in  order  that  he  might  enjoy  a  little 
more  liberty.  Contrary  to  his  natural  inclinations,  and 
hurried  away  by  the  example  of  the  company,  he  drank 
more  than  usual ;  he  spoke  so  loud  as  to  be  heard  across 
the  table ;  even  the  Queen's  manifest  alarm  did  not  restrain 
the  Prince's  complaints  of  his  sufferings ;  yet  every  time 
he  looked  at  his  father  he  was  troubled,  and  interrupted 
himself,  exclaiming — '  I  love  him,  nevertheless  !'  The 
Queen  left  the  room,  but  the  Prince  would  not  go  until  he 
had  taken  leave  of  his  father.  He  drew  the  hand  which 
the  King  stretched  out  to  him  across  the  table,  and  covered 
it  with  kisses;  and  in  this  state  of  excitement  and  emotion 
he  went  up  to  him,  clasped  him  round  the  neck,  and 
threw  himself  upon  his  lap.  There  was  not  a  single  person 
present  who  was  not .  acquainted  with  their  dispositions 
towards  each  other :  some  loudly  cheered  the  Prince,  others 
shed  tears.  '  Enough,'  said  the  King,  '  enough  ;  only  be 
an  honest  lad.'  At  the  smoking  party  in  the  evening 
nobody  alluded  to  this  incident,  nor  did  the  Prince  make  his 
appearance,  but  the  King  was  in  unusually  high  spirits." 

1740. — The  King's  illness  increasing  so  as  to  become 
critical,  the  Crown  Prince  hastened  to  Potsdam  to  see  him 
once  more.  May  28th,  an  affecting  interview  took  place  be- 
tween father  and  son,  in  which,  after  giving  Frederic  much 
good  advice,  Frederic  William  recommended  the  Queen 


40  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

to  the  care  of  his  successor,  whose  answer  proved  he  would 
do  more  for  her  than  his  father  required.  He  afterwards 
addressed  his  advice  to  his  younger  sons — to  be  brave  sol- 
diers, faithful  and  dutiful  to  their  elder  brother,  and  to 
regard  his  honour  and  that  of  the  State  in  all  they  did. 
On  the  31st  he  summoned  the  whole  Court  into  his  presence, 
to  whom  he  bade  a  last  farewell,  and  showed  them  the 
coffin  of  oak,  with  copper  handles,  which  he  had  caused  to 
be  made  for  himself,  and  in  which  he  "  designed  to  sleep." 
He  now  requested  his  physicians  to  tell  him  how  long  he 
still  had  to  live,  whether  it  was  an  hour,  then  half  an  hour, 
and  at  last  a  quarter.  "  God  be  praised !"  said  he  ;  "  now 
all  is  over."  He  died  that  afternoon,  between  three  and 
four.* 

"  The  obsequies  of  Frederic  William  I.  were  held  at 
Potsdam  on  the  22nd  of  June.  Frederic  II.  caused  them 
to  be  celebrated  with  all  possible  pomp  and  splendour,  in 
order  that  none  might  say  that  his  father's  memory  had 
been  rendered  less  dear  to  him  by  that  which  had  for- 
merly taken  place  between  them.  There  were,  however, 
others  who  respected  it  less.  On  hearing  a  report  that  a 
bookseller  of  Amsterdam  was  printing  a  Life  of  Frederic 
William,  Frederic  directed  his  envoy  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  contents  of  the  book  ;  and  if  he  found 
it  to  contain  anything  derogatory  to  the  fame  of  the  late 
King,  to  prevent  its  publication. 

"  The  ceremony  of  interment  was  altogether  military, 
in  harmony  with  the  character  of  the  deceased  sovereign. 
Frederic  rejected  the  services  of  Pollnitz,  who  offered 
himself  as  master  of  the  ceremonies,  and  chose  to  be 
attended  solely  by  generals,  such  as  Prince  Leopold  and 
the  Duke  of  Holstein-Beek.  A  number  of  other  officers 
*  Eankc's  "  History  of  the  House  of  Brandenburg." 


SOPHIA  DOROTHEA   OF    HANOYEE.  41 

followed,  not  in  any  regular  order  of  precedence.  The 
three  battalions  of  the  tall  regiment  once  more  went 
through  all  the  evolutions  with  their  accustomed  pre- 
cision— for  even  the  new  recruits  had  "been  drilled  with 
the  utmost  care — and  paid  the  last  honours  to  the  sove- 
reign who  had  raised  them  in  the  manner  most  congenial 
to  his  spirit.  They  attracted  all  the  more  attention,  as 
every  one  knew  that  this  was  the  last  time  that  they 
were  to  be  seen."* 

This  regiment  was  disbanded  directly  afterwards  by 
Frederic,  for  the  sake  of  economy,  who  incorporated  the 
best  and  most  finely  grown,  but  not  the  tallest  men,  with 
the  regiment  which  he  himself  had  commanded  when  he 
was  Crown  Prince,  and  thus  formed  three  battalions  of 
Foot  Guards. 

The  Queen  survived  her  brutal  husband,  and  in  the 
affectionate  and  dutiful  solicitude  of  her  son,  whom  his 
father  once  thought  of  beheading  —  as  Voltaire  states, 
because  he  wrote  verses — she  found  many  consolations  for 
the  evening  of  her  days.  Her  health  had  never  been 
robust,  yet  she  lingered  on  through  many  years  of  great 
bodily  and  mental  suffering. 

It  was  expected  that,  influenced  by  his  mother,  the  new 
King  would  entirely  fall  into  the  views  of  England,  having 
in  his  youth  had  so  great  a  preference  for  that  country, 
and  by  his  birth  being,  through  mother  and  grandmother, 
a  relation  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  But  the  heart  of 
Frederic  was  changed,  and  "  cured  of  its  predilection  for 
England;"  and  from  the  time  of  his  accession  he  dis- 
pensed entirely  with  the  female  influence  in  his  political 
actions;  therefore,  one  of  the  most  ardent  wishes  his 
ambitious  mother  had  entertained  of  governing  through 
*  Kanke's  "  History  of  the  House  of  Brandenburg." 


42  THE    HOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

her  influence  over  him  was  disappointed.  Sophia  Dorothea 
herself  feeling  personally  aggrieved  by  George  II.  having 
suppressed  his  father's  will,  by  which  a  legacy  had  been 
bequeathed  to  her,  was  not  indeed  disposed,  on  her  part, 
to  side  with  her  brother,  the  English  King. 

"  Frederic  II.  enlarged  his  mother's  residence  of  Mon 
Bijou,  and  gave  her  a  more  brilliant  Court.  When  he 
begged  her  not  to  address  him  with  the  title  of  '  Ma- 
jesty,' but  to  call  him  '  son,'  as  heretofore,  a  name  dearer 
to  him  than  any  other,  this  was  no  empty  form,  but  the 
expression  of  a  sincere  feeling  of  reverence  and  gratitude. 
He  wished  to  remove  all  the  petty  inconveniences  which 
she  had  hitherto  endured. 

"He  stood  in  a  very  peculiar  relation  towards  the 
Queen,  his  wife.  He  felt  constantly  that  he  had  been 
forced  into  the  marriage,  and  he  was  not  disposed  to  sub- 
mit to  this  constraint  all  his  life.  Every  one  in  Berlin 
expected  that  he  would  divorce  her ;  but  Elizabeth  Chris- 
tine had,  in  her  very  difficult  position,  preserved  so  much 
womanly  dignity,  and  had  shown  such  excellent  moral 
qualities,  that  the  King  could  never  have  brought  himself 
to  so  harsh  an  act.  He  gave  her  an  honourable,  and, 
considering  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  a  splendid 
household,*  together  with  the  means  of  receiving  a  nu- 
merous and  brilliant  society.  He  himself  never  appeared 
at  her  assemblies,  not  even  at  the  very  beginning;  he 
learned  from  others  how  she  played  her  part.  Altogether 

*  "  The  new  Queen  had  four  ladies  in  waiting,  with  a  high  salary, 
and  the  title  of  Madame  ;  four  maids  of  honour,  with,  a  small  salary, 
and  the  title  of  Mademoiselle ;  one  Mistress  of  the  Eohes,  a  Master 
of  the  Ceremonies,  one  Marshal  of  the  Court  and  Chamberlain,  twelve 
pages,  and  whatever  else  belonged  to  such  a  ceremonial.  None  of  the 
ladies  in  waiting  were  to  be  foreigners." — Ranke's  "  History  of  the 
House  of  Brandenburg." 


SOPHIA   DOROTHEA   OF    HANOYER.  43 

he  saw  her  very  seldom ;  much  less  was  she  the  com- 
panion of  his  daily  life.  Such  was  the  fate  imposed  upon 
them  through  each  other.  Frederic  himself  continued, 
only  without  his  wife,  the  same  sort  of  life  at  Charlot- 
tenburg  that  he  had  led  at  Rheinsberg." 

Sophia  Dorothea  enjoyed  to  the  time  of  her  death,  when 
she  was  more  than  seventy,  the  affectionate  attachment  of 
her  family  and  her  subjects. 

She  died  only  ten  days  after  the  memorable  defeat  at 
Colin,  in  June,  1757,  leaving  her  son  and  the  Prussian 
monarchy  itself  in  the  most  perilous  crisis. 

The  eldest  daughter  of  the  Queen  was  the  celebrated 
Marchioness  of  Bareith. 

Princess  Frederica  Louisa,  the  King's  second  daughter, 
married  the  Margrave  of  Brandenberg-Anspach. 

Philippina  Charlotte,  the  third  daughter  of  Sophia 
Dorothea,  was  promised  to  Charles,  Hereditary  Prince  of 
Brunswick-Bevern,  nephew  to  the  Empress  Eegent,  and 
married  in  1734. 

"VVraxall  relates  that,  "  Of  the  King's  four  sisters,  only 
one,  the  Princess  Amelia,  youngest  of  Frederic  William's 
numerous  family,  has  remained  unmarried.  She  occupies 
a  splendid  palace  in  one  of  the  best  streets  of  the  metro- 
polis, and  Frederic,  who  regards  her  with  great  affection, 
usually  breakfasts  with  her  whenever  he  occasionally 
visits  Berlin.  Having  been  elected  Abbess  of  Quedlin- 
bourg  in  1751,  the  income  arising  from  that  ecclesiastical 
preferment  enables  her  to  maintain  an  establishment  suit- 
able to  her  birth.  Her  endowments  of  mind  are  said  to 
be  extraordinary,  but  her  health  and  constitution  are 
altogether  broken  by  disease,  though  she  is  scarcely  fifty- 
four  years  of  age.  Such  are  her  infirmities,  that  she  has 
entirely  lost  an  eye  and  the  use  of  one  arm ;  in  conse- 


44  THE    ROYAL   PKINCESSES. 

quence  of  which  she  is  seldom  seen  in  public,  and  never 
appears  at  Court.""1 

The  present  King  of  Prussia  is  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Sophia  Dorothea,  the  second  Queen  of  Prussia,  and  of 
George  I.,  her  father. 

*  Wraxnll's  "  Memoirs  of  ftp  CV"H-  of  TWl?n." 


45 


ANNE    OF    HANOVEK, 

PRINCESS  EOYAL,  ELDEST  DAUGHTER  OF  GEORGE  II, 

AFTEEWAEDS    PEINCESS    OF    OEANGE. 

Birth  of  the  Princess  Royal  at  Hanover,  1709 — Queen  Anne  her  god- 
mother— Presentfrom  her — Comes  toEngland — Lands  at  Margate — 
Spends  the  first  night  at  Rochester — Arrival  in  London — Miss  Brett 
— Eoyal  reading-lesson — Coronation  of  her  grandfather — Birth  of  her 
brother,  1717 — Proposal  to  unite  her  to  Louis  XV. — Match  broken 
oil'— Marriage  contracted  with  William  Charles  Henry,  Prince  of 
Orange — Her  ambition — Described  by  Lord  Hervey — Prince's  per- 
sonal appearance — The  King's  message  to  Parliament — Handsome 
allowance  made  on  the  occasion — Object  of  the  match  to  secure 
Protestant  succession — Prince's  personal  estate  and  income — Anne 
agrees  to  part  with  her  guards — Her  dresser  appointed — Yacht 
despatched  for  the  bridegroom — Horace  Walpole  his  escort — Lord 
Lovelace  appointed  to  meet  him — Lodged  in  Somerset  House — 
Strange  reception  given  him  by  the  King — Visited  by  the  nobility 
— Queen  sends  for  Lord  Hervey — His  account  of  the  Prince — Her 
opinion  of  the  match — He  visits  the  Princesses — Their  interview 
with  Lord  Hervey — Illness  of  the  Prince — Postponement  of  the 
marriage — The  event  takes  place — Anne's  personal  appearance — 
Questions  as  to  precedency — Irish  Peers  dissatisfied — Duchess  of 
Marlborough,  and  Frederick  Prince  of  Wales,  displeased — Prince  of 
Wales  escorts  Prince  of  Orange  to  the  principal  sights  of  London — 
Opinions  about  the  Prince — Departure  of  Anne — Letter  from  Miss 
Dyves,  announcing  her  safe  arrival,  and  account  of  her  recep- 
tion— Further  particiilars — Anne  returns  to  England  in  three 
months — Starts  for  Holland  previous  to  her  confinement — Gets  as 
far  as  Colchester — On  receipt  of  the  Prince's  letters  returns  to  the 
English  Court — Her  strange  conduct — Starts  a  second  time — Re- 
turns again — Vexation  of  the  King  and  Queen — They  insist  on  her 
return — Letter  from  Miss  Dyves — Death  of  Queen  Caroline — Mes- 
sage to  the  Prince  of  Orange — Anne  comes  over  to  console  her 
E 


46  THE   BOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

father  —  His  abrupt  reception—  She  returns  to  Holland—  Her  cha- 
racter and  accomplishments  —  Death  of  Frederick  Prince  of  Wales 

—  Death  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  —  The  cause  —  Anne  previously 
had  acted  as  Ptegent  —  On  her  husband's  death  takes  the  oaths  as 
Gouvernante  for  her  son  —  Embassy  of  Lord  Holdemesse,  with  her 
father's  advice  —  How  received  —  Dubacq,  the  Princess's  secretary 

—  His  influence  over  her—  The  House  in  the  Wood  described  — 
Survives  her  husband  ten  years  —  Prevents    a  rupture    between 
England  and  Holland—  Signs  a  contract  of  marriage  between  her 
daughter   and  tho   Prince  of  Nassau  Walburg—  Her  death—  De- 
scendants of  Anne. 


E,  daughter  of  George,  Electoral  Prince  of  Hanover, 
by  Caroline  of  Anspach,  was  born  at  Hanover  on  the  9th 
of  October,  1709.  Her  grandfather  was  at  that  time 
Elector  of  Hanover,  and  her  godmother,  Queen  Anne,  sat 
upon  the  throne  of  England.  When  only  two  years  old, 
a  letter  was  addressed  by  the  latter  to  the  Dowager 
Electress  Sophia,  bearing  date  November  llth,  1711,  and 
accompanied  by  a  present  to  Tier  godchild  Anne  —  both 
letter  and  present  being  conveyed  by  Earl  Elvers.  The 
Electress,  in  her  reply,  communicated  to  the  Earl  of  Straf- 
ford,  Secretary  of  State,  remarks  that  "  the  gift  is  infinitely 
esteemed;"  and  adds,  "I  would  not,  however,  give  my 
parchment  (by  which  she  is  thought  to  have  alluded  to  the 
Act  of  Succession)  for  it,  since  that  will  be  an  everlasting 
monument  in  the  archives  of  Hanover  ;  and  the  present 
for  the  little  Princess  will  go,  when  she  is  grown  up,  into 
another  family."  The  death  of  the  Queen,  her  god- 
mother, when  the  little  Princess  was  in  her  fifth  year, 
caused  George  I.  to  repair  to  England,  to  take  pos- 
session of  his  new  dominions.  Shortly  after  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  Caroline,  now  no  longer  styled  the  Electoral 
Princess,  but  "  Princess  of  Wales,"  in  consideration  of  her 
husband's  being  next  heir  to  the  crown  of  England.  The 


ANNE    OF   HANOVEB.  4:7 

eldest  son  of  the  Princess  was  left  at  Hanover,  of  whom 
much  has  to  be  said  hereafter ;  but  Caroline  brought  with 
her  to  England  her  three  young  daughters,  Anne,  Amelia 
Sophia,  and  Caroline  Elizabeth.  They  arrived  in  safety 
October  15th,  1714,  and  were  met  by  the  Prince,  who 
escorted  his  family  to  the  metropolis,  and  conducted  them, 
on  their  arrival  there,  to  the  Palace  of  St.  James's. 

Less  pleasing  in  character  than  any  of  her  sister  Prin- 
cesses of  the  Hanoverian  line  was  the  Princess  Anne, 
who,  from  her  earliest  infancy,  exhibited  latent  seeds  of 
an  ambition  and  pride  which  could  only  be  extinguished 
with  her  life.  Many  instances  are  on  record. 

After  the  memorable,  but  lamentable  misunderstanding 
took  place  between  the  King  and  the  heir  to  the  throne, 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  were  ordered  by 
George  I.  to  quit  their  residence  at  St.  James's.  They 
established  themselves  at  the  Palace  in  Saville-place, 
Leicester-square,  where  they  continued  till  the  King's 
death,  which  occurred  June  30th,  1727.  Their  three 
daughters,  however,  resided  at  St.  James's,  under  the 
same  roof  as  their  grandfather,  the  King,  and  thus  be- 
came exposed  to  a  circumstance,  which,  young  as  was 
Princess  Anne  at  the  time,  called  forth  no  small  share  of 
her  natural  spirit. 

The  circumstance  alluded  to  was  her  treatment  of  Miss 
Anne  Brett,  sister  of  the  poet  Savage,  and  one  of  the  worth- 
less favourites  of  her  grandfather ;  who,  strange  to  say, 
had  become  located  under  the  same  roof  with  herself  and 
sisters.  Anne  was  old  enough  at  the  time  to  feel  this 
insult  deeply;  and,  after  the  King  departed  for  his 
last  visit  to  Hanover,  came  to  some  words  expressive  of 
her  sentiments  towards  Miss  Brett,  on  the  following 
occasion.  The  lady  alluded  to  had  ordered  a  door  to  be 


48  THE    EOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

broken  in  the  wall  of  her  apartment,  in  order  that  she 
might  have  access  by  it  to  the  Boyal  gardens.  The 
Princess  Anne  was  in  the  habit  of  walking  in  those  gar- 
dens, and  being  determined  not  to  have  Miss  Brett  for  a 
companion,  she  gave  orders  that  the  door  should  be 
bricked  up.  Miss  Brett,  on  her  part,  removed  the 
obstruction  to  her  own  wish ;  again  did  the  Princess 
order  that  it  should  be  bricked  up  as  before — a  warfare 
which  was  terminated  only  by  the  death  of  George  I. 
(June  30th,  1727),  which  placed  the  Princess's  parents  on 
the  throne,  and  entirely  altered  her  own  position,  as 
well  as  put  a  stop  to  proceedings  so  derogatory  to  the 
Eoyal  dignity. 

Another  incident  recorded  of  Anne,  when  very  young, 
speaks  volumes.  She  told  her  mother  how  very  much  she 
wished  that  she  had  had  no  brothers,  that  she  herself  might 
succeed  to  the  crown.  Caroline  of  Anspach  reproving 
her  for  the  remark,  she  said — "  I  would  die  to-morrow  to 
be  Queen  to-day !"  Such  was  her  haughty  and  imperious 
disposition,  that  she  had  but  small  consideration  for,  or 
gentleness  towards,  those  who  waited  upon  her,  even  from 
inclination,  a  defect  which  her  mother  severely  corrected. 
She  discovered  that  the  Princess  was  accustomed  to  make 
one  of  her  ladies  in  waiting  stand  by  her  bedside  every 
night,  and  read  aloud  to  her  till  she  fell  asleep.  On  one 
occasion,  the  Princess  kept  her  lady  standing  so  long,  that 
she  at  last  fainted  from  sheer  fatigue.  On  the  following 
night,  when  Queen  Caroline  had  retired  to  rest,  she  sent 
for  her  offending  daughter,  and  requested  her  to  read 
aloud  to  her  for  awhile.  The  Princess  was  about  to  take 
a  chair,  but  the  Queen  said  she  could  hear  her  better  if 
she  read  standing.  Anne  obeyed,  and  read  till  fatigue 
made  her  pause.  "Go  on,"  said  the  Queen;  "it  enter- 


ANNE    Ob    .UANOVEK.  49 

tains  me."  Anne  went  on,  sulkily  and  wearily,  till  in- 
creasingly weary  she  once  more  paused  for  rest,  and 
looked  round  for  a  seat.  "  Continue,  continue,"  said  the 
Queen ;  "  I  am  not  yet  tired  of  listening."  Anne  burst 
into  tears  with  vexation,  and  confessed  that  she  was  tired, 
both  of  standing  and  reading,  and  was  ready  to  sink  with 
fatigue.  "  If  you  feel  so  faint  from  one  evening  of  such 
employment,  what  must  your  attendants  feel,  upon  whom 
you  force  the  same  discipline  night  after  night  ?  Be  less 
selfish,  my  child,  in  future,  and  do  not  indulge  in  luxuries 
purchased  at  the  cost  of  weariness  and  ill-health  to 
others  !"  Such  was  the  address  of  her  sensible  mother. 

This  was  a  wholesome  lesson  ;  but,  alas  !  little  profit  did 
the  young  Anne  make  of  it :  she  was  so  proud  and 
egotistical  that  few  could  love  her. 

Anne  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  the  Duke  de 
Bourbon  proposed  to  Louis  XV.  that  he  should  make  her 
his  Queen,  a  match'  which  certainly  would  have  coincided 
with  the  ambitious  views  of  the  young  lady  herself.  The 
contract  was  entered  into  between  the  two  Eoyal  families 
of  France  and  England  ;  but  when  it  became  apparent  that 
the  Princess  Anne's  becoming  a  French  Queen  would  in- 
volve a  necessity  of  her  adopting  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith,  the  subject  was  abruptly  brought  to  a  close,  it  being 
justly  deemed  one  not  to  be  thought  of  by  a  family,  whose 
right  to  the  English  throne  rested  on  the  basis  of  a  main- 
tenance of  the  Protestant  principles.  So  Anne  resigned 
herself  as  well  as  she  could  to  the  loss  of  her  coveted 
bauble — a  golden  crown !  Eventually,  and  but  a  few  years 
later,  she  determined  upon  the  less  ostentatious  dignity  of 
Princess  of  Orange ;  and  resolved,  in  spite  of  the  personal 
deformities  of  Prince  William  Charles  Henry,  who  is  said 
to  have  had  "  a  wry  neck  and  a  halt  in  his  gait,"  to  many 


50  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

that  Prince,  provided  the  consent  of  her  parents  was  ac- 
corded to  the  match.  Neither  George  II.  nor  Caroline  of 
Anspach  in  this  matter  interfered  with  their  daughter's 
inclinations ;  they,  however,  knew  she  was  acquainted 
with  her  future  husband  only  through  the  medium  of 
pictures,  never  once  having  seen  him,  and  therefore  the 
King  thought  it  advisable  to  inform  his  daughter  that 
"  the  Prince  was  the  ugliest  man  in  Holland."  "  I  do  not 
care,"  said  Anne,  "how  ugly  he  may  be.  If  he  were  a 
Dutch  baboon  I  would  marry  him."  "  Nay,  then,  have 
your  way,"  said  George  ;  "  have  your  way  ;  you  will  find 
baboon  enough,  I  promise  you  !"  Indeed,  if  Lord  Hervey's 
account  be  to  be  trusted,  the  Prince's  figure  actually  re- 
sembled that  of  a  dwarf:  he  complains  rather  coarsely  of 
his  bad  breath ;  but  even  he  admits  that  the  Prince's 
"  face  was  not  bad,  and  his  countenance  was  sensible-." 
Anne  neither  was  influenced  at  the  time  in  her  choice  by 
these  defects  alluded  to,  nor  subsequent  to  her  marriage, 
for  it  appears  that  she  became  seriously  and  permanently 
attached  to  her  chosen  husband ;  which  proves  her,  in  one 
respect  at  least,  superior  to  the  common  opinions  of  her 
sex.  Her  considerations,  in  the  first  instance,  were  not  a 
little  influenced  by  the  dread  of  becoming  dependent  on 
her  brother  Frederick,  in  the  event  of  her  father's  death. 
Still  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  not  a  rich  potentate,  and 
there  were  some  sacrifices  to  be  made  by  Anne's  pride  on 
this  occasion,  of  which  one  was  the  parting  with  her 
guards,  to  which  she  consented,  as  a  matter  of  small  im- 
portance. 

The  marriage  being  determined  upon,  it  was  communi- 
cated by  the  King  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament  by  a 
suitable  message.  This  was  in  1733,  at  which  date  Anne 
was  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  her  age.  It  was  stated 


ANNE   OF   HANOVEK.  51 

that  the  object  of  the  King  was  to  strengthen  the  Pro- 
testant succession  by  this  alliance  with  a  family  and  name 
always  dear  to  this  nation.  The  Parliament  voted  the 
Princess  on  this  occasion  80,000?.,  just  double  what  had 
been  given  before  under  similar  circumstances.  The 
Prince's  private  income  was  not  clear  12,000/.  a-year,  for 
it  was  so  encumbered  by  debts  and  other  drawbacks  that 
it  was  reduced  to  that  sum,  although  nominally  double. 

The  following  letter  from  Mrs.  Conduit  to  Mrs.  Clayton 
was  written  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  for  Mrs.  Burr,  a  rela- 
tive of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  the  place  of  dresser  to  the 
Princess  Royal. 

Mrs.  Conduit's  husband  had  been  appointed  Warden  of 
the  Mint  in  1727  on  the  death  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  a  post 
given  afterwards  to  Sir  Andrew  Fountaine,  of  Norford. 

"  Mrs.  Conduit  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"May  1,  1733. 
"  MADAM, 

"  I  have  a  greater  favour  to  beg  at  Court 
than  I  can  hope  to  obtain,  unless  you  will  be  pleased 
to  intercede  for  me.  It  is  to  ask  a  Dresser's  place  to 
Princess  Royal,  to  Mrs.  Burr,  niece  to  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
and  daughter  to  Colonel  Barbor,  who  lost  his  life  in  that 
fatal  party  expedition  to  Canada.  She  married  the  eldest 
son  of  Mr.  Burr,  a  Dutch  gentleman,  who,  about  fifteen 
years  ago,  came  over  to  inherit  4000Z.  a-year,  two  of 
which  lies  in  Burr-street,  near  the  Tower,  and  the  other 
half  about  Harwich.  Notwithstanding  this  great  estate, 
he  suffers  his  son  (a  thing  not  common  in  England)  to 
struggle  with  so  short  a  fortune  as  no  economy  can  recon- 
cile to  his  birth  and  expectations.  To  be  placed  in  a 
Royal  family,  in  whose  cause  at  and  ever  since  the  Revo- 


52  THE   BOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

lution  ours  have  had  the  honour  to  signalize  themselves, 
and  under  such  an  incomparable  mistress,  in  a  country 
where  they  have  many  friends  and  relations  (her  mother 
being  also  a  Dutchwoman),  would  make  them  supremely 
happy. 

"  You,  Madam,  may  be  assured,  though  she  is  my  niece, 
I  durst  not  presume  to  recommend  her  to  the  service  of 
the  Royal  family,  if  her  merit  did  not  entitle  her  to  be 
distinguished  by  those  who  patronize  the  worthy.  She 
has  had  both  a  genteel  and  prudent  education,  has  a  very 
good  understanding,  and  such  temper  and  goodness,  joined 
with  discretion  (at  three-and-twenty),  as  have  carried  her 
through  a  life  of  difficulties.  Such  objects  look  upon 
you,  Madam,  as  their  sure  mediator  to  the  source  of  bounty, 
and  your  favour  therein  shall  be  always  acknowledged  with 
the  utmost  gratitude  by,  Madam, 

"  Your  most  obliged  and  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  C.  CONDUIT." 


All  the  requisite  arrangements  preparatory  to  the  joyful 
event  which  was  to  take  place  having  been  made,  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1733  a  yacht  was  ordered  to  Holland  to 
bring  the  Prince  of  Orange  over  to  this  country,  Horace 
Walpole  having  been  selected  as  his  attendant  hither. 
The  Prince  arrived  safely  at  Greenwich,  November  7th, 
and  was  lodged  in  Somerset  House.  George  II. 's  conduct 
on  the  occasion  of  his  future  son-in-law's  coming  has  been 
much  commented  upon,  and  certainly  not  without  jus- 
tice. He  appears  to  have  regarded  him  as  a  mere  nobody, 
who  came  over  to  be  ennobled  by  a  marriage  with  his 
daughter,  for  he  would  not  suffer  any  honours  to  be  paid 
to  the  Prince  on  his  arrival.  The  guns  were  not  allowed 


ANNE   OF   nAXOYEE.  53 

to  salute,  nor  were  the  military  ordered  to  be  turned  out. 
Lord  Lovelace  was  in  waiting  with  one  of  his  Majesty's 
coaches  to  receive  him  on  his  landing ;  but  Lord  Hervey 
had  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining  permission  to  con- 
vey the  King's  compliments  to  the  newly-arrived  bride- 
groom at  Somerset  House,  where  the  Prince  afterwards 
received  numerous  visits  of  congratulation  from  the  nobility 
and  gentry. 

Scarcely  had  Lord  Hervey  returned  to  the  Palace  after 
his  interview  with  the  Prince  of  Orange,  when  the  Queen 
summoned  him  to  her  presence  to  obtain  what  information 
he  might  be  able  to  give  of  her  daughter's  intended  hus- 
band. Lord  Hervey  owned  he  had  been  most  agreeably 
disappointed  in  his  interview  with  the  Prince ;  that  al- 
though not  to  be  called  an  "  Adonis,"  "  his  countenance 
was  far  from  being  disagreeable,  and  his  address  was 
sensible,  engaging,  and  noble  ;"  moreover,  his  understand- 
ing deserved  to  be  praised.  He  expressed  his  fear  that 
the  Princess  must  herself  be  in  a  great  deal  of  anxiety. 
The  Queen  told  him  that  in  that  he  was  mistaken ;  she 
was  in  her  own  apartment  at  her  harpsichord  with  some 
of  the  Opera  people,  and  that  she  had  been  as  easy  all  that 
afternoon  as  she  had  ever  seen  her  all  her  life.  "  For  my 
part,"  added  Queen  Caroline,  "  I  never  said  the  least  word 
to  encourage  her  to  this  marriage,  or  to  dissuade  her  from 
it ;  the  King  left  her,  too,  absolutely  at  liberty  to  accept 
or  reject  it ;  but  as  she  thought  the  King  looked  upon  it 
as  a  proper  match,  and  one  which,  if  she  would  bear  his 
person,  he  should  not  dislike,  she  said  she  was  resolved  if 
it  was  a  monkey  she  would  marry  him." 

One  of  the  visitors,  Lord  Chesterfield,  writes  in  these 
terms  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  : — "  As  far  as  I  am  able  to 
judge  from  half  an  hour's  conversation  only,  I  think  he 


54"  THE    KOTAL   PKINCESSES. 

has  extreme  good  parts.  He  is  perfectly  well  bred  and 
civil  to  everybody,  and  with  an  ease  and  freedom  that  is 
seldom  acquired  but  by  a  long  knowledge  of  the  world. 
His  face  is  handsome;  Ids  shape  is  not  advantageous  as 
could  l>e  wisJied,  though  not  near  so  bad  as  I  liad  lieard  it 
represented.  He  assumes  not  the  least  dignity,  but  has  all 
the  affability  and  insinuation  that  is  necessary  for  a  person 
that  would  raise  himself  in  a  popular  government." 

Lord  Hervey's  next  visit  was  to  the  Princesses,  who 
were  eagerly  awaiting  the  description  of  their  new  brother- 
in-law,  and  inquired  if  they  might  hope  to  have  a  more 
true  one,  now  he  was  in  the  same  town,  than  had  already 
been  given  by  those  who  had  only  seen  him  in  Holland. 
In  allusion,  probably,  to  the  story  of  "the  baboon," 
Princess  Caroline  spoke  of  him  as  "  the  animal ;"  not 
the  most  elegant  epithet,  nor  the  strongest  evidence  of 
respect  to  the  new  member  of  the  Royal  family,  which 
might  have  been  adopted  ;  but  had  most  likely  been  used 
playfully ;  neither  herself  nor  sisters  seem  to  have  testified 
much  sensibility  towards  the  Prince,  who  was  so  soon  to 
become  a  brother. 

The  nuptials  were  to  have  been  solemnized  without 
delay ;  but  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  he  was 
taken  so  exceedingly  ill,  that  it  became  evident  he 
would  be  unable  to  appear  at  the  altar  on  the  appointed 
day,  so  that  the  ceremony  was  necessarily  postponed  inde- 
finitely. During  his  illness  the  conduct  of  the  Eoyal 
family  was  still  more  remarkable,  for  not  one  of  its  mem- 
bers visited  him,  a  circumstance  freely  commented  upon 
by  the  Dutch  suite.  His  was  a  case  not  likely  to  be  rapid 
in  convalescence  :  it  was  not  till  the  following  January 
that  the  invalid  was  enabled  to  travel  by  easy  stages  to 
Bath,  then  the  place  of  fashionable  resort,  and  the  waters 


ANNE   OF   HANOVEE.  55 

esteemed  a  certain  cure  for  every  sort  of  disease.  After 
recruiting  his  health  at  that  place  for  a  month,  the 
Prince  of  Orange  was  enabled  in  February  to  appear  at 
Oxford,  where  he  dined,  and  received  the  compliments  of 
the  University.  At  the  end  of  the  month  after  that,  the 
Princess  Royal's  marriage  to  him  took  place  at  the  French' 
Chapel,  St.  James's,  the  Bishop  of  London  performing 
the  nuptial  ceremony.  This  event  took  place  on  the 
evening  of  the  24th  of  March,  1733. 

On  the  occasion  the  bridegroom  was  attired  in  a  "  rich 
suit  of  cloth  of  gold ;"  the  bride  in  "  virgin  robes  of  silver 
tissue,  having  a  train  six  yards  long,  which  was  supported 
by  ten  Dukes'  and  Earls'  daughters,  all  of  whom  were 
attired  in  robes  of  silver  tissue."  At  midnight  the  Royal 
family  supped  in  public,  and  the  bridal  pair  did  not  retire 
until  two  in  the  morning  to  the  State  apartment  prepared  ; 
when  the  usual  ceremonial  of  sitting  up  in  bed,  "  in  rich 
undresses,"  while  the  whole  company  denied  before  them, 
followed.  Such  was  the  custom  in  the  times  of  which  we 
write. 

Much  has  been  said  on  the  personal  appearance  of 
the  bridegroom ;  but,  generally  speaking,  it  is  the  bride 
of  whom  most  notice  is  taken  on  these  occasions.  Anne  of 
Hanover  is  said  to  have  possessed  a  clear  complexion,  and 
to  have  been  extremely  fair,  but  unfortunately  marked 
with  the  small-pox.  She  was  not  reckoned  to  possess 
elegance  of  figure,  and  was  rather  inclined  to  embonpoint. 

There  were  many  questions  about  precedency  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Princess  Royal's  marriage.  Lord  Hervey 
was  master  of  the  ceremonies.  It  had  been  arranged  that 
the  Irish  peers  should  walk  in  the  procession  after  the 
entire  peerage  of  Great  Britain,  at  which  they  conceived 
themselves  entitled  to  complain,  and  petitioned  to  follow 


56  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

those  of  their  own  degree  of  the  peers  of  England  and 
Scotland.  The  difference  between  the  respective  parties 
ran  so  high,  that  it  ended  in  Lord  Hervey  leaving  out 
altogether  the  names  of  the  Irish  peers  from  his  list,  and 
saying,  that  if  they  were  not  satisfied,  they  might  walk 
through  the  procession  in  any  order  they  pleased  on  the 
day  after  the  wedding ! 

The  Duchess  of  Marlborough  had  been  most  seriously 
annoyed  at  the  postponement  of  the  Princess  Royal's  mar- 
riage, as  the  preparations  necessary  to  be  made  on  the  oc- 
casion involved  a  temporary  blockading  of  her  mansion, 
Marlborough  House,  Pall-Mall,  by  a  boarded  gallery 
erected  close  to  her  windows,  and  of  course  excluding  the 
light.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating  the 
bridal  procession.  During  the  whole  term  for  which  the 
grand  event  was  postponed  the  boards  remained  up,  to  the 
Duchess's  great  vexation,  who  often  called  attention  to 
them  by  observing,  "  I  wish  the  Princess  would  oblige  me 
by  taking  away  her  Orange  chest  /" 

The  Chapel  Royal  when  completed  was  truly  splendid. 
The  gallery  was  contrived  very  commodiously  ;  on  each 
side  were  erected  three  rows  of  seats,  railed  in,  which, 
with  the  floor  and  sides,  were  covered  with  scarlet  baize. 
The  chapel  was  lighted  with  thirty-six  branches,  each 
holding  twelve  large  wax- candles,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  sconces,  each  holding  three  smaller  wax-candles. 
At  one  end  of  the  chapel  was  a  splendid  altar,  before  which 
the  nuptial  ceremony  was  performed ;  on  the  right  of 
which  was  a  throne,  with  two  chairs  of  State  for  their 
Majesties.  Adjacent  to  the  throne  was  a  canopy  of  State 
for  their  Royal  Highnesses  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  and  the  Princesses  Amelia  and  Caroline  ; 
and  facing  the  Royal  throne  were  erected  two  chairs  of 


A3  HE    OJf    HANOVEK.  57 

State,  on  which  their  Highnesses  the  newly-married 
couple  sat,  while  the  anthem,*  appropriately  selected, 
and  composed  by  the  celebrated  Handel,  was  performed. 
The  aisles  on  each  side  of  the  altar,  and  the  two  side  gal- 
leries, were  hung  with  crimson  velvet,  trimmed  with 
broad  gold  lace  and  fringe.  One  of  the  galleries  was  ap- 
propriated to  the  two  youngest  Princesses,  and  the 
nobility  who  did  not  walk  in  the  procession,  and  the  other 
to  the  foreign  Ambassadors.  The  area,  or  7iaut~pas}  near 
the  altar,  was  covered  with  fine  purple  cloth,  on  which 
their  Majesties  stood  during  the  ceremony.  In  the  front 
gallery  were  erected  twelve  rows  of  seats,  as  well  as  six  in 
the  front,  and  four  below,  which  were  covered  with  fine 
scarlet  harrateen,  and  were  allotted  to  the  nobility  who  as- 
sisted in  the  procession.  Over  the  altar  was  erected 
another  gallery,  in  which  was  stationed  his  Majesty's 
band  of  music. 

The  processions  to  and  from  the  chapel  were  of  a  most 
splendid  and  magnificent  description.  That  of  the  bride- 
groom led  the  way,  preceded  by  a  numerous  and  well- 
appointed  band,  with  the  sergeant-trumpeter  in  his  collar 
of  SS  and  mace,  which  filed  off  at  the  entrance  of  the 
chapel,  and  so  returned  with  each  separate  procession. 
The  bridegroom  followed  in  his  nuptial  apparel,  invested 
with  the  Collar  of  the  Garter,  and  conducted  by  his 
Grace  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  Lord  Chamberlain,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  Earls  of  Scarborough  and  "Wilmington, 
Knights  of  the  Garter,  and  both  bachelors,  wearing  their 
collars.  His  Highness  the  bridegroom  was  then  con- 
ducted to  his  seat  at  the  altar,  and  the  Lord  Chamberlain 

*  Four  months  before  the  celebration  of  this  marriage,  Handel  had 
the  honour  to  conduct  the  rehearsal  of  the  music  composed  for  the 
occasion  before  their  Majesties  and  the  Koyal  family  at  St.  James's. 


68  THE   KOYAL  PKIKCESSES. 

and  Vice-Chamberlain  returned  back  to  conduct  the 
bride. 

Next  followed  the  procession  of  the  bride,  in  a  similar 
manner,  preceded  by  her  Eoyal  Highness's  Gentleman 
Usher,  between  two  provincial  Kings-at-Arms.  Her 
Eoyal  Highness  was  attired  in  a'  splendid  nuptial  habit, 
with  a  coronet,  conducted  by  the  Lord  Chamberlain  and 
the  Vice-Chamberlain,  and  supported  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  wearing  collars 
of  the  Order  of  the  Garter;  her  train  supported  by 
ten  young  unmarried  ladies,  daughters  of  Dukes  and 
Earls,  appointed  for  this  purpose;  those  of  the  highest 
degrees  nearest  her  person,  all  dressed  in  white.  They 
were  Ladies  Fanny  Manners,  Caroline  Campbell,  Louisa 
Bertie,  Caroline  Pierpoint,  Betty  Seymour,  Ann  Cecil,  Di 
Gray,  Caroline  D'Arcy,  Fanny  Montague,  and  Anne 
Pierpoint.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  preceded  by  his  ser- 
vants, one  by  one,  in  a  line  before  him ;  the  Duke's  and 
the  bride's  in  the  same  manner.  Then  unmarried  ladies, 
daughters  of  peers,  two-and-two,  the  highest  degrees 
nearest  the  bride,  and  peeresses  in  the  same  manner.  The 
bride  was  then  conducted  to  her  seat  opposite  to  the 
bridegroom  ;  her  Eoyal  brothers  and  their  several  retinues 
to  the  stations  allotted  them ;  and  the  Lord  Chamberlain 
and  Vice-Chamberlain  returned  to  the  palace  as  before. 

The  procession  of  their  Majesties  then  proceeded  to  the 
chapel  in  the  following  manner : — Knight-Marshal ;  pur- 
suivants ;  heralds ;  Knights  of  the  Bath,  not  peers,  in  the 
collars  of  their  Order,  two-and-two,  according  to  their 
seniorities,  juniors  first ;  Privy  Councillors,  not  peers  ;  Sir 
Eobert  Walpole,  with  his  collar;  Sir  Conyers  D'Arcy,  K.B., 
with  his  collar,  as  Comptroller  of  the  Household ;  Barons, 
Bishops,  Viscounts,  Earls,  Marquises,  Dukes,  each  degree 


ANNE    OF    HANOVER.  59 

two-and-two,  according  to  their  precedences,  those  being 
Knights  of  the  Thistle,  Garter,  or  Bath,  wearing  their 
respective  collars ;  two  provincial  Kings-at-Arms ;  Lord 
Privy  Seal;  Lord  Chancellor ;  Garter  Principal  King-at-Arms 
between  two  Gentlemen  Ushers;  the  Earl  Marshal,  with  his 
gold  staff;  the  Duke  of  Montague,  K.G.,  with  the  sword 
of  State,  supported  by  the  Lord  Chamberlain  and  the  Vice- 
Chamberlain  ;  his  Majesty,  with  the  great  Collar  of  the 
Garter ;  Captain  of  the  Guards,  with  the  Captain  of  the 
Band  of  Pensioners  on  his  right,  and  the  Captain  of  the 
Yeomen  of  the  Guard  on  his  left;  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Lord 
of  the  Bedchamber  in  Waiting;  Sir  Kobert  Rich  and  Colonel 
Campbell,  the  Groom  of  the  Bedchamber  in  Waiting ;  her 
Majest}r,  preceded  by  Mr.  Coke,  her  Vice-Chamberlain, 
and  supported  by  the  Earl  of  Grantham,  her  Lord  Chamber- 
lain, and  the  Earl  of  Pomfret,  her  Master  of  the  Horse ; 
the  Princesses  Amelia,  Caroline,  Mary,  and  Louisa,  each 
supported  by  two  Gentlemen  Ushers ;  the  Ladies  of  her 
Majesty's  Bedchamber,  Maids  of  Honour,  and  Women  of  the 
Bedchamber,  each  degree  two-and-two,  according  to  their 
precedences  ;  closed  by  the  Gentlemen  Pensioners  in  two 
rows  on  each  side. 

During  the  procession  the  organ  played.  On  entering 
the  chapel  each  person  was  placed  according  to  rank. 
Divine  service  then  commenced,  and  after  the  Bishop  of 
London  had  given  the  blessing,  their  Majesties  and  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  removed  to  the  altar.  The  Prince 
of  Orange  then  taking  the  Princess  by  the  hand,  they 
knelt,  and  were  joined  in  holy  matrimony  according  to 
the  ceremony  of  the  Church  of  England ;  after  which  they 
arose,  and  resumed  their  seats  during  the  performance  of 
the  anthem. 

The  procession  then  returned,  and  as  soon  as  it  had 


60  TI1E    HOFAL   PKINCESSES. 

arrived  at  the  door  of  the  lesser  drawing-room,  the  com- 
pany stopped;  but  their  Majesties,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
the  Duke,  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  and  the  Princesses 
went  in,  when  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  Princess  Royal 
knelt,  and  asked  their  Majesties'  blessing. 

"  At  eleven,  the  Royal  family  supped  in  public  in  the 
great  State  ball-room.  Their  Majesties  were  placed  under 
a  canopy  at  the  head  of  the  table.  On  the  right  hand  sat 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  ; 
and  on  the  left,  the  Princess  Royal,  Princesses  Amelia, 
Caroline,  and  Mary.  The  Countess  of  Hertford  performed 
the  office  of  carver.  About  one  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
retired,  and  were  afterwards  seen  by  the  nobility  sitting 
up  in  their  bedchamber  in  rich  undresses. 

"  A  few  days  after  this  marriage  the  Royal  pair,  with  the 
Princesses,  went  to  view  the  paintings  by  Mr.  Yander 
Myn,  at  his  house  in  Cavendish-square.  His  Serene 
Highness  was  so  much  pleased  with  these  performances, 
that  he  ordered  a  whole  length  portrait  of  himself  to  be 
painted  in  the  robes  of  the  Garter.  The  painter  performed 
his  commission  in  one  of  the  Princesses'  apartments  in 
St.  James's  Palace  with  so  much  success,  that  the  Prince 
of  Wales  was  induced  to  sit  for  his  picture.  During  the 
necessary  interviews  the  Prince  became  so  attached  to  the 
painter,  that,  as  a  mark  of  his  condescension  and  esteem, 
he  requested  his  sister,  the  Princess  of  Orange,  who  had  a 
fine  taste  for  the  arts,  to  make  a  drawing  of  Mr.  Vander 
Myn's  portrait,  for  which  the  painter  had  the  honour  to 
sit.  Her  Royal  Highness  obligingly  performed  the  draw- 
ing with  a  delicate  arid  masterly  execution."* 

For  a  whole  week  after  the  marriage,  Frederick  Prince 
*  Pyne's  "  Eoyal  Kesidences." 


ANNE    OF   HANOVER.  61 

of  Wales,  who  was  not  particularly  pleased  at  the  Princess 
Royal  having  married  before  himself,  escorted  his  brother- 
in-law  to  all  the  sights  in  the  metropolis.  Afterwards  a 
bill  of  naturalization  was  passed,  being  brought  in  and  read 
three  times  in  the  same  day.  More  than  this,  as  though 
the  King's  heart  was  indeed  warming  in  earnest  to  his 
new  relative,  he  sent  a  written  message  to  the  Commons, 
announcing  his  intention  of  settling  5000Z.  a-year  on  the 
Princess  Royal,  which  grant  the  King  requested  they 
would  enable  him  to  make  for  the  life  of  the  Princess,  or 
it  would  terminate  on  his  own  death.  The  consent  was 
readily  given,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  circumstance. 

Meanwhile  the  bride  prepared  to  bid  adieu  to  her  former 
home  and  family.  Far  from  admitting  that  she  was  to  be 
pitied  for  the  choice  she  had  made,  as  some  had  intimated, 
on  account  of  the  Prince's  personal  appearance,  she  testi- 
fied the  utmost  affection  for  her  husband.  As  Lord  Her- 
vey  remarked,  "  She  made  prodigious  court  to  him,  ad- 
dressed everything  she  said  to  him,  and  applauded  every- 
thing he  said  to  everybody  else."  Her  sisters  widely 
differed  in  opinion  as  to  their  sister's  felicity  in  the  match. 
Amelia  declared  "  such  a  man  no  power  on  earth  should 
have  forced  her  to  wed."  Caroline  approved  of  the  choice 
of  Anne  as  a  wise  one ;  and  said,  had  she  been  similarly 
situated,  she  would  have  done  the  same. 

The  bridegroom  did  not,  on  his  part,  show  much  emo- 
tion towards  either  his  bride  or  her  family  in  his  conduct, 
which  appears  to  have  been  uniform  and  polite.  Frederick 
Prince  of  Wales  chose  to  be  displeased  with  Anne  for 
having  married  before  him  and  accepted  a  settlement  from 
her  father,  who  had  given  none  to  him. 


62         •  THE   IIOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

It  was  not  till  the  10th  of  April,  1734,  that  the  Prince 
and  Princess  set  forth  from  St.  James's,  on  their  route  for 
Holland. 

Miss  Dorothy  Dyves,  who  attended  her  Eoyal  Highness 
the  Princess  Anne  to  Holland  on  the  occasion  of  her 
nuptials,  addressed  the  following  letter  on  that  occasion 
to  Mrs.  Clayton,  her  aunt,  afterwards  Lady  Sundon. 


"  Miss  Dorothy  Dyves  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"Zeewarden,  May  11,  1734. 
"DEAB  MADAM, 

"As  I  am  so  far  from  my  best  friends,  I 
hope  it  will  he  an  excuse  for  the  following  long  letter ;  but 
I  really  believe  myself  so  much  in  your  favour,  that  you 
will  not  be  displeased. 

"  I  must  first  thank  you  for  your  very  kind  letter.  I 
had  no  small  pleasure  in  showing  it  to  my  mistress,  who 
said,  'Dyves,  I  am  glad  to  see  Mrs.  Clayton  loves  you  so 
well.'  She  also  said  you  had  given  me  an  account  of  the 
election,  sensible,  and  like  yourself,  and  commanded  me  to 
make  her  compliments  to  you  whenever  I  wrote.  I  hope 
you  will  give  me  the  satisfaction  of  often  hearing  from 
you,  which  will  be  double  pleasure  to  me ;  for  1  shall 
always  lay  up  your  letters  as  good  advice,  like  old  gold. 

"  We  crossed  the  Zuyder  Sea  from  Amsterdam  in  twenty- 
two  hours — (many  of  them  were  very  sea-sick,  but  I  was 
not  at  all  so ;  the  Princess  saw  she  had  been  told  the 
truth  ;  she  lay  in  bed  all  the  time,  and  by  that  means  was 
pretty  well) — and  came  to  Harlingen,  where  we  lay,  and 
continued  in  the  yachts  from  Saturday  noon  to  Tuesday 
morning,  things  not  being  ready  for  a  public  entry.  It 
was  indeed  very  handsome ;  the  coaches  quite  new,  and 


ANNE   OF   HANOVEK.  63 

the  horses  the  finest  I  ever  saw.  As  I  made  a  part  of  the 
procession,  I  can  give  you  but  a  little  account  of  it ;  but 
what  I  do  know  I  will  trouble  you  with.  There  was  a 
leading  coach  with  some  of  the  States ;  then  followed  her 
Royal  Highness  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  a  fine  open 
coach  and  eight  horses ;  the  Prince  of  Orange's  chariot, 
empty,  followed  them.*  ....  After  us  came  the  Princess  of 
Frieze's  Maid  of  Honour,  in  one  of  her  coaches.  We 
were  ordered  by  our  Princess  to  take  care  of  her  every- 
where. The  Maid  of  Honour  is  her  dresser  and  every- 
thing else,  for  she  has  no  other  woman-servant.  After 
this  we  were  followed  by  near  a  hundred  gentlemen's 
coaches.  From  the  gate  into  Friezland,  quite  up  to  the 
drawing-room,  were  guards  to  make  a  lane  for  us,  as  close 
as  they  could  stand  on  both  sides.  Their  greatest  com- 
pliment was  firing  past  under  our  noses ;  it  was  so  close 
that  they  broke  several  of  our  windows.  The  evening 
concluded  with  the  finest  fireworks  I  ever  saw,  but  they 
were  so  long  that  it  was  past  two  before  the  Princess  went 
to  bed,  and  near  four  before  I  did.  The  Princess  of 
Frieze  dined  with  her  Royal  Highness  the  day  she  came, 
and  stayed  till  late  at  night.  Last  night  we  had  a  Draw- 
ing-room, and  really  very  well-looking  people,  and  as  fine 
in  clothes  and  lace  as  could  be  without  gold  or  silver.  I 
believe  there  might  be  about  forty  ladies,  but  more  gen- 
tlemen. The  Princess  Royal's  behaviour  quite  pleased 
them.  There  was  no  kissing  of  hands.  She  stood  with 
them  about  half  an  hour  and  then  retired,  as  in  England. 
"Wednesday  is  fixed  for  Drawing-room  days.  We  have  all 
orders  to  be  dressed.  We  have  a  coach  and  footman  to 
attend  us  when  we  go  out.  We  have  just  now  all  ten 
been  to  wait  on  the  Princess  of  Frieze  in  coaches,  though 
*  The  next  passage  is  injured  in  the  original. 


64  THE   EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

it  is  not  above  half  a  street's  length.  She  was  very  civil. 
We  all  sat  down  and  stayed  about  half  an  hour  with  her ; 

then  took  leave,  as  in  a  visit Lady  Herbert  is  very 

civil  to  me,  but  Lady  Southwell  is  quite  good  ;  being  in 

the  yacht  together  caused  a  good  deal  of  intimacy 

They  both  endeavour  to  put  us  upon  the  best  footing  that 
can  be;  they  were  resolved  not  to  sit  down  with  the 
Princess,  unless  she  asked  us.  I  told  them  I  thought  it 
impossible  she  could  ask  any  without  asking  all ;  and  so 
we  found  it.  Mr.  Talbot  went  with  us,  in  which  he 
judged  ill,  for  she  asks  no  men  to  sit,  but  was  obliged  to 
sit  down  herself  as  she  had  women  there.  The  other  gen- 
tlemen belonging  to  the  Princess  went  this  morning ;  she 
stood  with  them,  but  did  not  leave  them,  as  our  Royal 
family  does ;  so  when  they  thought  it  a  proper  time  they 
took  leave.  Mrs.  Charles  behaves  very  civilly  to  me,  in- 
deed rather  friendly  than  otherwise,  and  has  not  let  any- 
thing slip  that  she  could  tell  the  Princess  to  my  advan- 
tage. Mrs.  Swinton  is  quite  angry  that  I  was  all  the 
voyage  with  the  Princess,  and  scolded  me  one  whole  day, 
which  vexed  me  a  good  deal.  Mrs.  Charles  told  the  Prin- 
cess of  it,  and  how  well  I  had  behaved  upon  it.  The 
Princess  spoke  of  it  to  me  and  bid  me  not  mind  it,  for 
she  would  raccommode  her,  as  she  called  it ;  and  so  she 
has,  I  believe,  for  she  has  behaved  very  well  lately.  The 
Maids  of  Honour  are  very  well,  except  poor  Miss  Howe. 
....  I  have  made  bold  to  tell  all  the  young  folks  that 
I  am  very  glad  to  see  them  in  an  afternoon,  but  must  have 
my  morning  to  myself;  the  two  ladies  and  Mrs.  Charles 
do  the  same.  The  first  day  the  Prince  of  Orange's  ser- 
vants and  the  pages  were  coming  to  my  room  all  day  long ; 
but  I  assured  them  it  was  the  last  time  they  should  do  so, 
and  have  been  very  quiet  since.  We  have  people  found 


ANNE    OF    HANOVEB.  65 

us  that  clean  our  rooms  and  wash  for  us,  so  there  is  no 
expense  of  that  kind ;  sheets  and  towels  are  also  found, 
silver  candlesticks,  and  china  (tea-things,  I  mean),  and 
sugar. 

"  The  Ladies  of  the  Bedchamber  and  Maids  of  Honour 
dine  together,  and  some  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  ser- 
vants. We  have  a  table  that  holds  eight  to  ourselves,  and 
the  Princess's  dinner;  so  each  of  us  has  the  liberty  to 
invite  one.  I  have  talked  a  good  deal  of  keeping  good 
company,  and  I  do  believe  we  shall.  I  invited  Miss  Her- 
bert to-day.  We  have  hitherto  had  none  but  people  that 
were  fit  to  dine  with  us.  Lady  Southwell  I  have  invited 
to-morrow ;  I  told  Lady  Herbert  I  knew  she  could  not, 
as  she  was  in  waiting.  They  are  all  glad  to  be  with  us, 
for  we  have  by  much  the  best  table ;  no  allowance  of  wine, 
but  may  call  for  what  quantity  and  what  sort  we  please. 
We  have  two  men  to  wait. 

"  I  think  our  lodgings  very  good ;  but  the  Prince  of 
Orange  told  us  he  was  sorry  he  could  not  accommodate  us 
better,  but  it  was  only  for  a  little  while,  and  we  should 
find  more  room  in  other  places  ....  I  am  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Chevenix.  He  is  quite  obliging  and  civil  to  me  ;  he 
is  with  me  every  morning  for  an  hour  to  teach  me  French, 
which  is  really  doing  me  a  very  great  kindness,  and  giving 
himself  a  good  deal  of  trouble  ....  You  were  so  good 
to  leave  nothing  undone  that  could  be  useful  to  me  or 
please  me ;  I  hope  and  think  you  will  never  find  me  un- 
grateful. 

"  The  Princess  depends  upon  returning  to  England  again 
in  a  very  little  time.  She  told  me  to-day  that  there 
would  not  be  room  for  either  me  or  Miss  Pott  at  Court, 
but  that  she  would  send  her  to  her  mother,  if  she  liked  it, 
and  me  wherever  I  pleased,  unless  I  would  be  with 


66  THE    EOTAL   PHIS-CESSES. 

my  sister.  I  told  her,  if  you  were  in  Bedfordshire,  I  be- 
lieved you  would  give  me  leave  to  spend  some  of  my  time 
with  you.  She  said,  '  Mrs.  Clayton  would  be  glad  of  you, 
Dyves,  and  I  will  send  you.'  I  hope  it  will  not  be  incon- 
venient for  me  to  be  a  little  time  with  you,  for  I  am  sure 
it  will  give  me  vast  pleasure.  I  shall  also  spend  some  time 
with  my  dear  Fanny,  if  she  has  room,  and  some  with  my 
good  friend,  Mrs.  Yanbrugh.  I  cannot,  for  my  life,  make 
myself  believe  it  will  be  so  soon  as  this  summer  ;  every- 
body else  does  believe  it,  so  I  keep  my  thoughts  to  myself. 
I  do  not  think  anybody  but  the  Princess  seems  much 
pleased ;  it  is  two  very  fatiguing  journeys  in  a  very  short 
time,  to  be  sure ;  but  yet  I  must  own  I  should  be  very 
glad  to  have  an  opportunity  to  spend  a  little  time  with 
you,  Madam  (my  best),  and  the  rest  of  my  friends.  I 
hear,  nobody  that  chooses  to  stay  here,  need  go  ;  but  every 
one  will  be  ashamed  to  do  that,  for  it  looks  as  if  they  had 

no  place  to  go  to I  shall  write  a  word  or  two  to 

my  sister,  but  cannot  possibly  write  all  this  over  again, 
and  therefore  beg  the  favour  of  you,  Madam,  to  show 
it  her.  The  Princess  Royal  and  Prince  dine  at  one 
o'clock,  and  sup  at  nine  ;  but  for  all  that,  it  is  near  twelve 
before  I  can  get  to  bed,  for  we  do  not  sup  till  they  are  in 
bed.  Hearing  from  you,  Madam,  will  give  great  plea- 
sure to 

"  Your  most  dutiful,  humble  Servant, 

"  DOKOTHY  DYVES." 

"  I  hope  you  will  forgive  my  giving  you  the  trouble 
of  these  letters.  The  Princess  ordered  me  to  lay  all 
my  letters  upon  her  dressing-table  ;  but  I  did  not  think  it 
right  to  trouble  her  with  more  than  one  packet,  and 


OP   HAFOVEB.  67 

I  thought  directing  it  to  you  was  the  surest  way  not  to 
have  it  miscarry.  I  beg  the  favour  of  you  to  send 
Mr.  Vanbrugh's  to  the  penny  post-house." 

The  Mr.  Chevenix  referred  to  by  the  Maid  of  Honour 
was  chaplain  to  the  Princess  Royal,  and  afterwards 
married  Miss  Dyves,  the  writer.  A  very  pleasing  letter 
from  him  to  Lady  Sundon,  in  behalf  of  his  suit,  appears 
in  Mrs.  Thomson's  Memoirs,  by  which  it  appears  he  was, 
in  point  of  fortune,  not  esteemed  an  equal  match  to 
the  lady  of  his  choice.  In  the  letter  is  this  passage : — 

"  As  to  my  fortune,  I  pretend  to  none.  My  salary,  as 
chaplain  to  her  Royal  Highness,  and  a  living  that  brings 
me  in  100Z.  a-year  clear,  is  all  I  have ;  but  the  honour  of 
serving  the  Princess  Royal  will,  I  hope,  be  thought  a  rea- 
sonable earnest  of  some  future  preferment ;  and  could 
I  ever  be  happy  enough  to  obtain  your  protection,  I 
might  natter  myself  that  I  should  one  day  owe  to  your 
goodness  what  I  can  never  expect  from  my  own  merit 
— such  .a  competency  of  fortune  as  may  make  Miss 
Dyves'  choice  a  little  less  unequal." 

It  would  appear  from  the  following  letter,  that,  however 
agreeable  her  position  might  be,  there  was  some  cause 
of  dissatisfaction  for  Miss  Dyves  in  the  conduct  of  her 
Royal  mistress. 


"  Miss  Dorothy  Dyves  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"May  29,  N.S.,  1734. 
"DEAB  MADAM, 

"  I  expect  with  impatience  the  pleasure  of  a 
letter  from  you,  as  you  was  so  good  to  promise  me.  I 
have  had  one  from  Fanny,  which  is  all  I  have  had  from 


G8  THE   EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

any  of  my  friends  since  I  came  here.  The  Princess 
Eoyal  promised  me  she  would  write  to  Princess  Caroline 
to  chide  Fanny,  which  I  think  she  deserves;  though, 
perhaps,  as  hearing  from  our  friends  is  our  chief  satisfaction, 
we  may  expect  so  much.  This,  I  doubt,  will  be  an  expense 
to  you,  for  we  can  no  longer  send  them  post  free,  and 
what  comes  to  us  we  pay  for,  unless  they  are  actually 
under  the  Princess's  own  cover.  Her  Eoyaf  Highness 
continues  her  great  goodness  to  me,  and  as  I  read  to  her, 
am  with  her  very  much.  I  read  five  hours  yesterday;  she 
commends  me  very  much  to  Lady  Southwell,  who  is  very 
civil  to  me.  Lady  Herbert  behaves  well  enough,  but 
nothing  extraordinary.  One  thing  I  think  is  a  little  odd, 
which  is,  that  I  am  the  only  one  she  has  not  asked  to  dine 
at  her  table ;  she  spoke  very  handsomely  of  you,  and  de- 
sired her  service,  whenever  I  wrote.  She  either  takes 
something  ill  from  me,  or  does  not  like  me :  I  am  quite 
sure  I  have  done  nothing  to  deserve  it;  I  came  over 
much  more  biassed  to  her  than  Lady  Southwell.  By  my 
being  so  much  with  the  Princess,  I  have  been  employed  to 
speak  to  her  almost  about  everybody's  business,  which 
makes  me  well  esteemed  amongst  them ;  so  I  flatter  myself 
you  will  hear  no  ill  character  of  me,  and  that  I  shall  in 
some  degree  come  up  to  what  you,  Madam,  were  so  good 
to  say  for  me.  You  may  believe,  Madam,  I  never  miss  an 
opportunity  of  naming  you  to  her  in  the  manner  you 
deserve,  not  only  from  me,  but  every  one  whom  you  honour 
with  your  friendship.  I  plainly  see  my  Koyal  mistress 
has  a  prodigious  good  opinion  of  you,  which  gives  me 
great  pleasure.  The  greatest  compliment  we  can  make 
the  Princess  is,  to  show  her  our  English  letters ;  so  if 
you  have  anything  to  write  you  do  not  care  she  should 
see,  please  to  send  a  double  letter ;  for  though  I  would  not 


ANNE    OF    IIANOVEE.  69 

choose  she  should  see  all,  I  would  show  her  the  first. 
She  told  me  to-day  we  should  go  to  the  Hague  for  ten  or 
twelve  days  in  three  weeks'  time,  and  from  thence  to 
England,  which  indeed  gives  us  all  great  pleasure.  By 
taking  proper  opportunities,  I  can  already  speak  to  the 
Princess  Royal  as  well  as  I  could  to  yourself,  especially  as 
I  have  her  so  much  alone.  There  is  a  great  pleasure  in 
thinking  that,  some  time  or  other,  one  may  have  it  in 
one's  power  to  assist  one's  friends.  I  am  quite  happy  that 
she  is  pleased  with  my  reading ;  I  do  not  find  it  is  at  all 
troublesome  to  me,  but  it  makes  me  have  little  time  for 
anything  else.  I  hope  Mr.  Clayton  is  well,  and  beg  my 
best  respects  to  him,  and  service  to  Miss  Charlotte  Dy  ves, 
and  I  am,  clear  Madam, 

"  With  the  greatest  respect, 
"  Your  dutiful  and  obliged  humble  Servant, 

"D.  DTVES." 

Anne  returned  to  England  three  months  after  her  mar- 
riage, much  to  the  annoyance  of  her  father,  and  not  much 
to  the  satisfaction  of  her  mother. 

Lady  Hervey  (the  beautiful  Mary  Lepel),  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Mrs.  Clayton,  from  St.  James's,  June  2nd, 
1734,  announces  the  circumstance  in  these  words: — "The 
newspapers  will  inform  you  with  what  cruelty  the  war  in 
Italy  is  pursued ;  there  has  been  rather  a  massacre  than 
a  battle,  the  consequence  of  which  is,  that  there  is  not 
a  family  of  any  quality  at  Paris  and  Vienna  that  is  not 
in  mourning.  How  happy  are  we  who  have  nothing  to 
do  in  it !  and  who,  whilst  they  are  grieving  for  those  who 
are  gone  for  ever,  are  now  rejoicing  for  the  return  of  the 
Princess  Royal,  who  arrived  at  Kensington  at  two  o'clock 
this  morning." 


70  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

Anne  having  stayed  as  long  as  she  possibly  could  in 
England,  set  off  for  Holland,  whither  she  went  for  her 
confinement:  the  Princess  had  internally  resolved  that 
this  event  should  take  place  in  England,  to  which  her 
brother,  Frederick  Prince  of  Wales,  would  have  had  a 
very  great  objection,  as  on  one  occasion  the  Princess 
Amelia  had  remarked  to  Mrs.  Clayton.  The  Princess  of 
Orange's  object,  prompted  by  her  innate  ambition,  was, 
that  her  infant  should  be  English  lorn ;  for,  as  her  bro- 
thers were  unmarried,  she  thought  she  might  yet  stand  in 
the  line  of  inheritance  to  the  throne.  The  Queen,  her 
mother,  however,  thought  it  more  proper  that  the  wishes 
of  her  husband  should  be  regarded,  and  insisted  on  Anne's 
returning  to  him.  After  innumerable  delays,  she  de- 
parted from  St.  James's  for  Holland,  where  the  Prince 
awaited  her,  her  mind  occupied  up  to  the  last  moment  of 
her  stay  with  the  triumph  of  Handel,  and  success  of  the 
Opera.  Both  were  committed  by  her  to  Lord  Hervey's 
patronage,  when  she  bade  farewell  to  the  metropolis,  and 
in  tears  set  forth  for  Colchester.  On  her  arrival  there, 
some  letters  from  her  husband  informed  her  that  he  would 
not  be  at  the  Hague  so  soon  as  he  expected.  Anne 
availed  herself  of  the  circumstance  to  return  suddenly  to 
Kensington.  "  On  the  following  day,  the  22nd  of  October, 
the  Princess  Anne  suddenly  appeared  before  her  parents. 
They  thought  her  at  Harwich,  or  on  the  seas,  the  wind 
being  fair.  Tears  and  kisses  were  her  welcome  from  her 
mother,  and  smiles  and  an  embrace  formed  the  greeting 
from  her  father." 

During  her  stay  in  England,  Anne  became  acquainted 
with  the  particulars  of  Lady  Suffolk's  withdrawal  from 
the  Court,  and  heartily  rejoiced  at  the  tidings.  The  King 
counted,  it  is  said,  on  his  daughter  Anne's  affection  being 


ANNE   OF   HANOYEK.  71 

stronger  than  that  of  her  sisters ;  but  his  daughter's  man- 
ner of  speaking  of  him,  if  true,  was  anything  but  evidence 
of  this,  being  to  the  last  degree  disrespectful,  as  though 
she  even  despised  him  and  thought  him  tiresome,  requiring 
always  novelty  in  conversation  from  others,  but  never 
having  anything  new  of  his  own.  She  filially  remarked, 
"  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  he  would  take  somebody  else, 
that  mamma  might  be  a  little  relieved  from  the  occasion 
of  seeing  him  for  ever  in  her  room!"  What  a  remark, 
and  from  a  Princess  of  England  !  We  would  gladly  have 
been  spared  recording  such  a  sentiment  from  a  child  to  a 
parent. 

Anne,  in  November,  made  another  effort  to  return  to 
Holland,  but  was  so  much  annoyed  by  the  customary 
inconveniences  that  she  requested  of  the  captain  to  land 
her  again,  declaring  that  ten  clays  would  hardly  suffice  to 
enable  her  to  be  well  enough  once  again  to  go  on  board. 
It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  anything  like  a  description  of  the 
confusion  created  by  this  circumstance.  Both  the  King 
and  Queen  absolutely  insisted  that  she  should  depart  for 
Holland  by  way  of  Calais,  as  the  kind  consideration  of 
her  thoughtful  husband  had  suggested ;  but  she  could  not 
accomplish  this  without  passing  through  London,  greatly 
as  the  King  was  annoyed  by  it,  who  persisted  in  saying 
that  she  should  not  stop,  but  should  proceed  at  once  over 
London-bridge  to  Dover,  and  that  she  should  never  again 
come  to  England  in  the  same  condition  of  health.  Well 
might  King  George  complain  of  his  thoughtless  child,  for 
her  visit  had  cost  him  no  less  a  sum  than  20,OOOZ.  His 
determined  manner  of  treating  her  had  the  desired  effect. 
Anne  finally  returned  to  Holland,  be  her  reluctance  what 
it  might,  and  there  in  due  time  became  a  mother. 

The  following  letter,  written  on  the  occasion  of  the 


72  THE   ROYAL  PRINCESSES. 

Princess  of  Orange's  return,  by  Miss  Dorothy  Dyves  to 
Mrs.  Clayton,  is  too  entertaining  to  be  overlooked  here : — 

"  Hague,  Dec.  6,  N.S.,  1734. 
"DEAR  MADAM, 

"  I  had  done  myself  the  honour  of  writing 
to  you  from  Harwich,  if  that  place  had  afforded  anything 
that  had  been  any  way  agreeable  to  you.  We  had  a  very 
good  passage  from  thence ;  we  set  sail  on  Tuesday  evening, 
and  arrived  at  Nelvort  by  ten  on  Thursday  morning. 
Friday  indeed  was  a  day  of  very  great  hardships;  we 
were  to  walk  from  thence  to  the  Brill,  which  is  seven 
miles.  As  I  never  was  a  tolerable  walker,  I  was  reduced 
to  take  to  an  open  waggon,  which  was  a  most  dangerous 
passage,  by  reason  of  the  badness  of  the  roads.  I  was 
the  only  one  would  venture;  none  of  the  gentlemen 
had  courage  enough  to  accompany  me  (self-preservation 
will  always  get  the  better  of  complaisance).  I  went  quite 
by  myself,  for  I  did  not  think  it  reasonable  to  make  my 
maid  run  the  hazard  of  her  neck,  because  I  had  no  legs. 
The  roads  were  the  worst  I  ever  saw,  but  not  so  bad  as 
they  were  represented ;  the  worst  thing  to  me  was  the 
cold — that  was  so  extreme  that  I  had  a  smarting  all  over 
me,  as  if  I  had  been  cut  with  knives.  I  got  to  my  jour- 
ney's end  almost  an  hour  before  everybody  else,  and  went 
into  a  public-house,  where  I  got  a  good  fire  and  a  large 
quantity  of  brandy,  which  soon  recovered  me ;  but  indeed, 
when  I  first  went  in,  I  did  not  think  I  could  survive  it ;  I 
imagined  I  had  lost  all  my  teeth,  for  they  then  felt  to  me 
all  loose.  You,  Madam,  will  think  this  a  strange  descrip- 
tion ;  but  I  do  assure  you  I  would  much  rather  go  out  of 
the  world  at  once  than  go  through  it  again.  I  am  rejoiced 
to  think  the  Princess  is  of  so  warm  a  constitution,  for 


ANNE   OF   HANOVER.  73 

though  everything  will  be  made  as  convenient  to  her  as 
possible,  she  has  a  terrible  journey  to  go  through ;  it 
troubles  me  a  good  deal  that  I  was  not  with  her,  because 
I  am  fearful  I  am  not  so  useful  to  her  as  I  thought  myself. 
We  arrived  at  the  Hague  about  eight  on  Friday  night ; 
the  Prince  came  to  us  in  half  an  hour,  and  told  us  he  was 
much  surprised  the  Princess  did  not  lie-in  in  England, 
after  what  Dr.  Douglas  and  Dr.  Tissue  had  wrote  him. 
He  seemed  very  uneasy  for  her,  and  set  out  from  home  to 
meet  her  the  next  morning ;  he  was  extremely  gracious 
and  good  to  us  all.  We  meet  with  great  civilities  from 
the  ladies,  though  they  did  not  come  to  the  Princess 
when  she  was  here  last ;  most  of  them  have  been  with  us, 
which  makes  me  hope  they  will  alter  their  behaviour  to 
our  Royal  mistress.  Lady  Albemarle  does  not  go  out, 
but  we  have  been  twice  at  her  assembly  by  invitation,  and 
are  every  day  invited  somewhere.  I  fear  we  shall  have 
too  much  of  it.  We  were  yesterday  invited  to  a  concert 
by  a  Jew,  but  as  I  did  not  think  it  would  be  of  any  use  to 
the  Princess  to  show  him  any  particular  civility,  I  chose 
to  stay  at  home.  (I  believe  nobody  enjoys  being  alone  so 
much  as  those  whose  fortune  casts  them  into  a  Court.)  I 
hear  we  are  to  have  half  a  year's  salary  in  a  very  little 
time,  which  will  be  very  acceptable  to  everybody."  .... 

Caroline  of  Anspach  only  survived  her  daughter's 
marriage  till  the  year  1737,  a  period  of  scarcely  three 
years.  She  did  not  evince  any  more  inclination  to  see  the 
Princess  of  Orange,  when  upon  her  death-bed,  than  Frede- 
rick Prince  of  Wales,  with  whom  she  had  been  on  such 
bad  terms.  The  Prince  of  Orange  was  informed  that  his 
wife's  presence  was  not  requisite,  and  that,  in  the  event  of 
her  desiring  to  come  to  England  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 


74  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

the  Queen,  he  was  to  interpose  his  authority  to  prevent 
her  doing  so.  How  singular  does  this  seem,  that  a  mother 
should  purposely  express  the  desire  for  her  child's  absence, 
when  about  to  be  for  ever  separated  in  this  world !  There 
is  much  in  the  character  of  Caroline  of  Anspach  which, 
great  and  shining  as  were  the  talents  she  possessed,  can 
scarcely  be  reconciled  with  those  womanly  qualities, 
which,  always  beautiful,  are  most  to  be  admired  when 
viewed  in  so  exalted  a  position  that  all  who  look  upward 
may  admire  their  lustre. 

On  the  Queen's  death  Anne  was  pre-eminently  before 
the  rest  of  her  family  in  offering  consolation  to  the 
widowed  King,  her  father.  She  hastened  over  from  Hol- 
land, in  the  hope  of  seizing  the  influence  that  had  passed 
from  her  mother.  Her  pretence  for  the  visit  was  preca- 
rious health.  The  King,  however,  saw  through  the 
motive,  which,  indeed,  by  her  own  imprudence  had  tran- 
spired, and  peremptorily  rejected  the  condolence  proffered 
by  this  presuming  and  ambitious  daughter.  So  decided 
was  he  in  doing  so,  that  Anne  returned  immediately 
to  Holland.  The  King,  it  is  said,  would  not  allow  her  to 
pass  "  a  second  night  in  the  metropolis,"  but  sent  her  on 
to  Bath,  whither  her  physicians  had  ordered  her  last  on 
her  return  back  to  Holland.  He  had  not  forgotten  her 
quarrels  with  Miss  Brett,  and  was  not  desirous  of  any 
more  family  squabbles.  Nor  did  the  King  ever  forgive  her 
for  the  insult  offered  to  his  vanity ;  indeed,  it  is  said,  that 
Anne's  conduct  during  the  latter  part  of  her  life  mani- 
fested no  proof  of  her  capability  for  reigning — evincing 
neither  good  sense  nor  political  wisdom. 

"  The  Princess  Royal  was  accomplished  in  languages, 
painting,  and  particularly  music.  The  Queen,  and  the 
King  too,  before  their  rupture,  had  great  opinion  of  her 


A3T2fE    OF   HANOVEE.  75 

understanding  ;  but  the  pride  of  her  race,  and  the  violence 
of  her  passions,  had  left  but  a  scanty  sphere  for  her 
judgment  to  exercise  itself."  *  The  following  incident  is 
characteristic  of  her  peculiar  style  of  repartee.  On  one 
occasion,  when  her  husband  had  gone  to  the  camp  of 
Prince  Eugene,  she  returned  to  England,  behaving  with  as 
much  boldness  and  freedom  as  usual.  The  news  reaching 
the  court  that  Philipsburg  had  surrendered,  the  Princess 
made  the  following  remarks  to  Lord  Hervey  thereon,  as 
he  was  conducting  her  to  her  own  apartment  after  the 
Drawing-room. 

"Was  there  ever  anything  so  unaccountable,"  she  said, 
shrugging  up  her  shoulders,  "  as  the  temper  of  papa  ?  He 
has  been  snapping  and  snubbing  every  mortal  for  this 
week,  because  he  began  to  think  Philipsburg  would 
be  taken ;  and  this  very  day  that  he  actually  hears 
it  is  taken,  he  is  in  as  good  humour  as  I  ever  saw  him  in 
my  life.  To  tell  you  the  truth,"  she  added  in  French, 
"  I  find  that  he  is  so  whimsical,  and  (between  ourselves)  so 
utterly  foolish,  that  I  am  more  enraged  by  his  good,  than 
I  was  before  by  his  bad  humour."  "  Perhaps,"  answered 
Lord  Hervey,  "  he  may  be  about  Philipsburg  as  David  was 
about  the  child,  who,  whilst  it  was  sick,  fasted,  lay  upon 
the  earth,  and  covered  himself  with  ashes  ;  but  the  moment 
it  was  dead,  got  up,  shaved  his  beard,  and  drank  wine." 
"  It  may  be  like  David,"  said  the  Princess  Royal,  "but  I 
am  sure  it  is  not  like  Solomon !" 

The  same  year  that  Anne,  Princess  of  Orange,  lost  her 
brother  Frederick,  she  became  herself  a  widow.  The 
Prince  of  Orange  died  October  llth,  1751.  "  He  had  not 
improved  in  beauty  since  his  marriage,  but  increasingly 
ugly  as  he  became,  his  wife  seemed  also  increasingly 
*  Walpole. 


76  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

jealous  of  him.  Importunate,  however,  as  the  jealousy 
was,  it  had  the  merit  of  being  founded  on  honest  and 
healthy  affection."  Walpole  says,  "  The  Prince  is  dead, 
killed  by  the  waters  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  The  Princess 
Royal  was  established  Kegent  some  time  ago,  but  as  her 
husband's  authority  seemed  extremely  tottering,  it  is  not 
likely  that  she  will  be  able  to  maintain  hers.  Her  health 
is  extremely  bad,  and  her  temper  is  neither  ingratiating 
nor  bending.  It  is  become  the  peculiarity  of  the  House 
of  Orange  to  have  minorities." 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  Prince's  death  was  an  im- 
posthume  in  the  head.  Although  his  health  had  been 
indifferent,  his  death  was  rather  sudden  and  unexpected. 
Lord  Holdernesse  was  sent  over  from  England  by  the  King 
— Walpole  says,  "  to  learn  rather  than  to  teach" — but  cer- 
tainly with  letters  of  condolence  to  Caroline's  widowed 
daughter.  She  is  said  to  have  received  the  paternal  sym- 
pathy and  advice  in  the  most  haughty  and  insulting 
manner.*  She  was  proud,  perhaps,  of  being  made  the 
Gouvcrnante  of  her  son,  and  she  probably  remembered  his 
peremptory  rejection  of  her  own  condolence. 

"  The  Prince  had  long  been  kept  out  of  all  share  in  the 
government,  like  his  predecessor,  King  William ;  like  him, 
lifted  to  it  in  a  tumultuous  manner,  on  his  country  being 
overrun  by  the  French,  and  the  Stadtholdership  made  here- 
ditary in  his  family,  before  they  had  time  to  experience 
how  little  he  was  qualified  to  re-establish  their  affairs. 
Not  that  he  wanted  genius,  but  he  was  vain  and  positive, 

*  George  II.  was  not  himself  the  tenderest  father  to  his  children ; 
Anne  was  lying  dangerously  ill  at  the  Hague  on  the  llth  of  December, 
1735,  on  which  day  the  King  was  returning  from  Hanover  to  Eng- 
land, yet  it  is  said,  so  great  was  his  haste  to  accomplish  the  voyage, 
that  he  scarcely  inquired  after  the  health  of  his  daughter. 


ANNE    OF    HANOVER.  77 

a  trifling  lover  of  show,  and  not  master  of  the  great  lights 
in  which  he  stood.  The  Princess  Royal  was  more  positive, 
and,  though  passionately  imperious,  had  dashed  all  oppor- 
tunities that  presented  for  the  Prince's  distinguishing 
himself,  from  immoderate  jealousy  and  fondness  for  his 
person."* 

On  the  death  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  the  Princess  im- 
mediately took  the  oaths  as  Gouvernante  to  her  son,  and 
all  orders  of  men  submitted  to  her  as  quietly  as  in  a 
monarchy  of  the  most  established  duration;  though  the 
opposite  faction  was  numerous,  and  she  herself  lethargic, 
and  in  a  very  precarious  state  of  health.  Lord  Holdernesse 
was  sent  to  condole  and  advise  her.  She,  who  had  long 
been  on  ill  terms  with,  and  now  dreaded  the  appearance  of 
being  governed  by,  her  father,  received  the  ambassador, 
and  three  letters  written  with  the  King's  own  hand,  in  the 
haughtiest  and  most  slighting  manner.  Lord  Holdernesse 
was  recalled  in  anger.  The  Princess,  equally  unfit  to 
govern  or  to  be  governed,  threw  herself  into  the  arms  of 
France,  by  the  management  of  one  Dubacq,  a  little  secre- 
tary, who  had  long  been  instilling  advice  into  her  to  draw 
her  husband  from  the  influence  of  Monsieur  Bentinck  and 
Greffier,  the  known  partisans  of  England ;  the  former 
of  whom,  immediately  after  the  death  of  the  Prince, 
refused  to  admit  Dubacq  to  a  Council,  to  which  she  had 
called  him,  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Republic,  at  the  House 
in  the  Wood.f 

A  writer  on  Holland  (Sir  John  Carr)  describes  the 
wood  in  which  the  Royal  Palace  is  situated  as  two  English 
miles  long,  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  broad,  containing  a 
fine  display  of  magnificent  oaks,  growing  in  native  luxu- 

*  Walpole's  "  Memoirs  of  Court  of  George  II.,"  vol.  i.  p.  206. 
f   Walpole. 
G 


78  THE    EOTAL   PBIKCESSES. 

riance.  "  This  wood  has  been  held  sacred  with  more  than 
pagan  piety.  The  Royal  residence  is  to  the  right,  at  the 
end  of  the  wood.  Upon  my  asking  a  Dutchman  which 
path  led  to  the  '  House  in  the  Wood,'  the  only  appella- 
tion by  which,  in  the  time  of  the  Stadtholder,  it  was 
known,  he  sharply  replied,  '  I  presume  you  mean  the 
palace  in  the  wood.'  This  building  is  merely  fit  for  the 
residence  of  a  country  gentleman,  and  has  nothing  princely 
about  it,  except  the  sentry-boxes  at  the  foot  of  the  flight 
of  stairs  ascending  to  the  grand  entrance.  Two  tall  and 
not  very  perpendicular  poles,  from  the  tops  of  which  is 
stretched  a  cord,  suspending  in  the  centre  a  large  lamp, 
stand  on  each  side  of  the  house  in  front  of  the  palace ; 
on  the  left  are  the  coach-houses  and  stablings,  which  are 
perfectly  plain,  and  are  just  separated  from  the  court-road 
by  a  small  stunted  plantation." 

In  this  Palace,  amongst  many  other  precious  works  of 
art,  was  the  celebrated  picture  of  King  William  III.,  who 
appointed  the  famous  Godfrey  Scalken,  when  he  was 
in  London,  to  paint  his  portrait  by  candlelight.  The 
painter  placed  a  taper  in  the  hands  of  his  Majesty,  to  hold 
it  in  a  situation  most  favourable  to  the  designs  of  the 
artist,  during  which  the  tallow  melted  and  dropped  on  the 
fingers  of  the  monarch,  who  endured  it  with  great  com- 
posure, for  fear  of  embarrassing  the  painter,  who  very 
tranquilly  continued  his  work,  without  offering  to  pause 
for  a  minute.  This  blunt  enthusiasm  for  his  art  cost  poor 
Scalken  the  favour  of  the  Court,  and  of  persons  of  fashion  ; 
and  he  retired  to  the  Hague,  where  he  had  a  prodigious 
demand  for  his  small  paintings. 

Anne  of  England  survived  her  husband  seven  years,  still 
preserving  the  ambitious  spirit  by  which  she  had  been 
characterized  throughout  life.  Her  last  public  offices  were 


AXXE    OF    HANOYEB.  79 

the  preventing  a  rupture  about  to  break  out  between  Great 
Britain  and  Holland,  in  consequence  of  the  many  captures 
we  had  made  of  their  vessels  carrying  supplies  to  the 
French  settlements.*  With  this  Princess  the  "  ruling 
passion  was  strong  in  death."  In  her  last  moments  she 
collected  her  remaining  strength  to  enable  herself  to  sign 
a  marriage  contract  between  her  daughter  and  the  Prince 
Nassau  Walburg,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  States  General, 
requesting  their  sanction  for  the  match.  Such  was  the 
final  effort  for  family  aggrandizement  of  the  Princess  Royal 
of  England.  She  died  January  2nd,  1759,  at  the  age  of 
fifty.  The  daughter  for  whom  this  last  effort  of  expiring 
nature  was  made,  was  named  Caroline.  The  late  King  of 
the  Netherlands,  son  of  the  Stadtholder,  was  Anne's 
grandson,  son  of  that  Princess. 

*  Horace  Walpole's  "  Memoirs." 


G  2 


80 


AMELIA  SOPHIA  ELEANORA 

OF  HANOVER, 
SECOND  DAUGHTER  OF  GEOEGE  II. 

Her  birth — Comes  to  England — Inoculated  by  Dr.  Mead — Letters  of 
Countess  Pomfret,  from  Bath  —  Character  of  Amelia  Sophia — 
Her  illness — Drawing-room — Over-fatigues  herself — Story  of  the 
Royal  post-bag — Amelia  drinks  the  waters  of  Bath — Lady  Wig- 
town— Match  proposed  for  her — Dukes  of  Grafton  and  Newcastle — 
Amelia's  opinion  of  them — Swift's  character  of  Grafton — Duke  takes 
too  great  freedom  in  his  behaviour  to  the  Princess — Card-playing  at 
Court — Duke  of  Cumberland  resigns — Princess  interferes  in  politics 
— Does  not  enjoy  the  King's  confidence — Employed  by  the  Ministry 
— Betrays  her  brother's  secrets  to  the  Queen — Lawsuit  respecting 
Richmond  Park — Death  of  the  Princess  Caroline — Death  of  Elizabeth 
Caroline  and  Princess  of  Orange — Allowance  intended  for  Amelia — 
Does  not  receive  it — Death  of/  the  King — His  daughter  sent  for — 
Will  of  George  II. — Conduct  of  Princess — Lives  at  Gunnersbury — 
Influence  in  George  III.'s  marriage — Her  masculine  habits — Anec- 
dote of  a  snuff-box — Presentiment  concerning  her  own  death — Dies 
at  an  advanced  age — Buried  in  Henry  VII.'s  Chapel. 

THIS  Princess  was  born  on  the  10th  of  June,  1711,  and 
accompanied  her  mother  and  sisters  to  England  on  the 
accession  of  her  grandfather  George  I.  It  was  Caro- 
line of  Anspach  who  had  the  courage  to  adopt  the  new 
fashion  of  inoculating  for  the  small-pox  in  the  case  of 
her  own  children.  The  beneficial  effects  of  this  practice 
had  been  remarked  by  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu 
when  staying  in  Constantinople ;  and,  in  consequence  of 
her  report,  Dr.  Mead  was  ordered  by  their  Majesties  to 
inoculate  six  criminals  under  sentence  of  death,  but  whose 
lives  were  spared  for  this  experiment.  It  proved  sue- 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANORA   OF    HANOVER.  81 

cessful;  and  in  the  following  year,  1721,  the  Princesses 
were  inoculated,  Amelia  Sophia  being  then  at  the  age  of 
eleven.  From  that  time  Dr.  Mead  became  physician  in 
ordinary  to  the  King. 

There  were  not  many  incidents  worth  recording  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  time  spent  in  this  country  by  Amelia 
Sophia.  The  difference  which  arose  between  the  King  and 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  his  son,  occasioned  the  removal  of  her 
father  and  mother  from  St.  James's  to  Leicester  House, 
where  from  that  time  their  establishment  was  fixed ;  but 
their  three  eldest  daughters  continued  to  reside  under  the 
same  roof  as  their  Royal  grandfather,  and  after  the  recon- 
ciliation between  the  King  and  his  son  and  daughter,  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  often  visited  their  children  at 
St.  James's  Palace.  The  latter  might  have  done  so  while 
that  misunderstanding  existed,  had  she  desired  it.  One 
day.  when  her  Royal  Highness  was  on  her  way  to  the 
Palace  in  a  sedan-chair  to  pay  her  daughters  a  visit,  one 
of  the  chairmen  used  very  gross  language  to  her  Royal 
Highness,  spat  at  her  repeatedly,  and  uttered  treasonable 
expressions  against  the  King.  The  ruffian  was  prevented 
doing  any  violence  by  being  seized  and  taken  before  a 
magistrate,  when,  having  the  audacity  to  justify  the  out- 
rage, he  was  committed  to  the  Grate-House.* 

At  the  time  of  George  I.' s  death,  Frederick,  Prince  of 
Wales,  was  in  his  twenty-first  year,  the  Princess  Anne 
in  her  nineteenth,  Princess  Amelia  in  her  seventeenth, 
Princess  Caroline  in  her  fifteenth  year ;  Prince  William, 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  in  his  seventh,  Princess  Mary  in  her 
fifth,  and  Louisa  in  her  fourth  year. 

On  the  removal  of  the  new  King  and  Queen  to  St. 
James's,  every  apartment  was  inhabited.  "Among  the 
*  Pyne's  "  Royal  Residences." 


82  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

private  letters  and  printed  documents  of  the  times,  suffi- 
cient evidence  may  be  found  that  paternal  affection  and 
fraternal  harmony  prevailed  beneath  the  Royal  roof  during 
some  years  of  the  beneficent  reign  of  this  amiable  King 
and  Ins  virtuous  consort."* 

Mrs.  Clayton,  afterwards  Lady  Sundon,  had  three  nieces 
of  her  own  maiden  name,  Dyves.  The  three  Miss  Dyves 
all  became  attendants  on  the  Princesses — one  of  them, 
indeed,  in  the  capacity  of  Maid  of  Honour.  The  letters  of 
these  young  ladies  to  their  aunt  throw  much  light  on  the 
character  and  habits  of  their  Royal  mistresses,  as  well  as 
the  customs  of  the  Court  of  England  in  the  time  of 
George  II.  and  Caroline  of  Anspach.f 

Miss  Dorothy  Dyves  appears  to  have  been  appointed 
Maid  of  Honour  to  the  Princess  Amelia.  Her  sisters, 
Frances  and  Charlotte,  like  herself,  were  indebted  for  their 
advancement,  at  a  time  when  their  family  was  in  the 
greatest  necessity,  to  the  influence  of  their  celebrated 
aunt,  the  Viscountess  Sundon,  Mistress  of  the  Robes  to 
Caroline  of  Anspach. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Maid  of  Honour  to  her 
aunt,  after  receiving  her  new  appointment,  has  no  small 
interest : — 

"Miss  Dorothy  Dyves  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  August  14. 

"  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  how  to  thank  my  dearest  aunt 
for  all  your  great  goodness  and  concern  for  me  when 
I  was  ill,  and  which,  upon  all  occasions,  I  have  had  the 
vast  happiness  of  always  finding  the  same ;  and  which 
I  am  sure  nothing  can  equal  but  the  duty  and  love  I  shall 

*  Pyne's  "  Koyal  Eesidences." 
f  "  Memoirs  of  Lady  Sundon." 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANOBA   OF    HANOVER.  83 

ever  have  for  my  dear  aunt.  I  am  sensible  that  it  is  my 
advantage,  as  well  as  inclination,  to  follow  your  advice; 
and  am  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  its  being  always  right, 
that  I  have  equally  a  pride  and  pleasure  in  being  com- 
mended by  you.  I  went  last  Sunday  to  the  Lodge,  by 
half  an  hour  after  twelve  o'clock.  Mrs,  Neale  was  in 
waiting,  who  carried  in  the  message  you  bade  me  send. 
The  Princess  sent  for  me  in  immediately ;  and  though  I 
was  in  a  prodigious  fright  when  I  went  in,  the  Princess 
was  so  mighty  good  to  me,  that  it  lessened  it  very  much. 
I  was  with  her,  I  believe,  an  hour,  and  said  everything 
you  hade  me ;  which  her  Royal  Highness  seemed  to  take 
mighty  well  of  you,  and  said  you  were  very  good  to  her, 
and  commended  both  you  and  Uncle  Clayton  extremely. 
Her  Royal  Highness  spoke  of  you,  with  regard  to  me,  in 
a  manner  that  I  own  was  an  inexpressible  pleasure  to  me 
to  hear.  The  Princess  spoke  a  great  deal  about  my  be- 
haviour, and  said  she  should  be  in  the  wrong  if  she  did 
not  like  mine.  This  I  could  not  omit  saying,  as  being 
very  sensible,  that  whatever  I  do  right  is  entirely  owing 
to  your  goodness.  I  do  not  mention  anything  of  Monsieur 
Montendre,  because  he  sent  a  letter  himself,  which,  I  sup- 
pose, said  what  he  had  done. 

"I  am,  dear  Madam, 
"  Your  most  dutiful  niece  and  humble  Servant, 

"  D.  DTYES. 
"  I  beg  my  duty  to  my  uncle." 

In  another  letter  from  Richmond,  bearing  date  August 
21st,  1725,  Miss  Dyves  informs  Mrs.  Clayton — 

"The  Prince,  and  everybody  but  myself,  went  last 
Friday  to  Bartholomew  Fair ;  it  was  a  fine  day,  so  he 
went  by  water,  and  I  being  afraid,  did  not  go.  After  the 


84  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

fair,  they  supped  at  the  King's  Arms,  and  came  home 
about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  is  with  very  great 
impatience  I  expect  the  twelfth  of  next  month,  as  anybody 
would  do  that  waited  for  so  great  a  pleasure  as  I  do  in 
that  of  seeing  my  dearest  aunt.  The  Princess  is  very  good 
to  me,  and  I  have  great  reason  to  hope  she  is  not  dissatis- 
fied with  my  behaviour ;  and  I  am  sure,  when  I  have  the 
satisfaction  of  your  approving  it  (besides  an  inward  joy  to 
myself  of  knowing  I  am  doing  right),  it  is  the  surest  way 
of  being  thought  well  of  in  the  world." 

The  Countess  of  Pomfret  was  one  of  the  Ladies  of  the 
Bedchamber  to  Queen  Caroline;  and  her  daughter,  Lady 
Louisa,  who  afterwards  married  the  son  of  Sir  "William 
Clayton,  held  the  same  appointment  in  the  household  of 
the  Princess  Amelia  Sophia. 

The  character  of  the  Princess  Amelia,  in  these  letters, 
forms  a  pleasing  contrast  to  that  given  of  her  by  Horace 
Walpole. 

"Countess  of  Pomfret  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  Bath,  April  22,  1728 
'DEAR  MADAM, 

"  By  your  own  heart,  so  sensible  of  friendship,  you 
will  easier  imagine  than  I  can  describe  the  joy  your  letter 
gave  me.  Your  kindness  is  still  surprising,  though  not  new, 
and  every  day  gives  me  fresh  occasion  to  love  and  value 
you ;  yet,  in  the  middle  of  all  this,  I  must  be  angry  too, 
for  I  hear  you  are  in  waiting.  How  can  you  answer  it  tr> 
yourself,  to  hazard  a  life  so  many  others  have  more  interest 
in  preserving  than  yourself?  and  since  you  cannot  be  re- 
covered enough  for  that,  why  does  not  the  Queen  forbid 
you  ?  I  could  fill  more  paper  than  I  have  in  the  world 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANORA    OF    HANOVER.  85 

on  this  subject ;  but  all  I  can  say  I  flatter  myself  you 
know  already,  and  justice  now  obliges  me  to  say  something 
of  my  present  situation  ;  what  I  expected  to  meet  withal, 
you  know.  Kecollect  all  that  has  been  said  to  you ;  and 
then  I  will  tell  you  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 
truth,  which  T  have  endeavoured  to  come  at  with  all  the 
capacity  I  have. 

"  The  Princess  Amelia  is  the  oddest,  or  at  least  one  of 
the  oddest,  Princesses  that  ever  was  known  :  she  has  her 
ears  shut  to  flattery,  and  her  heart  open  to  honesty.  She 
has  honour,  justice,  good-nature,  sense,  wit,  resolution,  and 
more  good  qualities  than  I  have  time  to  tell  you,  so  mixed, 
that  (if  one  is  not  a  divcT)  it  is  impossible  to  say  she  has 
too  much  or  too  little  of  any ;  yet  all  these  do  not,  in 
anything  (without  exception),  make  her  forget  the  King- 
of  England's  daughter,  which  dignity  she  keeps  up  with 
such  an  obliging  behaviour,  that  she  charms  everybody. 
Do  not  believe  her  complaisance  to  me  makes  me  say  one 
silibJe  more  than  the  rigid  truth  ;  though  I  confess  she 
has  gained  my  heart,  and  has  added  one  more  to  the 
number  of  those  few,  whose  desert  forces  one's  affection. 
All  the  rest  of  our  affairs  I  leave  to  the  description  of 
others,  and  only  tell  you  what  I  thought  you  liked  most 
to  hear. 

"  I  must  end  this  with  what  is  always  uppermost  in  my 
thoughts :  how  much  I  ought  to  be,  and  how  ready  I  ever 
shall  be,  to  appear,  on  all  occasions, 

"  Dearest  Mrs.  Clayton's 

"  Most  grateful,  faithful,  and  sincere 
"  Friend  and  Servant, 

"H.  POMEBET." 


€6  THE   EOTAL   PKLtfCESSES. 

"Countess  Pom/ret  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  Bath,  April  27,  1728. 

"  It  is  not  the  first  time  (by  a  great  many)  that  I  have 
found  dear  Mrs.  Clayton  as  a  guardian  angel ;  though  I 
do  not  believe  they  have  the  same  indulgence  to  habitual, 
or  rather  natural  weaknesses,  that  you  have  shown  to 
mine.  But  I  will  confess  the  truth :  your  kind  caution 
had  very  little  effect,  and  I  have  suffered  as  bad  a  fit  as 
ever  you  saw  me  have,  till  the  Princess  frightened  me  out 
of  it  by  being  much  out  of  order  all  day  yesterday,  and 
the  night  before.  The  occasion  was  this.  She  had  a 
Drawing-room  on  Thursday,  when  it  was  extremely  hot, 
and  she  (to  oblige  people)  stayed  above  two  hours ;  and, 
I  believe,  would  not  have  gone  then  (though  far  from 
well),  if  I  had  not  ventured  to  whisper  what  was  o'clock. 
You  may  be  sure  I  underwent  a  good  deal  of  uneasiness 
before  I  took  that  liberty  with  a  Princess  of  her  age.  I 
have  told  you  in  my  last,  in  pretty  strong  terms,  what 
she  appeared  to  me.  As  to  myself,  I  have  examined  what 
has  passed,  and  hope  I  cannot  be  hurt  from  a  fair  recital. 
And  I  am  sure  you  would  be  charmed  to  hear  her  notions 
of  friendship,  honour,  and  sincerity — sure,  they  cannot  be 
only  repetition.  I  had  another  reason  to  say  what  I  did  ; 
which  was,  to  set  in  your  view  a  lady  who  is  not  of  the 
same  opinion  with  myself.  I  could  say  some  things  upon 
that  subject  would  surprise  you ;  but  though  I  could  trust 
you  with  anything  and  everything,  yet  I  dare  not  do  so 
by  the  postman. 

"  I  am  impatient  to  hear  from  you,  and  of  you  (and 
always  on  your  own  account  first)  ;  the  latter  satisfaction 
I  had  to-day,  by  Dr.  Tisier,  who  told  me  Dr.  Friend  wrote 
him  word  you  were  well,  though  too  weak  for  waiting. 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANOEA    OF    HANOVEE.  87 

Pardon  me  if  I  differ  from  you,  when  you  say  you  had 
reasons  to  wait ;  I  cannot  find  the  least  shadow  of  any, 
when  your  health  is  in  the  balance.  Dear  Madam,  I  fear 
my  own  pleasure  to-day  has  carried  me  beyond  yours; 
which  I  am  sure,  for  a  thousand  causes,  ought  ever  to  be 
the  first  consideration  of 

"  Dearest  Mrs.  Clayton's 

"  Most  affectionate  and  most  faithful 

"  Friend  and  humble  Servant, 

"H.  POMFEET. 

"  Since  I  wrote  to  you,  Princess  Amelia  tells  me  the 
Queen  has  received  no  letter  from  me  since  I  came  to 
Bath,  which  surprises  me  very  much ;  for  I  have  enclosed 
all  to  my  Lord,  and  received  often,  but  not  always,  his 
answers  to  those  letters  I  enclosed  them  in.  The  Princess 
Hoyal  wrote  it  to  her  sister,  and  we  both  believe  the  pages 
must  have  lost  them.  I  know  your  goodness,  without 
my  deserving  it,  will  help  me  in  this  affair  with  the 
Queen." 

"  The  Countess  of  Pomfret  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  Bath,  May  6,  1728. 
"  DEAEEST  MADAM, 

"  Having  every  post  the  pleasure  to  hear  by  my 
Lord  you  are  well,  I  might  excuse  you  from  the  trouble  of 
my  epistles,  if  I  had  not  a  more  than  ordinary  pleasure  in 
telling  you  how  much  I  love  you,  and  how  impatiently  I 
wish  to  see  you.  Your  kindness,  dear  Madam,  in  absence 
or  when  present,  is  so  constantly  the  employment  of  my 
thoughts,  that  it  can  produce  only  esteem  and  wonder  for 
you ;  and  as  all  goods  have  their  evils  with  them,  so  it  is 
my  fortune  to  be  for  ever  obliged,  without  being  able  to 


88  TIIE    EOYAL    PEINCESSES. 

make  any  other  return  than  what  is  a  new  obligation  to 
accept — fruitless  gratitude — and  empty,  though  sincere, 
wishes  of  happiness  to  you  in  all  things. 

"  I  hear  from  London,  that  it  is  said  at  St.  James's  I 
have  affronted  a  woman  of  great  quality,  by  leaving  of 
her  out  in  an  invitation  to  play  at  cards  with  the  Prin- 
cess. I  am  so  altered  about  vexing  myself  for  trifles,  and 
there  is  in  reality  so  little  in  this,  that  till  you  tell  me  the 
Queen  is  displeased,  I  will  not  be  so  about  it  ;•  yet,  as  it 
has  an  odd  appearance  in  the  terms  I  have  put  it,  have  the 
patience  to  hear  the  matter  of  fact,  and  then  judge  for 
yourself  and  me.  When  the  Princess  first  came  down, 
every  person  of  quality  (that  ever  went  to  Court)  both 
sent  and  came  to  inquire  after  her  health.  In  two  or 
three  days  she  went  to  drink  the  waters ;  and  between 
every  glass  walked  in  Harrison's  garden,  where  all  people 
of  fashion  came  and  walked  with  her  ;  the  others  (that 
were  not  known  to  her)  walked  at  a  little  distance.  The 
third  morning  Lady  Frances  Manners  asked  me  if  I  knew 
my  Lady  Wigtown*  (a  Scottish  Countess)  ;  I  said  I  had 
never  heard  of  her  in  my  life,  and  believed  she  had  not  yet 
sent  to  the  Princess ;  upon  which  both  she  and  the 
Duchess  of  Rutland  smiled,  and  said,  '  No,  nor  will,  I  can 

*  "The  Countess  of  Wigtown,  to  whom  Lady  Pomfret  refers  in 
this  letter,  had  an  hereditary  antipathy  to  the  Hanoverian  family. 
She  was  the  Lady  Mary  Keith,  eldest  daughter  of  William,  ninth 
Earl  Marischal,  one  of  the  warmest  adherents  of  the  Chevalier  James 
Stuart.  Her  husband,  James,  sixth  Earl  of  Wigtown,  had  attended 
James  II.  at  St.  Germains,  and  had  afterwards  suffered  for  his 
principles  by  imprisonment  in  Edinburgh  Castle.  Clementina,  the 
daughter  to  whom  allusion  is  here  made,  became,  after  the  death  of 
his  lordship's  brother,  sole  heiress  of  the  family  estates,  the  titles 
being  extinct  in  1747." — Mrs.  Thomson's  "Life  of  Viscountess 
Sundon." 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANORA   OF   HAXOVER.  89 

tell  you ;  for  seeing  the  Princess  coming  to  the  pump  the 
morning  before,  she  had  run  away  like  a  fury,  for  fear  of 
meeting  her ;  and  declares  so  public  an  aversion  for  the 
King,  &c.,  that  she  would  not  go  to  the  ball  made  on  the 
Queen's  birthday ;  and  some  of  that  subscription  money 
remaining,  the  company  had  another  ball,  which  she  de- 
nied going  to,  and  told  all  the  people  it  was  because  the 
Queen's  money  made  it.' 

"  They  laughed  much  at  her  open  violence,  and  said  she 
would  not  speak  to  any  one  she  thought  a  Whig  ;  and  had 
a  child,  called  Clementina,  who  was  at  this  place  with 
her.  All  the  company  agreed  in  this  discourse  ;  but  while  it 
was  about,  she  herself  came  into  the  gardens,  and  walked 
very  rudely  by  the  Princess,  and  pushed  away  the 
Duchess  of  Rutland  and  myself,  that  was  near,  and  never 
offered  to  make  the  least  courtesy,  for  two  or  three  turns, 
and  then  went  out. 

"  After  the  Princess  came  home,  she  told  me  to  send  for 
six  ladies  to  play  at  cards  with  her,  which  I  did  of  the 
most  considerable  at  Bath.  Next  day,  Lady  Wigtown 
went  to  Scotland  for  her  whole  life,  as  it  was  fixed  she 
should  long  before  the  Princess  came.  Neither  the  Prin- 
cess nor  myself  said  one  word  when  she  passed  by  in 
that  rude  manner.  This  is  a  long  story  (as  you  see,  about 
nothing),  which  I  know  is  your  aversion  (yet  return,  as 
usual,  good  for  evil)  ;  and  though  I  have  tired  you,  find 
out  how  guilty  I  am,  and  clear  me.  You  know  if  I  had 
done  anything  more  I  would  tell  you  truly. 

"  I  hear  the  Princesses  in  town  are  charmed  with  you, 
but  that  is  common  ;  here  is  one  would  charm  you,  and  to 
so  true  a  taste  as  yours,  that  is  uncommon.  Though  you 
hate  writing  ever  so  much,  send  me  something  of  a  letter, 
if  it  be  but  to  forbid  me  plaguing  you  any  more  in  this 


90  THE    EOYAL   PEUSTCESSES. 

manner ;  and  let  me  show  you  my  love  by  my  obedience, 
which  in  all  things  is  due  to  dear  Mrs.  Clayton,  from  her 
that  is 

"  Wholly  yours, 

"  HENRIETTA  POMFEET." 

From  the  following  communication,  it  would  appear 
that  the  Countess  of  Pomfret  had  some  idea  that  her 
attendance  on  the  Princess  was  not  considered  satis- 
factory. 

"Countess  of  Pomfret  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  Bath,  May  19,  1728. 
"  DEAE  MADAM, 

"  As  I  have  waited  with  extreme  impatience,  so 
I  have  received  with  extreme  pleasure,  this  last  mark  of 
a  perfect  friendship.  'Tis  my  misfortune  to  be  innocent 
without  desiring  to  appear  so,  for  fear  of  injuring  an- 
other. I  find  that  the  love  of  great  ones  is  as  fatal  as 
their  anger.  I  confess,  I  have  some  time  been  involved 
in  discourses  I  could  wish  to  have  avoided  ;  but  there  was 
not  anything  said  but  what,  on  my  account,  Mrs.  Howard 
herself  might  have  heard.  'Tis  not  possible  to  be  with 
the  Princess  Amelia  and  not  love  her — at  least,  not  for 
hearts  made  like  yours  and  mine ;  and  'tis  as  impossible 
for  her  not  to  acknowledge  a  disinterested  love.  We  both 
•wish  not  to  be  strangers  (as  I  fear  we  must  be),  when 
this  journey  is  at  an  end  ;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  that, 
by  making  my  court  too  much  she  may  have  hurt  me. 
I  am  so  certain  of  her  goodness  as  not  to  doubt  its  coming 
about  this  way;  and  you  know  I  am  not  apt  to  flatter 
myself  in  thinking  I  am  over-fortunate,  and  if  I  was  that 
way  given,  this  affair  must  convince  me  'tis  not  in  nature 
it  ever  can  be  so. 


AMELIA.    SOPHIA   ELEA1STOKA    OF    HAKOYEK.  91 

"Pardon  me,  dearest  Mrs.  Clayton,  if  in  that  last  I 
forgot  for  a  moment  the  happiness  I  have  in  you,  which, 
when  I  reflect  on,  I  own  with  the  utmost  gratitude  is  a 
recompense  for  all  other  wants  ;  and  that  gives  me  still 
fresh  uneasiness  to  think  what  a  worthless  friend  I  offer 
you  in  return  for  the  most  agreeable  and  most  deserving 
one  in  the  world.  And  you  do  me  justice,  dear  Madam, 
when  you  think  I  am  constantly  desirous  to  hear  of  your 
health,  for  which  I  have  known  more  real  pain  than  for 
anything  besides.  I  am  very  sorry  you  left  the  country 
so  soon,  since  you  found  it  did  you  good ;  and  though  I 
should  miss  seeing  you  at  my  first  coming,  I  could  even 
wish,  for  the  sake  of  a  health  so  truly  dear  to  me,  you 
were  in  the  air  again  for  some  time. 

"  What  you  say  of  the  Princess's  health  is  adapted  so- 
to  her  taste,  that  I  knew  I  could  not  make  your  court 
better  to  her  than  by  reading  those  few  lines  of  your 
letter.  As  to  Lansdowne,  she  goes  in  the  coach  there 
sometimes,  and  is  always  better  after  it,  though  it  is  not 
an  amusement  she  is  fond  of;  yet,  you  may  depend  upon 
it,  I  shall  put  it  as  forward  as  I  can.  Her  being  in  a  hot, 
close  place  long,  is  impossible ;  for  she  never  goes  to  any, 
except  her  journey  to  Bristol,  and  then  the  heat  of  the 
weather  arid  crowds  of  people  altogether  disordered  her 
very  much.  I  hope  I  need  not  tell  you  that  all  the  pre- 
caution was  taken  imaginable  that  there  should  be  no- 
danger  in  her  going ;  and,  as  the  water  was  perfectly  safe, 
it  was  certainly  more  easy  and  agreeable.  Her  behaviour 
then,  and  at  all  times,  has  certainly  done  the  King's  inte- 
rest a  great  deal  of  good  in  these  parts — no  longer  dis- 
affected. I  wish,  in  your  clever  way,  }rou  would  take 
notice  of  that  to  the  Queen,  as  you  find  it  proper. 

"  There  is  another  thing  I  must  mention  to  you,  and 


^2  THE    EOYAL   PKINCESSES. 

that  is,  concerning  Salisbury;  the  people  there  are  in 
great  expectation  of  her,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  go  and 
come  in  a  day  without  running  too  great  a  hazard  of 
making  her  ill.  I  know  the  Bishop's  Palace  used  to  be 
generally  used  for  these  occasions ;  and  may  be,  if  the 
Bishop  offered  it  for  one  night,  it  might  tempt  the  Queen 
to  order  an  expedition  there,  which  certainly  would  please 
the  country.  If  you  think  fit  to  do  anything  about  this, 
do  not  let  it  be  thought  the  Princess's  inclination,  for  she 
has  none  aboat  it,  and  the  beginning  of  June  is  soon 
enough. 

"  I  give  }7ou,  dear  Madam,  a  thousand  thanks  for  in- 
quiring  after  my  health ;  since  you  think  it  worth  your 
while,  I  will  tell  you,  it  is  better  than  at  any  time  since 
I  have  known  you,  though  I  do  not  drink  the  waters.  I 
wish  my  political  constitution  was  as  much  mended ;  it  is 
impossible  for  anybody  to  intend  better;  but  how  it 
appears  at  St.  James's  I  do  not  know,  but  wish  you  would 
tell  me  truly,  whether  you  think,  if  it  was  to  do  again,  I 
should  be  sent.  Pardon  my  inquisitiveness,  and,  if  you 
please,  answer  me.  I  have  many  things  to  say  to  you 
that  this  paper  will  not  hold,  nor  will  my  thoughts  at 
this  time  admit  of  many;  for  once,  Mrs.  Howard*  shares 
them  with  you,  though  in  my  affections  you  reign  alone, 
to  whom  I  am,1  with  gratitude  and  sincerity, 

"  A  most  unlucky,  but  most  faithful  and 

"  Affectionate  Friend. 

"  I  had  forgot  Mrs.  Titchborne,  but  not  the  thanks  I 
owe  you  on  her  account ;  all  she  says  is  an  invention  from, 
the  beginning  to  the  end.  I  could  tell  many  imperti- 

*  Subsequently  Countess  of  Suffolk,  Mrs.  Clayton's  rival  at  Court. 


AMELIA   SOPHIA   ELEANOKA   OF    IIA^OVEK.  93 

nences  of  hers  ;  but  they  are  below  iny  fretting  at,  conse- 
quently much  below  your  reading." 

Queen  Caroline  was,  in  her  compassion  testified  towards 
i\\&  unfortunate  Jacobites,  a  noble  example  to  her  family. 
The  conduct  of  the  Princess  Amelia,  who  inherited  her 
mother's  gentleness  of  feeling  towards  the  sufferers  of  that 
party,  is  both  graceful  and  worthy  of  a  Christian.  The 
subjoined  letter  of  Lady  Pomfret  mentions  William,  fourth 
Lord  Widdrington,  in  terms  of  respect :  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  join  in  the  insurrection  of  1715 ;  he  surrendered 
at  Preston,  and  was  committed  to  the  Tower.  .  After 
nearly  two  years'  imprisonment,  he  received  his  discharge 
under  the  Act  of  Grace,  and  retired  to  Bath,  where  he 
remained  in  great  poverty,  until  his  death  in  1743. 

"  From  the  Countess  of  Pomfret  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  Bath,  May  27,  1728. 
"DEAKEST  MADAM, 

"  Having  troubled  you  with  a  long  letter  last  post, 
you  will,  I  believe,  wonder  upon  what  pretence  I  renew 
my  importunity  so  soon ;  but  I  know  your  good  nature  too 
well  not  to  be  sensible  you  like  to  employ  it,  especially 
for  a  person  that  merits  it.  To  my  story,  then.  I  must 
tell  you,  when  first  the  Princess  came  to  Bath,  there  were 
a  great  number  of  Roman  Catholics  here,  and  some  very 
considerable  ones,  amongst  them  the  late  Lord  Widdring- 
ton and  his  lady  ;  you  know,  he  was  pardoned  by  the  late 
King,  and  favoured  afterwards  by  the  Parliament.  Since 
both  these  things,  he  has  behaved  himself  with  becoming* 
respect ;  and,  for  her  part,  she  is  a  woman  well  born  and 
well  bred,  and  a  Protestant.  Some  time  ago,  the  Prin- 
cess saw  me  speak  to  her  at  the  pump,  where  she  was 

n 


94  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

inquiring  how  her  Royal  Highness  did;  and  then  the 
Princess  was  so  obliging  as  to  say  a  word  or  two  to  her, 
which  had  such  an  effect  upon  all  of  that  sort  in  this  city 
that  is  hardly  to  be  imagined,  and  they  all  speak  of  the 
Princess  Amelia  as  of  something  that  has  charmed  them 
ever  since.  Yesterday,  in  the  walks,  the  same  Lady  Wid- 
drington  came  near  the  Princess,  who  took  much  notice  of 
her,  and  she  walked  some  time  with  us.  Mrs.  Titchborne 
was  by,  and  much  discomposed  at  it ;  from  which  I  feared 
her  ingenuity  might  make  a  crime  of  a  rebel's  wife,  that 
did  not  come  to  the  King  and  Queen,  being  so  regarded ; 
and  that,  upon  her  additions  and  alterations,  the  Princess 
might  be  blamed  for  that  humanity  and  goodness  that  is 
the  delight  of  all  reasonable  people. 

"  You  see,  dear  Madam,  Mrs.  Titchborne  has  found  the 
way  to  give  me  terror ;  and  when  I  think  she  can  attack 
the  Princess  Amelia,  I  can  no  longer  be  content  only  to 
despise  her.  I  know  no  antidote  against  malice  like  your- 
self; and  believe  me,  in  serving  this  Princess,  you  will 
serve  yourself.  After  we  came  home  I  told  her  my  fears, 
and  she  agreed  in  them ;  upon  which  I  said,  '  I  knew  one 
that  had  sense  and  good  nature  enough  to  prevent  them.' 
She  smiled,  and  said,  *  Your  good  friend,  Mrs.  Clayton. 
You  must  write  to  her.'  You  see,  dear  Madam,  she  knows 
you  enough  to  guess  your  name  by  your  car  meter  ;  though 
I  often  tell  her,  and  she  believes,  to  know  you  more,  and 
love  you  more,  is  the  same  thing.  I  shall  not  wonder 
when  this  arrives  to  you ;  but  I  should  be  much  surprised 
if  she  could  ever  esteem  anybody  that  makes  their  approach 
through  flattery,  and  only  for  interest.  In  short,  if  a  more 
advanced  age  and  a  sharp  experience  do  not  quite  meta- 
morphose her,  her  service  would  be  paradise  to  an  honest 
heart. 


AMELIA    SOPHIA    ELEAXOKA    OF    HAXOYEK.  95 

"  I  am  sure  I  have  spoke  mine  so  much  to  you,  that  if 
I  was  not  quite  sure  of  yours  it  would  be  madness  ;  but  to 
trust  you,  and  to  be  trusted  by  you,  has  been,  and  will 
ever  be,  the  chief  satisfaction  of  my  life,  who  am  entirely 
"  Dearest  Mrs.  Clayton's  most  faithful, 

"  And  most  affectionate  humble  Servant, 

"  H.  POMFKET." 

In  another  letter,  from  Tunbridge  Wells,  bearing  date 
June  30th,  1728,  is  the  following  passage  :— "  By  all  I  can 
find  of  my  own  affairs,  that  person  we  suspected*  has  left 
nothing  unsaid  of  any  sort  that  can  injure  me,  in  every 
place  where  I  can  feel  it  worst ;  and  it  is  from  you  I  only 
can  know  how  far  it  has  prevailed.  I  find  the  concern  I 
showed  at  Richmond  is  turned  on  me  as  a  sure  proof  I 
was  guilty  of  all  that  could  be  said  ;  and  the  belief  that  I 
am  much  happier  in  the  Princess's  favour  than  I  am  is  so 
fixed,  that  I  fear  they  will  not  quit  me  till  I  am  entirely 
destroyed  with  the  Queen.  I  endeavour  to  be,  or  rather 
appear,  easy  in  this  situation,  that  I  may  not  give  fresh 
occasions  of  complaint  at  Court,  or  disturbance  to  the  Prin- 
cess, whose  charming  disposition  ought  to  meet  with 
nothing  but  happiness. "t 

In  December,  1736,  George  II.,  returning  to  England, 
had  to  encounter  a  storm  in  which  he  nearly  lost  his  life. 
Although  foreseen  by  Sir  Charles  Wager,  commander  of 
the  fleet  which  conveyed  him,  the  King  had  ordered  him 
to  sail.  So  great  clanger  was  the  Royal  vessel  in,  that  the 
news  reached  the  Court,  and  created  such  an  alarm  that 
the  Cabinet  Council  met  at  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's,  and 
preparation  was  made  for  proclaiming  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
Her  Majesty  and  the  Royal  family  were  attending  Divine 

*  This  allusion  is  to  Mrs.  Titchborne. 

f  "Lady  Sundon's  Memoirs,"  by  Mrs.  Thomson. 

H2 


96  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

service  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  Sfr.  James's,  when  a  messenger 
brought  a  letter,  announcing  t'he  happy  tidings  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's safe  return  to  Helvoets.luys.  The  trembling  Queen 
could  scarcely  open  the  welcome  missive ;  to  shorten  her 
suspense,  the  Duke  of  Gra  tton  broke  the  seal,  read  the 
contents,  and  announced  "his  Majesty  was  safe!"  The 
suddenness  of  this  occurrence  had  suspended  the  service, 
but  on  the  immediate  circulation  of  the  joyful  news  it  was 
resumed  with  becoming  decorum. 

The  Princess  Amelia,  in  answer  to  a  letter  from  Mr. 
"VYalpole,  who  was  in  tKe  storm  with  his  Majesty,  thus- 
describes  the  feelings  of  the  Queen,  of  herself,  and  her 
sisters,  at  this  momentous  period  : — 

"  You  have  been  v ,<jry  good  and  obliging,  my  good  Mr. 
Walpole,  to  take  \che  trouble  of  writing  to  me;  and  I 
assume  you,  my  joy  ;is  too  great  to  be  expressed,  that  you 
are  all  safe  .at;  Helvoet.  What  mamma  underwent  ever 
since  Friday  last,  can't  be  imagined — for  she  never  was 
easy  since  she  heard  that  the  sloop  of  the  English  secre- 
tary's office  was  come  here  with  so  much  difficulty,  and 
that  they  hiid  left  you  all  at  sea.  But  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, before  m:ne,  Sir  Robert  came  to  mamma,  to  give  her 
the  dreadful  account'  of  the  three  men-of-war  being  come, 
and  Lord  Augustus 's  ship,  without  masts  or  sails — then 
you  may  imagine  what  we  all  felt.  We  went  to  church 
as  usual,  and  about  two  the  messenger  came  in,  and  made 
not  only  mamma  and  her  children  happy,  but  indeed  every- 
body. The  consternation  was  great  before,  and  they 
seemed  all  to  dread  to  h  ear  some  bad  news.  But  now  pray 
be  careful,  and  don't  get;  out  till  you  are  sure  of  seeing 
our  sweet  faces,  and  then  we  will  all  make  you  as  welcome 
as  we  can ;  for  I  cannot  affor  d  any  more  to  be  so  fright- 
ened, for  we  are  all  still  half  dead. 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANOEA   OF    HANOVEE.  97 

"  I  pitied  poor  Mrs.  Walpole  extremely ;  but  I  saw  her 
yesterday,  and  we  thanked  God  heartily  together  that  you 
are  all  safe.  Sir  Robert  hath  been  very  childish,  for  he 
drank  more  than  he  should  upon  the  arrival  of  the  mes- 
senger, and  felt  something  of  the  gout  that  same  night ; 
but  he  is  perfectly  well  again.  I  hunted  with  him  yester- 
day at  Richmond,  and  he  was  in  excellent  spirits. 

"  I  thank  you,  dear  Horace,  for  letting  me  know  so 
exactly  how  my  sister  does — I  am  very  happy  she  is  so 
well.  Mamma  commands  me  to  make  you  her  compli- 
ments ;  Caroline  desires  hers  to  be  given  you  also ;  and  I 
remain  your  sincere  friend  upon  land,  but  hate  you  at  sea 
• — for  you  take  my  stomach  and  rest  away,  and  I  lose  both 
eating  and  sleeping."* 

It  is  now  necessary  to  speak  of  a  circumstance  which 
has  already  been  dwelt  on  in  the  Life  of  Sophia  Dorothea 
of  Prussia  ;  it  is  one  of  no  small  importance,  as  it  involved 
the  happiness  of  an  amiable  Princess,  and  certainly  acted 
with  no  small  impulse  on  the  destinies  of  Europe.  I 
speak  of  the  marriage  contracted,  or  sought  to  be  con- 
tracted, between  the  parents  of  Frederic  the  Great 
-of  Prussia  and  Amelia,  second  daughter  of  George  II. 
The  desire  of  the  children  of  George  I.  that  the  Royal 
families  of  England  and  Prussia  should  be  united  had 
been  so  great,  that  the  union  was  proposed  when  the  in- 
tended bridegroom  and  his  destined  wife  were  yet  in  their 
•cradles.  Marriages  are,  however,  said  to  be  "  made  in 
heaven  ;"  and  certainly  there  is  "  a  tide  "  in  their  accom- 
plishment. Amelia  was  not  intended  for  Frederic  the 
Oreat,  but  she  certainly  was  worthy  to  become  his  wife. 
The  fact  of  the  child  being  brought  up  under  the  im- 
pression that  she  was  one  day  to  be  so,  accounts  for  much 
*  Pynels  "  Royal  Residences." 


08  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

of  the  eccentricity  afterwards  developed  in  her  character. 
After  endless  negotiations  on  the  subject  from  the  Electo- 
rate of  Hanover,  carried  on  through  the  reign  of  George  I. 
into  that  of  his  son,  George  II.,  the  match  was  finally 
broken  off,  and  the  heroic  and  high-minded  Frederic 
doomed  to  accept  a  Princess  of  his  father's  choice,  in  lieu 
of  her  to  whom  his  heart  seems  to  have  been  thoroughly 
devoted.  What  was  the  result  ?  A  marriage,  not  of  in- 
clination, brought  to  his  bride  a  futurity  devoid  of  domes- 
tic happiness ;  to  Frederic,  a  determination  to  devote 
himself  from  that  time  forth  to  martial  exploits,  and  the 
welfare  of  his  people :  himself  self-sacrificed  by  his  own 
act,  though  under  the  parental  influence.  Amelia  of 
Hanover,  who  must  have  through  her  long  life  been  des- 
tined from  time  to  time  to  learn  more  and  more  of 
the  greatness  and  nobleness  of  one  separated  from  her  for 
ever,  became  changed  in  heart,  and  her  actions  changed, 
too,  as  the  sources  from  whence  they  sprang.  She  never 
married,  consequently  had  no  domestic  ties  beyond  her 
parents,  and  her  brothers  and  sisters,  the  companions  of 
her  early  years.  The  character  of  Amelia  has  been 
severely  animadverted  upon  by  historians  for  several  points 
in  it,  which  had  been  probably  the  result  of  the  circum- 
stances in  which  she  was  placed  by  her  altered  prospects. 
She  is  said  to  have  had  a  great  love  of  politics,  and 
a  perpetual  desire  to  mingle  herself  up  with  them.  Were 
not  her  feelings  interested  in  the  questions  which  involved 
the  destinies  of  Europe  ?  Walpole  taxes  this  Princess 
with  being  voluntarily  the  only  spy  in  the  service  of  the 
Ministry,  and  with  having  traced  and  unravelled  the 
mystery  of  a  new  faction  at  Leicester  House.  In  his 
Memoirs,  he  gives  this  character  of  Amelia : — "  She  was 


AMELIA   SOPHIA  ELEANORA   OF   HANOVER.  99 

meanly  inquisitive  into  what  did  not  relate  to  her,*  and 
foolishly  communicative  of  what  was  below  her  to  know ; 
false,  without  trying  to  please;  mischievous,  with  more 
design ;  impertinent,  even  where  she  had  no  resentment ; 
and  insolent,  though  she  had  lost  her  beauty,  and  acquired 
no  power."  The  writer  of  this  passage  should  have 
looked  deeper  into  the  woman's  heart ;  he  did  not  under- 
stand how  far  these  apparent  meannesses  had  been  the 
result  of  disappointed  affection. 

Frederick  Prince  of  Wales  had  contracted  certain  debts 
at  Hanover,  where  he  had  remained  after  the  accession  of 
his  grandfather  to  the  crown  of  England,  in  order  to  com- 
plete his  education.  His  mother  had  exerted  more  autho- 
rity over  him  in  respect  to  these  than  the  Prince  liked ; 
and  Princess  Amelia;  who  had  possessed  his  confidence 
more  than  any  other  person  had,  out  of  what  she  regarded 
her  duty  to  the  Queen,  informed  her  upon  such  matters  as 
the  Prince  himself  conceived  might  be  injurious  to  him, 
and  into  which  Caroline  of  Anspach  inquired  minutely. 
By  this  action  she  lost  her  brother's  confidence,  however 
well-intentioned  it  might  have  been,  in  the  wish  to  obey 
her  mother.  Neither  was  she  permitted  to  share  her 
father's  confidence ;  and  though  disposed  to  interfere  in 
politics,  was  restricted  to  receiving  court  from  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  who  affected  to  be  in  love  with  her ;  and  from 
the  Duke  of  Grafton,  who  was  thought  to  have  been  a 
favoured  lover.f  Lord  Hervey,  who  had  secured  for  himself 
the  affections  of  the  Princess  Caroline,  and  the  Duke  of 
Grafton,  the  professed  lover  of  Amelia,  filled  the  Court 
with  their  continual  quarrels  and  avowed  dislikes.  Upon 

*  Perhaps  fancying  it  did,  or  might,  relate  to  her. 
f  Burke's  "  Anecdotes  of  the  Aristocracy." 


100  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

the  Duke  of  Grafton — mentioned  by  Lord  Hervey  in  his 
Letters — Swift  makes  the  following  observations  :* — "  The 
Duke  of  Grafton,  grandson  to  Charles  II.,  a  very  pretty 
gentleman,  has  been  much  abroad  in  the  world,  jealous  for 
the  constitution  of  his  country ;  a  tall,  black  man,  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age  ;  almost  a  slobberer,  and  without 
one  good  quality." 

The  Queen  is  said  to  have  entertained  a  rooted  dislike 
to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  for  the  freedom  with  which  he 
had  behaved  towards  Princess  Amelia.  They  are  said  to 
have  hunted  together  two  or  three  times  a  week ;  and  on 
one  occasion,  having  stayed  out  unusually  late  and  lost  their 
attendants,  had  gone  together  to  a  private  house  in 
Windsor  Forest,  which  so  exasperated  the  Queen,  that, 
but  for  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  she  would  have  complained  to 
his  Majesty. f 

"  When  Caroline  of  Anspach  died,  the  Duke  of  Graffcon 
disputed  with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  as  to  which  of  them 
should  become  in  power,  they  both  agreeing  that  Sir 
Eobert  Walpole,  who  was  present,  was  no  longer  to  con- 
tinue in  office."  Walpole  says  they  both  founded  their 
hopes  on  the  favour  of  the  Princess  Amelia,  but  she 
detached  herself  from  that  cabal,  and  united  herself  with 
her  brother  the  Duke,  and  the  Bedfords.  Her  Lady  of 
the  Bedchamber,  Lady  Elizabeth  Leveson  Grower,  one  of 
the  Duchess's  sisters,  had  contracted  a  marriage  with 
Colonel  Waldegrave,  without  the  consent  of  her  father, 
Lord  Gower,  through  the  Bedfords,  and  Lord  Sandwich 
imprudently  allowed  the  ceremony  to  be  performed  in  his 
apartments  at  the  Admiralty.  Lord  Gower,  instigated  by 
the  Pelhams,  formally  complained  to  the  King  of  Lord 

*  Swift's  "  Character  of  Queen  Anne." 
f  Walpole. 


AMELIA    SOPHIA    ELEANOEA    OF    HA^OVEE.  101 

Sandwich  contributing  to  steal  his  daughter.  His  Ma- 
jesty espoused  the  quarrel  of  the  complainant,  by  which 
manoeuvre  the  Pelhams  "  detached  him  from  his  family, 
and  persuaded  him  that  to  resign  with  them  would  be 
sacrificing  himself  in  the  cause  of  Lord  Sandwich,  who 
had  offered  him  such  an  indignity."* 

Amelia  was  of  a  very  decided  disposition,  and  at  times 
as  imperious  as  her  sister  Anne  of  Hanover.  Beau  Nash, 
master  of  the  ceremonies  at  Bath,  ventured  on  one  occasion 
openly  to  withstand  her  wishes.  The  hour  appointed  for 
dancing  to  cease  in  the  public  rooms  was  eleven,  and  the 
Princess  happening  that  evening  to  be  present,  though  the 
hour  had  struck  and  he  had  given  his  usual  signal  to  arrest 
the  music,  she  intimated  to  him  that  it  was  her  desire 
there  should  be  another  country  dance.  There  was  no 
alternative  for  Nash,  and  the  Princess  carried  her  point. 

In  another  instance  she  exhibited  no  little  despotism 
and  determination  of  character. 

The  Princess  had  the  Eangership  of  Richmond  Park, 
but  kept  the  park  closed  from  the  public,  who  demanded  a 
right  of  passage  through  it.  This  Amelia  refused  to 
grant,  and  had  a  lawsuit  instituted  against  her.  The 
verdict  was  unfavourable  to  her  wishes. t  By  advice  of  the 
Attorney-General,  she  had  allowed  ladders  over  the  wall  in 
hopes  of  escaping  a  trial,  but  the  people  sued  for  gates  for 
foot  passengers,  and  in  the  year  1758  obtained  them,  on 
which  the  Princess  in  a  passion  entirely  abandoned  the 
park.  Her  mother,  Queen  Caroline,  had  formerly  wished 

*  Walpole. 

f  In  one  of  the  hearings  on  this  cause,  Lord  Mansfield,  the  Chief 
Justice,  produced  in  court  a  libel  published  against  Princess  Emily, 
and  insisted  that  the  jury  should  take  an  oath  that  they  had  no  hand 
in  it ;  and  yet,  when  they  had  taken  the  oath,  he  put  off  the  cause ! 


102  THE   ROYAL   PEINCESSES. 

to  shut  up  St.  James's  Park,  and  asked  Sir  Robert  Wai- 
pole  what  it  would  cost  her  to  do  it.  He  replied,  "  Only 
a  crown,  Madam •!"* 

Princess  Amelia  gave  offence  not  in  one,  but  many  cases, 
as  regarded  the  access  to  the  park. 

In  1752,  Walpole  writes — "  Princess  Emily,  who  suc- 
ceeded my  brother  in  the  Rangership  of  Richmond  Park, 
has  imitated  her  brother  William's  unpopularity,  and  dis- 
obliged the  whole  country,  by  refusal  of  tickets,  and  liber- 
ties that  had  always  been  allowed.  They  are  at  law  with 
her,  and  have  printed  in  the  Evening  Post  a  strong 
memorial,  which  she  had  refused  to  receive.  The  High 
Sheriff  of  Surrey,  to  whom  she  had  denied  a  ticket,  but 
on  better  thought  had  sent  one,  refused  it,  and  said  he 
had  taken  his  part.  Lord  Brooke,  who  had  applied  for 
one,  was  told  he  couldn't  have  one ;  and,  to  add  to  the 
affront,  it  was  signified  that  the  Princess  had  refused  one 
to  my  Lord  Chancellor.  Your  old  nobility  don't  under- 
stand such  comparisons.  But  the  most  remarkable  event 
happened  to  her  about  three  weeks  ago.  One  Mr.  Bird,  a 
rich  gentleman  near  the  Palace,  was  applied  to  by  the  late 
Queen  for  a  piece  of  ground  that  lay  convenient  for  a 
walk  she  was  making.  He  replied,  that  it  was  not  proper 
for  him  to  pretend  to  make  a  Queen  a  present,  but  if  she 
would  do  what  she  pleased  with  the  ground,  he  would  be 
content  with  the  acknowledgment  of  a  key  and  two  bucks 
a  year.  This  was  religiously  observed  till  the  era  of  her 
Royal  Highness's  reign.  The  bucks  were  denied,  and  he 
himself  once  shut  out,  on  pretence  it  was  fence-month, 
(the  breeding  time,  when  tickets  used  to  be  excluded,  keys 
never) .  The  Princess  was  soon  after  going  through  his 
grounds  to  town.  She  found  a  padlock  on  his  gate.  She 
*  "SValpole's  "Memoirs  of  George  II." 


AMELIA    SOPHIA    ELEANOIIA   OF    HANOVEE.  103 

ordered  it  to  be  broken  open.  Mr.  Shaw,  her  deputy, 
begged  a  respite,  till  he  could  go  for  the  key.  He  found 
Mr.  Bird  at  home.  '  Lord,  Sir,  here  is  a  strange  mistake, 
the  Princess  is  at  the  gate  and  it  is  padlocked !'  '  Mistake ! 
no  mistake  at  all.  I  made  the  road.  The  ground  is  my 
own  property.  Her  Royal  Highness  has  thought  fit  to 
break  the  agreement  which  her  Royal  mother  made  with 
me  ;  nobody  goes  through  my  grounds  but  those  I  choose 
should.'"  " 

His  Highness  the  Prince  of  Orange,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  marriage,  remained  several  months  in  England,  and 
frequently  visited  the  Princess  Anne,  his  intended  bride,  at 
St.  James's.  One  night  in  the  winter  of  the  preceding  }rear, 
his  Highness,  then  keeping  his  Court  at  Somerset  House, 
went  incognito  to  the  apartments  in  St.  James's,  and 
played  at  cards  for  several  hours  with  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  the  Princess  Royal,  and  her  sisters,  the  Princesses 
Amelia  and  Caroline.  The  Palace  was  very  gay  on  these 
occasions,  his  Majesty  frequently  condescending  to  be  a 
party  to  these  evening  amusements.* 

After  the  Queen's  death,  the  King  had  private  parties 
at  cards  every  night,  from  nine  to  eleven,  in  the  apart- 
ment of  the  Princesses  Amelia  and  Caroline,  to  which 
only  the  most  favourite  lords  and  ladies  of  the  Court 
were  invited,  and  some  of  the  King's  Grooms  of  the  Bed- 
chamber. 

It  was  at  Kensington  Palace  that  the  King  and  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  met  in  the  apartment  of  the  Princess 
Amelia,  of  which  Walpole  writes  in  these  words  : — 

"  Two  messengers  were  despatched  to  recal  the  Duke, 
and,  October  12th,  he  arrived  at  Kensington.  It  was  in 
the  evening,  and  he  retired  to  his  own  apartment,  where 
*  Pyne. 


104  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

Mr.  Fox  and  his  servants  were  attending.  He  thanked 
Mr.  Fox  for  being  there,  and  said — '  You  see  me  well, 
both  in  body  and  mind.  I  have  written  orders  in  my 
pocket  for  everything  I  did.'  He  afterwards  said,  his 
orders  had  been  so  strong,  that  he  had  not  expected  to 
obtain  such  good  conditions.  He  then  dismissed  Fox, 
saying  he  would  send  for  him  again,  The  shortness  of 
this  interview,  he  afterwards  told  Mr.  Fox,  had  proceeded 
from  his  determination  of  seeing  nobody  alone  who  could 
be  supposed  to  advise  him,  till  he  had  taken  the  step  he 
meditated.  At  nine,  the  hour  the  King  punctually 
goes  to  play  in  the  apartment  of  the  Princess  Amelia,  the 
Duke  went  to  her.  The  King,  who  was  there,  and 
had  ordered  the  Princess  not  to  leave  them  alone,  received 
him  with  extreme  coldness  ;  and  when  his  Royal  Highness 
went  afterwards  into  the  other  room  where  the  King  was 
at  cards,  his  Majesty  said  aloud,  '  Here  is  my  son,  who 
has  ruined  me,  and  disgraced  himself;'  and,  unless  this  was 
speaking  to  him,  spoke  not  a  word.  At  eleven,  when  the 
cards  were  over,  the  Duke  went  down  to  Lady  Yarmouth, 
and  told  her  the  King  had  left  him  but  one  favour  to  ask, 
which  he  was  come  to  solicit  by  her  interposition,  as  lie 
wished  to  make  it  as  little  disagreeable  to  the  King  as 
possible ;  it  was  to  desire  leave  to  resign  everything,  the 
post  of  Captain-General,  and  his  regiment.  The  Countess 
was  in  great  concern  at  the  request,  and  said,  '  Pray,  Sir, 
don't  determine  this  at  once.'  He  replied,  '  He  begged 
her  pardon,  he  was  not  come  for  advice ;  he  had  had  time 
to  think,  and  was  determined.'  '  Then,  Sir,'  said  she,  '  I 
have  nothing  left  but  to  obey.'  " 

Walpole  relates  a  scene  which  occurred  at  Princess 
Amelia's  loo-table,  in  December,  1762 ;  she  was  then  in 
her  fiftieth  year.  He  says — "  On  Thursday  1  was  sum- 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEAKOHA   OF    HA3TOVEB.  105 

moned  to  the  Princess  Emily's*  loo.  Loo,  she  called  it ;. 
dolilics  it  was.  The  second  thing  she  said  to  me  was, 
'How  were  you  the  two  long  days?'  'Madam,  I  was 
only  there  the  first.'  'And  how  did  you  vote?'  'Ma- 
dam, I  went  away.'  '  Upon  my  word,  that  was  carving 
well.'  Not  a  very  pleasant  apostrophe  to  one  who  cer- 
tainly never  was  a  time-server.  Well,  we  sat  down.  She 
said,  '  I  hear  Wilkinson  is  turned  out,  and  that  Sir  Edward 
Wilmington  is  to  have  his  place.  Who  is  he  ?'  addressing 
herself  to  me,  who  sat  over  against  her.  '  He  is  the  late 
Mr.  Winnington's  heir,  Madam.'  '  Did  you  like  that 
Winnington  ?'  '  I  can't  but  say  I  did,  Madam.'  She 
shrugged  up  her  shoulders,  and  continued — '  Winnington 
was  originally  a  great  Tory.  What  do  you  think  he  was 
when  he  died  ?'  '  Madam,  I  believe  what  all  people  are  in 
place.'  '  Pray,  Mr.  Montagu,  do  you  perceive  anything 
rude  or  offensive  in  this  ?'  Here,  then,  she  flew  into  the 
most  outrageous  passion,  coloured  like  scarlet,  and  said — • 
'  None  of  your  wit ;  I  don't  understand  joking  on  these 
subjects.  What  do  you  think  your  father  would  have  said 
if  he  had  heard  you  say  so  ?  He  would  have  murdered 
you,  and  you  would  have  deserved  it.'  I  was  quite  con- 
founded and  amazed.  It  was  impossible  to  explain  myself 
across  a  table,  as  she  is  so  deaf.  There  was  no  making 
a  reply  to  a  woman  and  a  Princess,  and  particularly  for 
me,  who  have  made  it  a  rule,  when  I  must  converse  with 
Roj^alties,  to  treat  them  with  the  greatest  respect,  since  it 
is  all  the  court  they  will  ever  have  from  me.  I  said  to 
those  on  each  side  of  me,  '  What  can  I  do  ?  I  cannot  ex- 
plain myself  now.'  Well,  I  held  my  peace,  and  so  did 
she,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Then  she  began  with  me 
again,  examined  me  upon  the  whole  debate,  and  at  last 
*  Amelia — or  Emily,  as  the  name  is  sometimes  written. 


106  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

asked  me  directly  which  I  thought  the  best  speaker,  my 
father  or  Mr.  Pitt  ?  If  possible,  this  was  more  distressing 
than  her  anger.  I  replied,  '  It  was  impossible  to  compare 
two  men  so  different ;  that  I  believed  my  father  was  more 
a  man  of  business  than  Mr.  Pitt.'  '  Well,  but  Mr.  Pitt's 
language  ?'  '  Madam,  I  have  always  been  remarkable  for 
admiring  Mr.  Pitt's  language.'  At  last  the  unpleasant 
scene  ended ;  but  as  we  were  going  away  I  went  close  to 
her,  and  said,  '  Madam,  I  must  beg  leave  to  explain  myself. 
Your  Royal  Highness  has  seemed  to  be  very  angry  with 
me,  and  I  am  sure  I  did  not  mean  to  offend  you ;  all  that  I 
intended  to  say  was,  that  I  supposed  Tories  were  Whigs 
when  they  got  places.'  '  Oh,'  said  she,  '  I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  you.  Indeed,  I  was  very  angry.'  Why  she 
was  angry,  or  what  she  thought  I  meant,  I  do  not  know 
to  this  moment,  unless  she  supposed  that  I  would  have 
hinted  that  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  the  Opposition 
were  not  men  of  consummate  virtue,  and  had  lost  their 
places  out  of  principle.  The  very  reverse  was  at  that 
time  in  my  head,  for  I  meant  that  the  Tories  would  be  just 
as  loyal  as  the  Whigs  when  they  got  anything  by  it." 

The  Duke  of  Newcastle  appeared  for  the  last  time  in  a 
political  light  in  1767.  He  was  then  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  ensuing  year  his  life  was 
in  great  danger.  Recovering  in  some  degree,  he  notified  his 
determination  to  give  up  politics  by  letter  to  Princess 
Amelia,  Lord  Buckingham,  and  others,  for  he  could  not 
quit  folly  but  in  a  foolish  manner. 

"  Age  and  feebleness  at  length  wore  out  that  busy  pas- 
sion for  intrigue,  which  power  had  not  been  able  to  satiate, 
nor  disgrace   correct.     He  languished  near  ten   months 
longer,  and  died  November  17th,  1768."* 
*  Walpole. 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEANOBA   OF    HANOVEK.          107 

The  name  of  Amelia  has  been  associated  with  another 
transaction  of  a  more  painful  nature,  the  condemnation  of 
Mr.  Byng.  Walpole  writes — "  It  was  the  uniformity  of 
Mr.  Byng's  behaviour,  from  the  outset  of  his  persecution 
to  his  catastrophe,  from  whence  I  conclude  that  he  was 
aspersed  as  unjustly  as  I  am  sure  that  he  was  devoted 
maliciously,  arid  put  to  death  contrary  to  all  equity  and 

precedent Many  years  after  that  tragedy  was  acted 

I  received  a  most  authentic  and  shocking  confirmation  of 
the  justice  of  my  suspicions. 

"  Oct.  21,  1783,  being  with  her  Eoyal  Highness  Princess 
Amelia  at  her  villa,  at  Gunnersbury,  among  many  in- 
teresting anecdotes  which  I  have  set  down  in  another 
place,  she  told  me,  that  while  Admiral  Byng's  affair  was 
depending,'  the  Duchess  of  Newcastle  sent  Lady  Sophia 
Egerton  to  her,  the  Princess,  to  beg  her  to  be  for  the 
execution  of  Admiral  Byng.  i  They  thought,'  added  the 
Princess,  '  that  unless  he  was  put  to  death  Lord  Anson 
could  -not  be  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty.  Indeed,' 
continued  the  Princess,  '  I  was  already  for  it ;  the  officers 
would  never  have  fought  if  he  had  not  been  executed.'  I 
replied,  that  I  thought  his  death  most  unjust,  and  the 
sentence  a  most  absurd  contradiction. 

"  Lady  Sophia  Egerton  was  wife  of  a  clergyman,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Durham.  What  a  complication  of  horrors ! 
Women  employed  on  a  job  for  blood  !"* 

Gunnersbury  House,  in  Ealing  parish,  Middlesex,  was 
purchased  in  1761  for  Princess  Amelia,  and  after  her  death, 
in  1788,  it  was  sold  and  pulled  down.  It  was  originally 
built,  in  1663,  by  Webb,  a  pupil  of  Inigo  Jones,  for  the 
celebrated  Sergeant  Maynard.  The  neat  villa,  which  was 

*  Walpole. — The  editor  of  Walpole  thought  more  importance  at- 
tached to  mere  gossip  than  it  deserved. 


108  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

erected  on  the  site  of  the  dwelling  formerly  tenanted  by 
Royalty,  for  Alexander  Copeland,  Esq.,  was  surrounded  by 
extensive  and  ornamental  pleasure-grounds,  comprising 
about  seventy  acres.  There  are  two  fine  sheets  of  water 
and  many  beautiful  cedars,  which  are  supposed  to  have 
been  planted  by  Kent,  who  laid  out  the  grounds,  about 
1740  ;  the  forcing-houses  and  pinery  are  on  a  very  exten- 
sive scale. 

Amelia  was  residing  at  Gunnersbury  on  one  occasion 
when  a  fire  occurred,  by  which  four  rooms  were  burnt. 
Intimation  of  what  had  occurred  was  given  to  her  Royal 
Highness  through  the  servants,  with  the  remark,  "  Do  not 
be  frightened,  Madam  !"  which  only  increased  her  alarm  ; 
but  on  learning  the  exact  truth,  she  remarked  com- 
posedly— "  I  am  very  glad  !  I  had  expectation  my  brother 
was  dead !"  alluding  to  her  favourite  brother  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  whose  health  had  long  been  in  a  very  pre- 
carious state. 

Amelia  survived  her  mother,  her  sisters,  Louisa,  Anne, 
and  Caroline,  and  was  destined  to  witness  the  last  mo- 
ments of  her  father,  George  II. 

The  death  of  the  King  is  thus  described  by  "VValpole : 
— "  On  the  25th  of  October  he  rose  as  usual  at  six,  and 
drank  his  chocolate ;  for  all  his  actions  were  invariably 
methodic.  A  quarter  after  seven  he  went  into  a  little 
closet.  His  German  valet  de  cliambre  in  waiting  heard  a 
noise,  and  running  in,  found  the  King  dead  on  the  floor. 
In  falling  he  had  cut  his  face  against  the  corner  of  a 
bureau.  He  was  laid  on  a  bed  and  blooded,  but  not  a 
drop  followed;  the  ventricle  of  his  heart  had  burst. 
Princess  Amelia  was  called,  and  told  the  King  wanted  her. 
She  went  immediately,  and  thought  him  in  a  fit.  Being 
deaf  herself,  she  saw  nothing  in  the  chamber  that  indi- 


AMELIA    SOPHIA   ELEA1SORA   OF    HANOYEE.  109 

cated  his  being  dead ;  and  putting  her  face  close  to  his, 
to  hear  if  he  spoke  to  her,  she  then  first  perceived  he  was 
lifeless." 

Princess  Amelia,  as  soon  as  she  was  certain  of  her 
father's  death,  sent  an  account  of  it  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  but  he  had  already  been  apprised  of  it.* 

"  After  George  II. 's  death  Mr.  Pitt  was  the  first  who 
arrived  at  Kensington,  and  went  to  Princess  Amelia  for 
her  orders.  She  told  him  nobody  could  give  him  better 
counsel  than  his  own.  He  asked  if  he  ought  not  to  go 
to  the  Prince  ?  She  replied,  she  could  not  advise  him, 
but  thought  it  would  be  right.  He  went."  Walpole  adds, 
41  I  mention  these  little  circumstances  because  they  show, 
from  Mr.  Pitt's  uncertainty,  that  he  was  possessed  with 
none  of  the  confidence  and  ardour  of  a  man  who  thinks 
himself  a  favourite." 

The  new  King  (George  III.)  sent  to  Princess  Amelia 
to  know  where  her  father's  will  was  deposited.  She  said, 
one  copy  had  been  entrusted  to  her  eight  or  nine  years 
before ;  but  thinking  the  King  had  forgotten  it,  she  had 
lately  put  him  in  mind  of  it.  He  had  replied,  "  Did  not 
she  know,  that  when  a  new  will  was  made  it  cancelled  all 
preceding?"  No  curiosity,  no  eagerness,  no  haste,  was 
expressed  by  the  new  King  on  that  head ;  nor  the  smallest 
impediment  thrown  in  the  way  of  his  grandfather's  inten- 
tions. A  gentleman  of  the  bedchamber  was  immediately 
•dismissed  who  refused  to  sit  up  with  the  body,  as  is  usual. 
Wilmot  and  Ranby,  the  late  King's  physician  and  surgeon, 
acquainted  the  King  with  two  requests  of  their  master, 
which  were  punctually  complied  with.  They  were,  that 
Lis  body  might  be  embalmed  as  soon  as  possible,  and  a 
double  quantity  of  perfumes  used ;  and  that  the  side  of 
*  Walpole's  "  George  III." 
I 


110  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

the  late  Queen's  coffin,  left  loose  on  purpose,  might  be 
taken  away,  and  his  body  laid  close  to  hers.* 

By  his  will,  George  II.  gave  50,0001.  among  his  three 
surviving  children,  the  Duke,  Princess  Amelia,  and  Mary, 
Princess  of  Hesse.  This  will  was  the  one  which  had 
been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Princess  Amelia.  The 
annual  revenue  of  this  Princess  was  12,OOOZ.f 

George  I.  had  left  two  wills ;  one  in  the  hands  of  Dr. 
Wake,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  other  with  the  Duke 
of  Wolfenbuttel.  The  Archbishop,  on  news  of  the  King's 
death,  carried  his  copy  to  the  Privy  Council,  and,  without 
the  precaution  of  opening  it  before  them,  which  the  poor 
man  could  not  apprehend  would  be  so  necessary  as  it 
proved,  gave  it  into  the  new  King's  hands,  who,  to  the 
prelate's  great  surprise,  carried  it  from  the  Council  un- 
opened. The  fate  of  the  other  copy  appears  by  a  letter 
from  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to  the  first  Earl  of  Waldegrave, 
"  in  which  his  Grace  informed  the  Earl,  that  he  had  re- 
ceived by  the  messenger  the  copy  of  the  will  and  codicil  of 
George  I.,  that  he  had  delivered  it  to  his  Majesty,  who 
put  it  into  the  fire  without  opening  it ;  so,"  adds  the  Duke, 
"  we  do  not  know  whether  it  confirms  the  other  dr  not." 
And  he  proceeds  to  say,  "  I  despatch  a  messenger  to  the 
Duke  of  Wolfenbuttel  with  the  treaty,  in  which  is  granted 
all  he  desires ;  and  we  expect,  by  the  return  of  the  mes- 
senger, the  original  will  from  him."  So  that  the  "  honest 
Duke  of  Wolfenbuttel  sold  it  for  a  subsidy."} 

Amelia's  life  was  prolonged  to  a  very  advanced  age. 
She  had  been  born  at  Hanover  during  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne,  and  she  witnessed  the  reigns  of  George  I.  and 
George  II.,  and  part  of  that  of  George  III.,  her  nephew. 

*  Walpole's  "  George  HI." 
f  Walpole.  i  Ibid. 


AMELIA    SOPHIA  ELEANOEA   OP    HANOVEE.  Ill 

She  assisted  at  the  baptism  of  the  second  son  of  Queen 
Charlotte,  wife  of  George,  to  whom  she  stood  sponsor. 
The  baptism  of  the  young  Prince  took  place  September 
14th,  1763,  in  the  Council  Chamber  of  St.  James's  Palace, 
a  little  after  seven  in  the  evening.  The  procession  began 
in  the  following  order : — The  Lady  Augusta,  the  King's 
sister,  led  by  Prince  William,  Princess  Louisa  by  Prince 
Henry,  Princess  Caroline  Matilda  by  Prince  Frederick, 
and  the  Princess  Amelia  led  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland. 
Afterwards  came  the  nobility,  according  to  their  rank. 
The  State  bed  on  which  the  Queen  reposed  was  of  rich 
crimson  velvet,  adorned  with  gold  fringe,  and  lined  with, 
white  satin.  The  counterpane  of  lace  alone  cost  3780Z. 
The  sponsors  were  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  Duke  of 
Saxe  Gotha  by  their  proxies,  the  Earl  of  Huntingdon  and 
Earl  Gower.  The  Princess  Amelia  stood  herself  in  person. 
The  Royal  boy  was  named  by  her  Frederick. 

The  masculine  turn  of  this  Princess's  mind  was  denoted 
by  her  dress  and  manners :  she  was  most  commonly  attired 
in  a  riding-habit  in  the  German  fashion,  with  a  round  hat. 
Her  especial  delight  was  to  attend  to  her  stables,  and  she 
made  a  point  of  this  whenever  the  horses  were  out  of 
order.  She  rose  early,  and  drank  her  coffee  or  chocolate 
standing,  walking  about  the  room  while  she  did  so.  She 
took  snuff  immoderately,  and  had  a  great  fondness  for 
cards.  One  day,  at  Bath,  being  in  the  public  rooms,  a 
general  officer  seeing  her  box  stand  upon  the  table,  took  the 
freedom  to  help  himself  to  a  pinch — a  liberty  the  Princess 
could  not  for  a  moment  brook.  On  perceiving  what  had 
passed,  she  called  to  her  servant,  and  ordered  him  to  throw 
the  contents  into  the  fire ! 

For  many  years  before  her  death  the  Princess  led  a  very 
retired  life,  maintaining  the  strictest  privacy.  Walpole 
i2 


112  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

says  : — "  After  her  father's  death  she  lived  with  great  dig- 
nity, but,  being  entirely  slighted  by  her  nephew,  who  was 
afraid  of  her  frankness,  she  soon  forbore  going  to  Court, 
or  to  keep  a  Drawing-room  herself,  on  pretence  of  her  in- 
creased deafness.  She  was  extremely  deaf  and  very  short- 
sighted, yet  had  so  much  quickness  and  conception  that 
she  seemed  to  hear  and  see  more  readily  than  others.  She 
was  an  excellent  mistress  to  her  servants,  steady  to  her 
favourites,  and  nobly  generous  and  charitable." 

A  story  is  told  of  George  IV.,  when  a  young  man, 
driving  Lord  Clermont  in  an  open  landau  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Windsor,  the  then  residence  of  the  aged 
Princess  Amelia  Sophia.  His  lordship,  the  weather  be- 
ing cold,  was  wrapped  up  in  a  thick  white  great  coat,  to 
which  a  woollen  hood  was  attached,  which  he  had  drawn 
over  his  head.  Everybody  who  passed  by  imagined  it  to 
be  the  Princess,  and  exclamations  were  made  on  the 
charming  trait  of  amiability  in  this  young  Prince,  who 
did  not  mind  taking  out  his  deaf  old  aunt,  wrapped  up  in 
flannels  as  she  might  be,  in  order  to  give  her  a  drive ! 

One  day  when  the  Princess  was  at  Gunnersbury,  in 
June,  1786,  Walpole,  then  bordering  on  his  seventieth 
year,  having  borrowed  a  dress-coat  and  sword  for  the  oc- 
casion, dined  with  her,  in  company  with  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  Prince  of  Mecklenburg,  Duke  of  Portland,  Lord 
Clanbrassil,  Lord  and  Lady  Clermont,  Lord  and  Lady 
Southampton,  Lord  Pelham,  and  Mrs.  Howe.  Some  of 
the  party  had  retired  early,  others  sat  up  playing  com- 
merce till  ten.  "  I  am  afraid  I  was  tired,"  says  Horace. 
The  Princess  asked  him  for  some  verses  on  Gunnersbury. 
"  I  pleaded  being  superannuated.  She  would  not  excuse 
me.  I  promised  she  should  have  an  ode  on  her  next  birth- 
day, which  diverted  the  Prince;  but  all  would  not  do. 


AMELIA   SOPHIA  ELEANOKA   OP   HANOYEB.          113 

So,  as  I .  came  home,  I  made — some  stanzas  not  worth 
quoting,  and  sent  them  to  her  breakfast  next  morning." 

Four  months  afterwards  Amelia  Sophia  died,  on  the  1st 
of  October,  at  her  house  in  Cavendish-square,  at  the  corner 
of  Harley-street.  She  was  nearly  seventy-six  years  of 
age,  and  the  last  surviving  offspring  of  George  II.  and 
Queen  Caroline.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the 
Princess  had  always  entertained  a  presentiment  that  her 
death  would  occur  in  October ;  it  being  the  month  in  which 
not  only  her  father  had  died,  but  also  her  favourite  bro- 
ther, the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  had  been  carried  off  by  apo- 
plexy, and  even  on  the  same  day  of  the  month ! 

The  remains  of  Amelia  Sophia  were  privately  interred 
on  the  llth  of  November,  in  the  Koyal  vault  in  Henry 
VII.'s  Chapel,  at  Westminster. 


114 


CAROLINE  ELIZABETH 

OF  HANOVEB, 
THIRD   DAUGHTER  OF  GEORGE   II. 

Birth  of  Caroline  Elizabeth — Comes  to  England— First  drive  in 
public — Queen's  offer  to  the  poet  Gay — Swift's  satire — Princess 
inoculated — Her  amiable  character — Love  of  truth — Choice  of  an 
attendant  for  her — Court  gossip — Unhappy  attachment — Character 
of  Lord  Hervey — The  Duke  of  Grafton — Antipathy  between  them 
— Letters  from  Lord  Hervey  to  Mrs.  Clayton — His  talents — Death 
— Caroline  her  mother's  favourite — Queen's  prediction  about  her 
daughter — Caroline's  indifference  to  life — Retires  into  seclusion 
on  the  death  of  Lord  Hervey — Her  kindness  to  his  children — Her 
singular  love  of  seclusion — Her  charities — Death  and  Will — King 
refuses  to  confirm  her  allowance  to  Princess  Amelia — Walpole's 
testimonial  to  Caroline — A  loss  to  the  country — Mortality  in  the 
Royal  Family. 

THE  little  Princess  Caroline  Elizabeth,  third  daughter  of 
George  II.,  was  a  native  of  Hanover,  and  born  May  31, 
1713.  On  the  accession  of  her  grandfather  to  the  English 
throne,  she  accompanied  her  mother,  Caroline,  Princess  of 
Wales,  and  the  Princesses  Anne  and  Amelia,  her  eldest 
sisters,  to  this  country.  Two  days  after  her  arrival,  she 
took  her  first  drive  in  public,  as  the  historian  has  minutely 
recorded.  It  is  also  stated  that  Caroline  of  Anspach, 
having  expressed  a  desire  to  do  honour  to  the  poet  Gay, 
offered  him  the  post  of  Gentleman-Usher  to  her  third 
daughter,  Caroline — a  circumstance  on  which  Swift  was 
bitterly  satirical :  "  as  if  Gay  would  be  willing  to  act  'as  a 
male  nurse  to  a  little  girl  of  two  years  of  age!" 

The  young  Princess  was,  with  her  sister,  inoculated  by 


CAKOLINE   ELIZABETH    OF   HAISTOYEK.  115 

Dr.  Mead,  according  to  the  usage  which  had  just  been 
brought  into  fashion. 

Caroline  Elizabeth  was  not  only  one  of  the  best,  but 
loveliest  of  the  daughters  of  George  II.  Her  superiority 
is  attested  by  Horace  Walpole,  who  was  slow  in  eulogizing 
anybody,  and  then  seldom  without  detraction :  by  him 
she  is  called  one  of  the  most  excellent  of  women. 

From  infancy  her  superior  mental  acquirements  were 
perceptible,  but  these  were  more  than  eclipsed  by  those 
far  more  desirable  qualities  of  the  heart : — "  She  was  of  a 
genius  and  disposition  equally  to  be  admired  and  loved ; 
formed  to  be  the  delight  and  honour  of  a  Court ;  possessed 
of  an  uncommon  wit,  tempered  with  judgment  and  re- 
strained by  modesty ;  for  ever  cheerful  and  the  cause  of 
cheerfulness ;  excellent  in  all  female  accomplishments,  and 
eminent  particularly  for  her  skill  and  taste  in  music ;  but, 
more  than  all,  distinguished  by  her  goodness." 

Caroline,  in  the  midst  of  a  home  divided  by  discord, 
was  equally  devoted  and  obedient  to  both  her  Royal  pa- 
rents; they  seem  to  have  returned  her  affection  with 
unabated  tenderness  during  their  whole  lives.  These 
fond,  proud  parents  were  accustomed  to  say,  when  any 
disagreement  took  place  among  their  children,  "  Send  for 
Caroline,  and  then  we  shall  know  the  truth!"  Conse- 
quently, the  Princess  obtained  the  name  of  "  the  truth- 
telling  Caroline  Elizabeth"  —  an  honourable  epithet, 
applied  in  early  history  to  King  Alfred  the  Great,  and 
which  is  far  more  worthy  of  remembrance  than  all  the 
laurels  of  victory  or  achievements  of  the  mind  in  either. 

A  letter,  addressed  to  Mrs.  Clayton  by  the  Countess  of 
Pembroke,  recommends  the  eldest  daughter  of  James, 
fifth  Earl  of  Salisbury,  as  an  attendant  for  the  Princess 
Caroline, 


116  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES'. 

"  Saturday  Morning: 

"DEAR  MADAM, 

"I  have  thought  of  one  this  morning,  that  is,. 
Lacty  Anne  Cecil,  Lord  Salisbury's  sister.  I  never  saw 
her,  but  have  heard  her  extremely  commended  for  a  very 
sober,  discreet  young  woman.  I  know  nothing,  whether 
she  will  leave  her  mother,  or  no.  She  dined,  I  know,  in 
town  with  her  cousin,  young  Mrs.  Southwell,  last  week ; 
but,  perhaps,  you  may  think  of  objections  to  this  that  I 
do  not  recollect ;  for  the  other  you  named  last  night,  sh® 
is  a  relation,  and  I  never  heard  a  fault  she  had ;  but,  to 
speak  freely  and  impartially,  I  fancy,  if  you  were  to  see 
her  again,  you  would  think  her  too  low  and  girlish.  The 
Princess  Caroline  is  considerably  taller.  But  your  judg- 
ment is  so  excellent  in  every  degree,  that  I  should  not 
have  named  or  thought  of  mine  if  you  had  not  com- 
manded it,  as  you  have  a  right,  dear  Madam,  to  do  every- 
thing that  belongs  to, 

"  Your  most  obliged  and  faithful 

"  Humble  Servant, 

"  M.  PEMBROKE.'* 

The  fair,  amiable,  and  accomplished  Caroline  was  born? 
to  do  good  to  others,  not  to  reap  in  this  world  happiness 
for  herself;  on  the  contrary,  she  is  a  remarkable  instance 
of  the  absence  of  it  when  in  possession  of  all  the  gifts  of 
fortune,  youth,  health,  eminent  beauty,  high  station,  and 
attractive  manners ;  amiable  and  virtuous  as  she  was,  she- 
was  the  victim  of  an  unfortunate  attachment  which  had1 
taken  too  deep  a  root  to  be  eradicated.  The  vanity  or 
ambition  of  John,  Lord  Hervey  of  Ickworth,  had  induced 
him  to  create  an  interest  in  this  fair  young  creature,  which 
terminated  only  with  her  existence. 


CAROLINE   ELIZABETH   OF   HANOYEE.  117 

This  remarkable  nobleman  is  said  to  have  been  even  for- 
bidding in  person  and  disagreeable  in  his  manners,  yet  to 
have  concentrated  in  himself  every  fascination  and  error  of 
the  most  accomplished  courtier.  He  possessed  such  supe- 
rior attainments,  joined  to  such  vivacity,  aud  so  great  a 
power  of  varying  his  subjects  of  conversation,  that  he  was 
esteemed  the  greatest  ornament  of  the  select  circle  of 
Queen  Caroline,  and  the  Court  was  dull  to  a  degree,  almost 
intolerable,  without  his  presence.  He  was  born  in  1696, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  "  before  he  had  taken  his  bache- 
lor's degree  in  Cambridge,  was  appointed  one  of  the 
Gentlemen  of  the  Bedchamber"  to  George  II.,  then  only 
Prince  of  Wales.  The  Royal  favour  thus  early  extended 
to  him,  he  succeeded  in  retaining  till  his  death,  preserving 
the  regard  of  the  Queen  undiminished,  which,  however,  he 
repaid  by  exciting  in  his  behalf  the  hopeless  attachment 
of  Princess  Caroline.  "Between  Lord  Hervey  and  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  there  was  a  mortal  antipathy,  and  the 
Court  rang  with  the  quarrels  of  the  favourites  of  the  two 
Princesses ;  but  Lord  Hervey,  who,  as  Horace  Walpole 
says,  '  handled  all  the  weapons  of  a  Court,'  supported  by 
Sir  Robert  Walpole,  to  whom  he  paid  great  homage,  re- 
tained his  ascendancy  over  the  Queen."* 

The  Duke  of  Grafton,  being  the  favoured  lover  of  Prin- 
cess Amelia,  created  much  dissension  between  the  two 
nobles,  and  "the  sneering  terms"  in  which  Lord  Hervey 
writes  of  the  Duke,  are  explained  by  their  frequent  quarrels 
and  avowed  dislikes. 

It  is  indeed  a  matter  of  no  small  surprise  that  Hervey 

should  have  obtained  the  name  of"  Handsome  Hervey,"  if 

we  credit  all  that  is  written  of  him  personally.     He  is 

said  to  have  suffered  so  much  from  epilepsy,  that  he  was 

*  "  Memoirs  of  Lady  Sundon.' 


118  THE   KOTAL  PBINCESSES. 

compelled  to  use  emetics  daily,  and  to  restrict  himself  to 
a  certain  regimen,  of  which  asses'  milk  formed  a  part:  also 
to  have  painted  his  face  to  conceal  its  ghastly  appearance ; 
so  that  even  Pope  ridiculed  him  with  malignant  acrimony, 
under  the  appellation  of  Sporus,  and  Lord  Young  termed 
him  "  a  thing  of  silk" — a  mere  white  curd  of  asses'  milk — 
and  a  painted  child  of  dirt !  Notwithstanding  all  these 
drawbacks,  Lord  Hervey  possessed  an  insinuating  deport- 
ment and  sprightly  disposition,  with  undeniable  wit — in 
fact,  he  appears  to  have  been,  in  all  points,  the  "  ladies' 
man,"  and  thus  not  only  carried  off  the  beautiful  Mary 
Lepel,  in  1720,  one  of  the  loveliest  women  of  the  Court, 
but  secured  an  irrevocable  interest  in  the  heart  of  the  un- 
fortunate daughter  of  his  Sovereign.  As  her  affection  was 
utterly  hopeless,  Hervey  being  married  to  the  "  Brigadier's 
daughter,"  she  consoled  herself  by  eventually  protecting 
his  children. 

The  character  of  this  man,  who  so  firmly  fixed  his  foot- 
ing in  the  favour  of  mother  and  daughter,  is  best  appre- 
ciated by  some  of  his  letters,  which  throw  a  light  on  the 
Court  of  George  and  Caroline. 

The  foil  owing  is  addressed  by  Lord  Hervey  to  Mrs. 
Clayton : — 

"  St.  James's,  July  14,  1733. 
"  MADAM, 

"  I  fear  you  will  think  me  both  unreasonable 
and  absurd,  in  making  use  of  the  privilege  you  gave 
me  to  trouble  your  servants  as  a  plea  for  troubling 
you ;  but  it  was  quite  impracticable  for  me  to  have  taken 
possession  of  your  house  at  Kew,  upon  the  obliging 
offer  you  made  me  of  a  room  there,  without  acquainting 
you  that  I  had  done  so,  and  thanking  you  for  the 
authority  to  do  it. 


CAROLINE    ELIZABETH    OF   HANOVEB.  119 

"  The  Court  removes  on  Monday,  after  dinner,  to 
Hampton  Court,  so  that  I  shall  no  longer  be  obliged  to 
lead  the  disagreeable  stage-coachman's  life  which  I  have 
done  during  their  stay  at  Richmond,  and  I  assure  you  I 
have  so  little  of  the  itinerant  fashionable  taste  of  many  of 
my  acquaintance,  that  I  look  on  this  negative  pleasure  of 
fixing  with  no  small  comfort.  It  has  often  been  matter 
of  the  utmost  astonishment  to  me  what  satisfaction  it  can 
be  to  those  people  whom  I  see  perpetually  going  from 
place  to  place  (as  others  walk  backwards  and  forwards  in 
a  room),  from  no  other  motive  but  merely  going ;  for  the 
first  seem  no  more  to  prefer  one  corner  of  the  world  to 
another  than  the  last  do  this  or  that  end  of  the  room ; 
and  the  only  way  I  can  account  for  it  is,  that  feeling  an 
absolute  cessation  of  thought,  they  keep  their  limbs  in 
motion,  as  their  last  resource,  to  prevent  their  next  heir 
seeing  them  decently  interred. 

"  I  have  often  thought  the  actions  of  these  breathing 
machines  are  to  the  body  just  what  dreaming  is  to  the 
mind :  as  the  one  shows  the  limbs  can  act  whilst  thought 
is  asleep ;  and  the  other,  that  our  thoughts  are  not  always 
at  rest  when  our  limbs  are  so.  I  fear  you  will  think  my 
pen  moves  to  as  little  purpose  as  the  first  of  these,  and  as 
incoherently  as  the  last :  I  am  sure  it  is  with  as  little 
design  as  either ;  for  when  I  began  my  letter,  all  I  in- 
tended was  to  tell  you  I  had  lain  a  night  at  Kew,  and  was 
obliged  to  you  for  the  permission  to  do  so. 

"  However,  notwithstanding  the  impertinent  flippancy 
of  writing  three  pages  to  say  three  words,  if  I  knew  any 
facts  to  entertain  you  with,  I  would  launch  out  afresh, 
but  there  is  nobody  in  town  to  furnish,  invent,  or  relate 
any  ;  and  at  Court  I  need  not  tell  you,  Madam,  that  be- 
tween the  people  who  cannot  say  anything  worth  repeat- 


120  THE   EOTAL  PEINCESSES. 

ing,  and  the  people  who  will  not,  one  seldom  hears  any- 
thing one  cares  to  hear,  more  seldom  what  one  cares  to 
retain,  and  most  seldom  of  all,  what  one  should  care  to 
have  said. 

"  If  I  can  do  you  any  service  in  this  part  of  the  world, 
you  cannot  oblige  me  more  than  by  honouring  me  with 
your  commands. 

"  I  am,  Madam, 
"  Your  most  obliged,  most  obedient  Servant, 

"  HEEYEY. 

"  I  beg  my  compliments  to  Miss  Dyves  and  Mr. 
Clayton." 

The  man  who  could  address  himself  thus  to  please  in  a 
situation  which  required  such  absolute  waste  of  time,  and 
so  deliberately  talk  upon  nothing,  was  one  who  could  not 
fail  of  success.  Here  is  another  specimen  of  the  style  of 
this  nobleman : — 

"  Lord  Hervey  to  Mrs.  Clayton. 

"  Hampton  Court,  July  31,  1733. 

"  MADAM, 

"  I  am  going  this  afternoon,  with  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  to  Goodwood,  for  three  or  four  days ;  but  can- 
not leave  this  place  without  returning  you  my  thanks  for 
the  favour  of  your  letter ;  a  debt,  perhaps,  you  would  be 
more  ready  to  forgive  than  receive ;  but  as  it  is  of  that 
sort  that  one  pays  more  for  one's  own  sake  than  one's 
creditor's,  I  plead  no  merit  from  the  discharge  of  it,  but 
the  pleasure  of  taking  any  occasion  to  assure  you  how 
much  I  am  your  humble  servant. 

"  I  will  not  trouble  you  with  any  account  of  our  occu- 


CAEOLINE   ELIZABETH    OF   HANOVEK.  121 

pations  at  Hampton  Court.  No  mill-horse  ever  went  in 
a  more  constant  track,  or  a  more  unchanging  circle ;  so 
that,  by  the  assistance  of  an  almanac  for  the  day  of  the 
week,  and  a  watch  for  the  hour  of  the  day,  you  may  in- 
form yourself  fully,  without  any  other  intelligence  but 
your  memory,  of  every  transaction  within  the  verge  of 
the  Court.  Walking,  chaises,  levees,  and  audiences  fill  the 
morning ;  at  night  the  King  pla}rs  at  commerce  and 
backgammon,  and  the  Queen  at  quadrille,  where  poor 
Lady  Charlotte  runs  her  usual  nightly  gauntlet — the 
Queen  pulling  her  hood,  Mr.  Schutz  sputtering  in  her  face, 
and  the  Princess  Eoyal  rapping  her  knuckles,  all  at  a 
time.  It  was  in  vain  she  fled  from  persecution  for  her 
religion :  she  suffers  for  her  pride  what  she  escaped  for  her 
faith ;  undergoes  in  a  drawing-room  what  she  dreaded  from 
the  Inquisition,  and  will  die  a  martyr  to  a  Court,  though 
not  to  a  Church. 

"  The  Duke  of  Grafton  takes  his  nightly  opiate  of 
lottery,  and  sleeps  as  usual  between  the  Princesses  Amelia 
and  Caroline.  Lord  Grantham  strolls  from  one  room  to 
another  (as  Dry  den  says)  '  like  some  discontented  gliost 
that  oft  appears,  and  is  forbid  to  speaJc ;'  and  stirs  himself 
about,  as  people  stir  a  fire,  not  with  any  design,  but  in 
hopes  to  make  it  burn  brisker,  which  his  lordship  con- 
stantly does  to  no  purpose,  and  yet  tries  as  constantly  as 
if  it  had  ever  once  succeeded.  At  last  the  King  comes 
up,  the  pool  finishes,  and  everybody  has  their  dismission ; 
their  Majesties  retire  to  Lady  Charlotte  and  my  Lord 
Lifford ;  the  Princesses  to  Bilderbec  and  Lony ;  my  Lord 
Grantham  to  Lady  Frances  and  Mr.  Clark;  some  to 
supper,  and  some  to  bed;  and  thus  (to  speak  in  the 
Scripture  phrase)  the  evening  and  the  morning  make 
the  day. 


122  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

"Adieu,  dear  Madam,  and  believe  me,  without  the 
formality  of  a  conclusion, 

"  Most  sincerely  yours, 

"  HEKVEY." 

Lord  Hervey  wrote  many  political  pamphlets,  esteemed 
by  Horace  Walpole  equal  to  any  ever  written.  Many  of 
his  productions  Dodsley  published  after  his  death,  his 
"  Memoirs  from  his  first  coming  to  Court  till  the  Death 
of  the  Queen"  excepted.  "  To  his  classical  erudition 
Dr.  Middleton  has  left  a  tribute,  in  his  Dedication  to 
the  '  Life  of  Tally,'  to  which  work  Lord  Hervey  con- 
tributed the  translations  of  some  of  the  passages  from 
Cicero."*  George  II.  having  heard  of  his  poetical  effu- 
sions, said — "  My  Lord  Hervey,  you  ought  not  to  write 
verses ;  it  is  beneath  your  rank ;  leave  such  work  to  little 
Mr.  Pope." 

Lord  Hervey  "  displayed  much  skill  as  a  pamphleteer, 
wrote  several  pleasing  little  poems,  and  retorted  on  Pope 
with  considerable  success  in  a  '  Poetical  Epistle  from  a 
Nobleman  to  a  Doctor  of  Divinity.'  He  died  on  the 
8th  of  August,  1743." 

The  Princess  Caroline  had  been  the  favourite  of  the 
Queen,  who  preferred  her  understanding  to  those  of  all  her 
other  daughters,  and  whose  partiality  she  returned  with 
duty,  affection,  gratitude,  and  concern.  Being  in  ill  health 
at  the  time  of  her  mother's  death,  the  Queen  told  her  she 
would  follow  her  in  less  than  a  year.  The  Princess  received 
the  notice  as  a  prophecy ;  and  though  she  lived  many  years 
after  it  had  proved  a  vain  one,  she  quitted  the  world,  and 
persevered  in  the  closest  retreat,  and  in  constant  and  re- 
ligious preparation  for  the  grave ;  a  moment  she  so  eagerly 
*  "  Memoirs  of  Lady  Sundon." 


CAEOLIFE    ELIZABETH  OE   HANOTEE.  123 

desired  that,  when  something  was  once  proposed  to  her  to 
which  she  was  averse,  she  said — "  I  would  not  do  it  to 
die!" 

To  this  impression  of  melancholy  had  contributed  the  loss 
of  Lord  Hervey,  for  whom  she  had  conceived  an  unalterable 
passion,  constantly  marked  afterwards  by  all  kind  and 
generous  offices  to  his  children,  in  which  she  persevered 
from  the  time  of  his  death,  as  though  her  regard  for  him 
had  been  transferred  to  them. 

For  many  years  she  was  totally  an  invalid,  and  shut 
herself  up  in  two  chambers  in  the  inner  part  of  St.  James's, 
from  whence  she  could  not  see  a  single  object.  In  this 
monastic  retirement,  with  no  company  but  that  of  the  King, 
the  Duke,  Princess  Amelia,  and  a  few  of  the  most  intimate 
of  the  Court,  she  led  not  an  unblameable  life  only,  but  a 
meritorious  one ;  her  whole  income  was  dispensed  between 
generosity  and  charity  ;  and  till  her  death,  by  shutting  up 
the  current,  discovered  the  source,  the  gaols  of  London  did 
not  suspect  that  the  best  support  of  their  wretched  in- 
habitants was  issued  from  the  Palace. 

"  From  the  last  Sunday  to  the  Wednesday  on  which  she 
died,  she  declined  seeing  her  family ;  and  when  the  morti- 
fication began  and  the  pain  ceased,  she  said — "  I  feared  I 
should  not  have  died  of  this  !"* 

The  Princess's  will  is  remarkable  for  its  brevity  and 
simplicity. 

"  I  leave  my  sister  Amelia  all  I  have  in  possession, 
and  make  her  my  sole  executrix,  excepting  these  few 
legacies:  —  To  my  dear  sister  Anne  an  enamelled  case, 
and  two  bottles  of  the  same  sort;  to  my  dear  sister, 

*  Walpole's  "  Memoirs,"  of  which  this  portion  was  finished  August 
8th,  1759. 


124  THE    EOYAL   PBINCESSES. 

Mary,  my  emerald  set  with  diamonds  and  the  brilliant 
drops  hanging  to  it,  and  my  ruby  ring  with  the  Queen's 
hair ;  to  my  dear  sister  Louisa  my  diamond  ear-rings,  and 
all  my  rings ;  to  my  brother  William  my  enamelled 
watch.  This  is  my  last  will,  writ  with  my  own  hand. 

"CAROLINE." 

According  to  Walpole,  "the  King,  on  the  death  of 
Princess  Caroline,  had  voluntarily  promised  to  continue 
her  allowance  to  Princess  Amelia,  who  handsomely  engaged 
to  pay  the  same  pensions  and  the  same  grants  to  the  per- 
sons that  her  sister  Caroline  had  done.  She  had  even 
desired  to  impart  a  large  portion  of  it  to  her  sister  Mary, 
of  Hesse ;  but  the  King,  while  the  vapour  of  munificence 
lasted,  said  he  should  take  care  of  Mary.  In  a  month's 
time  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  sent  in  form  to  notify  to 
Princess  Amelia  that  the  King  retracted  his  promise,  and 
should  not  continue  to  her  the  allowance  of  Princess 
Caroline."  The  same  author,  writing  of  the  death  of  Prin- 
cess Caroline,  daughter  of  George  II.,  says,  "  that  though 
her  state  of  health  had  been  so  dangerous  for  years,  and  her 
absolute  confinement  for  many  of  them,  her  disorder  was, 
in  a  manner,  new  and  sudden,  and  her  death  unexpected 
by  herself,  though  earnestly  her  wish.  Her  goodness  was 
constant  and  uniform,  her  generosity  immense,  her  cha- 
rities most  extensive ;  in  short,  I,  no  Royalist,  could  be 
lavish  in  her  praise.  What  will  divert  you  is,  that  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk's  and  the  Duke  of  Northumberland's 
upper  servants  have  asked  leave  to  put  themselves  in 
mourning,  not  out  of  regard  for  this  admirable  Princess, 
but  to  be  more  sur  le  Ion  ton.  I  told  the  Duchess  I  sup- 
posed they  would  expect  her  to  mourn  hereafter  for  their 
relations." 


CAROLINE    ELIZABETH    OF    HAXOYEE.  125 

That  the  grief  felt  for  the  loss  of  Caroline  Elizabeth 
was  unaffected  there  can  be  no  doubt.  She  was  a  dear 
and  amiable  companion  to  her  nearest  relatives,  an  obe- 
dient daughter  to  the  King,  and  an  ornament  and  blessing 
to  her  country.  She  died  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1757,  at  the  age  of  forty-five ;  her  sister  Anne,  and  her 
niece,  daughter  of  Frederick,  died  in  1759,  and  George  II. 
on  October  24,  1760.  So  great  a  havoc  in  the  Royal 
family  had  been  made  by  the  destroying  hand  of  death  in 
the  brief  space  of  three  years. 


126 

MARY  OF  ENGLAND, 

LANDGRAVINE    OF    HESSE    CASSEL, 
FOURTH  DAUGHTER  OF  GEORGE  II. 

Princess  Mary,  fourth  daughter  of  George  II.,  and  first  who  was  born 
in  England — Born  1723 — Married  at  the  age  of  eighteen — Resem 
blance  to  her  mother — Amiable  character. — Prince  Frederick  of 
Hesse  Cassel,  born  in  1720 — Marburg  and  Geneva,  places  where 
he  had  been  educated — His  preceptors,  M.  de  Donep  and  M.  de 
Cronzaz — Character  and  acquirements — History  of  the  Prince's 
family — Particulars  respecting  the  district  over  which  they  ruled — 
Marries  Mary  in  1740 — The  Prince  of  Hesse  changes  to  the 
Catholic  faith — His  brutal  temper — Unkindness  to  his  wife — Her 
father-in-law  protects  her — His  ill-treatment — Restrictions  imposed 
on  himself  by  the  Elector  and  States — Rumours  of  the  Princess's 
broken  health  reach  England — Death  of  her  husband. — Mary  writes 
to  congratulate  her  niece,  Caroline  Matilda,  on  her  marriage — The 
answer — The  Queen  of  Denmark  writes  another  letter — Mary 
declines  interfering  in  her  troubles — Death  of  Mary — News  con- 
veyed to  England— Her  three  sons — Her  will — Descendants  of  Mary. 

PEINCESS  MAKT  was  the  first  daughter  of  Caroline  of 
Anspach  who  was  born  in  this  country,  and  could  really 
be  called  an  Englishwoman;  her  three  elder  sisters  were 
natives  of  Hanover,  and  accompanied  their  mother  to 
this  country  on  the  accession  of  their  grandfather, 
George  I.,  to  the  throne,  Mary,  who  has  been  termed  the 
"gentlest  of  her  illustrious  race,"  first  saw  the  light  on 
the  22nd  of  February,  1723,  and  before  she  completed  her 
eighteenth  year,  was  united  to  Frederick,  Prince  of  Hesse 
Cassel,  A.D.  1740. 

A  contemporary  historian  has  given  the  following  de- 
scription of  this  fair  daughter  of  England,  her  Barents1 
adopted  country. 


MARY   OF   ENGLAND.  127 

"The  Princess  Mary,  future  consort  to  his  Serene 
Highness,  is  fourth  daughter  to  King  George  II.  of  Great 
Britain,  and  now  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  her  age.  We 
say  all  that  can  be  said  of  an  accomplished  character  when  we 
observe  that  she  was  educated  by  the  late  Queen  Caroline, 
and  that  she  takes  after  her  august  parent  in  everything 
that  is  good.  In  particular,  she  is  a  lover  of  reading,  and 
far  more  solicitous  to  improve  the  mind  than  to  adorn  the 
body.  So  that  her  Royal  Highness  will,  in  all  appearance, 
be  a  worthy  successor  to  the  Landgravines  of  Hesse  Cassel, 
and  still  preserve  all  the  virtues  for  which  they  were  so 
eminently  conspicuous  in  this  illustrious  Protestant  house." 

"  His  Serene  Highness  was  born  on  the  2nd  of  August 
(N.S.),  1720.  He  was  called  after  his  uncle,  the  King  of 
Sweden.  He  has  had  his  education  partly  at  Marburg, 
the  University  of  the  Landgraveate,  and  partly  at  Geneva, 
where  solid  learning  and  virtue  are  taught  together.  The 
Prince  has  had  for  governor  M.  Donep,  colonel  of  the 
regiment  of  horse  under  his  Highness — he  is  a  gentleman 
of  great  merit;  and  for  preceptor,  the  celebrated  M.  de 
Cronzaz;  but  the  fickleness  and  restless  temper  of  that 
learned  man  not  suffering  him  to  continue  long  in  one  place 
and  business,  the  Prince  has  been  very  little  beholden  to 
him  for  any  part  of  his  education.* 

"  The  Prince  has  made  considerable  progress  in  the  sciences, 
particularly  philosophy,  history,  geography,  and  the  art 
military  ;  and  besides  the  learned  languages,  is  well  versed 
in  the  Italian,  French,  and  English To  the  advan- 
tages of  an  excellent  education  is  to  be  added  that  of  great 
examples.  If  the  Prince  copies  after  his  great  and  good 
ancestors,  which  he  is  very  likely  to  do,  he  will  support 

*  "  Memoirs  of  the  House  and  Dominions  of  Hesse  Cassel."  Pub- 
lished 1740. 

K  2 


128  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

the  honour  of  his  house,  and  make  the  happiness  of  perhaps 
more  than  one  people  he  will  be  called  to  govern.  He 
sustained  a  great  loss  by  the  death  of  his  grandfather, 
Charles,  in  his  nonage.  To  a  solid  piety,  good  sense,  and 
magnanimity — the  characteristics  of  his  house — that  great 
Prince  added  the  culture  of  the  fine  arts,  and  a  love  for 
learned  men.  He  beautified  his  capital  with  several  fine 
structures,  and  useful  inventions  for  the  convenience  of  the 
inhabitants.  He  gave  great  encouragement  to  the  French 
Protestants  to  come  and  settle  with  him,  in  order  to  im- 
prove the  native  riches  of  the  country  by  manufactures  of 
all  kinds.  He  heartily  joined  his  good  offices  to  those  of 
King  George  I.  of  Great  Britain,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
the  States  General,  to  reconcile  Protestants  among  them- 
selves. Generous,  munificent,  he  smiled  upon  the  Muses, 
by  whom  he  was  beloved,  and  gave  a  great  lustre  to  the 
University  of  Marburg,  and  other  inferior  seminaries  in  his 
dominions." 

Frederick,  Prince  of  Hesse,  is  by  others  said  to  have 
possessed  naturally  "  a  brutal  temperament/'  and  that  his 
bad  temper  increased  after  his  changing  his  faith  from  Pro- 
testantism to  Catholicism,  a  change  which  subjected  him  to 
many  political  restrictions,  Walpole  mentions  that  the 
English  King  had  received  the  unwelcome  news  of  his  son- 
in-law  having  "turned  Papist,"  whom  he  describes  as  "a 
brutal  German,  obstinate,  of  no  genius;"  and  adds,  that 
"  after  long  treating  Princess  Mary,  who  was  the  mildest  and 
gentlest  of  her  race,  with  great  inhumanity,  he  had  for  some 
time  lived  upon  no  terms  with  her ;  his  father,  the  Landgrave 
William,  protected  her ;  an  arbitrary,  artful  man,  of  no 
reputation  for  integrity."* 

"  The  Hereditary  Prince  (Mary's  husband)  was  devoted 
*  "  Memoirs  of  the  Eeign  of  George  II.'" 


MART   OE    ENGLAND.  129 

to  France  and  Prussia.  It  was  not  an  age  when  conver- 
sions were  common,  nor  were  his  morals  strict  enough  to 
countenance  any  pretence  to  scruples  ;  it  was  necessary  to 
recur  to  private  or  political  reasons  for  his  change ;  and 
from  what  has  heen  said,  it  appears  in  what  numbers  they 
presented  themselves.  Yet  even  the  King  of  Prussia  acted 
with  zeal  for  the  Protestant  cause.  The  Landgrave  was  as 
outrageous  as  if  he  felt  for  it  too.  No  obstructions  being 
•offered  by  the  Catholic  Powers,  the  Landgrave  and  States, 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  King,  enacted  heavy  restric- 
tions on  the  Prince,  whenever  he  should  succeed  his 
father."* 

Princess  Mary  having  congratulated  her  niece,  Caroline 
Matilda  of  England,  on  her  intended  union  with  the  King 
of  Denmark,  her  cousin,  and  whose  mother,  Princess  Louisa 
of  England,  was  a  sister  of  Mary,  received  from  her  the 
following  letter  in  acknowledgment : — 

x<  To  Tier  Hoyal  Highness  the  Princess  Mary  of  Hesse 

Cassel. 
fi  MADAM  AND  GOOD  AUNT, 

"  I  give  your  Royal  Highness  my  most  sincere 
thanks  for  your  congratulation  upon  my  approaching  mar- 
riage ;  but  really  I  do  not  know  whether  we  are  not  rather 
objects  of  pity  than  envy,  when  we  are  politically  matched 
with  princes  whom  we  never  saw,  and  who  may  not, perhaps, 
find  in  us  those  charms  which,  if  real,  are  too  often  eclipsed 
by  the  beauties  of  a  Court  set  off  with  national  partiality.  I 
am  sensible  of  the  honour  his  Majesty  of  Denmark  has  done 
me,  by  singling  me  out  among  so  many  amiable  princesses 
perhaps  more  worthy  of  his  choice ;  but  my  youth  and  in- 
experience make  me  apprehensive  of  not  filling  the  highest 
*  Walpole's  "  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  II." 


130  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

station  of  a  kingdom  according  to  the  expectations  of  sub- 
jects who  seldom  think  themselves  obliged  to  us  for  the 
little  good  we  do,  and  always  impute  to  us  part  of  their 
grievances.  However,  as  my  scruples  will  not  in  the  least 
avail,  I  shall  do  my  best  to  please  the  King,  and  to  con- 
ciliate the  affections  of  his  subjects.  I  am  glad  that  this 
alliance  is  an  additional  affinity  to  your  Eoyal  Highness,  of 
whom  I  am 

"  The  loving  niece, 

"  CAROLINE." 

Queen  Caroline  Matilda,  for  political  reasons,  being  un- 
willing to  acquaint  her  family  in  England  with  the  daily 
slights  and  mortifications  she  received  from  the  King  and 
her  stepmother  Juliana,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Princess 
Mary  of  Hesse  Cassel,  to  tell  her  of  the  grief  and  vexation 
she  was  enduring,  judging  by  her  consanguinity  with  the 
King  of  Denmark,  and  the  marriage  of  her  sons  with  his 
Majesty's  sisters,  that  she  would  be  a  fit  person  to  interfere 
in  her  own  behalf. 

The  following  is  an  exact  copy  of  this  sensible  and 
moving  letter  from  the  injured  niece  to  her  aunt : — 

"Copenhagen,  March  22,  1769. 

"MADAM  AND  GOOD  AUNT, 

"  You  are  not  unacquainted  with  the  arts,  devices, 
and  aspiring  views  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  who  seems  bent 
on  undermining  the  Eoyal  authority,  the  exercise  of  which 
she  assumes  solely  to  herself;  and  after  having  made  the 
King  contemptible  to  his  subjects,  in  availing  herself  of 
his  weakness  to  give  a  sanction  to  the  most  flagrant  acts 
of  violence,  injustice,  and  oppression,  that  bad,  wicked 
woman  has  forfeited  all  claims  to  the  sentiments  of  for- 


MAKY   OF   ENGLAND.  131 

giveness  and  moderation  I  have  too  long  manifested,  in 
opposition  to  censure,  insolence,  and  obloquy,  by  her  last 
most  injurious  and  false  aspersions  on  my  reputation,  and 
the  dignity  of  a  reigning  queen.  I  am  amazed  at  the 
King's  torpor  and  insensibility.  If  any  person  of  my  at- 
tendance shows  a  laudable  zeal  for  my  service,  or  a  respect- 
ful attachment  to  my  person,  it  is  reputed  a  crime,  and 
punished  with  Boyal  displeasure  and  dismission.  Some 
reasons,  dictated  by  prudence,  have  prevented  me  from 
troubling  the  King,  my  brother,  on  this  disagreeable  sub- 
ject, as  he  might,  perhaps,  think  it  highly  improper  to 
interfere  in  grievances  which  he  has  no  right  to  redress. 
I  have  applied  to  your  known  benevolence  to  do  me  the 
kind  office  of  advising  me,  that  I  may  bring  the  King  to  a 
sense  of  his  wrongs  and  his  injustice.  Would  you  take 
upon  yourself,  as  far  as  it  is  consistent  with  your  discre- 
tion, to  assist  me  in  such  a  perplexing  situation,  I  could 
never  sufficiently  acknowledge  your  friendly  interposition 
to  restore  the  peace  of  mind  of 

"  Your  affectionate 

"  CAKOLINE." 

"  The  Princess  Mary  begged  the  Queen,  her  niece,  would 
excuse  her  from  taking  any  part  in  these  Royal  feuds,  which, 
instead  of  producing  the  desired  effects,  might  perhaps  sti- 
mulate her  rival's  vengeance  to  offer  her  Majesty  some  new 
affronts  and  indignities.  She  expressed,  at  the  same  time, 
a  great  concern  for  her  troubles  and  anxiety,  hoping  her 
Majesty's  good  sense  and  conduct  would  confound  the  vile 
imputations  of  Juliana,  and  make  the  King  sensible  of  his 
errors."* 

Frederick  of  Hesse's  inhumanity  towards  his  submissive 

*  "  Memoirs  of  an  Unfortunate  Queen." 


132  THE   ROYAL  PRINCESSES. 

and  uncomplaining  wife  had  nearly  broken  her  gentle  heart. 
From  time  to  time  various  reports  reached  her  English  home 
of  her  failing  health,  and  liability  to  consumption  ;  but  an 
interposing  Providence  watched  over  Mary's  destiny,  and 
by  relieving  her  from  her  tyrant  effected  her  cure.  During 
her  widowhood  she  enjoyed  a  tranquillity  to  which  in  early 
life  she  had  been  utterly  a  stranger.  She  died  on  the  14th 
of  June,  1772,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  A  journal  of  the 
time  (dated  June  25th)  announces  the  arrival  in  England 
of  Monsieur  Koch,  Secretary  to  his  Serene  Highness  the 
Hereditary  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassel,  with  the  melancholy 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  this  universally  lamented 
Princess. 

Mary  of  England  had  three  sons  by  her  marriage  with 
the  Prince  of  Hesse — George,  who  succeeded  his  father  as 
Elector,  Charles,  and  Frederick.  By  her  will  the  Dowager 
Electress  gave  all  her  estates  to  her  two  younger  children, 
except  "  annuities  to  all  her  servants,  equal  to  the  wages 
given,  until  they  marry,  or  get  places  where  more  wages 
are  given  than  the  annuities."  She  appointed  Lord  Har- 
court  and  Lord  Berkeley  her  executors. 

The  descendants  of  Mary  were,  by  her  son  George  Wil- 
liam, Elector  of  Hesse  Cassel — two  sons,  William  and 
Frederick ;  and  two  daughters,  Caroline  and  Mary  Louisa. 

By  Charles  of  Hesse,  her  second  child,  she  had  Frede- 
rick and  Christian ;  Mary,  Julia,  and  Louisa  Mary.  His 
eldest  daughter  became  Queen  of  Denmark,  and  mother  of 
Caroline  and  Wilhelmina  of  Denmark. 

Frederick  of  Hesse,  third  son  of  Mary  of  England,  and 
youngest  of  George  II. 's  grandsons,  had  three  sons — Wil- 
liam, Frederick,  and  George ;  his  daughters  were  Louisa, 
Mary,  and  Augusta. 


L33 


LOUISA  OF  ENGLAND, 

QUEEN  OF  DENMAKK, 
YOUNGEST  DAUGHTER  OF  GEOEGE  II. 

Her  Lirtli — Eesemblance  in  character  and  fate  to  her  mother,  Queen 
Caroline — Prophetic  address  of  the  Queen  on  her  death-bed — 
Marries  Frederic  V.,  King  of  Denmark — Instance  of  her  resolution 
— Her  death,  and  farewell  letter  to  her  family — Affliction  of  the 
King  of  England — Death  and  character  of  Frederic  V. — Patron  of 
Niebuhr — Christian,  son  of  Louisa  of  England,  becomes  King — 
Sacrificed  by  his  stepmother — Louisa's  three  daughters. 

Two  RoyalPrincesses  of  the  house  of  Hanover  have  worn  the 
crown-matrimonial  of  Denmark.  To  both  it  proved  a  crown 
of  thorns — of  grief,  of  care,  and  sorrow — though  not  equally 
so  in  both  instances.  The  first  of  these  illustrious  women, 
destined  by  an  unhappy  fate  to  end  her  days  in  the  flower 
of  her  age  in  a  foreign  land,  was  Louisa,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  G-eorge  II.  and  Caroline  of  Anspach ;  the 
second  was  the  wife  of  Louisa's  son,  that  Caroline  Matilda 
of  Zell,  daughter  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  who  was 
celebrated  alike  for  her  heroism  and  misfortunes. 

Mary  and  Louisa,  the  two  English-born  daughters  of 
George  II.,  were  nearly  of  an  age,  and  therefore  must  have 
been  excellent  companions.  There  was  but  a  year  and  ten 
months  difference  between  them :  Mary  was  born  on  the 
22nd  of  February,  1723,  Louisa  on  the  7th  of  December, 
1724.  Their  ages  at  the  time  of  their  mother's  death  were 
about  fourteen  and  thirteen.  The  mother's  heart  generally 
fixes  itself  on  the  youngest  of  her  little  family  group,  and 


134  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

in  the  case  of  Caroline  of  Anspach  we  find  it  was  even 
so ;  that  her  love  amounted  even  to  idolatry  for  the  gifted 
and  beautiful  Louisa.  Little  did  the  good  Queen  foresee 
the  fate  of  that  beloved  child,  or  how  similar  it  would 
prove  to  her  own !  Yet  so  it  was :  the  mother's  misfor- 
tunes were  inherited  by  the  daughter,  together  with  her 
talents,  and,  indeed,  also  her  heroism. 

Louisa  of  England  possessed  a  spirit,  sense,  and  forti- 
tude which  could  only  be  equalled  by  those  with  which 
Caroline  of  Anspach  was  endowed ;  and  it  was  her  destiny 
to  be  snatched  from  the  world  while  yet  in  the  flower  of 
her  age.  Was  it  the  penetration  of  character  possessed 
by  Caroline  which  made  her  utter  on  her  death-bed  to 
this  favourite  child,  whom  with  her  sister  Mary,  when 
she  bade  them  farewell  for  ever,  she  consigned  to  the  arms 
of  the  truth-loving  Caroline  Elizabeth,  "  Louisa,  remember 
I  die  by  being  giddy  and  obstinate,  in  having  kept  my 
disorder  a  secret."  The  spirit  of  prophecy  seems  to  have 
hovered  upon  the  lips  of  the  dying  Queen  when  she  gave 
utterance  to  this  remark,  for  Louisa's  death  was  the  very 
counterpart  of  her  own. 

Louisa  was  united  to  Frederick  V.,  King  of  Denmark, 
in  1743.  Her  husband,  to  whom  she  bore  four  children, 
w#s  passionately  attached  to  her ;  but  equally  unwilling  to 
have  it  supposed  his  wife,  young  and  lovely  as  she  was, 
could  exercise  any  influence  over  him,  kept  a  mistress  to 
contradict  the  truth  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  The  Queen, 
who  inherited  her  mother's  lofty  spirit,  was  too  high- 
minded  to  betray  how  deeply  she  felt  this  conduct.  When, 
as  a  young  and  admired  bride,  she  had  quitted  England, 
followed  by  the  heartfelt  prayers  and  wishes  of  an  adoring 
people  for  her  happiness,  she  had  announced  to  her  brother 
the  famous  Duke  of  Cumberland,  her  determination  never 


LOUISA   OP   ENGLAND.  135 

to  complain  to  her  family,  whatever  might  he  her  sorrows 
in  a  foreign  land.  She  kept  her  word :  whatever  she  felt 
of  grief  or  anxiety  at  her  husband's  infidelity,  was  care- 
fully confined  to  her  own  bosom.  While  suffering  the 
greatest  possible  uneasiness  of  mind,  she  never  mentioned 
the  circumstance  in  her  most  confidential  letters  to  her 
friends  at  home ;  a  state  of  things  in  which  her  married 
life  greatly  resembled  that  of  Queen  Caroline  of  Anspach, 
who,  surrounded  at  sundry  times  by  the  worthless  asso- 
ciates of  George  II.,  never  betrayed  in  the  smallest  degree 
the  weakness  of  a  woman's  jealousy,  but  maintained  her 
own  pre-eminence  triumphantly  to  the  last. 

In  her  dying  moments,  Louisa  wrote  a  moving  farewell 
letter  to  the  King  her  father,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
then  her  only  surviving  brother,  and  her  sisters,  to  all  of 
whom  she  seems  to  have  been  affectionately  attached. 
Her  death,  the  resemblance  of  which  to  her  mother's  end 
was  so  striking,  was  caused  by  a  slight  rupture,  which  she 
concealed,  and  which  had  been  produced  by  her  stooping 
when  seven  months  advanced  in  pregnancy  with  her 
first  child.  After  undergoing  an  operation  which  lasted 
more  than  an  hour,  with  heroic  firmness,  this  amiable 
Princess  expired,  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  her  age, 
A.D.  1751,  to  the  inexpressible  regret  of  her  family  and 
friends. 

George  II.  was  indeed  so  afflicted  with  his  daughter's 
letter,  and  so  forcibly  struck  with  the  extraordinary  re- 
semblance between  her  fate  and  that  of  his  wife,  that  he 
broke  forth  into  passionate  exclamations  of  tenderness. 
He  said,  "  This  has  been  a  fatal  year  to  my  family.  I 
lost  my  eldest — but  I  am  glad  of  it ;  then  the  Prince  of 
Orange  died,  and  left  everything  in  confusion.  Poor  little 
Edward  has  been  cut  open  for  an  imposthume  in  his  side ; 


136  THE   BOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

and  now  the  Queen  of  Denmark  is  gone.  I  know  I  did 
not  love  my  children  when  they  were  young  ;  I  hated  to 
have  them  running  into  my  room ;  but  now  I  love  them 
as  well  as  most  fathers."* 

King  Frederick  V.  died  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his 
age,  after  a  twenty  years'  reign.  Walpole  calls  him  "  a 
Prince  good  and  beloved,  void  of  any  fault  but  that  Northern 
vice,  drunkenness ;"  and  says,  "he  had  governed  his  small 
kingdom  with  prudence  and  ability,  and  shown  both  spirit 
and  firmness  in  the  manner  in  which  he  met  the  prepara- 
tions made  by  Peter  III.  for  invading  Denmark  in  1762. 
He  has  the  honour  of  having  employed  the  talented 
Niebuhr  on  that  celebrated  expedition  to  the  East,  of 
which  the  latter  has  left  so  interesting  a  description,  "f 

Louisa,  Queen  of  Denmark,  had  one  son,  Christian ;  who 
might  have  turned  out  a  very  different  character,  had  his 
mother  lived  to  superintend  his  education.  He  succeeded 
his  father  on  the  throne,  and  became  the  husband  of  Caro- 
line Matilda  of  England,  his  cousin — whose  misfortunes, 
as  well  as  his  own,  had  their  foundation  in  the  artful 
policy  of  the  Queen  Eegent,  Juliana  Maria,  whom  the 
late  King  had  married  after  Louisa's  death,  and  who  aimed 
at  obtaining  the  crown  for  her  own  offspring,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  children  and  grandchildren  of  the  former 
marriage. 

Louisa  left  three  daughters.  Sophia  of  Denmark,  the 
eldest,  became  Queen  of  Sweden,  by  her  marriage  with  the 
unfortunate  Gustavus  III.,  by  whom  she  became  mother 
of  "  the  scarcely  less  fortunate  Gustavus,  whose  opposition 
to  Napoleon  led  to  his  dethronement,  to  give  place  to 
Bernadotte ;  and  whose  eccentricities,  under  the  assumed 

*  Walpole's  "  Memoirs." 
f  Walpole's  "  Memoirs  of  George  III." 


LOUISA   OF   ENGLAND.  137 

title  of  Count  Gottorp,  are  well  known  to  the  European 
public."*  Wilhelmina  marrying  her  cousin,  the  son  of 
Princess  Mary  of  England,  became  Electress  of  Hesse 
Cassel.  This  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassel  was  famous  for 
supplying  mercenaries  to  all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  as 
well  as  the  United  States  of  North  America. f  Louisa, 
the  youngest,  espoused  his  brother,  Prince  Charles,  of 
Hesse  Cassel. 

*  "  Private  Anecdotes  of  Foreign  Courts."  f  Ibid. 


138 


AUGUSTA,  DUCHESS  OF  BRUNSWICK, 

ELDEST  DAUGHTER  OF  FREDERICK, 
PRINCE  OF  WALES 

Augusta,  eldest  daughter  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales — Her  parents 
— Her  birth — "  Lucky  month  "  of  the  House  of  Brunswick — Chris- 
tening of  the  babe — Called  "  Lady  Augusta  " — Early  precocity — 
Family  of  Princess  of  Wales — Picture  of  her  children — Theatricals 
at  Leicester  House — Death  of  Frederick — King's  visit  to  his 
widow — Reception  of  Queen  Charlotte — Coronation  of  King  and 
Queen — Civic  feast — Amusing  incident — Queen's  ball — Duke  of 
Brunswick  offers  to  marry  the  Princess — Accepted — Message 
to  Parliament  from  the  King — Dowry  voted — Prince  comes  over 
— Marriage  takes  place — Compliments  of  the  nobility  —  Rich 
presents  to  the  bride — Duke  visits  public  places  in  London — 
Visits  Mr.  Pitt — Queen's  birthday — Ball  given — Departure  for 
the  Continent — Their  route — Arrival  at  Brunswick — Entertain- 
ments given  on  the  occasion — Revisits  England — Baptism  of 
William,  afterwards  "  the  Fourth  " — Augusta  one  of  the  sponsors 
— Death  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland — Royal  English  dukes  accom- 
pany Duke  of  Brunswick  to  the  Court  of  Frederic  the  Great — 
Marriage  of  Caroline — Birth  of  her  daughter — Death  of  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick — His  family — Duchess's  opinion  of  Queen  Caroline's 
misfortunes — Granddaughter  visits  her — Interview  with  the  aged 
King — Address  from  the  City — Allowance  granted  her — House  in 
Hanover  Square  taken  for  her — Her  death  and  funeral. 

THE  records  preserved  of  Augusta,  Duchess  of  Brunswick, 
become  even  more  interesting  than  they  would  other- 
wise have  been,  from  the  fact  of  her  being  mother  of  the 
unfortunate  Caroline,  Queen  of  George  IV.,  and  grand- 
mother to  Charlotte  Augusta  of  Wales — that  Princess  in 
whom,  though  for  a  brief  period  of  years  only,  the  hopes 
of  the  whole  nation  rested. 

Frederick  Louis,  Prince  of  Wales,  eldest  son  of  George 


AUGUSTA,  DUCHESS  OF  BRUNSWICK.       139 

II.,  was  united  in  the  year  1736  to  Augusta,  daughter  of 
Frederick  II.,  Duke  of  Saxe  Gotha.  Augusta,  their  first 
child,  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  in  the  following 
year,  August  1st,  1737.  The  month  of  August  has  been 
declared  auspicious  to  the  House  of  Brunswick.  On 
August  1st,  1714,  George  I.  obtained  the  throne  of  Great 
Britain.  It  was  the  month  of  August  in  which  were  born 
Frederick,  King  of  Bohemia,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  James  I.,  from  whom  George  I.  derived  his 
title  to  the  crown.  Both  Queen  Adelaide  and  George  IV. 
were  born  in  the  month  of  August;  and,  singularly 
enough,  ib  was  on  the  1st  of  August  that  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand of  Brunswick,  the  future  husband  of  the  Princess 
Augusta,  fought  and  obtained  the  glorious  victory  at 
Minden  over  the  French. 

The  Prince,  who  had  long  deported  himself  disrespect- 
fully to  his  Royal  parents,  without  the  most  distant  inti- 
mation of  his  intention  to  their  Majesties,  hurried  his 
wife,  who  was  evidently  near  her  accouchement,  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  from  the  Palace  of  Hampton 
Court  to  St.  James's,  where,  at  eleven  o'clock,  she  was 
delivered  of  a  Princess.  At  half-past  ten  his  Eoyal 
Highness  sent  a  page  to  Hampton  Court  to  mention  the 
state  of  the  Princess  to  their  Majesties,  whose  surprise 
and  consternation  at  this  news  induced  the  Queen  to  leave 
Hampton  Court  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  set  off 
for  St.  James's,  where  she  did  not  arrive  until  four 
o'clock.  Her  Majesty  was  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of 
Grafton,  Lord  Hervey,  and  several  Ladies  of  the  Bed- 
chamber. After  remaining  about  two  hours  at  St.  James's, 
the  Queen  returned  to  Hampton  Court.  The  conduct  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales  on  this  occasion  caused  a  serious 
breach  between  himself  and  his  Eoyal  parents. 


140  THE   EOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
the  young  Princess  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  Augusta, 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  King  and  Queen, 
and  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Saxe  Gotha,  were  sponsors 
by  proxy. 

The  Eoyal  infant  was  in  a  magnificent  cradle,  elevated 
on  steps  beneath  a  canopy  of  state,  and  was  afterwards 
laid  in  the  nurse's  lap,  upon  a  rich  cushion  embroidered 
with  silver.  The  Princess  of  Wales  had  on  an  exceedingly 
rich  stomacher,  adorned  with  jewels,  and  sat  upon  her  bed 
of  state,  with  the  pillows  richly  adorned  with  fine  lace 
embroidered  with  silver.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  pre- 
sent, and  richly  dressed,  attended  by  the  Lords  of  his 
Bedchamber. 

The  font  and  flagons  for  the  ceremony  were  those  that 
had  been  used  for  Royal  christenings  for  many  centuries, 
and  were  brought  from  the  Tower. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  signified  his  pleasure  that  his  eldest 
daughter  should  not  be  addressed  by  the  title  of  Eoyal 
Highness,  but  simply  "  Lady;"  she  is  therefore  usually 
styled  the  "Lady  Augusta." 

A  comical  incident  is  related  of  the  Royal  child  at  the 
age  of  six  years.  In  1743,  when  there  was  a  reception  at 
Leicester  House,  and  the  children  of  the  Prince  and  Prin- 
cess of  Wales  were  present,  some  one  addressed  Sir  Robert 
Peel  as  "  Sir  Robert."  Augusta,  thinking  the  person  ad- 
dressed must  be  Sir  Robert  Walpole,ra,n  up  to  the  nobleman, 
and  looking  up  at  him  inquired — "  Pray,  where  is  your  blue 
string  ?  and  pray  what  has  become  of  your  fat  belly  ?" 
This  elegant  incident  is  recorded  in  the  letters  of  Walpole, 
and  on  that  account,  perhaps,  rather  than  its  own  merit, 
deserves  insertion. 

The  Princess  of  Wales  had  five  sons,  of  whom  George 


AUGUSTA,   DUCHESS   OE   BRUNSWICK.  141 

III.  was  the  eldest.  The  names  of  the  others  were  Edward, 
Duke  of  York,  William,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Henry,  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  and  Frederick  :  her  first-born  child  was  the 
Lady  Augusta ;  she  had  besides  her,  Elizabeth,  Louisa,  and 
Caroline  Matilda,  afterwards  Queen  of  Denmark,  who  was 
a  posthumous  child ;  her  father,  Frederick,  died  before  her 
birth,  in  1751.* 

In  the  cube  room,  Kensington  Palace,  is  a  picture  of  his 
late  Majesty  George  III.  and  his  brother  Edward,  Duke 
of  York,  when  young,  shooting  at  a  target ;  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester  in  petticoats ;  Princess  Augusta,  nursing  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  Princess  Louisa  sitting  in  a 
chaise,  drawn  by  a  favourite  dog, — the  scene,  in  Kew 
Gardens, — painted  in  I746.f 

Frederick  Prince  of  Wales  possessed,  like  his  father, 
George  II.,  a  great  taste  for  theatricals,  and  was  fond  of 
instructing  his  children,  at  a  very  early  age,  to  repeat 
moral  speeches  out  of  plays.  While  his  family  was  still 
very  young,  the  Prince  had  plays  at  Leicester  House,  in 
which  the  children  of  his  Koyal  Highness  sustained  the 
principal  characters.  These  were  under  the  direction  of 

*  During  the  debate  respecting  the  Regency  Bill,  and  the  discus- 
sion as  to  whether  the  name  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  should  he 
inserted,  "Rose  Fuller,"  says  Walpole,  "declared  that  if  the  motion 
for  reinstating  the  Princess  was  rejected,  he,  to  show  his  impartiality, 
would  move  to  omit  her  Royal  Highness's  daughters,  and  Princess 
Amelia.  It  was  said  with  humour,  that  would  he  like  Lord  Anglesey, 
who,  heating  his  wife, a  she  said,  '  How  much  happier  is  that  wench 
(pointing  to  a  housemaid)  than  I  am  ! '  He  immediately  kicked  the 
maid  down  stairs,  and  then  said,  '  Well !  there  is  at  least  one  grievance 
removed.'  " 

a  Who  was  a  natural  daughter  of  James  II.,  was  divorced  from 
Lord  Anglesey  for  his  cruel  usage.  She  afterwards  married  John 
Sheffield,  Duke  of  Buckingham. 

f  Fawkner's  "  Kensington." 
L 


142  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

the  celebrated  Quin ;  and  it  was  in  reference  to  the  instruc- 
tions he  then  gave  Prince  George,  that  on  hearing  of  the 
graceful  manner  in  which  he  delivered  his  first  speech  from 
the  throne,  he  exclaimed  with  pride  and  exultation — 
"  Ah !  I  taught  the  boy  to  speak." 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1749,  the  children  of  his  Eoyal 
Highness,  with  the  aid  of  some  of  the  juvenile  branches  of 
the  nobility,  performed  the  tragedy  of  "  Cato,"  before  their 
Eoyal  parents  and  a  numerous  audience  of  distinguished 
personages.  The  following  were  the  dramatis  personce  on 
this  interesting  occasion : — 

Portius      PKIXCE  GEORGE. 

Juba PRINCE  EDWARD. 

Cato MASTER  NUGENT. 

Sempronius MASTER  EVELYN. 

Lucius       MASTER  MONTAGU. 

Decius       LORD  MILSINGTON. 

Syphax     LORD  NORTH'S  SON. 

Marcus      MASTER  MADDEN. 

Marcia       PRINCESS  AUGUSTA. 

Lucia         PRINCESS  ELIZABETH. 

Previous  to  the  rising  of  the  curtain,  Prince  George,  then 
eleven  years  of  age,  came  forward,  and  delivered  in  a  most 
graceful  and  impressive  manner  the  following  prologue : — 

To  speak  with  freedom,  dignity,  and  ease, 

To  learn  those  arts  which  may  hereafter  please, 

Wise  authors  say — let  youth  in  earlier  age 

Kehearse  the  poet's  labours  on  the  stage. 

Nay,  more !  a  nobler  end  is  still  behind — 

The  poet's  labours  elevate  the  mind  ; 

Teach  our  young  hearts  with  gen'rous  fire  to  burn, 

And  feel  the  virtuous  sentiments  we  learn. 

T'  attain  those  glorious  ends  what  play  so  fit, 

As  that  where  all  the  powers  of  human  wit 

Combine  to  dignify  great  Csesar's  name, 

To  deck  his  tomb,  and  consecrate  his  fame  ? 


AUGUSTA,  DUCHESS  OF  BKUXSWICK.       143 

Where  Liberty,  0  name  for  ever  dear  ! 
Breathes  forth  in  every  line,  and  bids  us  fear 
Nor  pains  nor  death  to  guard  our  sacred  laws, 
But  bravely  perish  in  our  country's  cause. 
Patriots  indeed  !  Nor  why  that  honest  name, 
Through  every  time  and  action  still  the  same 
Should  thus  superior  to  my  years  be  thought, 
Know,  'tis  the  first  great  lesson  I  was  taught. 
What,  though  a  boy !  it  may  with  pride  be  said, 
A  boy  in  England  born — in  England  bred ; 
Where  freedom  well  becomes  the  earliest  state, 
For  there  the  love  of  liberty's  innate. 
Yet  more ;  before  my  eyes  those  heroes  stand, 
Whom  the  great  William  brought  to  bless  this  land, 
To  guard  with  pious  care  that  gen'rous  plan 
Of  power  well  bounded,  which  he  first  began. 
But  while  my  great  forefathers  fire  my  mind, 
The  friends,  the  joy,  the  glory  of  mankind, 
Can  I  forget  that  there  is  one  more  dear  ? 
But  he  is  present,  and  I  must  forbear. 

After  the  tragedy  had  been  performed  in  a  manner  highly 
creditable  to  the  Royal  and  other  juvenile  amateurs,  and 
much  to  the  honour  of  those  who  had  completed  their 
education,  the  Princess  Augusta,  afterwards  Duchess  of 
Brunswick,  mother  of  Queen  Caroline,  and  Prince  Edward, 
afterwards  Duke  of  York,  delivered  an  epilogue,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy : — 

PRINCESS  AUGUSTA. 

The  prologue's  filled  with  such  fine  phrases, 
George  will  alone  have  all  the  praises ; 
Unless  we  can  (to  get  in  vogue) 
Contrive  to  speak  an  epilogue. 

PRINCE  EDWARD. 

George  has,  'tis  true,  vouchsaf'd  to  mention 
His  future  gracious  intention 
In  such  heroic  strains,  that  no  man 
Will  e'er  deny  his  soul  is  Roman. 
L  2 


144  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

But  what  have  you  or  I  to  say  to 
The  pompous  sentiments  of  Cato  ? 
George  is  to  have  imperial  sway ; 
Our  task  is  only  to  obey ; 
And  trust  me  I'll  not  thwart  his  will, 
But  be  his  faithful  Juba  still — 
Though,  sister,  now  the  play  is  over, 
I  wish  you'd  get  a  better  lover. 

PRINCESS  AUGUSTA. 
Why,  not  to  underrate  your  merit, 
Others  would  court  with  different  spirit; 
And  I  perhaps  might  like  another 
A  little  better  than  a  brother. 
Could  I  have  one  of  England's  breeding, 
But  'tis  a  point  they're  all  agreed  in, 
That  I  must  wed  a  foreigner, 
Across  the  seas, — the  Lord  knows  where, — 
Yet,  let  me  go  where'er  I  will, 
England  shall  have  my  wishes  stilL 

PRINCE  EDWARD. 
In  England  born,  my  inclination, 
Like  yours,  is  wedded  to  the  nation; 
And  future  times,  I  hope,  will  see 
The  General,  in  reality. 
Indeed,  I  wish  to  serve  this  land, 
It  is  my  father's  strict  command ; 
And  none  he  ever  gave  will  be 
More  cheerfully  obeyed  by  me. 

The  scene  must  have  been  interesting,  for  at  the  time 
Augusta,  the  eldest  of  these  Royal  children,  was  only  twelve 
years  old,  the  Prince  George  eleven,  Prince  Edward  ten, 
and  the  little  Elizabeth  just  seven.  The  same  year,  1749, 
witnessed  the  birth  of  another  little  Princess,  named 
Louisa  Anne,*  and  the  following  the  domestic  happiness  of 
this  merry  group  was  broken  up  by  the  death  of  the  Prince 
*  Louisa  Anne,  born  1749. 


AUGUSTA,    DUCHESS    OF    BRUNSWICK.  14.5 

of  Wales  himself.  He  died  in  1751,  leaving  his  wife  in 
expectation  of  becoming  again  a  mother.  The  ill-fated 
Caroline  Matilda,  afterwards  Queen  of  .Denmark,  was  born 
after  the  death  of  her  Royal  and  much-lamented  father. 

After  the  death  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  the  King, 
George  II.,  visited  the  widowed  Princess.  A  chair  of  state 
was  placed  for  him,  but  he  refused  it,  and  sat  by  her  on 
the  couch,  embraced  and  wept  with  her.  He  would  not 
suffer  the  Lady  Augusta  to  kiss  his  hand,  but  embraced 
her,  and  gave  it  to  her  brothers,  and  told  them — "  the.y 
must  be  brave  boys,  obedient  to  their  mother,  and  deserve 
the  fortune  to  which  they  were  born."* 

After  the  accession  of  George  III.,  at  the  time  "  when 
the  bride-Queen,  Charlotte  Sophia  of  Mecklenburg,  on  her 
arrival  in  England,  was  first  introduced  to  the  bridesmaids 
and  Court,  '  Lady '  Augusta  was  forced  to  take  her  hand, 
and  give  it  to  those  that  were  to  kiss  it,  which  was  prettily 
humble  and  good  natured."f 

The  day  after  the  Queen's  nuptials,  a  ball  was  given, 
which  was  opened  by  the  Duke  of  York  and  his  sister,  the 
Princess  Augusta  (afterwards  Duchess  of  Brunswick). 

The  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales,  with  the  younger 
branches  of  her  family,  did  not  walk  in  the  great  procession 
on  the  occasion  of  the  coronation  of  her  son,  George  III., 
but  went  from  the  House  of  Lords  across  Old  Palace  Yard, 
on  a  platform  erected  for  that  purpose,  to  the  south  cross 
of  the  Abbey,  where  they  had  a  box  to  see  the  coronation, 
and  afterwards  dined  by  themselves  in  an  apartment 
adjoining  to  the  hall.  In  this  procession  also  appeared  the 
three  Mahometan  Ambassadors,  then  at  our  Court,  clothed 
in  the  proper  dresses  of  their  country.  The  people  com- 

*  AValpole. 
f  Horace  Walpole's  "  Letter  to  General  Conway." 


146  THE    EOYAL   P1UXCESSES. 

miserated  the  situation  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  and  her 
family,  who  on  this  occasion  appeared  to  their  view  to  have 
lost  their  precedency  by  the  death  of  Frederick,  Prince  of 
Wales. 

Lady  Mary  Stuart,  eldest  daughter  of  the  favourite,  John 
Earl  of  Bute  (afterwards  married  to  Sir  James  Lowther), 
and  Lady  Susan  Stuart,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Galloway 
(afterwards  third  wife  of  Granville  Leveson,  Earl  Gower), 
were  named  of  the  bedchamber  to  the  Lady  Augusta,  the 
King's  sister,  immediately  after  the  accession.* 

At  the  same  moment  that  the  crown  was  placed  on  her 
Majesty,  Queen  Charlotte's,  head,  Princess  Augusta  and 
all  the  Peeresses  put  on  their  coronets.  At  the  coronation 
dinner,  the  Dukes  of  York  and  Cumberland  sat  at  one  end 
of  the  table,  on  the  King's  right  hand,  and  the  Princess 
Augusta  at  the  other  end,  on  the  Queen's  left  hand. 

The  new  Monarch,  his  Queen,  and  all  the  Eoyal  family, 
were  invited  to  the  civic  feast,  and  in  the  procession  on  the 
.on  of  their  visit,  the  Princess  Augusta  took  her 
proper  place.  The  lively  describer  of  this  event,  after 
narrating  the  formalities  attending  the  kissing  the  hand 
of  the  Queen,  says — "  The  same  ceremony  was  performed 
of  kissing  the  hand  with  the  Princess  Dowager,  Amelia, 
Augusta,  the  Dukes  of  Cumberland,  York,  and  the  other 
Princes,  who  followed  the  King's  example  in  compliment- 
ing each  of  us  with  a  kiss,  but  not  till  their  Majesties  had 
left  the  room."  Sir  Samuel  Fludyer  was  the  Lord 
Mayor  who  had  the  signal  honour  of  entertaining  their 
Majesties. 

An  incident  is  recorded  of  Queen  Charlotte  in  her  early 
married  days  : — 

"  The  King  made  her  frequent  presents  of  magnificent 


AUGUSTA,  DUCHESS  OP  EHUNSWICK.       147 

jewels ;  and  as  if  diamonds  were  empire,  she  was  never 
allowed  to  appear  in  public  without  them.  The  first  time 
she  received  the  sacrament,  she  begged  not  to  wear  them ; 
one  pious  command  of  her  mother  having  been,  not  to  use 
jewels  at  her  first  communion.  The  King  indulged  her ; 
but  Lady  Augusta  carrying  this  tale  to  her  mother,  the 
Princess  obliged  the  King  to  insist  on  the  jewels,  and  the 
poor  young  Queen's  tears  and  terrors  could  not  dispense 
with  her  obedience."* 

"Lady  Augusta,"  attended  by  her  maid  of  honour, 
Lady  Susan  Stuart,  was  present  at  the  first  party  given 
by  Queen  Charlotte.  The  King  and  Queen  danced  toge- 
ther the  whole  evening,  and  the  "Lady  Augusta"  danced 
with  her  younger  brothers  in  turn. 

Even  in  the  reign  of  George  II.  there  had  been  thoughts 
of  a  double  alliance  between  the  Royal  family  of  England 
and  that  of  Brunswick  ;  but  the  jealousy  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales  having  prevented  the  marriage  of  her  son  with  a 
Princess  of  that  line,  the  Court  of  Brunswick,  according  to 
Walpole,  "had  no  great  propensity"  to  the  other  match 
between  the  Hereditary  Prince  and  Lady  Augusta.  "  It 
had,  however,  been  treated  of  from  time  to  time ;  and  in 
17G2  had  been  agreed  on,  but  was  abruptly  broken  off  by 
the  influence  of  the  King  of  Prussia.f 

"  Lady  Augusta  was  lively,  and  much  inclined  to  meddle 
in  the  private  politics  of  the  Court.  As  none  of  herj 
children  but  the  King,  had,  or  had  reason  to  have,  much 
affection  for  their  mother,  she  justly  apprehended  Lady 
Augusta's  instilling  their  disgusts  into  the  Queen.  She 
could  not  forbid  her  daughter's  frequent  visits  at  Buck- 
ingham House,  but  to  prevent  any  ill  consequence  from 

*  Walpolo's  "  Memoirs."  f  Ibkl. 

The  Princess  of  "Wales. 


14S  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

them,  often  accompanied  her  thither.  This,  however,  was 
an  attendance  and  constraint  the  Princess  of  Wales  could 
not  support.  Her  exceeding  indolence,  her  more  excessive 
love  of  privacy,  and  the  subjection  of  being  frequently  with 
the  Queen,  whose  higher  rank  was  a  never-ceasing  morti- 
fication, all  concurred  to  make  her  resolve,  at  any  rate,  to 
deliver  herself  from  her  daughter.  To  attain  this  end,  a 
profusion  of  favours  to  the  hated  House  of  Brunswick  was 
not  thought  too  much.  The  Hereditary  Prince  was  pre- 
vailed on  to  accept  Lady  Augusta's  hand,  with  fourscore 
thousand  pounds,  an  annuity  of  50001.  a-year  on  Ireland, 
and  3000Z.  a-year  on  Hanover.* 

His  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  to  commu- 
nicate to  both  Houses  of  Parliament  the  intended  mar- 
riage of  his  sister,  the  Princess  Augusta,  with  the  Heredi- 
tary Prince  of  Brunswick,  the  House  of  Commons  waited 
on  the  King,  December  2nd,  1763,  with  an  address  of 
thanks  for  such  communication :  the  House  of  Lords  did 
the  same  on  the  5th. 

The  dowery  allowed  by  the  House  of  Commons  to  her 
Royal  Highness,  in  pursuance  of  his  Majesty's  message,  as 
usual  on  such  occasions,  was  80,OOOZ. 

On  January  12th,  1764,  his  most  Serene  Highness  the 
Hereditary  Prince  of  Brunswick  Lunenberg  landed  at 
Harwich,  from  on  board  his  Majesty's  yacht  the  Princess 
Augusta,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  next  day  arrived  at 
Somerset  House  in  the  King's  equipages,  attended  by 
several  noblemen  who  went  to  wait  his  arrival  at  Harwich. 
The  next  morning  his  Serene  Highness  waited  on  their 
Majesties  and  the  rest  of  the  Royal  family ;  and  on  the 
16th,  at  seven  in  the  evening,  the  ceremony  of  the  mar- 
riage of  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Augusta  with 
*  Walpole's  "  Memoirs  of  the  Ecign  of  George  III." 


AUGUSTA,    DUCHESS    OF    BRUNSWICK:.  149 

his  most  Serene  Highness  was  performed  in  the  great 
Council  Chamber,  St.  James's,  by  his  Grace  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  None  but  peers  and  peeresses,  peers'  eldest 
sons  and  peers'  daughters,  privy  councillors  and  their  wives, 
and  foreign  ministers,  were  admitted  to  be  present  at  the 
ceremony.  Their  Serene  and  Royal  Highnesses  remained 
at  St.  James's  till  nine,  and  then  repaired  to  Leicester 
House,  where  a  grand  supper  was  prepared;  at  which 
were  present  their  Majesties,  the  Princess  Dowager, 
Princes  William  and  Henry,  arid  the  rest  of  the  Royal 
family.  Their  Majesties  went  away  about  twelve. 

The  next  day  their  Majesties,  her  Royal  Highness  the 
Princess  Dowager  of  Wales,  and  their  Royal  and  Serene 
Highnesses  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Brunswick,  received 
the  compliments  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  which  were 
followed  by  most  dutiful  and  affectionate  addresses  from, 
both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  the  City  of  London. 

The  Princess  Augusta  had  much  endeared  herself  to  all 
who  knew  her  by  the  virtues  of  her  heart  and  the  uniform, 
sweetness  of  her  manners.  The  parting  of  the  King  from 
his  sister  could  scarcely  be  more  tender  than  that  of  the 
Queen  and  the  Princess,  between  whom  the  sincerest 
friendship  had  subsisted  ever  since  their  first  interview. 

Their  Highnesses,  at  their  setting  out,  were  pleased  to 
order  500/.  each  for  the  relief  of  poor  prisoners  for  debt. 

His  Serene  Highness,  during  his  stay  in  London,  was 
sumptuously  entertained  by  his  Royal  Highness  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  many  of  the  principal  nobility  and 
gentry ;  he  had  visited  every  place  with  the  attention  of  a 
traveller ;  confirming  all  ranks  in  those  sentiments  of  love 
and  esteem  which  his  behaviour  in  the  British  army  in 
Germany  had  already  so  justly  inspired.  But  no  part  of 
his  Highness' s  behaviour  seemed  to  give  so  much  pleasure 


150  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

as  his  paying  a  visit,  in  a  free  and  friendly  manner,  worthy 
of  himself,  to  Mr.  Pitt,  then  confined  by  the  gout  at  his 
country  seat. 

On  the  occasion  of  her  marriage  the  King  presented 
his  sister  with  a  diamond  necklace  worth  thirty  thousand 
pounds  ;  the  Queen  gave  a  gold  watch  of  exquisite  work- 
manship, set  with  jewels ;  and  the  Princess  Dowager  gave 
her  daughter  a  diamond  stomacher  of  immense  value. 

This  marriage  caused  the  Court  on  the  birthday  to  be 
•uncommonly  brilliant ;  a  splendid  ball  was  given  in  the 
evening,  rendered  peculiarly  interesting  from  its  being 
opened  by  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Brunswick. 

Two  nights  afterwards  they  accompanied  their  Majesties 
to  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  to  see  the  new  comedy  of 
"No  one's  Enemy  but  his  Own;"  and  so  great  was  the 
crowd,  that  the  playhouse  passages  and  the  piazzas  ex- 
hibited nothing  but  one  connected  living  mass;  even 
the  streets  were  so  thronged,  as  to  render  it  difficult  for 
the  carriages  to  get  along  without  accident.  So  great  was 
the  curiosity  of  some  ladies  to  see  the  Hereditary  Prince, 
that  several  offered  five  guineas  for  a  seat  in  the  boxes, 
and  were  refused.  But  the  pressure  at  the  Opera-house 
on  the  following  Saturday  was  even  greater.  The  car- 
riages could  not  come  near  the  door,  on  which  account 
many  of  the  nobility  were  under  the  necessity  of  mixing 
with  the  throng,  which  was  so  great  that  several  ladies 
were  in  danger  of  being  crushed  to  death.  All  respect  for 
rank  and  sex  was  lost ;  and  some  gentlemen  being  impru- 
dent enough  to  draw  their  swords,  increased  the  confusion 
to  such  a  degree  that  many  persons  fainted  away ;  while 
others,  in  the  struggle  to  extricate  themselves,  had  their 
clothes  torn  from  their  backs.  The  crowd  was  not  much 
less  about  the  Palace  on  the  Monday  following,  when  her 


AUGUSTA,    DUCHESS    OF    BRUNSWICK.  151 

Majesty  held-  another  Drawing-room  in  honour  of  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Brunswick,  who,  with  the  different 
branches  of  the  Royal  family  and  many  of  the  nobility, 
were  entertained  in  the  evening  at  the  Queen's  house  with 
a  grand  concert,  ball,  and  supper.  This  was  by  way  of 
taking  leave  of  their  Serene  Highnesses,  who  set  out  for 
the  Continent  on  the  ensuing  Wednesday. 

On  the  26th,  at  three  in  the  evening,  their  Highnesses 
set  out  for  Harwich,  loaded  with  presents  from  their 
Majesties,  and  the  rest  of  the  Royal  family,  and  attended 
by  the  tears  of  many  and  the  good  wishes  of  all,  which 
the  Prince  returned  by  his  prayers  for  the  success  of  this 
nation,  for  which,  he  said,  he  had  already  bled,  and  would 
again  with  pleasure  on  any  future  occasion.  The  Princess, 
in  a  German  travelling  habit,  attended  by  Lady  Susan 
Stuart,  and  two  noblemen,  went  in  one  coach,  and  the 
Prince,  with  some  of  the  noblemen  of  his  Court,  followed 
in  another.  The  Princes  William  Henry  and  Frederick, 
and  two  noblemen,  went  next  in  post-chaises  and  four, 
attended  by  many  servants  on  horseback,  but  no  guards. 
By  eight  they  arrived  at  the  seat  of  Lord  Abercorn,  at 
Witham  in  Essex,  where  a  grand  entertainment  was  pro- 
vided for  their  Highnesses  ;  and  they  were  met  by  many 
of  the  nobility  of  both  sexes,  who  had  set  out  before  to 
spend  the  evening  with  their  Highnesses. 

On  the  17th,  their  Highnesses  set  out  for  Mistley  Hall, 
and  from  thence  the  next  day  arrived  at  Harwich,  where 
the  Corporation  waited  upon  them  with  their  compliments 
of  congratulation,  and  had  the  honour  of  kissing  the 
Princess's  hand. 

On  the  29th  they  embarked  in  different  yachts,  and 
sailed  on  the  30th,  but  did  not  reach  Helvoetsluys  till 
the  2nd  of  February,  having  been  overtaken  by  very  bad 


152  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

weather,  in  which  there  was  the  greatest -reason  to  fear 
their  Highnesses  had  perished,  as  it  was  several  days  be- 
fore any  certain  and  agreeable  account  of  them  reached 
London. 

1764. — Their  Royal  and  most  Serene  Highnesses  the 
Hereditary  Prince  and  Princess  of  Brunswick,  on  their 
landing  at  Helvoetsluys,  on  the  2nd  of  February,  were 
complimented  by  the  great  cupbearer,  Bigot,  on  the  part 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange  ;  by  M.  de  Reden,  charged  by  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Regency  of  Hanover  to 
conduct  them  to  Lunebourg ;  and  M.  de  Bortwitz,  on  the 
part  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  The  next  day  the 
Hereditary  Prince  took  the  route  by  land,  and  arrived 
towards  evening  at  the  Hague.  Her  Royal  Highness 
embarked  at  the  same  time  on  board  the  yachts  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange  and  of  the  Admiralty,  and  having  a 
fair  wind,  arrived  the  same  evening  at  Delfthaven,  and 
the  next  morning  at  Delft,  where  the  Hereditary 
Prince  and  Duke  Lewis  of  Brunswick,  as  well  as  the 
English  Ambassador,  came  to  meet  her.  The  equipage 
of  the  Prince  Stadtholder,  with  an  escort  of  body  guards, 
conducted  her  Royal  Highness  from  Delft  to  the  Hague, 
to  the  palace  of  the  Prince  Stadtholder,  called  the  Old 
Court,  where,  on  alighting  from  her  coach,  she  was  received 
by  the  Prince  Stadtholder,  who  handed  her  to  her  apart- 
ments, where  her  Royal  Highness  received,  some  time 
after,  the  compliments  of  the  foreign  Ministers  and  a 
great  number  of  persons  of  distinction. 

The  States-General,  the  States  of  Holland,  and  the 
Council  of  State,  upon  news  of  their  Highnesses'  arrival, 
nominated  a  deputation  of  their  most  distinguished  mem- 
bers, to  compliment  them  upon  their  safe  arrival,  and  the 
happy  conclusion  of  their  marriage ;  but  as  they  were 


AUGUSTA,   DUCHESS   OF   BEU^SWICK.  153 

pleased  to  decline  receiving  these  deputations  in  form,  all 
the  colleges  had  the  honour  to  make  their  compliments 
without  ceremony. 

The  Prince  Stadth older  gave,  the  same  day,  a  grand 
dinner  and  supper  at  the  Palace  to  their  Royal  and 
Serene  Highnesses,  who  went  in  the  evening  to  the  French 
comedy,  and  were  entertained  on  the  following  days  by 
Duke  Lewis  of  Brunswick,  his  Serene  Highness's  uncle ; 
General  Yorke,  &c. 

On  the  llth  their  Highnesses  arrived  at  Loo ;  on  the 
12th  at  Twickel,  and  the  same  day  passed  the  frontiers 
of  the  Seven  Provinces.  On  the  15th  they  arrived  at 
Nienburg,  and  the  next  day  at  Zell.  The  burgesses  of 
both  these  towns  received  them  under  arms,  and  the  air 
resounded  with  acclamations  of  joy.  They  were  compli- 
mented at  Nienburg  by  the  Generals  Sporcken,  Wangen- 
heim,  Regen,  and  Walmoden ;  and  at  Zell  by  Baron  de 
Fursteini  and  M.  de  Bock.  The  Countess  of  Yarmouth 
received  them  at  Newstadt.  Their  Highnesses  continued 
their  route  to  Lunenburg,  escorted  by  a  detachment  of 
horse. 

February,  1764. — On  the  19th  his  Serene  Highness 
arrived  at  Brunswick,  and  on  the  21st  her  Royal  High- 
ness followed.  She  was  met  at  Wenden,  three  miles 
from  Brunswick,  by  a  party  of  light  horse ;  and  when 
she  came  within  one  mile  of  the  town,  by  the  Reigning 
Duke,  the  Duchess,  Prince  Ferdinand,  and  the  whole 
illustrious  family,  who  were  come  in  six  coaches-and-six. 
After  reposing  some  time  in  a  large  splendid  green 
pavilion,  the  reigning  Duchess  and  her  Royal  and  Serene 
Highness  set  out  in  an  open  coach,  that  the  people  might 
see  her.  During  her  passage,  and  at  her  approach  to 
the  town,  attended  by  military  music,  ninety  guns  were 


154  THE   EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

thence  discharged,  and  the  bells  of  the  town  and  adjacent 
places  were  rung.  Without  the  gate  paraded  a  company 
of  Prince  Frederick's  Grenadiers,  and  forty  of  the  Horse 
Life  Guards,  dressed  in  leathern  jerkins  laced  with  silver. 
Within  the  gate  were  two  battalions  of  the  Foot  Guards, 
two  battalions  of  General  Imhoff's  regiment,  two  bat- 
talions of  General  Mausberg's  regiment,  and  two  bat- 
talions of  the  Hereditary  Prince's  own  regiment.  Her 
Royal  Highness  was  preceded  by  two  squadrons  of 
Hussars,  and  followed  by  sixty  of  the  Horse  Life  Guards, 
another  squadron  of  the  Hussars,  and  a  great  number  of 
officers  on  horseback.  After  they  alighted  at  Granhoff, 
the  Duke's  Palace,  the  Princess  appeared  at  the  window, 
while  the  regiments  filed  by  and  saluted  her ;  which  done, 
they  went  to  the  ramparts  and  fired  three  salvos.  At 
five  o'clock  their  Highnesses  sat  down  to  table,  from 
which  they  arose  at  eight,  played  at  cards  in  the  great 
assembly-room  till  ten,  when  they  went  to  supper,  and 
then  retired  to  the  Hereditary  Prince's  palace. 

On  the  22nd  the  whole  Court  was  assembled  in  the 
morning  in  the  Prince's  palace  ;  at  two  her  Eoyal  High- 
ness went  to  the  Duke's  palace,  with  Lady  Stuart  in  her 
coach,  followed  by  his  Serene  Highness.  In  the  evening 
their  Highnesses  went  to  a  new  opera,  and  were  received 
at  their  entrance  with  great  acclamations  of  the  people. 
After  the  opera  they  supped  in  the  great  ball-room,  and 
there  was  a  splendid  ball,  which  lasted  till  early  the  next 
morning. 

On  the  23rd  they  dined  in  public,  and  in  the  evening 
went  to  an  operetta. 

On  the  24th  was  a  great  ball  at  Court,  and  a  supper  in 
the  parterre  of  the  opera-house,  on  a  table  in  the  form  of 
an  A,  with  eighty  covers. 


AUGUSTA,   DUCHESS   OF   BRUNSWICK.  155 

On  the  25th  was  an  operetta,  and  on  the  27th  a  panto- 
mime, called  "  Harlequin  in  the  Hartz." 

This  amiable  Princess  speedily  won  the  hearts  of 
her  future  subjects  by  her  most  gracious  and  popular 
behaviour. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  of  Brunswick  subsequently 
came  to  England  by  special  invitation.  Some  thought 
Lord  Bute  hoped  to  engage  Mr.  Pitt  by  the  intervention 
of  the  Hereditary  Prince  ;  but  the  court  paid  of  late  both 
by  the  Prince  and  his  wife  to  the  Princess  Dowager,  had 
entirely  gained  her  affections,  and  removed  her  antipathy 
to  the  House  of  Brunswick.* 

1765.  On  the  occasion  of  the  baptism  of  the  fourth  son 
of  Queen  Charlotte,  afterwards  William  IV.  of  his  name, 
the  sponsors  were  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  uncle  of 
the  babe,  and  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Brunswick. 
The  ceremony  took  place,  in  presence  of  their  Majesties, 
the  Royal  family,  and  nobility,  at  St.  James's,  and  was 
performed  by  Dr.  Seeker,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

Very  shortly  after  this  event  occurred  the  death  of  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  the  hero  of  Culloden,  to  the  great 
grief  of  his  family. 

In  1793  William,  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  his  brother 
Frederick,  Duke  of  York,  in  company  with  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  visited  Silesia,  and  renewed  their  acquaintance 
with  Frederic  the  G  reat  of  Prussia,  whom  they  had  pre- 
viously met  at  Potsdam.  One  of  the  Royal  princes 
during  a  visit  to  the  Court  of  Brunswick,  had  drawn  a 
picture  of  the  Princess  Caroline  in  such  glowing  colours, 
as  being  like  the  Princess  Mary  of  England,  his  favourite 
sister,  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  determined  to  make  her 
his  wife. 

*  Walpole. 


156  THE   EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

When  Caroline  quitted  Brunswick,  December  30th, 
1794,  for  England,  her  future  home,  she  was  accompanied 
by  her  mother,  and  a  numerous  train  of  the  populace,  who 
followed  her  with  prayers  and  acclamations.  After 
Osnaburg  they  visited  Hanover,  and  spent  some  weeks  in 
the  Bishop's  Palace,  which  had  been  fitted  up  for  their 
reception.  On  March  28th,  1795,  the  Princess  embarked 
for  England  :  her  history  belongs  to  another  page,  and  the 
negotiation  of  Lord  Malmesbury  respecting  her  marriage, 
with  the  various  details,  the  limits  of  this  work  do  not 
permit  us  to  insert. 

The  only  issue  of  the  marriage  of  Caroline  of  Bruns- 
wick was  one  daughter,  the  much-beloved,  the  long- 
lamented  Princess  Charlotte,  who  drew  her  first  breath 
at  Caiiton  House,  between  the  hours  of  one  and  two 
in  the  morning  of  January  7th,  1796.  There  were 
present  on  the  occasion,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  High  Chancellor,  the  Lord 
President  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  the 
Lord  Chancellor,  and  Master  of  the  Horse  (Earl  Jersey), 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  Lord  Thurlow,  and  the  Ladies  of 
her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales's  own  bed- 
chamber. 

So  great  was  the  anxiety  to  obtain  an  heir  to  the 
throne,  that  the  utmost  anxiety  was  felt  on  this  occa- 
sion, which  was  conducted  with  the  most  solemn  formali- 
ties. The  Ladies  of  her  Eo}^al  Highness's  Court  waited 
on  her  during  her  illness,  which  at  one  period  is  said  to 
have  threatened  her  life,  and  in  which  she  has  been  said 
to  have  been  saved  by  the  intelligent  friendship  of  a  dis- 
tinguished statesman.  The  Prince  of  Wales  himself  was 
so  very  anxious  on  the  preceding  evening,  when  dining  at 
Streatham  with  Mr.  Macnamara,  to  meet  a  convivial 


AUGUSTA,   DUCHESS    OF   BBUNSWICK.  157 

party,  among  whom  were  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and  Lord 
Thurlow,  whose  society  he  much  enjoyed,  that  he  quitted 
the  festive  board  at  a  much  earlier  hour  than  was  his 
custom. 

On  the  29th,  the  City  of  London  intimated  its  desire 
to  make  an  Address  of  Congratulation  on  the  auspicious 
event ;  but  Lord  Cholmondeley  informed  the  City  Remem- 
brancer that  the  Prince  could  not  receive  it  in  a  suitable 
manner,  being  under  the  necessity  of  dismissing  his  esta- 
blishment, which  would  render  him  unable  to  receive  such 
compliments  in  a  manner  suitable  to  his  rank,  and  with 
the  respect  due  to  the  capital  of  the  Empire ;  he  at  the 
same  time  expressed  his  regret  at  not  being  able  to 
acknowledge  these  good  wishes  to  himself  and  the  Princess 
of  Wales. 

The  Hereditary  Prince  succeeded  to  the  Dukedom  of 
Brunswick  on  the  death  of  his  father  in  1780,  and  for  some 
years  after  resided  at  Brunswick,  where  the  Princess,  who 
was  throughout  life  deservedly  esteemed,  made  his  court 
very  agreeable.  In  1787  he  commanded  the  Prussian 
forces  which  took  possession  of  Amsterdam,  and  put  down 
the  republican  party  in  Holland,  His  campaigns  against 
the  French  republicans  were  less  successful,  and  his  well- 
known  manifesto  rendered  his  failure  more  glaring.  He 
was  mortally  wounded  at  Auerstadt,  and  expired  at 
Altona  on  the  10th  of  November,  1806,  leaving  behind 
him  the  reputation  of  a  bold  and  enterprising,  rather  than 
of  an  able  general. 

The  King  of  Prussia  had  renewed  his  alliance  with 
Great  Britain,  but  Napoleon  having  entered  Prussia 
at  the  head  of  a  French  army,  the  fate  of  that 
country  was  decided  on  the  14th  of  October,  by  the 
battle  of  Jena.  The  King  retreated  from  the  field 

M 


158  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

with  his  guards,  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  was  mor- 
tally wounded. 

The  Duchess  of  Brunswick  had  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  present  Royal  family  of  Wurtemberg 
are  descended  from  her  through  her  daughter,  wife  of 
that  Duke  of  Wurtemberg  who  was  created  King  by 
Napoleon :  his  second  wife,  the  first  Queen  of  Wurtem- 
berg, was  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda,  Princess  Royal  of 
England,  daughter  of  George  III. 

The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Brunswick  were  not  happy 
in  their  family :  of  their  two  daughters,  the  eldest,  who 
married  the  King  of  Wurtemberg,  came  to  a  miserable 
end  in  Russia ;  the  youngest  was  the  unfortunate  Queen 
Caroline.  Their  eldest  son  was  of  weak  understanding ; 
and  the  youngest,  "  Brunswick's  fated  Chieftain,"  a  Prince 
of  moderate  abilities  but  signal  courage,  fell  in  middle  life 
at  Waterloo. 

The  author  of  "  Anecdotes  of  Foreign  Courts"  ob- 
serves : — "  There  is  no  reason  whatever  even  to  suspect 
the  Empress  Catherine  of  having  anticipated,  much  less 
been  accessory,  in  any  degree  to  the  death  of  the  late 
Duchess  of  Wurtemberg.  I  have  the  best  reason  on  earth 
for  contradicting  the  insinuations  and  calumnies  which 
have  gone  abroad  on  this  subject,  in 'the  testimony  of  her 
own  mother,  with  whom  I  had  a  conversation  on  the 
subject  at  Hanover  in  1795,  and  at  which  the  late  Earl  of 
Bristol  happened  to  be  present.  In  this  interview  the 
Duchess  of  Brunswick,  after  lamenting  the  result  of  her 
daughter,  the  late  Princess  of  Wales's  marriage,  and  the 
terms  on  which  she  lived  with  her  husband,  observed,  '  I 
am,  indeed,  truly  unfortunate  with  respect  to  both  my 
daughters.  The  other,  poor  thing  !  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the 
jealousy  of  her  husband,  who,  after  having  led  her  a  most 


AUGUSTA,    DUCHESS    OF   EKUoSSWICK.  159 

wretched  life,  not  satisfied  with  his  brutal  treatment 
during  an  existence  which  was  certainly  shortened  by  ill- 
usage,  calumniated  her  memory  in  the  grave.'  It  may  be 
readily  supposed  that  in  a  conversation  like  the  above, 
continued  for  some  time,  the  Duchess  would  not  have 
omitted  to  make  some  allusion  to  Catherine,  had  there 
been  the  smallest  motive  for  doing  so  ;  while,  on  the  con- 
trary, I  well  recollect  her  Highness  having  alluded  to  the 
memory  of  the  Empress,  and  her  great  kindness  to  her 
daughter,  in  terms  of  warm  approbation  and  gratitude. 
In  speaking  of  the  late  unfortunate  Queen  Caroline,  the 
Duchess  said : — '  I  am  convinced  my  daughter  Caroline 
must  have  injured  herself  very  much  in  the  estimation  of 
several  of  the  British  Royal  family,  for  having  been  too 
candid  relative  to  the  cruel  treatment  of  her  sister,  when 
the  Duke  married  the  Princess  Royal  of  England,  on  the 
propriety  of  which  match  her  opinion  had  not  been 
asked.' " 

The  "  Lady  Augusta"  herself,  the  widowed  Duchess 
who  had  survived  her  father,  mother,  sisters,  and  her 
husband,  and  witnessed  such  sorrows  as  those  her  children 
were  destined  to  experience,  in  her  old  age  returned  again 
a  second  time  to  the  land  of  her  childhood  and  happier 
days,  over  which  her  brother  George  reigned.  She  had 
been  forty-eight  years  married  to  the  Duke  of  Brunswick 
when  he  received  the  fatal  wound,  of'  which  he  died,  at 
Jena. 

The  Clyde  frigate  which  brought  over  the  Duchess  of 
Brunswick  arrived  off  Gravesend  on  Monday  night,  July 
13th,  1807.  The  Duchess  landed  on  Tuesday  morning,  July 
7th,  at  ten  o'clock,  and  went  immediately  to  the  new  tavern, 
where  every  preparation  was  made  for  the  reception  of 
this  august  Princess.  The  volunteer  artillery  and  the 


ICO  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

light  infantry  volunteers  were  out,  to  show  all  possible 
respect  to  her  Royal  Highness.  The  guns  from  the  lines 
at  Gravesend,  and  also  at  Tilbury  Fort,  were  fired  in 
honour  of  the  occasion.  The  Clyde  manned  her  yards  and 
saluted.  The  Mayor  and  Corporation  received  her  Royal 
Highness  with  all  due  form,  and  eagerly  testified  their 
respect  to  a  Princess  so  nearly  related  to  their  monarch, 
and  so  estimable  in  herself.  The  venerable  Princess 
seemed  to  be  deeply  sensible  of  these  demonstrations  of 
regard,  in  which  the  people  in  general  warmly  partici- 
pated ;  and  she  quitted  the  place  in  the  Princess  of 
Wales's  carriage,  with  her  attendants,  for  Blackheath. 

On  Wednesday,  about  twelve  o'clock,  the  Princess 
Charlotte  of  Wales,  attended  by  Lady  de  Clifford,  left  her 
house  in  Warwick-street  in  her  carriage-and-four,  upon  a 
visit  to  her  Eoyal  mother,  and  to  pay  her  respects  to  the 
Duchess  of  Brunswick,  her  grandmother. 

On  Thursday  morning,  his  Majesty  quitted  Windsor  in 
his  travelling  carriage  at  ten  o'clock  for  Blackheath,  on  a 
visit  to  his  Royal  sister,  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  and  the 
Princess  of  Wales.  His  Majesty  arrived  at  the  Princess's 
house  about  one  o'clock,  and  on  alighting  from  his  carriage 
was  received  by  the  Duchess  and  the  Princess.  This 
meeting  can  be  better  conceived  than  described.  His 
Majesty  partook  of  an  early  dinner,  and  set  off  on  his  re- 
turn to  Windsor  about  four  o'clock.* 

Of  the  four  sisters  of  George  III.,  Augusta,  Duchess  of 
Brunswick  was  the  only  survivor,  and  the  interview  be- 
tween the  aged  King,  then  in  his  sixty-eighth  year,  with 
this  sister,  to  whom  he  was  next  in  age,  and  under  her 
present  afflicting  circumstances,  after  they  had  been  sepa- 
rated more  than  forty  years,  was  very  painful,  ard  much 
*  "  Annual  Kegister." 


AUGUSTA,    DUCHESS    OF    BRUNSWICK.  161 

affected  both.  Elizabeth  Caroline  had  been  dead  forty-one 
years,  and  Louisa  Anne  thirty-nine. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  the  Lord  Mayor,  attended  by 
four  other  Aldermen,  and  about  eighty  of  the  Common 
Council,  proceeded  in  state  from  Guildhall  to  Montague 
House,  Blackheath,  where  they  presented  the  following 
address  to  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick : — 

"  May  it  please  your  Royal  and  Serene  Highness, 
"  We,  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commons  of  the 
City  of  London,  in  Common  Council  assembled,  most  humbly 
entreat  your  Royal  and  Serene  Highness  to  accept  our  sin- 
cere congratulations  on  your  safe  arrival  in  this  imperial 
country.  The  return  to  her  native  land  of  an  illustrious 
Princess  so  nearly  and  dearly  allied  to  our  beloved  Sove- 
reign, and  to  the  Royal  and  amiable  Consort  of  the  Heir 
Apparent  to  the  throne  of  this  United  Kingdom,  cannot 
but  renew  the  most  lively  sentiments  of  affection  in  the 
hearts  of  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  and  a  warm  partici- 
pation of  those  feelings  which  a  meeting  so  interesting  to 
the  Royal  family  must  have  occasioned.  Deeply  impressed, 
Madam,  as  we  are,  by  the  extraordinary  events  which  have 
occasioned  your  return,  we  trust  that  your  Royal  and 
Serene  Highness  will  permit  us  to  express  the  sincere  jov 
we  feel  at  your  restoration  to  the  shores  of  a  free  and  Io3ral 
people — not  more  attached  to  a  good  and  venerable  King- 
by  duty  to  his  supreme  and  august  station,  than  by  affec- 
tion to  his  sacred  person  and  family. 

"  (Signed  by  order  of  Court,) 

"  HENRY  WOODTIJOIIPE." 

To  which  her  Royal  Highness  returned  the  following 
answer : — 


1G2  THE    IIOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

"  My  Lord, — I  return  your  Lordship  and  the  Aldermen 
and  Commons  of  the  City  of  London  my  grateful  thanks 
for  an  address  which  has  given  me  the  most  heartfelt  satis- 
faction. It  affords  me  an  additional  instance  of  the  loyal 
attachment  of  the  City  of  London  to  the  King,  and  of 
their  affectionate  regard  for  his  Majesty's  royal  family."" 

By  direction  of  the  King,  a  house  in  Hanover-square 
was  taken  for  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  his  sister  pre- 
ferring a  private  establishment  of  her  own  upon  an  econo- 
mical scale,  to  a  residence  in  either  of  the  Royal  mansions. 
In  the  following  year,  the  Parliament  voted  a  grant  of 
10,000?.  a-year  to  the  aged  Duchess.  She  continued  to 
reside  in  England  till  her  death,  in  1813,  which  occurred 
at  the  residence  named,  in  Hanover-square,  on  the  24th 
of  March,  at  a  quarter  past  nine  o'clock.  "  Her  Eoyal 
Highness  had  been  subject  to  an  asthmatic  complaint  for 
some  years,  which  was  increased  by  the  epidemic  disorder 
prevalent  at  the  time  she  was  taken  ill,  but  no  alarm 
was  excited  till  the  morning  of  the  23rd.  About  five 
o'clock,  her  Eoyal  Highness  seemed  better,  but  spasm 
came  upon  her  chest  about  eight,  and  the  aged  sufferer 
died  about  nine  o'clock,  without  pain.  Her  Eoyal  Highness 
was  confined  to  her  bed  only  two  days.  The  Princess  of 
Wales  visited  her  only  on  Tuesday,  and  remained  with  her 
august  mother  for  a  considerable  time."  This  venerable 
Princess  was  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  her  age,  and  the 
last  surviving  sister  of  our  Sovereign. 

The  death  of  the  venerable  Duchess  of  Brunswick  was 
a  severe  blow,  not  only  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  but  to 
her  daughter,  the  Princess  Charlotte.  Happily  for  the 
aged  Duchess,  her  death  spared  her  the  anguish  of  be- 
holding her  beloved  grandchild  prematurely  snatched  from 
*  "  Annual  Register." 


AUGUSTA,   DUCHESS    OF   BRUNSWICK.  1G3 

the  world,  and  the  subsequent  miserable  close  of  the  career 
of  her  unfortunate  daughter,  Caroline. 

On  the  31st  of  March  (1813),  "at  an  early  hour, 
Hanover-square  and  the  avenues  leading  thereto  were 
crowded  with  people,  who  were  assembled  for  the  purpose 
of  witnessing  the  commencement  of  the  ceremonial  of  the 
funeral  of  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick. 
A  detachment  of  the  Foot  Guards  was  on  duty  in  the 
Square,  and  formed  a  line  from  the  late  residence  of  her 
Eoyal  Highness  to  the  top  of  George-street,  through 
which  the  procession  was  to  proceed.  There  were  also 
several  troops  of  the  7th  Hussars  on  duty,  who  afterwards 
joined  in  the  procession. 

At  half-past  eight,  the  necessary  arrangements  having 
been  made,  the  hearse,  which  was  richly  emblazoned  with 
the  armorial  bearings  of  the  deceased,  drew  up  to  the 
corner  of  Brook-street,  and  received  the  coffin.  The 
persons  appointed  to  accompany  the  procession  having 
taken  their  respective  places,  the  whole  proceeded  round 
the  north  side  of  the  square  to  George-street,  down  which 
they  passed  into  Conduit-street,  Bond-street,  and  Piccadilly, 
and  so  on  to  Hyde-park-corner.  The  order  of  march  was 
as  follows : — 

Eight  ushers  in  deep  mourning,  with  scarves  and  hat- 
bands, mounted  on  black  horses,  marching  two  and  two. 

Then  followed  five  mourning  coaches. 

The  carriage  of  her  late  Eoyal  Highness,  drawn  by  six 
horses,  in  which  was  the  coronet,  borne  by  Clarencieux 
King-at-Arms,  attended  by  an  escort  of  the  7th  Hussars, 
and  followed  immediately  by  four  ushers  on  horseback. 

The  hearse,  drawn  by  eight  horses,  the  7th  Hussars 
forming  a  line  on  each  side,  their  arms  reversed. 

A  mourning  coach,  drawn  by  six  horses,  in  which  was 


1G4  THE    ROYAL   PEINCESSE3. 

Garter  Principal  King-at-Arms,  with  two  gentlemen 
ushers. 

The  chief  mourner,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  who  seemed 
deeply  affected,  in  a  mourning  coach,  drawn  by  six  horses, 
and  attended  by  two  supporters. 

Two  mourning  coaches,  drawn  by  four  horses,  in  which 
were  some  of  the  domestics  of  her  late  Royal  Highness. 

The  carriage  of  the  chief  mourner,  drawn  by  six  horses. 

The  carriage  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  drawn  by  six 
horses  ;  the  servants  in  State  liveries. 

The  carriage  of  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte, drawn  by  six  horses. 

The  carriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  drawn  by  six 
horses. 

Then  followed  the  carriages  of  all  the  Eoyal  Dukes, 
drawn  by  six  horses  each,  and  the  procession  closed  with, 
four  private  carriages. 

The  cavalcade  stopped  at  Staines,  where  refreshments 
were  prepared,  and  remained  there  for  some  time. 

The  procession  had  a  very  solemn  and  grand  effect  in 
all  the  villages  through  which  it  proceeded.  The  solemn 
knell  was  sounded  as  it  passed,  and  the  inhabitants,  who 
lined  the  streets  and  public  paths,  behaved  in  the  most 
decorous  manner.  It  reached  Frogmore  about  eight  at 
night,  where  the  road  was  lined  with  a  party  of  the  33rd 
Regiment,  carrying  lighted  flambeaux,  and  the  whole  ot 
the  military  at  Windsor  were  drawn  out  to  receive  it. 
The  Castle  yard  was  filled  with  infantry  and  cavalry, 
and  illuminated  by  the  blaze  of  flambeaux.  As  soon  as 
the  procession  entered  the  yard,  the  whole  presented  arms, 
and  the  band  struck  up  a  solemn  dirge,  which  gave  the 
scene  altogether  a  truly  grand  and  impressive  effect.  At 
the  porch  of  St.  George's  Chapel  the  body  was  taken 


AUGUSTA,    DUCHESS    OF    EBUNSWTCK.  1G5 

out  of  the  hearse  and  placed  upon  a,  bier,  which  was 
carried  by  the  yeomen  of  the  guard.  On  entering  the 
chapel,  the  aisles  appeared  lined  with  several  troops  of 
the  Hoyal  Horse  Guards,  partly  under  arms,  and  partly 
with  lighted  flambeaux.  The  organ  opened  its  pealing 
tones,  and  Dr.  Croft's  admired  funeral  service  was  sung 
by  the  whole  of  the  choir.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick  had 
arrived  at  the  Dean  of  Windsor's  in  the  afternoon,  and 
acted  as  chief  mourner ;  he  was  supported  by  Barons  De 
Hackel  and  De  Nortenfeld.  Among  other  noblemen 
present  in  the  procession,  were  the  Lord  Chamberlain, 
the  Earl  of  Winchelsea,  Lords  Somerville,  Rivers,  St. 
Helen's,  and  Arden.  The  body  being  placed  near  the 
altar,  the  chief  mourner  took  his  seat  in  a  chair  at  the 
head  of  the  coffin.  The  service  was  performed  by  the 
Dean.  The  gentlemen  of  the  choir  sung  the  anthem, 
'I  have  set  God  always  before  me,'  by  Blake.  The 
funeral  service  concluded  with,  '  I  heard  a  voice  from 
Heaven ;'  after  which  Garter  King-at-Arms  proclaimed 
her  late  Royal  Highness's  style,  which  ended  the 


ceremony."* 


"  Anaual  Register." 


16G 


ELIZABETH  CAEOLINE  AND  LOUISA  ANNE, 

DAUGHTERS  OF  FREDERICK,  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

Relative  ages  of  the  two  sisters — Early  talents  of  Elizabeth  Caroline 
— Her  personal  appearance — Early  death — Buried  in  Henry  VII.'s 
Chapel,  Westminster  —  Miss  Chudleigh's  grand  entertainment 
described  by  Walpole — Louisa  Anne — Her  early  ill-health — Re- 
markable talents — Anxiety  of  her  family — Dies  of  consumption — 
Court  mourning  ordered — Journeymen  tailors'  strike  for  increase  of 
wages — Remains  of  Louisa  Anne  laid  in  state  in. the  Prince's 
chamber — Buried  in  Westminster  Abbey — The  Duke  of  Mecklen- 
burg's disappointment — The  Hereditary  Prince  Stadtholder  another 
suitor  for  the  Princess  Louisa  Anne. 

THESE  royal  sisters  both  died  at  an  early  age,  and  unmar- 
ried, by  which  they  escaped  the  misfortunes  which  might 
have  been  allotted  to  them  had  length  of  years  been  their 
appointed  destiny — as  exemplified  in  the  histor}r  of  their 
elder  sister,  Augusta,  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  or  their 
younger  sister,  Caroline  Matilda,  who,  in  the  blooming 
period  when  she  was  entering  her  twenty-fourth  year,  was 
snatched  from  the  world,  which  in  that  small  space  of 
time  had  offered  to  her  lips  a  cup  overflowing  with  many 
sorrows. 

There  is  always  something  painfully  interesting  in 
viewing  that  spectacle  of  frail  mortality — the  early  dead. 
The  allotted  years  of  life  being  threescore  and  ten,  it  does 
not  seem  wonderful  that  all  should  start  with  the  fair  pro- 
mise of  longevity  in  the  dawn  of  existence ;  yet  how  few 
attain  the  evening's  sober  ray  of  twilight !  How  very 
few  of  those  who  do  arrive  at  the  goal — escaping  the  many 
snares  of  the  fell  hunter,  Death,  laid  as  traps  in  the  path 


ELIZABETH    CAROLINE    AND   LOUISA   ANNE.          167 

of  daily  traffic — can  on  their  arrival  there  cast  a  retrospective 
glance  on  the  journey,  and  congratulate  themselves  on 
attaining  the  destined  haven ! 

Few  in  years — few  in  events,  too — were  the  peaceful 
lives  of  the  sister  Princesses,  Elizabeth  Caroline  and  Louisa 
Anne.  The  first  was  born  December  30th,  1740 ;  the  last, 
on  March  8th,  1748 — some  distance  in  age,  therefore, 
divided  them  from  each  other. 

Of  Elizabeth  Caroline,  the  second  daughter  of  Frederick, 
Prince  of  Wales,  Walpole  says,  "  Her  figure  was  so  very 
unfortunate,  that  it  would  have  been  difficult  for  her  to  be 
happy ;  but  her  parts  and  application  were  extraordinary. 
I  saw  her  act  in  Cato,  at  eight  years  old  (when  she  could 
not  stand  alone,  but  was  forced  to  lean  against  the  side 
scene),  better  than  any  of  her  brothers  and  sisters.  She 
had  been  so  unhealthy  that,  at  that  age,  she  had  not  been 
taught  to  read,  but  had  learnt  the  part  of  Lucia  by  hearing 
the  others  study  their  parts.  She  went  to  her  father  and 
mother,  and  begged  she  might  act.  They  put  her  off  as 
gently  as  they  could ;  she  desired  leave  to  repeat  her  part, 
and  when  she  did,  it  was  with  so  much  sense,  that  there 
was  no  denying  her;"  and  so  the  little  Princess  had  her 
will. 

If  personal  appearance  was  as  essential  to  happiness  as 
the  courtier  deemed,  Elizabeth  Caroline  was  certainly  de- 
barred of  the  woman's  chance :  but  though  deformed,  and 
even  homely  in  person,  she  possessed  a  mind,  as  is  not 
uncommon  in  such  cases,  far  superior  to  her  brothers  and 
sisters;  and  thus  Nature  balances  the  account  with  her 
children,  and  compensates  for  her  own  deficiencies.  It 
was  not,  however,  the  will  of  Heaven  that  this  sweet  Prin- 
cess should  live  to  a  mature  age.  In  her  nineteenth  year 
she  died  at  Kew,  September  4th,  1759,  after  a  two  days' 


1G3  THE    EOTAL   PKINCESSES. 

illness,  of  inflammation  of  the  bowels,  and  j  ast  one  month 
before  the  decease  of  her  grandfather,  George  II.  She 
was  privately  buried  on  the  14th,  in  the  Royal  vault  in 
King  Henry  VII. 's  chapel  at  Westminster. 

A  letter  from  Horace  Walpole,  to  his  friend  General 
Conway,  describes  a  fete  given  by  one  of  the  Queen's 
maids  of  honour,  Miss  Chudleigh  (known  afterwards  as 
the  celebrated  Duchess  of  Kingston),  in  honour  of  her 
Koyal  mistress's  birthday.  "  Oh !  that  you  had  been  at 
her  ball  the  other  night ;  history  could  never  describe  it 
and  keep  its  countenance.  The  Queen's  real  birthday, 
you  know,  is  not  kept.  This  maid  of  honour  kept  it — 
nay,  whilst  the  Court  is  in  mourning,  expected  people  to 
be  out  of  mourning:  the  Queen's  family  really  was  so, 
Lady  Northumberland  having  desired  leave  for  them.  A 
scaffold  was  erected  in  Hyde  Park  for  fireworks.  To  show 
the  illuminations  without  to  more  advantage,  the  company 
were  received  in  an  apartment  totally  dark,  wrhere  they 
remained  for  two  hours.  The  fireworks  were  fine,  and 
succeeded  well.  On  each  side  of  the  Court  were  two  large 
scaffolds,  for  the  virgin's  tradespeople.  When  the  fire- 
works ceased,  a  large  scene  was  lighted  in  the  Court,  repre- 
senting their  Majesties,  on  each  side  of  which  were  six 
obelisks,  painted  with  emblems,  and  illuminated ;  mottoes 
beneath,  in  Latin  and  English :  first,  for  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  a  ship,  Mutorum  spes ;  second,  for  the  Princess 
Dowager,  a  bird  of  Paradise  and  two  little  ones,  Meos  ad 
sidera  tollo ;  third,  Duke  of  York,  a  temple,  Virtuti  et 
konori  ;  fourth,  Princess  Augusta,  a  bird  of  Paradise,  Non 
liabet  parem  ;  fifth,  the  three  younger  Princes,  an  orange 
tree,  Promittat  et  dat ;  sixth,  the  two  younger  Princesses, 
the  flower  crown-imperial — I  forget  the  Latin,  the  trans- 
lation was  silly  enough — *  Bashful  in  youth,  graceful  in 


ELIZABETH    CAROLINE   AND   LOUISA   ANNE.          169 

age.'  The  lady  of  the  house  made  many  apologies  for  the 
poorness  of  the  performance,  which  she  said  was  only  oil- 
paper, painted  by  one  of  her  servants ;  but  it  really  was 
fine  and  pretty.  Behind  the  house  was  a  cenotaph,  for 
the  Princess  Elizabeth,  a  kind  of  illuminated  cradle :  the 
motto,  '  All  the  honours  the  dead  can  receive.'  This 
burying-ground  was  a  strange  codicil  to  a  festival;  and 
what  was  still  more  strange,  about  one  in  the  morning 
this  sarcophagus  burst  out  into  crackers  and  guns.  The 
Margrave  of  Anspach  began  the  ball  with  the  virgin. 
The  supper  was  most  sumptuous." 

Louisa  Anne  was  eleven  years  old  when  she  lost  her 
sister;  and  she  had  herself  been  a  sufferer  from  earliest 
infancy.  At  the  time  of  her  birth,  she  was  so  extremely 
small  and  delicate  that  it  was  thought  advisable  to  have 
her  immediately  baptized.  She,  however,  surmounted  the 
perils  to  which  children  often  fall  a  sacrifice,  and  seemed 
to  be  gradually  acquiring  strength.  Her  disposition  was 
remarkable  for  its  gentleness,  and  she  was  distinguished 
by  an  ardent  desire  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  This 
delighted,  though  it  alarmed  her  family,  who  dreaded  lest 
her  health  should  be  injured  by  too  much  application.  The 
existence  of  that  latent  malady,  consumption,  as  she  pro- 
gressed in  years,  became  more  evident  in  the  bright  ver- 
milion hue  of  that  fair  cheek,  to  the  grief  of  all  those  who 
surrounded  and  were  tenderly  attached  to  this  sweet  scion 
of  royalty.  Year  rolled  on  after  year,  and  still,  as  she 
advanced  towards  womanhood,  that  unfailing  symptom 
was  there  to  bid  hope  despair ;  and  a  hectic  cough  from 
which  she  constantly  suffered  was  herald  of  the  rapid 
consumption  which  put  a  period  to  her  existence  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty.  She  expired  on  the  13th  of  May,  1768, 
being  the  third  child  the  Princess  of  Wales  had  lost 


170  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

within  two  years.  At  the  time  of  this  sad  occurrence, 
the  King  and  Quee"n  were  in  such  anxiety  about  her  health, 
that  they  were  staying  constantly  in  town ;  and  on  the 
occasion  all  plays  and  public  diversions  were  interdictedj 
and  an  order  for  a  six  weeks'  mourning  issued  from  the 
office  of  the  Lord  Chamberlain.  The  journeymen  tailors 
in  London  took  advantage  of  the  mourning  for  Princess 
Louisa  Anne  and  the  riots  then  continuing  in  London,  to 
rise  in  a  great  body  and  go  down  to  the  Parliament  to 
petition  for  an  increase  of  wages,  but  were  prevailed  on 
by  Justice  Fielding  to  behave  with  decency.* 

On  the  21st  of  May,  the  corpse  of  the  young  Princess 
was  laid  in  state  in  the  Prince's  chamber,  and  about  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  interred  in  the 
Royal  vault,  in  King  Henry  VII. 's  chapel.  The  pro- 
cession began  between  nine  and  ten  from  the  Prince's 
chamber  to  the  Abbey,  where  the  body  was  received  by 
the  dean,  who  performed  the  funeral  service.  Her  Grace 
the  Duchess  of  Manchester  was  chief  mourner ;  and  the 
pall  was  supported  by  Lady  Scarborough,  Lady  Boston, 
Lady  Masham,  and  Lady  Lichfield.  The  minute  guns  at 
the  Tower  began  firing  about  nine  at  night ;  and  St.  Paul's 
bell,  and  those  of  most  of  the  churches  in  London  and 
"Westminster,  tolled  every  minute,  and  continued  till  her 
Royal  Highness's  body  was  interred. 

One  part  of  the  sad  story  of  Louisa  Anne  has  yet  to  be 
told.  At  the  time  of  her  death,  fairer  hopes  had  wakened 
in  her  young  heart — a  brighter  future  had  seemed  to  be 
in  reserve  upon  earth :  she  had  been  promised  in  marriage, — 
and,  but  for  the  relentless  disease  which  had  crept  slowly 
and  surely  upon  her  fair  frame,  would  ere  long  have  been, 
in  all  probability,  a  happy  wife. 
*  Walpole. 


ELIZABETH  CAROLINE  AND  LOUISA  ANNE.     171 

Adolphus  Frederick,  Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  the  eldest 
brother  of  Queen  Charlotte,  had.  not  only  offered  his  hand 
to  the  Princess,  but  been  successful  in  his  suit.  The  mar- 
riage treaty  was  concluded  in  the  autumn  of  the  year 
1764  ;  and  from  a  paragraph  in  the  Daily  Advertiser,  we 
learn  that  some  of  his  Majesty's  yachts  were  ready  to  sail 
in  a  few  days'  time  for  Holland,  to  bring  over  the  Prince, 
who  was  shortly  to  be  united  to  the  royal  lady  of  his 
choice.  "  If  Louisa  Anne  had  been  gifted  with  rare  mental 
powers,  her  chosen  husband  was  not  less  so ;  for  so  rapid 
had  been  his  advances  in  learning  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
that  it  is  on  record  he  was  elected  Rector  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Gupswald ;  on  which  occasion  he  delivered  a  Latin 
oration,  of  his  own  composition,  before  the  members  of 
that  learned  institution,  and  acquitted  himself  with  great 
honour.  When  his  sister  Charlotte  became  Queen  of 
England,  by  marriage,  he  was  reigning  Duke  of  Mecklen- 
burg, having  succeeded  to  his  father's  principality.  "Why 
his  overtures  to  the  sister  of  George  III.  did  not  termi- 
nate in  the  expected  union,  seems  easy  to  be  accounted 
for  in  the  declining  health  of  the  Princess  becoming 
daily  more  apparent  to  those  who  surrounded  her. 
Though  she  survived  this  period  three  years,  Walpole 
says  "  she  never  appeared  more  than  an  unhealthy  child 
of  thirteen  or  fourteen:"  such  inroads  had  been  made  by 
her  fatal  malady ! 

Yet  another  suitor  had  been  ready  to  win  her  whose 
home  was  not  to  be  in  earth,  but  heaven.  The  public 
papers  of  the  same  period  state  that  "  Count  de  Bentinck, 
Lord  of  Ehoon  and  Pengregt,  one  of  the  lords  of  the  States 
of  Holland,  who  lately  arrived  in  London,  was  commissioned 
to  propose  a  marriage  between  his  Serene  Highness  the 
Hereditary  Prince  Stadtholder,  born  8th  of  March,  1748, 


172  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

and  her   Royal  Highness  the   Princess   Louisa  Anne  of 
England,  born  19th  of  March,  in  the  same  year." 

Aclolphus  Frederick,  Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  seems  to  have 
been  the  husband  selected  by  the  Royal  lady  ;  and  though 
death  deprived  him  of  his  early  choice,  he  was  twice  married. 
In  1782  he  spent  several  weeks  at  the  Court  of  St.  James, 
with  his  second  Duchess,  when  their  portraits  were  painted 
and  hung  up,  by  Queen  Charlotte's  orders,  in  her  dining- 
room,  at  Frogmore.  Adolphus  died  in  1794,  when  he  was 
succeeded  in  the  Dukedom  by  his  brother,  Charles  Lewis 
Frederic,  father  of  the  Duchess  of  Solms,  who,  in  1816, 
became  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  His  other 
daughter  was  the  beautiful  and  beloved  Queen  of  Prussia: 
the  walls  of  the  dining-room  of  Queen  Charlotte  at  Frog- 
more  exhibit  pictures  of  her  mother  and  sister,  and  of 
Charles  Lewis  Frederic,  named  above,  as  well  as  of  her 
brothers,  Ernest  Gottlob  Albert,  and  George  Augustus. 


173 


CAROLINE    MATILDA, 

QUEEN  OF  DENMARK,  YOUNGEST  DAUGHTER  OF 
FREDERICK,  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

Her  parents  and  family — A  posthumous  child — Marries  Christian  VII., 
King  of  Denmark — Birth  of  an  heir — Leaves  England — Re- 
ception in  Denmark — The  Queen-Mother — Caroline  Matilda  writes 
to  the  Princess  of  Hesse — Christian  departs  for  England — His  ad- 
ventures— He  visits  France — Conduct  of  the  Queen — She  lives  at 
Fredericksbourg — Christian  returns — Changed  in  his  conduct  to 
his  wife — Struenzee  reconciles  the  King  and  Queen — Manners 
and  habits  of  the  Queen — A  good  horsewoman — Escapes  an  ac- 
cident— Birth  of  a  daughter — Hirschholm — Magnificence  of  the 
Court — Order  of  "Matilda" — Her  mother's  visit — Confederacy 
against  Struenzee  and  the  Queen — The  masked  ball — Imprisonment 
of  Caroline  Matilda— Indignation  of  Sir  R.  M.  Keith— Death  of 
Struenzee  and  Brandt — Death  of  Princess  of  Wales — Queen's 
letters — Interference  of  England — Conditions  obtained — Parts  from 
her  children — Leaves  Cronenburg — Lines  written  on  her  passage  to 
Stadt — Queen  at  Zell — Her  letter  to  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick — 
Attempt  to  replace  her  on  the  throne — Embassy  of  Sir  N.  W. 
Wraxall — Sudden  death  of  Caroline  Matilda — Account  of  her  last 
moments — Her  funeral — Grief  for  her  loss  in  England,  Zell,  and 
Denmark — The  Crown  Prince  takes  the  power  into  his  own  hands 
in  Denmark — Account  of  his  conduct  towards  England — The 
cause. 

IF  there  can  be  found  among  the  records  of  woman's  his- 
tory one  page  more  painfully  interesting  than  any  other, 
which  possesses  a  stronger  claim  on  the  sympathy  of  the 
sex,  or  is  more  calculated  to  draw  forth  from  the  bosom 
an  honest  expression  of  indignation  for  undeserved  wrongs, 
that  page  is  the  one  on  which  has  been  written,  in  cha- 


174  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

racters  too  deeply  traced  to  be  ever  obliterated,  the  sad, 
sorrowful  life  of  Caroline  Matilda  of  England,  one  of  the 
noblest  and  most  virtuous  daughters  of  the  illustrious 
House  of  Hanover.  With  a  feeling  of  sympathy  sincere 
and  devoted,  let  the  curtained  veil  be  raised  from  the 
tomb  of  this  revered  and  deceased  Princess,  and  with 
hallowed  hearts  let  us  gaze  upon  the  fair,  young,  idolized 
object  of  a  nation's  love,  and  a  nation's  everlasting  regret. 
Caroline  Matilda  first  beheld  the  light  four  months  and 
eight  days  after  the  death  of  her  father,  his  Eoyal  High- 
ness Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  eldest  son  of  George  II. ; 
her  birth  took  place  July  22nd,  1751.  The  Princess  of 
Wales,  her  mother,  educated  this  youngest  of  her  nume- 
rous family  in  a  manner  which  reflected  the  greatest  credit 
on  her  sense  and  judgment,  and  thus  rendered  her  fit  to 
adorn  the  highest  station.  "  She  was  well  read  in  modern 
history,  conversant  with  geography,  spoke  with  correct- 
ness, eloquence,  and  fluency,  both  French  and  German, 
and  understood  Latin.  Her  diction  in  English  was  pure, 
and  her  elocution  graceful.  She  could  with  facility  repeat 
the  finest  passages  from  our  dramatic  poets,  and  often 
rehearsed,  with  great  judgment  and  propriety,  whole 
scenes  from  Shakspeare's  most  admired  plays.  But  those 
far  nobler  qualities  of  the  heart,  which  outstrip  the  mere 
forms  of  education  and  dispose  the  mind  naturally  to  all 
that  is  good  and  great,  were  pre-eminently  possessed  by 
this  youthful  scion  of  royalty,  whose  sweetness  of  temper 
and  vivacity  of  character  endeared  her  to  all  those  who 
surrounded  her.  The  goodness  and  benevolence  displayed 
by  her  throughout  her  brief  career  towards  the  unfortunate 
was  a  striking  feature  in  her  disposition,  and  one  which 
must  ever  be  remembered.  Such  was  the  sweet  sister  of 
George  III.,  King  of  England,  who  was  destined  to  be 


CABOLINE   MATILDA.  175 

transplanted,  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  to  a  foreign 
Court,  of  which  she  was  for  a  brief  period  only  to  become 
the  brightest  ornament. 

Such  was  Caroline  Matilda,  the  heroine  of  a  melancholy 
historical  romance,  when  her  hand  was  sought  in  marriage 
by  her  cousin,  Christian  the  Seventh,  King  of  Denmark, 
the  son  of  Princess  Louisa  of  England,  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  George  II.  That  young  prince,  when  but  three 
years  of  age,  lost  his  mother ;  and  about  twelve  months 
after  that  event,  his  father,  Frederick  V.,  married  Juliana 
Maria,  of  Brunswick  Wolfenbuttel,  a  Princess  of  un- 
bounded ambition,  who,  while  her  husband  yet  lived,  is 
said  to  have  cherished  the  design  she  at  a  later  period 
succeeded  in  carrying  into  effect ;  of  repressing  the  talents, 
and  rendering  incapable  of  wielding  sovereign  power,  the 
heir  to  the  throne,  in  order  to  make  way  for  her  own  son 
Frederick,  who  was  but  four  years  younger.  Stepmothers 
throughout  history  have  been  found  guilty,  in  numberless 
instances,  of  crimes  towards  the  hapless  objects  placed  by 
circumstances  under  their  care;  but  never  was  there  a 
more  diabolical  scheme  than  that  by  which  Juliana  Maria 
had  planned  to  enervate  and  render  imbecile  the  innocent 
young  Christian,  her  stepson,  and  which  eventually  brought 
ruin  and  death  to  the  blooming  Caroline  Matilda. 

The  Queen  Mother  held,  under  the  will  of  her  deceased 
husband,  an  unlimited  power  over  the  Government  during 
the  minority  of  Christian,  whose  natural  timidity  or  feeble- 
ness of  disposition  only  made  him  the  more  fitting  tool 
to  accomplish  her  iniquitous  designs.  Under  her  control 
and  direction,  the  young  heir,  who,  according  to  some 
accounts,  had  even  been  in  risk  of  his  life  from  poison 
while  his  father  was  yet  alive,  had  no  sooner  become  suc- 
cessor to  the  crown,  than  every  effort  of  this  artful  step- 


176  THE    EOYAL   PEINCESSE3. 

mother  was  directed  to  the  enervation  and  corruption  of 
both  mind  and  body  of  this  unfortunate  prince.  The  seeds 
of  virtue  which,  under  proper  culture,  would  have  ripened 
to  maturity,  were  eradicated  by  vicious  and  dissipated 
counsellors,  so  that  the  errors  and  vices  of  Christian 
became  strengthened,  and  his  naturally  good  disposition 
perverted  and  ruined.  It  would  scarcely  have  been  pos- 
sible for  a  young  man  in  ordinary  life  to  have  become  a 
worthy  member  of  society  under  such  a  training;  how 
much  less  was  the  chance  of  the  King  of  Denmark !  The 
following  description  is  given  of  the  personal  appearance 
of  Christian  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  the  year  of  his  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  : — 

"  The  person  of  the  young  king,  though  considerably 
under  the  middle  height,  was  finely  proportioned,  light 
and  compact,  but  yet  possessing  a  considerable  degree  of 
agility  and  strength.  His  complexion  remarkably  fair; 
his  features,  if  not  handsome,  were  regular  ;  his  eyes  blue, 
lively,  and  expressive ;  his  hair  very  light ;  he  had  a  good 
forehead  and  aquiline  nose,  a  handsome  mouth,  and  fine 
set  of  teeth.  He  was  elegant,  rather  than  magnificent  in 
his  dress ;  courteous  in  his  manners,  though  warm  and 
irritable  in  his  temper ;  but  his  anger,  if  soon  excited,  was 
easily  appeased,  and  he  was  generous  to  profusion."  With 
different  associates  under  the  paternal  restrictions,  and 
fostered  in  the  genial  qualities  of  the  heart  by  the  tender 
love  of  a  mother,  how  different  might  not  Christian's 
after  career  have  proved !  As  it  was,  to  his  mother-in- 
law,  "  notwithstanding  the  disdain  with  which  she  treated 
him,"  he  paid  "  all  the  deference  which  seemed  due  to  her 
rank  and  authority  in  council.  He  never  testified  his 
firmness,  or  had  the  courage  to  defend  his  own  opinion, 
on  any  other  occasion  than  in  the  choice  of  Caroline 


GASOLINE   MATILDA.  177 

Matilda  of  England ;  whilst  the  Queen  Dowager  neither 
approved  of  the  alliance,  nor  of  the  time  fixed  for  the  union. 
She  hoped,  from  this  Prince's  weak  and  delicate  constitu- 
tion, that  if  his  marriage  was  deferred,  he  would  never 
have  any  offspring  of  his  own  to  succeed  to  the  throne, 
and  had  no  desire  for  a  rival,  either  in  the  power  she  at 
present  enjoyed,  or  the  ascendancy  she  had  acquired  over 
the  mind  of  the  young  King." 

Caroline  Matilda,  on  her  part,  had  little  of  happiness  to 
anticipate  in  the  marriage  proposed  to  her,  and  seems  to 
have  not  held  the  crown  in  prospect  heavy  in  the  balance. 
From  the  time  the  alliance  was  determined  upon,  she  is 
described  as  having  been  "pensive,  reserved,  and  dis- 
quieted, though  always  gracious,  without  taking  upon  her- 
self more  state,  or  requiring  more  homage  from  the  persons 
admitted  into  her  presence." 

In  a  letter  from  George  III.  to  General  Conwa}r,  com- 
manding the  summoning  a  Committee  of  Council  upon 
the  dearness  of  corn,  bearing  date  September  20,  1766,  is 
the  following  passage  referring  to  the  intended  nuptials  of 
his  Majesty's  sister,  Princess  Caroline  Matilda  : — 

"  I  return  you  the  proposed  ceremonial  for  the  espousals 
of  my  sister,  which  I  entirely  approve  of ;  the  full  power 
must  undoubtedly,  ex  officio,  be  read  by  you,  and  the 
solemn  contract  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  I  de- 
sire, therefore,  you  will  have  it  copied,  only  inserting  the 
Royal  apartments  of  St.  James's  instead  of  the  Royal 
Chapel,  and  my  brother's  Christian  name  in  those  places 
where  it  has,  I  think,  evidently  been,  from  negligence  of 
the  copier,  omitted,  where  he  speaks ;  as  in  all  other  solemn 
declarations  that  is  always  used,  as  well  as  the  title.  The 
Archbishop  should  then  have  it  communicated  to  him, 
that  he  may  see  whether  it  is  conformable  to  precedents ; 


178  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

besides,  the  dignity  of  his  station  calls  for  that  mark  of 
regard  from  me."* 

At  length  the  day  appointed  for  the  marriage  arrived, 
and  on  the  1st  of  October,  1766,  the  amiable  Princess  gave 
her  hand  to  Christian  VII.  King  of  Denmark,  at  the 
Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's. 

"  The  parting  between  the  Queen  of  Denmark  and  her 
Royal  mother,  the  Princess  of  Wales,  was  extremely  tender; 
the  young  Queen,  on  getting  into  the  coach,  was  observed 
to  shed  tears,  which  greatly  affected  the  populace  assem- 
bled in  Pall  Mall  to  witness  her  departure. "t 

Before  Caroline  Matilda  took  her  last  farewell  of  the 
British  shores,  she  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  York  the  fol- 
lowing letter : — 

"  SlE,  AND  DEAE  BEOTHEE, 

"  I  have  just  time  enough  to  write  you 
these  few  lines  from  England.  If  patriotism  consists  in 
the  love  of  our  country,  what  I  feel  now  at  the  sight  of 
that  element  which,  in  a  few  hours,  shall  convey  me  far 
from  this  happy  land,  gives  me  a  just  claim  to  that  virtue. 
Perhaps  you  men,  who  boast  of  more  fortitude,  call  this 
sensibility  weakness,  as  you  would  be  ashamed  to  play  the 
woman  on  such  an  occasion ;  but,  in  wishing  you  all  the 
temporal  felicity  this  life  can  afford,  I  confess  all  the  phi- 
losophy I  am  mistress  of  cannot  hinder  me  from  concluding, 
with  tears  in  my  eyes, 

"  Sir,  and  dear  Brother, 

"  Your  most  affectionate  Sister, 

"  CAEOLINE." 

*  Fenn's  "  Original  Letters."          t  Keith's  "  Memoirs." 


CABOLIKE    MATILDA.  179 

Caroline  Matilda  is  thus  described  by  one  of  her  own. 
countrymen,  at  the  time  when  she  quitted  for  ever  her 
native  land.  "  Her  person  was  above  the  middle  size,  and 
though  well  shaped,  rather  inclined  to  what  the  French 
call  embonpoint.  Her  face  was  a  regular  oval,  and  her 
eyebrows,  arched  with  symmetry,  added  sweetness  and  ex- 
pression to  her  beautiful  eyes.  Her  lips  and  teeth  exhi- 
bited the  lively  colours  of  coral,  and  the  whiteness  of 
alabaster.  She  had  a  good  complexion,  though  not  so  fair 
as  some  of  the  royal  family ;  and  her  hair  was  of  a  light 
chesnut.  Her  voice  was  sweet  and  melodious,  and  her 
aspect  rather  gracious  than  majestic  ;  but  she  had  in  her 
tout  ensemble  a  most  prepossessing  physiognomy." 

On  the  occasion  of  her  marriage,  "her  Majesty  was 
dressed  in  bloom-colour,  with  white  flowers.  Wherever 
she  passed,  the  earnest  wishes  of  the  people  were  for  her 
health,  and  praying  God  to  protect  her  from  the  perils  of 
the  sea.  A  gentle  melancholy  seemed  to  affect  her  on  ac- 
count of  leaving  her  family  and  the  place  of  her  birth, 
but,  upon  the  whole,  she  carried  an  air  of  serenity  and 
majesty  which  exceedingly  moved  every  one  that  beheld 
her."  An  eye-witness,  however,  remarks,  that  the  tears 
shed  by  the  royal  bride  on  this  occasion,  "  might  have  in- 
spired in  those  who  beheld  them  gloomy  forebodings  as  to 
the  issue  of  the  voyage  she  was  about  to  undertake." 
How  little  were  the  events  of  a  few  short  years  then  fore- 
seen— the  lonely  prison  ! — the  early  tomb  ! 

"  On  the  18th  the  Queen  of  Denmark  arrived  at  Altona, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  express  the  joy  with  which  she  was 
received.  The  bridge  prepared  for  the  royal  reception  was 
covered  with  scarlet  cloth,  on  one  side  whereof  were  ranged 
the  ladies,  and  on  the  other  the  men  ;  and  at  the  end  were 
two  rows  of  young  women,  dressed  in  white,  who  strewed 


180  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

flowers  before  her  Majesty  as  she  approached.  The  illu- 
minations on  the  occasion  were  inconceivable." 

Juliana  Maria  was  highly  incensed  at  the  first  entry  of 
the  bride-queen  into  the  capital  of  her  dominions  amid  the 
universal  acclamations  accorded  to  youthful  grace  and 
beauty  when  combined  with  that  natural  affability  which 
was  so  calculated  to  win  the  hearts  of  her  people. 

This  entree  has  been  described  by  a  Danish  author  in 
the  following  words  : — "  It  was  neither  the  powerful  con- 
nexions, the  high  lineage,  nor  the  ample  dowry  which  this 
young  and  interesting  Princess  brought  to  my  country 
that  commanded  universal  admiration  and  esteem,  but 
her  youth,  her  innocence,  her  beauty,  and  her  modest,  re- 
tiring, graceful  demeanour,  that  fascinated  all  who  beheld 
her.  I  saw  this  ill-fated  Princess  when  she  first  set  her 
foot  on  the  soil  of  Denmark.  I  did  not  join  in  the  shouts 
of  the  multitude,  but  I  was  charmed  with  her  appearance. 
She  was  received  like  a  divinity ;  and  almost  worshipped, 
at  least  by  those  of  the  male  sex.  Her  animated  beau- 
teous features,  her  fine  blue  eyes,  beamed  with  delight  on 
all  around  her.  That  youth  must  have  been  a  stoic 
whose  heart,  if  not  devoted  to  some  prior  object,  would 
not  have  been  enslaved  by  this  fair  foreigner,  then  little 
more  than  fifteen." 

Caroline  Matilda's  observations  in  her  progress  through 
some  parts  of  Germany,  and  upon  the  honours  paid  to  her 
on  her  arrival  on  the  frontiers  of  Denmark,  with  her  re- 
ception in  the  capital,  and  opinions  conceived  of  the  Court, 
the  Royal  Family,  the  country,  and  its  inhabitants,  are  fully 
detailed  in  a  letter  written  to  her  brother,  the  Duke  of 
York,  after  five  weeks'  residence  in  that  kingdom. 


CAROLINE  MATILDA.  181 

"  Copenhagen,  Dec.  25,  1766. 
"  SlR,  AND  DEAR  BROTHER, 

"  As  this  epistle  will  exceed  the  bounds  of  a 
common  letter,  you  may  call  it  Travels  through  part  of 
Germany  and  Denmark,  with  some  cursory  remarks  on  the 
genius  and  manners  of  the  people. 

"  Our  navigation,  though  fortunate  enough,  seemed  to 
me  tedious  and  uncomfortable.  I  almost  wished  a  con- 
trary wind  had  driven  me  back  to  that  coast  from  which  I 
had  sailed  with  so  much  regret.  Were  I  a  man,  I  think  I 
should  not  envy  you  the  mighty  post  of  admiral,  as  I  am 
a  true  coward  on  the  main.  Though  I  found  the  opposite 
shore  very  different  from  that  of  England,  in  regard  to 
populousness,  agriculture,  roads,  and  conveniences  for  tra- 
velling, I  was  glad  to  be  safely  landed,  and  vowed  to  Nep- 
tune never  to  invade  his  empire;  only  wishing  that  he 
would  be  graciously  pleased  to  let  me  have  another  passage 
to  the  Queen  of  the  Isles.  What  I  have  seen  of  Germany 
exhibits  a  contrast  of  barren  lands,  and  some  few  culti- 
vated spots  ;  here  and  there  some  emaciated  cattle,  inhos- 
pitable forests,  castles  with  turrets  and  battlements,  out  of 
repair,  half  inhabited  by  Counts  and  Barons  of  the  Holy 
Empire :  wretched  cottages,  multitudes  of  soldiers,  and  a 
few  husbandmen;  pride  and  ceremonial  on  one  side — 
slavery  and  abjection  on  the  other. 

"As  for  Principalities,  every  two  or  three  hours  I 
entered  the  dominions  of  a  new  sovereign ;  and  indeed 
often  I  passed  through  the  place  of  their  highnesses'  resi- 
dence without  being  able  to  guess  that  it  was  the  seat  of 
these  little  potentates.  I  only  judged,  by  the  antiquity 
of  their  palaces,  falling  to  ruins,  that  these  princes  may 
justly  boast  of  a  race  of  illustrious  progenitors,  as  it 
seemed  they  had  lived  there  from  time  immemorial.  As 


182  THE    KOTAL   PKItfCESSES. 

we  judge  of  everything  by  comparison,  I  observed  that 
there  is  more  comfort,  more  elegance,  more  conveniency, 
in  the  villa  of  a  citizen  of  London,  than  in  these  gloomy 
mansions,  hung  up  with  rotten  tapestry,  where  a  Serene 
Highness  meurt  d'ennui,  in  all  the  state  of  a  monarch, 
amongst  a  few  attendants,  called  Master  of  the  Horse, 
Grand  lEcuyer,  Grand  Chainbellan,  without  appointments. 
There  is  no  such  thing  here  as  a  middle  class  of  people 
living  in  affluence  and  independence. 

"  Both  men  and  women  of  fashion  affect  to  dress  more 
rich  than  elegant.  The  female  part  of  the  burghers' 
families  at  Hamburgh  and  Altona  dress  inconceivably  fan- 
tastic. The  most  unhappy  part  of  the  Germans  are  the 
tenants  of  little-  needy  princes,  who  squeeze  them  to  keep 
up  their  own  grandeur.  These  petty  sovereigns,  ridicu- 
lously proud  of  titles,  ancestry,  and  show,  give  no  sort  of 
encouragement  to  the  useful  arts,  though  industry,  appli- 
cation, and  perseverance  are  the  characteristics  of  the. 
German  nation,  especially  the  mechanical  part  of  it. 

"  The  roads  are  almost  impassable,  the  carriages  of  the 
nobility  and  gentry  infinitely  worse  than  the  stage-coaches 
in  England,  and  the  inns  want  all  the  accommodation  they 
are  intended  for. 

"  You  may  easily  imagine  that  the  sight  of  a  new  queen, 
from  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  to  the  capital,  brought 
upon  my  passage  great  crowds  of  people  from  the  adjacent 
towns  and  villages ;  yet  I  believe  you  may  see  more  on  a 
fair  day  from  Charing  Cross  to  the  Royal  Exchange  than 
I  have  met  upon  the  road  from  Altona  to  Copenhagen. 
The  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  were  sent  to  compliment 
me,  and  increase  my  retinue,  made  no  addition  to  my 
entertainment ;  besides  the  reservedness  and  gravity  pecu- 
liar to  their  nation,  they  thought  it  was  a  mark  of  respect 


CAROLINE    MATILDA.  183 

and  submission  never  to  presume  to  answer  me  but  by 
monosyllables. 

"What  I  have  seen  of  Danish  Holstein  and  of  the 
Duchy  of  Sleswick  is  well  watered,  and  produces  plenty  of 
corn.  The  inhabitants  of  those  countries  differ  little  or 
nothing  from  other  Germans.  Some  parts  of  Jutland 
consist  of  barren  mountains  ;  but  the  valleys  are  in  general 
well  inhabited  and  fruitful.  The  face  of  the  country  pre- 
sents a  number  of  large  forests,  but  I  did  not  see  a  river 
navigable  for  a  barge  of  the  same  burden  as  those  that 
come  up  the  river  Thames  to  London.  Spring  and  au- 
tumri  are  seasons  scarcely  known  here ;  to  the  sultry  heat 
of  August  succeeds  a  severe  winter,  and  the  frost  continues 
for  eight  months,  with  little  alteration.  It  seems  as  if  the 
soil  was  unfavourable  to  vegetable  productions ;  for  those 
that  have  been  procured  for  my  table,  at  a  great  expense, 
were  unsavoury  and  of  the  worst  kind.  As  game  is  here 
plentiful,  and  the  coasts  generally  well  supplied  with  fish, 
I  could  have  lived  very  well  upon  these  two  articles,  had 
they  been  better  dressed ;  but  their  cookery,  which  is  a 
mixture  of  Danish  and  German  ingredients,  cannot  be 
agreeable  to  an  English  palate. 

"  I  shall  not  attempt  to  learn  the  language  of  the 
country,  which  is  a  harsh  dialect  of  the  Teutonic.  The 
little  French  and  High  Dutch  I  know  will  be  of  great 
service  to  me  at  Court,  where  they  are  generally  spoken 
with  a  bad  accent  and  vicious  pronunciation.  The  peasants, 
as  to  property,  are  still  in  a  state  of  vassalage,  and  the 
nobility,  who  are  slaves  at  court,  tyrannize  over  their  in- 
feriors and  tenants  in  their  domains.  These  poor  husband- 
men, with  such  discouragements  to  industry,  are  obliged 
to  maintain  the  cavalry  in  victuals  and  lodging,  likewise 
to  furnish  them  with  money.  These  disadvantages,  added 


1S-1  THE    EOTAL    PEIXCESSES. 

to  their  natural  indolence,  make  this  valuable  class  of 
people  less  useful  and  more  needy  than  in  free  states, 
where  they  enjoy,  in  common  with  other  subjects,  that 
freedom  which  is  a  spur  to  industry.  You  must  not  expect 
any  conveniency  and  accommodation  in  their  inns  ;  all  those 
I  found  upon  the  road  had  been  provided  by  the  Court. 

"  Copenhagen,  though  a  small  capital,  makes  no  con- 
temptible appearance  at  a  distance.  All  the  artillery  of 
the  castles  and  forts,  with  the  warlike  music  of  the  Guards, 
and  divers  companies  of  burghers  in  rich  uniforms,  an- 
nounced my  entry  into  this  royal  residence.  I  was  con- 
ducted, amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  inhabitants,  to  the 
palace,  where  the  King,  the  Queen-Dowager,  and  Prince 
Frederick,  her  son,  with  the  nobility  of  both  sexes,  who  had 
on  this  occasion  displayed  all  their  finery,  received  me 
with  extraordinary  honours,  according  to  the  etiquette. 

The  's  youth,  good-nature,  and  levity  require  no 

great  penetration  to  be  discerned  in  his  taste,  his  amuse- 
ments, and  his  favourites.  He  seems  all  submission  to  the 

,  who  has  got  over  him  such  an  ascendancy  as  her 

arts  and  ambition  seem  likely  to  preserve.  Her  darling 
son,  whom  she  wished  not  to  be  removed  a  step  farther 
from  the  throne,  is  already  proud  and  aspiring,  like 
herself. 

"  I  have  been  more  than  once  mortified  with  the  supe- 
rior knowledge  and  experience  for  which  the takes 

care  to  praise  herself,  and  offended  at  the  want  of  respect 

r.nd  attention  in  the  P e.  As  such  unmerited  slights 

cannot  be  resented  without  an  open  rupture,  I  rather  bear 
with  them  than  disunite  the  royal  family,  and  appear 
the  cause  of  court  cabals,  by  showing  my  displeasure.  It 
seems  the teaches  his  subjects,  by  example,  the  doc- 
trine of  passive  obedience.  Few  of  the  courtiers  look  like 


CABOLINE   MATILDA. 

gentlemen,  and  their  ladies  appear  in  the  circle  inanimate^ 
like  the  wax  figures  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

"  I  have  been  lately  at  Fredericksburg.  It  is  a  mag- 
nificent house,  built  in  the  modern  taste,  but  ill-contrived, 
and  situated  in  a  moist,  unhealthy  soil,  in  the  midst  of  a 
lake.  The  paintings  and  furniture  are  truly  royal. 

"  To  remind  me  that  I  am  mortal,  I  have  visited  the 
cathedral  church  of  Roschild,  where  the  kings  and  queens 
of  Denmark  were  formerly  buried.  Several  of  their  monu- 
ments still  remain,  which  are,  as  well  as  this  ancient 
structure,  of  a  Gothic  taste. 

"  As  you  flatter  me  with  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  soon 
in  Copenhagen,  I  postpone  mentioning  many  other  par- 
ticulars till  this  agreeable  interview,  and  remain,  with 
British  sincerity, 

"  Sir,  and  dear  Brother, 

"  Your  most  affectionate  Sister, 

"  CABOLINE  MATILDA." 

The  above  letter  proves  the  good  sense  of  the  young 
Queen,  and  that,  notwithstanding  the  craftiness  and  dis- 
simulation of  the  Dowager,  she  was  aware  of  her  designs 
and  her  manoeuvres. 

The  death  of  the  brother  to  whom  the  foregoing  com- 
munication was  penned,  caused  the  following  letter  to  be 
addressed  by  the  Queen  to  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess 
Dowager  of  Wales. 

"  M^DAM,  AXD  EETEEED  MOTHER, 

"  Give  me  leave  to  condole  with  your  Eoyal 
Highness  on  the  loss  of  your  dutiful  son,  and  my  beloved 
brother,  the  Duke  of  York.*  I  feel,  with  my  o\vn  grief, 

*  He  was  born  March  14,  1739,  and  died  Sept.  7,  1767,  at  Monaco^ 
in  Italy. 


186  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

your  sorrow.  I  beg  you  will  convey  the  same  sentiments 
to  his  Majesty  the  King,  my  brother.  When  I  reflect  on 
the  circumstances  of  the  untimely  death  of  the  amiable 
Prince,  in  a  foreign  land,  and  perhaps  deprived  of  the  com- 
fort and  assistance  he  should  have  found  in  his  native 
country,  I  still  more  lament  his  fate.  I  am  extremely 
concerned  for  your  Royal  Highness's  indisposition,  but  I 
hope  this  melancholy  event,  which  maternal  tenderness 
cannot  but  severely  feel,  as  it  was  ordered  by  the  un- 
fathomable decrees  of  Providence,  will  be  so  far  reconciled 
to  your  superior  understanding  and  piety,  as  to  adore  and 
to  submit. 

"  I  am,  with  great  deference, 

"  Madam,  and  revered  Mother, 
"  Your  Royal  Highness's  respectful  Daughter, 

"  CAROLINE." 

The  conduct  of  Matilda,  on  her  arrival  in  Denmark, 
was  such  as  left  no  room  but  for  approbation ;  possessing 
something  of  the  hauteur  by  which  her  family  are  distin- 
guished, she  certainly  did  not  forget  the  dignity  of  her 
station.  While  the  King,  descending  from  his  rank,  made 
companions  of  Ms  gay  young  courtiers,  Matilda  exacted 
the  homage  from  the  ladies  of  her  Court  to  which  her 
exalted  station  entitled  her ;  and,  as  was  natural  at  her 
age,  seemed  more  fond  of  the  show  and  pageantry  of 
royalty  than  desirous  of  political  influence.  Notwith- 
standing the  vices  of  her  husband,  as  he  had  a  large  fund 
of  good  nature  and  generosity,  she  might  have  avoided  the 
calamities  that  too  soon  overtook  her,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  insinuations  of  intriguing  nobles,  emulous  for  power, 
and  the  ceaseless  manoeuvres  of  Juliana  Maria.  The  accla- 
mations which  resounded  whenever  Matilda  appeared  in 


CAKOLINE   MATILDA.  187 

public,  smote  on  her  heart  as  the  death-knell  of  her  am- 
bitious hopes  of  securing  the  crown  of  Denmark  for 
Prince  Frederick  (her  own  son),  then  in  his  thirteenth 
year.  Still,  she  did  not  relinquish  her  darling  projects, 
even  when  her  hopes  were  blighted  by  the  tidings  that  filled 
all  Denmark  with  exultation.  She  had,  from  the  time  the 
Queen's  pregnancy  was  announced,  secluded  herself  in  a 
great  measure  from  Court.  For  the  last  two  months  she 
buried  herself,  as  it  were,  in  her  palace  of  Fredensborg, 
till,  to  complete  her  dismay,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1768, 
the  thunder  of  a  thousand  pieces  of  ordnance,  from  the 
forts  and  fleets  of  Zealand,  proclaimed  the  safe  delivery  of 
the  Queen,  and  the  birth  of  a  male  child. 

This  was  a  fatal  blow  for  Juliana  Maria.  She,  however, 
resolved  to  have  recourse  to  new  stratagems,  still  keeping 
her  favourite  scheme  of  placing  her  own  son  on  the  throne 
in  the  background,  as  the  point  for  which  she  strove. 
Under  pretence  of  a  necessity  for  the  young  King  to  ex- 
tend his  knowledge,  she  next  persuaded  him  to  visit  the 
different  Courts  of  Europe.  By  this  means  she  expected 
to  diminish  through  absence  the  affection  existing  bet  ween 
him  and  his  Queen,  as  well  as  to  exclude  the  probability  of 
more  heirs  to  the  throne  ;  further,  she  had  some  hope  that 
the  unwary  and  inexperienced  Queen,  being  left  behind,  at 
the  mercy  of  the  cabal  she  had  formed  in  her  own  favour, 
would  commit  some  imprudences,  by  which  she  might  be 
able  to  attack  her  character,  and  render  her  virtue  suspected. 
The  first  step  was  easily  taken  in  this  artful  plot :  the 
young  King  was  soon  on  his  way  to  the  Court  of  England, 
and  Matilda,  calm,  tranquil,  and  cheerful,  remained  behind 
with  her  infant  boy,  to  brave  the  rude  storm  that  threat- 
ened to  assail  her  future  happiness. 

There  might  be  volumes  written  on  the  expedition  of 


188  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

the  King  of  Denmark,  and  the  eccentricities  he  dis- 
played. 

Of  all  the  attendants  upon  him  in  this  ill-advised  excur- 
sion, Count  Bernstorffe  was  the  only  one  not  likely  to  lead 
him  into  every  kind  of  ruin.  At  the  head  of  them  was 
the  extravagant  and  thoughtless  Count  Holke.  A  train 
of  royal  carriages  awaited  the  King  at  Dover,  but  he  pre- 
ferred taking  a  post-chaise,  in  his  impatience  to  behold  the 
capital. 

Christian  VII.  and  George  III.  were  cousins,  but  totally 
different  in  character  and  habits.  Horace  Walpole  writes 
— "  The  King  of  Denmark  came  on  Thursday,  and  I  go 
up  to-morrow  to  see  him.  It  has  cost  three  thousand 
pounds  to  new  furnish  an  apartment  for  him  at  St. 
James's,  and  they  say  he  will  not  go  thither,  suppos- 
ing it  would  be  a  confinement,  but  is  to  be  at  his  own 
minister's,  Dieden's." 

It  is  no  part  of  the  design  of  this  work  to  trace  the 
extravagances  of  which  this  young  King  was  guilty,  and 
the  thoughtless  acts  of  folly  he  committed  while  in  Lon- 
don, where  he  was  right  royally  entertained  as  the  brother- 
in-law  of  the  monarch,  the  husband  of  an  English  Princess, 
should  be.  Balls,  concerts,  illuminations,  masquerades, 
military  and  nautical  spectacles  by  turns  diverted  his 
mind ;  he  was  feasted  in  turn  by  the  Princess  Amelia, 
his  wife's  aunt ;  the  Princess  Dowager,  his  mother-in-law  ; 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  the  City  of  London. 
All  sought  to  honour  this  Royal  relative  of  the  English 
Court ;  but  all  he  did,  and  all  that  was  done  by  those  he 
brought  with  him,  tended  but  to  bring  upon  themselves 
contempt  and  ridicule.  Without  entering  into  the  thousand 
and  one  stories  of  this  Royal  visit,  some  of  which  are 
indeed  good  in  their  way,  it  is  necessary  to  remark  that  the 


CAROLINE   MATILDA.  189 

Royal  guest's  follies  were  not  always  on  the  wrong  side  of 
virtue.  His  profusion  was  enormous,  his  generosity  un- 
restrained by  discretion,  but  he  exhibited  many  traits  of 
warm-hearted  benevolence.  It  is  recorded  that  when  he 
admitted  Grarrick  to  an  audience,  as  a  tribute  to  his  talent, 
he  repeated  a  line  from  Shakspeare  in  presenting  to  him  a 
handsome  snuff-box  set  with  brilliants.  The  English  King 
allowed  for  his  expenses  while  over  here  five  hundred  dollars 
per  day,  but  he  contrived  to  get  rid  of  five  times  that  sum, 
besides  drawing  on  the  bank  of  Hamburgh  for  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  a  month.  This  extravagant  and  ill-advised 
visit  terminated  October  3rd,  1768,  when  Christian  took 
leave  of  the  King,  Queen,  and  Eoyal  family ;  and  having 
made  many  magnificent  presents,  departed  for  the  Court 
of  Louis  XV.,  a  sovereign  not  at  all  calculated  to  improve 
his  taste  for  domestic  happiness  on  his  return  to  Denmark. 
The  excesses  in  which  the  King  indulged  during  his 
stay  there  were  far  greater  than  even  while  in  England, 
and  some  of  them  reached  the  ears  of  Queen  Matilda, 
who,  on  learning  that  the  King  had  bestowed  a  regiment 
of  Danish  cavalry  on  the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Duras, 
observed — "  He  was  a  very  good  Frenchman,  but  a  very 
bad  politician." 

It  is  high  time  now  to  resume  the  thread  of  Caroline 
Matilda's  personal  history,  which  has  been  too  long 
broken. 

Frederiksbourg,  near  Copenhagen,  was  her  abode  during 
the  King's  absence,  and  her  conduct  free  from  any  re- 
proach. "Though  courted  and  menaced  by  conflicting 
factions,  she  joined  with  none,  nor  showed  the  least  am- 
bition for  political  power.  She  appeared  to  feel  a  truly 
maternal  affection  for  her  child,  and,  in  spite  of  remon- 
strances, had  the  infant  arid  nurse  to  sleep  in  her  own 

o 


190  THE   KOTAL   PEIXCESSES. 

apartment.  She  sometimes  visited,  and  was  visited  by  the 
Queen  Dowager,  but  lived  very  retired.  She  was  grown 
in  stature,  and  appeared  much  more  womanly  than  when 
she  arrived  in  Denmark.  The  glow  of  robust  health  was 
on  her  cheek  ;  she  often  nursed  her  child ;  and  a  more  in- 
teresting object  could  scarcely  be  conceived  than  this 
lovely  and  lively  young  Queen  playing  with  her  babe. 

"  During  this  period  of  retirement  she  visited  the 
houses  of  the  farmers  and  peasants  who  resided  near  the 
palace,  and  though  she  could  not  converse  fluently  with 
these  poor  grateful  people,  she  gained  their  warm  hearts 
by  her  condescension  in  visiting  their  cottages,  smiling 
graciously  on  their  wives  and  daughters,  and  distributing- 
useful  presents.  Thus  innocently  Queen  Matilda  passed 
her  time  during  the  travels  of  her  wild  and  dissipated 
husband."* 

After  the  return  of  Christian  to  Denmark  the  great 
influence  exercised  by  his  wild  associate,  Count  Holke, 
seems  to  have  excited  the  Queen's  jealousy,  but  she  appears 
to  have  had  no  power,  and  the  fact  of  his  being,  with  cer- 
tain other  obnoxious  nobles,  exiled  from  the  Court,  is 
rather  to  be  attributed  to  the  secret  machinations  of 
Juliana,  the  Queen-Mother. 

At  this  epoch  an  important  character  to  the  future 
destinies  of  Caroline  Matilda  appears  on  the  scene  of 
action :  the  famous  Count  Struensee,  who,  from  an  obscure 
condition  and  the  profession  of  medical  student,  had  risen 
to  be  the  favourite  and  Prime  Minister  of  Christian,  whose 
notice  he  had  casually  attracted.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
respectable  country  clergyman  in  Holstein;  his  ruling 
passions  were  ambition  and  a  love  of  pleasure.  He  accom- 
panied Christian  to  England,  and  it  was  on  his  return, 
*  Danish  MS.  quoted  iu  Brown's  "Northern  Courts." 


CABOLIKE    MATILDA.  191 

while  at  Paris,  that  he  formed  an  intimacy  with 
Erneveld  Brandt,  a  Dane  of  good  extraction,  afterwards 
his  associate  in  crime  and  misfortune.  The  two  expiated 
their  offences  by  death,  and  their  names  are  inseparably 
connected  with  the  sad  narrative  of  Queen  Caroline 
Matilda. 

Brandt,  vexed  that  Holke  was  preferred  as  the  King's 
attendant  into  England,  to  his  own  exclusion,  endeavoured 
to  procure  his  ruin ;  but  being  discovered,  was  banished 
the  country.  Struensee  went  to  England,  and  on  his 
way  home  met  Brandt  at  Paris.  They  agreed  that  if 
Struensee  could  obtain  enough  influence  on  his  return, 
it  should  be  used  in  favour  of  the  revocation  of  Brandt's 
sentence  of  exile.  Struensee  did  progress  in  Eoyal  favour. 
On  his  arrival  at  Copenhagen  he  was  presented  to  the  Queen 
by  his  Danish  Majesty  as  a  medical  man  of  great  talents. 
He  soon  became  Prime  Minister,  and  the  favourite  of  the 
Queen  as  well  as  her  husband.  In  one  of  their  domestic 
differences  he  contrived  to  reconcile  them  to  each  other ; 
soon  after  he  obtained  Brandt's  recall  from  exile,  and 
seemed  to  have  reached  the  pinnacle  of  unlimited  power. 
Jealousy  was,  however,  created  by  the  titles  and  favours 
bestowed  on  him,  and  the  many  changes  in  political 
measures  he  introduced,  eventually  led  to  his  downfall. 
To  these  causes  might  be  added  the  excesses  which  he 
encouraged  instead  of  restricting,  and  by  which  he  made 
himself  essentially  the  Royal  favourite,  and,  still  worse,  the 
intimate  associate  of  the  amiable  Caroline  Matilda. 

The  situation  of  the  Queen  was  at  this  time  very 
painful,  and  described  in  the  following  terms :  — "  The 
attachment  of  the  King,  if  ever  it  deserved  the  name,  thus 
alienated,  partly  in  consequence  of  his  own  excesses  and 
partly  from  the  rival  jealousies  of  Court  parasites, 
o  2 


192  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

had  subsided  from  cold  formality  into  cruel  disrespect. 
He  did  not  treat  her  even  with  common  civility,  and 
allowed  her  to  be  publicly  insulted,  in  her  own  palace,  by 
the  Russian  Minister  at  Copenhagen.  His  resentment 
fell  on  all  who  were  guilty  of  taking  her  part ;  arid  his 
favourite  cousin,  the  Prince  of  Hesse,  was  disgraced  for  no 
other  crime." 

That  Caroline  Matilda  was  wholly  free  from  blame  is, 
perhaps,  too  much  to  say.  The  Prime  Minister,  who 
interested  himself  about  her,  having  won  her  confidence, 
was  the  means  of  reconciling  her  with  the  King,  as  before 
noticed,  which  influence  gave  a  handle  to  his  enemies 
to  procure  his  ultimate  ruin.  In  the  interviews  with 
Struensee  in  public,  this  fact  might,  however,  excuse  the 
familiarity  he  assumed  towards  the  Queen,  apparently 
unchecked  by  her ;  and  he  was  even  allowed  to  be  seen 
dancing  whole  evenings  with  her.  Her  Majesty  is  said 
to  have  "  walked  her  first  minuet  at  the  Court  of 
Denmark."  Caroline  Matilda  has  also  been  accused  of 
indecorum  in  assuming  a  masculine  attire.  "  When 
Queen  Matilda  rode  out  a-hunting,  her  attire  too  much 
resembled  a  man's.  Her  hair  was  pinned  up  closer  than 
usual ;  she  wore  a  dove-coloured  beaver  hat,  with  a  gold 
band  and  tassels  ;  a  long  scarlet  coat,  a  frilled  shirt,  and  a 
man's  cravat ;  while  from  beneath  the  coat  was  said  to 
peep  a  more  unfeminine  appendage  still,  too  much  in 
keeping  with  the  terminating  spurs.  That  she  made  a 
noble  figure  mounted  on  a  majestic  steed,  and  dashing 
through  the  woods  after  the  chase,  her  cheeks  flushed 
with  health  and  violent  exercise,  may  readily  be  con- 
ceded." She  was  "  a  resolute  and  fearless  horsewoman. 
Of  this  she  gave  a  decided,  though  indiscreet  proof  within 
three  days  of  the  birth  of  her  daughter,  the  Princess 


CAROLINE   MATILDA.  193 

Louisa,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1771,  when,  being  out  on 
horseback,  the  horse  plunged  and  kicked,  and  backed  into 
a  dry  ditch,  while  the  Queen,  sitting  firm  and  undismayed, 
flogged  and  spurred  the  restive  animal  till  she  conquered, 
and  rode  home  unhurt." 

The  following  picture  of  Caroline  Matilda  was  presented 
by  herself,  when  in  exile,  to  Sir  R.  M.  Keith,  the  British 
Minister,  to  whom  she  owed  her  rescue.  The  description 
of  it  is  extracted  from  a  Danish  novel. 

"Over  a  marble  table  hung  a  portrait  in  a  broad  gilt  frame. 
It  represented  a  lady  in  a  dress  of  bluish  satin,  embroi- 
dered with  gold  and  edged  with  lace ;  the  sleeves  and 
puffs  over  the  full  bosom  being  of  brownish  brocade, 
Bound  her  neck  was  a  closely-strung  necklace  of  pearls, 
and  similar  rings  were  in  the  ears.  The  hair  was  turned 
up  and  powdered :  it  occupied  a  height  and  breadth  which, 
agreeably  to  the  fashion  of  the  times,  exceeded  that  of 
the  whole  face,  and  was  decorated  with  a  gold  chain, 
enamels,  and  jewels,  entwined  with  a  border  of  blonde, 
which  hung  down  over  one  ear.  The  face  was  oval,  the 
forehead  high  and  arched;  the  nose  delicately  curved;  the 
mouth  pretty  large,  the  lips  red  and  swelling;  the  eyes  large, 
and  of  a  peculiarly  light-blue,  mild,  and  at  the  same  time 
serious,  deep,  and  confiding.  I  could  describe  the  entire 
dress,  piece  by  piece,  and  the  features  trait  by  trait ;  but 
in  vain  should  I  endeavour  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  pecu- 
liar expression,  the  amiable  loftiness,  or  lofty  amiableness, 
which  beamed  from  that  youthful  face,  the  freshness  of 
whose  colour  I  have  never  seen  surpassed.  It  needed  not 
to  cast  3rour  eye  upon  the  purple  mantle,  bordered  with 
ermine,  which  hung  carelessly  over  the  shoulder,  to 
discover  in  her  a  Queen!  She  could  be  nothing  of 
inferior  rank.  This  the  painter,  too,  had  felt,  for  the 


194  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

border  of  the  mantle  was  so  narrow  as  almost  to  be  over- 
looked. It  was  as  though  he  meant  to  say,  '  This  woman 
would  be  a  Queen  without  a  throne!'  " 

There  is  scarcely  space  to  describe  in  a  work  of  these 
limits  the  grandeur  of  the  Court  of  Denmark  at  this  epoch. 
At  Hirschholm,  a  country  palace  some  miles  from  the 
capital,  the  Foreign  Ministers  dined  two  days  in  the  week 
at  the  King's,  or  rather  the  Queen's  table.  This  Royal 
residence  in  1772  represented  all  the  luxury  and  magni- 
ficence of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.  "  Adorned  externally 
with  all  the  newest  French  refinements  in  gardening  and 
pleasure-grounds,  it  dazzled  the  eye  within  by  the  profu- 
sion of  solid  silver,  intermingled  with  mother-of-pearl  and 
rock  crystal,  with  which  not  only  pictures  and  looking- 
glasses,  but  even  the  very  panels  of  the  Audience- 
chamber  were  prodigally  encircled."  Such  was  the 
change  in  this  place  from  the  subsequent  circumstances 
which  befel  the  ill-fated  Caroline  Matilda,  that  Coxe,  who 
wrote  of  its  condition  ten  jears  later,  in  1784,  says,  "  The 
suite  of  apartments  at  Hirschholm  is  princely,  but  deserted, 
and  without  furniture,  not  having  been  inhabited  since 
the  exile  of  Queen  Caroline  Matilda,  who  made  it  her 
favourite  residence.  The  place  is  so  entirely  neglected, 
that  the  court-yard  is  overrun  with  weeds,  and  the  moat  a 
green-mantled  pool."  Later  still  it  appears  the  palace 
had  disappeared  altogether,  and  its  site  was  occupied  by  a 
simple  village  church. 

"  On  their  return  from  the  Drawing-room  to  their  re- 
spective apartments,  the  Foreign  Ministers  found  a  ticket 
on  their  dressing-table,  specifying  where  they  were  to 
dine;  some  at  the  King's  table,  others  at  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain's, in  the  chamber  called  the  Rose.  The  usual  number 
that  sat  down  to  dinner  at  the  King's  table  was  twelve ; 


CAHOLINE   MATILDA.  195 

alternately  five  ladies  and  seven  gentlemen,  seven  ladies 
and  five  gentlemen.  The  King  cut  a  wretched  figure  on 
these  occasions;  not  so  the  Queen,  who  dressed  very 
superbly,  and  made  a  noble  and  splendid  appearance.  The 
King  and  Queen  were  served  on  gold  plate  by  noble  pages; 
the  Marshal  of  the  Palace  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  table,  the 
chief  lady  of  the  household  at  the  head :  the  company, 
a  lady  and  gentleman  alternately,  opposite  to  the  King 
and  Queen. 

"  A  table  of  eighty  covers  was  provided  every  day  in 
the  Rose,  for  the  great  officers  of  state,  who  were  served 
on  silver  plate :  at  this  table  Struensee,  Brandt,  with 
their  friends  and  favourites,  male  and  female,  used  to 
dine." 

It  was  shortly  after  the  return  of  Christian  from  his 
fruitless  travels,  that,  in  company  with  his  Queen,  he  paid 
a  visit  to  Count  Rautzau,  at  Aschberg,  during  which 
every  day  was  devoted  to  amusement — "  music,  hunting, 
fishing,  sailing  on  the  lake,  and  rustic  sports,  which  more 
than  any  pastime  pleased  the  imbecile  King." 

So  pleased  was  Caroline  Matilda  by  the  Count's  enter- 
tainment, that  she  presented  him  with  a  superb  snuff-box, 
richly  set  with  brilliants,  that  had  cost  her  husband  one 
thousand  guineas  in  London.  This  very  man  was  destined 
to  play  a  prominent  part  in  her  approaching  downfall. 

An  Order  of  Knighthood  was  established,  of  which  the 
fourth  who  received  the  honour  was  Struensee,  whom  the 
King  had  loaded  with  favours,  and  elevated  to  the  dignity 
of  a  Count. 

The  Queen  had  received  a  short  visit  from  her  mother, 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  in  1770  ;  she  had  not  quitted  Eng- 
land for  the  space  of  thirty-four  years  previously,  from  the 
date  of  her  marriage.  After  visiting  the  Lady  Augusta, 


196  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

Duchess  of  Brunswick,  she  came  for  a  brief  space  to  the 
Danish  Court,  where  she  was  received  \)j  her  daughter, 
who  had  "been  reviewing  her  troops,  "  in  regimentals  with 
buckskin  breeches."  The  Princess  of  Wales  must  have 
been  struck  with  so  novel  a  costume,  and  one  certainly  ill- 
adapted  for  the  wearer  on  account  of  her  embonpoint. 
Her  mother  lamenting  to  her  the  fall  of  Bernsdorfle,  the 
ancient  servant  of  the  family,  the  Queen  of  Denmark  is 
reported  to  have  replied,  "  Pray,  madam,  allow  me  to 
govern  my  own  kingdom  as  I  please!"  Bernsdorffe,  the 
King's  Prime  Minister,  had  been  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
Russia,  and  while  the  King  had  been  absent,  the  Russian 
minister  had  treated  the  Queen  with  great  want  of 
respect.  Caroline  Matilda  being  of  a  dauntless  spirit, 
took  upon  herself  to  order  him  to  quit  Denmark,  and,  on 
the  King's  return,  feeling  his  incapacity  and  her  own 
courage,  she  assumed  such  an  ascendant  over  him,  that 
she  not  only  got  rid  of  his  favourite,  young  Count  Holke, 
but,  aided  by  the  King's  physician,  who  was  thought  to 
be  equally  dear  to  both  their  Majesties,  she  dismissed 
Bernsdorffe  and  all  the  old  ministry,  flung  herelf  into  the 
French  faction,  and  transferred  the  whole  power  of  the 
government  to  the  beloved  physician,  Struensee. 

There  was,  however,  a  counter-party  to  that  of  the 
Queen,  in  the  adherents  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  who- 
gained  over  Count  Eautzau  to  her  side,  he  being  dis- 
satisfied at  not  being  one  of  the  new  ministry.  The 
Queen  Mother  strove  to  make  the  King  contemptible  and 
the  Queen  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  She  even 
caused  certain  calumnies  to  be  circulated  about  the  young 
Princess  .Royal,  Louisa,  whose  birth  was  declared  to  be 
spurious.  Through  all  sorts  of  channels,  Juliana  Maria 
prepared  the  way  for  the  fatal  revolution  which  was  to 


CAROLINE   MATILDA.  197 

abolish  the  authority  of  the  too  feeble  monarch,  and 
destroy  for  ever  the  happiness  of  the  unfortunate  Caroline 
Matilda.  The  17th  of  January,  1772,  a  masked  ball  was 
to  take  place — the  occasion  fixed  on  by  the  revolutionary 
party. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Queen  and  her  adherents 
perceived  the  storm  which  threatened  them,  but  no  precau- 
tions had  been  taken  against  any  such  secret  machinations. 
Struensee,  immersed  in  pleasure,  and  intoxicated  with  his 
high  fortunes,  had  not  watched  sufficiently  closely  the 
movements  of  the  artful  Queen  Dowager ;  and  the  Queen 
placed  her  security  in  her  conscious  innocence.  She  had, 
indeed,  presented,  through  Struensee  to  the  King,  the  fol- 
lowing memorial,  in  reply  to  the  attack  of  Juliana's  secret 
emissaries — "  Had  I  been  raised  from  obscurity  to  a  throne, 
the  ambitious  and  wicked  Juliana  might  have  expected  a 
pusillanimous  submission  to  her  will  and  pleasure,  and 
your  Majesty  might  have  imagined  that  a  crown  of  golden 
thorns  should  make  me  bear  it  with  patience  and  resigna- 
tion, but,  descended  as  I  am  from  an  illustrious  race  of 
sovereigns,  and  sister  to  a  monarch  who  yields  to  none  in 
the  universe  for  power  and  extent  of  dominion,  can  I  put 
up  with  more  insults,  outrages,  and  indignity,  than  any 
person  in  a  private  station  ever  met  with  from  the  most 
inveterate  and  tjie  most  ungenerous  enemy?  Had  not 
my  conduct  bidden  defiance  to  blame  and  slander,  I  might 
account  for  so  many  repeated  injuries ;  but  the  conscious- 
ness of  my  virtue,  and  the  regard  I  owe  to  royalty, 
demand  justice  from  a  King  who  cannot  deny  it  to  his 
wife,  since  he  is  bound  to  see  the  meanest  of  his  subjects 
righted.  I  am  determined  to  bring  to  detection  and 
condign  punishment  my  accusers,  however  exalted  may 
be  then*  rank,  and  great  their  power.  They  have  aimed 


198  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

at  my  reputation.  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  their 
next  daring  attempt  was  to  deprive  me  of  regalities, 
liberty,  and  life.  If  you  are  unconcerned  for  me  and  your 
offspring,  perhaps  self-preservation  will  awaken  you  to 
snatch  in  time  the  reins  from  the  hands  of  a  perfidious 
and  base  woman,  ere  she  hurries  us  both  into  destruction. 
Mind  this  information  from  the  injured  Caroline  Matilda." 

So  great  a  secrecy  was  preserved  in  the  conspiracy,  that 
it  was  not  until  the  Queen,  Struensee,  and  many  other  ob- 
noxious nobles,  who  till  the  close  of  evening  had  played  cards 
with  the  King,  were  actually  arrested,  that  any  one  had 
a  suspicion  of  the  extraordinary  event  that  had  taken 
place. 

Prince  Frederick,  son  of  Juliana  Maria,  had  quitted  the 
ball  at  eleven  o'clock  to  concert  measures  with  his 
mother.  When  the  Queen  and  her  partisans  were  seized, 
the  King  was  compelled  to  sign  an  order  for  their  impri- 
sonment. Certain  emissaries  of  the  Queen  Dowager  had 
been  hired  to  cry  out  "Justice  against  Matilda  and  her  lover, 
Struensee.  Vivat  Regina  Juliana !"  and  Count  Rautzau,  in 
his  violent  treatment  of  the  unfortunate  Queen,  made  it 
his  pretence  that  he  was  withdrawing  her  from  the  fuiy 
of  the  populace.* 

It  was  at  this  crisis  that  the  noble-minded  ambassador, 
Sir  Robert  Murray  Keith,  the  Minister  of  England  in 
Denmark,  rushed  into  the  presence  of  those  who  would 
have  pronounced  on  the  fair  and  devoted  victim  of  ambi- 
tion a  premature  and  fatal  sentence,  and  denounced  the 
swift  vengeance  of  his  country  on  any  person  who  should 

*  The  masked  ball  was  given  annually  at  Copenhagen,  when  the 
whole  Court  was  accustomed  to  be  present,  and  the  populace  were 
wont  to  assemble  outside,  where  an  ox,  roasted  whole,  was  distributed 
among  them. 


CABOLINE   MATILDA.  199 

dare  to  injure  a  single  hair  of  her  sacred  head !  The  name 
of  this  man  ought  indeed  to  be  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the 
English  !  The  Order  of  the  Bath  was  transmitted  to  him  in- 
stantly by  the  English  King,  on  hearing  what  had  occurred. 
Caroline  Matilda  herself  had  remained  in  the  ball-room 
that  night  up  to  three  o'clock,  some  hours  later  than  the 
King,  after  having  danced  with  Struensee,  and  had  fallen 
into  a  tranquil  sleep,  when  a  Danish  attendant  woke  her, 
and  presented  to  her  the  written  paper  signed  by  the  King 
of  Denmark,  requesting  her  immediately  to  prepare  to 
depart  to  one  of  the  Royal  palaces  in  the  country  for  a  few 
days.  At  one  glance  she  comprehended  the  extent  of  her 
misfortune.  She  thought  to  go  to  the  King,  and  rushed 
into  the  adjoining  chamber.  There  she  was  stopped  by 
the  sight  of  Count  Kautzau,  and  she  returned  to  endea- 
vour to  put  on  some  of  her  apparel.  She  had  scarcely 
time  to  effect  this,  when  she  found  her  passage  was  ob- 
structed by  soldiers.  The  men  fell  on  their  knees,  saying, 
"  It  is  a  sad  duty ;  but  we  must  perform  it !"  She  rushed 
across  their  muskets  onwards,  but  the  King  had  been  re- 
moved to  another  part  of  the  palace.  Further  resistance 
was  useless.  The  unfortunate  young  Queen  was  sent  to 
the  Castle  of  Cronenburg,  on  a  charge  of  high  treason, 
and  at  first  treated  with  very  great  severity.  She  was 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  fate  that  awaited  her,  though  she 
had  reason  to  fear  the  worst  was  intended.  She  was 
permitted  to  inhabit  the  apartment  of  the  governor  of 
the  castle,  and  to  walk  upon  the  side  batteries,  or  the 
leads  of  the  terrace.  Through  the  remonstrances  of  the 
English  Minister  her  treatment  was  afterwards  mitigated, 
and  more  deference  shown  to  her  than  when  first  placed 
within  those  walls.  It  was  at  this  crisis  the  two  follow- 
ing letters  were  written  by  the  imprisoned  Queen. 


200  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

In  the  anguish  of  her  heart  Caroline  Matilda  wrote  the 
following  letter,  which,  though  originally  intercepted  by  an 
officer  of  the  guards,  came  eventually  to  public  knowledge: — 

"  To  Sir  Robert  J£eith,  Envoy  from  Great  Britain. 
"  From  the  first  day  of  my  iniquitous  arrest  and  severe 
captivity,  I  foresaw  that  the  rage  of  my  enemies  would 
insist  upon  the  loss  of  my  liberty  and  life.  I  am  per- 
fectly resigned  to  my  fate  either  way ;  but  the  thought 
of  my  reputation  being  tarnished,  and  my  dear  children 
abandoned  to  the  mercy  of  a  people  unjustly  prejudiced 
against  the  legitimacy  of  their  birth,  overwhelms  me  with 
the  most  poignant  grief.  Has  the  King,  my  brother,  then, 
abandoned  me  ?  Great  God  !  will  no  one,  then,  avenge 
my  innocence  and  my  memory  ?  I  doubt  whether  my 
merciless  Arguses  will  suffer  this  letter  to  reach  you :  in 
case  you  receive  it,  continue  to  do  me  all  the  good  offices  in 
your  power.  I  shall  never  forget  the  zeal  which  you  have 
testified  in  the  cause  of  innocence ;  and  if  ever  Heaven 
should  restore  me  to  the  rank  and  pre-eminence  from 
which  I  have  been  so  unjustly  degraded,  you  shall  have 
more  convincing  proofs  of  my  gratitude.  Oh !  were  I  in 
England,  my  dear  country,  where  the  meanest  criminal  has 
the  privilege  of  being  tried  by  his  peers !  Am  I  forgot  by 
the  whole  universe  ?  I  am  greatly  fallen  away,  and  my 
health  is  much  impaired  since  I  have  been  immured  with- 
in these  walls.  There  is  not  a  single  person  about  me 
whom  I  do  not  suspect,  and  I  despair  of  ever  recovering 
my  liberty.  For  the  love  of  God  endeavour  to  visit  me. 
The  time  approaches  when  my  trial  will  take  place,  but  I 
am  apprehensive  my  sentence  is  already  determined.  I 
pray  God  he  will  take  you  under  his  holy  protection. 

"  MATILDA.. 
"  Cronenburg,  April  11,  1772." 


CAROLINE    MATILDA.  201 

The  Queen  wrote,  about  the  same  time,  another  letter 
to  the  King  of  Denmark,  of  which  the  following  is  an 
exact  copy  : — 

"  SIRE, 

"  If  justice  and  humanity  dwell  yet  in  your 
royal  breast,  I  have  an  undoubted  right,  as  your  most  in- 
jured wife,  to  claim  your  Majesty's  protection  from  this 
vale  of  misery.  Your  honour  is  impeached  as  well  as  my 
virtue ;  if  the  sense  of  both  can  inspire  you  with  tender 
feelings  for  my  inexpressible  woes,  and  the  indignities 
offered  to  supreme  authority  by  the  most  flagitious  com- 
bination of  all  the  horrid  engines  the  blackest  calumnies 
could  play  to  blast  my  innocence  and  reputation,  I  appeal 
to  your  Majesty's  own  conviction  of  my  spotless  and  in- 
violable fidelity.  I  do  not  entreat  mercy,  but  I  demand 
justice.  Were  your  heart  callous  to  my  inexpressible 
sufferings,  sure  what  you  owe  to  yourself,  and  the  dear 
pledges  of  conjugal  affection,  should  call  for  the  utmost 
exertion  of  your  power  to  maintain  your  prerogative  that 
has  been  so  daringly  encroached  upon,  and  to  avenge  the 
outrages  I  have  been  forced  to  submit  to  by  an  un- 
paralleled confederacy  of  traitors  determined  to  snatch  the 
sceptre  from  your  hands,  and  to  sacrifice  your  guiltless 
consort  and  your  own  progeny  to  their  wicked  ambition. 
I  wish  for  a  fair  trial,  and  that  I  may  face  and  confound 
my  accusers.  To  the  Supreme  Judge,  who  knows  all 
hearts  and  all  motives,  I  submit  the  justice  of  my  cause. 

"MATILDA." 

The  King  was  not  permitted  to  make  an  answer. 

The  death  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  at  this  most  painful 
and  critical  epoch  in  her  daughter's  life  must  have  been  a 
severe  domestic  affliction.  "  She  had  existed  on  cordials 


202  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

alone,"  says  Walpole,  "for  the  last  ten  days,  from  the 
time  she  had  received  the  fatal  news  from  Denmark,  and 
died  before  she  could  hear  again  from  her  daughter." 

Struensee  and  Brandt  were  put  to  an  ignominious  death. 
When  the  Queen  heard  of  it  she  said  to  Miss  Mostyn,  her 
maid  of  honour — "  Unhappy  men !  they  have  paid  dearly 
for  their  attachment  to  their  King  and  zeal  for  my  service." 

The  Queen  would  herself  have  fallen  a  victim  to  this 
shameful  plot  had  not  G-eorge  III.  sent  orders  to  his 
Ambassador  to  demand  that  she  should  be  set  at  liberty. 
The  request  was  not,  however,  complied  with  till  an  Eng- 
lish squadron  appeared  to  enforce  it.  Sir  Robert  Keith 
having  obtained  an  order  for  the  release  of  the  Eoyal 
prisoner,  with  the  promise  of  a  pension  of  5000Z.  a  year 
for  the  support  of  her  household  and  dignity,  set  off  to 
convey  the  happy  tidings  in  person,  having  been  appointed 
to  accompany  her  into  the  Electorate  of  Hanover,  Zell 
being  the  future  residence  allotted  to  her  by  her  brother. 

Caroline  Matilda  received  the  tidings  with  a  flood  of 
tears,  and  joyfully  embraced  the  messenger  of  freedom, 
whom  she  addressed  as  her  deliverer.  She  prepared  at 
once  to  depart  from  the  scene  of  so  much  sorrow,  but  the 
order  for  departure  did  not  permit  her  infant  daughter  to 
accompany  her.  The  child  she  had  only  just  before  been 
nursing  at  her  bosom  was  to  remain  behind !  She  was 
overcome  with  grief  at  this  new  stroke  of  fate,  and  could 
scarcely  be  prevailed  on  to  accept  her  freedom  on  such 
hard  conditions .  She  smothered  the  babe  with  her  caresses, 
and  finally  parted  from  it  in  an  agony  worse  than  death. 
As  long  as  the  vessel  remained  in  sight,  her  straining  eyes 
sought  eagerly  the  spot  where  it  had  been  left !  They 
were  parted,  alas !  for  ever !  The  babe  was  then  only  nine 
months  old,  and  from  that  time  was  brought  up  with  her 


CAROLINE   MATILDA.  203 

brother  the  Prince,  at  Copenhagen.  The  tenderest  love 
united  these  orphan  children,  who  were  very  dear  to  the 
people.  Louisa  Augusta  eventually  married  the  Duke  of 
Augustenbourg. 

The  following  lines  are  believed  to  have  been  written 
at  sea  by  the  Queen  of  Denmark  during  her  passage  to 
Stade,  1772:— 

At  length  from  sceptred  care  and  deadly  state, 
From  galling  censure,  and  ill-omened  hate, 
From  the  vain  grandeur  where  I  lately  shone, 
From  Cronsbourg's  prison,  and  from  Denmark's  throne, 
I  go! 

Here,  fatal  greatness  !  thy  delusion  ends  ! 
A  humbler  lot  the  closing  scene  attends. 
Denmark,  farewell !  a  long,  a  last  adieu  ; 
Thy  lessening  prospect  now  recedes  from  view  ! 
No  lingering  look  an  ill-starred  crown  deplores  ; 
Well  pleased  I  quit  thy  sanguinary  shores. 
Thy  shores,  where,  victims  doom'd  to  state  and  me, 
Fell  hapless  Brandt  and  murdered  Struensee  ! 
Thy  shores — where,  ah !  in  adverse  hour  I  came, 
To  me  the  grave  of  happiness  and  fame  ! — 
Alas  !  how  different  then  my  vessel  lay ; 
What  crowds  of  flatterers  hastened  to  obey ! 
What  numbers  flew  to  hail  the  rising  sun  ; 
How  few  now  bend  to  that  whose  course  is  run  ! 
By  fate  deprived  of  fortune's  fleeting  train, 
Now  " all  the  oblig'd  desert,  and  all  the  vain;" 
But  conscious  worth,  that  censure  can  control, 
Shall  'gainst  the  charges  arm  thy  steady  soul, — 
Shall  teach  the  guiltless  mind  alike  to  bear 
The  smiles  of  pleasure,  or  the  frowns  of  care. 
Denmark,  farewell !  for  thee  no  sighs  depart ; 
But  love  maternal  rends  my  bleeding  heart. 
Oh !  Cronsbourg's  tower,  where  my  poor  infant  lies, 
Why,  why,  so  soon  recede  you  from  my  eyes ! 
Yet  stay,  ah  me  !  nor  hope  nor  pray'r  avails  ; 
For  ever  exil'd  hence — Matilda  sails. 


204  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Keith !  form'd  to  smooth  the  path  affliction  treads, 
And  dry  the  tear  that  friendless  sorrow  sheds ; 
Oh,  generous  Keith  !  protect  their  helpless  state, 
And  save  my  infants  from  impending  fate  ! 
Far,  far  from  deadly  pomp  each  thought  remove, 
And  as  to  me,  their  guardian  angel  prove  ! 
Yes,  Julia  !  now  superior  force  prevails, 
And  all  my  hoasted  resolution  fails !  * 

"  This  exalted  sufferer  was  never  greater  than  during  the 
later  years  which  she  spent  in  her  retirement.  She  was 
no  longer  a  young  unguarded  Princess,  whose  levities  had 
given  her  enemies  too  favourable  an  opportunity  to  effect 
her  fall.  She  had  learned  in  the  school  of  adversity,  and 
from  the  malevolence  of  Juliana,  who  had  misconstrued  even 
her  virtues  into  vices,  to  act  with  such  prudence  and  cir- 
cumspection as  to  command  a  personal  respect,  independent 
of  majesty,  without  being  less  admired  for  her  gracious 
condescension  and  most  endearing  affability.  She  appeared 
at  Zell  in  her  true  and  native  character,  divested  of  the 
retinue  and  pomp  which,  on  the  throne  of  Denmark,  veiled 
her,  in  a  great  degree,  from  the  inspection  of  impartial 
judges.  She  displayed  in  her  little  Court  all  the  princely 
and  social  qualities  calculated  to  charm  her  visitors  and 
attendants ;  there  was  in  her  person  such  grace  and  dignity 
as  could  not  fail  to  gain  her  universal  love.  Though  she 
excelled  in  all  the  exercises .  befitting  her  sex,  birth,  and 
station,  and  danced  the  first  minuet  in  the  Danish  Court, 
she  never  indulged  herself  in  this  polite  amusement,  of 

*  Many  literary  productions  of  this  ill-fated  young  Queen  are  still 
•extant,  which  evince  her  highly  cultivated  mind  and  intellectual 
powers.  Her  literary  tastes  were  of  a  very  high  order,  and  her 
"  Historical  Commentaries  "  on  her  own  and  other  times,  surprising, 
when  her  extreme  youth  is  taken  into  consideration.  Her  letters  are 
all  of  them  evidences  of  sense,  feeling,  and  judgment,  and  betoken  a 
ispirit  of  the  noblest  intellectual  order. 


CAROLINE   MATILDA.  205 

which  she  had  been  excessively  fond,  since  the  masked 
ball,  the  conclusion  of  which  had  been  so  fatal  and  disgrace- 
ful to  her  Majesty.  As  one  of  her  pretended  crimes  had 
been  the  delight  she  took  in  riding,  and  the  uncommon 
address  and  spirit  with  which  she  managed  the  horse,  she 
renounced  also  this  innocent  diversion,  for  fear  of  giving 
the  least  occasion  to  the  blame  and  censures  of  the  ma- 
licious or  ignorant. 

"  Her  Majesty  had  an  exquisite  taste  for  music,  and 
devoted  much  of  her  time  to  the  harpsichord,  accompanied 
by  the  melodious  voice  of  a  lady  of  her  Court.  There  was 
in  her  dress  a  noble  simplicity,  which  exhibited  more  taste 
than  magnificence.  As  her  mind  had  been  cultivated  by 
reading  the  works  of  the  most  eminent  writers  among  the 
moderns,  she  read  regularly  two  hours  before  dinner,  with 
Miss  Schulemberg,  whatever  her  Majesty  thought  most 
conducive  to  her  instruction  or  entertainment  in  poets  and 
historians ;  communicating  to  each  other  their  observa- 
tions with  equal  freedom  and  ingenuity.  She  improved 
the  knowledge  she  had  acquired  of  the  German  language, 
and  had  a  catalogue  of  the  best  authors  of  that  nation,  to 
enable  her  to  converse  fluently  on  subjects  of  literature 
with  men  of  taste  and  erudition.  As  her  manners  were 
the  most  polished,  graceful,  and  endearing,  her  Court  be- 
came the  resort  of  persons  of  both  sexes,  celebrated  for 
their  love  of  the  fine  arts.  The  contracted  state  of  her 
finances  could  not  restrain  that  princely  magnificence  and 
liberal  disposition  which  made  her  purse  ever  open  to 
indigent  merit  and  distressed  virtue.  Naturally  cheerful, 
and  happy  in  the  consciousness  of  her  innocence,  adored 
and  revered  by  the  circle  of  a  Court  free  from  cabals  and 
intrigues,  even  the  dark  cloud  of  adversity  could  not  alter 
the  sweetness  and  serenity  of  her  temper.  There  she  was 

p 


206  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

surrounded  with  faithful  servants,  who  attended  her,  not* 
from  sordid  motives  of  ambition,  but  from  attachment  and 
unfeigned  regard.  They  were  not  the  spies  and  emissaries 
of  an  artful,  imperious,  and  revengeful  woman,  or  the  evil 
counsellors  of  a  wretched  King,  the  first  slave  of  his  de- 
bauched and  profligate  Court.  Peace,  content,  and  harmony 
dwelt  under  her  Majesty's  auspices,  whose  household  was 
like  a  well-regulated  family,  superintended  by  a  mistress 
who  made  her  happiness  consist  in  doing  good  to  all  those 
who  implored  her  compassion  and  beneficence. 

"  Banished  with  every  circumstance  of  indignity  from 
the  throne  of  Denmark,  her  noble  soul  retained  no  senti- 
ment of  revenge  or  resentment  against  the  wicked  authors 
of  her  fall,  or  against  the  Danish  people.  Ambition,  a 
passion  incompatible  with  enjoyment,  never  disturbed  her 
peace  of  mind :  she  looked  back  to  the  diadem  which  had 
been  torn  from  her  brow  with  a  calmness  and  magnani- 
mity which  Christina  of  Sweden  could  never  attain  after 
her  abdication.  It  was  not  the  Crown  she  regretted — her 
children  only  employed  all  her  care  and  solicitude;  the 
feelings  of  the  Queen  were  absorbed  in  those  of  the 
mother." 

The  following  letter  was  addressed,  about  1772,  to  her 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick : — 

"Zell,  August  27,  1772. 

"MADAM,  AND  DEAE  SISTEE, 

"  Thanks  to  heaven  for  having  made  me  sensible 
of  the  futility  and  delusion  of  all  worldly  pomp  and 
stately  nothingness. 

"Believe  me,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  not  once 
wished  to  be  again  an  enthroned  Queen.  Were  my  dear 
children  restored  to  me,  I  should  think  if  there  is  on  this 
earth  perfect  happiness,  I  might  enjoy  it  in  a  private 


CAEOLIKE   MATILDA.  207 

station  with  them ;  but  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  all  events 
has  decreed  that  my  peace  of  mind  should  be  continually 
disturbed  by  what  I  feel  on  this  cruel  and  unnatural  sepa- 
ration. You  are  a  tender  mother,  and  I  appeal  to  your 
own  fondness.  Pray  give  my  love  to  the  dear  Augusta, 
and  all  her  brothers :  now  that  she  is  in  her  seventh  year, 
she  is,  I  dare  say,  an  agreeable,  chatty  companion. 

"As  for  Charles,  he  is,  I  understand,  like  his  father, 
born  a  warrior — nothing  but  drums,  swords,  and  horses, 
can  please  his  martial  inclinations. 

"  George,  Augustus,  and  William  equally  contribute  to 
your  comfort  and  amusement.  Tell  them  I  have  some 
little  presents  I  shall  send  them  the  first  opportunity. 

"  You  desire  to  know  how  I  vary  my  occupations  and 
amusements  in  this  residence.  I  get  up  between  seven 
and  eight  o'clock;  take  a  walk  in  the  gardens,  if  the 
weather  permits ;  give  my  instructions  to  the  gardener 
for  the  day ;  observe  his  men  at  work,  with  that  contented 
mind  which  is  a  continual  feast ;  return  to  the  castle  for 
breakfast ;  dress  myself  from  ten  to  eleven ;  appear  in  my 
little  circle  at  twelve ;  retire  to  my  apartment  about  one ; 
read  or  take  an  airing  till  dinner;  walk  again  in  the 
gardens,  for  about  an  hour,  with  some  ladies  of  my  retinue ; 
drink  tea,  play  upon  the  harpsichord ;  sometimes  a  little 
party  at  quadrille  before  supper;  and  am  commonly  in 
bed  before  twelve. 

"  Every  Monday  I  receive  petitions  from  real  objects  of 
compassion,  and  delight  in  relieving  their  necessities, 
according  to  my  power ;  go  twice  to  chapel  every  Sunday; 
and  thus  every  week  passes  in  a  regular  rotation  of  rational 
conversation,  lectures  amusantes  et  instructives,  musical 
entertainments,  walks,  and  little  curious  needlework.  I 
see  everybody  happy  around  me,  and  vie  with  each  other  in 


208  THE   EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

proofs  of  zeal  and  affection  for  my  person.  Now  I  can 
truly  say  I  cultivate  friendship  and  philosophy,  strangers 
to  the  throne. 

"  I  expect  to  see  you  soon,  according  to  your  promise ; 
this  visit  will  add  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  your  most 
affectionate  sister, 

"CAEOLIKE  MATILDA." 

Subsequently  an  attempt  was  made  by  certain  Danish 
nobles  to  create  a  counter-revolution  in  favour  of  Caroline 
Matilda,  and  place  her  once  more  on  the  throne,  not  as 
Queen  Consort  only,  but  as  Eegent  during  her  son's 
minority,  the  King  being  in  a  state  of  hopeless  menta'r 
imbecility.  On  this  occasion  Sir  Nathaniel  Wraxall  was 
their  emissary,  and  appointed  to  deliver  a  letter  to  the 
Princess  explanatory  of  the  enterprise,  which  as  a  necessary 
preliminary  included  the  dethronement  of  Juliana  Maria. 
The  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  sister  of  the  Queen,  and  niece 
by  marriage  to  the  Queen  Dowager,  who  might  have  been 
a  dangerous  witness,  was  present  when  Sir  N.  Wraxall 
handed  this  important  missive  to  the  much-injured  Queen  ; 
who,  on  its  receipt,  wrote  three  letters  on  the  subject,  one 
of  which  was  to  her  brother;  the  other  two  to  Lord 
Suffolk,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Baron  Lichtenstein.  The 
result  of  this  was,  that  Sir  Nathaniel  was  put  in  possession 
of  a  paper  containing,  in  French,  four  articles  expressing 
the  King's  approval  of  the  intended  plan :  1.  That  no 
act  of  violence  should  be  employed  against  those  now  in 
power.  2.  That  if  successful,  the  English  Minister  at 
Denmark  should  proclaim  his  co-operation.  3.  By  which 
he  declined  pecuniary  measures  in  favour  of  the  scheme, 
but  offered  to  provide  for  the  Queen's  personal  return  to 
the  country  of  Denmark.  4.  By  which,  if  the  enterprise 


CABOLINE    MATILDA.  209 

did  succeed,  the  British  forces  should  maintain  it.  On 
returning  to  Zell  with  this  document,  the  Ambassador 
had  an  interview  with  the  Queen,  who  entered  the  room, 
without  any  attendant,  doubtless  by  design,  on  account 
of  the  nature  of  the  subject  to  be  discussed.  "  After 
expressing  regrets  that  her  brother  had  not  admitted  me 
to  a  personal  interview,  and  hopes  that  the  stipulation 
I  had  brought  from  England  would  satisfy  the  party 
engaged  in  her  interests,  with  great  animation  she  assured 
me  that  no  sentiment  of  revenge  or  animosity  towards 
the  Queen  Dowager,  or  Prince  Frederic,  or  any  of  the 
individuals  who  had  arrested  or  imprisoned  her  would 
ever  actuate  her  conduct.  The  mention  of  these  names 
naturally  led  her  to  speak  of  the  memorable  night  of  the 
16th  of  January,  1772,  when  she  fell  a  victim  to  her 
imprudence  and  want  of  precaution.  I  would  (says 
Wraxall)  have  avoided  such  a  topic,  for  obvious  reasons, 
but  she  entered  on  it  with  so  much  determination,  that 
I  could  only  listen  while  she  recounted  to  me  all  the 
extraordinary  occurrences  which  befel  her,  not  omitting 
names  and  particulars  respecting  herself  and  others  of  the 
most  private  nature.  I  am,  however,  far  from  meaning 
that  she  made  any  disclosure  unbecoming  a  woman  of 
honour  and  delicacy." 

Delays,  however,  occurred,  and  occasioned  several  jour- 
neys between  Zell  and  London.  Wraxall  describes  his 
latest  interview  with  the  ill-fated  Queen : — 

"The  room  (the  Queen's  Library)  was  fully  lighted 
up,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  she  entered  the  apart- 
ment. She  was  elegantly  dressed  in  crimson  satin,  and 
impressed  me  as  having  an  air  of  majesty,  mingled  with 
condescension,  altogether  unlike  an  ordinary  woman  of 
condition.  Our  interview  lasted  two  hours.  She  assured 


210  THE   EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

me  she  would  write  the  letter  demanded  by  the  Danish 
nobility  to  her  brother  before  she  retired  to  rest ;  and  as 
to  the  question  put  to  me  (added  she),  whether  I  should 
be  ready  to  set  out  for  Copenhagen,  assure  them  that  I 
am  disposed  to  share  every  hazard  with  my  friends,  and 
to  quit  this  place  upon  the  shortest  notice.  To  obtain 
my  brother's  permission  for  that  step  (which  I  cannot 
take  without  his  consent  and  approbation)  shall  form  one 
of  the  principal  objects  of  my  letter  to  him. 

"  These  material  points  being  settled,  our  conversation 
took  a  wider  range,  and  as  her  Majesty  showed  no  dispo- 
sition to  terminate  it,  we  remained  together  till  near 
eleven.  When  ready  to  leave  me,  she  opened  the  door,  but 
retained  it  a  minute  in  her  hand,  as  if  willing  to  protract 
her  stay.  She  had  never  perhaps  been  more  engaging 
than  that  night,  in  that  attitude  and  in  that  dress.  Her 
countenance,  animated  with  the  prospect  of  her  approach- 
ing emancipation  from  Zell  (which  was,  in  fact,  only  a 
refuge  and  an  exile),  and  restoration  to  the  throne  of 
Denmark,  was  lighted  up  with  smiles,  and  she  appeared  to 
be  in  perfect  health."  In  seven  weeks  from  that  time, 
the  young,  the  beloved  Caroline  Matilda  was  no  more  ! 

"Wraxall  reached  London  April  5,  1775,  but  Baron  Lich- 
tenstein,  the  medium  of  communication  with  the  King, 
who  could  not  safely  grant  a  personal  interview,  being 
absent  in  Hanover,  the  business  was  delayed  till  May 
10th,  when  the  Baron  wrote  to  Wraxall  to  await  in 
London  for  his  next  despatch,  and  gave  him  favourable 
tidings  of  the  progression  of  the  matter  in  which  they 
were  interested.  On  Friday,  May  12,  Caroline  Matilda, 
at  that  moment  when  the  very  point  of  time  "  to  the  day 
and  hour"  for  her  restoration  to  power  was  fixed,  was 
lying  either  insensible  or  about  to  breathe  her  last  when 


CAROLINE    MATILDA.  211 

the  despatch  which  confirmed  the  full  assent  of  the  Eng- 
lish King  to  all  her  wishes  arrived  at  Zell !  It  was 
thence  returned  with  its  seal  unhroken  to  the  writer! 

Lord  Suffolk  wrote  to  Sir  K.  M.  Keith  in  these  terms, 
announcing  the  distressing  tidings  : — 

"London,  May  13th,  1775. 
"DEAB  KEITH, 

"  News  is  just  arrived  of  our  Queen  of  Den- 
mark's death.  She  died  of  a  putrid  fever  and  sore  throat 
on  the  10th  of  this  month. 

"  Yours  ever  most  truly, 

"SUFFOLK." 

A  lady  of  the  deceased  Queen's  household  wrote  the 
following  passage  in  a  letter  to  an  influential  person  at  the 
Court  of  Copenhagen : — 

"  Zell,  May  15th,  1775. 

"  The  epidemic  with  which  we  were  threatened  no  longer 
exists  here,  having  carried  off  in  the  chateau  only  a  page, 
besides  our  beloved  Queen,  so  deservedly  the  object  of 
not  only  our  own,  but  the  most  general  regrets.  Her 
Court,  where  she  was  idolized,  is  overwhelmed  with  grief, 
notwithstanding  their  firm  persuasion  that  our  worthy 
Sovereign  will  take  care  of  them.  But  it  is  for  herself  she 
is  so  deplored ;  and  you  cannot  imagine  the  distress  and 
consternation  which  spread  through  the  whole  town,  when 
she  was  understood  to  be  in  danger.  She  was  indeed  so, 
from  the  first  moment  of  her  seizure,  in  the  opinion  of  our 
clever  physician,  Leyser ;  and  was  herself  at  once  aware  of  it, 
saying  to  him,  in  express  terms,  '  You  have  brought  me, 
since  October,  through  two  pretty  serious  illnesses,  but  this 
one  will  baffle  you ;'  and  she  spoke  but  too  truly.  The  fever 
showed  its  violence  from  the  beginning,  by  a  pulse  of  130, 


212  THE   EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

and  for  the  last  two  days  it  was  past  counting.  Leyser 
sent  for  Zimmermann,  from  Hanover,  who  came  to  his  aid, 
but  without  effect. 

"The  eruption  did  come  out,  but  it  was  with  spots, 
which  indicated  its  violent  nature ;  and  to  this  cruel  dis- 
ease, and  the  decrees  of  an  immortal  Providence,  we  owe 
our  unspeakable  loss.  After  having  suffered  like  a  Chris- 
tian, with  the  most  perfect,  nay,  almost  unexampled, 
patience  and  resignation — testifying,  as  usual,  the  most 
gracious  and  tender  attentions  towards  the  ladies  who 
nursed  her  through  her  illness,  and  retaining  her  senses 
and  speech  to  the  last  moment,  she  terminated  her  career 
in  a  manner  which  edified  and  penetrated  with  admiration 
all  who  witnessed  it.  She  saw  both  our  worthy  superin- 
tendent Jacobi,  and  the  pastor  Lehsen,  who  never  left 
her,  and  to  whom  she  pointed  out  several  times  what  he 
should  read  to  her ;  and  among  other  things,  that  beau- 
ful  hymn  of  Gellert,  on  the  '  Love  of  Enemies,'  '  Never 
will  I  seek  to  do  them  harm,'  &c.,  frequently  repeating 
the  last  verse." 

Caroline  Matilda  wrote  two  letters  with  her  own  hand 
at  the  first  seizure  of  this  fatal  malady,  one  to  the  King  of 
England,  and  the  other  to  the  King  of  Denmark.  "  After 
they  were  sealed,  she  said,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  *  I  hope 
the  King,  my  brother,  will  protect  my  friendless  children  ;* 

*  While  at  Zell,  a  few  months  before  her  decease,  this  amiable 
Princess  exhibited  to  Madame  d'O ,  her  first  Lady  of  the  Bed- 
chamber, a  miniature  of  the  Prince  Eoyal,  her  son,  which  had  just 
come  to  hand,  which  she  regarded  with  transports  of  joy.  This  lady 
accidentally  entered  the  apartment  of  her  Eoyal  mistress  at  a  moment 
when  her  presence  was  not  customary ;  what  was  her  surprise  to  hear 
her  Majesty  engaged  in  conversation,  although  quite  alone ;  astonish- 
ment deprived  her  of  the  power  of  effecting  a  retreat,  when  the 


CAEOLIKE   MATILDA.  213 

and  that  the  King  of  Denmark  will  do  my  memory  that 
justice  he  denied  me  while  living.  I  freely  forgive  my 
persecutors  and  enemies,  and  will  die  in  peace  with  all 
mankind  and  my  conscience.' "  She  expired  May  10th, 
1775,  after  a  five  days'  illness,  about  midnight,  not  having 
yet  attained  her  twenty-fourth  year. 

At  the  funeral  service  in  the  great  church  the  whole 
city  was  dissolved  in  tears ;  and  in  the  streets,  while  she 
yet  lived,  nothing  was  heard  but  lamentations  and  invoca- 
tions for  the  restoration  to  health  of  "  unser  guten  und 
lieben  Konigen"  (our  good  and  beloved  Queen).  A 
monument  to  her  memory  was  afterwards  erected  by  the 
nobility  and  States  of  the  Duchy  of  Luneberg. 

She  was  deeply  lamented  by  her  countrymen,  who,  from 
the  first,  had  asserted  her  innocence,  and  enthusiastically 
vindicated  her  cause.  The  King  of  Denmark  was  not 
allowed  publicly  to  mourn  for  her  loss ;  but  her  memory 
was  very  dear  to  her  people  there.  The  inhabitants  of 
Zell  mourned  long  for  their  Royal  benefactress. 

In  January,  1784,  the  Crown  Prince,  who  was  in  stature 
very  like  his  father,  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  "  His  com- 
plexion was  very  fair,  his  eyebrows  bu&hy  for  a  youth  of 
his  age,  his  hair  almost  white."  He  was  considered  a 

Queen  turned  suddenly  round,  and  beheld  her  embarrassed  attendant. 
Sweetly  smiling,  she  addressed  these  words  to  her:  "  What  must  you 
think  of  a  circumstance  so  extraordinary  as  that  of  hearing  me  talk, 
though  you  find  me  perfectly  alone  ?  But  it  was  to  this  dear  and 
cherished  image  I  addressed  my  conversation ;  and  what  do  you  think 
I  said  to  it?  Nearly  the  same  verses  which  you  sent  not  long  ago  to 
a  child,  sensible  to  the  happiness  of  having  found  her  father,  verses 
which  I  altered  as  follows : 

Eh  !  qui  done,  conirne  moi,  gouteroit  le  bonheur 
De  t'appeler  mon  fils,  d'etre  chere  a  ton  coeur ! 
Toi  qu'on  arrache  aux  bras  d'une  mere  sensible 
Qui  ne  pleure  que  toi,  dans  ce  destin  terrible.' " 


214)  THE   EOTAL  PBINCESSES. 

plain  likeness  of  Caroline  Matilda,  his  mother.  The  Queen 
Dowager  could  not,  with  any  plausibility,  pretend  that  his 
mind,  like  his  father's,  was  imbecile,  but  she  prevented  his 
taking  his  seat  in  the  Council  as  long  as  she  could.  About 
a  month  after  his  solemn  confirmation,  the  Prince  was  ad- 
mitted and  took  the  oaths,  when  he  addressed  his  father, 
stating  that  it  was  his  intention,  from  that  time,  to  adminis- 
ter the  government  himself,  after  which  he  dismissed  the 
Council.  Possessed  of  the  same  sentiments  as  his  excellent 
mother,  he  did  not  pursue  the  guilty  Juliana  Maria  with 
the  punishment  her  crimes  deserved,  but  contenting  him- 
self with  the  recovery  of  his  legal  inheritance,  evinced  the 
most  uniform  forbearance  and  humanity.  Frederick  VI. 
became  very  dear  to  his  people  ;  but  no  inducement  would 
prevail  on  the  English  King  to  listen  to  his  subsequent 
overtures  for  an  union  with  his  Royal  family ;  so  that  he 
subsequently  married  a  Princess  of  Hesse  Cassel,  and  at  a 
later  period  became  the  ally  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon, 
whence  originated  the  siege  and  surrender  of  Copenhagen 
in  1807,  and  the  loss  of  Norway  in  1814,  the  two  king- 
doms having  for  centuries  before  been  united.  But  for 
the  death  of  Caroline  Matilda,  Norway  might  still  have 
remained  subject,  and  the  Danish  capital  would  never  have 
been  attacked  or  entered  as  it  was  by  the  English  army. 
There  are  many  events  in  history  of  the  first  importance, 
like  this,  to  be  traced  to  the  influence  and  agency  of  woman. 
Juliana  Maria  was  the  active  agent  in  the  sad  history 
which  led  to  the  disastrous  events  related,  and  which  in- 
volved the  destiny  of  the  unfortunate  and  innocent  Caroline 
Matilda. 

The  numerous  anecdotes  still  on  record  of  the  benevo- 
lence and  goodness  of  heart  of  that  amiable  Princess,  prove 
how  worthy  she  was  to  reign ;  and  that  heart  must  be  cold 


CABOLINE  MATILDA.  215 

indeed  which  does  not  throb  with  sympathy  for  the  pre- 
mature and  unmerited  fate  of  one  so  fair,  so  amiable,  and 
so  accomplished.  The  event  left  deep  and  indelible  traces 
on  the  hearts  of  all  her  contemporaries,  and  the  sad  story 
has  been  related  again  and  again,  from  the  most  aristocratic 
to  the  humblest  hearth  of  our  English  homes. 


210 


CHARLOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA, 

PEINCESS  ROYAL,  ELDEST  DAUGHTER  OF  GEORGE  III, 
AFTERWARDS  QUEEN  OF  WURTEMBERG. 

Queen  Charlotte's  accouchement — Birth  of  a  Princess — Persons 
present — Queen  hindered  from  witnessing  the  wedding  of  Princess 
Caroline  Matilda — Cake  and  caudle — Accident  to  the  visitors — 
Christening  of  the  Princess  Royal — Her  sponsors — Accident  to  the 
nursery — Inoculation  of  Charlotte  Augusta — Juvenile  drawing- 
room — Death  of  her  grandmother — Children  removed  from  Rich- 
mond to  Kew — Lady  Charlotte  Finch — Habits  of  the  Royal 
family — Anecdote  of  the  Queen's  maternal  affection — Removal  to 
Windsor — Prince  of  Wales's  birthday — Visit  to  Wimbledon- 
common — Royal  family  visit  the  Bishop  of  Winchester — Early  at- 
tainments of  the  Princess  Royal — Letters  of  Mrs.  Delaney — 
Birthday  of  the  Princess  Royal — Bulstrode — A  hunt — Visit  to 
Court  of  the  Duchess  of  Portland — Morning  visit  to  the  Queen — 
Cordiality  of  the  King — Prince  of  Wales's  birthday — Charlotte 
Augusta  appears  in  public — Opens  the  ball — Sponsor  for  her  brother 
Alfred — Birth  of  Amelia — Her  baptism — King  comes  to  Bulstrode 
— Queen  and  King  both  come  next  time — All  the  children  with 
them — Present  to  Mrs.  Delaney — Visit  to  Windsor — Infant  Amelia 
brought  in — Mrs.  Siddons  engaged  to  teach  the  younger  Prin- 
cesses— Disturbance  at  the  theatre — Handel  Festival — Egham 
Races — Mrs.  Delaney  writes  of  the  Court — Visit  to  Nuneham — 
Private  visit  to  Oxford — Queen's  birthday — Private  theatricals — 
Princess  Royal  sponsor  again  with  her  parents — Attempt  on  the 
King's  life — Second  visit  to  Nuneham — Second  visit  to  Oxford — 
Whitbread's  brewery  —  Royal  family  go  to  Cheltenham — Visit 
1  e-vkesbury — Go  to  Worcester — Meeting  of  the  three  choirs — Mrs. 
Siddons'  reading — Aspiring  suitor  for  the  Princess — Royal  visit  to 
Weymouth — View  several  castles  and  seats — Water  excursions — 
Lulworth  Castle — Proposal  from  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Wur- 
temberg  for  the  Princess  Royal  —  Aversion  of  the  King  and 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  217 

Queen  to  the  match — The  cause — The  Prince  doubly  descended 
from  the  House  of  Hanover — His  first  wife  a  cousin  of  the 
Princess  Royal —  Inquiry  as  to  the  Prince's  conduct  towards 
her — Satisfaction  given — Princess  favours  the  suit — The  Eoyal 
consent  given — Message  to  the  House  of  Commons — His  re- 
ligious principles — Her  dowry — Arrival  of  the  Prince — His  per- 
sonal appearance — Introduced  to  the  Princess  Koyal — He  starts  on 
an  inland  tour — On  his  return,  lodged  in  St.  James's — The  mar- 
riage— Drawing-room  fete  at  Frogmore — Addresses  of  congratu- 
lation— Parting  tears — Quits  England — Lands  at  Cuxhaven — 
Visits  Hanover — Re-married  on  her  arrival  at  Stuttgardt — Duke  of 

Cambridge  and  Prince  Ernest  of  M present, — Beloved  by  her 

new  people — Manner  of  passing  her  time — Her  husband  succeeds 
to  the  Dukedom — His  father  a  grandson  of  Dorothea,  Queen  of 
Prussia — Character — Fine  library — Description  of  the  Palace  at 
Stuttgardt — The  Duke  makes  peace  with  France — Differences  with 
his  States — Becomes  Elector — Wurtemberg  converted  into  a  king- 
dom— Assists  Bonaparte  in  his  conscriptions — His  daughter  mar- 
ried to  Jerome  Bonaparte — Marriage  of  his  eldest  son — Marriage  of 
his  daughter — Confederation  of  the  Rhine — Character  of  the  King 
— Frederick's  Haven — His  death — Succeeded  by  his  son — Queen 
retires  to  Louisburg — Occasionally  visits  Deinach — Her  benefi 
cence — George  IV.  pays  her  a  visit — Duke  of  Clarence  visits  her 
in  1822 — Description  of  Deinach — Visit  of  the  Duke  in  1825 — 
Illness  of  Queen  of  Wurtemberg — Comes  to  England  for  advice — 
Returns — Escapes  being  wrecked — Her  death — Funeral — Grief  for 
her  loss— Will  of  the  Queen. 

THE  domestic  manners  of  a  nation  always  reflect  the 
Court  which  presides  over  it,  as  the  child  looks  up  to  its 
parent  as  a  model  for  imitation.  Example,  higher  in 
value  than  a  thousand  precepts,  requires  to  be  set  forth 
from  the  first  authority,  and  carries  with  it  a  never-failing 
predominance.  If,  from  our  own  times,  we  cast  a  retro- 
spective glance  to  the  reign  of  George  III.,  we  shall  behold 
in  the  supreme  rank  all  the  most  beautiful  associations 
and  exalted  ties  of  human  nature.  Surrounded  by  all  the 
cares  and  fatigues  of  Royalty,  the  happily  united  and 
socially  disposed  King  and  Queen  daily  enjoyed  every 


218  THE   EOYAL   PKIKCESSES. 

domestic  endearment  in  the  midst  of  their  beautiful  and 
promising  offspring,  themselves  the  centre  and  pattern  of 
all  their  children's  happiness.  A  more  perfect  picture  can 
scarcely  be  found  in  all  the  pages  of  history,  unless  in  our 
own  still  more  felicitous  times  it  be  presented  to  future 
generations  yet  unborn.  The  entire  harmony  prevailing 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Royal  family  afforded  a  fine  lesson  for 
the  hearth  of  every  domestic  English  circle.  The  subject 
of  this  memoir  will  be  sufficient  evidence  of  the  happy 
effect  of  parental  care. 

Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda,  Princess  Eoyal  of  England, 
was  the  eldest  of  the  six  daughters  of  George  III.  and 
Queen  Charlotte.  Her  birth  took  place  at  Buckingham 
House,  September  29th,  1766.  Early  in  the  morning  of 
that  day,  messengers  were  despatched  to  the  Princess 
Dowager  of  Wales,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  two 
Secretaries  of  State,  and  others  of  the  Privy  Council,  all  of 
whom  obeyed  the  summons  with  great  expedition. 
Between  six  and  seven  o'clock  the  infant  Princess  was 
born,  of  which  joyful  event  the  news  was  announced  to  the 
expectant  public  by  the  firing  of  the  Tower  guns  at  noon, 
followed  by  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  other  demonstrations 
of  joy.  This  was  the  fourth  accouchement  of  Queen 
Charlotte,  who  had  before  presented  the  nation  with  three 
royally  promising  boys — the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the 
Dukes  of  York  and  Clarence. 

Cake  and  caudle  were  provided  at  the  Palace  on  the 
present  occasion,  according  to  the  usual  custom,  but  so 
great  was  the  novelty  and  attraction  in  the  circumstance 
of  its  being  this  time  on  account  of  a  Princess,  that  great 
throngs  assembled  at  St.  James's,  and  many  of  the  visitors 
of  the  gentler  sex  were  nearly  killed  by  the  extraordinary 
rush  for  admittance  when  the  doors  were  opened,  which 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  219 

was  not  till  five  o'clock,  by  which  time  many  thousands 
had  assembled.  The  yeomen  of  the  guard  having  admitted 
the  foremost,  kept  others  back  with  their  battle-axes,  but 
had  some  difficulty  in  clearing  the  entrance ;  which,  how- 
ever, being  accomplished,  they  closed  the  gates,  to  the 
great  mortification  of  the  disappointed  multitude  without. 

Her  Majesty  had  intended  to  be  present  at  the  solem- 
nization of  the  nuptials  of  the  King's  sister,  Princess 
Caroline  Matilda,  with  her  cousin,  the  King  of  Denmark, 
on  the  1st  of  October ;  but  the  birth  of  her  infant  daughter, 
on  the  29th  of  September,  prevented  her  accomplishing 
her  intention. 

On  the  27th  of  October  the  Eoyal  infant  was  christened 
by  Archbishop  Seeker,  when  her  sponsors  were,  her  two 
aunts,  the  newly -married  Queen  of  Denmark,  whose  repre- 
sentative was  the  Countess  of  Efnngham,  and  Princess 
Louisa,  who  attended  in  person;  the  King  of  Denmark 
was  her  godfather,  the  Duke  of  Portland  being  his  proxy 
on  the  occasion. 

There  is  little  to  be  said  of  the  few  first  years  of  exist- 
ence, especially  when  nursed  in  the  lap  of  luxury.  Yet 
events  transpired,  momentous  to  the  after-life  of  the  child 
Princess.  New  members  were  added  to  her  family,  the 
associates  and  playmates  of  youth,  the  friends  of  later  life. 
In  the  year  after  the  birth  of  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda, 
in  1767,  was  born  her  fourth  brother,  Edward,  Duke  of 
Kent,  father  of  our  present  beloved  Sovereign;  in  1768, 
Princess  Augusta  Sophia  was  added  to  the  family  group. 
About  this  period  an  accident  occurred  to  the  Royal 
nursery ;  on  the  19th  of  February  a  fire  broke  out,  which 
had  been  for  some  days  smothered,  as  appeared  from  the 
joists  being  burnt  to  a  coal,  but  fortunately  it  was  dis- 
covered in  time  to  prevent  serious  consequences. 


220  THE   KOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

Queen  Charlotte  patronized  the  new  practice  of  inocu- 
lating for  the  small-pox,  introduced  in  the  reign  of  George 
II.  Her  eldest  daughter  and  Prince  William  were  inocu- 
lated, and  placed  under  the  care  of  Sir  Clifton  Wintring- 
ham,  physician  to  his  Majesty ;  Sir  John  Pringle,  the 
Queen's  physician;  C;esarHawkins,Esq.,  sergeant-surgeon; 
and  Pennell  Hawkins,  Esq.,  surgeon  to  the  Queen.  The 
result  was  successful,  the  disease  appearing  with  both  the 
Royal  children  in  the  most  favourable  manner.  On  the 
24th  of  December  they  were  pronounced  out  of  danger, 
and  on  the  10th  of  January,  1769,  appeared  abroad  per- 
fectly recovered. 

At  the  Queen's  suggestion,  the  Princess  Eoyal,  when  only 
three  years  old,  was  placed  in  a  very  conspicuous  position. 
The  object  of  her  Royal  mother  was  to  entertain  the  minds 
of  the  people  with  a  novel  sight,  and  disarm  the  factious 
spirit  just  then  so  prevalent.  A  drawing-room  was  held 
at  St.  James's  on  the  25th  of  October,  1769,  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  King's  accession,  by  the  young  Prince  of 
Wales,  then  in  his  seventh  year,  and  the  Princess  Royal, 
who  was  just  three.  As  was  expected,  the  Court  was 
crowded  to  excess,  everybody  being  anxious  to  witness  how 
these  sweet  children  would  acquit  themselves ;  and  their 
graceful  deportment,  and  apt  performance  of  the  part  as- 
signed to  them,  made  an  impression  never  to  be  forgotten 
on  that  brilliant  assemblage.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was 
attired  in  scarlet  and  gold,  with  the  insignia  of  the  Order 
of  the  Garter ;  on  his  right  was  the  Prince  Bishop  of  Os- 
naburg,  in  blue  and  gold,  with  the  Order  of  the  Bath ; 
next  to  him,  on  a  rich  sofa,  sat  the  Princess  Royal,  at 
whose  right  hand,  elegantly  clothed  in  Roman  togas,  were 
the  junior  Princes — William  Henry,  Duke  of  Clarence,  and 
Edward,  Duke  of  Kent. 


CHABLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  221 

At  a  juvenile  ball,  given  at  Buckingham  Palace  on  the 
15th  of  March,  1770,  this  promising  group  of  children 
was  again  brought  into  public  notice;  and  well  might 
Queen  Charlotte  calculate  on  the  success  of  such  an  appeal 
to  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

When  the  Princess  Eoyal  was  in  her  sixth  year,  she  lost 
her  grandmother,  the  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales.  At 
the  time,  she  was  too  young  to  appreciate  this  affliction  as 
she  would  have  done  a  few  years  later ;  to  the  King,  her 
father,  it  was  indeed  a  heavy  blow,  who  was  not  only  ten- 
derly attached  to  his  parent,  but  a  filially  devoted  son. 
This  affliction  was  followed  by  the  removal  of  the  Eoyal 
family  from  the  Old  Lodge,  Eichmond,  to  Kew  Palace — 
a  change  expected  to  prove  advantageous  to  the  health  of 
the  children.  The  Dukes  of  Sussex  and  Cambridge,  and 
the  Princess  Sophia,  were  born  at  Kew,  during  the  season 
it  was  made  a  Eoyal  residence. 

Of  the  habits  of  the  Queen  of  England  and  her  young 
family  at  Kew,  during  the  year  1773,  the  following 
account  has  been  handed  down  : — "  In  the  morning,  while 
his  Majesty  was  engaged  in  business,  or  in  his  study,  the 
Queen  employed  herself  in  music,  embroidery,  or  drawing, 
having  generally  the  Princess  Eoyal  or  some  of  the  younger 
children  with  her,  their  improvement  being  one  of  her 
most  favourite  occupations.  After  spending  an  hour  or 
two  in  this  agreeable  manner,  the  Eoyal  party,  with  their 
attendants,  either  took  an  airing  in  the  neighbourhood,  or 
a  walk  in  the  gardens ;  and  so  attentive  was  the  Queen  to 
her  children,  that  she  never  trusted  the  youngest  of 
them  out  of  her  sight  on  these  occasions.  While  in  the 
nursery,  she  visited  them;  and  when  they  had  finished 
their  lessons  with  Miss  Planta,  or  the  Eev.  Mr.  de  Guif- 
fardiere,  their  French  instructor,  she  had  them  brought 

Q. 


222  THE   EOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

into  her  presence,  examined  their  progress  in  learning, 
and  gave  them  such  commendation  as  she  found  they 
deserved." 

An  incident  is  on  record  of  good  Queen  Charlotte,  which 
the  mothers  of  England  might  do  well  to  set  forth  for 
their  example.  On  one  occasion,  when  conversing  with 

the  Duchess  of  ,  she  expressed  great  surprise  that 

any  lady  who  sent  out  her  children  for  an  airing  could 
venture  to  entrust  them  to  a  servant's  care,  without  in 
person  accompanying  the  precious  charge.  The  Duchess 
began  to  advocate  the  system ;  but  Queen  Charlotte  knew 
better.  She  arrested  her  remark  by  this  forcible  appeal — 
"  You  are  a  mother ;  you  now  converse  with  a  mother ; 
and  I  should  be  sorry  you  would  compel  me  to  suppose 
you  were  callous  where  you  ought  to  be  most  suscep- 
tible!" 

The  character  and  disposition  of  children  are  formed  by 
the  principles  instilled  into  them  from  infancy  by  those 
who  surround  them ;  what  might  not,  therefore,  be  ex- 
pected from  the  daughters  of  Queen  Charlotte,  who  per- 
sonally devoted  her  care  to  their  mental  improvement,  as 
well  as  to  rearing  them  in  health,  and  who  entertained  so 
strict  and  exalted  a  sense  of  the  maternal  duties !  The 
lives  of  these  amiable  Princesses  attest  that  her  tender 
solicitude  was  not  thrown  away.  They  became  exemplary, 
accomplished,  and  high-minded  women. 

Lady  Charlotte  Finch,  mother  of  the  Earl  of  "Win- 
chilsea,  superintended  the  young  scions  of  royalty  morn- 
ing and  evening  in  the  nursery,  which  was  likewise  visited 
by  the  King  in  person,  who  shared  with  his  consort  the 
management  of  her  offspring,  and  direction  of  their  diet, 
exercise,  and  choice  of  preceptors. 

Of  the  food,  we  are  told  it  was  always  homely,  and  free 


CHAKLOTTE   ATJGTJSTA  MATILDA.  223 

from  luxury.  The  children  all  dined  together  at  an  early 
hour,  in  presence  of  the  King  and  Queen,  who  afterwards 
rambled  in  the  gardens  at  Richmond  till  their  own  dinner- 
hour,  accompanied  by  their  children  "  in  pairs."  After 
dinner,  the  Queen  worked ;  and  the  King,  unless  business 
prevented,  read  aloud  some  instructive  or  amusing  work. 
In  the  evening,  the  children,  before  retiring  to  rest,  were 
brought  to  pay  their  duty  to  their  parents,  and  wish  them 
adieu  for  the  night. 

Their  Majesties  always  rose  at  six,  and  enjoyed  as  their 
own  the  two  succeeding  hours.  At  eight,  the  four  Princes 
and  Princess  Royal  were  brought  from  their  several  houses 
to  Kew,  to  breakfast  with  the  King  and  Queen.  At  nine, 
the  younger  children  made  their  first  appearance ;  and  while 
the  five  eldest  applied  closely  to  their  tasks,  the  little 
ones  and  their  nurses  passed  the  whole  morning  in  Rich- 
mond gardens.  Then  came  the  dinner,  as  before  de- 
scribed :  and  the  daily  routine  was  successively  very  much 
the  same. 

In  1776  the  family  residence  was  fixed  at  Windsor, 
where  the  Prince  of  Wales' s  birthday  was  kept  on  August 
16th,  with  much  solemnity ;  the  guns  fired  and  bells  rang. 
At  ten  o'clock  the  Ro}^al  party  walked  in  procession  from 
the  Castle  to  the  Cathedral,  the  Princesses  following  their 
Royal  parents,  and  after  them  the  Princes,  two  and  two. 
The  canons,  poor  knights,  &c.,  met  them  at  the  door,  and, 
after  service  had  been  performed,  the  Royal  family  walked 
amid  the  crowds  familiarly,  who  thronged  upon  the  Terrace. 
Three  volleys,  fired  by  the  23rd  Regiment,  drawn  up  in 
the  Park,  greeted  them  on  the  occasion,  and  were  accom- 
panied by  loud  shouts  of  joy. 

About  this  time  the  Princess  Royal  accompanied  her 
parents,  the  King  and  Queen,  her  two  elder  brothers,  and 

Q2 


224  THE   EOTAL  PEINCESSES. 

Princess  Augusta,  with  their  suite,*  to  Wimbledon  Com- 
mon, to  the  residence  of  a  gentleman  named  Hartley, 
who  had  invented  a  plan  to  secure  buildings  from  fire. 

Their  Majesties,  with  the  Princes  and  Princesses,  first 
breakfasted  in  one  of  the  rooms.  "  The  tea-kettle  was  boiled 
on  a  fire  made  upon  the  floor  of  the  opposite  room,  which 
apartment  they  afterwards  entered  and  set  a  bed  on  fire, 
the  curtains  of  which  were  consumed,  with  part  of  the 
bedstead,  but  not  the  whole,  the  flames,  from  the  resis- 
tance of  the  floor,  going  out  of  themselves.  Their  Majes- 
ties then  went  down-stairs,  and  saw  a  horse-shoe  forged  in 
a  fire  made  on  the  floor,  as  also  a  large  faggot  lighted,  that 
was  hung  up  to  the  ceiling  instead  of  a  curtain.  After 
this,  two  fires  were  made  upon  the  staircase,  and  one 
under  the  stairs  ;  all  which  burnt  out  quickly  without 
spreading  beyond  the  place  where  the  fuel  was  first  laid. 
Their  Majesties  paid  the  greatest  attention  to  every  ex- 
periment that  was  made,  and  expressed  the  utmost  satis- 
faction at  the  discovery.  The  whole  concluded  by  light- 
ing a  large  magazine  of  faggots,  pitch,  and  tar,  which 
burnt  with  amazing  fury,  but  did  no  damage  to  the  floor 
or  ceiling.  The  Queen  and  the  children  displayed  the 
utmost  courage  and  composure  in  going  up-stairs,  and  re- 
maining in  the  room  immediately  over  that  which  was 
raging  in  flames  beneath." 

Three  or  more  days  in  every  week  were  at  this  time 
(1778)  passed  by  the  King  and  Queen  at  Windsor  during 
the  summer  months,  the  old  Palace  at  Kew  being  still  oc- 
cupied for  the  convenience  of  their  children. 

Mrs.  Chapone,  niece  of  Dr.  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, who  had  been  preceptor  to  the  Prince  of  Wales 

*  Lady  Charlotte  Finch,  Colonel  Desaguelieres,  and  Colonel 
Hotham. 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  225 

(afterwards  George  IV.),  was  in  the  habit  of  passing  much 
of  her  time  at  Farnham  Castle,  her  uncle's  residence.  In 
a  letter  addressed  by  this  lady  to  Mr.  Burrows,  Aug.  20, 
1778,  is  the  following  record  of  the  Royal  family: — 

"  Mr.  Buller  went  to  Windsor  on  Saturday;  saw  the 
King,  who  inquired  much  about  the  bishop  ;  and,  hearing 
that  he  would  be  eighty-two  next  Monday,  '  Then,'  said 
the  King,  '  I  will  go  and  wish  him  joy.'  l  And  I,'  said  the 

Queen,  '  will  go,  too.'     Mr.  B then  dropt  a  hint  of  the 

additional  pleasure  it  would  give  the  bishop,  if  he  could 
see  the  Princes.  '  That,'  said  the  King,  *  requires  contri- 
vance ;  but  if  I  can  manage  it,  we  will  all  go.' 

"  On  the  Monday  following,  the  Royal  party,  consisting 
of  their  Majesties,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Duke  of  York, 
Duke  of  Clarence,  the  Princess  Royal,  and  Princess  Augusta, 
visited  the  bishop.  The  King  sent  the  Princes  to  pay  their 
respects  to  Mrs.  Chapone ;  himself,  he  said,  was  an  old 
acquaintance.  Whilst  the  Princes  were  speaking  to  me, 
Mr.  Arnold,  sub-preceptor,  said,  *  These  gentlemen  are  well 
acquainted  with  a  certain  ode  prefixed  to  Mrs.  Carter's 
"Epictetus,"  if  you  know  anything  of  it.'  Afterwards  the 
King  came  and  spoke  to  us,  and  the  Queen  led  the  Prin- 
cess Royal  to  me,  saying,  '  This  is  a  young  lady,  who,  I 
hope,  has  much  profited  by  your  instructions.  She  has 
read  them*  more  than  once,  and  will  read  them  often ;' 
and  the  Princess  assented  to  the  praise  which  followed 
with  a  very  modest  air.  I  was  pleased  with  all  the  Princes, 
but  particularly  Prince  William,  who  is  little  of  his  age, 
but  so  sensible  and  engaging,  that  he  won  the  bishop's 
heart,  to  whom  he  particularly  attached  himself,  and  would 
stay  with  him  while  all  the  rest  ran  about  the  house.  His 
conversation  was  surprisingly  manly  and  clever  for  his  age ; 
*  "  Letters  on  the  Improvement  of  the  Mind." 


226  THE    EOYAL    PEINCESSES. 

yet  with  the  young  Bullers  he  was  quite  the  boy,  and  said 
to  John  Buller,  by  way  of  encouraging  him  to  talk,  'Come, 
we  are  both  boys,  you  know.'  All  of  them  showed  affec- 
tionate respect  to  the  bishop ;  the  Prince  of  Wales  pressed 
his  hand  so  hard  that  he  hurt  it." 

The  Princess  Eoyal  was  early  imbued  with  the  love  of 
history  and  taste  for  modern  languages  by  which  she  be- 
came distinguished,  and  her  retentive  memory  excited  the 
admiration  of  all  who  conversed  with  her.  She  was  her 
father's  inseparable  companion,  who  encouraged  her  in  her 
natural  taste  for  study,  and  whom  she  amused  by  reading 
to  him  in  his  leisure  hours. 

She  cultivated  her  taste  for  design  under  the  celebrated 
Benjamin  West,  and  applied  her  skill  with  great  effect  in 
embroidery  and  other  female  works  of  art,  which  she  pre- 
sented to  her  friends  on  various  occasions,  and  which,  at  a 
later  period  of  her  life,  served  to  ornament  the  apartments 
of  the  Eoyal  Palace  at  Stuttgardt. 

In  the  "  Closet  of  the  Princess  Eoyal"  at  Frogmore, 
an  elegant  little  apartment,  are  several  drawings  in  pen 
and  ink,  of  wild  animals,  in  imitation  of  the  etchings  of 
Eidinger,  which  were  executed,  with  the  spirit  and  freedom 
of  an  able  professor,  by  the  Princess  Eoyal.  These  pen  and 
ink  drawings,  and  those  which  ornament  the  walls  of  an- 
other small  apartment,  all  framed  and  glazed,  are  executed 
with  the  firmness  and  freedom  of  a  practised  hand,  and 
would  do  credit  to  a  professional  artist.  What  her  Eoyal 
Highness  might  have  been  able  to  perform  in  the  way 
of  original  design,  may  only  be  inferred. 

There  is  something  extremely  pleasing  in  the  following 
account  of  the  Eoyal  family,  given  by  Mrs.  Delaney  in  her 
letters.  It  gives  a  record  of  the  visit  made  by  the  King 
and  Queen,  with  their  children,  to  Bulstrode,  the  seat  of 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  227 

the  Duke  of  Portland,  in  1779.  At  this  time  the  Princess 
Eoyal  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  the  letter  gives 
a  fair  picture  of  the  manners  of  herself  and  family  generally 
— one  which  cannot  but  prove  interesting  to  every  English 
reader.  Mrs.  Delaney  writes  thus  : — 

"  The  Eoyal  family,  ten  in  all,  came  to  Bulstrode  at 
twelve  o'clock.  The  King  drove  the  Queen  in  an  open 
chaise,  with  a  pair  of  white  horses.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
and  Prince  Frederick  rode  on  horseback ;  all  with  proper 
attendants,  but  no  guards.  Princess  Eoyal  and  Lady 
Weymouth  in  a  post-chaise ;  Princess  Augusta,  Princess 
Elizabeth,  Prince  Adolphus  (about  seven  years  old),  and 
Lady  Charlotte  Finch,  in  a  coach ;  Prince  William,  Prince 
Edward,  Duke  of  Montague,  and  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield, 
in  a  coach;  another  coach  full  of  attendant  gentlemen — 
among  others,  Mr.  Smelt,  whose  character  sets  him  above 
most  men,  and  does  great  honour  to  the  King,  who  calls 
Mm  his  friend,  and  has  drawn  him  out  of  his  solitude 
(the  life  he  had  chosen)  to  enjoy  his  conversation  every 
leisure  moment.  These,  with  all  their  attendants  in  rank 
and  file,  made  a  splendid  figure  as  they  drove  through  the 
park,  and  round  the  court  up  to  the  house.  The  day 
was  as  brilliant  as  could  be  wished — the  12th  of  August, 
the  Prince  of  Wales' s  birthday.  The  Queen  was  in  a 
hat,  and  in  an  Italian  night-gown  of  purple  lustring, 
trimmed  with  silver  gauze.  She  is  graceful  and 
genteel.  The  dignity  and  sweetness  of  her  manner,  the 
perfect  propriety  of  everything  she  says  or  does,  satisfies 
everybody  she  honours  with  her  instructions  so  much,  that 
beauty  is  by  no  means  wanting  to  make  her  perfectly 
agreeable ;  and  though  awe  and  long  retirement  from  Court 
made  me  feel  timid  on  my  being  called  to  make  my  appear- 
ance, I  soon  found  myself  perfectly  at  ease,  for  the  King's 


228  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

conversation  and  good  humour  took  off  all  awe  but  what 
one  must  have  for  so  respectable  a  character,  severely  tried 
by  his  enemies  at  home  as  well  as  abroad.  The  three  Prin- 
cesses were  all  in  frocks.  The  King  and  all  the  men  were 
in  uniform  blue  and  gold.  They  walked  through  the  great 
apartments,  which  are  in  a  line,  and  attentively  observed 
everything,  the  pictures  in  particular.  I  kept  back  in  the 
drawing-room,  and  took  that  opportunity  of  sitting  down, 
when  the  Princess  Royal  returned  to  me,  and  said  the 
Queen  missed  me  in  the  train.  I  immediately  obeyed  the 
summons  with  my  best  alacrity.  Her  Majesty  met  me 
half-way,  and  seeing  me  hasten  my  steps,  called  out  to  me, 
1  Though  I  desired  you  to  come,  I  did  not  desire  you  to 
run  and  fatigue  yourself.'  They  all  returned  to  the  great 
drawing-room,  where  there  were  only  two  arm-chairs,  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  for  the  King  and  Queen.  The 
King  placed  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Portland  in  his  chair, 
and  walked  about  admiring  the  beauties  of  the  place. 
Breakfast  was  offered,  all  prepared  in  a  long  gallery  that 
runs  the  length  of  the  great  apartments  (a  suite  of  eight 
rooms  and  three  closets).  The  King,  and  all  his  Royal 
children,  and  the  rest  of  the  train,  chose  to  go  to  the 
gallery,  where  the  well-furnished  tables  were  set — one  with 
tea,  coffee,  and  chocolate ;  another  with  their  proper  accom- 
paniments of  eatables  —  rolls,  cakes,  &c. ;  another  table 
with  fruits  and  ices  in  their  utmost  perfection,  which  with 
a  magical  touch  had  succeeded  a  cold  repast.  The  Queen 
remained  in  the  drawing-room.  I  stood  at  the  back  of 
her  chair,  which,  happening  to  be  one  of  my  working,  gave 
the  Queen  an  opportunity  to  say  many  obliging  things. 
The  Duchess  Dowager  of  Portland  brought  her  Majesty 
a  dish  of  tea  on  a  waiter,  with  biscuits,  which  was  what 
she  chose.  After  she  had  drank  her  tea,  she  would  not 


CHABLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  229 

return  her  cup  to  the  Duchess,  but  got  up  and  would 
carry  it  to  the  gallery  herself;  arid  was  much  pleased  to 
see  with  what  elegance  everything  was  prepared.  No 
servants  but  those  out  of  livery  made  their  appearance. 
The  gay  and  pleasant  appearance  they  all  made,  and  the 
satisfaction  all  expressed,  rewarded  the  attention  and 
politeness  of  the  Duchess  of  Portland,  who  is  never  so 
happy  as  when  she  gratifies  those  she  esteems  worthy  of 
her  attentions  and  favours.  The  young  Eoyals  seemed 
quite  happy,  from  the  eldest  to  the  youngest,  and  to 
inherit  the  gracious  manners  of  their  parents.  I  cannot 
enter  upon  their  particular  address  to  me,  which  not  only 
did  me  honour,  but  showed  their  humane  and  benevolent 
respect  for  old  age.  The  King  desired  me  to  show  the 
Queen  one  of  my  books  of  plants.  She  seated  herself  in 
the  gallery,  a  table  and  the  book  laid  before  her.  I  kept 
my  distance  till  she  called  me  to  ask  some  questions 
about  the  mosaic  paper-work ;  and  as  I  stood  before  her 
Majesty,  the  King  set  a  chair  behind  me.  I  turned  with 
some  confusion  and  hesitation  on  receiving  so  great  an 
honour,  when  the  Queen  said,  '  Mrs.  Delaney,  sit  down, 
sit  down ;  it  is  not  every  lady  that  has  a  chair  brought 
her  by  a  King.'  So  I  obeyed.  Amongst  many  gracious 
things,  the  Queen  asked  me  why  I  was  not  with  the 
Duchess  when  she  came,  for  I  might  be  sure  she  would 
ask  for  me.  I  was  flattered,  though  I  knew  to  whom  I 
was  obliged  for  this  distinction,  and  doubly  flattered  by 
that.  I  acknowledged  it  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  and 
said  I  was  particularly  happy  at  that  moment  to  pay  my 
duty  to  her  Majesty,  as  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  see 
so  many  of  the  Royal  family,  which  age  and  obscurity 
had  deprived  me  of.  '  Oh,  but,'  said  her  Majesty,  '  you 
have  not  seen  all  my  children  yet.'  Upon  which  the 


230  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

King  came  up  and  asked  what  we  were  talking  about, 
which  was  repeated,  and  the  King  replied  to  the  Queen, 
'  You  may  put  Mrs.  Delaney  in  the  way  of  doing  that,  by 
naming  a  day  for  her  to  drink  tea  at  Windsor  Castle.' 
The  Duchess  of  Portland  was  consulted,  and  the  next  day 
fixed  upon,  as  the  Duchess  had  appointed  the  end  of  the 
week  for  going  to  Wey mouth." 

Mrs.  Delaney  writes  in  another  letter — "  Last  Saturday, 
the  llth  of  this  month  (Nov.,  1780),  about  one  o'clock, 
as  I  was  sitting  at  work  at  my  paper-mosaic,  in  my  working 
dress,  and  all  my  papers  littered  about  me,  the  Duchess 
Dowager  of  Portland  very  intent  at  another  table,  making 
a  catalogue  to  a  huge  folio  of  portrait-prints,  her  Grace's 
groom  of  the  chambers  announced  the  Queen  and  Princess 
Royal,  who  were  just  driven  into  the  court.  I  retired  to 
change  my  dress,  and  wait  for  a  summons,  should  her 
Majesty  send  me  her  commands.  The  Duchess  kept  her 
station,  to  receive  her  Royal  visitors,  and  I  was  soon  sent 
for,  which  gave  me  the  opportunity  I  so  much  had  wished, 
and  my  acknowledgments  were  most  graciously  accepted.* 
The  Queen  stayed  till  past  three,  and  left  us  (though  no 

*  Here  Mrs.  Delaney  alludes  to  a  circumstance  named  in  the  same 
letter.  "And  now,  as  I  know  you  take  pleasure  in  what  gives  me 
pleasure,  and  does  me  honour,  I  must  tell  you  of  our  amiable,  gracious 
Queen's  politeness,  and,  I  may  presume  to  add,  kindness  to  me.  She 
was  told  I  had  a  wish  for  a  lock  of  her  hair ;  she  sent  me  one  with 
her  own  Koyal  fingers.  She  heard  (for  she  was  not  asked  for  either) 
that  I  wished  to  have  one  of  Mrs.  Port's a  boys  in  the  Charterhouse, 
and  she  gave  her  commands  that  one  of  my  little  nephews  should  be 
set  down  in  her  list.  You  will  easily  believe  I  was  anxious  to  make 
my  proper  acknowledgments,  and  under  some  difficulty  how  to  do  it, 
as  I  am  unable  to  pay  my  duty  in  the  drawing-room.  Fortunately  an 
agreeable  opportunity  came  in  my  way  "  (the  one  described  above). — 
Letter  of  Mrs.  Delaney  to  Mrs.  Frances  Hamilton. 
*  Mrs.  Delaney's  niece. 


CHAELOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  231 

strangers  to  her  excellences),  in  admiration  of  her  good 
sense,  affability  blended  with  dignity,  and  her  entertaining 
conversation.  So  much  propriety,  so  excellent  a  heart, 
such  true  religious  principles,  give  a  lustre  to  her  royalty 
that  crowns  and  sceptres  cannot  bestow." 

Mrs.  Delaney  describes  this  visit  in  these  words: — 
"  We  went  at  the  hour  appointed,  seven  o'clock,  and  were 
received  in  the  lower  private  apartment  at  the  Castle; 
went  through  a  large  room  with  great  bay-windows,  where 
were  all  the  Princesses  and  youngest  Princes,  with  their 
attendant  ladies  and  gentlemen.  We  passed  on  to  the 
bedchamber,  where  the  Queen  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  with  Lady  AVeymouth  and  Lady  Charlotte  Finch. 
(The  King  and  the  eldest  Princes  had  walked  out.)  When 
the  Queen  took  her  seat,  and  the  ladies  their  places,  she 
ordered  a  chair  to  be  set  for  me  opposite  to  where  she 
sat,  and  asked  me  if  I  felt  any  wind  from  the  door  or 
window  ?  It  was  indeed  a  sultry  day. 

"  At  eight  o'clock,  the  King,  &c.,  came  into  the  room, 
with  so  much  cheerfulness  and  good  humour,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  feel  any  painful  restriction.  It  was  the 
hour  of  the  King  and  Queen,  and  eleven  of  the  Princes  and 
Princesses,  walking  on  the  Terrace.  They  apologized  for 
going,  but  said  the  crowd  expected  them ;  but  they  left 
Lady  Weymouth*  and  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield  to  enter- 
tain us  in  their  absence.  We  sat  in  the  bay-window,  well 
pleased  with  our  companions,  and  the  brilliant  show  on 
the  Terrace,  on  which  we  looked,  the  band  of  music  playing 
all  the  time  under  the  window.  When  they  returned,  we 
were  summoned  into  the  next  room  to  tea,  and  the  Royals 
began  a  ball,  and  danced  two  country-dances  to  the  music 

*  Lady  Weymouth  was  daughter  of  the  Duchess  Dowager  of 
Portland, 


232  THE   EOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

of  French-horns,  bassoons,  and  hautboys,  which  were  the 
same  that  played  on  the  Terrace.  The  King  came  up  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  said  he  was  sure,  when  he  considered 
how  great  an  effort  it  must  be  to  play  that  kind  of  music 
so  long  a  time  together,  that  he  would  not  continue  their 
dancing  there ;  but  that  the  Queen  and  the  rest  of  the 
company  were  going  to  the  Queen's  house,  and  that  they 
should  renew  their  dancing  there,  and  have  proper  music." 

Another  letter  from  Bulstrode  contains  this  passage: — 

"  On  Saturday,  the  1st  of  this  month,  the  Queen,  Prin- 
cess Royal,  and  Princess  Augusta,  came  here  to  wish  the 
Duchess  Dowager  of  Portland  joy  of  the  marriage  of  Miss 
Thynne  (Lady  Weymouth's  eldest  daughter)  with  the 
Earl  of  Aylesford.  She  is  as  amiable  as  beautiful ;  and  as 
he  bears  an  exceedingly  good  character,  I  hope  he  will 
prove  worthy  of  her. 

"  The  Queen,  &c.,  came  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  caught 
me  at  my  spinning-wheel  (the  work  I  am  now  reduced  to), 
and  made  me  spin  on,  and  give  her  a  lesson  afterwards ; 
and  I  must  say,  she  did  it  tolerably  well  for  a  Queen.  She 
stayed  till  three  o'clock  ;  and  now  I  suppose  our  Royal 
visits  are  over  for  this  year." 

The  following  letter  was  enclosed  in  one  from  which 
the  preceding  extract  has  been  taken  (dated  December  9th, 
1781)  :— 

"  On  Tuesday  morning,  at  a  quarter  before  ten,  the  Duchess 
of  Portland  stept  into  her  chaise,  and  I  had  the  honour  of 
attending  her.  We  went  to  Garrat's- cross,  about  the 
middle  of  the  Common,  by  the  appointment  and  command 
of  the  King,  who  came,  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after, 
with  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  a  large  retinue.  His  Majesty 
came  up  immediately  to  the  Duchess  of  Portland's  carriage, 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  233 

most  gracious,  and  delighted  to  see  the  Duchess  out  so 
early.  The  Queen  was  there,  with  the  two  eldest  Prin- 
cesses and  Lady  Courtown,*  in  a  post-coach  and  four. 
The  King  came  with  a  message  from  the  Queen  to  the 
Duchess  of  Portland,  to  say  her  Majesty  would  see  her 
safe  back  to  Bulstrode,  and  breakfast  with  her  Grace.  The 
Duke  of  Cumberland  was  there,  and  a  great  many  carriages, 
and  many  of  our  acquaintance :  amongst  them,  Lady  Mary 
Forbes  and  her  family.  She  took  three  rooms  at  the  Bull 
Inn,  and  breakfasted  thirty  people.  The  King  himself 
ordered  the  spot  where  the  Duchess  of  Portland's  chaise 
should  stand,  to  see  the  stag  turned  out.  It  was  brought 
in  a  cart  to  that  place  by  the  King's  command.  The  stag 
was  set  at  liberty,  and  the  poor  trembling  creature  bounded 
over  the  plain,  in  hopes  of  escaping  from  his  pursuers  ;  but 
the  dogs  and  the  hunters  were  soon  after  him,  and  all  out 
of  sight. 

"  The  Duchess  of  Portland  returned  home,  in  order  to 
be  ready  to  receive  the  Queen,  who  immediately  followed, 
before  we  could  pull  off  our  bonnets  and  cloaks.  We  re- 
ceived her  Majesty  and  the  Princesses  on  the  steps  at  the 
door.  She  is  so  condescending  and  gracious,  that  she 
makes  everything  perfectly  easy.  We  got  home  a  quarter 
before  eleven  o'clock — her  Majesty  stayed  till  two.  In 
her  return  back  to  Windsor,  she  met  the  chase,  and  was 
at  the  taking  of  the  stag :  they  would  not  let  the  dogs 
kill  him. 

"  On  Wednesday  the  Duchess  of  Portland  intended  to 
go  to  return  the  Queen  thanks  for  the  honour  she  had 
done  her ;  we  were  to  set  out  early.  I  dressed  my  head 

*  Mary,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Richard  Fowls,  of  Hurdlesham 
Hall,  in  Suffolk,  married  James,  the  second  Earl  of  Courtown, 


234  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

for  the  day  before  breakfast,  when  a  letter  arrived  from 
Miss  Hamilton,*  from  the  Queen's  lodge,  to  me,  with  a 
message  from  the  King,  to  desire  we  would  not  come  till 
Thursday  evening,  at  eight  o'clock,  as  he  could  not  be  at 
home  till  then.  Accordingly  we  went ;  were  there  at  the 
appointed  hour.  The  King  and  Queen  and  the  Princesses 
received  us  in  the  drawing-room,  to  which  we  went 
through  the  concert-room.  Princess  Mary  took  me  by 
the  left  hand,  Princess  Sophia  and  the  sweet  little  Prince 
Octavius  took  me  by  the  right  hand,  and  led  me  after 
the  Duchess  of  Portland  into  the  drawing-room.  The 
King  nodded  and  smiled  upon  my  little  conductors,  and 
bid  them  lead  me  up  to  the  Queen,  who  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  room.  When  we  were  all  seated  (for  the 
Queen  is  so  gracious  she  will  always  make  me  sit  down), 
the  Duchess  of  Portland  sat  next  to  the  Queen,  and  I  sat 
next  to  the  Princess  Eoyal.  On  the  other  side  of  me  was  a 
chair,  and  his  Majesty  did  me  the  honour  to  sit  by  me. 
He  went  backwards  and  forwards  between  that  and  the 
music-room ;  he  was  so  gracious  as  to  have  a  good  deal  of 
conversation  with  me,  particularly  about  Handel's  music, 
and  ordered  those  pieces  to  be  played  which  he  found  I 
gave  a  preference  to.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  the 
Queen  changed  places  with  the  Princess  Eoyal,  saying,  most 
graciously,  she  must  have  a  little  conversation  with  Mrs. 
Delaney,  which  lasted  about  half  an  hour.  She  then  got 
up,  it  being  half  an  hour  after  ten,  and  said  she  was  afraid 
she  should  keep  the  Duchess  of  Portland  too  late,  and 
made  her  courtesy,  and  we  withdrew.  There  was  nobody 
but  their  attendants,  and  Lord  and  Lady  Courtown. 
Nothing  could  be  more  easy  and  agreeable." 

*  Afterwards  Mrs.  Dickinson. 


CHAELOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  235 

Another  letter,  to  Mrs.  Frances  Hamilton,  dated  from 
Bulstrode,  December  17,  1782,  runs  thus : — 

"  The  Queen  made  a  morning  visit  here  about  three 
weeks  ago,  and  brought  only  Lady  Dartrey*  with  her. 
The  Duchess  paid  her  duty  in  return,  at  the  Queen's  lodge, 
and  I  had  the  honour  of  accompanying  her.  The  Queen 
was  quite  alone,  in  her  dressing-room:  her  dress  was 
simple  and  elegant,  a  pale  lilac  satin.  She  added  dig- 
nity to  her  dress  by  her  most  gracious  manner  of  con- 
versing. She  was  making  fringe  in  a  frame,  and  did  me 
the  honour  to  show  me  how  to  do  it,  and  to  say  she 
would  send  me  such  a  frame  as  her  own,  as  she  thought  it 
was  a  work  that  would  not  try  my  eyes.  We  were  dis- 
missed at  three  o'clock ;  and  as  we  were  going  to  the 
chaise,  we  met,  in  the  passage,  the  King  and  his  grey- 
hounds just  returned  from  coursing.  He  told  the  Duchess 
that  he  could  not  part  with  her  so ;  but  we  must  both 
make  him  a  visit,  and  opened  the  door  for  us  to  go  with 
him  into  the  drawing-room.  The  Queen  soon  came  to  us, 
and  invited  us  back  to  her  apartment,  as  the  warmer 
place,  and  we  stayed  till  four  o'clock." 

*  *  *  * 

The  Prince  of  Wales's  birthday  in  1781,  when  he  came 
of  age,  was  celebrated  at  Windsor  with  much  rejoicing, 
and  the  Terrace  was  so  crowded  with  company  that  their 
Majesties  and  the  Princesses  were  obliged  to  retire  after 
walking  about  half  an  hour.  A  grand  review  was  held  in 
the  Park  next  day,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  Royal 
family  proceeded  to  St.  George's  Hall,  where  they  dined 
with  about  eighty  of  the  nobility.  In  the  evening  there 

*  The  Lady  Anne  Fermor,  daughter  of  Thomas,  first  Earl  of 
Pomfret,  married  Thomas,  Lord  Dartrey,  created  Lord  Viscount 
Cremome,  in  July,  1785. 


236  THE   EOTAL   PKINCESSES. 

was  a  grand  supper,  and  the  ball  was  kept  up  till  a  late 
hour.  Illuminations  and  bonfires  were  part  of  the  day's 
entertainments. 

The  first  appearance  in  public  of  Charlotte  Augusta 
Matilda  was  on  the  Queen's  birthday  the  year  following, 
1782,  at  the  drawing-room,  she  being  then  sixteen  years 
of  age.  On  that  occasion  the  Princess  Eoyal  opened  the 
ball  in  the  evening  with  her  brother,  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  who  wore  a  waistcoat  of  the  Queen's  own  em- 
broidering. 

Two  years  before,  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda  had 
become  sponsor  for  her  infant  brother,  Prince  Alfred,  who 
was  born  September  22,  1780 ;  it  was  the  misfortune  of 
their  Majesties  to  lose  this  sweet  child  August  20th, 
1782,  and  their  grief  was  no  doubt  shared  by  the  young 
Princess,  his  godmother.  This  was  not  a  solitary  be- 
reavement :  Louisa  Anne,  the  King's  sister,  died  about  the 
same  time,  of  a  lingering  consumption ;  and  another  of 
Charlotte's  sons,  Prince  Octavius,  fell  a  victim  to  the 
small-pox  at  Kew,  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  age,*  and  was 
interred  with  his  little  brother  in  the  chapel  of  Henry  the 
Seventh,  at  Westminster. 

A  more  joyful  event  could  scarcely  have  occurred  after 
so  many  domestic  losses,  than  the  birth  of  the  Princess 
Amelia,  the  youngest  of  the  six  daughters  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte, whose  sponsors  at  the  baptismal  font  were  the 
Princess  Eoyal,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  Princess 
Augusta :  the  child  was  named  after  her  great-aunt,  Amelia 
of  Hanover,  daughter  of  George  II. 

From  Mrs.  Delaney's  letter  to  Mrs.  F.  Hamilton,  dated 
Bulstrode,  October  the  10th,  1783,  the  following  extract 
is  too  pleasing  to  be  suppressed : — 
*  In  May,  1783. 


CHARLOTTE    AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  237 

"  In  a  few  days  after  our  arrival  here,  the  Duchess  of 
Portland  and  I  were  sitting  in  the  long  gallery,  very  busy 
with  our  different  employments,  when  without  any  cere- 
mony, his  Majesty  walked  up  to  our  table  unperceived 
and  unknown,  till  he  came  quite  up  to  us.  You  may  believe 
we  were  at  first  a  little  fluttered  with  his  Eoyal  presence ; 
but  his  courteous  and  affable  manner  soon  made  him  a  wel- 
come guest.  He  came  to  inform  the  Duchess  of  Portland 
of  the  Queen's  perfect  recovery  after  her  lying-in,  which 
made  him  doubly  welcome. 

"  Breakfast  was  called  for,  and  after  a  visit  of  two  hours, 
the  King  left  us.  About  a  week  after  this,  the  King  and 
Queen  came  together,  only  accompanied  by  Lady  Courtown. 
They  breakfasted  and  stayed  much  about  the  same  time. 
The  etiquette  is,  that  the  person  on  whom  such  an  honour 
is  conferred  goes  to  inquire  after  their  Majesties ;  but  the 
Queen  waived  that  ceremony,  and  desired  the  Duchess  not 
to  come  till  she  received  a  summons,  as  they  were  going 
to  St.  James's  for  some  days.  On  Thursday,  the  2nd  of 
October,  a  little  before  12  o'clock,  word  was  brought  that 
the  Royal  family  were  coming  up  the  park ;  and  immediately 
after,  two  coaches  and  six,  with  the  King  on  horseback,  and 
a  great  retinue,  came  up  to  the  hall-door.  The  company 
were,  the  King  and  Queen,  Princess  Eoyal,  Princess  Augusta, 
Princess  Elizabeth,  Princess  Mary,  and  Princess  Sophia — 
a  lovely  group,  all  dressed  in  white  muslin  polonaises,  white 
chip  hats  with  white  feathers,  except  the  Queen,  who  had  on 
a  black  hat,  and  cloak;  the  King  dressed  in  his  Windsor  uni- 
form of  blue  and  gold ;  the  Queen  attended  by  the  Duchess  of 
Ancaster,  who  is  mistress  of  the  robes,  and  Lady  Elizabeth 
Waldegrave,*who  attends  the  two  eldest  Princesses,  and  Mrs. 

*  Elizabeth  Laura,  daughter  of  James,  second  Earl  Waldegrave, 
by  Maria  (daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Walpole),  afterwards  Duchess  of 

B 


238  THE    EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

Goldsworthy,  who  is  sub-governess  to  the  three  younger 
Princesses.  The  King  had  no  attendants  but  the  equerries, 
Major  Digby  and  Major  Price.  They  were  in  the  drawing- 
room  before  I  was  sent  for,  where  I  found  the  King  and 
Queen  and  Duchess  of  Portland,  seated  at  a  table  in  the 
middle  of  the  room.  The  King,  with  his  usual  graciousness, 
came  up  to  me,  and  brought  me  forward,  and  I  found  the 
Queen  very  busy  in  showing  a  very  elegant  machine  to  the 
Duchess  of  Portland,  which  was  a  frame  for  weaving  of 
fringe  of  a  new  and  most  delicate  structure,  and  would  take  up 
as  much  paper  as  has  already  been  written  upon  to  describe 
it  minutely;  yet  it  is  of  such  simplicity  as  to  be  very 
useful.  You  will  easily  imagine  the  grateful  feeling  I  had 
when  the  Queen  presented  it  to  me,  to  make  up  some 
knotted  fringe  which  she  saw  me  about.  The  King, 
at  the  same  time,  said  he  must  contribute  something  to  my 
work,  and  presented  me  with  a  gold  knotting  shuttle  of 
most  exquisite  workmanship  and  taste ;  and  I  am  at  this 
time,  while  I  am  dictating  this  letter,  knotting  white  silk 
to  fringe  the  bag  which  is  to  contain  it. 

"  On  the  Monday  after,  we  were  appointed  to  go  to  the 
lodge  at  Windsor,  at  two  o'clock.  We  were  first  taken 
into  the  Duchess  of  Ancaster's  dressing-room ;  in  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  after,  to  the  King  and  Queen,  in  the  drawing- 
room,  who  had  nobody  with  them  but  Prince  Alverstaden, 
the  Hanoverian  minister,  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  the  Queen  speak  German,  and  I  may  say  it  was  the 
first  time  I  had  received  pleasure  from  what  I  did  not  un- 
derstand :  but  there  was  such  a  fluency  and  sweetness  in 
her  manner  of  speaking  it,  that  it  sounded  as  sweet  as 
Italian. 

Gloucester,  married  her  first  cousin,  George,  fourth  Earl  of  Walde- 
grave. 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  239 

"  There  were  two  chairs  brought  in  for  the  Duchess  of 
Portland  and  myself  to  sit  on  (by  order  of  their  Majesties), 
which  were  easier  than  those  belonging  to  the  room.  We 
were  seated  near  the  door  that  opened  into  the  concert- 
room.  The  King  directed  them  to  play  Handel  and 
Geminiani's  music,  which  he  was  graciously  pleased  to  say 
was  to  gratify  me.  These  are  nattering  honours.  I  should 
not  indulge  so  much  upon  this  subject,  but  that  I  depend 
upon  your  considering  it  proceeding  more  from  gratitude 
than  vanity.  The  three  eldest  Princesses  came  into  the 
room  in  about  half  an  hour  after  we  were  seated.  All  the 
Royal  family  were  dressed  in  uniform  for  the  demi-saison, 
of  a  violet-blue  armozine,  gauze  aprons,  &c.  &c. ;  the 
Queen  had  the  addition  of  a  great  many  fine  pearls. 

"When  the  concert  of  music  was  over,  the  young 
Princess  Amelia,  nine  weeks  old,  was  sent  for,  and  brought 
in  by  her  nurse  and  attendants.  The  King  took  her  in  his 
arms,  and  presented  her  to  the  Duchess  of  Portland  and 
to  me.  Your  affectionate  heart  would  have  been  delighted 
with  the  Royal  domestic  scene — an  example  worthy  of  imi- 
tation by  all  ranks,  and,  indeed,  adding  dignity  to  their  high 
station.  We  were  at  Bulstrode  before  five,  and  very  well 
after  our  expedition.  I  am  afraid  you  will  be  much  more 
tired  than  we  were,  in  travelling  through  this  long  narration. 
If  it  affords  any  amusement  to  our  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Anne 
Hamilton,  as  well  as  to  yourself,  it  will  give  much  satis- 
faction to  my  dear  Mrs.  F.  Hamilton's  most  affectionate 
and  obliged  friend, 

"M.  DELASEY." 

The  Royal  family  has  always  manifested  a  remarkable 
taste  for  theatricals.  Mrs.  Siddons,  by  her  unrivalled 
talents,  drew  the  King  and  Queen,  with  the  children,  often  to 

B2 


240  THE   EOTAL  PKINCESSES. 

the  theatre.  On  one  occasion,  when  she  was  performing  in 
the  character  of  Euphrasia,  a  voice  from  the  upper  gallery 
disturbed  the  house  by  crying  out — "  Your  Majesty  had 
the  goodness  to  promise  me  one  of  your  blessed  Princesses 
in  marriage."  Such  an  uproar  was  created  by  this  breach 
of  decorum,  that  the  individual  who  had  been  guilty  of  it 
made  his  escape.  Shortly  after,  Mrs.  Siddons  had  an  inter- 
view with  their  Majesties  at  Buckingham  House,  and  at 
their  express  desire  undertook  to  instruct  the  two  younger 
Princesses  in  reading  and  enunciation. 

1784. — At  the  grand  festival  held  in  honour  of  Handel, 
at  Westminster  Abbey,  their  Majesties  were  present, 
May  26.  .  Prince  Edward  and  the  Princess  Eoyal  sat  on 
the  King's  right,  and  the  Princesses  Augusta,  Elizabeth, 
and  Sophia,  on  the  Queen's  left  hand;  the  box  being 
superbly  ornamented  with  crimson  velvet. 

At  the  Pantheon,  where  the  festival  was  renewed  the 
following  evening,  their  Majesties  and  three  of  the  Prin- 
cesses again  visited  the  performance.  On  the  29th,  when 
the  "  Messiah"  was  performed  in  the  Abbey,  five  of  the 
Eoyal  sisters  accompanied  their  august  parents,  and  evi- 
dently enjoyed  the  grand  musical  treat. 

August  29th,  1785.— The  King  and  Queen,  with  their 
five  daughters,  visited  the  race-course  at  Egham  "  without 
guards  or  ceremony,"  and  were  received  by  the  Duke  of 
Queensberry,  who  gave  them  an  account  of  the  horses  that 
were  to  run.  The  Lord  Mayor  and  Lady  Mayoress  had 
some  conversation  with  their  Majesties,  after  which  the 
King  appeared  on  the  ground  on  horseback,  and  conversed 
with  the  clerk  of  the  course  at  different  intervals  with 
much  condescension.  During  this  time  the  Queen,  the 
Princess  Eoyal,  and  Princess  Elizabeth  were  in  an  open 
landau,  and  the  three  younger  Princesses  in  a  coach. 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  241 

Their  Majesties  partook,  while  on  the  field,  of  a  plain 
repast  of  cold  beef,  ham,  and  veal ;  and  on  their  departure 
expressed  themselves  much  pleased  with  the  day's  sport. 

Again,  in  another  letter,  dated  from  Bulstrode,  June  22, 
1784,  Mrs.  Delaney  addresses  Mrs.  Frances  Hamilton  in 
these  words : — "  Now,  according  to  my  usual  custom,  I 
must  give  you  an  a'ccount  of  my  past  life  and  actions 
regarding  Royal  favours.  As  soon  as  the  bitterness  of 
winter  was  over,  I  received  the  King  and  Queen's  com- 
mands to  attend  the  Duchess  of  Portland  to  the  Queen's 
house,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  :  there  was  no  com- 
pany there  but  the  five  Princesses  and  Lady  Charlotte 
Finch.  There  was  a  concert  of  music  in  the  next  room, 
which  (the  door  being  open)  we  heard  in  a  very  agreeable 
manner.  The  King  walked  backwards  and  forwards  be- 
tween the  rooms,  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation  with 
the  Duchess  of  Portland,  and  did  me  the  honour  of  sharing 
in  it  sometimes. 

"  We  had  much  talk,  particularly  about  music  ;  and  his 
Majesty  condescended  to  order  those  pieces  of  music  to  be 
played  that  he  called  my  favourites.  The  Duchess  of 
Portland  sat  on  the  Queen's  right  hand,  and  I  on  her 
left.  Her  Majesty  talked  a  great  deal  to  me  about  books, 
especially  about  those  on  religion,  and  recommended  to 
me  an  '  Explanation  of  the  Four  Evangelists,'  translated 
from  the  German.  The  next  morning  she  sent  me  a 
present  of  the  work,  in  three  volumes. 

"  The  old  14th  of  May,  which  my  dear  and  valuable 
friends  in  Ireland  so  often  made  a  day  of  delight  to  me, 
is  not  quite  laid  aside :  my  young  niece,  Port,  takes  upon 
her  every  year,  on  its  return,  to  invite  a  select  set  of  com- 
pany, not  exceeding  six  persons,  to  dine  with  me.  On 
the  last,  a  summons  was  sent  to  me  from  their  Majesties, 


242  THE   EOYAX  PEINCESSES. 

that,  as  they  were  informed  it  was  my  birthday,  they 
must  see  me ;  and  I,  with  the  Duchess  of  Portland,  obeyed 
their  commands  that  evening.  Nobody  there  but  the 
Koyal  family,  Lady  Charlotte  Finch,  and  Lady  Wey- 
mouth,  who  was  the  Lady  of  the  Bedchamber  in  Waiting. 
It  does  not  become  me  to  say  the  gracious,  kind,  and 
nattering  manner  with  which  they  received  me.  The 
Queen  ordered  Lady  Weymouth  to  tie  about  my  neck  a 
small  medallion  of  the  King,  set  round  with  brilliants. 
The  resemblance,  which  is  very  great,  and  the  gracious 
manner  in  which  it  was  done,  made  it  invaluable. 

"  I  cannot  enter  into  a  long  detail  of  the  commemora- 
tion of  Handel,  performed  in  Westminster  Abbey.  The 
effect  was  wonderful ;  and  I  had  the  courage  (having  a 
very  easy  opportunity  of  going  into  the  Abbey)  of  hearing 
it  four  times.  Yesterday  morning,  their  Majesties,  only 
accompanied  by  Lady  Louisa  Clayton,  breakfasted  here. 
Thus  ends  the  history  and  letter  of  my  dear  Mrs.  P. 
Hamilton's  most  affectionate,  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

"M.  DELANEY." 

On  Monday,  October  15th,  1785,  their  Majesties, 
with  the  Princes  Ernest  Augustus  and  Adolphus,  the 
Princess  Eoyal,  Princesses  Augusta  and  Elizabeth,  paid  a 
visit  to  Lord  and  Lady  Harcourt,  at  Nuneham,  with  the 
intention  of  returning  to  Windsor  the  same  evening ;  but 
the  conversation  happening  to  turn  upon  Oxford,  and  the 
Queen  saying  she  should  like  to  see  a  place  of  which  she 
had  heard  so  much,  it  was  resolved  to  go  thither,  in  a  pri- 
vate manner,  the  next  day.  Accordingly,  the  Koyal  party 
slept  at  Nuneham  that  night ;  and  on  Tuesday  morning, 
about  ten  o'clock,  their  Majesties,  with  their  children,  and 
the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Harcourt,  arrived  at  Oxford  in 


CHAHLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  243 

five  carriages,  and  passing  through  the  fields  behind 
Merton  College,  alighted  at  Christ  Church,  and  entering 
the  cathedral  at  prayer  time,  took  their  seats  during 
Divine  service ;  after  which,  they  were  conducted  to  the 
hall,  the  dean's  apartments,  and  the  library.  From  Christ 
Church  they  proceeded  to  Corpus  Christi  College,  where 
Dr.  Dennis,  the  Vice- Chancellor,  and  President  of  St. 
John's,  preceded  by  the  beadles,  with  their  staves  in- 
verted, paid  his  respects  to  their  Majesties,  and  attended 
them  to  Merton  College,  and  thence  to  the  Eadclivian 
Library.  Their  Majesties  from  thence  entered  the  public 
schools,  at  the  eastern  gates,  and  passing  through  the 
divinity  school,  were  ushered  into  the  theatre,  where  the 
heads  of  houses,  and  the  doctors  in  their  several  faculties, 
were  already  assembled.  In  the  area  of  this  magnificent 
room  the  Eoyal  family  were  seated  for  some  time ;  and 
the  Vice-Chancellor,  with  the  several  heads  of  colleges, 
and  the  proctors,  had  the  honour  of  kissing  their  Majes- 
ties' hands.  The  Bodleian  Library  was  next  visited,  and 
from  thence  the  Royal  party  were  conducted  to  the  pic- 
ture-gallery ;  after  which  they  saw  the  Pomfret  and  Arun- 
delian  marbles,  and  the  music-school,  where  the  professor 
had  the  honour  of  kissing  hands.  On  leaving  these  public 
edifices,  their  Majesties  went  to  see  the  chapel  and  library 
at  New  College;  from  whence  they  passed  through  the 
gardens  into  the  library,  chapel,  and  hall  of  St.  John's,  and 
next  to  the  Observatory.  From  this  place  the  Eoyal  family 
proceeded  to  the  council-chamber,  where  the  Mayor  and 
Corporation  of  Oxford  attended  to  pay  their  respects  to 
the  Eoyal  visitors ;  and  the  former  had  the  honour  of 
knighthood  conferred  upon  him.  Their  Majesties  from 
thence  visited  All  Souls,  Queen's,  and  Magdalen  Colleges  j 
and  having  seen  the  chapels,  libraries,  and  whatever  was 


244  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

most  worthy  of  observation,  they  quitted  Oxford  for  Lord 
Harcourt's,  where  an  elegant  cold  collation  waited  their 
arrival ;  and  they  set  out  for  Windsor  about  seven  the 
same  evening. 

The  death  of  Prince  George  of  Mecklenburg  caused  the 
celebration  of  the  Queen's  birthday  to  be  postponed  to  the 
9th  of  February,  he  being  her  youngest  brother.  When 
the  birthday  was  kept  on  that  day,  dancing  was  kept  up 
in  the  evening  till  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  at 
which  hour  their  Majesties  and  the  Princesses  retired. 

Private  theatricals  becoming  fashionable  in  1786,  they 
were  patronized,  among  others,  by  the  Duke  of  Richmond, 
at  whose  house,  which  was  always  crowded,  the  theatre 
was  more  than  once  honoured  with  the  Royal  presence. 
Their  Majesties,  with  five  Princesses,  went  the  first  time 
to  see  Murphy's  comedy  of  "  The  Way  to  Keep  Him ;" 
and  the  last,  Mrs.  Centlivre's  play  of  "  The  Wonder ;  or, 
a  Woman  keeps  a  Secret." 

An  interesting  event  at  this  time  occurred  in  the 
fashionable  world — the  baptism  of  the  infant  daughter  of 
the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  April  27th,  1787.  She  was  born 
after  a  period  of  sixteen  years  had  elapsed  without  the 
Countess  adding  to  her  family.  The  baptismal  ceremony 
took  place  at  his  lordship's  residence  in  Arlington-street, 
and  was  performed  in  the  evening  with  much  splendour, 
their  Majesties  and  the  Princess  Royal  having  undertaken 
to  become  sponsors  for  the  babe,  and  attending  in  person 
on  the  interesting  occasion,  when  every  preparation  had 
been  made  to  do  honour  to  the  Royal  guests. 

The  King  and  Queen,  with  the  Princess  Royal,  "  having 
arrived  in  their  chairs,  were  ushered  into  the  baptismal 
chamber,  where,  according  to  etiquette,  the  Countess  sat 
up  in  bed  to  receive  them ;  this  bed  was  of  green  damask, 


CHAELOTTE   AT7GUSTA   MATILDA.  245 

with  flowers  in  festoons,  and  line*!  with  orange-coloured 
silk,  the  counterpane  of  whita  satin. 

"  Her  Majesty  was  dressed  in  dark  green,  covered  with 
silver  gauze,  and  ornamented  with  the  greatest  profusion 
of  diamonds  perhaps  ever  seen  at  one  time,  with  which, 
indeed,  her  head  was  literally  covered ;  and  his  Majesty 
was  also  superbly  dressed.  All  the  rank  and  fashion  in 
London  connected  with  the  noble  families  of  Hill  and  Cecil 
were  assembled  to  witness  the  interesting  spectacle.  His 
Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  performed  the  bap- 
tismal ceremony.  Her  Majesty  received  the  child  from 
Lady  Essex,  and  the  Archbishop  received  it  from  her 
Majesty,  who  named  it  Georgiana  Charlotte  Augusta. 
Their  Majesties  stayed  till  a  late  hour,  during  which  time, 
as  was  the  custom,  none  of  the  company  sat  down.  The 
Eoyal  party  returned  with  the  usual  formalities." 

Not  long  after  occurred  the  memorable  attempt  on  the 
King's  life  by  Margaret  Nicholson,  which  must  have  been 
a  trial  to  the  hearts  of  the  Royal  mother  and  daughters — 
happily  his  Majesty  escaped  injury. 

On  the  15th  of  August,  a  second  visit  was  paid  by  their 
Majesties  and  the  three  eldest  Princesses  to  the  noble 
owners  of  Nuneham,  where  they  reviewed  the  improve- 
ments taking  place  there ;  and  on  the  next  morning,  Sun- 
day, after  having  attended  Divine  service  at  Nuneham,  the 
King,  Queen,  and  Princesses  set  out  for  Oxford.  They 
arrived  there  at  half-past  one  o'clock,  and  were  received 
by  the  Vice-Chancellor,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  and  the 
officers  of  the  University,  who  ushered  them  into  the 
Divinity  School,  from  whence  in  grand  procession  they 
entered  the  theatre,  where  the  King  took  the  Chancellor's 
chair,  the  Queen  and  the  Princesses  being  seated  at  his 
right  hand.  After  a  voluntary  had  been  played  on  the 


246  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

organ,  the  Vice-Chancellor  approached  the  throne,  with  an 
address  on  his  Majesty's  happy  deliverance ;  to  which  the 
King  made  this  reply: — 

"  Such  dutiful  sentiments  on  my  second  visit  to  this 
seat  of  learning,  accompanied  by  affectionate  congratula- 
tions on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  manifested 
by  the  failure  of  the  attempt  on  my  life,  call  forth  my 
warmest  thanks.  I  am  not  less  sensible  of  your  expres- 
sions towards  the  Queen.  The  University  of  Oxford  may 
ever  depend  on  my  inclination  to  encourage  every  branch 
of  science  ;  as  the  more  my  subjects  are  enlightened,  the 
more  they  must  be  attached  to  the  excellent  constitution 
established  in  this  realm." 

This  reply,  all  unpremeditated  as  it  was,  and  uttered  in 
a  feeh'ng  and  impressive  manner,  sensibly  affected  all  who 
were  present. 

On  leaving  the  theatre,  the  Royal  party  went  to  take 
a  second  view  of  the  New  College  and  its  beautiful  win- 
dows ;  after  which  they  visited  Wadham  and  Trinity  Col- 
leges, at  which  last  they  partook  of  an  elegant  collation 
in  the  hall.  From  thence  they  went  to  Lincoln  and 
Brazenose  Colleges,  and  next  to  the  council  chamber  of 
the  city,  to  receive  the  Corporation  with  their  address. 
After  inspecting  the  library  and  pictures  at  Christ  Church, 
the  Royal  party  returned  to  Nuneham  to  dinner,  about 
six  o'clock.  The  next  morning  their  Majesties  honoured 
the  Duke  of  Marlborough  with  a  visit  at  Blenheim,  and, 
on  their  entrance  into  the  park  from  Woodstock,  were 
saluted  with  the  firing  of  eleven  cannon,  on  the  side  of  the 
great  lake.  The  Duke  and  Duchess,  with  their  family, 
awaited  the  arrival  of  the  Eoyal  visitors  on  the  steps  of 
the  grand  entrance,  and  conducted  them  through  the 
great  hall,  saloon,  and  suite  of  rooms  on  the  west  side,  to 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  247 

a  splendid  collation  prepared  for  them  in  the  library. 
Their  Majesties  proceeded  from  thence  to  view  the  prin- 
cipal apartments  of  that  noble  monument  of  national 
gratitude ;  after  which  they  drove  round  the  park,  and, 
having  surveyed  it  at  the  most  striking  points  of  view, 
they  alighted  near  the  cascade,  where  they  spent  some 
time  in  admiring  the  improvements  recently  made  by  the 
Duke,  who  received  many  compliments  from  his  august 
visitors  on  the  excellence  of  his  taste.  The  party  then 
returned  to  the  house,  where  they  spent  some  time  in 
examining  the  observatory,  with  its  ample  apparatus,  and 
then  took  leave  of  Blenheim  for  ISTuneham. 

On  the  27th  of  June  this  year,  their  Majesties,  accom- 
panied by  the  three  elder  Princesses,  and  the  Dukes  of 
Montague  and  Ancaster,  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Whitbread's 
brewery  in  Chiswell-street.  The  Eoyal  party  arrived  at  a 
quarter  before  ten,  which  had  been  the  hour  appointed, 
and  were  received  by  Mr.  and  Miss  Whitbread,  who  in- 
vited them  to  partake  of  a  breakfast  which  had  been  pro- 
vided. This  was  politely  declined,  and  their  Majesties 
spent  two  hours  in  viewing  the  works.  The  King  rapidly 
but  judiciously  explained  the  great  steam-engine  to  her 
Majesty  and  the  Princesses  in  all  its  parts.  The  great 
stone  cistern,  capable  of  containing  four  thousand  barrels 
of  beer,  was  next  examined,  with  which  the  Queen  and 
her  daughters  were  so  much  amused,  that  they  went  into 
it,  though  the  aperture  was  so  small  as  scarcely  to  admit 
their  entrance.  After  this  the  Eoyal  party  partook  of  a 
cold  collation,  accompanied  with  old  porter  poured  from  a 
bottle  of  extraordinary  size.  The  King,  advancing  by 
chance  to  a  window  overlooking  the  street,  was  received 
by  loud  shouts  of  affection  from  the  crowds  assembled 
without ;  and  the  Queen,  taking  her  daughters  by  the 


248  THE    EOTAL   PETKCESSES. 

hand,  led  them  herself  to  the  window,  where  they  were 
hailed  by  repeated  cheers  from  the  people.  At  two 
o'clock  they  departed,  much  pleased  with  their  hospitable 
reception  and  the  sight  they  had  enjoyed. 

The  King  being  advised  to  try  the  waters  of  Chelten- 
ham, Bayshill  Lodge*  was  taken  for  the  reception  of  the 
Royal  family ;  and  on  July  12th  their  Majesties,  with  the 
Princess  Royal,  Princesses  Augusta  and  Elizabeth,  set  out 
from  Windsor  at  a  quarter  before  seven  in  the  morning,  and 
proceeded  to  Lord  Harcourt's,  in  Oxfordshire,  where  they 
spent  about  two  hours,  and  afterwards  proceeded  to 
Cheltenham,  which  they  reached  a  little  before  five  in  the 
afternoon.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  a  sermon  was  preached 
by  Dr.  Samuel  Halifax,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  in  presence 
of  the  Royal  family,  at  the  parish  church.  The  King 
walked  and  drank  the  water  at  six  every  morning  during 
his  stay ;  after  breakfast  he  rode  with  the  Queen  and 
Princesses  on  excursions  round  the  country,  appearing 
again  on  the  walks  between  six  and  seven  in  the  evening. 

On  the  16th,  the  Royal  party  visited  Tewkesbury,  and 
viewed  the  inside  of  that  memorable  church  ;  on  the  19th 
they  went  to  Cirencester,  and  from  thence  to  Oakley 
Grove,  the  seat  of  Lord  Bathurst.  The  next  place  they 
honoured  by  a  visit  was  Gloucester,  where  their  Majesties 
and  the  three  Princesses  were  received  at  the  episcopal 
palace  by  the  Bishop,  who,  attended  by  the  Dean  and 
Chapter,  addressed  the  King  on  the  occasion,  as  also  did  the 
Mayor  and  Corporation,  all  of  whom  kissed  the  King's 
hand,  and  were  introduced  by  him  to  the  Queen.  Their 
Majesties  afterwards  visited  the  cathedral  and  the 
deanery,  where  the  King  entered  into  a  good  deal  of  con- 
versation with  the  Venerable  Dr.  Josiah  Tucker,  the 
*  Built  for  the  Earl  of  Falconberg. 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  249 

Dean,  who  made  many  apologies  for  the  unprepared  con- 
dition of  his  house,  and  particularly  the  library,  which 
was  indeed  in  a  ludicrous  state  of  confusion.  From 
thence  the  Eoyal  party  returned  to  the  palace  ;  and  after 
waiting  a  short  time  for  the  carriages,  returned  in  the 
afternoon  to  Cheltenham. 

"  On  the  following  Tuesday,  their  Majesties  and  the 
Princesses  dined  with  the  Earl  of  Coventry,  who  dis- 
played all  the  hospitality  of  the  ancient  nohility  in  the 
reception  of  his  illustrious  guests ;  for,  besides  the  splendid 
entertainment  within  the  house,  he  caused  the  cellar-doors 
to  be  thrown  open  to  regale  the  immense  multitudes  that 
were  assembled  on  the  outside. 

"  At  an  early  hour  on  the  2nd  of  August,  the  King  and 
Queen  rode  to  Hartlebury  Castle,  the  episcopal  residence  of 
Bishop  Hurd,  with  whom  they  breakfasted ;  after  which 
they  walked  through  the  grounds,  and  remained'for  some 
time  upon  the  terrace,  to  gratify  the  numerous  spectators 
who  flocked  thither  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  On 
the  5th,  their  Majesties  again  visited  the  Bishop  at  his 
palace  in  the  city,  for  the  purpose  of  attending  the 
musical  meeting  of  the  three  choirs  of  Worcester,  Glou- 
cester, and  Hereford.  The  next  morning  the  King  received 
the  clergy  in  the  great  hall,  when  the  Bishop,  after  ad- 
dressing his  Majesty,  made  a  complimentary  speech  to  the 
Queen,  who  replied  in  a  very  gracious  manner ;  after  which 
the  reverend  body  had  the  honour  to  kiss  her  hand,  as 
they  also  did  that  of  his  Majesty.  At  eleven  the  cathe- 
dral service  began,  in  which  was  introduced  the  overture 
in  'Esther,'  Handel's  Dettingen  Te  Deum,  and  the  Corona- 
tion Anthem.  Their  Majesties  sat  upon  an  occasional 
throne,  the  nobility,  clergy,  and  magistrates  being  disposed 
on  each  side.  Thursday  morning  the  Eoyal  family  were 


250  THE   EOYAL   PKINCESSES. 

again  present  at  the  cathedral,  when  a  selection  from  the 
music  of  Handel  was  most  ably  performed.  On  Friday 
morning  the  Corporation,  conducted  by  Lord  Coventry,  as 
the  Eecorder,  waited  on  the  King  to  request  that  he  would 
honour  them  with  a  visit  at  the  Town  Hall,  to  which  his 
Majesty  graciously  assented,'  and  a  grand  procession  ac- 
cordingly took  place ;  the  various  trades  with  their 
streamers  leading  the  way,  the  maces  borne  by  the  alder- 
men, and  the  Mayor  carrying  the  sword  of  State.  After 
viewing  the  pictures,  the  regalia,  and  everything  curious, 
his  Majesty  was  shown  into  the  grand  parlour,  where  an 
elegant  cold  collation  was  provided.  As  it  was  well 
known  that  the  King  never  took  any  liquor  before  dinner, 
the  Mayor  asked  him  if  he  would  be  pleased  to  take  a 
jelly,  when  his  Majesty  replied,  i  I  do  not  recollect  ever 
drinking  a  glass  of  wine  before  dinner  in  my  life,  yet, 
upon  this  pleasing  occasion,  I  will  venture.'  A  glass  of 
rich  old  mountain  being  then  served  by  the  Mayor,  his 
Majesty  immediately  drank  '  Prosperity  to  the  Corpora- 
tion and  citizens  of  Worcester.'  This  was  no  sooner 
made  known  to  the  populace,  than  a  universal  shout  of 
acclamation  arose,  which  continued  for  several  minutes. 
The  King,  then  addressing  himself  to  the  Corporation, 
asked  whether  there  was  anything  that  he  could  oblige 
them  with  ?  Upon  which  the  Earl  of  Coventry,  in  his 
capacity  of  Eecorder,  replied  on  the  behalf  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  'that  they  tendered  their  sincere  and  grateful 
thanks  for  the  honour  his  Majesty  had  done  the  city  of 
Worcester ;  and  that  if  he  would  be  graciously  pleased  to 
sit  for  his  picture  to  be  placed  in  their  Hall,  he  would 
gratify  their  highest  wishes.'  To  this  the  King  answered, 
*  Certainly,  gentlemen ;  I  cannot  hesitate  to  grant  you 
that  favour,  or  any  other  which  you  can  reasonably 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  251 

expect.'  The  picture  was  accqrdingly  sent;  and  two 
others,  one  of  the  King,  and  the  other  of  the  Queen,  as 
presents  to  the  Bishop  ;  by  whom  they  were  placed  in  the 
great  drawing-room  of  the  episcopal  palace,  with  a  com- 
memorative inscription,  written  by  his  lordship. 

"  The  visit  to  the  Corporation  being  ended,  the  Eoyal 
family  again  repaired  to  the  cathedral,  where  the  Messiah 
was  performed,  which  concluded  the  musical  festival ; 
and  in  the  evening  there  was  a  grand  miscellaneous 
concert,  which  the  Eoyal  visitors  honoured  with  their 
presence. 

"  The  next  morning  their  Majesties  and  the  Princesses 
left  Worcester,  and  at  going  away,  the  Queen  put  fifty 
pounds  into  the  hands  of  the  Bishop." 

Mrs.  Delaney  says,*  "  Since  I  last  wrote  to  you,  I  have 
had  an  intercourse  with  his  Majesty  again  by  way  of  letter, 
on  his  returning  the  books  of  Mr.  Handel's  music,  which 
my  nephew  J.  Dewes  had  lent  him. 

"  The  King's  letter  was  very  gracious  and  condescending: 
he  was  much  pleased  with  some  music  that  was  new  to  him 
among  the  books,  and  sent  his  acknowledgments  to  my 
nephew,  in  the  most  obliging  manner;  adding  that  he  would 
not  ask  me  to  come  and  hear  it  performed  at  the  Queen's 
house,  till  the  spring  was  so  far  advanced  that  it  might  be 
safe  for  me  to  venture.  On  Thursday,  the  9th  of  May,  I  re- 
ceived a  note  from  Lady  Weymouth,  to  tell  me  the  Queen 
invited  me  to  her  Majesty's  house ;  to  come  at  seven  o'clock 
with  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Portland,  to  hear  Mrs.  Sid- 
dons  read  '  The  Provoked  Husband.'  You  may  believe  I 
obeyed  the  Eoyal  summons,  and  was  much  entertained.  It 
was  very  desirable  to  me,  as  I  had  no  other  opportunity  of 
hearing  or  seeing  Mrs.  Siddons ;  and  she  fully  answered 

*  In  another  letter  to  Mrs.  F.  Hamilton,  dated  May  19,  1785. 


252  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

my  expectations ;  her  person  and  manner  were  perfectly 
agreeable. 

"  We  were  received  in  the  great  drawing-room  by  the 
King  and  Queen,  their  five  daughters,  and  Prince  Edward. 
Besides  the  Royal  family,  there  were  only  the  Duchess 
Dowager  of  Portland,  her  daughter  Lady  Weymouth,  and 
her  beautiful  granddaughter  Lady  Aylesford ;  Lord  and 
Lady  Harcourt,  Lady  Charlotte  Finch,  Duke  of  Montague, 
and  the  gentlemen  attendant  on  the  King.  There  were 
two  rows  of  chairs  for  the  company,  the  length  of  the 
room. 

"Their  Majesties  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  first  row,  with 
the  Princesses  on  each  hand,  which  filled  it.  The  rest  of 
the  ladies  were  seated  in  the  row  behind  them,  and  as 
there  was  a  space  between  that  and  the  wall,  the  lords  and 
gentlemen  that  were  admitted  stood  there.  Mrs.  Siddons 
read  standing,  and  had  a  desk  with  candles  before  her; 
she  behaved  with  great  propriety,  and  read  two  acts  of 
'  The  Provoked  Husband,'  which  was  abridged  by  leaving 
out  Sir  Francis  and  Lady  Wronghead's  parts,  &c. ;  but 
she  introduced  John  Moody 's  account  of  the  journey,  and 
read  it  admirably.  The  part  of  Lord  and  Lady  Townley's 
reconciliation  she  worked  up  finely,  and  made  it  very  af- 
fecting. She  also  read  Queen  Katherine's  last  speech  in 
'  King  Henry  VIII.'  She  was  allowed  three  pauses,  to 
go  into  the  next  room  and  refresh  herself,  for  half  an  hour 
each  time.  After  she  was  dismissed,  their  Majesties  de- 
tained the  company  some  time  to  talk  over  what  had 
passed,  which  was  not  the  least  agreeable  part  of  the 
entertainment. 

"  I  was  so  flattered  by  their  most  kind  reception  of  me, 
that  I  really  did  not  feel  the  fatigue,  notwithstanding,  I 
believe,  it  was  past  twelve  before  we  made  our  last  courtesy ; 


CHAKLOTTE    AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  253 

and  I  cannot  say,  though  that  was  a  very  late  hour  for 
me,  that  I  suffered  from  it,  and  I  had  tried  my  strength 
the  week  hefore  by  having  been  at  two  concerts. 

"  The  particular  account  you  have  sent  me  of  your 
agreeable  relations  (such  societies  are  rare)  was  very  de- 
lightful ;  and  you  flatter  me  very  much  when  you  say,  it 
puts  you  in  mind  of  ancient  days  at  Deville,  the  recollection 
of  which  will  ever  be  pleasant,  though  painful,  to  me.  I 
am  sorry  I  cannot  send  you  a  copy  of  the  letters  you  hint 
at,  but  I  have  refused  it  to  near  relations ;  and  though 
they  would  do  me  great  honour,  I  think  it  is  not  proper. 
I  could  depend  on  your  discretion,  but  not  on  every  one's 
in  whose  hands  they  might  fall.  The  Duchess  Dowager  of 
Portland  has  had  a  bad  cough,  but  is  now  better ;  always 
inquires  after  you  in  the  kindest  manner,  and  charges  me 
with  her  compliments.  Had  I  another  page,  I  could  fill 
it  with  her  goodness  to  me." 

On  September  8th,  1787,  an  individual  was  brought 
before  several  of  the  faculty  and  some  justices  of  the 
peace,  to  undergo  an  examination  of  some  length ;  when 
it  became  evident  from  what  transpired,  and  many 
marks  of  his  past  conduct,  that  he  was  afflicted  with 
insanity,  and  was  accordingly  ordered  to  be  confined  till 
further  orders  in  Bedlam  hospital.  The  man,  whose 
name  was  Thomas  Stone,  had  a  few  days  before  written  a 
very  extraordinary  letter  to  her  Majesty,  declaring  a  very 
warm  passion  he  had  conceived  for  her  eldest  daughter, 
and  hoping,  "if  their  Majesties  approved  of  the  idea  ot 
his  marrying  her,  he  and  the  Princess  Royal  would  be  a 
very  happy  couple !"  After  this,  Stone  appeared  at  St. 
James's,  and  begged  leave  to  be  introduced  in  form,  as, 
from  not  having  had  an  answer,  he  conceived  his  proposal 
was,  acceded  to.  Silence  gave  consent !  This,  however,  as 


254  THE   ROYAL  PRINCESSES. 

may  be  supposed,  was  not  much  attended  to  by  the  people 
to  whom  he  spoke.  On  his  going  afterwards  to  Kew,  he 
was  seized  and  confined  till  he  could  be  taken  to  the 
public  office  in  Bow-street  to  be  examined,  where  he  con- 
fessed that  he  had  conceived  an  attachment  for  her  Royal 
Highness ;  which  attachment  he  declared  was  reciprocal. 
A  great  many  papers  on  the  subject  of  love  were  found 
upon  him,  addressed  to  her  Highness  the  Princess  Eoyal. 
He  said  his  heart  was  stolen  from  him  three  years  ago, 
and  till  last  March  he  did  not  know  who  was  the  robber, 
till,  being  at  the  play,  he  saw  the  Princess  Boyal  look  up 
at  the  two-shilling  gallery.  The  following  are  the  lines 
which,  at  the  time  of  the  examination,  were  submitted  to 
the  critical  examination  of  Dr.  Munro,  and  which  Stone 
acknowledged  to  be  his  production : — 

TO   HER  HIGHNESS   THE   PRINCESS   ROYAL. 

Thrice  glad  were  I  to  be  your  willing  slave, 
But  not  the  captive  of  the  tool  or  knave ; 
With  woe  on  woe  you  melt  my  sighing  hreast, 
Whilst  you  reject  your  humble  would-be  guest. . 
August  22.  T.  S. 

Stone,  the  author  of  this  rodomontade  effusion,  was  a 
heavy-looking  man,  in  his  thirty-third  year,  a  native  of 
Shaftesbury,  where  his  father  was  a  floor-cloth  painter. 
He  had  himself  been  brought  up  as  an  attorney,  and  had 
an  uncle  named  Sutton  living  at  Islington.  He  wrote  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Delaval,  of  Pall-Mall,  saying  he  proposed 
a  plan  for  paying  off  the  National  Debt.  Not  only  his 
actions  but  conversation  were  evidence  of  his  lunacy. 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester  having  derived  much  benefit 
from  his  residence  at  Weymouth,  succeeded  in  providing 
a  residence  there  for  the  Royal  family ;  and  in  1789  the 
King  and  Queen,  with  the  three  eldest  Princesses,  paid 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  255 

their  first  visit  there.  They  started  from  Windsor  on  Mid- 
summer-day at  seven  in  the  morning,  the  Royal  cavalcade 
consisting  only  of  three  carriages  in  all.  In  the  first 
were  the  King  and  Queen,  with  the  Princess  Royal  and 
Princess  Augusta  Sophia.  The  second  contained  Princess 
Elizabeth,  Lady  Waldegrave,  and  two  other  ladies ;  the 
third,  some  of  their  attendants. 

The  Royal  route  was  through  the  forest  to  Bagshot,  and 
thence  by  Winchester  and  Southampton  to  Lyndhurst 
Lodge.  At  their  entrance  into  the  New  Forest,  their 
Majesties  received  the  customary  honours.  Sir  Charles 
Mills,  who  holds  the  manor  of  Langley  upon  condition  of 
presenting  his  Majesty,  whenever  he  passes  that  way, 
with  a  brace  of  white  greyhounds  in  silver  collars,  led  in 
a  silken  cord,  and  coupled  in  a  gold  chain,  attended  in 
due  form. 

After  spending  a  few  days  at  this  rural  retreat,  they 
pursued  their  journey  westward,  and  arrived  at  Weymouth. 
on  the  last  day  of  June,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  an 
innumerable  multitude,  who  thronged  the  roads,  anxious 
to  behold  their  Sovereign  and  his  family. 

The  Royal  arrival  was  announced  by  the  guns  of  the 
battery  facing  Gloucester  Lodge,  by  those  from  Portland 
Castle,  and  by  all  the  ships  in  Portland  and  Weymouth 
harbours,  with  their  colours  displayed.  In  the  evening 
there  was  a  splendid  illumination,  with  divers  decorations 
and  loyal  devices. 

During  their  stay  at  Weymouth  the  three  Princesses 
bathed  frequently,  and  received  much  pleasure  from  these 
ablutions. 

Lulworth  Castle,  Sherborne  Castle,  Milton  Abbey,  and 
Came  near  Dorchester,  were  honoured  with  the  earliest 
visits  by  the  Royal  guests. 

s  2 


256  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

Excursions  by  water  on  board  the  Magnificent,  a  74-gun 
ship,  and  the  Southampton  frigate,  which  constantly  rode 
at  anchor  for  the  purpose  facing  the  lodge,  were  very 
frequent ;  for  which  purpose  these  vessels  daily  held  them- 
selves in  readiness,  and,  upon  a  signal,  barges  were  de- 
spatched to  the  pier-head  to  take  the  Eoyal  family  and 
their  suite  alongside  the  men-of-war,  on  board  of  which 
they  entered  without  salute,  under  three  cheers,  the  ships 
being  manned. 

The  trips  were  generally  made  into  the  Channel,  whence 
their  return  was  about  four  in  the  afternoon  for  dinner, 
after  an  absence  of  about  six  hours. 

On  the  3rd  of  August,  the  Eoyal  family  made  an  excur- 
sion to  Lulworth  Castle,  on  board  the  Southampton  frigate, 
attended  by  the  Lords  Chesterfield,  Howe,  and  Courtown  ; 
the  Ladies  Pembroke,  Howe,  and  the  rest  of  the  suite.  A 
Eoyal  salute  from  the  guns  of  the  castle  welcomed  the 
arrival ;  and  upon  the  Eoyal  party's  entering  the  vestibule, 
the  grand  chorus  of  "  God  save  the  King,"  by  a  select 
band,  ushered  them  into  the  house. 

Mr.  Weld,  the  hospitable  owner  of  this  enchanting  spot, 
together  with  his  family,  paid  every  possible  attention,  and 
appeared  highly  sensible  of  the  honour  they  had  received  ; 
this  attention  was  most  condescendingly  repaid  by  their 
Majesties,  who  surveyed  every  part  of  the  pleasure-grounds, 
the  house,  gardens,  and  the  chapel,  where  an  anthem  was 
performed. 

The  Eoyal  party  returned  to  "Weymouth  much  gratified 
by  the  excursion,  and  the  day  was  closed  by  a  visit  to  the 
theatre,  where  a  farce  was  specially  ordered  to  be  per- 
formed. 

On  the  4th,  the  Eoyal  visitants  repaired  to  Sherborne 
Castle,  the  noble  seat  of  Lord  Digby,  where  an  equally 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  257 

grand  reception  awaited  them,  the  pleasure  of  the  visit 
being  in  no  small  degree  enhanced  by  the  beauties  of  the 
surrounding  scenery. 

Lord  Mount-Edgecumbe  arrived  at  Weymouth  the  day 
following  to  invite  the  Royal  family  to  his  charming  resi- 
dence in  Devonshire ;  and  the  King  with  ready  compliance 
set  off  on  the  13th,  with  his  Queen,  Princesses,  and  suite, 
for  Plymouth. 

On  arriving  at  Bridport,  the  Royal  party  were  received 
by  the  Corporation,  three  hundred  of  the  principal  inha- 
bitants of  the  town  preceding  his  Majesty's  carriage, 
singing  "God  save  the  King,"  accompanied  by  music, 
with  colours  flying. 

Triumphal  arches,  elegantly  ornamented,  were  erected 
at  the  entrances  of  the  town,  and  numerous  emblematical 
devices  accompanied  other  demonstrations  of  loyalty,  one 
of  which  was  tas-tefully  ornamented  with  wreaths  of 
roses,  laurels,  &c.,  and  bore  a  complimentary  inscription  of 
"Health  and  prosperity  to  the  House  of  Brunswick." 

At  Charmouth,  the  villagers  had  erected  a  high  tri- 
umphal arch  of  the  boughs  of  the  oak,  surmounted  by  an 
immense  crown  of  laurel ;  which  rustic  device  their  Ma- 
jesties and  the  Princesses  did  not  fail  to  admire. 

On  approaching  Honiton,  the  illustrious  travellers  met 
with  a  surprise  in  the  sudden  appearance  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  young  girls,  all  dressed  in  white,  who  quickly 
surrounded  the  Royal  carriages ;  which  interesting  scene 
drew  tears  of  sympathy  from  the  eyes  of  her  Majesty  and 
the  Princesses. 

After  one  day's  sojourn  at  Exeter,  the  Royal  tourists 
proceeded  towards  Plymouth,  visiting  Saltram,  the  seat  of 
Lord  Boringdon,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  Dukes  of 
York  and  Richmond. 


258  THE   EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  his  Majesty,  with  his 
family,  arrived  at  Plymouth  Dock,  were  they  were  re- 
ceived with  all  the  honours  of  a  garrison  town, 
and  immediately  afterwards  proceeded  in  barges,  in  grand 
naval  procession,  on  board  the  Impregnable,  of  ninety  guns, 
Admiral  Sir  Richard  Bickerton.  The  scene  was  rendered 
singular  by  the  novel  exhibition  of  a  very  handsome  man- 
of-war's  cutter,  rowed  by  six  young  women,  and  steered 
by  a  seventh,  all  habited  in  loose  white  gowns,  and  black 
bonnets,  each  wearing  a  sash  across  her  shoulder  of  Royal 
purple,  with  "  Long  live  their  Majesties"  in  gold  charac- 
ters. These  Devonshire  mermaids  attended  the  Royal 
barge  during  the  entire  excursion,  and  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  Royal  party. 

A  grand  naval  review  took  place  on  the  18th,  and  the 
Royal  party  on  the  following  day  visited  the  dockyard. 
A  visit  to  Mount  Edgecumbe  occupied  the  21st,  the 
views  around  that  spot  being  most  enchanting. 

On  this  occasion  the  Princess  Royal  observed  to  her 
sister  that  it  was  only  of  late  they  had  seen  the  beauties 
of  nature  to  perfection — that  their  lives  hitherto  had 
been  spent  rather  in  a  cloister  than  in  a  kingdom  abound- 
ing everywhere  with  such  lovely  prospects,  and  inhabited 
by  so  generous  a  people. 

Several  days  were  spent  in  these  and  similar  excursions, 
and  on  the  28th  the  Royal  party  returned  to  Wey mouth. 

It  was  early  in  the  year  1797  that  the  Hereditary 
Prince  of  Wurtemberg  made  his  first  formal  proposition 
of  marriage  to  the  Princess  Royal  of  England.  Frederick 
William  was  already  related  in  a  twofold  degree  to  the 
family  of  Brunswick.  His  great-grandfather,  Frederick  II., 
King  of  Prussia,  had  married  a  daughter  of  Greorge  I. ;  so 
that,  in  the  female  line,  he  was,  like  his  proposed  bride,  a 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  259 

descendant  of  Sophia  of  Hanover,  and  through  her,  of  the 
Koyal  house  of  Stuart.  He  was,  moreover,  a  widower, 
with  several  children,  the  offspring  of  Augusta  Caroline,  a 
daughter  of  the  Lady  Augusta,  Duchess  of  Brunswick, 
sister  of  George  III.  His  first  wife,  and  the  ill-starred 
Caroline,  wife  of  George  IV.,  were  sisters,  and  the  cousins 
of  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda,  the  Princess  Koyal.  The 
children  of  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Wurtemberg  were, 
therefore,  second  cousins  to  the  Royal  Princess  to  whom, 
their  father  now  proffered  his  hand.  Had  these  pre-existing 
ties  been  all,  they  needed  not  to  influence  the  contracting 
parties;  as  it  eventually  turned  out,  the  mother-in-law 
became  the  real  mother,  in  every  sense  that  could  be,  of 
the  family  into  which  she  was  received.  But  there  were 
circumstances  connected  with  the  history  of  the  first  wife 
of  Frederick  William,  which  were  considered  great  draw- 
backs on  the  proposed  alliance  in  the  eyes  of  the  parents 
of  the  Princess  Royal,  both  of  whom  entertained  the 
greatest  fear  of  their  daughter's  future  happiness,  in  the 
event  of  her  forming  such  a  connexion. 

Augusta  Caroline,  whose  romantic  and  sorrowful  history 
exceeds  even  that  of  her  sister-namesake,  the  Queen  of 
England,  was  married,  in  1780,  to  the  Prince  of  Wurtem- 
berg ;  she  being  then  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  her  age, 
and  her  husband  ten  years  older.  His  sister  marrying 
Paul,  son  of  Catherine  II.,  heir  to  the  Russian  empire, 
became,  at  a  subsequent  date,  mother  of  Alexander  of 
Russia.  The  Prince  of  Wurtemberg,  entering  through 
this  last  alliance  into  the  service  of  Russia,  had  repaired, 
some  time  after  his  own  marriage,  with  Augusta  Caroline 
and  three  children,  to  the  Russian  capital,  where  his  wife, 
by  her  youthful  attractions,  soon  became  a  favourite  with 
the  Empress,  whose  Court  was  not  likely  to  improve  her 


260  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

morality,  being  generally  admitted  as  one  of  the  most  dis- 
solute which  ever  existed.  There,  however,  her  husband 
imprudently  left  her,  during  his  campaign  against  the 
Turks.  Eeturning  to  her  again,  he  found  her  principles 
contaminated  by  this  atmosphere  of  impure  morals  she 
had  been  suffered  to  inhale,  and  her  conduct  the  com- 
ment of  every  idle  tongue.  The  indignant  but  too 
imprudent  husband  wrote  off  to  his  father-in-law,  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  for  advice  how  to  act,  giving  him  a 
full  account  of  his  daughter's  conduct.  To  remove  her 
from  Eussia  was  decided  in  the  correspondence  which 
ensued;  but  when  leave  was  asked  of  the  Empress,  Cathe- 
rine refused  to  allow  Augusta  Caroline  to  quit  her  Court, 
though  she  acceded  to  the  wish  of  the  Prince  as  regarded 
his  own  return  to  Wurtemberg  with  his  family.  There 
was  no  appeal — to  obey  the  mandate  of  the  Empress  was 
all  that  remained ;  and  the  Prince  returned  to  his  wifeless 
home,  accompanied  by  his  children.  A  fortnight  after,  all 
the  German  attendants  of  Augusta  Caroline  were  discarded 
by  Catherine's  orders,  and  their  unfortunate  mistress  sent 
to  the  castle  of  Lhorde,  two  hundred  miles  from  St. 
Petersburgh. 

Within  two  years,  a  letter  from  the  Empress  conveyed 
the  news  of  the  death  of  Augusta  Caroline  of  Brunswick 
to  her  husband,  and  a  similar  communication  was  for- 
warded to  the  bereaved  father.  Could  this  statement 
have  been  really  true  ?  asked  many  an  inquiring  mind.  So 
fair,  so  young  and  lovely  as  was  the  heroine  of  the  fatal 
tragedy  —  it  was,  indeed,  hard  to  yield  credence.  She 
might  yet  be  alive,  in  a  state  of  confinement ;  perhaps — 
as,  indeed,  her  mother,  the  aged  Duchess  of  Brunswick, 
stoutly  maintained — she  might  even  be  exiled  to  the  re- 
mote wilds  of  Siberia.  But  her  father  and  brother  were 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  261 

satisfied  of  the  contrary,  and  regarded  her  fate  as  certain ; 
while  the  Prince,  her  husband,  during  eight  weary  years 
from  the  time  of  her  death,  had  remained  a  widower. 
He  must  have  been  a  mourner  at  heart,  too ;  for  Augusta 
Caroline,  whatever  her  faults  might  have  been,  was  the 
mother  of  his  children,  and  it  was  a  sad  fate  for  one  so 
young — whether  guilty  or  innocent.  When  variances  in 
domestic  life  occur,  who  shall  determine  between  the  man 
and  wife — which  is  right,  which  is  wrong  ?  Like  many 
another  woman's  case,  that  of  the  Princess  Augusta  Caro- 
line had  two  sides  to  the  story.  One  of  these,  representing 
the  Duke  himself  as  the  injured  party,  and  Catherine  as 
causing  his  wife's  death,  has  been  already  related.  There 
is  yet  another  version.  This  declared  that  the  love  and 
esteem  of  the  whole  Eussian  Court  were  won  by  Augusta 
Caroline,  and  that  the  brutal  treatment  she  experienced 
from  her  husband  was  the  subject  of  general  animadver- 
sion ;  who  is  even  accused,  on  one  occasion,  of  having 
publicly  struck  her  in  presence  of  the  Empress.  That, 
instead  of  having  remained  in  Russia,  and  come  to  an  un- 
timely end  there,  the  Empress,  had  she  stayed  with 
her,  would  have  preserved  her  from  the  fate  which  im- 
pended over  her.  These  and  similar  stories  getting  into 
circulation,  implicated  the  character  of  the  Prince  in  no 
small  degree  in  this  transaction :  many  attributed  to  his 
influence  an  increased  severity  in  the  treatment  of  Cathe- 
rine towards  the  Princess.  The  Duchess  of  Brunswick's 
positive  assertion,  that  she  knew  her  daughter  was  still 
alive,  and  the  freedom  with  which  the  Princess  Caroline 
of  Wales,  then  recently  married,  opened  her  mind  on 
the  subject  when  it  was  brought  before  the  Eoyal  family 
of  England,  increased  the  unfavourable  light  in  which  the 
Eoyal  suitor  was  regarded,  and  indeed  brought  on  her- 


262  THE    EOTAL  PEINCESSES. 

self  no  small  displeasure  from  some  of  its  members  ;  for 
the  principal  person  concerned  in  the  proposed  alliance, 
the  Princess  Royal  herself,  was  favourably  inclined  to  the 
match.  It  became  therefore  a  very  serious  consideration 
with  their  Majesties  that,  before  any  answer  should  be 
given  to  the  suit,  the  character  of  the  Prince  of  Wurtem- 
berg should  be  thoroughly  cleared  from  any  imputation 
of  an  unfavourable  kind  which  had  become  attached  to  it. 
The  story  of  Augusta  Caroline,  their  niece,  in  itself  was 
enough  to  deter  them  from  allowing  their  daughter  to 
enter  upon  so  repugnant  a  match ;  but  as  much  as  was 
known  then  of  it  had  no  influence  in  dissuading  herself, 
any  more  than  the  joint  remonstrances  of  the  King  and 
Queen,  so  much  was  her  heart  involved  in  the  matter. 
Finding  this  the  case,  the  King  instituted  a  strict  inquiry 
into  the  various  particulars  connected  with  the  melancholy 
transaction ;  -and  though  the  consent  of  the  Princess  was 
accorded,  reserved  his  own  until  he  had  ascertained  the 
death  of  the  Princess  of  Wurtemberg  in  Russia,  when  he 
granted  his  own  formal  approval  of  a  match  which  seemed 
requisite  to  his  child's  happiness,  at  least,  in  her  own 
judgment. 

Matters  being  thus  far  satisfactorily  settled,  the  Here- 
ditary Prince  left  Wurtemberg  at  the  end  of  March,  and 
on  the  15th  April,  1797,  arrived  hi  London,  where  he  was 
waited  upon  by  several  persons  of  distinction,  and  the 
same  evening  introduced  to  their  Majesties  and  his  in- 
tended bride.  The  marriage,  however,  did  not  take  place 
till  nearly  a  month  afterwards.  On  the  17th  of  April 
the  Prince  set  out  on  a  tour  to  Bath,  Bristol,  Birming- 
ham, Oxford,  Portsmouth,  and  other  places,  which  it  was 
expected  would  occupy  three  weeks  of  the  interval.  His 


CHARLOTTE   ATJGUSTA  MATILDA.  263 

Serene  Highness  was  attended  by  Count  Zippelin,  Baron 
Goerlitz,  and  Sir  John  Hippesley. 

The  young  aspirants  to  bridal  honours  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  guessing  at  least  some  part  of  the  business 
which  had  to  be  transacted  in  the  intermediate  time: 
the  various  dresses  to  be  made,  the  ceremonials  to  be 
inquired  into,  the  order  of  precedency,  &c.  &c.,  the  brides- 
maids, and  every  other  paraphernalia  of  interest  in  the 
smallest  of  weddings.  And  how  much  more  so  when  the 
bride  is  a  Princess  Royal,  still  more  a  Princess  Royal  of 
England ! 

In  the  present  instance,  daughters  of  England,  who  do 
you  think  made  the  wedding  dress  ? — No  other  hands  than 
those  of  Queen  Charlotte  herself,  who  not  only  wrought 
the  robe,  but  helped  to  adorn  her  first-born  daughter  in 
it  on  the  eventful  morning  of  her  marriage.  As  a  King's 
eldest  daughter,  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda  was  entitled 
to  be  attired  in  a  dress  of  white  and  silver ;  but  by  another 
custom  it  appears  that  such  a  bride,  when  marrying  a 
widower,  was  required  to  appear  in  white  and  gold.  So 
the  robe  was  fashioned  as  etiquette  ordained  by  the  proper 
taste  of  the  Royal  designer,  and  the  taste  of  the  Princess 
conformed  to  the  circumstance  as  required.  This  was 
part  of  the  maternal  duties :  the  father's  heart  had  other 
cares  of  a  more  anxious  kind  to  consider.  He  took  every 
opportunity  afforded  by  the  interval  of  conversing  with 
his  daughter  on  the  subject  of  her  approaching  nuptials, 
offering,  if  she  should  even  yet  change,  her  mind,  to  break 
off  the  engagement,  taking  the  entire  responsibility  on 
himself;  nor  did  he,  till  the  last  moment  arrived,  regard 
the  decision  of  the  Princess  Royal  as  final.  When  that 
moment  arrived  he  had  nothing  more  to  say,  and  he  him- 


26i  THE    ROYAL   PEI>'CZ5-: 

self  gave  her  away  on  the  afternoon  of  the  ISth  of 

he  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's,  though  he  could  not 
refrain  from  testifying  his  great  emotion  when  he  did  so ; 
while  the  Queen  and  Princesses,  on  their  part,  appeared  to 
be  overpowered  with  sorrow. 

About  one  o'clock  the  procession  commenced.  It  was 
led  by  drums,  trumpets,  kettle-drums,  the  sergeant-trum- 
peter, and  master  of  the  ceremonies. 

The  bridegroom  was  first  to  make  his  appearance,  at 
half-past  one,  attired  in  a  peach-coloured  suit,  richly  em- 
broidered.    He  entered  the  chapel  conducted  by  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  and  Vice-Chamberlain,  and  supported  by  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort  and  Duke  of  Leeds,  and  attended  by 
Count   Zippelin,  Baron   Rieger,  Lord  Malmesbury,  and 
Colonel  Fane,  the  organ  playing   Handel's  overture  to 
aer."      On  his  Royal   Highness   taking   his    seat, 
the  Lord  Chamberlain,  &c.,  returned  for  the  bride's  pro- 
;>n. 

Her  Royal  Highness  was  on  this  interesting  occasion 
superbly  dressed  in  the  robe  before  described,  composed  of 
white  and  gold ;  she  had  a  scarlet  mantle,  crimson  velvet 
coronet  with  a  broad  band,  and  a  large  plume  of  diamonds  ; 
the  order  of  St.  Catherine  decorated  her  breast.  The  bride 
was  supported  by  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  in  a  dark  brown 
suit,  richly  embroidered,  and  Prince  Ernest,  who  wore  the 
Hanoverian  uniform.  Four  bridesmaids,  attired  in  white, 
supported  the  train  :  these  were,  the  Lady  Frances  Somer- 
set, daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Beaufort ;  Lady  MaryBentinck, 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Portland  ;  Lady  Caroline  Darner, 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Dorchester ;  and  Lady  Mary  Howe, 
daughter  of  Earl  Howe.  The  ladies  in  attendance  were 
Ladies  Cathcart,  C.  Waldegrave,  C.  Finch,  and  F.  Bruce. 
During  the  entrance  of  her  Royal  Highness's  procession, 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  265 

Handel's  overture  was  played  in  the  same  manner  as  when 
the  Prince  had  entered  the  chapel. 

The  next  procession  was  that  of  the  King.  His  Majesty, 
dressed  in  a  dark  brown  suit,  richly  embroidered,  was  at- 
tended by  the  lords  and  other  officers  of  his  household, 
Lord  Privy  Seal,  Lord  President  of  the  Council,  Lord 
Chancellor,  Duke  of  Portland,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Earl  Marshal 
of  England. 

The  Queen  then  entered,  attended  by  the  officers  of  her 
household.  Her  Majesty  was  dressed  in  white,  with  a 
profusion  of  diamonds. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  was  next  in  the  procession,  attended 
by  the  officers  of  his  establishment.  The  dress  of  his 
Royal  Highness  was  a  sky-blue,  richly  embroidered  down 
the  seams,  and  decorated  with  a  diamond  star  and  epaulette. 

The  Princess  of  Wales,  in  a  silver  tissue  train,  with 
purple,  lilac,  and  green  trimmings,  followed  her  Eoyal  hus- 
band, conducted  by  the  Earl  of  Cholmondeley. 

The  Duke  of  York,  in  a  full-dress  suit  of  regimentals. 
and  his  Eoyal  Duchess  in  an  elegant  dress — the  body  and 
train  of  lilac  silver  tissue,  and  the  petticoat  magnificently 
embroidered — next  appeared,  and  were  followed  by  the 
Princesses,  in  white,  according  to  their  seniority. 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester  and  Prince  William  were  in 
full  uniform,  and  the  Princess  Sophia  displayed  a  neat  and 
elegant  dv 

The  Maids  of  Honour,  the  peeresses  of  the  Royal  house- 
holds, followed  by  four  yeomen  of  the  guard,  closed  the 
procession. 

Upon  entering  the  chapel,  all  the  persons  that  were  in 
the  procession  retired  to  the  several  places  appointed  for 
them.  The  King  and  Queen  were  seated  in  chairs  of 


266  THE   EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

State  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  altar.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  sat  next  to  his  Majesty ;  the  Princess  of  Wales  was 
on  the  left  of  the  Queen;  and  the  Princesses  occupied 
seats  arranged  on  each  side  for  their  accommodation. 

The  Royal  family  having  taken  their  seats,  the  marriage 
ceremony  commenced.  It  was  performed  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  assisted  by  the  Archbishop  of  York ; 
at  the  conclusion  of  which,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  re- 
tired to  their  seats,  when  the  anthem  was  performed. 
The  procession  then  returned  to  the  drawing-room  in  the 
same  order  in  which  it  entered  the  chapel.  The  Prince 
received  the  hand  of  his  amiable  Princess  from  his 
Majesty.  Her  Royal  Highness  was  perfectly  collected 
and  unembarrassed  during  the  performance  of  the  cere- 
mony; while  the  Princesses,  her  sisters,  shed  tears  of 
sensibility  and  affection  on  the  occasion.  Their  Majesties 
also  discovered  an  excess  of  parental  feeling.  The  whole 
of  the  ceremony  exhibited  a  scene  highly  interesting  and 
impressive. 

The  heat,  owing  to  the  immense  crowd,  was  so  intense 
that  several  ladies  were  overcome  by  it ;  and  it  was  with 
much  difficulty  that  one  of  the  bridesmaids  was  prevented 
from  fainting  away. 

The  Stadtholder,  the  Princess  of  Orange,  and  their  atten- 
dants, were  accommodated  in  the  centre  of  the  King's 
gallery,  facing  the  altar ;  the  other  parts  of  which  were 
occupied  by  the  Duchess  of  Leeds,  Duchess  of  Eutland 
and  her  two  daughters,  Lady  Buckingham,  Lady  Stop- 
ford,  and  several  other  females  of  distinction. 

The  orchestra  was  much  better  contrived  on  this  occa- 
sion than  on  that  of  the  marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
the  organ  being  placed  directly  over  the  altar. 

After  the  solemnization  of  the  marriage,  the  Queen  held 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA.   MATILDA.  267 

a  Drawing-room,  which  was  attended  by  the  whole  of  the 
Eoyal  family,  the  foreign  Ministers,  great  officers  of  State, 
and  a  numerous  and  brilliant  assemblage  of  the  nobility 
of  both  sexes,  who  paid  their  respects  to  their  Serene 
Highnesses  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wurtemberg,  on 
the  occasion  of  their  union.  The  Court  closed  at  half- 
past  five,  when  their  Majesties  and  the  Princesses  Augusta 
and  Elizabeth  in  one  carriage,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wurtemberg  in  a  travelling  postchaise,  and  the  other 
Princesses  in  a  third,  all  left  town,  with  their  attendants, 
for  Windsor  Lodge,  to  dinner. 

On  the  23rd  of  the  month,  a  splendid  fete  was  given  by 
the  Queen,  at  Frogmore,  in  honour  of  the  nuptials.  Two 
days  after,  addresses  were  presented  at  the  Drawing-room 
by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  London,  congratu- 
lating her  Majesty  on  her  daughter's  marriage,  in  which 
were  contained  the  following  complimentary  observations 
on  the  character  of  the  bride : — 

"The  numerous  and  endearing  virtues,  native  in  her 
Eoyal  mind,  and  cultivated  with  such  exemplary  assiduity 
by  the  brilliant  and  eminent  conduct  of  her  Eoyal  mother, 
form  at  once  a  subject  of  exultation  and  regret,  even  on 
this  joyful  occasion  :  of  exultation,  as  we  are  satisfied  that 
the  dignity  of  her  high  birth  is  proudly  equalled  by  her 
transcendantly  amiable  qualities,  which  we  have  long  ad- 
mired and  revered;  and  of  regret,  as  by  this  promising 
source  of  connubial  felicity,  the  just  reward  of  these  quali- 
ties, the  fair  daughters  of  Britain  will  be  deprived  of  con- 
templating, in  the  highest  rank,  one  of  the  most  conspi- 
cuous models  of  modern  excellence.  We  earnestly  hope, 
Madam,  that  an  union  of  such  exalted  promise  may  be 
crowned  with  every  prosperity  to  the  illustrious  pair  that 
a  mother's  most  sanguine  wishes  can  form ;  and  that  the 


268  THE    EOTAL   PBI2TCESSE8. 

rest  of  your  Majesty's  fair  descendants  maybe  heiresses  to 
blessings  commensurate  to  the  exalted  virtues  with  which 
they  are  endowed." 

Her  Majesty  replied  in  these  words  : — 

"  I  return  you  my  thanks  for  this  very  dutiful  and 
loyal  address  of  congratulation  on  the  marriage  of  the 
Princess  Royal  with  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Wurtem- 
berg ;  and  for  those  sentiments,  so  very  favourable  to 
myself,  with  which  it  is  accompanied." 

On  Friday,  June  2nd,  the  bridal  pair  quitted  St.  James's 
for  Harwich,  escorted  by  a  party  of  light  dragoons.  The 
Princess  was  dressed  in  a  blue  riding-habit,  with  the  star 
of  the  Eussian  order  of  St.  Catherine  at  her  breast,  and 
wore  a  straw  bonnet.  She  endeavoured  to  appear  cheerful; 
but  the  faltering  accents  with  which  she  bade  her  atten- 
dants and  the  surrounding  multitude  farewell,  bespoke 
her  agitated  feelings. 

None  of  the  Royal  family  were  present,  as  they  had  all 
taken  leave  the  preceding  night,  at  Buckingham  House, 
when  the  scene  was  most  affecting :  her  Majesty  and  the 
Princesses  were  bathed  in  tears ;  and  her  Royal  Highness 
hung  upon  the  neck  of  her  father,  overwhelmed  with  grief. 
At  length  the  Prince,  her  husband,  took  her  hand,  and 
persuaded  her  to  go  with  him,  supporting  her  to  the 
carriage,  whither  they  were  followed  by  the  King,  to  take 
a  last  farewell  of  his  beloved  daughter ;  but  his  feelings 
were  so  much  overpowered,  that  he  could  not  even  articu- 
late the  word  adieu.  The  child  now  separated  from  him 
had  scarcely  ever  lived  a  single  day  out  of  his  presence 
before,  and  their  parting  was,  in  all  probability,  for  ever. 
Those  of  my  readers  who  are  old  enough  to  cast  back  a 
retrospective  glance  on  the  year  1797,  in  which  the  Prin- 
cess Royal's  marriage  took  place,  will  recollect  the  political 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  269 

agitation,  and  existing  circumstances  in  the  history  of  Europe, 
which  must  have  combined  to  render  the  union  then 
formed — which  was  to  take  the  amiable  Princess  from  her 
hitherto  peaceful  home  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Conti- 
nent— an  anxious  subject  of  contemplation  to  all  who  had 
her  interest  at  heart ;  and  the  minds  of  the  people  were 
much  excited  on  the  matter  at  her  departure. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  Captain  Hearne,  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  packet,  arrived  at  the  Admiralty,  with  an  account 
of  the  safe  arrival  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  at  Cux- 
haven  on  Monday  night  at  nine  o'clock,  in  good  health 
and  spirits. 

The  reluctance  of  George  III.  for  the  marriage  of  his 
daughter  to  the  Prince  of  Wurtemberg,  in  the  present  in- 
stance, proceeded,  in  no  small  degree,  from  his  fearing  that 
at  some  future  time  he  might  follow  the  example  of  his 
father,  the  reigning  Duke,  and  become  a  Roman  Catholic. 
He  had  several  conversations  with  his  new  son-in-law, 
on  religious  subjects,  in  consequence,  and  his  mind  was 
much  relieved  to  discover  there  was  no  danger  of  his 
apostacy. 

In  announcing  the  intended  marriage  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  it  had  been  stated  that  the  Prince  was  a  Pro- 
testant. A  letter  in  the  "Gentleman's  Magazine,"  dated 
June  3rd,  1797,  the  year  of  his  marriage,  runs  thus : — 

"  MB.  UEBAN, 

"  The  present  Duke  of  Wurtemberg  is  a  Catholic. 
He  changed  from  the  Protestant  religion,  in  hopes  of 
becoming  one  of  the  Electors,  but  was  disappointed.  The 
Hereditary  Prince  is  a  Protestant ;  and  if  a  Lavater  were 
to  see  him,  I  think  he  would  affirm  he  would  never  change 
his  religion,  having  such  a  princely,  firm,  open,  and  unas- 

T 


270  THE   EOTAL   PKINCESSES. 

piling  countenance.  May  he  and  his  Princess  live  long 
and  happy.  I  hope  your  next  will  inform  us  of  their  safe 
arrival  in  their  own  dominions. 

"  Yours,  &c., 

"  THOMAS  S." 

Further  accounts  (June  20)  certified  their  safe  arrival  at 
Hanover,  where  they  lodged  at  the  Electoral  Palace,  which 
had  been  purposely  fitted  up  for  their  reception.  They 
were  received  there  by  Prince  Adolphus  and  Prince 
Ernest  of  Mecklenberg.  It  was  expected  that  they  would 
remain  only  two  or  three  days,  by  way  of  rest,  and  then 
proceed  on  their  route  to  Stuttgardt.  Prince  Adolphus 
and  Prince  Ernest  of  Mecklenberg  were  to  proceed  with 
them  to  Stuttgardt,  in  order  to  be  present  there  at  the 
marriage  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  in  the  form  of  the 
Prince's  country. 

From  the  date  of  her  arrival  in  Wurtemberg,  her 
adopted  country  became  the  second  home  of  Charlotte 
Augusta  Matilda.  Thirty-one  years  had  been  spent  by 
her  in  England,  and  another  thirty  were  reserved  to  be 
devoted  to  the  benefit  of  her  fellow-creatures  in  Wur- 
temberg. From  the  moment  of  her  first  arrival  in 
Stuttgardt,  she  acquired  the  love  of  all  persons  by  her 
affability  and  extensive  charity.  She  knew  no  greater 
pleasure  than  that  of  alleviating  the  distress  of  others, 
and  in  sending  no  one  away  without  giving  consolation 
and  assistance. 

In  her  private  life  the  greatest  activity  prevailed.  She 
was  dressed  early  in  the  morning,  and  ready  for  various 
occupations  ;  her  time  was  wisely  appropriated  and  em- 
ployed, partly  in  reading,  especially  religious  and  historical 
books — partly  in  writing  letters,  particularly  to 


CHABLOTTE   AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  271 

to  which  she  was  tenderly  attached — partly  in  drawing 
and  partly  in  various  female  pursuits. 

The  Duke  of  Wurtemberg,  father-in-law  of  Charlotte 
Augusta  Matilda,  died  not  long  after  his  son's  marriage,  at 
Stuttgardt,  having  previously,  in  consequence  of  his  illness, 
resigned  the  management  of  public  affairs  to  the  Here- 
ditary Prince,  who  on  his  death  succeeded  to  the  govern- 
ment as  his  heir,  December,  1797.* 

The  ^deceased  Duke  had  a  library  at  Stuttgardt  of 
100,000  volumes,  and  was  a  great  collector  of  ancient 
books,  having  often  travelled  in  pursuit  of  them,  and 
given  liberal  prices  for  the  possession.  His  collection  of 
Bibles  was  unique,  amounting  to  9000,  all  different  edi- 
tions, and  of  all  languages  (as  many  as  fifty-one  lan- 
guages, including  the  dialects,  as  stated  by  his  Serene 
Highness  himself,  in  a  letter  to  Canon  Bandini  at  Flo- 
rence). The  catalogue  of  those  of  Peter  Lorck,  at  Co- 
penhagen, contains  but  a  fourth  of  this  collection,  yet  it  was 
supposed  that  about  3000  more  were  wanting  to  render  it 
complete.  This  extraordinary  library  contains  more  than 
2000  volumes  printed  before  the  year  1500,  and  a  com- 
plete collection  of  the  memoirs  of  all  sovereigns,  families, 
and  towns. 

The  new  Duke,  soon  after  his  father's  death,  made  his 
peace  with  the  French  Eepublic.  It  is  worthy  of  remark, 
that  both  the  commencement  and  close  of  his  reign  were 
distinguished  by  differences  between  him  and  his  States, 
who  complained  of  the  infringement  of  their  privileges. 
In  consequence  of  the  peace  of  Luneville,  the  Duke  was 
raised,  in  1803,  to  the  dignity  of  Elector ;  and  on  the 
peace  of  Presburg,  his  States,  which  were  then  aggran- 

*  He  was  born  January  21,  1732,  and  succeeded  his  brother 
Louis  Eugene,  on  March  20,  1795. 

T  2 


272  THE    ROYAL  PRINCESSES. 

dized,  were  converted  into  a  monarchy.  Frederick  William 
was  proclaimed  King  of  Wurtemberg  January  1st,  1806, 
and  a  colossal  crown  was  subsequently  fixed  on  the  top  of 
his  palace  at  Stuttgardt.  Some  account  of  that  building 
may  perhaps  with  interest  be  introduced  here,  as  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  Charlotte,  Queen  of  Wurtem- 
berg. I  select  from  the  pages  of  Mrs.  Trollope,  who  wrote 
in  these  terms  in  1837  : — "  Neither  king  nor  kaiser  need 
desire  a  more  superb  palace  than  that  of  Stuttgardt.  We 
all  know  that  Windsor  Castle  has  a  sublimity  of  its  own, 
to  which  nothing  else  can  be  compared,  and  St.  George's 
Hall  is,  perhaps,  the  finest  room  in  the  world ;  but,  with- 
out having  recourse  to  comparisons,  it  may  be  safely 
asserted  that  few  palaces  can  be  found  at  once  so  elegant 
and  so  noble  as  the  residence  of  the  King  of  Wurtem- 
berg. The  number  of  fine  apartments  is  quite  inconceiv- 
able, and  for  what  purpose  they  can  all  be  designed  is 
beyond  the  power  of  my  understanding  to  conjecture. 
There  are,  however,  no  good  pictures ;  and  excepting  one 
or  two  charming  things  from  the  hand  of  Dannecker,  they 
have  little  to  show  of  the  higher  order  of  fine  arts.  Ne- 
vertheless, the  whole  display,  vast  as  is  the  extent  of  it,  is 
in  uniformly  good  taste,  both  in  the  rooms  recently  fitted 
up,  and  in  those  whose  costly  decorations  of  the  olden 
time  have  lost  none  of  their  splendour  by  the  variations 
of  fashion :  in  these  there  is  a  tone  of  rich  and  royal 
magnificence  well  worth  looking  upon. 

"  The  late  Princess  Royal  of  England  has  left  many 
specimens  here  of  her  taste  and  skill  in  enamel  painting, 
many  beautiful  cabinets  being  ornamented  by  medallions 
of  her  execution. 

"  The  gardens  of  this  superb  palace  are  very  extensive, 
and  admirably  laid  out,  furnishing,  like  all  the  Koyal 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA    MATILDA.  273 

gardens  of  Germany  that  I  have  yet  seen,  at  least  as 
much  gratification  to  the  people  as  to  the  Prince.  A 
multitude  of  very  magnificent  orange  trees  are  ranged 
beside  all  the  walks  and  parterres  near  the  palace ;  and  as 
the  economical  practice  that  prevails  in  Paris,  of  plucking 
the  blossoms  for  orange-flower  water,  is  not  permitted 
here,  the  whole  of  this  part  of  the  garden  is  filled  with 
the  most  delicious  perfume."* 

Frederick  William  was  of  an  impetuous  and  violent 
character,  but  loved  justice,  and  maintained  it  rigorously 
in  his  States,  though  in  some  particular  cases  he  is 
accused  of  having  substituted  his  own  will  for  the  law. 
He  was  well  informed  in  geography  and  natural  history, 
and  conversed  well  on  the  sciences.  His  palace  was  deco- 
rated with  indigenous  productions.  He  was  pleased  to 
see  foreigners  visit  the  Royal  edifices,  and  the  servants 
were  particularly  instructed  to  show  them  all  the  works 
of  art  which  had  been  executed  in  Wurtemberg.  There 
is  one  monument  which  will  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
this  sovereign,  named  Frederick's  Haven,  a  little  port 
which  he  constructed  on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  and 
which  greatly  facilitates  the  commerce  of  the  Wurtem- 
bergers  with  the  other  countries  situated  on  the  lake. 

The  acquisition  of  the  regal  dignity  by  Frederick 
"William  cost  him  dear,  in  the  enormous  contingents  of 
men  he  was  compelled  to  furnish  for  the  numerous  expe- 
ditions of  Bonaparte.  He  had  himself  experienced  many 
reverses  of  fortune.  During  the  French  Revolution,  when 
the  Republican  army  had  advanced  on  the  Danube,  he  had 
been  forced  to  fly  and  abandon  his  capital  to  foreign  troops. 
It  was  perhaps  from  a  wish  to  avoid  the  repetition  of 
such  an  occurrence,  that  he  subsequently  showed  himself 
*  "Vienna  and  the  Austrians." 


274  THE  BOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

one  of  the  most  zealous  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  Rhenish 
Confederacy,  which  afforded  such  especial  gratification  to 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  that  on  more  than  one  occasion  he 
visited  Queen  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda  at  her  own 
Court,  and,  according  to  the  Moniteur,  bestowed  on  the 
daughter  of  George  III.  a  variety  of  splendid  presents. 
Yet  was  the  new  King  of  Wurtemberg  under  the  neces- 
sity of  making  many  unpleasant  concessions.  One  was  the 
marrying  his  eldest  son  to  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Bavaria 
— an  union  never  consummated,  and  which  was  dissolved  as 
soon  as  the  reversed  fortunes  of  Napoleon  showed  such 
a  measure  could  be  taken  with  safety.  Catherine,  the 
King  of  Wurtemberg's  daughter,  moreover,  was  obliged 
to  be  given  to  Jerome  Bonaparte,  the  brother  of  the 
Emperor. 

It  has  before  been  remarked  that  the  King's  sister 
married  Paul  III.  of  Russia,  and  was  mother  of  Alexander, 
Constantine,  and  Nicholas.  The  present  Russian  Emperor 
is  her  grandson. 

Frederick  William  was  an  active  ally  of  Napoleon,  and 
rigorously  executed  his  conscription  laws  in  his  States. 
This  was  one  of  the  principal  grievances  of  which  the 
country  had  to  complain.  But  the  King  was  not  insensible 
to  the  loss  of  so  many  subjects  immolated  to  gratify  the 
ambition  of  a  foreign  despot.  After  the  retreat  from 
Moscow,  while  Bonaparte  was  passing  the  winter  gaily  at 
the  Tuilleries,  the  King  of  Wurtemberg  prohibited  all 
public  amusements. 

Frederick  William  had  been  afflicted  with  a  liver  com- 
plaint for  some  time  before  his  death,  which  took  place  at 
Stuttgardt,  October  30th,  1816,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his 
age.  Her  Majesty  was  most  affectionately  attached  to  him, 
and  painfully  felt  her  great  loss.  Every  year  she  celebrated 


CHARLOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  275 

his  birthday*  by  Divine  service,  on  which  occasion  a  sermon 
to  his  memory  was  preached,  and  she  afterwards  visited 
the  vault  where  he  was  interred,  to  pray  by  the  coffin  of 
the  deceased  Prince,  This,  indeed,  she  often  would  do  at 
other  times.  Her  health,  which  was  visibly  impaired 
after  his  death,  never  kept  her  from  this  ceremony.  She 
often  went  down  to  this  solemn  duty  ill,  and  appeared  to 
be  strengthened  when  she  came  out.  In  general,  sincere 
piety  was  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Queen's  charac- 
ter, and  it  became  a  source  of  the  noblest  and  most  un- 
wearied charity. 

From  the  death  of  the  King  she  resided  in  the  Palace  of 
Louisburg,  which  town,  with  its  environs,  next  to  that  of 
Deinach,  in  the  Black  Forest,  celebrated  for  its  mineral 
waters,  the  residence  to  which  she  was  in  the  habit  of 
repairing  annually  for  her  health,  became  the  celebrated 
scenes  of  her  active  beneficence.  She  considered  these  two 
places,  though  without  excluding  others,  as  the  sphere 
especially  assigned  to  her  by  Providence.  Here  she 
practised  the  great  art  of  dispensing  widely.  God  had 
placed  in  her  hands  the  means,f  and  in  her  heart  the  love  of 
doing  good ;  so  that  she  not  only  bestowed  largely,  but 
judiciously,  and  almost  always  contrived  to  multiply  her 
benefits  by  the  manner  in  which  they  were  conferred. 
*  He  was  born  November  6th,  1754. 

f  Her  Majesty  had  no  annuity  from  this  country.  Her  portion  on 
marriage  was  100,OOOZ.  Of  that  sum,  one-half  being  settled  on 
herself,  it  was  placed  in  the  Consols,  and  the  interest  was  regularly 
remitted  to  her  by  a  London  banking-house.  The  Commissioners 
appointed  by  his  Majesty  as  trustees  for  her  Eoyal  Highness  the 
Princess  of  Wurtemberg  were  the  Duke  of  Portland,  Lord  Grenville, 
the  Wurtemberg  Minister,  and  Sir  John  Hippesley,  Bart.,  in  whose 
names  the  amount  of  her  dower  was  invested  in  the  Three  per  Cent. 
Consols.  Only  half  of  the  dower  remained  with  the  Prince,  in  the 
event  of  his  having  no  issue  by  her  Koyal  Highness. 


276  THE  ROYAL  PRINCESSES. 

She  did  not  give  to  poor  people  barren  and  often  injurious 
ilms,  but  made  herself  acquainted  with  their  wants,  and  in 
general  preferred  paying  their  rent,  in  order,  as  she  said, 
to  help  at  the  same  time  both  the  poor  tenant  and  the 
landlord,  and  to  preserve  or  restore  harmony  between  them. 
Workmen  who  had  fallen  into  decay  she  relieved  by  finding 
them  employment,  for  which  she  paid  liberally,  and  their 
work  was  again  used  by  her  for  new  benefits.  Above  all, 
he  extended  her  generosity  to  the  private  support  of 
respectable  persons  who  had  fallen  into  distress,  and  in  the 
education  of  children,  either  orphans  or  those  whose  parents 
had  not  the  means  ;  she  apprenticed  the  sons  of  indigent 
parents,  and  gave  money  to  those  who  had  behaved  well 
in  their  apprenticeships,  to  enable  them  to  travel  and 
improve  themselves  in  foreign  countries.  She  was  also 
very  liberal  to  public  charities  ;  and  all  this  was  done  in 
the  quietest  manner,  through  the  medium  of  various 
persons,  and  often  through  entirely  secret  channels.  She 
expressly  forbade  any  one  publicly  to  praise,  or  even  to 
speak  of  her  benevolent  actions. 

With  this  liberality  to  others,  the  Queen  was  extremely 
simple  and  unostentatious,  and  in  this  might  be  a  model  for 
her  sex.  When  those  about  her  tempted  her  to  incur  any 
extraordinary  expense  she  would  answer,  "  If  I  did  not 
limit  my  own  expenses,  how  should  I  have  enough  for 
others?"  Her  goodness  of  heart  and  condescension 
rendered  all  those  who  had  the  happiness  to  be  near  her 
so  attached  to  her,  that  all  did  their  utmost  to  anticipate 
her  wishes.  She  was  most  affectionately  attached  to  all 
the  Eoyal  family  of  Wurtemberg,  especially  to  the  King 
and  Queen,  by  whom  she  was  beloved  as  if  she  had  been 
their  own  mother. 

The  judgment  with  which  she  practised   the  art  of 


CHAKLOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  277 

relieving  the  distressed,  was  equalled  by  the  ingenuity 
with  which  she  made  presents  to  persons  to  whom  she  was 
attached,  or  to  faithful  servants,  which  were  always  useful, 
never  repeating  the  same  gift ;  so  that  the  new  present  was 
something  which  seemed  wanting  to  complete  a  former  one, 
and  what  would  have  seemed  superfluous  of  itself,  was  only 
a  link  in  the  chain  of  her  gratifying  remembrances. 
Christmas  was,  in  particular,  a  festival  for  her ;  she 
wished  that  everybody  about  her,  and  especially  children, 
should  rejoice  on  that  festal  occasion.  With  the  indus- 
trious kindness  of  a  good  mother,  she  remained  at  her 
work  for  days  together,  and  spared  no  pains  to  complete 
everything ;  and  when  the  happy  eve  was  come,  she  sat  in 
the  circle  which  she  had  collected  around  her,  and  looked 
with  silent  delight  at  the  joy  of  which  she  was  herself  the 
author. 

As  the  activity  of  her  Majesty's  mind  was  incessant, 
so  were  her  hands  seldom  without  some  adequate  subject 
for  the  display  of  her  refined  and  cultivated  taste,  or  the 
exercise  of  that  laudable  industry  which  to  her  had  become 
delightful  from  long  habit,  and  of  which  innumerable 
traces  remain,  to  excite  our  admiration,  and  to  be  treasured 
as  the  fittest  ornaments  of  the  Royal  Palace.  In  this  her 
Majesty  sought  not  pastime  alone ;  she  had  a  higher  object 
in  view.  She  sought  to  inculcate  a  most  important  lesson, 
and  to  recommend  it  to  those  around  by  her  own  personal 
example — viz.,  that  in  the  proper  distribution  of  our  time, 
and  in  the  wise  employment  of  our  faculties,  the  great 
secret  of  human  happiness  is  to  be  found  ;  and  that  instead 
of  pursuing  pleasure  as  an  occupation,  we  should  find,  on 
the  contrary,  that  it  is  from  prudent  occupation  alone  that 
we  can  secure  lasting  pleasure  and  satisfaction. 

One  circumstance  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  his- 


278  THE   BOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

tory  of  the  Queen  of  Wurtemberg :  it  is  an  event  which 
must  be  marked  in  the  historic  page.  She  was  one  of  the 
sponsors  of  her  present  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 

The  christening  of  the  infant  daughter  of  the  Duke  of 
Kent  took  place  at  Kensington  Palace,  June  24th,  1820, 
when  the  future  Queen  Regnant  was  named  Alexandrina 
Victoria.  The  sponsors  were  the  Prince  Regent,  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  represented  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
the  Queen  Dowager  of  Wurtemberg,  represented  by  the 
Princess  Augusta,  and  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Cobourg, 
represented  by  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester. 

When  George  IV.  went  to  the  Continent  shortly  after 
his  coronation,  the  Queen  Dowager  Charlotte  Augusta 
Matilda  met  him  on  his  progress,  and  sportively  welcomed 
him  at  the  entrance  of  a  house  in  front  of  which  she  had 
caused  to  be  erected  the  sign  of  the  Hanover  Arms. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  a  visit  from  William, 
Duke  of  Clarence : — 

"  July  23,  1822.— To-morrow  his  Eoyal  Highness  will 
set  out  to  visit  his  sister  the  Queen  Dowager  of  Wurtem- 
berg. The  journey  will  occupy  three  long  days."  This 
portion  of  the  journey  was  written  at  the  Baths  of 
Lieben  stein. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  and  his  suite  at  Mergentheim, 
where,  says  Dr.  Beattie,  in  continuing  his  record,  "  we 
halted  for  a  fresh  relay,  his  Royal  Highness  was  presented 
with  a  letter  from  the  Queen,  congratulating  him  on  his 
arrival  in  that  territory.  It  had  been  given  in  charge  to 
the  master  of  the  post,  so  that  his  welcome  might  be 
received  at  the  frontier.  The  letter  was  addressed,  '  A 
Monsieur  mon  Frere*  &c.  I  had  some  difficulty  in  con- 
vincing the  postmaster  that  the  '  Graf  von  Miinster,'  in 
whose  name  the  horses  had  been  ordered  and  '  the  Queen's 


CHAELOTTE   ATJGTTSTA   MATILDA.  279 

brother/  were  the  same  personage.     The  Prince  of  Lan- 
genbourg  met  his  Royal  Highness  at  Kiinzelsaw. 

#  #  #  * 
"Louisburg,    Friday    Night. — Left    Kiinzelsaw     this 

morning  at  seven  o'clock.  Between  Besigheim  and 
Louisburg,  at  three  leagues  distance,  the  carriage  was  met 
by  a  special  messenger  from  the  Queen,  mounted  on  a  fine 
charger,  livery  bright  orange,  with  black  facings.  He 
drew  himself  up  in  front  of  the  carriage,  expressed  his 
Hoyal  mistress's  welcome,  then  wheeling  round,  led  the  way 
to  the  Palace,  where  we  arrived  at  six  o'clock. 
"  This  is  his  Royal  Highness's  first  visit. 

#  *  #  * 

"  Saturday  Morning. — I  am  to  be  presented  to  the 
Queen  this  forenoon ;  to  be  in  the  drawing-room  at  half- 
past  twelve ;  her  Majesty  dines  at  one.  The  Court  etiquette 
is  to  appear  in  boots ;  in  other  respects  I  am  to  observe  the 
same  ceremony  as  on  a  presentation  at  St.  James's. 

"  The  Count  de  Goerlitz,  Baron  de  Germmingen,  and 
General  de  Buneau,  the  principal  officers  of  the  Queen's 
household,  have  been  in  my  apartments,  and  pointed  out 
the  amenities  of  the  place.  The  windows  command  an 
extensive  and  beautiful  view  of  the  garden,  the  forests,  and 
more  especially  that  portion  of  the  Neckar  which  has 
acquired  classic  interest  as  the  birthplace  of  Schiller. 

#  *  *  * 

"  Monday. — The  Queen  has  something  exceedingly  pre- 
possessing in  her  manner  and  conversation.  There  are  few 
whom,  after  a  very  brief  acquaintance,  she  does  not  attach 
to  her  for  life.  She  seems  to  possess  the  true  art  of  securing 
the  fidelity  of  subjects,  and  the  unflinching  attachment  of 
friends.  Napoleon  entertained  a  very  exalted  opinion  of 
her  Majesty,  and  took  every  opportunity  to  evince,  by  word 


280  THE  KOTAL   PEISTCESSES. 

and  action,  the  high  estimate  which  he  had  formed  of  her 
qualities  both  of  mind  and  heart.  Several  anecdotes  are 
recorded  of  him  during  his  Imperial  visits  to  this  Court. 
He  slept  here  on  his  way  to  head  his  last  and  fatal  Northern 
expedition.  He  told  the  Queen  that  he  had,  all  along, 
had  a  presentiment  that  after  the  age  of  forty-five  all  his 
military  projects  would  miscarry,  and  fortune  take  a  final 
leave  of  his  standards.  The  Queen  inquired  upon  what 
principle  he  founded  such  an  apprehension.  He  did  not 
know ;  it  was  an  old  presentiment ;  but  when  or  in  what 
it  originated,  he  could  not  tell.  It  was  his  opinion,  how- 
ever, that  men  generally  succeeded  but  rarely  even  in  the 
common  business  of  life  after  that  age,  and  never  achieved 
anything  great  or  lasting.  He  considered  that  at  this 
period  of  life  there  was  a  general  decay  of  intellect,  often 
rapid,  but  always  in  proportion  to  the  vigour  of  its  early 
development.  In  proof  of  this  he  adduced  instances ;  and 
at  last  proceeded  on  his  way  to  exhibit  the  most  striking 
instance  of  all  in  his  own  person  to  verify  the  presentiment. 

"  Several  panes  in  the  windows  of  my  apartment  have 
the  signatures  of  members  of  the  Vieille  Garde.     Though 
frail,  perhaps  the  only  memorial  that  now  survives  them. 
*  *  *  * 

"  August  1st. — To-day  Sir  E.  and  Lady  Tucker  were  pre- 
sented to  her  Majesty,  and  dined  at  the  Royal  table ;  also 
Colonel  Dalton,  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester's  household. 
All  are  on  their  return  from  Italy,  with  which  they  appear 
to  have  been  highly  delighted. 

"The  Queen's  establishment  is  here  on  a  magnificent 
scale.  The  rank  and  liumber  of  the  members  composing 
her  household,  and  etfery  other  accessory,  are  in  strict 
harmony  with  the  truly  Jlegal  Palace  she  inhabits. 

"  Two  young  Princesses  of  Wurtemberg  reside  with  her 

A 

V 


CHARLOTTE  AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  281 

Majesty.     The  elder  of  these  is  affianced  to  the  Grand 

Duke  Michael. 

*  *  *  * 

"  The  Queen  is  not  less  gifted  with  a  faithful  memory 
than  her  Royal  brother.  In  conversing  upon  the  many 
pleasing  topics  which  early  reminiscences  supply,  there 
was  one  to-day  respecting  their  favourite  Kew.  Both 
agreed  as  to  the  year,  the  month,  and  the  day  upon  which 
the  circumstance  in  question  took  place ;  the  hour  alone 
was  left  undecided. 

"  This  might  appear  unimportant  to  any  one  not  accus- 
tomed to  implicit  reliance  upon  this  faculty;  but  with 
these  Royal  personages  the  memory  is  almost  an  infallible 
book  of  reference.  The  circumstance  happened  just  before 
the  general  peace  in  1781-2. 

*  *  *  * 

"  La  langue  universelle  is  here  the  usual  medium  of  con- 
versation, la  langue  de  la  cour.  In  a  late  conversation,  in 
which  the  Royal  visitor  was  detailing  an  important  series  of 
occurrences  to  the  commandant  of  the  garrison  at  a  soiree 
given  by  the  Queen,  a  momentary  hesitation  occurred,  and 
the  only  one  I  ever  observed.  It  was  caused  by  the  lack 
of  a  technical  French  term  for  a  marine  subject.  The 
officer  could  not  comprehend  the  English  expression,  and 
neither  he  nor  those  around  could  suggest  the  French,  till 
the  Queen,  with  great  good  humour,  and  much  to  his  Royal 
Highness's  amusement,  gave  the  word,  and  the  conversation 
proceeded. 

"Baths  of  Wildbad,  21st.— At  four  o'clock  the  Queen's 
arrival  was  announced,  and  in  a  few  minutes  her  Majesty 
alighted  from  her  favourite  caleche,  supported  by  his  Royal 
Highness,  and  attended  by  a  guard  of  honour,  composed 
of  all  the  notables  of  the  place.  This  unexpected  visit  from 


282  THE   EOTAL  PBLNXJESSES. 

*  the  goodQueen'  diffused  joy  and  satisfaction  over  the  whole 
town,  which  found  utterance  in  a  thousand  different  ways. 
To  witness  the  truly  parental  solicitude  with  which  her 
Majesty  inquired  into  the  circumstances  of  individuals — 
their  health,  their  family,  their  good  or  ill-fortune — and 
the  sincere  interest  she  took  in  the  welfare  of  all,  was  a 
scene  that  did  every  heart  good.  The  people,  on  their 
part,  crowded  round  her  Majesty  with  expressions  of  grate- 
ful and  loyal  attachment.  It  was  a  delightful  recognition 
of  parental  anxiety  and  encouragement  on  one  hand,  and 
of  filial  attachment  and  obligation  on  the  other. 

"  Such  pictures  are  uncommon ;  it  is,  indeed,  of  rare 
occurrence  that  the  subject  is  allowed  to  express  his  grati- 
tude, his  wrongs,  or  even  his  loyal  attachment,  in  the  Koyal 
hearing.  Here  the  meanest  peasant  may  approach  the 
Koyal  person  without  fear  of  repulse,  and  may  bring  his 
complaint  with  the  full  assurance  of  being  heard.  Even 
at  her  Palace  of  Louisburg,  surrounded  by  all  the  show  and 
circumstance  of  Regal  condition,  her  Majesty  is  always 
accessible,  always  engaged  in  suggesting  plans  for  the 
general  welfare,  and  in  providing  for  the  happiness  of  indi- 
viduals. As  reigning  Queen  she  observed  the  same  system 
of  beneficent  affability — qualities  which,  on  her  becoming 
Dowager  of  the  kingdom,  were  limited,  but  never  checked 
in  their  operation.  While  she  reigned,  it  was  in  the 
affections  of  the  people,  offering  an  example  which  has  been 
revived  with  additional  lustre  in  the  present  King  and  his 
amiable  consort. 

"  At  five  o'clock  an  entertainment  was  prepared  in  the 
open  air,  under  the  shade  of  a  huge  chesnut-tree  which  over- 
hangs the  brook.  In  front  of  this  the  water,  struggling 
through  a  rocky  channel,  and  falling  in  foaming  sheets 
from  a  ledge  of  rock,  is  collected  into  a  tranquil  pool  or 


CHAKLOTTE  ATJGUSTA  MATILDA.  283 

basin,  and  reposes  from  the  noise  and  agitation  which  had 
marked  its  course.  Around  the  tree  are  seats  of  accom- 
modation for  the  weary  or  the  contemplative.  It  was  under 
this  shade  that  the  late  King  uniformly  spent  some  hours 
every  fine  day  during  his  visits  to  the  baths ;  a  circum- 
stance which  gave  it  no  ordinary  power  of  association 
in  the  Queen's  mind,  recalling  many  peaceful  hours  and 
awakening  many  painful  as  well  as  pleasing  recollections. 

"  Upon  arriving  at  this  spot  the  Queen,  surrounded  by 
nearly  the  whole  population  of  the  place,  took  her  seat  on 
the  rustic  chair  which  her  late  consort  had  so  frequently 
occupied.  On  her  right  sat  his  Koyal  Highness  and  the 
ladies  of  her  Court,  and  on  the  left  the  gentlemen  of  the 
household,  headed  by  the  venerable  Lord  Chamberlain, 
Count  de  Goerlitz. 

"  A  great  many  persons  were  presented,  all  apparently 
delighted  with  their  reception.  Several  were  also  pre- 
sented to  his  Royal  Highness,  with  whom  he  entered  into 
conversation,  and  left  an  impression  of  affability  which 
was  afterwards  acknowledged  with  gratifying  expressions 
of  admiration. 

"  The  peasantry,  as  usual,  were  admitted  without  re- 
straint to  her  Majesty's  presence,  and  enjoyed  with 
satisfaction  that  for  which  many  of  them  had  this 
morning  travelled  far — the  privilege  of  a  long  look  at  the 
'  good  Queen.' 

"  A  band  of  excellent  musicians  stood  at  a  convenient 
distance  in  a  circle,  and  continued  to  pour  forth  their 
loyal  and  patriotic  airs  in  great  beauty  and  abundance. 
These  were  sympathetically  responded  to  by  the  national 
dance,  which  brought  numbers  of  the  peasants  into  active 
operation  along  the  densely-peopled  avenue. 


284*  THE  EOYAL  PEINCESSES. 

"  These  ceremonies  being  concluded,  and  every  demon- 
stration of  loyal  attachment  evinced  towards  the  Queen,  a 
great  concourse  of  people  accompanied  her  on  her  return  to 
the  hotel,*  where  the  civil  and  military  authorities  took 
their  leave.  The  multitude  in  continued  peals  shouted 
*  Long  live  the  good  Queen  !'  In  a  few  minutes  more  her 
Majesty  passed  the  outskirts  of  the  forest  on  her  return 
to  Deinach,  accompanied  by  the  prayers  of  all,  and  the 
grateful  acknowledgments  of  some  by  whom  that  day's 
visit  was  to  be  treasured  as  the  happiest  of  their  lives. 

"  Monday. — To-day  has  been  varied  by  an  excursion  to 
the  Baths  of  Liebenzell.  As  the  afternoon  was  most  in- 
viting, and  no  place  in  the  Black  Forest  more  beautiful 
than  the  Baths  of  Liebenzell,  tea  and  other  refreshments 
were  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  at  five  o'clock  in  an  apart- 
ment of  the  inn  commanding  the  best  views  of  the  romantic 
country  in  which  it  is  embosomed. 

"  At  three  o'clock  the  carriages  were  at  the  door,  pre- 
ceded by  an  avant  courier,  and  followed  by  two  other 
carriages  containing  the  usual  attendants ;  the  Queen  set 
off  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  drinking  tea  at  five  o'clock,  an 
hour  at  which  many  an  English  tradesman  would  be 
ashamed  to  have  it  supposed  he  could  dine. 

"  These  early  hours,  in  conjunction  with  daily  exercise  and 
the  salubrious  air  in  which  that  exercise  is  taken,  have  con- 
tributed most  materially  to  benefit '  his  Royal  Highness's 

health At  Meinengen  and  Ems,  however,  the 

facilities  for  pedestrian  exercise  were  much  greater  than 
here,  where,  with  a  few  exceptions,  his  Royal  Highness's 
time  is  entirely  devoted  to  the  Queen.  She  is  well  entitled 
to  it,  and  in  return  is  ever  planning  something  new  for  the 

*  Called  Konig  von  Wurtemberg,  "the  great  rendezvous  of  the 
place." — Dr.  JBeattie. 


CHAKLOTTE  AUGUSTA  MATILDA.  285 

entertainment  of  her  illustrious  brother,  to  whom  she  is 
greatly  attached.  Scarcely  a  day  has  passed  but  her 
Majesty  inquires  whether  I  do  not  think  his  Eoyal  High- 
ness much  improved  by  his  visit  to  the  Black  Forest.  A 
question  which  I  am  able  to  answer  most  satisfactorily. 

"  As  we  proceeded,  I  talked  over  this  subject  with  some 
of  her  Majesty's  Court.  They  all  descanted  with  great 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  on  the  visible  improvement  which 
they  observed  in  the  Queen's  health  during  each  of  these 
successive  visits,  the  very  anticipation  of  which,  the  Count 
de  Goerlitz  assured  me,  operated  like  a  charm  upon  his 
Eoyal  mistress's  health.  The  Queen,  he  deeply  regrets  to 
state,  does  not,  in  the  long  intervals  which  divide  these 
visits  of  her  family,  take  that  frequent  and  prolonged  exer- 
cise which  her  physicians,  and  all  who  are  acquainted  with 
her  Majesty's  constitution,  consider  so  essential  to  her 
health.  But  on  the  arrival  of  his  Eoyal  Highness,  not  a 
day  passes  without  her  spending  a  certain  number  of  hours 
in  the  open  carriage,  the  consequences  of  which  are  soon 
visible  to  every  member  of  the  household,  and  diffuse 
a  pleasure  and  satisfaction  around  which  cannot  be 
expressed,  but  which  nothing  less  than  such  a  convic- 
tion could  create.  '  "Would  to  God,'  he  added,  '  his  Eoyal 
Highness's  visit  could  be  prolonged !  We  all  look  forward 
with  apprehension  and  anxiety  to  his  departure  and  the 
ensuing  winter,  unless  indeed  the  Landgravine  of  Hesse 
Homburg  should  pass  some  part  of  it  at  Louisburg.  In 
this  case  I  shall  feel  unmistakeable  relief ;  for  by  the  time 
that  amiable  Princess  takes  her  leave,  her  Majesty  will 
begin  to  indulge  the  cheering  prospect  of  his  Eoyal  High- 
ness's  third  visit,  which  we  are  all  delighted  to  hear  will 
take  place  next  July.  Ah !  my  dear  friend,'  concluded 
the  worthy  Count,  '  I  have  been  forty  years  at  Court ;  I 

U 


286  THE   ROYAL   PErSTCESSES. 

attended  the  late  King  to  London  on  his  intended 
marriage  with  the  Princess  Eoyal;  thence  all  over  your 
magnificent  country.  We  spent  a  day  at  Oxford,  where 
his  Majesty  (then  Duke  of  Wurtemberg)  was  admitted  a 
Doctor  of  the  University,  and  the  same  honour,  in  compli- 
ment to  the  Duke,  was  conferred  upon  myself.  Ha !  you  did 
not  know  that  I  was  a  dignitary  of  Oxford  ?  I  returned 
with  their  future  Majesties  in  triumph  to  Stuttgardt ;  and 
never  having  quitted  her  presence  for  a  single  day,  unless 
through  illness,  during  the  long  and  eventful  period  that 
succeeded,  I  need  not  add  that  I  feel,  in  common  with 
every  one  around  her,  the  most  lively  interest  in  her 
Majesty's  health.  I  am  now  old,  and  cannot  expect  to  sur- 
vive her;  but  were  I  young,  young  as  when  I  first 
attended  her  to  her  adopted  country,  I  would  not  wish  it.' 

" '  Nor  I,  nor  any  of  us,'  interrupted  the  Baron  de 
Germmingen ;  '  her  Majesty's  health  is  most  precious  to  us, 
who,  every  day  of  our  lives,  are  the  objects  of  her  unceasing, 
and,  I  may  truly  say,  parental  solicitude.  When  any 
member  of  her  household  is  sick  or  threatened  with  sick- 
ness, no  matter  of  what  standing  or  station  in  her  service, 
her  solicitude  makes  no  distinction ;  her  anxiety  to  remove 
or  mitigate  affliction,  under  whatever  shape,  and  in  whom- 
soever it  may  appear,  is  manifested  in  a  thousand  different 
ways,  each  evincing  the  kindly  interest  she  feels  for  us  all. 
No  wonder  then  that  all  should  express  what  they  deeply 
feel — the  most  cordial  attachment  to  the  Queen,  founded 
upon  a  just  admiration  of  her  virtues,  and  the  daily  expe- 
rience of  her  benefits.' 

*  *  *  * 

"  The  party  was  now  at  tea :  her  Majesty  seated  in  an 
arm-chair,  upon  a  nicely  sanded  floor ;  his  Koyal  High- 
ness at  her  right  hand ;  a  table  in  the  centre,  with  the 


CHAKLOTTE    ATJGTJSTA   MATILDA.  287 

tea  equipage ;  a  boiling  kettle  in  the  middle,  and  three  of 
the  ladies  of  honour  seated  round  it ;  the  gentlemen  and 
myself  standing  near  the  window,  and  enjoying  the  rich 
forest,  grey  ruins,  and  pine-clad  hills  by  which  this  beauti- 
ful retreat  is  on  all  sides  hemmed  in. 

"  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  make  picnic  parties, 
where  the  necessary  expenditure  of  china  in  breakage  is 
often  a  subject  of  serious  reflection  for  next  day,  I  would 
suggest  the  plan  adopted  by  her  Majesty — namely,  a  metal 
apparatus.  On  this,  as  on  former  occasions,  the  cups  and 
saucers  were  all  of  silver,  gilt  inside,  so  that  they  may  be 
transported  without  risk,  and  survive  a  whole  century  of 
inadvertent  tumbles. 

"Saturday. — Lord  Erskine  and  family  arrived  from 
Baden.  His  lordship  is  a  very  agreeable  man,  and  much 
esteemed  by  the  King  and  Royal  family  here. 

"  Tuesday,  26th. — The  morning  was  spent  in  preparation 
for  the  Hercynian  games,  and  after  an  excellent  dinner, 
served  in  the  hall  or  bazaar-room  already  mentioned,  the 
business  of  the  day  was  announced  by  sound  of  trumpet. 
In  front  of  the  chateau,  which  offered  a  most  convenient 
space  for  the  ensuing  pastimes,  the  crowd  was  concen- 
trated. The  Queen,  with  her  visitors  and  attendants, 
occupied  the  front  windows,  and  the  various  prizes  being 
duly  displayed  and  enumerated,  the  games  began." 

Dr.  Beattie's  entertaining  account  of  the  races  which 
ensue  between  first  the  young  bachelors,  and  after  them 
the  shepherdesses  of  the  locality,  is  highly  pleasing.  To 
these  succeeded  donkey  races,  and  then  a  singular  national 
game,  which  space  alone  deters  me  from  inserting  for  its 
eccentricity.  Music,  dancing,  singing  and  wassail  closed 
the  day,  and  closed  it  in  harmony,  without  accident  to 
mar  the  festivity  which  had  prevailed. 

TT  2 


288  THE   EOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

"Palace  of  Louisburg,  August  2nd. — Left  Deinach  yes- 
terday morning  at  five  o'clock,  arid  arrived  here  by  a  cross 
road  at  ten.  At  five  o'clock  there  was  a  full  Court  din- 
ner, where  the  High  Chamberlain  appeared  in  the  name  of 
the  King  to  compliment  his  Royal  Highness,  and  to  make 
him  a  tender  on  the  part  of  his  Majesty  of  every  possible 

accommodation  during  his  stay  in  this  territory The 

bright  sun  of  Louisburg  contrasts  strangely  with  the  cool 
and  tranquil  shades  of  Deinach.  Here  all  is  military 
manoeuvre,  the  incessant  clang  of  trumpets,  and  the  roll 
of  drums ;  there  all  was  peaceful  meditation  and  tranquil 
enjoyment.  The  only  sound  that  was  heard  in  its  retired 
solitude  was  the  horn  of  the  cowherd  or  the  tinkling  of 
the  goat-bells  as  they  went  or  returned  from  the  forest. 
....  The  Queen  evidently  anticipates  his  Royal  High- 
ness's  departure  with  regret.  His  visit  has  been  a  source 
of  great  pleasure  to  her There  is  to  be  a  State  din- 
ner at  the  King's  Palace  on  Thursday  next. 

*  *  *  * 

"  The  Queen  often  mentions  the  Elgin  family.  To-day, 
she  particularly  alluded  to  a  former  visit  from  the  Countess 
and  her  daughters;  inquired  if  I  was  acquainted  with 
them,  and  expressed  a  most  friendly  interest  in  their 
favour.  One,  in  particular,  Lady  Matilda,  is  often  named 
by  her  Majesty,  and  the  members  of  her  household,  in 
terms  of  high  and  delicate  compliment.  No  ordinary 
accomplishments  of  mind  or  person  could  have  left  behind 
them  so  flattering  a  souvenir. 

*  *  *  * 

"One  day,  a  'person  of  distinction'  was  announced. 
'  Deeming  it  might  be  considered  a  mark  of  disloyalty  if 
he  passed  through  Stuttgardt  without  being  presented  to 
the  Queen,  he  had  come  to  Louisburg  for  that  express 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  289 

purpose.'  Accessible  at  all  times  to  the  faithful  subjects 
of  her  brother's  throne,  her  Majesty  made  ready  to  receive 
the  stranger  with  becoming  ceremony.  The  officers  of 
the  household  attended,  and  the  Grand  Marshal  of  the 

Palace  presented  '  Mr. ,  from  London,'  in  due  form. 

A  speech  followed,  but  it  betrayed  the  speaker,  or  showed 
at  least  that  it  was  his  first  act  of  diplomacy.  The  audi- 
ence was  suddenly  broken  up — the  Queen  withdrew,  and 
the  stranger,  retiring  with  the  Royal  functionary,  felt  that 
he  had  '  caught  a  Tartar.' 

"  This  individual,  it  may  be  added,  was  an  inferior  clerk 

in  the  button  manufactory  of  Messrs. ,  and  dressed 

in  the  extremity  of  fashion.     The  Queen,  in  relating  this 
anecdote,  laughed  heartily  at  the  recollection  of  the  mock 
heroic  speech,  and  other  burlesque  circumstances  attending 
the  special  presentation.     Specie  decipimur  omnes. 
*  *  #  * 

"  4th. — To-day  the  Queen  and  his  Royal  Highness  came 
to  spend  the  day  at  Stuttgardt.  They  walked  over  the 
Palace,  splendidly  furnished,  of  vast  extent,  and  almost 
every  apartment  exhibiting  specimens  of  the  Queen's 
work  in  painting  or  embroidery.  The  apartments  for- 
merly occupied  by  Napoleon,  and  latterly  by  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  are  superb,  both  in  decoration  and  dimension. 
Surprised  by  the  unprecedented  number  of  musical  time- 
pieces, &c Subsequently  repaired  to  the  celebrated 

picture  gallery,  where  his  Royal  Highness  spent  an  hour. 
....  Then  revisited  the  studio  of  the  German  Canova, 
Danekker,  who  is  at  this  moment  engaged  upon  a  colossal 
statue  of  St.  John,  by  command  of  the  Emperor,  and  in- 
tended for  a  church  in  St.  Petersburg. 

"  At  two  o'clock  returned  to  the  Palace,  and  sat  down  to 
a  magnificent  banquet,  service  of  gold ;  the  plateau 


290  THE   KOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

most  elaborately  carved,  and  ornamented  with  statues  and 
allegorical  groups.  The  King's  Chamberlain  and  other 
officers  of  the  Court  were  in  attendance.  It  was  in  every 
sense  a  Regal  banquet. 

"  After  dinner  the  Court  equipage  drove  up,  the  party 
proceeded  to  the  Baths  of  Canstadt,  and  afterwards  alighted 
to  view  the  new  Palace,  erecting  upon  a  beautiful  eminence 
over  the  Neckar." 

In  the  summer  of  1825-6,  in  the  middle  of  July,  the  Duke 
of  Clarence,  soon  after  recovering  from  his  severe  illness, 
went  once  more  to  visit  the  Queen  of  Wurtemberg  at  Dei- 
nach,  her  summer  residence  in  the  Black  Forest.  The  Queen 
Dowager  was  overjoyed  at  seeing  her  brother ;  and  it 
became  evident  that  the  meeting,  and  the  excursions  which 
followed,  had  an  exhilarating  effect  upon  both  the  Royal 
personages.  "These  early  hours,"  says  Dr.  Beattie,  "in 
conjunction  with  daity  exercise,  and  the  salubrious  air  in 
which  that  exercise  is  taken,  have  contributed  most  mate- 
rially to  benefit  his  Eoyal  Highness's  health.  He  is  at 
this  moment  as  vigorous  as  if  he  had  not  passed  the  age  of 
forty.  In  proof  of  this,  he  has  on  various  occasions  been 
several  hours  a-foot,  without  experiencing  anything  like 
exhaustion  or  even  fatigue." 

Deinach  is  a  singularly  romantic  hamlet,  situated  on 
the  border  of  the  Black  Forest,  skirted  by  feudal  and 
monastic  ruins,  and  presenting  an  endless  succession 
of  all  those  picturesque  beauties  which  arrest  and  fix  the 
attention  of  the  naturalist  or  the  painter,  and,  to  a  refined 
and  contemplative  mind,  give  free  scope  for  the  indul- 
gence of  the  best  feelings  of  which  the  human  heart  is  sus- 
ceptible. It  was  here,  too,  in  an  antique  and  extensive 
Palace,  overhung  by  hills  of  pine,  traversed  only  by  a 
mountain  stream,  and  commanding  objects  of  unceasing 


CHAELOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  291 

interest,  that  her  Majesty  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving 
annual  visits  from  some  member  of  her  august  family. 
Having  repeatedly  experienced  herself  the  salutary  effects 
of  a  summer's  residence  at  Deinach,  her  Majesty  had 
acquired  a  strong  local  attachment  for  the  place.  Her 
annual  visit  was  anticipated  by  all  ranks  with  impatience, 
and  hailed  with  lo}ralty  and  delight  as  the  signal  for  re- 
suming those  innocent  festivities  in  which  the  entire  popu- 
lace took  an  eager  part,  and  in  the  presence  of  their  august 
patroness  revived  the  ancient  games  of  the  country,  while 
the  victors  in  these  were  rewarded  by  suitable  prizes,  in- 
stituted and  distributed  by  her  Majesty  in  person. 

On  the  day  of  her  Majesty's  leaving  this  place  on  her 
return  to  Louisburg,  in  the  month  of  August,  it  was  the 
uniform  and  affecting  custom  of  the  peasantry  and  others 
to  assemble  on  the  morning  of  her  departure,  to  testify 
their  strong  attachment  to  their  Royal  and  beloved  mis- 
tress, by  twining  the  panels  of  her  carriage  and  all  its 
appendages  with  wreaths  of  evergreen,  and  the  choicest 
flowers  of  the  place  and  season,  as  the  silent  but  expres- 
sive votive  offering  for  her  return. 

The  same  ceremony  was  observed  as  the  several  car- 
riages of  her  Majesty's  suite  left  in  succession ;  and  at 
every  halt  in  her  progress  fair  hands  continued  to  offer 
symbolic  flowers,  till  the  halls  of  Louisburg  rang  once 
more  with  the  Royal  welcome. 

"  Deinach,  Black  Forest,  15th  July,  1825.* 

"Arrived  here  last  night.  The  country  indescribably 
beautiful.  His  Royal  Highness  has  enjoyed  every  hour 

of  the  journey The  Queen,   has   condescended  to 

express,  in  very  gracious  terms,  the  pleasure  she  felt  in 
seeing  me  a  second  time. 

*  Dr.  Beattie's  Journal. 


292  THE   BOYAL   PKINCESSES. 

"  The  Koyal  establishment  remains  as  it  was  on  the 
former  visit  to  Louisburg.  There  are  six  ladies  of  honour, 
accomplished  and  amiable  women  ;  about  the  same  number 
of  gentlemen,  the  Comte  de  Goerlitz,  Baron  de  Germmingen, 
Baron  de  Wechmar,  General  de  Buneau,  the  physician, 

treasurer,  &c The  Queen's  physician  is  dead  since 

the  former  visit ;  Dr.  Ulmer  has  succeeded  him.  He  is 
young ;  has  his  wife  here,  and  a  remarkably  fine  little  boy, 
much  noticed  by  his  Eoyal  Highness,  who  is  very  partial 
to  children 

"  To-day  great  numbers  of  peasantry  from  the  neigh- 
bouring communes  have  arrived  to  spend  a  gay  afternoon. 
The  costume  is  very  like  that  worn  at  Berne. 

*  #  *  * 

"  The  verdure  of  the  valleys,  which  here  intersect  the 
forest,  is  the  most  rich  and  velvet-like  I  ever  saw.  Each 
of  these  valleys  has  its  mountain  brook,  by  which  it  is 
traversed  in  a  thousand  fantastic  meanders. 

"  We  are  here  so  overtopped  by  the  pine  forest,  that  the 
sun  takes  leave  at  five  o'clock  ;  and  if  we  would  lengthen 
our  days,  we  must  follow  him  to  the  mountains.  The 
long  delightful  twilight  that  succeeds  is  a  very  agreeable 
substitute  for  the  broad  day ;  and  to  this  circumstance 
Deinach  owes  much  of  its  peculiar  attraction  during  the 
summer  months.  There  is  always  a  fresh  current  of  air, 
with  abundance  and  depth  of  shade  at  hand. 

*  *  *  * 
"Hercynia. — This  immense  forest  has  been   partially 

cut  down  in  many  places,  and  tracts  of  rich  arable,  towns, 
and  principalities  have  replaced  it.  The  extensive  portions 
of  it  which  remain  are  divided  into  the  distinctive  appella- 
tions of  Hartzwald,  Bohmerwald,  Thiiringerwald,  and  the 
Schwarzwald,  or  Black  Forest,  where  I  now  write. 


CHARLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  293 

"In  this  highly  romantic  and  beautiful  recess  the 
Queen  Dowager  of  Wurtemberg  has  for  many  years 
fixed  her  summer  residence.  From  many  local  circum- 
stances, and  the  benefit  she  has  so  often  derived  from  the 
periodical  use  of  its  waters,  her  Majesty  is  particularly 
attached  to  this  solitude. 

"  In  addition  to  the  Royal  chateau  and  extensive  offices, 
the  village  contains  abundant  accommodation  for  the 
numerous  strangers  and  invalids  who  annually  resort  to 
the  salubrious  waters  and  grateful  shade  of  Deinach. 

"It  is  here  that,  laying  aside  the  artificial  State  and 
more  external  forms  of  Royalty,  her  Majesty  enters  into 
the  simple  pastimes  and  tranquil  occupations  of  private 
life,  and  where  every  member  of  her  Court  enjoys  the  like 
immunities. 

"The  presence  of  such  a  personage  is  of  infinite  im- 
portance to  the  prosperity  of  the  place.  The  announce- 
ment of  her  visit  is  the  signal  of  happy  rendezvous  to  the 
towns  and  communes  with  which  this  portion  of  the  forest 
abounds.  Each,  taking  its  holiday  in  succession,  sends 
forth  its  wealthier  portion  of  inhabitants  to  enjoy  their 
week's  pastime  in  the  presence  of  the  Queen.  These  again 
are  replaced  by  others,  so  that  the  Baths  of  Deinach  pre- 
sent a  constant  succession  of  visitors. 

"  At  stated  times  also,  the  inferior  peasantry  are  invited 
to  the  celebration  of  games  and  other  pastimes  peculiar 
to  this  district  of  the  ancient  Hercynia,  which  gives  a  new 
character  to  the  place  and  people.  Music  and  dancing  are 
heard  at  all  hours.  In  addition  to  her  Majesty's  band, 
which  plays  a  series  of  national  airs  during  dinner  and 
supper,  there  is  always  one  or  more  itinerant  Bohemian 
bands,  which  fill  up  every  pause,  making  music  the  special 
business  of  life. 


294  THE    KOTAL   PKI1STCESSES. 

"  The  hours  and  domestic  arrangements  of  her  Majesty's 
household  are  managed  with  primitive  simplicity — every- 
thing worthy  of  imitation  she  recommends  by  personal 
example.  At  the  head  of  these  is  the  practice  of  early 
rising,  which  is  universal  with  the  Court,  as  it  is  with  all 
classes  of  the  community. 

"  The  Queen  is  every  morning  visible  at  six  o'clock  ;  nor 
does  the  vigour  of  her  mind  allow  even  bodily  indisposition 
to  interfere  with  the  extreme  regularity  of  her  habits, 
unless  under  circumstances  of  urgent  necessity. 

"  The  economy  of  time,  and  the  nicely  adjusted  propor- 
tions in  which  it  is  distributed  to  the  various  and  im- 
portant duties  of  the  day,  attest  the  wise  and  judicious 
employment  of  a  materiel  which  no  art  can  accumulate, 
which  the  next  moment  may  forfeit,  and  in  the  wise 
appropriation  of  which  consists  the  true  philosophy  of  life. 

"  Between  six  and  seven  o'clock  at  latest  breakfast  is 
served  to  each  member  of  the  household  in  his  respective 
chamber,  after  the  French  fashion.  It  consists  of  coffee, 
warm  milk,  and  fresh  rolls,  and  is  left  on  the  toilette-table 
for  the  solitary  repast  of  the  inmate  or  guest. 

"  The  social  breakfast  of  England  is  unknown  in  this 
country,  unless  where  occasionally  introduced.  The  Queen 
and  her  ladies  all  follow  the  national  custom  of  breakfasting 
thus  early  and  alone. 

"  Dinner. — At  one  o'clock,  the  band  takes  its  station 
under  the  windows  of  the  drawing-room.  The  com- 
pany assemble  from  their  several  apartments ;  the  usual 
compliments  are  exchanged,  and  conversation,  for  which 
the  weather  here,  as  everywhere  else,  is  a  fertile  resource, 
is  kept  up  till  the  Queen  is  announced  by  the  opening 
of  the  folding-doors  of  the  Eoyal  entree. 

"  The  gentlemen  now  file  off  to  the  left,  and  the  ladies 


CHARLOTTE   ATTGTJSTA   MATILDA.  295 

to  the  right,  forming  a  crescent,  in  the  middle  of  which 
her  Majesty,  led  by  her  Royal  brother,  pauses  to  receive 
the  homage  of  her  household,  and  the  presentation  of 
such  guests  as  rank  or  circumstances  may  have  brought  to 
her  table. 

"  In  these  cases,  the  goodness  of  her  heart,  her  courtly 
and  prepossessing  manner,  never  fail  to  put  the  stranger  at 
his  ease,  and  to  show  how  little  native  dignity  requires  the 
specious  accessories  of  pomp  and  '  circumstance'  to  give 
it  effect. 

"  After  addressing  obliging  inquiries,  as  is  her  custom, 
to  every  individual  in  the  circle,  the  doors  of  the  banquet- 
room  are  thrown  open,  her  Majesty,  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
his  Royal  Highness,  enters  and  takes  her  seat  near  the 
centre  of  the  table,  with  the  Duke  on  her  right,  and  the 
guest  of  the  day  occupying  the  chair  on  her  left.  The 
company  immediately  follow  by  two  and  two,  the  Cham- 
berlain offering  his  arm  to  the  lady  who  has  the  right  of 
precedence ;  and  the  others,  following  according  to  their 
birth  or  station  in  the  household,  take  their  places  round 
the  table,  of  oval  form  and  liberal  dimensions. 

"  In  the  centre  is  a  plateau,  richly  ornamented,  and 
exhibiting  in  tasteful  distribution  bouquets  of  fruits  and 
flowers — some  natural,  others  artificial.  Vases  of  precious 
metal  and  baskets  of  filigree  work,  each  with  an  appro- 
priate complement  of  flowers  or  fruit,  are  stationed  at 
regular  intervals  along  the  centre  of  the  table,  producing 
a  very  pleasing  effect,  and  diverting  the  eye  during  the 
intervals  of  the  successive  courses. 

"  Before  each  guest  are  placed  two  square  pieces  of  bread, 
black  and  white — the  former  is  that  of  general  preference. 
Three  small  crystal  flasks,  holding  something  less  than  a 
pint,  are  arranged  in  front  of  each  plate,  one  containing 


29G  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

white    Rhenish    or    Neckar  wine,   the   other   Claret   or 
Burgundy,  and  the  third  excellent  spring-water. 
*  *  *  * 

"  At  the  sideboard  stands  the  maitre  d'Jiotel  in  his  State 
uniform,  arid  keeping  a  vigilant  eye  on  the  performance. 
On  his  right  and  left  two  silver  censers  are  constantly 
burning,  serving  the  double  purpose  of  diffusing  an 
agreeable  incense  over  the  apartment,  and  of  restoring  to 
their  legitimate  temperature  such  dishes  as  have  lost  a 
degree  or  two  by  a  careless  or  premature  importation  from 
the  kitchen. 

"  Behind  her  Majesty's  chair  stand  two  pages,  in  blue 
and  silver.  Behind  every  other  at  table  a  servant  in  livery, 
consisting  of  orange  faced  with  black,  and  terminating 
inferiorly  in  a  pair  of  high-heeled  powerful  Hessian 
boots 

"During  the  repast,  several  of  the  more  choice  and 
costly  wines  of  France  or  Spain  are  handed  round  in  glasses, 
repeated  at  short  intervals,  and  generally  in  fresh  variety. 
Dishes  of  elaborate  study,  and  alluring  in  scent  and  aspect, 
are  in  constant  progress  round  the  circle,  sufficient  to 
tempt  an  epicure  beyond  his  strength,  and  to  pamper  the 
most  fastidious  appetite. 

"  Her  Majesty,  opposite  to  whom  I  have  the  honour  of 
a  place,  dines  sparingly,  and  limits  her  diet  almost  ex- 
clusively to  vegetable  and  farinaceous  dishes,  accompanied 
with  a  glass  of  Malaga  during  dinner.  She  observed  to 
me  jocularly  to-day  after  dinner,  '  The  ladies  will  never 
admit  in  England  that  they  can  possibly  have  gout ;  there 
is  something  in  the  name  so  offensive  to  their  delicacy ; 
but,  I  assure  you,  I  make  no  secret  of  the  matter,  and 
suffer  from  gout  exceedingly  at  times.' 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  dinner,  which  seldom  occupies  a 


CHAKLOTTE    AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  297 

full  hour,  her  Majesty  rises  from  table,  and,  retiring  to  the 
drawing-room  in  the  same  manner  she  entered,  is  followed 
by  the  company  as  before.  Here  she  converses  affably 
with  her  guests  during  the  time  that  coffee  and  liqueurs  are 
handed  round  the  circle,  first  partaking  of  the  former  her- 
self, and  then  recommending  the  beverage  to  others — this 
being  the  winding-up  of  the  entertainment. 

"Her  Majesty  retires  to  her  private  apartments,  or  enters 
her  carriage,  which  is  always  in  waiting  at  this  hour,  if 
the  weather  be  favourable,  and,  accompanied  by  his  Royal 
Highness,  takes  a  drive  of  some  hours  through  the 
romantic  passes  of  the  forest. 

"  The  three  favourite  spots  to  which  her  Majesty  resorts 
on  these  occasions  are  "Wilhelmshohe,  the  Tower  of 
Sablestein,  and  the  Eose-garten. 

"  On  leaving  the  open  air  the  Queen  retires  to  her  apart- 
ments, and  the  company  to  the  drawing-room,  where 
music,  conversation,  and  the  novels  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
afford  delightful  occupation  till  the  hour  of  supper. 

"  Here  the  maxim  of  '  early  to  bed,  and  early  to  rise,'  is 
strictly  observed  and  practised.  The  supper-table  is  de- 
serted by  ten  o'clock  at  latest,  and  the  household,  unless 
on  extraordinary  occasions,  distributed  through  their 
several  apartments." 

Meantime  the  Queen  preserved  the  warmest  attachment 
to  her  native  country,  for  whose  manners,  constitution,  and 
welfare  she  always  retained  a  genuine  British  feeling ;  and 
she  was  induced  in  the  spring  of  1827,  by  the  desire  of 
once  more  seeing  her  beloved  family,  and  by  the  hope  that 
she  might  obtain  relief  from  a  complaint,  dropsy,  which 
had  afflicted  her  for  many  years,  and  had  increased  her 
size  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  to  undertake  a  journey  to 
England.  She  arrived  without  any  accident.  The  per 


298  THE    EOTAL  PEINCESSES. 

sons  who  accompanied  her  Majesty  on  that  occasion  could 
not  find  terms  to  describe  the  landing  in  England :  the 
affectionate  reception  given  her  by  her  Royal  brother  and 
all  her  august  relations;  the  delightful  domestic  circle 
into  which  she  returned,  after  an  absence  of  thirty  years ; 
and  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  wherever  they  saw, 
even  at  a  distance,  the  favourite  daughter  of  George  III. 
One  of  her  own  most  ardent  desires  was  fulfilled.  Her 
bodily  sufferings  appeared  to  be  for  a  time  alleviated  by 
the  joy  which  she  felt.  She  seemed  to  live  again  in  the 
remembrances  of  her  youth — no  friend,  no  old  servant  had 
been  forgotten.  Where  any  persons  with  whom  she  used 
to  deal  were  still  in  business,  she  sent  for  them  and  made 
some  purchases. 

Sir  Astley  Cooper,  and  other  eminent  surgeons,  were 
called  in  to  attend  the  Queen ;  and,  by  Sir  Astley  Cooper's 
advice,  her  Majesty  underwent  the  operation  of  tapping 
while  residing  in  St.  James's  Palace,  which  was  per- 
formed by  Sir  Astley  with  great  privacy.  There  were  at 
one  time  flattering  hopes  that  the  operation  would  lead 
ultimately  to  a  perfect  cure,  but  the  event  proved  the 
fallacy  of  any  such  expectation. 

The  circumstances  which  attended  her  Majesty's  return 
home  exhibited  her  strength  of  mind  and  her  trust  in  God 
in  the  brightest  light.  On  the  second  day  after  she  had 
embarked,  when  she  was  very  ill  and  much  agitated  by 
the  parting  with  her  family,  a  violent  storm  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames  threatened  her  and  all  on  board  with  the 
most  imminent  danger.  In  this  trying  moment  her 
attendants  could  not  sufficiently  admire  the  unshaken 
courage  of  the  Queen.  When  any  of  them  went  to  her 
cabin  to  console  her,  they  found  her  in  no  want  of  con- 
solation ;  composedly  lying  on  a  sofa,  she  said  to  them,  "  I 


CHAKLOTTE   AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  299 

am  here  in  the  hand  of  God  as  much  as  at  home  in  my 
bed."  The  peril,  however,  passed  away,  and  the  august 
traveller  returned  to  Wurtemberg  in  safety. 

Unhappily  her  bodily  sufferings  increased  after  that 
period,  and  dropsy  in  the  chest  gradually  manifested  itself. 
At  the  same  time,  pains  in  the  head,  to  which  she  had 
been  subject  for  many  years,  and  other  symptoms,  gave 
reason  to  apprehend  that  part  of  the  brain  was  affected, 
which,  on  dissection,  was  afterwards  found  to  be  the  case. 
Her  Majesty  frequently  experienced  great  difficulty  in 
breathing,  was  obliged  to  be  carried  up-stairs  in  a  chair, 
and  when  she  entered  a  carriage,  to  be  assisted  by  two 
domestics.  So  far,  however,  was  she  from  exhibiting  any 
serious  idea  of  her  approaching  dissolution,  that  she  enter- 
tained at  dinner  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Shrewsbury  at 
her  Palace  of  Louisburg  only  three  days  previously  to 
her  death ;  and  having  withdrawn  with  them  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  to  her  private  apartments,  kept  up  for 
nearly  two  hours  a  most  interesting  and  affable  conversa- 
tion on  a  variety  of  topics. 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1828,  having  just  entered  the 
sixty-third  year  of  her  age,  her  Majesty  expired  without  a 
struggle,  gently  and  imperceptibly,  in  the  arms  of  the 
King,  her  son-in-law,  and  surrounded  by  affectionate  friends 
and  faithful  servants.  Her  mortal  remains  were  deposited, 
on  October  12th,  with  due  solemnity,  by  the  side  of  her 
husband,  in  the  vault  of  Ludwigsberg. 

"  On  the  12th  of  October  her  Majesty's  obsequies  were 
celebrated  in  the  cathedral  at  S  tut tgardt,  which  was  suitably 
fitted  up  for  the  occasion,  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of 
Wurtemberg,  chief  mourner,  the  Royal  family,  the  Court, 
the  civil  and  military  authorities,  and  a  great  number  of 
persons  of  all  ranks.  After  a  dirge  by  Zumsteeg,  the 


300  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

Court  chaplain  delivered  an  impressive  discourse  on  the 
text,  '  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.'  A  sketch  of 
her  Majesty's  life,  composed  by  the  King's  command, 
which  was  read  at  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon,  furnished 
the  biographical  data  for  the  eulogium  bestowed  by  the 
preacher  on  the  deceased  Queen ;  an  eulogium  which 
deserved  to  be,  and  which  probably  will  yet  be  made  more 
extensively  public.  A  similar  religious  ceremony  took 
place  on  the  same  day  at  Louisburg,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  was  repeated  in  all  the  parishes  of  the 
kingdom.  Her  Majesty's  death  was  sincerely  lamented  at 
Stuttgardt  on  account  of  her  extensive  private  chanties 
and  her  numerous  endearing  and  amiable  qualities. 

"  The  will  of  her  Majesty, the  Queen  of  Wurtemberg,  was 
proved  in  the  Prerogative  Court  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  by  his  Excellency  the  Count  de  Mandelsloh, 
Minister  from  Wurtemberg  to  the  British  Court,  who  was 
also  named  as  the  attorney  executor,  representing  his 
Majesty,  the  reigning  King  of  Wurtemberg. 

"  The  property  in  England  was  sworn  under  the  value  of 
80,OOOZ.  sterling ;  and  the  will,  which  was  in  the  German 
language,  beautifully  written  on  vellum,  was  dated  from  the 
Palace  of  Louisburg,  the  23rd  day  of  December,  1816. 
Many  of  the  legacies  had  consequently  lapsed,  from  the 
death  of  the  legatees.  The  following  is  a  correct  abstract 
of  the  several  bequests  in  the  order  in  which  they  appear 
in  the  will : — 

"  Her  Majesty,  in  the  event  of  her  Eoyal  father  or 
mother  surviving  her,  appoints  them  her  heirs  in  legiti- 
main,  with  a  request  that  her  property  thus  devolving  to 
them  be  either  immediately,  or  at  least  at  their  Majesties' 
decease,  given  up  entire  or  undiminished  to  those  heirs  to 


CHAKLOTTE    AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  301 

whom  she  has  bequeathed  the  residue  of  her  property  and 
effects. 

"  In  case  of  her  Majesty's  surviving  her  Eoyal  parents, 
her  Majesty  gives  the  whole  of  the  property  secured  to 
her  under  her  marriage  settlements  (subject  to  the  lega- 
cies thereafter  noticed)  to  the  legitimate  children  of  the 
present  King  of  Wurtemberg,  her  Majesty's  son-in-law, 
and  constitutes  them  her  principal  heirs  ;  but  directs  the 
same  to  be  preserved  entire  and  undiminished  as  a  family 
fidei  commissum,  and  that  consequently  her  heirs  shall 
not  be  entitled  to  dispose  of  the  substance  of  such  pro- 
perty, but  shall  have  only  the  usufruct  thereof  as  an 
annual  revenue." 

The  following  are  the  specific  legacies  given  by  the 
will:— 

"The  rings  (thirty  in  number),  and  the  drawings  which 
her  late  consort  bequeathed  to  her,  are  directed  to  be 
given,  the  former  to  the  Eoyal  Museum  of  Arts  and 
Curiosities,  and  the  latter  to  the  Eoyal  Private  Library 
at  Wurtemberg. 

"  The  heron  aigrette,  presented  to  her  Majesty  by  the 
Grand  Seignor  Selim  III.,  to  be  given  to  the  Eoyal 
house  of  Wurtemberg,  to  form  part  of  the  jewels  of  the 
crown ;  also  her  late  consort's  portraits,  but  without  their 
mountings  ;  and  also  the  portraits  of  the  Eoyal  family  of 
England ;  and  directs  them  to  be  placed  in  the  gallery  of 
the  Eoyal  family  at  Wurtemberg. 

"  To  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Wurtemberg  she  be- 
queaths the  collection  of  English  translations  of  ancient 
classics,  all  the  historical  works,  together  with  the  collec- 
tion called  the  English  classics  in  the  Palace  of  Louis- 
burg  ;  also  the  portrait  bust  of  her  late  consort,  painted  in 

x 


302  THE   EOTAL   PBINCESSES. 

oil  by  Retch  ;  the  bust  of  the  Princess  Catherine  de  Mont- 
fort,  in  Carrara  marble  ;  a  clock  in  bronze,  representing  a 
standing  figure,  with  a  garland  of  stars  ;  the  turquoise, 
mounted  in  a  ring  usually  worn  by,  and  which  devolved  to, 
her  late  consort  out  of  the  effects  of  the  late  Count  van 
Zeppelin,  senior. 

"  Her  Majesty  begs  the  present  Queen  of  Wurtemberg 
to  accept,  as  a  token  of  remembrance,  a  round  table  of 
bronze  and  marble,  with  a  porcelain  slab,  upon  which  is  a 
view  of  Monrepos  ;  also  a  round  table  of  mahogany,  with 
three  bronze  figures,  and  a  painted  porcelain  slab,  and  a 
family  breakfast  service  of  Ludwigsberg  porcelain ;  also  her 
chrysolite  necklace,  earrings,  and  head-band  set  with 
brilliants. 

"  To  her  granddaughter,  the  Princess  Marie  of  Wurtem- 
berg, a  row  of  forty-two  Oriental  pearls,  received  by  her 
Majesty  as  a  nuptial  present  from  her  late  husband  ;  and 
also  a  blue  enamelled  gold  watch,  set  with  brilliants,  with 
a  jasper  chain,  t 

"  To  the  said  Princess  Marie,  or  the  eldest  daughter  of 
the  King  of  Wurtemberg,  the  necklace,  made  of  the  pearls 
and  four  large  brilliants,  from  the  large  epaulette  be- 
queathed to  her  Majesty  by  her  late  consort." 

To  the  children  of  her  son-in-law,  Prince  Paul  of 
Wurtemberg,  she  bequeaths  as  follows :  — "  To  Prince 
Frederick,  a  large  gilt  tea-urn  and  a  silver  standish.  To 
Prince  Augustus,  two  pair  of  silver  candelabra.  To  the 
Princess  Charlotte,  six  corn-ears  in  brilliants,  and  an 
English  silver  tea-service.  To  the  Princess  Pauline,  six 
brilliant  corn-ears,  a  silver  tea-urn,  and  a  silver  toilet.  To 
the  Duchess  Louise  of  Wurtemberg,  a  coffee-service  of 
Ludwigsberg  gilt  porcelain,  with  a  view  of  Friudenthal; 
also  a  fire-screen,  with  a  painting  on  tin,  after  Raphael." 


CHARLOTTE    AUGUSTA   MATILDA.  303 

The  following  are  the  bequests  to  the  Royal  family  of 
England : — 

"  To  her  mother,  the  Queen  of  England,  a  hair-pin  in  the 
form  of  a  half-moon,  set  with  brilliants,  and  also  a  break- 
fast service  of  Vienna  porcelain,  of  which  the  teaboard 
represents  the  death  of  Dido. 

"  To  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  his  present 
Majesty,  a  clock  in  an  alabaster  case,  together  with  four 
vases  thereunto  belonging. 

"  To  the  Duke  of  York,  a  clock  in  alabaster,  with  four 
vases,  mounted  in  bronze. 

"  To  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  a  clock  in  bronze,  ornamented 
with  Cupid  wheeling  a  barrow,  and  also  two  bronze 
candlesticks,  in  the  form  of  negroes. 

"  To  the  Duke  of  Kent,  a  clock  in  white  marble,  sur- 
mounted by  a  couchant  lion,  with  two  bronze  candlesticks. 

"  To  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  two  clocks  in  bronze, 
one  of  them  in  the  form  of  au  urn,  and  the  other  in  the 
form  of  a  globe. 

"  To  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  two  clocks  in  bronze,  with 
couchant  dogs. 

"  To  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  a  clock  in  bronze,  repre- 
senting a  basket  of  flowers,  and  two  gilt  porcelain  vases. 

"  To  the  Princess  Augusta  of  England,  a  pair  of 
bracelets,  having  four  rows  of  small  pearls,  and  clasps  set 
round  with  brilliants,  and  with  some  of  the  hair  under  a 
glass  of  her  beloved  parents.  A  souvenir  of  gold,  with 
portraits  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  England  (George  III. 
and  Queen  Charlotte) .  A  portrait  of  the  Princess  Eliza- 
beth, painted  by  Edridge.  A  ring,  containing  a  watch  set 
with  brilliants.  A  head-band  of  pearls,  studded  with  eleven 
cross  rows  of  brilliants. 

"  To  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  one  round  medallion,  set 


304  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

with  thirty-four  brilliants  ;  two  cups  of  gilt  filigree ;  a 
standish  of  silver  filigree  ;  a  square  pin  set  with  brilliants, 
containing  the  hair  of  the  late  Princess  Amelia  ;  the  por- 
trait bust  of  his  late  Majesty  George  III.,  in  oil,  by  Gains- 
borough ;  a  small  half-portrait  of  her  late  Majesty  Queen 
Charlotte  ;  a  large  flower-piece,  in  oil,  by  Baptisto  ;  a  large 
flower-piece,  in  oil,  by  Vanhuysen ;  and  a  necklace  and 
earrings  set  with  large  chrysophases,  surrounded  with 
brilliants. 

"  To  the  Princess  Mary,  a  medallion  with  nine  rosettes, 
containing  some  of  the  hair  of  the  Princess  Amelia  ;  a  pair 
of  bracelets  with  rosette  clasps,  containing  the  hair  of  the 
late  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York  ;  a  girdle  of  three  rows  of 
pearls,  with  thirteen  brilliants  ;  and  an  oval  clasp  set  with 
brilliants,  containing  some  of  the  hair  of  her  mother,  the 
late  Queen. 

"  To  the  Princess  Sophia,  two  medallions  in  gold,  with 
the  portraits  of  the  Princesses  Augusta  and  Elizabeth ; 
a  similar  medallion,  with  the  portrait  of  the  King  of 
England,  her  father ;  and  a  pair  of  earrings  with  pearl- 
drops,  mounted  in  brilliants. 

"  Her  Majesty  recommends  the  persons  attached  to  her 
household  to  the  favour  and  protection  of  the  King  of 
Wurtemberg,  hoping  that,  in  consideration  of  the  circum- 
stance of  her  Majesty  having  disposed  of  the  mass  of  her 
property  to  the  House  of  Wurtemberg,  his  Majesty  will  be 
pleased  to  provide  suitably  for  her  servants." 


305 


AUGUSTA  SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND  AMELIA. 

Birth  of  Augusta  Sophia — Christening — Inoculated — Birth  of  Sophia — 
Teachers  of  the  Princess — Her  first  appearance  in  puhlic — Birth 
of  Amelia  —  Letters  of  Mrs.  Delaney  —  Procession  ou  Windsor 
Terrace  —  Attempt  on  the  King's  life  —  Frogmore  —  Queen  of 
"Wurtemberg's  birthday — National  jubilee — Illness  and  death  of 
Amelia — Illness  of  the  King — Death  of  the  Queen — Her  will — 
Death  of  the  King — Members  of  his  family  present  at  the  time — 
Further  history  of  Augusta  Sophia  and  Sophia. 

THE  early  history  of  the  sister  scions  of  the  Royal  family 
of  Queen  Charlotte  bears  so  great  a  similarity,  that  the 
memoir  of  the  Queen  of  Wurtemberg,  prior  to  her  mar- 
riage, may  be  said  to  give  the  whole  of  the  most  striking 
particulars.  One  reason  of  this  was  the  very  domestic 
habits  of  the  Queen  and  her  daughters,  another  their 
proximity  in  age.  Only  two  years'  difference  existed  be- 
tween the  Princess  Royal  and  Augusta  Sophia,  and  Prin- 
cess Elizabeth  was  but  two  years  younger  still  than 
Augusta  Sophia,  so  that  they  must  have  been  not  only 
famous  playmates,  but  excellent  companions  in  infancy. 
The  next  daughter  of  Charlotte  was  Mary,  afterwards 
Duchess  of  Gloucester,  five  years  younger,  born  1776,  to 
whom  a  separate  notice  will  be  given.  Sophia,  still 
younger,  born  1777,  and  Amelia  in  1783;  the  last,  the  latest 
born  and  best  beloved  of  King  George's  daughters,  that 
fair  flower  destined  to  be  snatched  from  the  world  in  the 
very  bloom  of  womanhood.  Not  with  the  married  daughters 
of  the  good  King— the  benevolent  Charlotte  Augusta 
Matilda,  the  amiable  and  tasteful  Elizabeth  of  Hesse 
Homburg,  or  the  fair,  gentle,  and  excellent  Mary,  our  ever 


306  THE    KOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

to  be  lamented  Duchess — that  last  tie  of  a  past  generation, 
so  lately  departed  to  a  higher  state  than  any  this  world 
could  bestow — may  the  pen  of  the  historian  now  linger : 
it  rests  with  the  three  sisters  with  whom  Englishwomen 
have  long  been  happily  associated  in  the  history  of  these 
our  own  times.  Years  have  passed  away  indeed  since 
Amelia  departed  from  amongst  us ;  but  her  sad  story  was 
long,  very  long,  familiar  on  the  hearth  of  every  English 
home. 

Augusta  Sophia,  second  daughter  of  Charlotte,  was 
born  December  7,  1768.  The  Queen's  illness  commenced 
at  seven  in  the  evening,  and  the  Princess  was  ushered  into 
the  world  at  half-past  eight.  The  Dowager  Princess  of 
Wales,  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  two 
Secretaries  of  State,  the  ladies  of  honour,  &c.,  were  present 
on  the  occasion.  The  accounts  continued  favourable  of 
the  health  of  both  mother  and  infant.  Numerous  indeed 
were  the  nobility  who  thronged  to  make  inquiries  on  this 
occasion  and  be  entertained  with  cake  and  caudle. 

Among  the  young  ladies  who  presented  themselves  at 
the  Palace  to  see  the  Royal  babe,  were  two  who  are  said  to 
have  so  indiscreetly  partaken  of  the  good  cheer  so  hand- 
somely provided,  that,  losing  their  discretion  still  further, 
they  walked  off  with  the  cup  in  their  keeping  also,  not 
being  satisfied  with  the  contents.  On  detection  they  were 
pardoned,  after  kneeling  to  ask  forgiveness. 

Two  messengers  had  been  despatched  with  the  earliest 
tidings  of  Queen  Charlotte's  safety,  and  the  news  of 
Augusta's  birth,  to  the  Court  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  and 
other  European  Courts.  The  two  young  Princes  of  Meck- 
lenburg, the  Queen's  brothers,  shortly  after  arrived  from 
Germany,  and  were  immediately  conducted  to  the  Queen's 
house. 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  A2TD    AMELIA.  307 

The  ceremony  of  baptism  was  performed  on  December 
7th,inthe  grand  council-room  at  St.  James's,  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  officiating ;  the  name  given  to  the  Royal 
child  was  Augusta  Sophia.  Her  sponsors  were  the  eldest 
Prince  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz  ;  the  Duchesses  of  Ancaster 
and  Northumberland  were  proxies  for  the  Queen  of  Den- 
mark and  the  Princess  of  Brunswick. 

In  1770,  Prince  Edward  and  Augusta  Sophia,  his  sister, 
were  inoculated  for  the  small-pox;  the  Princess  was  a  year 
younger  than  her  brother.  In  a  few  years  more  were 
added  to  the  family  group  Augustus  Adolphus,  Mary  and 
Sophia ;  this  last  event  happened  in  1777,  on  the  3rd  of 
November.  Her  Majesty  was  delivered  at  her  palace  of  a 
Princess,  who  was  baptized  on  the  first  of  the  following 
month  at  St.  James's  by  the  name  of  Sophia. 

Cooper  had  the  honour  to  instruct  the  Queen  and  some 
of  the  Princesses.  He  had  lived  long  at  Rome,  Florence, 
and  other  places  in  Italy,  and  copied  the  surrounding 
country  in  the  neighbourhood  of  those  cities ;  he  drew 
classic  scenes  in  black  chalk,  heightened  with  white,  in  a 
peculiar  style  of  richness  and  effect. 

Cipriani  also  gave  some  lessons  ;  and  Gresse,  his  pupil,  was 
appointed  teacher  to  the  Princesses,  which  distinguished 
office  he  held  from  the  year  1777  to  the  period  of  his 
death  in  1794.  Gresse  taught  landscape  and  figure ;  the 
style  of  his  landscapes  was  in  the  early  manner  of  Paul 
Sandby,  correctly  outlined  with  a  pen  and  tinted  with 
colours  ;  his  figures  were  in  the  style  of  his  master,  drawn 
in  chalks,  and  tinted  with  powder  colours. 

The  first  appearance  in  public  of  Princess  Sophia  was  at 
the  great  musical  entertainment  instituted  in 'commemo- 
ration of  Handel,  and  conducted  under  the  patronage  of 
her  Royal  parents.  The  design  of  this  extraordinary 


308  THE   EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

entertainment  originated  with  some  persons  of  distinction, 
who  wished  for  a  periodical  celebration  of  that  eminent 
master  of  harmony,  in  a  public  performance  of  his  works, 
the  proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  musical 
fund.  A  temporary  building  was  erected  for  the  occasion 
in  the  west  aisle  of  Westminster  Abbey,  large  enough  to 
receive  four  thousand  persons. 

On  Wednesday,  the  26th  of  May,  the  great  festival 
commenced,  and  the  company  assembled  in  numbers  at  an 
early  hour.  Their  Majesties  arrived  about  a  quarter-past 
twelve  o'clock  ;  and  when  the  King  entered  the  building 
he  stood  for  some  moments  apparently  lost  in  astonish- 
ment at  the  sublimity  of  the  spectacle,  nor  was  the  Queen 
less  affected  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  coup  d^ceil^  for  she 
viewed  it  with  admiration,  and  repeatedly  expressed  her 
gratification  to  those  around  her.  The  King  and  Queen 
were  accompanied  by  Prince  Edward  and  the  Princess 
Royal,  who  sat  on  the  King's  right,  and  the  Princesses 
Augusta,  Elizabeth,  and  Sophia,  who  sat  on  the  Queen's 
left  hand. 

This  splendid  entertainment  was  followed  by  another 
performance  at  the  Abbey  on  the  29th,  at  which  their 
Majesties  were  attended  by  five  of  the  Princesses,  whose 
delight  was  continually  manifested  throughout  the  per- 
formance. 

The  early  years  of  the  Princess  Sophia  were  devoted  to 
education,  together  with  her  younger  sisters,  and  we  find 
little  else  to  record  till  the  spring  of  1789,  when  a  splendid 
fete  was  held  at  Windsor  by  the  Princess  Royal. 

The  King,  on  this  occasion,  wore  the  Windsor  uniform, 
as  also  did  the  several  gentlemen  present,  and  the  Queen 
and  the  Princesses  did  not  differ  from  the  general  costume 
of  the  ladies,  which  consisted  of  "  a  dress  of  garter-blue 


AUGUSTA   SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND   AMELIA.  309 

covered  with  white  tiffany,  which  by  candlelight  had  the 
appearance  of  purple.  A  plume  of  white  feathers,  plain 
or  tipped  with  orange,  gave  style  to  the  head-dress,  which 
had  a  fine  effect." 

The  whole  female  circle  also  wore  bandeaux,  on  which 
were  the  words,  "  God  save  the  King,"  and  some  of  the 
ladies  had  rich  medallions  of  the  Monarch  set  in  pearls  or 
diamonds. 

The  Eoyal  visit  to  Bulstrode,  and  the  other  localities 
visited  by  the  King  and  Queen  with  their  children,  have 
already  been  noticed.  In  all  these,  Princess  Augusta 
shared  with  the  Princess  Eoyal  and  Princess  Elizabeth. 

One  of  the  favourite  resorts  of  the  youthful  Eoyal 
family  was  the  house  of  Mrs.  Delaney,  in  Windsor  Park, 
where  they  not  unfrequently  enjoyed  a  merry  romp,  and 
subsequently  a  cup  of  tea. 

Mrs.  Delaney  writes :  "  I  have  been  several  evenings  at 
the  Queen's  Lodge,  with  no  other  company  but  their  own 
'most  lovely  family.  They  sit  round  a  large  table,  on 
which  are  books,  work,  pencils,  and  paper. 

"  The  Queen  has  the  goodness  to  make  me  sit  down  next 
to  her,  and  delights  me  with  her  conversation,  which  is  in- 
forming, elegant,  and  pleasing  beyond  description,  whilst 
the  younger  part  of  the  family  are  drawing  and  working, 
&c.,  &c. — the  beautiful  babe,  Princess  Amelia,  bearing  her 
part  in  the  entertainment,  sometimes  playing  with  the 
King  on  the  carpet,  which,  altogether,  exhibits  such  a  de- 
lightful scene  as  would  require  an  Addison's  pen  or  a  Van- 
dyke's pencil  to  do  justice  to.  In  the  next  room  is  the  band 
of  music,  who  play  from  eight  till  ten.  The  King  generally 
directs  them  what  pieces  of  music  to  play — chiefly  Handel's. 
Here  I  must  stop,  and  return  to  my  own  house.  Mr. 
Dewes,  from  Wellsbourn,  came  here  on  the  25th  of  Oc- 


310  THE   EOTAL   PEIKCESSES. 

tober ;  on  the  28th,  their  Majesties,  five  Princesses,  and 
the  youngest  Princes,  came  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening 
to  drink  tea  with  me. 

"  All  the  Princesses  and  Princes  had  a  commerce-table. 
Miss  Emily  Clayton,  daughter  to  Lady  Louisa  Clayton, 
and  Miss  Port,  did  the  honours  of  it. 

"  It  gave  me  a  pleasing  opportunity  of  introducing  Mr. 
Dewes  to  their  Majesties.  The  King  took  gracious  notice 
of  him  ;  and  having  heard  that  his  youngest  brother,  Mr. 
John  Dewes,  wished  to  take  the  name  of  Granville,  said  to 
Mr.  Dewes  that  he  desired  he  might  from  that  time  be 
called  by  that  name,  and  gave  orders  that  his  sign -manual 
should  be  prepared  for  that  purpose,  which  has  accordingly 
been  done. 

"  The  want  of  franks  cuts  me  short ;  do  me  the  justice, 
as  usual,  to  all  dear  friends,  and  believe  me  ever, 
"  Affectionately  yours, 

"M.  DELANEY." 

*  *  *  * 

Of  the  Royal  family,  in  another  letter,  the  writer  says — 
"  At  this  time  of  the  year  the  evenings  are  devoted  by 
them  to  the  Terrace  till  eight  o'clock,  when  they  return 
to  the  Lodge  to  their  tea  and  concert  of  music.  Happy 
are  those  who  are  admitted  to  that  circle ! 

"  The  Queen  has  had  the  goodness  to  command  me  to 
come  to  the  Lodge  whenever  it  is  quite  easy  to  me  to  do 
it,  without  sending  particularly  for  me,  lest  it  should  em- 
barrass me  to  refuse  that  honour  ;  so  that  most  evenings, 
at  half  an  hour  past  seven,  I  go  to  Miss  Burney's  apart- 
ment, and  when  the  Royal  family  return  from  tha  Terrace, 
the  King,  or  one  of  the  Princesses  (generally  the  youngest, 
Princess  Amelia,  just  four  years  old),  comes  into  the  room, 
takes  me  by  the  hand,  and  leads  me  into  the  drawing-room, 


AUGUSTA  SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND   AMELIA.  311 

where  there  is  a  chair  ready  for  me  by  the  Queen's  left 
hand ;  the  three  eldest  Princesses  sit  round  the  table,  and 
the  ladies  in  waiting,  Lady  Charlotte  Finch  and  Lady 
Elizabeth  Waldegrave.  A  vacant  chair  is  left  for  the 
King,  whenever  he  pleases  to  sit  down  in  it.  Every  one 
is  employed  with  pencil,  needle,  or  knotting.  Between 
the  pieces  of  music  the  conversation  is  easy  and  pleasant ; 
and,  for  an  hour  before  the  conclusion  of  the  whole,  the 
King  plays  at  backgammon  with  one  of  his  equerries,  and 
I  am  generally  dismissed.  I  then  go  to  Miss  Burney's 
room  again,  where  Miss  Port  generally  spends  the  even- 
ings that  I  am  at  the  Lodge,  and  has  an  opportunity  of 
being  in  very  good  company  there." 

"  On  December  24th,  1785,  Bishop  Hurd  confirmed 
Princess  Augusta  in  the  chapel  of  Windsor  Castle  :  he 
preached  in  the  chapel  the  next  day,  Christmas-day,  and 
administered  the  sacrament  to  their  Majesties  and  the 
Princess  Royal,  and  Princess  Augusta.  The  Bishop 
preached  also  before  their  Majesties  and  Royal  family 
in  the  chapel  of  Windsor  Castle,  and  administered  the 
sacrament  to  them  on  Christmas-day,  1786."* 

Amelia,  the  youngest  of  Queen  Charlotte's  daughters, 
was  born  on  the  7th  of  August,  1783,  and  seems  to  have 
been  the  favourite  and  darling  of  all  who  surrounded  her. 
If  the  brothers  and  sisters  caressed,  the  Queen  loved,  and 
the  King  might  be  said  to  have  adored  the  fairy  child  of  his 
advanced  years.  When  the  hand  of  Amelia  was  placed  in 
his  by  the  doting  mother,  it  seemed  to  touch  the  father's 
heart,  and  a  look  of  that  beaming  eye  the  child  possessed 
would  bring  a  smile  into  his  own.  One  who  enjoyed 
many  of  those  blessed  opportunities  of  hovering  in  pre- 
sence of  these  fair  scions  of  Royalty,  and  observing 
*  Nichols'  "  Literary  Anecdotes." 


312  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

those  interesting  points  in  their  daily  existence  which  less 
gifted  individuals  may  so  rarely  be  happy  enough  to 
attain,  has  left  an  account  of  the  birthday  of  one  of  the 
Princesses  (Amelia)  kept  at  Windsor,  when  it  was  com- 
monly the  custom  of  the  Royal  family  to  walk  familiarly 
upon  the  Terrace,  amidst  crowds  of  fashionable  visitors 
to  that  promenade.  The  passage  alluded  to  is  from  Miss 
Burney's  "  Diary,"  who  writes  thus : — 

"  It  was  really  a  mighty  pretty  procession.  The  little 
Princess,  just  turned  three  years  old,  in  a  robe-coat  covered 
with  fine  muslin,  a  dressed  close  cap,  white  gloves,  and  a 
fan,  walked  on  alone,  and  first,  highly  delighted  in  the 
parade,  and  turning  from  side  to  side  to  see  everybody  as 
she  passed ;  for  all  the  terracers  stand  up  against  the  walls 
to  make  a  clear  passage  for  the  Royal  family  the  moment 
they  come  in  sight.  Then  follow  the  King  and  Queen,  no 
less  delighted  themselves  with  the  joy  of  their  little 
darling."* 

After  the  death  of  her  Grace  the  Duchess  Dowager  of 
Portland,  the  King,  Queen,  and  Princess  Amelia  were  con- 
stant and  regular  in  their  inquiries  after  Mrs.  Delaney's 
health. 

"  On  Saturday,  the  3rd  of  this  month,  one  of  the 
Queen's  messengers  came,  and  brought  me  the  following 
letter  from  her  Majesty,  written  with  her  own  hand : — 

"  '  My  dear  Mrs.  Delaney  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  am 
charged  by  the  King  to  summon  her  to  her  new  abode  at 
Windsor,  for  Tuesday  next,  where  she  will  find  all  the 
most  essential  parts  of  the  house  ready,  excepting  some 
little  trifles,  which  it  will  be  better  for  Mrs.  Delaney  to 
direct  herself  in  person,  or  by  her  little  deputy,  Miss 
Port.  I  need  not,  I  hope,  add,  that  I  shall  be  extremely 
*  Miss  Burney's  "  Diary." 


AUGUSTA   SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND    AMELIA.  318 

glad  and  happy  to  see  so  amiable  an  inhabitant  in  this  our 
sweet  retreat  ;  and  wish,  very  sincerely,  that  my  dear 
Mrs.  Delaney  may  enjoy  every  blessing  amongst  us  that  her 
merits  deserve.  That  \ve  may  long  enjoy  her  amiable 
company.  Amen !  These  are  the  true  sentiments  of, 
"  '  My  dear  Mrs.  Delaney 's 

" '  Very  affectionate  Queen, 

" '  CHARLOTTE. 
"'Queen's  Lodge,  Windsor,  Sept.  3,  1785. 

" '  P.S.  I  must  also  beg  that  Mrs.  Delaney  will  choose 
her  own  time  of  coming,  as  will  best  suit  her  own  conve- 
nience.' 

"  My  Answer. 

" '  It  is  impossible  to  express  how  I  am  overwhelmed 
with  your  Majesty's  excess  of  goodness  to  me.  I  shall, 
with  the  warmest  duty  and  most  humble  respect,  obey  a 
command  that  bestows  such  honour  and  happiness  on  your 
Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  most  obedient  humble  servant 
" '  And  subject, 

" '  MAET  DELANEY.' 

"I  received  the  Queen's  letter  at  dinner,  and  was 
obliged  to  answer  it  instantly  with  my  own  hand,  without 
seeing  a  letter  I  wrote.  I  thank  God  I  had  strength 
enough  to  obey  the  gracious  summons  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed. I  arrived  here  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  found  his  Majesty  in  the  house  ready  to  receive  me, 
I  threw  myself  at  his  feet,  indeed  unable  to  utter  a  word ; 
he  raised  and  saluted  me,  and  said  he  meant  not  to  stay 
longer  than  to  desire  I  would  order  everything  that  could 
make  the  house  comfortable  and  agreeable  to  me,  and 
then  retired. 

"  Truly  I  found  nothing  wanting,  as  it  is  as  pleasant 
and  commodious  as  I  could  wish  it  to  be,  with  a  very 


314  THE    KOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

pretty  garden,  which  joins  to  that  of  the  Queen's  Lodge. 
The  next  morning  her  Majesty  sent  one  of  her  ladies  to 
know  how  I  had  rested,  and  how  I  was  in  health,  and 
whether  her  coming  would  not  be  troublesome  ?  You 
may  be  sure  I  accepted  the  honour,  and  she  came  about 
two  o'clock.  I  was  lame,  and  could  not  go  down,  as 
I  ought  to  have  done,  to  the  door  ;  but  her  Majesty  came 
up-stairs,  and  I  received  her  on  my  knees.  Our  meeting 
was  mutually  affecting ;  she  well  knew  the  value  of  what 
I  had  lost ;  and  it  was  some  time  after  we  were  seated  (for 
she  always  makes  me  sit  down,)  before  we  could  either  of 
us  speak.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  do  justice  to  her 
great  condescension  and  tenderness,  which  were  almost 
equal  to  what  I  had  lost.  She  repeated,  in  the  strongest 
terms,  her  wish,  and  the  King's,  that  I  should  be  as  easy 
and  as  happy  as  they  could  possibly  make  me ;  that  they 
waived  all  ceremony,  and  desired  to  come  to  me  like 
friends.  The  Queen  delivered  me  a  paper  from  the  King, 
which  contained  the  first  quarter  of  300Z.  per  annum, 
which  his  Majesty  allows  me  out  of  his  privy  purse. 
Their  Majesties  have  drank  tea  with  me  five  times,  and 
the  Princesses  three. 

"  They  generally  stay  two  hours,  or  longer.  In  short, 
I  have  either  seen  or  heard  from  them  every  day. 

"  I  have  not  yet  been  at  the  Queen's  Lodge,  though 
they  have  expressed  an  impatience  for  me  to  come  ;  but  I 
have  still  so  sad  a  drawback  upon  my  spirits,  that  I  must 
decline  the  honour  till  I  am  better  able  to  enjoy  it,  as 
they  have  the  goodness  not  to  press  me. 

"  Their  visits  here  are  paid  in  the  most  quiet,  private 
manner,  like  those  of  the  most  consoling  and  interesting 
friends  ;  so  that  I  may  truly  say  they  are  a  Royal  cordial, 
and  I  see  very  few  people  besides. 


AUGUSTA    SOPIIIA,  SOPHIA,  AND   AMELIA.  315 

"  They  are  very  condescending  in  their  notice  of  my 
niece,  and  think  her  a  fine  girl.  She  is  delighted,  as 
is  very  natural,  with  all  the  joys  of  the  place.  I  have 
been  three  times  at  the  King's  private  chapel  at  early 
prayers,  eight  o'clock,  where  the  Royal  family  constantly 
attend;  and  they  walk  home  to  breakfast  afterwards, 
whilst  I  am  conveyed  in  a  very  elegant  new  chair  home, 
which  the  King  has  made  me  a  present  of  for  that 
purpose. 

"  As  to  my  health,  it  is  surprisingly  good,  considering 
the  sufferings  of  my  agitated  spirits ;  and  that  I  was 
hardly  recovered,  when  I  came,  of  a  putrid  sore  throat  and 
fever.  How  thankful  ought  I  to  be  to  Providence  for  the 
wonderful  blessings  I  have  received !  How  ungrateful 
must  I  be  not  to  endeavour  to  resign  those  withdrawn 
from  me  as  I  ought  to  do !  It  is  a  cordial  comfort  to  me 
to  receive  a  good  account  from  you  of  your  health  and 
prosperity,  and  the  rest  of  my  dear  friends  who  have  so 
kindly  felt  for  me.  I  cannot  dictate  a  word  more,  but 
believe  me  unalterably  and  affectionately 

"  Yours, 

"M.  DELANEY." 

"  I  am  sure  you  must  be  very  sensible  how  thankful  I  am 
to  Providence  for  the  late  wonderful  escape  of  his  Majesty 
from  the  stroke  of  assassination ;  indeed,  the  horror  that 
there  was  a  possibility  that  such  an  attempt  would  be  made, 
shocked  me  so  much  at  first,  that  I  could  hardly  enjoy  the 
blessing  of  such  a  preservation.  The  King  would  not 
suffer  anybody  to  inform  the  Queen  of  that  event  till  he 
could  show  himself  in  person  to  her.  He  returned  to 
Windsor  as  soon  as  the  Council  was  over.  When  his 
Majesty  entered  the  Queen's  dressing-room,  he  found  her 


316  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

with  the  two  eldest  Princesses ;  and,  entering  in  an  ani- 
mated manner,  said,  '  Here  I  am,  safe  and  well !'  The 
Queen  suspected  from  this  saying  that  some  accident  had 
happened,  on  which  he  informed  her  of  the  whole  affair. 
The  Queen  stood  struck  and  motionless  for  some  time,  till 
the  Princesses  burst  into  tears,  in  which  she  immediately 
found  relief  by  joining  with  them.  Joy  soon  succeeded 
this  agitation  of  mind,  on  the  assurance  that  the  person 
was  insane  that  had  the  boldness  to  make  the  attack, 
which  took  off  all  aggravating  suspicion  ;  and  it  has  been, 
the  means  of  showing  the  whole  kingdom  that  the  King 
has  the  hearts  of  his  subjects." 

"  1788. — This  summer  the  King  went  to  Cheltenham 
to  drink  the  waters,  and  was  attended  by  the  Queen,  the 
Princess  Royal,  and  the  Princesses  Augusta  and  Elizabeth. 
They  arrived  at  Cheltenham  in  the  evening  of  Saturday, 
July  12th,  and  resided  in  a  house  of  Earl  Falconberg.  From 
Cheltenham  they  made  excursions  to  several  places  in 
Gloucestershire  and  Worcestershire,  and  were  everywhere 
received  with  joy  by  all  ranks  of  people.  On  Saturday, 
August  2nd,  they  were  pleased  to  visit  Hartlebury,  at  the 
distance  of  thirty-three  miles  or  more.  The  Duke  of  York 
came  from  London  to  Cheltenham  the  day  before,  and  was 
pleased  to  come  with  them.  They  arrived  at  Hartlebury 
at  half-an-hour  past  eleven.  Lord  Courtown,  Mr.  Digby 
(the  Queen's  Vice-Chamberlain),  Colonel  Gwin  (one  of  the 
King's  Equerries),  the  Countesses  of  Harcourt  and  Cour- 
town, composed  the  suite.  Their  Majesties,  after  seeing 
the  house,  breakfasted  in  the  library,  and  when  they  had 
reposed  themselves  some  time,  walked  into  the  garden,  and 
took  several  turns  on  the  terraces,  especially  the  Green 
Terrace  in  the  Chapel  Garden.  Here  they  showed  them- 
selves to  an  immense  crowd  of  people,  who  flocked  in 


AUGUSTA   SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND   AMELIA.  317 

from  the  neighbourhood,  and  standing  on  the  rising 
grounds  in  the  Park,  saw,  and  were  seen,  to  great  ad- 
vantage. The  day  being  extremely  bright,  the  show  was 
agreeable  and  striking.  About  two  o'clock  their  Ma- 
jesties, &c.,  returned  to  Cheltenham. 

"  On  the  Tuesday  following,  August  5th,  their  Ma- 
jesties, with  the  three  Princesses,  arrived  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  at  the  Bishop's  Palace,  in  Worcester,  to 
attend  the  charitable  meeting  of  the  three  choirs  of 
Worcester,  Hereford,  and  Gloucester,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  poorer  clergy  of  those 
dioceses ;  which  had  been  fixed,  in  consequence  of  the 
announcement  of  the  King's  intention  to  honour  that 
solemnity  with  his  presence,  for  the  6th,  7th,  and  8th  of 
that  month. 

"  The  next  morning,  a  little  before  ten  o'clock,  the  King 
was  pleased  to  receive  the  compliments  of  the  clergy.  The 
Bishop,  in  the  name  of  himself,  Dean  and  Chapter,  and 
Clergy  of  the  Church  and  Diocese,  addressed  the  King  in 
the  great  hall,  in  a  short  speech,  to  which  his  Majesty  was 
pleased  to  return  a  gracious  answer.  He  had  then  the 
honour  to  address  the  Queen  in  a  few  words,  to  which  a 
gracious  reply  was  made  ;  and  they  had  all  the  honour  to 
kiss  the  King's  and  Queen's  hands. 

"  Soon  after  ten,  the  Corporation,  by  their  Recorder,  the 
Earl  of  Coventry,  addressed  and  went  through  the  same 
ceremony  of  kissing  the  King's  hand.  Then  the  King 
had  a  levee  in  the  Great  Hall,  which  lasted  till  eleven, 
when  their  Majesties,  &c.,  walked  through  the  court  of 
the  Palace  to  the  cathedral,  to  attend  Divine  service,  and 
a  sermon.  The  apparitor-general,  two  sextons,  two  vergers, 
and  eight  beadsmen,  walked  before  the  King  (as  on  great 
occasions  they  usually  do  before  the  Bishop) ;  the  Lord  in 

T 


318  THE    EOTAL    PEINCESSES. 

Waiting  (Earl  of  Oxford)  on  the  King's  right  hand,  and 
the  Bishop,  in  his  lawn,  on  the  left.  After  the  King  came 
the  Queen  and  Princesses,  attended  by  the  Countesses  of 
Pembroke  and  Harcourt  (Ladies  of  the  Bedchamber),  and 
the  Countess  of  Courtown,  and  the  rest  of  their  suite.  At 
the  entrance  of  the  cathedral  their  Majesties  were  received 
by  the  Dean  and  Chapter,  in  their  surplices  and  hoods,  and 
conducted  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs  leading  to  their  seat,  in 
a  gallery  prepared  and  richly  furnished  by  the  stewards* 
for  their  use,  at  the  bottom  of  the  church,  near  the  west 
window. 

"  The  same  ceremony  was  observed  the  two  following 
days,  on  which  they  heard  sacred  music,  but  without 
prayers  or  a  sermon.  On  the  last  day,  August  8th,  the 
King  was  pleased  to  give  2001.  to  the  charity ;  and  in  the 
evening  attended  a  concert  in  the  College  Hall,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  stewards. 

"On  Saturday  morning,  August  9th,  the  King  and 
Queen,  &c.,  returned  to  Cheltenham. 

"  During  their  Majesties'  stay  at  the  Palace  they  at- 
tended prayers  in  the  chapel  every  morning  (except  the 
first,  when  the  service  was  performed  in  the  church), 
which  were  read  by  the  Bishop.  The  King  at  parting 
was  pleased  to  put  into  my  hands  for  the  poor  of  the 
city  50Z.,  and  the  Queen  501.  more,  which  I  desired  the 
Mayor  (Mr.  Davis)  to  see  distributed  amongst  them  in 
a  proper  manner.  The  King  also  left  300Z.  in  my  hands, 
towards  releasing  the  debtors  in  the  county  and  city 
gaols. 

"  During  the  three  days"  at  Worcester,  the  concourse  of 
people  of  all  ranks  was  immense,  and  the  joy  universal. 

*  Edward  Foley,  Esq.,  M.P.  for  the  county,  and  William  Lang- 
ford,  D.D.,  Prebendary  of  Worcester. 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND    AMELIA.  319 

The  weather  was  uncommonly  fine,  and  no  accident  of 
any  kind  interrupted  the  mutual  satisfaction  which  was 
given  and  received  on  this  occasion. 

"  On  Saturday,  August  16th,  the  King  and  Royal  family 
left  Cheltenham,  and  returned  that  evening  to  Windsor.* 

"  In  the  beginning  of  November  following,  the  King 
was  seized  with  that  illness  which  was  so  much  lamented. 
It  continued  till  the  end  of  February,  1789,  when  his 
Majesty  happily  recovered.  Soon  after  (says  Bishop  Hurd) 
I  had  his  Majesty's  command  to  attend  him  at  Kew ;  and 
on  March  15th  I  administered  the  Sacrament  to  his 
Majesty  at  Windsor,  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Castle,  as  also  on 
Easter  Sunday,  April  12th,  and  preached  both  days. 

"At  the  Sacrament  of  March  15th,  the  King  was  attended 
only  by  three  or  four  of  his  gentlemen.  On  Easter-day 
the  Queen,  Princess  Royal,  and  Princesses  Augusta  and 
Elizabeth,  with  several  lords  and  gentlemen  and  ladies  of 
the  Court,  attended  the  King  to  the  Chapel,  and  received 
the  Sacrament  with  him. 

"  On  April  23rd  (St.  George's  day)  a  public  thanksgiving 
for  the  King's  recovery  was  appointed.  His  Majesty,  the 
Queen  and  Royal  family,  with  the  two  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment, &c.,  went  in  procession  to  St.  Paul's.  The  Bishop 
of  London  preached.  I  was  not  well  enough  to  be 
there."f 

Frogmore,  the  Queen's  favourite  residence,  was  cele- 
brated for  the  elegant  fetes  she  gave  there. 

The  first  fete  at  Frogmore  was  given  by  the  Queen  on 
the  19th  of  May,  1795,  to  commemorate  her  birthday. 
The  second  fete,  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1797,  in  honour  of 
the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Royal  with  the  Duke  of 
Wurtemberg. 

*  Nichols'  "  Literary  Anecdotes."  f  Ibid. 

T2 


820  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

The  third  fete,  on  the  8th  of  March,  1799,  for  gratitude 
at  the  recovery  of  the  Princess  Amelia. 

The  fourth  and  last  fete,  in  commemoration  of  the 
happy  escape  of  his  Majesty  from  a  pistol-shot,  fired  by  a 
lunatic  at  Drury-lane  Theatre,  May  15th,  1800. 

The  yellow  "bedroom,  Frogmore,  has  in  it  whole-length 
portraits,  small  size,  of  the  King  and  Queen,  Princesses 
Augusta,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Sophia,  and  Amelia.  The 
Princess  Dowager  of  Orange,  &c. 

In  the  State  bedroom  is  a  portrait  of  the  late  Queen  of 
Denmark,  sister  of  his  Majesty,  painted  in  crayons,  by 
Coates.  Also  a  portrait  of  the  Queen  of  Wurtemberg  in 
crayons. 

In  the  Green  Pavilion,  Frogmore,  are  the  portraits  of 
the  Eoyal  Princes  and  Princesses,  by  Sir  William  Beechey. 
The  portraits  of  the  latter  are  of  Augusta  and  Elizabeth ; 
they  are  three-quarters  canvas  portraits,  and  very  excellent 
resemblances.  This  artist  painted  the  likenesses  of  all  the 
Princesses  of  the  same  size,  which  were  exhibited  at  the 
Royal  Academy  at  various  times.  Some  of  these,  which 
may  be  reckoned,  both  for  taste  and  feeling,  amongst  the 
finest  works  of  his  hand,  justly  raised  his  reputation,  and 
procured  him  a  tide  of  practice  among  the  higher  circles  of 
females,  who  were  emulous  of  sitting  for  their  pictures  to 
the  author  of  these  faithful  resemblances  of  the  daughters 
\>f  his  munificent  patron,  the  King,  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived the  honour  of  knighthood.  These  pictures  are 
duplicates,  the  originals  were  formerly  in  the  collection  at 
Carlton  House,  where  they  were  placed  in  a  style  of  novelty 
that  might  be  adopted  in  other  apartments  with  an  equally 
pleasing  effect.  They  occupied  panels  over  the  doors,  and 
were  enclosed  in  a  flat  and  broad  bordure  of  gilt  carvings, 
elegantly  designed. 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND    AMELIA.  321 

The  following  Address  was  presented  to  their  Majesties, 
on  entering  the  yacht,  at  the  fete  given  on  board,  at 
Weymouth,  on  the  29th  of  September,  1804,  in  honour 
of  the  birthday  of  her  Hoyal  Highness  the  Duchess  of 
Wurtemberg. 

Spoken  by  Mr.  ELLISTON  and  Miss  DE  CAMP,  in   the 

characters  of  a  Sailor  and  his  Wife. 
{The  Sailor  breaks  from  his  companions,  and  saijs  to  them,} 

I  tell  you  I  will  speak,  so  stand  aside, 

And  let  a  suitor,  who  has  long  defy'd 

His  country's  foes,  for  once  approach  his  King, 

The  humble  tribute  of  respect  to  bring. 

He  !  God  preserve  him,  loves  an  English  tar, 

Nurs'd  amid  tempests  and  the  din  of  war ; 

And  hears,  well  pleas'd,  an  honest  tongue  impart 

The  plain  effusions  of  a  single  heart. 

(Turning  to  the  King.) 
Then  trust  me,  Sir,  there's  not  a  bosom  here, 
Nor  one  that  breathes  a  thought  to  Britons  dear, 
Which  does  not  feel  the  gen'rous  glow  of  pride 
To  see  his  friend,  his  Monarch  by  his  side. 
Ah !  could  you  but  conceive  the  general  grief, 
The  look,  which  mock'd  all  comforts'  cold  relief, 
Whene'er  a  transient  cloud  of  illness  spread 
Its  chilling  vapour  o'er  your  honour'd  head, 
I  need  not  now  proclaim  your  subjects'  joy, 
Most  marked  by  what  we  felt,  when  fear's  alloy 
To  ev'ry  fond  anxiety  gave  birth, 
"  And  taught  the  value  of  our  jewel's  worth."* 
If  thus  your  people  feel,  what  tongues  can  tell 
The  rapt'rous  joy  that  must  the  bosom  swell, 
Of  those  who  add,  to  ties  like  ours,  the  call 
Which  Nature's  sympathies  impress  on  all, 
Whether  they  feel  a  Monarch's  sceptr'd  lot, 
Or  dwell  the  peasant  of  the  poorest  cot ; 
But  chiefly  her's,  who,  in  a  foreign  land, 
Far  from  her  father,  and  his  shelt'ring  hand, 
*  Cowper's  "  Task." 


322  THE    EOYAL   PBINCESSES. 

In  absence  felt  that  doubled  cause  of  woe, 
Which  all  who  taste  suspense  too  keenly  know ; 
AVho  now,  perhaps,  the  while  her  health  goes  round, 
And  the  deck  echoes  to  the  festive  sound, 
In  fond  imagination  views  the  scene, 
And  sighs  to  think  what  barriers  intervene 
To  stop  the  thanks  that  hang  upon  her  tongue, 
Intent  on  him  from  whom  her  being  sprung. 
"  Oh!  may  he  live,"  she  cries,  with  mingled  tears, 
"  Longer  than  I  have  time  to  tell  his  years  ;* 
And,  while  the  dews  of  sleep  his  brows  o'erspread, 
May  all  good  angels  guard  his  nightly  bed." 

(Sailor's  Wife  interrupts  the  Sailor.} 
My  worthy  friend,  have  you  forgot  the  fame 
Of  old  St.  Michael,  of  goose-killing  name  ? 
How,  ev'ry  year,  on  this  auspicious  day 
Our  vows  to  him  with  grateful  teeth  we  pay, 
When  cackling  animals  by  instinct  feel 
A  sort  of  tremor  through  the  bosom  steal  ? 
You  surely  have  ;  but  pr'ythee  say  no  more, 
For,  if  you  are  not  mute,  I  must  implore 
My  Sovereign  himself  his  aid  to  lend. 
He,  to  all  just  prerogative  the  friend, 
Will  never  see  a  female,  fair  and  young, 
Robb'd  of  her  best  prerogative — her  tongue. 
And  now,  forsooth,  when  ladies  ride  a  race, 
And  vie  with  men  in  ev'ry  manly  grace ; 
Oh !  could  our  grandmothers  on  earth  arise, 
How  would  such  thoughts  .astound  their  wond'ring  eyes ! 
They,  who  the  Decalogue  in  cross-stitch  wrought, 
Or  good  morality  in  samplers  taught, 
Who  never  rode  but  on  some  festive  day, 
When  behind  John,  upon  a  long-tail'd  grey, 
Strapp'd  to  a  modest  pillion's  sober  side, 
My  good  aunt  Deborah  came  out  a  bride, 
She  a  long-waisted  Joseph  proudly  wore, 
And  on  her  head  an  ample  bonnet  bore. 
What  would  she  say  to  see  the  modern  maid, 
With  jockey  sleeves  and  velvet  cap  array 'd, 

*  Shakspeare's  Henry  VIII. 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND   AMELIA.  323 

Dashing  through  thick  and  thin  to  win  the  post, 
And  swearing  when  she  finds  her  wishes  cross'd ! 
But  how  can  I  one  thought  to  censure  give, 
When  here,  collected  in  this  vessel,  live 
Whatever  virtues  dignify  our  kind, 
Or  stamp  with  excellence  the  female  mind ! 
Here  the  soft  maid,  whose  plighted  vow  is  past 
To  him  she  fondly  loves,  with  whom  at  last 
She  hopes  to  reach  her  happiest  hours  of  life, 
May  read  each  duty  which  adorns  a  wife, 

(Turning  to  the  Queen.) 

Eeflected  from  the  throne,  where  rank  and  birth 
Shed  the  soft  lustre  of  domestic  worth ; 
Or  would  a  daughter's  heart  inquire  the  way 
How  best  she  may  a  parent's  care  repay. 

(Turning  to  the  Princesses.) 
Believe  me,  ladies,  when  I  turn  to  you, 
To  pay  the  tribute  to  your  virtues  due, 
I  am  no  actress  here,  if  from  its  lid 
The  tear  of  admiration  start  unhid. 
There  are  rewards  a  King  may  call  his  own, 
Brighter  than  all  the  jewels  of  his  throne, 


Forgive  my  tongue  thus  prattling  out  of  time, 

Like  sweet  bells  jingling  on  immeasured  chime  ; 

Since  'tis  the  fulness  of  my  joy  that  speaks, 

The  heart  thro'  forms  of  ceremony  breaks; 

For  who  can  see  a  King  those  virtues  blend, 

Which  deck  the  father,  monarch,  and  the  friend, 

And  not,  by  Nature's  magic  sympathy, 

Eecall  at  once  some  fond  congenial  tie  ? 

Then  trust  me,  Sir,  henceforth,  when  tempests  roar, 

And  the  winds  whistle  through  my  cottage  door, 

While  in  my  solitary  bed  I'm  laid, 

And  fears  for  Tom  my  anxious  soul  invade, 

The  thought  that  'tis  for  you  my  sailor  braves 

The  battle's  danger,  and  the  stormy  waves, 

Shall  make  my  heart  with  patriot  ardour  burn, 

And  hope  anticipate  his  glad  return. 


324,  THE   EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

So  now,  farewell ;  but  oh,  may  all,  next  year, 
Again  with  merry  hearts  assemble  here, 
Once  more  to  view  their  happy  Sovereign  prove 
His  Queen's,  his  children's,  and  his  people's  love ! 

On  the  occasion  of  entering  the  fiftieth  year  of  his 
reign,  the  King  attended  divine  service  in  the  morning 
between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  accompanied  by  the 
Queen,  Princess  Elizabeth,  and  the  Dukes  of  York  and 
Sussex ;  after  which  the  Queen  and  Princess  proceeded  to 
Frogmore,  where  a  triumphal  arch  had  been  raised,  to 
inspect  the  preparations  for  a  complimentary  fete  in  honour 
of  the  occasion.  An  ox  roasted  whole,  by  the  Queen's 
order,  in  Bachelor's  Acre,  was  viewed  by  the  whole  Ro}ral 
family,  except  the  King  and  Princess  of  Wales,  who  were 
not  present ;  and  at  one  a  Royal  salute  of  fifty  guns  was 
discharged  from  a  grove  in  Windsor  Park. 

The  King  took  his  customary  walks  on  the  terrace  at 
Windsor,  in  1810,  at  seven  o'clock,  when  a  small  door  in 
one  of  the  towers,  leading  to  the  terrace,  was  thrown  open, 
and  the  venerable  Monarch  appeared,  led  by  two  attendants 
down  a  flight  of  steps,  until  he  descended  to  the  walk. 
He  was  then  generally  taken  by  each  arm  by  the  Prin- 
cesses Augusta  and  Elizabeth,  who  paced  with  him  on  the 
terrace  for  about  an  hour,  two  bands  of  music  being  always 
in  attendance,  and  playing  alternately.  His  Majesty's 
usual  dress  upon  these  occasions  was  a  blue  coat  and  gilt 
buttons ;  the  rest  of  his  apparel  white,  with  gold  buckles, 
and  the  star  of  the  Eoyal  Order  of  the  Garter.  His  hat, 
in  order  to  shade  his  face,  was  of  the  clerical  form,  but 
ornamented  with  a  cockade,  and  gold  button  and  loop. 

The  childhood  and  youth  of  Princess  Amelia  were  marked 
by  great  vivacity  of  character,  though  her  health  was  deli- 
cate; she  possessed  good  talents,  and,what  is  rarely  conjoined 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND   AMELIA.  325 

with  delicate  health,  a  uniform  sweetness  of  temper. 
Alas !  for  the  blight  so  soon  to  fall  on  this  fair  blossom ! 
The  disease  which  eventually  deprived  her  of  existence 
was  of  a  glandular  nature,  and  even  in  the  incipient  state, 
the  cause  of  considerable  suffering.  Sea-air,  bathing, 
•every  human  means  was  tried,  to  alleviate,  if  not  restore 
the  health,  slowly  yet  gradually  declining,  and  yet  scarcely 
any  hope  was  to  be  drawn  of  eventual  improvement. 
Early  in  the  year  1810  the  symptoms  became  more 
alarming,  and  baffled  medical  skill.  The  periodical  attacks 
became  of  a  more  aggravated  character,  and  in  the  com- 
mencement of  the  autumn  the  Royal  sufferer  had  a  violent 
one  of  St.  Anthony's  fire,  which  reduced  her  to  a  very  low 
condition,  and  it  seemed  as  if  even  then  nothing  could 
avert  her  approaching  doom. 

The  fortitude,  faith,  and  resignation  evinced  by  Amelia 
throughout  her  protracted  illness  were  worthy  of  her  exalted 
rank,  of  her  sex — and  more,  it  was  worthy  of  the  Christian 
character.  Many  an  idolatress  has  met  death  as  firmly — 
face  to  face ;  but  there  is  beauty,  heavenly  beauty,  in  the 
picture,  when  leagued  with  Christian  grace. 

While  thus  the  daughter  of  England  laid  on  her  couch 
in  expectation  of  the  approach  of  that  "King  of  Terrors" 
who  could  not  inspire  her  with  fear,  there  was  one  indeed 
who  watched  over,  who  caught  each  breath,  every  sigh 
that  escaped  the  dying  sufferer ;  that  one  was  the  King — 
the  still  doating,  ever-loving  father — who  clung  no  more 
to  the  hope  which  had  been  forced  to  give  way  before  the 
prospect  so  inevitable  of  being  parted  for  ever  from  the 
darling  of  his  heart — his  youngest-born,  his  idol !  It 
was  his  only  consolation  to  attend  upon  his  child,  and 
to  administer  to  her  the  comfort  which  religion  alone 
could  provide,  though  in  so  doing  he  was  harrowed  to 


326  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

behold  her  anguish  in  suffering  pains  for  which  no  cure 
existed.  One  who  closely  attended  on  the  sick  couch  of 
Am-elia  described  the  interviews  between  the  Royal  patient 
and  her  father — which  never  failed  to  turn  on  the  all- 
important  future,  from  which  consolation  was  to  be  gained 
— as  singularly  affecting.  On  one  occasion,  "  My  dear 
child,"  said  the  King, "  you  have  ever  been  a  good  child  to 
your  parents  ;  we  have  nothing  wherewith  to  reproach  you ; 
but  I  need  not  tell  you,  that  it  is  not  of  yourself  alone 
you  can  be  saved ;  and  that  your  acceptance  with  God  must 
depend  on  your  faith  and  trust  in  the  merits  of  the 
Redeemer."  "  I  know  it,"  replied  the  Princess,  mildly 
but  emphatically,  "  and  I  would  wish  for  110  better  trust." 
As  for  the  Queen — the  mother,  who  had  from  first  to 
last  proved  her  tenderness  for  her  offspring — it  was  her 
sad  task  to  behold  at  once  the  affliction  of  her  husband,  and 
the  fatal  and  acute  sufferings  of  her  child,  between  both 
of  whom  her  cares  at  that  awful  moment  were  divided. 
The  whole  family  was  oppressed  with  grief — no  hope  re- 
mained ;  and  each  alike  anticipated  with  dread  the  moment 
of  separation,  which,  in  robbing  them  of  this  loved  rela- 
tive, would  at  least  afford  release  from  pain  to  herself. 
The  following  was  written  by  Amelia  at  this  crisis : — 

"  Unthinking,  idle,  wild,  and  young, 
I  laugh'd,  I  danc'd,  and  talk'd,  and  sung  ; 
And  proud  of  health,  of  freedom  vain, 
Dream'd  not  of  sorrow,  care,  or  pain ; 
Concluding,  in  those  hours  of  glee, 
That  all  the  world  was  made  for  me. 
But  when  the  hour  of  trial  came, 
When  sickness  shook  this  trembling  frame, 
When  folly's  gay  pursuits  were  o'er, 
And  I  could  dance  and  sing  no  more, 
It  then  occurr'd  how  sad  't  would  be, 
Were  this  world  only  made  for  me." 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND    AMELIA.  327 

It  had  been  the  desire  of  Amelia  to  present  a  parting 
gift  to  this  beloved  father,  as  a  token  of  her  filial  duty 
and  affection.  By  the  orders  she  gave  shortly  before  her 
death,  a  ring  was  made  containing  a  small  lock  of  her  hair 
enclosed  under  a  crystal  tablet,  set  round  with  a  few 
sparks  of  diamonds.  Having  received  this  memento  of 
regard  when  completed,  she  held  it  in  her  hand  at  the 
time  of  her  father's  accustomed  visit,  and  then  placed  it 
herself  on  his  finger,  saying  as  she  did  so,  "  Take  this 
token  to  remember  me !"  The  look  given  as  she  bestowed 
the  ring,  the  sad  spectacle  of  those  fine  yet  pallid  features 
lighted  up  by  filial  affection,  speaking  as  if  from  the  tomb, 
was  too  much  for  the  heart  to  bear — the  shock  was  electric — 
the  poor  King  withdrew  from  the  apartment,  and  never  en- 
tered it  more.  As  for  Amelia,  her  anxious  wish  gratified,  she 
resigned  herself  submissively  to  the  destiny  which  awaited 
her,  and  in  a  few  days  expired  without  knowing  even  that 
her  father  was  ill,  and  that  by  her  innocent  endearments 
she  had  brought  about  a  return  of  his  mental  malady. 

Amelia's  death  occurred  on  the  2nd  of  November,  1810, 
about  twelve ;  her  strength  having  worn  rapidly  away 
towards  the  last,  she  expired  without  the  least  convulsive 
motion,  as  one  dropping  insensibly  and  calmly  into  a 
gentle  sleep. 

The  last  mortal  remains  of  Amelia  were  privately  con- 
signed to  the  tomb  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  on 
the  night  of  the  14th  of  November.  During  the  whole 
of  the  day  appointed  for  the  funeral  every  shop  in  Windsor 
and  Eton  was  closed,  in  respect  to  the  early  deceased  and 
much  lamented  Princess ;  nor  was  an  individual  to  be  seen 
in  the  streets  except  in  the  deepest  mourning — a  mourn- 
ing evidently  assumed  from  the  heart. 

The  funeral  ceremony  took  place  by  torchlight.     The 


328  THE    HOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Duke  of  Clarence,  who  supported  the  Prince  of  Wales  on 
the  left,  as  the  Duke  of  York  did  on  the  right,  during  the 
service  was  observed  to  shed  tears,  as  indeed  did  all  the 
family  and  spectators  of  the  mournful  scene.  The  state 
to  which  it  was  known  the  King  had  been  brought  by  this 
affliction  increased  the  general  feeling  of  sadness. 

The  will  of  the  departed  Princess  directed  that  all  her 
jewels  should  be  sold  for  the  payment  of  what  she  owed, 
and  the  discharge  of  a  few  bequests ;  but  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  who  was  left  residuary  legatee,  gave  the  whole  of 
the  property  to  the  Princess  Mary,  who  had  unceasingly 
watched  over  the  dying  bed  of  her  sister,  she  having  taken 
upon  herself  the  responsibility  of  settling  all  the  claims. 

An  affecting  testimony  to  the  exalted  merits  of  Amelia 
was  given  by  her  favourite  attendant  Miss  Gaskoin,  whose 
excessive  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  her  beloved  mistress  vras 
such,  that  very  shortly  after  she  followed  her  to  the  tomb. 
By  orders  of  his  Majesty,  who  highly  respected  this  excel- 
lent young  lady,  her  remains  were  deposited  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  Royal  vault,  and  a  marble  tablet  was  placed 
on  the  right  hand  aisle  of  St.  George's  Chapel,  with  the 
following  inscription : — 

KING  GEORGE  III. 

CAUSED     TO     BE     INTERRED     NEAR     THIS     PLACE 

THE  BODY  OF  MARY  GASKOIN, 

SERVANT      TO      THE      LATE      PRINCESS     AMELIA: 

AND    THIS    STOXE 
TO    BE     INSCRIBED     IN     TESTIMONY     OF    HIS    GRATEFUL    SENSE     OF     THE 

FAITHFUL   .SERVICE   AND   ATTACHMENT 

OF     AN     AMIABLE     YOUNG     WOMAN-   TO     HIS     BELOVED    DAUGHTER, 

WHOM  .   SHE      SURVIVED     ONLY      THREE     MONTHS. 

SHE   DIED  THE  19TH   OF   FEBRUARY,   1811. 


ATJGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND    AMELIA.  32f> 

Queen  Charlotte  died  at  Kew  Palace  on  Tuesday,  No- 
vember 17th,  1818,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  her  age. 
On  the  2nd  of  December  she  was  interred  in  the  Royal 
Chapel  of  St.  George,  at  Windsor,  with  every  regal 
solemnity. 

During  her  Majesty's  Queen  Charlotte's  last  illness, 
a  new  and  very  pleasant  walk  was  formed  in  Kew  Gardens, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Princess  Augusta  and  the 
Duchess  of  Gloucester,  along  the  terrace  bordering  on  the 
Thames  opposite  to  Sion  House,  at  Isleworth,  which,  in 
conjunction  with  the  animated  scenery  of  the  river,  affords 
a  fine  prospect. 

By  her  Majesty's  will,  in  which  allusion  was  made  to 
the  handsome  provision  which  had  already  been  made  for 
the  Queen  of  Wurternberg,  she  gives  the  jewels  presented 
to  her  by  the  Nabob  of  Arcot  to  her  four  remaining 
daughters,  directing  those  jewels  to  be  sold,  and  the  pro- 
duce divided  amongst  them,  subject  to  the  discharge  of 
debts,  &c.  The  remaining  jewels  (purchased  by  herself, 
or  given  to  her  on  birthdays  and  other  occasions)  she 
bestowed  equally  among  the  four  daughters  just  mentioned, 
to  be  divided  according  to  a  valuation  to  be  made  of 
them. 

The  house  and  ground  at  Frogmore,  and  the  Stowe 
establishment,  her  Majesty  gives  to  the  Princess  Augusta 
Sophia ;  but  if  she  should  find  living  in  it  and  keeping  it 
up  too  expensive,  it  is  directed  to  revert  to  the  Crown, 
upon  a  valuation  being  made  and  given  for  it  to  the 
Princess  Augusta  Sophia,  with  due  consideration  to  the 
improvements,  whether  it  shall  please  the  Prince  Regent 
to  reserve  the  possession  of  it  as  an  appendage  to  Windsor 
Castle,  or  to  authorize  any  other  disposal  of  it. 

Her  Majesty  gives   the  fixtures,    articles   of  common 


330  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

household  furniture,  and  live  and  dead  stock  in  the  house 
at  Frogmore,  or  on  the  estates,  to  her  daughter  Augusta 
Sophia. 

She  gives  the  real  estate  in  New  Windsor,  purchased 
of  the  late  Duke  of  St.  Alban's,  and  commonly  called 
the  Lower  Lodge,  with  its  appendages,  to  her  youngest 
daughter  Sophia. 

Her  books,  plate,  house-linen,  china,  pictures,  drawings, 
prints,  all  articles  of  ornamental  furniture,  and  all  other 
valuables  and  personals,  she  directs  to  be  divided  in  equal 
shares,  according  to  a  valuation  to  be  made,  amongst  her 
four  younger  daughters. 

Lord  Arden  and  General  Taylor  were  appointed  trustees 
by  her  Majesty  for  the  property  bequeathed  to  her  daugh- 
ters Elizabeth  and  Mary  ;'  stating  that  property  to  be  left 
to  them  for  their  sole  benefit,  and  independent  of  any 
husbands  they  have  or  may  have  ;  and  she  also  appointed 
Lord  Arden  and  General  Taylor  her  executors. 

The  will  bears  date  November  16,  1818  (the  day  before 
her  Majesty's  death). 

The  state  of  the  aged  King's  health  spared  him  the 
pang  of  hearing  the  funeral  arrangements  of  his  beloved 
consort,  or  knowing  either  of  the  death  of  his  grand- 
daughter, Princess  Charlotte,  or  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Kent. 
He  passed  from  this  world  in  a  state  of  enviable  un- 
consciousness of  these  bereavements  in  1820.  At  the 
moment  of  his  death,  besides  the  usual  attendants,  there 
were  present  in  the  room  the  Duke  of  York,  Lord  Hen- 
ley, Lord  Winchelsea,  all  the  physicians,  and  General 
Taylor.  In  the  Palace  were  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester 
and  the  Princesses  Augusta  and  Sophia,  all  of  whom 
had  been  most  unremitting  in  their  attentions. 

Neither    Princess     Augusta     Sophia,     or    her    sister 


AUGUSTA    SOPHIA,  SOPHIA,  AND    AMELIA.  331 

Princess  Sophia,  ever  married.  Their  Koyal  Highnesses 
severally  enjoyed  an  income  from  the  State  of  13,000?,,  as 
arranged  in  1812 ;  previously  to  which  they  had  4000Z. 
from  the  Civil  List,  and  6000?.  from  a  Parliamentary 
grant  (increased  from  5000Z.  in.  1806).  During  the  un- 
happy differences  which  existed  between  George  IV.  and 
Queen  Caroline,  the  Princess  Augusta  was  called  upon 
to  preside  with  his  Majesty  at  the  levees  and  drawing- 
rooms.  On  one  occasion,  when  a  certain  lady  held 
immense  influence  over  Greorge  IV.,  during  the  latter  part 
of  his  reign,  that  King  having  invited  Princess  Augusta 
to  come  and  dine  with  him,  her  Royal  Highness  asked  if 

Lady was  to  be  there,  and  on  receiving  a  reply  in 

the  affirmative,  begged  to  decline.  The  King  pressed 
the  matter  very  much,  when  the  Princess  said,  "  If  you 
command  my  attendance  as  King,  I  will  obey  you ;  but 
if  you  ask  me  as  a  brother  to  come,  nothing  will  induce 
me."  His  Majesty  said  no  more. 

Princess  Augusta  died  at  Clarence  House,  St.  James's, 
September  22nd,  1840,  in  her  seventy-second  year.  The 
sweet  temper  and  amiable  disposition  of  her  Royal  High- 
ness, both  in  childhood  and  after  life,  made  her  at  all  times 
a  favourite  with  the  various  branches  of  the  Royal  f amily. 
Her  amiability  and  goodness  of  heart  cannot  be  too  highly 
commended.  "  Her  benevolence  has  been  extended  to  all 
around  her.  Her  left  hand  knew  not  what  her  right  gave 
away,  and  never  was  her  charity  marred  by  ostentation  on 
the  part  of  the  giver."  Among  other  noble  deeds,  she 
established  in  Windsor  an  annuity  of  300?.  for  the  benefit 
of  poor  soldiers'  wives  and  children.  To  her  honour  be 
it  observed,  that  with  these  repeated  acts  of  munificence 
she  died  poor,  and  is  said  to  have  left  no  will :  Clarence 
House  and  Frogmore  reverting  to  the  Princess  Sophia, 


332  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

her  sister,  which  are  now  occupied  by  her  Eoyal  High- 
ness the  Duchess  of  Kent. 

Before  her  death  Princess  Augusta  sent  tokens  of 
remembrance  to  all  the  branches  of  the  Eoyal  family,  and 
within  a  few  weeks  of  the  termination  of  her  illness  pre- 
sented all  her  domestics,  who  were  much  attached  to  her, 
with  a  copy  of  her  portrait,  drawn  by  R.  J.  Lana,  A.E.A., 
from  a  miniature  by  W.  C.  Eoss,  A.E.A. 

Her  illness  was  endured  with  pious  resignation,  and  the 
intervals  of  suffering  devoted  to  religious  duties.  Her  last 
moments  were  attended  by  the  Queen  Dowager,  the  Duchess 
of  Gloucester,  the  Princess  Sophia,  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  and 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

After  her  decease,  the  remains  of  this  Eoyal  Princess 
were  removed  from  St.  James's  Palace  to  her  house  at 
Frogmore,  where  the  following  day  they  lay  in  State, 
between  eleven  and  four  o'clock,  attended  by  the  ladies,  and 
others  of  her  late  Eoyal  Highness's  household,  and  officers 
of  arms.  In  the  evening  of  Friday,  the  2nd  of  October, 
they  were  interred  with  every  regal  solemnity  in  St. 
George's  Chapel,  Windsor. 

The  Princess  Sophia  always  enjoyed  the  highest  respect 
from  the  amiability  of  her  character  and  her  benevolence 
to  her  dependents  and  the  poor.  In  consequence  of  her 
bad  state  of  health  she  had  for  some  years  lived  in 
great  retirement.  She  died  at  her  residence  near  Kensing- 
ton church,  in  her  seventy-first  year,  and  was  buried  at 
Kensal  Green. 


333 


ELIZABETH  OF  ENGLAND, 

LANDGRAVINE  OF  HESSE  HOMBURG,  THIRD  DAUGHTER 
OF  GEORGE  III. 

Birth  of  Elizabeth — Poetical  effusion  of  Queen  Charlotte — Address 
from  the  City  of  London — Awkward  predicament  in  which  the 
Lord  Mayor  was  placed  —  The  Royal  Christening — Sponsors  — 
Pleasing  character  of  Elizabeth — Her  talents  of  a  very  high  order 
— Pier  letter  to  the  Queen — Several  instances  of  her  taste  in  the 
ornamental  arts — The  Hermitage  at  Frogmore — Pension  of  the 
Princess — Becomes  acquainted  with  the  Prince  of  Hesse  Homburg 
— Goes  to  Bath  with  Queen  Charlotte — Death  of  Princess  Charlotte 
-of  Wales — Elizabeth  returns  to  Windsor  with  the  Queen — Prince 
Regent  introduces  the  Prince  of  Hesse  Hombuvg  to  his  mother  and 
sisters  —  Marriage  —  Queen  taken  ill — Departure  of  the  Princess 
— Death  of  Queen  Charlotte — Her  will — Division  of  her  property 
among  her  daughters — Death  of  her  husband — She  has  no  children 
by  him — Duke  of  Clarence  visits  Hesse  Homburg — Interest  taken 
by  Princess  Elizabeth  in  the  fate  of  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell. 

'TnE  Princess  Elizabeth,  destined  in  after  years  to  become 
Landgravine  of  Hesse  Homburg,  was  the  third  daughter 
of  George  III.  and  Queen  Charlotte,  and  is  generally  con- 
sidered to  have  been  her  mother's  favourite  child.  She 
was  born  on  the  22nd  of  May,  1770,  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock  A.M.  ;  the  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  several  lords  of  the  Privy 
Council,  and  the  ladies  of  her  Majesty's  bedchamber,  being 
present  on  the  occasion.  The  Queen,  being  thus  prevented 
from  appearing  in  public  on  the  ensuing  birthday,  pre- 

z 


334  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

sented  her  beloved  consort  with  the  following    stanzas, 
written  with  her  own  hand  in  pencil: — 

When  monarclis  give  a  grace  to  fate, 

And  rise  as  princes  shou'd, 
Less  highly  born  than  truly  great, 

Less  dignified  than  good — 

What  joy  the  natal  day  can  bring, 

From  whence  our  hopes  began, 
Which  gave  the  nation  such  a  king, 

And  being,  such  a  man  ! 

The  sacred  Source  of  endless  pow'r 

Delighted  sees  him  born, 
And  kindly  marks  the  circling  hour 

That  spoke  him  into  morn ; 

Beholds  him  with  the  kindest  eye 

Which  goodness  can  bestow ; 
And  shows  a  brighter  crown  on  high 

Than  e'er  he  wore  below. 

The  lines  have  not  perhaps  much  poetical  merit,  though 
the  effusion  of  a  crowned  Queen  ;  but  they  possess  that 
sterling  beauty  which  attests  the  happy  feeling  existing 
between  the  Royal  pair,  and  mark  the  birth  of  Elizabeth, 
one  of  the  most  intellectual  and  highly  gifted  of  the 
children  born  of  their  happy  union. 

This  was  not  the  only  incident  which  attended  the 
period  at  which  the  infant  Princess  was  ushered  into  the 
world.  The  one  I  am  about  to  relate  was  more  singular 
in  its  character. 

The  interference  of  the  City  of  London  in  political  affairs 
at  the  crisis  in  American  circumstances  which  occurred 
at  this  date,  is  noticed  in  the  inscription  of  the  statue  of 
Beckford  in  Guildhall.  A  week  after  the  birth  of  the 
Koyal  infant,  an  address  of  congratulation  was  presented 
from  the  City  of  London  to  his  Majesty.  There  are  some 


ELIZABETH    OF   ENGLAND.  335 

curious  anecdotes  about  this  affair,  which  state  that,  on  the 
30th  of  May,  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Corporation  set  out  for 
St.  James's,  with  a  complimentary  address  on  the  Queen's 
safe  delivery  of  the  Princess  ;  and  only  the  chief  magistrate 
and  three  of  the  aldermen  had  passed  through  Temple-bar, 
when  the  mob  shut  the  gates  against  Mr.  Alderman 
Harley,  whom  they  not  only  pelted  with  stones  and  dirt, 
but  actually  pulled  out  of  his  carriage,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  he  saved  his  life  by  escaping  into  the  Sun  tavern. 
The  Lord  Mayor,  finding  his  train  thus  unexpectedly  short- 
ened, and  having  ascertained  the  cause,  sent  back  the  City 
Marshal  to  open  the  gate,  when  the  remainder  of  the  pro- 
cession passed  through,  and  shortly  after  arrived  at  the 
Palace.  After  waiting  a  considerable  time  in  the  ante- 
chamber, the  Lord  Chamberlain  came  out  and  read  a  paper 
to  the  following  purport : — "  As  your  lordship  thought  fit 
to  speak  to  his  Majesty  after  his  answer  to  the  late  remon- 
strance, I  am  to  acquaint  your  lordship,  as  it  was  unusual, 
his  Majesty  desires  that  nothing  of  this  kind  may  happen 
for  the  future."  The  Lord  Mayor  then  desired  that  the 
paper  might  be  handed  to  him ;  but  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain refused,  saying  that  he  acted  officially,  and  had  it  not 
in  orders  to  deliver  the  paper.  The  Lord  Mayor  then 
desired  a  copy;  to  which  the  Chamberlain  answered,  that 
he  would  acquaint  his  Majesty,  and  take  his  directions, 
but  did  not  return  until  the  order  was  brought  for  the 
whole  Court  to  attend  with  the  address.  In  the  interim, 
while  waiting  for  the  introduction,  a  curious  scene  ensued. 
The  father  of  the  City,  Sir  Robert  Ladbroke,  complained 
to  the  Mayor  that  stones  had  been  thrown  at  his  coach. 
Beckford  called  up  Gates,  the  City  Marshal,  face  to  face 
with  the  venerable  alderman,  and  asked  him  if  it  was  so. 
The  Marshal  denied  the  fact ;  when  Ladbroke  said  that,  if 
z2 


336  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

not  stones,  certainly  dirt  had  been  thrown.  But  this 
Beckford  rebutted  with  the  assertion,  that  there  was  no 
dirt  in  the  street  (happy  days  for  the  City  of  London!)  ; 
when  Sir  Robert  qualified  his  complaint  by  observing  that 
the  mob  spit  in  the  windows  of  his  carriage. 

On  arriving  in  the  presence-chamber,  Mr.  Rigby 
attacked  the  Lord  Mayor,  telling  him  that,  although  he 
had  promised  to  be  answerable  for  the  peace  of  the  City, 
yet  he  had  been  informed  by  Sir  Robert  Ladbroke  that 
there  had  been  a  great  riot  there,  which  he,  Beckford,  had 
taken  no  pains  to  quell.  To  which  the  Mayor  replied, 
that  he  should  be  ready  to  answer  for  his  conduct  at  all 
times,  in  all  places,  and  on  every  proper  occasion.  After 
some  further  altercation,  Rigby  again  said  that  the  City 
magistrates  had  been  mobbed ;  to  which  Mr.  Sheriff 
Townsend  replied,  that  taking  the  whole  together,  in  his 
opinion,  the  people  had  been  mobbed  by  the  magistrates, 
and  not  the  magistrates  by  the  people. 

His  Majesty  soon  after  entered,  and  the  address  was 
presented  agreeably  to  the  usual  form;  his  Majesty  saying, 
in  his  answer — "  The  City  of  London,  entertaining  these 
loyal  sentiments,  maybe  always  assured  of  my  protection." 

On  the  17th  of  June,  the  young  Princess  was  christened 
in  the  great  council-chamber  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, when  she  was  named  Elizabeth  :  one  of  the  sponsors 
being  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassel,  who  was  re- 
presented by  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  Lord  Chamberlain  of 
his  Majesty's  household.  Her  godmothers  were  the  Prin- 
cess Royal  of  Sweden,  and  the  Princess  of  Nassau- Wielburg; 
the  former  represented  by  the  Countess  of  Holdernesse, 
the  latter  by  the  Countess  Dowager  of  Effingham. 

In  her  childhood,  Elizabeth  is  said  to  have  been  lively, 
intelligent,  and  remarkably  beautiful ;  on  reaching  matu- 


ELIZABETH    OF   ENGLAND.  337 

rity,  she  became  an  elegant,  agreeable,  and  accomplished 
woman.* 

Educated  with  her  Royal  sisters,  by  the  best  of  masters, 
and  superintended  personally  by  the  careful  and  judicious 
Charlotte  in  all  her  pursuits,  no  wonder  that  Elizabeth  dis- 
tinguished herself  in  after  years  for  her  highly-cultivated 
talents  and  superior  taste.  In  her  pursuits  she  appears  to 
have  been  original,  and  to  have  had  a  more  than  common 
regard  for  the  arts.  It  was  the  Princess  Elizabeth  who, 
with  inborn  genius  of  her  own,  designed  and  etched  a 
series  of  twenty-four  plates,  representing  "  The  Progress 
of  Genius,"  which  display  great  taste  and  fancy,  and  were 
designed  as  presents  for  the  select  and  particular  friends 
of  her  Royal  Highness. 

The  Princess  Elizabeth  has  afforded  some  other  original 
works,  by  which  her  talent  for  invention  may  be  estimated  ; 
but  the  folio  volume  at  Frogmore,  entitled,  "  A  Series  of 
Etchings,  representing  the  Power  and  Progress  of  Grenius," 
and  dedicated  to  the  Queen,  exhibits  a  knowledge  of  com- 
position in  the  classic  style  highly  creditable  to  the  Prin- 
cess's talents.  Some  of  the  groups  are  particularly  well 
conceived,  and  elegantly  disposed.  These  designs  are 
etched  by  her  own  hand,  in  a  loose  manner,  but  with 
rather  too  much  of  the  air  of  an  amateur,  and  the  extremi- 

*  On  the  18th  of  June,  1798,  a  little  incident,  startling  doubtless  at 
the  time,  occurred  to  Princess  Elizabeth.  A  woman,  attired  in  deep 
mourning,  had  waited  some  time  at  the  garden  gate  of  St.  James's, 
anxiously  hoping  to  present  a  petition.  Being  prevented  by  the 
officers  on  guard  from  approaching  near  enough,  she  retired  to  some 
distance  from  the  place,  and  threw  a  petition  into  his  Majesty's  coach, 
which  fell  into  the  lap  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth.  She  said  she  had 
lost  her  husband  on  board  the  Queen,  in  the  West  Indies ;  that  one 
of  her  sons,  a  lieutenant,  had  been  murdered  by  the  crew  of  the 
Hermione;  that  another  had  fallen  in  action,  while  serving  on  board 
the  Leviathan;  and  that  she  was  reduced  to  great  distress. 


338  THE    EOTAL   PKINCESSES. 

ties  are  undefined ;  yet  they  display  a  capacity  that  would 
have  been  happily  bestowed  upon  any  lady  who,  reduced 
by  misfortune,  might  nobly  seek  the  means  of  rising  again 
by  the  exertion  of  her  abilities.  The  dedication  was  as 
follows : — 

"  The  etchings  which  are  now  laid  at  your  Majesty's 
feet  would  never  have  been  executed,  if  many  of  those 
who  looked  over  the  drawings  had  not  wished  them  to  be 
published;  but  that,  my  dearest  mother,  you  will  see, 
was  impossible,  for  it  would  have  opened  a  door  to  much 
criticism,  which  in  every  situation  is  unpleasant,  but  par- 
ticularly in  ours.  I  therefore  undertook  to  do  them 
myself,  as  they  might  then  pass  unnoticed,  and  protected 
in  the  pleasantest  manner  to  me  by  one  whose  affection 
would  kindly  pardon  the  faults  of  the  head  of  the  inventor. 
I  trust  those  of  the  heart  will  never  be  known  by  YOU, 
as  its  first  wish  has  ever  been  to  prove  grateful  for  those 
talents  which  you  have  so  tenderly  fostered  and  improved; 
and  if  they  meet  the  approbation  of  those  friends  who 
will  have  them,  believe  me  I  shall  feel  that  the  merit 
will  be  less  mine  than  yours,  who  have  occasioned  them 
to  be  brought  forward. 

"  I  remain,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

"  Your  dutiful  and  affectionate  Daughter, 

"  ELIZABETH." 

A  series  of  prints,  entitled,  "  The  Birth  and  Triumph  of 
Cupid,"  have  also  been  engraved  from  the  beautiful  designs 
of  this  Princess,  which  were  executed  with  much  delicacy, 
taste,  and  correctness  of  drawing. 

The  application  of  the  Princesses  was  no  less  remarkable 
than  their  ingenuity.  The  ornamental  painting  on  the 


ELIZABETH    OF    ENGLAND.  339 

walls,  and  other  embellishments  at  Frogmore,  and  at  the 
Queen's  Lodge,  were  executed  with  a  constancy  of  labour 
and  diligence  that  surmounted  difficulties  which  would 
have  deterred  many  who  live  by  professing  for  gain,  what 
the  Princesses  of  England  thus  pursued  for  amusement ; 
who  often,  even  in  summer,  obeyed  the  willing  summons 
to  labour  in  the  song  of  the  lark. 

The  walls  of  the  Princess  Royal's  closet,  at  Frogmore, 
were  painted  in  imitation  of  rich  japan  by  her  Royal 
Highness  Princess  Elizabeth;  the  furniture  was  orna- 
mented by  the  same  tasteful  hand. 

In  the  bow  drawing-room,  Frogmore,  is  a  picture  of 
Mr.  Perceval,  painted  by  Mr.  Joseph  ;  the  Queen,  attended 
by  some  of  the  Princesses,  went  to  see  it  when  finished. 
On  the  painter  withdrawing  the  curtain  which  covered  the 
frame,  her  Majesty  was  so  struck  with  the  fidelity-  of  the 
likeness  that  she  burst  into  tears.  The  same  apartment 
contains  several  pictures  of  the  Royal  children  when 
young ;  among  them  that  of  Princess  Elizabeth  when  a 
child. 

The  Hermitage  at  Frogmore,  the  Queen's  favourite 
residence,  which  was  a  small  circular  thatched  building, 
situated  in  the  corner  of  the  garden,  and  completely  em- 
bowered with  lofty  trees,  was  constructed  from  a  drawing 
of  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  who  had  arrived  at  extra- 
ordinary excellence  in  the  art  through  her  talents  and 
application.  The  surrounding  scenery  is  judiciously  con- 
trived so  as  to  assimilate  with  the  character  of  the  place, 
the  view  of  every  distant  object  being  excluded  by  trees 
and  underwood. 

It  may  be  further  mentioned,  that  the  room  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Castle  at  Windsor,  next  the  Terrace,  in  which 
his  Majesty  was  accustomed  to  sleep  (1805),  and  which 


340  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

is  said  to  have  been  "  not  carpeted,"  was  furnished  "  partly 
in  a  modern  style,  under  the  tasteful  direction  of  the  Prin- 
cess Elizabeth." 

The  pension  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth  was,  in  the  year 
1818,  4000Z. ;  in  1819  her  allowance  was  9000Z.,  and 
afterwards  4000/.,  the  same  as  her  other  unmarried 
sisters. 

Queen  Charlotte  visited  Bath  in  1817,  in  company  with 
her  daughter  Elizabeth,  and  took  up  her  abode  at  a 
spacious  house  in  Sydney-place.  A  general  illumination 
greeted  the  Royal  guests. 

The  object  of  her  Majesty  was  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the 
celebrated  Bath  waters ;  but  her  visit  was  abruptly 
brought  to  a  close  by  one  of  the  most  painfully-affecting 
circumstances  in  our  national  records,  the  sudden  and 
premature  death  of  her  beloved  grand-daughter,  Charlotte, 
Princess  of  Wales,  then  in  the  prime  of  youth  and  beauty. 
The  event  occurred  on  the  6th  of  November ;  on  the  8th 
the  Queen  and  her  daughter  quitted  Bath  for  Windsor. 

The  marriage  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth  with  Philip 
Augustus  Frederick,  Hereditary  Prince  of  Hesse  Hornburg, 
took  place  at  the  Queen's  house,  April  7th,  1818;  the  ac- 
quaintance between  the  Princess  and  her  future  husband 
had  commenced  two  years  previously,  during  which  interval 
a  correspondence  had  been  maintained  between  them. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  of  Hesse  Homburg  he  visited 
the  Queen  at  her  residence,  and  was  by  the  Prince  Regent 
introduced  to  his  intended  bride,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
her  Majesty,  Princess  Augusta,  and  the  Duchess  of  Glou- 
cester, who  had  arrived  from  Gloucester  House  for  that 
purpose.  His  Serene  Highness  met  with  a  most  gracious 
reception  from  all  these  Royal  personages,  and,  after  a  visit 
of  an  hour  and  a  half,  left  the  Palace  with  the  Prince- 


ELIZABETH    OP   ENGLAND. 

Regent.      Apartments  in  St.  James's  were  subsequently 
provided  for  his  accommodation  while  in  England. 

On  this  auspicious  occasion,  cards  of  invitation  were  is- 
sued, between  two  or  three  weeks  prior  to  the  event,  to  the 
foreign  Ambassadors  and  Ministers,  to  their  ladies,  to- 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Cabinet  Ministers  and  their 
ladies,  the  Deputy  Earl  Marshal  of  England,  the  great 
Officers  of  State  and  the  Household,  the  King's,  the  Queen's, 
those  of  the  Windsor  establishment,  the  suites  of  the 
Royal  Dukes  and  Duchesses,  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench,  and  other  distinguished  characters 
who  were  to  perform  and  assist  at  the  solemnization  of 
the  marriage  ceremony. 

A  great  profusion  of  wedding-cakes  were  in  preparation 
for  several  weeks  before. 

It  was  said  that  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Hesse  Hom- 
burg's  absence  from  the  death-bed  of  her  aged  mother  was 
caused  by  some  difference  which  had  arisen  between  them. 
She  had  ever  been  the  Queen's  favourite  daughter  ;  and 
the  Times,  alluding  to  the  circumstance  of  her  having 
married  and  taken  her  leave  in  the  midst  of  an  illness 
which  it  was  pronounced  must  shortly  bring  her  mother  ta 
the  grave,  stated  that  it  might  perhaps  have  been  owing  to 
the  express  injunctions  of  her  Majesty.  It  was  afterwards 
ascertained  that  a  reconciliation  had  taken  place  between 
the  mother  and  daughter,  prior  to  the  departure  of  the 
latter  for  her  future  home. 

The  parting  of  Queen  Charlotte  with  this  beloved  child, 
to  whom  she  had  been  so  strongly  attached,  took  place  at 
Buckingham  House  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of  June, 
1818,  and  is  described  as  having  been  particularly  affecting 
to  both  parties — so  much  so,  as  to  render  a  possibility  of 
the  shock  proving  fatal  to  her  Majesty.  In  case  of  any 


342  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

change  for  the  worse  taking  place,  it  was  stipulated  that 
the  Princess  should  return  immediately — a  sufficient  con- 
futation of  any  surmises  as  to  her  unfilial  feelings  at  the 
time.  The  Prince  and  Princess,  with  this  understanding, 
set  off  for  Brighton,  where  they  remained  a  v/eek,  at  the 
end  of  which  time,  the  accounts  of  the  Queen's  health 
continuing  so  far  favourable  as  to  dismiss  any  idea  of 
immediate  danger,  they  left  Brighton  for  Dover,  where 
they  embarked,  and  landed  at  Calais,  from  whence  they 
proceeded  to  Frankfort,  by  way  of  Brussels. 

In  the  following  September,  the  temporary  recovery  of 
the  Queen  was  much  aided  by  the  arrival  of  General 
Campbell  with  letters  from  the  Princess  of  Homburg. 

1822. — The  Duke  of  Clarence,  with  a  view  to  the  im- 
provement of  his  health,  visited  the  Continent.  Of  his 
tour,  Dr.  Beattie,  his  travelling  physician,  gives  an  in- 
teresting account.  Prom  his  Journal,  the  following  extract 
is  selected : —  . 

"  Frankfort,  10th  July. — On  arriving  here,  their  Royal 
Highnesses  were  received  bv  the  Landgrave  and  Land- 
gravine of  Hesse  Homburg,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse, 
&c.  A  sumptuous  entertainment  was  prepared  at  the 
Weidenhof,  to  which  they  sat  down,  at  the  early  hour  of 
two  o'clock — later  by  an  hour  than  the  usual  time  of 
dinner. 

"  Here  I  had  the  honour  of  being  presented  to  the 
Princess  Elizabeth,  as  Landgravine  of  Hesse  Homburg. 
Under  the  latter  title,  this  amiable  Princess  has  done  more 
for  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants  than 
all  the  combined  events  of  the  last  century. 

"  The  Landgrave  is  in  appearance  what  he  is  in  reality 
— a  soldier.  With  the  interest  of  his  country  warmly  at 
heart,  he  has  the  good  wishes  of  every  one  who  has 


ELIZABETH   OF    ENGLAND.  343 

passed  an  hour  in  his  company.  Nothing  can  exceed  his 
affability  and  goodness  of  heart.  The  former  is  conspi- 
cuous in  his  conversation  and  intercourse  with  strangers, 
the  latter  is  exemplified  by  the  actions  and  occupations  of 
every  day.  In  company,  he  has  the  dignified  ease  becom- 
ing his  station,  and  the  happy  tact  of  neither  feeling  re- 
straint nor  imposing  it  upon  others. 

"Their  Royal  Highnesses  will  make  a  visit  of  some 
days  at  Homburg  on  their  return." 

The  excellent  and  patriotic  Prince  of  Hesse  Homburg 
was  one  of  the  oldest  friends,  and  a  fellow  student,  of  the 
late  Duke  of  Kent.  He  died  early  in  the  year  1828, 
leaving  no  children  by  his  marriage  with  the  Princess 
Elizabeth  of  England. 

Of  all  the  English  Princesses  of  the  House  of  Hanover, 
Princess  Elizabeth  of  Hesse  Homburg  appears  to  have 
felt  the  greatest  sympathy  for  her  illustrious  and  ill-fated 
relative,  the  wife  of  George  I.,  King  of  England.  In 
this  she  possessed  remarkable  interest ;  and  being  a  lady 
of  much  literary  talent,  and  endowed  with  a  superior 
taste  for  the  arts,  in  which  she  was  herself  so  highly 
accomplished,  she  devoted  herself,  after  her  marriage  with 
the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Homburg,  which  fixed  her  own 
residence  in  a  locality  rendered  so  famous  by  her  unhappy 
relative,  to  the  task  of  writing  a  history  of  Sophia  Doro- 
thea, which  she  embellished  with  careful  drawings.  This 
interesting  MS.  is  preserved  in  the  Palace  at  Hesse  Hom- 
burg ;  and  the  portraits  which  form  frontispieces  to  the  Life 
of  that  unfortunate  Princess,  published  some  years  since, 
are  among  its  most  valued  illustrations. 


3-1-1 


PRINCESS   MARY, 

DUCHESS  OF  GLOUCESTER, 
FOURTH  DAUGHTER  OF  GEOEGE  III. 

Birth  of  Princess  Mary,  eleventh  child  of  Queen  Charlotte  —  All 
living  when  she  was  born  —  Baptism  —  Sponsors  —  Addresses  to  the 
King  —  A  remarkable  one  from  the  Lord  Mayor  —  Princess  Mary 
forms  an  attachment  for  William  Frederick,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  her 
cousin  —  His  family  —  Marriage  of  his  father  —  His  mother  and 
sisters  —  Royal  Marriage  Act  —  Princesses  Sophia  Matilda  and 
Caroline  Augusta  —  Prince  of  Orange  —  Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe 
Cobourg  —  Marriage  of  Princess  Charlotte  —  Princess  Mary  marries 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester  —  Disappointment  of  a  humbler  suitor  — 
Character  and  death  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  —  Retired  life  of 
his  widow  —  Affection  of  the  Royal  family  for  her  —  Her  extensive 
charities  —  Last  illness  —  Death  of  the  Duchess  —  The  Queen's  ac- 
couchement —  The  Art  Treasures  Exhibition  at  Manchester  —  Re- 
markable sacrifice  of  feeling  made  by  the  Prince  Consort  for  the 
people  —  Opening  of  the  Art  Treasures  Exhibition—  Speeches  on 
the  occasion  —  Funeral  of  the  lamented  Duchess  —  Universal  regret 
of  the  nation. 


is  something  singularly  beautiful  to  contemplate 
in  the  history  of  the  fourth  daughter  of  George  III.  and 
Queen  Charlotte.  "When  we  gaze  upon  the  humble  violet, 
which,  by  its  intrinsic  sweetness,  pours  forth  far  and  wide 
from  the  most  unseen  and  obscure  nook  of  earth  its 
fragrancy  on  all  around,  we  do  not  expect  to  find  in  it  the 
towering  grandeur  of  the  exalted  lily  or  gaudy  tulip. 
When,  on  the  other  hand,  we  raise  our  contemplation  to  the 
high-born,  peerless,  and  beautiful  aristocracy,  we  scarcely 


MARY,    DUCHESS    OF    GLOTJCESTEE.  345 

expect  to  discover  those  humbler  and  less  attractive 
merits  which,  as  the  violet,  descend  to  a  level  with  the 
smallest  things  of  earth.  Higher  still,  to  gaze  on  the 
regally  born,  we  cannot  refrain  from  admiring  in  them 
those  unobtrusive  and  sterling  qualities  which  give  lustre 
and  dignity  to  rank,  without  which  beauty  loses  its 
charm,  wealth  and  grandeur  are  little  worth,  and  the 
highest  dignity  on  earth  is  an  empty  name. 

Princess  Mary,  afterwards  Duchess  of  Gloucester, 
united  in  her  own  person  all  the  amiable  and  excellent 
qualities  of  her  sex.  She  was  fair,  good,  amiable,  and  ac- 
complished ;  worthy  to  adorn  a  throne,  yet  possessed 
every  virtue  to  shine  in  the  humbler  station,  had  such 
been  her  allotted  destiny.  She  had  all  these  excellent 
claims  on  the  admiration  and  respect  of  her  fellow- 
creatures,  without  ostentation,  without  pretence.  Like 
the  violet,  with  its  intrinsic  sweetness,  she  did  possess 
them,  and  cared  not  to  vaunt  her  own  excellence :  it 
spoke  its  own  praises,  and  was  the  more  admired. 

Princess  Mary  was  born  April  25th,  1776,  about  the 
hour  of  six  in  the  morning.  There  being  every  prospect 
that  the  event  was  near  at  hand,  intimation  was  sent  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Secretaries  of  State, 
and  several  of  the  nobility.  At  seven  o'clock  her  Majesty 
was  safely  delivered  of  this  Princess,  her  eleventh  child, 
all  of  the  others  being  yet  living,  and  the  Queen  being 
then  nearly  approaching  her  thirty-third  birthday,  the  19th 
of  May.  On  that  anniversary  of  her  Majesty's  nativity, 
the  ceremony  of  christening  the  infant  Princess  was  per- 
formed in  the  Great  Council  Chamber,  by  his  Grace  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  when  her  Royal  Highness  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Mary — one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  distinguished  in  our  national  history.  The  sponsors 


346  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

on  this  occasion  were  Prince  Frederick  of  Hesse  Cassel, 
represented  by  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  Lord  Chamherlain  of 
her  Majesty's  household ;  the  Duchess  of  Saxe  Gotha.  re- 
presented by  the  Duchess  of  Argyle ;  and  the  Princess 
Frederica  of  Mecklenburgh  Strelitz,  represented  by  the 
Countess  Dowager  oi  Efiingham. 

On  this  happy  occasion,  both  Houses,  and  the  Lord 
Mayor,  &c.,  addressed  his  Majesty,  as  usual ;  but  as  the 
latter  is  not  altogether  in  the  usual  style,  our  readers  may 
be  glad  to  see  it. 

"  MOST  GRACIOUS  SOVEREIGN, 

"Your  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  Lord  Mayor, 
Aldermen,  and  Commons  of  the  City  of  London,  in  Com- 
mon Council  assembled,  approach  your  Majesty  with  their 
congratulations  on  the  happy  delivery  of  their  most 
amiable  Queen,  and  the  birth  of  another  Princess  ;  and  to 
assure  your  Majesty  that  there  are  not,  in  all  your  do- 
minions, any  subjects  more  faithful,  or  more  ready  to 
maintain  the  true  honour  and  dignity  of  your  Crown. 

"  They  will  continue  to  rejoice  in  every  event  which 
adds  to  your  Majesty's  domestic  felicity  ;  and  they  hope 
that  every  branch  of  the  august  House  of  Brunswick  will 
add  further  security  to  those  sacred  laws  and  liberties 
which  their  ancestors  would  not  suffer  to  be  violated  with 
impunity,  and  which,  in  consequence  of  the  glorious  and 
necessary  Revolution,  that  illustrious  House  was  called 
forth  to  protect  and  defend. 

"  Signed,  by  order  of  Court, 

"  WILLIAM  REX." 

His  Majesty's  Answer. 

«/          «/ 

"  I  thank  you  for  this  dutiful  address  on  the  happy 
delivery  of  the  Queen,  and  the  birth  of  another  Princess. 


MAEY,   DUCHESS    OF    GLOUCESTEE.  347 

"  The  security  of  the  laws  and  liberties  of  my  people 
has  always  been,  and  ever  shall  be,  the  object  of  my  care 
and  attention." 

The  Princess  Mary  remained  single  until  the  age  of 
forty,  a  circumstance  necessary  to  be  explained.  Her 
Royal  rank,  her  exemplary  virtues,  and  endowments  both 
personal  and  mental,  made  such  an  impression  on  all  minds 
as  to  ensure  the  fact  that  her  hand  would  be  early  dis- 
posed of:  but  the  world  was  mistaken.  Mary's  heart  was 
indeed  early  given  away,  but  interposing  events  prevented 
for  years  the  fulfilment  of  her  hopes,  and  the  morning  of 
life  had  passed  and  its  meridian  been  attained,  when  she 
became  finally  the  happy  wife  of  the  husband  of  her 
choice.  This  was  no  other  than  her  cousin,  William  Fre- 
derick, Duke  of  Gloucester,  a  Prince  whose  many  virtues 
rendered  him  in  every  way  worthy  of  his  amiable  partner. 
Mary  had  early  known  the  many  excellent  qualities  of  her 
Princely  cousin,  but  it  would  seem  that  though  her  feel- 
ings of  partiality  were  reciprocated  on  the  part  of  the 
Duke,  a  higher  destiny  still,  if  worldly  honours  were  to  be 
considered,  was  the  barrier  placed  in  the  path  whither 
affection  would  have  led,  and  mutual  inclinations  on  the 
side  both  of  Mary  and  her  lover  had  to  be  sacrificed  on 
the  altar  of  the  nation's  welfare. 

When  Mary  was  twenty  years  of  age,  the  Prince 
of  Wales  entered  into  a  marriage  with  the  Princess  Caro- 
line of  Brunswick,  of  which  the  issue  was  an  only  daugh- 
ter, the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales.  As  that  child 
progressed  towards  maturity,  it  became  a  subject  of  consi- 
derable anxiety  that  the  line  of  succession  should  be 
preserved  unbroken,  and  of  course  a  future  husband 
of  suitable  rank  provided  for  the  young  Princess.  There 
appeared  none  more  eligible  at  the  time  than  the  Duke  of 


348  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Gloucester,  though  that  Prince  was  twenty  years  the 
senior  of  his  proposed  bride ;  but  as  the  Royal  Marriage 
Act  precluded  her  union  to  one  of  humbler  rank  than  her 
•own,  he  was  given  to  understand  that  he  was  forbidden  to 
aspire  to  the  hand  of  the  Princess  Mary,  and  to  consider 
himself  bound  to  become,  at  a  future  day,  the  husband  of 
his  cousin,  Charlotte  Augusta,  destined  at  some  distant 
day  to  wear  the  crown  of  England  as  Queen  Regnant. 
Alas !  how  short-sighted  is  human  nature !  That  fair 
girl's  crown  was  an  early  grave — her  kingdom  was  not  to 
be  in  this  world  ! 

Singularly  enough,  the  Ro}ral  Marriage  Act  had  been 
passed  on  account  of  the  vexation  occasioned  by  the  marriage 
-of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester's  father,  many  years  before  the 
date  of  which  we  are  writing.  It  may  not  be  uninterest- 
ing to  give  here  a  short  notice  of  the  circumstance.  It  is 
related  by  Horace  Walpole,  in  his  "  Memoirs  of  the  Reign 
of  King  George  III.,"  in  the  following  words  : — "  Maria 
Walpole,  second  daughter  of  my  brother  Sir  Edward,  and 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  women,  had  been  married 
solely  by  my  means  to  James,  late  Earl  of  Walclegrave, 
•Governor  to  the  King  and  Duke  of  York,  an  excellent 
man,  but  as  old  again  as  she  was,  and  of  no  agreeable 
figure.  Her  passions  were  ambition  and  expense:  she 
accepted  his  hand  with  pleasure ;  and,  by  an  effort  less 
common,  proved  a  meritorious  wife.  When,  after  her  year  of 
widowhood,  she  appeared  again  in  the  full  lustre  of  her 
beauty,  she  was  courted  by  the  Duke  of  Portland ;  but 
the  young  Duke  of  Gloucester,  who  had  gazed  on  her 
with  desire  during  her  husband's  life,  now  openly  showed 
himself  her  admirer  :  she  slighted  the  subject,  and  aspired 
to  the  brother  of  the  Crown.  Her  obligations  to  me,  and 
my  fondness  for  her,  authorized  me  to  interpose  my  advice, 


MAKY,  DUCHESS   OF    GLOUCESTER.  349 

which  was  kindly  but  unwillingly  received.  I  did  not 
desist;  but  pointed  out  the  improbabilities  of  mar- 
riage, the  little  likelihood  of  the  King's  consent,  and 
the  chance  of  being  sent  to  Hanover,  separated  from  her 
children,*  on  whom  she  doated.  The  last  reason  alone 
prevailed  on  the  fond  mother,  and  she  yielded  to  copy  a 
letter  I  wrote  for  her  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  in  which 
she  renounced  his  acquaintance  in  the  no  new  terms  of  not 
being  of  rank  to  be  his  wife,  and  too  considerable  to  be 
his  mistress.  A  short  fortnight  baffled  all  my  prudence. 
The  Prince  renewed  his  visits  with  more  assiduity  after 
that  little  interval,  and  Lady  Waldegrave  received  him 
without  disguise.  My  part  was  soon  taken.  I  had  done 
my  duty;  a  second  attempt  had  been  hopeless  folly. 
Though  often  pressed  to  sup  with  her,  when  I  knew  the 
Duke  was  to  be  there,  I  steadily  refused,  and  never  once 
mentioned  his  name  to  her  afterwards,  though,  as  their  union 
grew  more  serious,  she  affectedly  named  him  to  me,  called 
him  the  Duke,  and  related  to  me  private  anecdotes  of  the 
Koyal  family,  which  she  could  have  received  but  from 
him.  It  was  in  vain.  I  studiously  avoided  him.  She 
brought  him  to  my  house,  but  I  happened  not  to  be  at 
home.  He  came  again  alone ;  I  left  the  house.  He  then 
desisted,  for  I  never  stayed  for  his  Court,  which  followed 
the  Princess  Dowager's,  but  retired  as  soon  as  she  had 
spoken  to  me.  This,  as  may  be  supposed,  cooled  my  niece's 
affection  for  me ;  but  being  determined  not  to  have  the  air 
of  being  convenient  to  her  from  flattery,  if  she  was  not 
married,  and  having  no  authority  to  ask  her  the  ques- 
tion on  which  she  had  refused  to  satisfy  her  father,  I 
preferred  my  honour  to  her  favour,  and  left  her  to  her 

*  By  Lord  Waldegrave  she  had  three  daughters,  the  Ladies  Laura, 
Maria,  and  Horatia. 

A  A 


350  THE   BOYAL   PBINCESSES. 

own  conduct.  Indeed,  my  own  father's  obligations  to  the 
Royal  family  forbade  me  to  endeavour  to  place  a  natural 
daughter  of  our  house  so  near  the  Throne.  To  my  brother 
the  Duke  was  profuse  of  civilities,  which  I  pressed  him  to 
decline ;  and  even  advised  him  not  to  see  his  daughter, 
unless  she  would  own  her  marriage,  which  might  oblige 
the  Duke,  in  vindication  of  her  character,  to  avow  her  for 
his  wife.  Married  I  had  no  doubt  they  were.  Both  the 
Duke  and  she  were  remarkably  religious ;  and  neither  of 
them  dissolute  enough  to  live,  as  they  did  at  last,  with 
all  the  liberties  of  marriage.  The  King  and  Queen 
denied  their  legal  union,  yet  the  respect  with  which  they 
treated  her  spoke  the  contrary;  and  the  homage  which 
all  men  and  all  women  paid  her,  by  a  fortune  singular 
to  her,  assured  the  opinion  of  her  virtue,  and  made  it 
believed  that  the  King,  privy  to  their  secret,  had  exacted 
a  promise  of  their  not  divulging  it.  By  degrees  her  situa- 
tion became  still  less  problematic;  and  both  the  Duke 
and  she  affectedly  took  all  occasions  of  intimating  it  by  a 
formal  declaration.  At  first  she  had  houses,  or  lodgings, 
in  the  palaces  nearest  to  his  residence;  and  the  latter 
were  furnished  from  the  Eoyal  wardrobe  without  limita- 
tion. She  changed  her  liveries  to  a  compound  of  the 
Eoyal — was  covered  with  jewels — the  Duke's  gentlemen 
and  equerries  handed  her  to  her  chair  in  public — his  equi- 
pages were  despatched  for  her — his  sister,  the  Queen  of 
Denmark,  sent  her  presents  by  him,  and  she  quitted  all 
assemblies  at  nine  at  night,  saying,  '  You  know,  I  must 
go.'  At  St.  Leonard's  Hill,  in  Windsor  Forest,  near  his 
own  lodge  at  Cranbourne,  he  built  her  a  Palace,  and  lay 
there  every  night :  his  picture,  and  Lord  Waldegrave's, 
she  showed  in  her  bedchamber.  These  were  not  the 
symptoms  of  a  dissoluble  connexion.  Once  they  both 


MA.BY,  DUCHESS   OF    GLOUCESTER.  351 

seemed,  in  1766,  to  be  impatient  of  ascertaining  her  rank. 
She  had  obtained  lodgings  in  the  most  inner  court  of  the 
Palace  at  Hampton,  and  demanded  permission  of  Lord 
Hertford,  Lord  Chamberlain,  for  her  coach  to  drive  into  it, 
an  honour  peculiar  to  the  Koyal  family.  He,  feeling  the 
delicacy  of  the  proposal,  which  Would  have  amounted  to 
a  declaration,  unless  a  like  permission  had  been  indulged 
to  other  Countesses  residing  there,  delayed  mentioning  it 
to  the  King,  to  whom  he  knew  the  request  would  be 
unwelcome.  Lady  Waldegrave  sent  to  the  Chamberlain's 
office  to  know  if  it  was  granted.  Lord  Hertford  then  was 
obliged  to  speak.  The  King  peremptorily  refused,  saying, 
he  could  not  break  through  old  orders.  Afraid  of  shocking 
her,  Lady  Hertford  begged  I  would  acquaint  Lady  "Walde- 
grave. I  flatly  refused  to  meddle  in  the  business.  In 
the  meantime  the  Dukes  of  Gloucester  and  Cumberland 
went  to  Hampton  Court.  The  former  asked  Ely,  of  the 
Chamberlain's  office,  if  the  request  was  granted ;  and, 
being  told  Lord  Hertford  was  to  ask  it  of  his  Majesty, 
the  Duke,  losing  his  usual  temper,  said  passionately, 
*  Lord  Hertford  might  have  done  ifc  without  speaking  to 
the  King  (which  would  have  been  rash  indeed!) — but 
that  not  only  Lady  Waldegrave's  coach  should  drive  in, 
but  that  she  herself  should  go  up  the  Queen's  staircase.' 
This  being  reported  to  Lord  Hertford,  he  again  pressed 
me  to  interpose ;  but  I  again  refused ;  yet,  lest  the  Duke 
should  resent  it,  I  advised  him  to  write  to  my  niece ;  but 
she  threw  up  her  lodgings  when  she  could  not  carry  the 
point  she  had  aimed  at.  She  obtained,  however,  about 
a  year  after,  a  sort  of  equivocal  acknowledgment  of  what 
she  was.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester  gave  a  ball  to  the  King 
and  Queen,  to  which  nobody  without  exception,  but  certain 
of  their  servants,  and  their  husbands,  and  wives,  and  children, 
A  A  2 


352  THE   EOrAlj    PEINCESSES. 

were  admitted,  yet  Lady  Waldegrave  and  her  eldest  daughter 
appeared  there.  She  could  have  no  pretension  to  be  pre- 
sent, being  attached  by  no  post  to  either  King  or  Queen ; 
and  it  spoke  for  itself,  that  the  Duke  could  not  have  pro- 
posed to  introduce  his  mistress  to  an  entertainment  dedi- 
cated to  the  Queen.  The  Princess  Dowager  (and  she  was 
then  believed  to  be  the  principal  obstacle  to  the  publicity  of 
the  marriage)  alone  treated  Lady  Waldegrave  with  coldness, 
another  presumption  of  their  being  married.  His  declining 
health  often  carried  the  Duke  abroad.  The  Great  Duke, 
with  whom  he  contracted  a  friendship,  told  Lady  Hamil- 
ton, wife  of  our  Minister  at  Naples,  that  the  Duke  had 
owned  his  marriage  to  him.  It  was  this  union  that  was 
censured  in  the  Nortli  Briton,  as  threatening  a  revival  of 
the  feuds  of  the  two  Koses,  by  a  Prince  of  the  Blood 
marrying  a  subject."* 

It  was  this  marriage  also  which  led,  as  before  remarked, 
to  the  Royal  Marriage  Act.  Though  the  King  was  in  the 
first  instance  as  much  opposed  to  the  union  as  the  Princess 
Dowager,  and  in  1775,  when  the  Duke  requested  permis- 
sion to  travel  on  the  Continent,  positively  declined  to 
make  a  provision  for  his  Royal  Highness's  family,  he 
eventually  behaved  with  the  greatest  generosity  towards 
the  Duchess  and  her  children  by  the  Duke,  whose  conduct 
was  indeed  so  irreproachable  that  the  marriage  ceased  to 
be  any  longer  a  matter  of  regret.f 

The  Duchess  of  Gloucester  had  one  son,  William  Fre- 
derick, by  the  marriage  to  the  Duke,  who  succeeded  to  his 
father's  dignity ;  and  two  daughters — Sophia  Matilda,  born 
in  May,  1773,  and  Caroline  Augusta,  born  June  24th, 
1774 ;  the  latter  died  in  her  infancy.  On  the  occasion  of 

*  Walpole's  "  Memoirs." 
f  Walpole's  "  Memoirs  " — Editor's  note. 


MARY,  DUCHESS  OF  GLOUCESTEE.        353 

the  birth  of  the  former,  a  Court  of  Common  Council  was 
held  in  the  City,  on  the  9th  of  June,  at  which  it  was  pro- 
posed by  Wilkes  that  an  address  of  congratulation  should 
be  presented  to  the  King.  The  motion  was  seconded  by 
Sir  Watkin  Lewes ;  but  considerable  opposition  took  place, 
particularly  on  the  part  of  Alderman  Trecothick,  who 
objected  to  it  as  an  affront  to  his  Majesty,  who,  up  to  that 
period,  had  not  acknowledged  the  Duchess  as  his  sister. 
The  reply  was,  that  the  marriage  was  notorious ;  and  that 
the  Dukes  of  Richmond  and  Dorset,  the  Bishop  of  Exeter, 
Lady  Albemarle,  and  other  personages  of  the  first  quality, 
had  been  present  at  the  delivery.  It  was,  however,  passed 
over  in  the  negative,  upon  the  more  delicate  plea,  that  it 
was  not  usual  for  the  City  to  address,  except  for  the  issue 
of  the  immediate  heir  to  the  Crown. 

The  Royal  baptism  took  place  a  few  days  afterwards, 
when  the  Princess  Amelia  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Cumberland  were  the  sponsors ;  so  that  it  may  be  sup- 
posed his  Majesty's  displeasure  at  that  period  was  more  a 
matter  of  etiquette  than  of  strict  family  disagreement. 

Although  Princess  Sophia  Matilda  of  Gloucester  dis- 
played no  public  talents,  her  private  character  is  said  to 
have  been  not  only  above  impeachment,  but  decidedly 
commendable. 

Years  rolled  on,  and  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales 
advanced  to  maturity;  her  hand,  the  high  prize  which  was 
to  bestow  a  crown,  had  not  yet  been  given  away,  though 
coveted  by  many  a  youthful  aspirant.  The  world  pre- 
dicted success  to  the  young  Prince  of  Orange,  but  the 
heart  of  Charlotte  Augusta  awarded  the  preference  to  the 
fortunate  Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe  Cobourg  Saalfield,  to 
whom  she  was  united  on  May  2nd,  1816 — a  tie  too  soon  to 
be  dissolved  by  the  premature  death  of  that  sweet  young 


354  THE    BOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

Princess. .  When  the  Princess  Mary,  on  the  occasion  of 
her  niece's  marriage,  embraced  her  with  tears  of  joy  in  her 
eyes,  there  was  a  load  removed  from  her  bosom  which  had 
weighed  down  her  own  spirit  during  many  a  weary  year. 
The  barrier  was  at  last  removed  which  had  obstructed 
her  own  happiness.  The  tried  affection  of  years  was  now 
to  be  rewarded,  her  wishes  to  be  accomplished;  and  with  the 
consent  of  Queen  Charlotte  and  the  Prince  Regent,  she 
was  shortly  afterwards  united  to  her  cousin  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester.  A  few  weeks  only  intervened  before  that  cere- 
mony was  performed,  which  terminated,  happily  to  both, 
the  suspended  intercourse  of  an  attachment  which  had 
endured  for  about  twenty  years.  The  event  took  place 
July  22nd,  1816,  at  the  Queen's  house;  and  on  this  occa- 
sion no  application  was  made  to  Parliament  for  any  pecu- 
niary grant  whatever,  either  by  way  of  outfit  or  annuity. 
It  needs  not  be  added,  the  union  proved  a  happy  one 
to  the  bridal  pair,  though  it  terminated  for  ever  the 
fruitless  ambition  of  another  aspirant  to  the  Princess's 
regard.  This  was  Dr.  Tuxford,  a  wealthy  physician,  who 
had  long  sighed  in  vain  over  his  hopeless  passion,  and  who 
eventually  consoled  himself,  on  his  death-bed,  by  be- 
queathing 100,OOOZ.  to  the  unapproachable  object  of  his 
fruitless  love. 

The  union  of  Princess  Mary  with  the  Duke  of  Glou- 
cester lasted  for  eighteen  years.  After  the  death  of  the 
Duke,  which  took  place  November  30th,  1834,  she  led  a 
very  retired  life,  occupying  herself  in  actions  of  kindness 
and  benevolence — those  unostentatious  deeds  which  fill  up 
the  sum  of  human  existence  so  worthily,  and  so  silently, 
that  they  are  felt,  though  not  always  seen.  A  better  and 
more  charitable  and  endearing  character  than  Princess 
Mary  could  not  have  been;  and  she  long  continued  to 


MARY,  DUCHESS  OF  GLOUCESTER.        355 

obtain,  as  she  merited,  tokens  of  kindness  and  affection 
from  every  member  of  the  Eoyal  family.  She  was  re- 
siding at  Gloucester  House,  Piccadilly,  during  her  last 
illness,  and  had  just  completed  her  eighty-first  year  on 
the  Saturday  previous  to  her  death.  A  supplement  to  the 
London  Gazette,  dated  Whitehall,  April  30th,  1857,  has 
these  words,  announcing  the  sad  event : — 

"  This  morning,  at  a  quarter  after  five  o'clock,  her  Koyal 
Highness  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  aunt  to  her  Most 
Gracious  Majesty,  departed  this  life  at  Gloucester  House, 
to  the  grief  of  her  Majesty  and  of  the  Eoyal  family." 

During  the  illness  of  the  departed  Duchess,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Eoyal  family  had  been  unremitting  in  their 
attention,  and  in  her  last  moments  were  present  their 
Eoyal  Highnesses  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  the  Duchess  of 
Cambridge,  the  Princess  Mary,  her  daughter,  with  her 
Eoyal  sister,  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duchess  of  Mecklen- 
burgh  Strelitz,  all  of  whom  had  remained  at  Gloucester 
House  during  the  night.  Two  medical  men  also  were  in 
attendance  on  her  Eoyal  Highness  until  the  time  of  her 
death.  The  Duchess  of  Cambridge  and  her  daughters 
departed  in  the  morning  for  Kew.  The  melancholy  event 
was  communicated  to  her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  Consort 
by  his  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  who 
subsequently  proceeded  to  inform  her  Eoyal  Highness  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  of  the  same  afflicting  news. 

It  had  been  arranged  for  some  time  past  that  the  Art 
Treasures  Exhibition  at  Manchester  should  be  opened  in 
person  by  the  Prince  Consort,  on  the  5th  of  May ;  the 
Queen's  state  of  health,  it  being  the  period  of  her  accouche- 
ment with  the  Princess  Beatrice,  having  prevented  her 
being  present.  In  consequence  of  the  death  of  the  Duchess 
of  Gloucester,  the  Executive  Committee  forwarded  an 


356  THE   EOTAL   PBINCESSES. 

address  of  condolence  to  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
Consort.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
a  message  was  received  from  Colonel  Phipps,  stating  that 
he  was  commanded  to  inform  the  Executive  Committee 
that  in  consequence  of  the  national  importance  of  the 
occasion,  the  preparations  made,  and  the  disappointment 
to  the  public  if  the  Art  Treasures  Exhibition  were  not 
opened  on  the  5th,  his  Royal  Highness  would  be  present 
as  arranged ;  but  that,  in  every  other  respect,  the  Royal 
visit  to  Manchester  was  to  be  considered  strictly  private. 

When  the  Art  Treasures  Exhibition  at  Manchester  was 
opened  by  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Consort,  on 
May  5th,  1857,  after  the  "  National  Anthem"  had  been 
sung,  Lord  Overstone  advanced,  and,  in  the  name  of 
the  General  Council,  read  the  following  address  to  the 
Prince  Consort : — 

"  To  Us  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Albert,  K.  G. 

"  May  it  please  your  Royal  Highness — In  the  name  of 
the  General  Council,  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  of 
all  the  officers  connected  with  the  preparatory  arrange- 
ments of  this  great  undertaking,  I  approach  your  Royal 
Highness  with  the  expression  of  our  deep  sense  of  obliga- 
tion for  the  constant  interest  which  your  Royal  Highness 
has  taken  in  the  success  of  the  Exhibition  now  about  to 
be  opened  for  the  gratification  and  instruction  of  the 
public. 

"  Before,  however,  we  enter  upon  the  more  formal  pro- 
ceedings of  this  day,  we  beg  to  tender  to  your  Royal 
Highness  our  sincere  condolence  on  the  event  which  has 
brought  sorrow  to  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty  our  Queen, 
to  your  Royal  Highness,  and  to  the  members  of  the  Royal 
family,  and  which  has  at  the  same  time  caused  deep  re- 


MAKY,  DUCHESS  OF  GLOUCESTER.        357 

gret  to  her  Majesty's  subjects,  who  have  long  admired  the 
virtues  and  respected  the  character  of  her  late  Royal 
Highness  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester. 

"  In  the  presence  of  your  Koyal  Highness  among  us 
under  these  painful  circumstances,  and  the  decision  of  your 
Koyal  Highness  not  to  suspend  the  ceremonial  of  this 
day,  we  gratefully  recognise  a  delicate  consideration  of  the 
importance  of  the  occasion,  and  a  gracious  desire  not  to 
disappoint  the  vast  numbers  who  must  have  made  arrange- 
ments which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  postpone. 
At  the  same  time  we  respectfully  appreciate  and  sym- 
pathize with  those  feelings  which  cause  your  Eoyal  High- 
ness to  desire  to  remain  in  all  other  respects  in  the  strictest 
privacy. 

"  OYERSTONE, 

"  President  of  the  General  Council." 

His  Eoyal  Highness  replied  as  follows : — 
"  MY  LORD  AND  GENTLEMEN, 

"  You  are  very  kind  in  thinking  at  this  moment  of 
the  bereavement  which  has  befallen  the  Queen  and  her 
family. 

"  In  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester  we  have  all  lost,  not 
only  the  last  of  the  children  of  that  good  King  who  oc- 
cupied the  Throne  during  sixty  years,  and  carried  this 
country  fearlessly  and  successfully  through  the  most  mo- 
mentous struggles  of  its  history,  and  thus  the  last  per- 
sonal link  with  those  times  ;  but  also  a  lady  whose  virtues 
and  qualities  of  the  heart  had  commanded  the  respect  and 
love  of  all  who  knew  her. 

"  If  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  attend  here  to-day, 
although  her  mortal  remains  have  not  yet  been  carried  to 
their  last  place  of  rest,  my  decision  has  been  rendered  easy 


358  THE   BOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

by  the  conviction  that,  could  her  own  opinions  and  wishes 
have  been  known,  she  would,  with  that  sense  of  duty 
and  patriotic  feeling  which  so  much  distinguished  her 
and  the  generation  to  which  she  belonged,  have  been 
anxious  that  I  should  not,  on  her  account,  or  from  private 
feelings,  disturb  an  arrangement  intended  for  the  public 
good." 

On  the  day  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester  died,  every  testi- 
mony of  respect  was  paid  to  her.  The  bells  of  all  the 
numerous  churches  in  the  metropolis  tolled,  and  the  bells 
of  the  Eoyal  churches  rang  muffled  peals.  The  tradesmen 
at  the  West-end  had  their  shops  partially  closed,  and  the 
theatres  were  suspended  in  the  evening :  all  ranks  seemed 
desirous  to  evince  their  respect  for  the  virtues  of  the  de- 
parted Princess. 

By  the  particular  desire  of  the  deceased  Duchess,  no 
display,  beyond  that  observable  at  the  funeral  of  a  private 
individual,  was  to  be  permitted  in  the  present  instance : 
excepting  the  presence  of  a  detachment  of  the  Life  Guards 
to  escort  the  funeral  cortege  to  the  terminus  of  the  Great 
Western  Eailway,  Paddington,  this  wish  was  complied  with. 
Orders  were  also  given  at  Windsor  for  opening  the  Eoyal 
mausoleum  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  that  the  remains  of 
the  Duchess  might  be  placed  by  the  side  of  her  deceased 
husband. 

The  Eoyal  funeral,  which  took  place  on  the  9th  of 
May,  was  conducted  according  to  the  following  cere- 
monial : — 

At  nine  o'clock,  a  Guard  of  Honour  of  the  Coldstream 
Guards  was  mounted  in  front  of  Gloucester  House,  whence 
the  body  was  conveyed  to  the  terminus  at  Paddington, 


MAEY,  DUCHESS    OF    GLOUCESTER.  359 

followed  by  the  pages  of  her  late  Royal  Highness,  in 
a  mourning  coach  drawn  by  four  horses ;  the  house 
steward  and  two  dressers  of  her  late  Royal  Highness,  also 
in  a  mourning  coach  drawn  by  four  horses  ;  the  chaplain 
and  medical  attendants  of  her  late  Royal  Highness  in  a 
mourning  coach  drawn  by  four  horses  ;  the  executors  of 
her  late  Royal  Highness  in  a  mourning  coach  drawn 
by  four  horses ;  the  four  ladies  who  would  support 
the  pall  in  a  mourning  coach  drawn  by  four  horses ;  and 
the  Vice-Chamberlain  of  her  Majesty's  Household,  and 
the  Comptroller  in  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  department. 
Her  late  Royal  Highness 's  State  carriage  followed,  in 
which  was  the  coronet  of  her  late  Royal  Highness,  borne 
upon  a  velvet  cushion  by  Colonel  the  Hon.  Augustus  Lid- 
dell,  Comptroller  and  Equerry  to  her  late  Royal  Highness. 
Afterwards  came  the  hearse,  drawn  by  eight  horses.  An 
escort  of  the  1st  Life  Guards  accompanied  the  procession  to 
the  Paddington  terminus. 

At  the  Paddington  station,  a  Guard  of  Honour  of  the 
Scotch  Fusileer  Guards  was  mounted.  The  station  was 
crowded  by  persons  who  had  come  together  to  witness  the 
last  progress  of  one  who,  in  her  life,  was  not  more  distin- 
guished by  rank  than  by  her  unostentatious  virtues. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  body  at  Slough,  the  pro- 
cession was  joined  by — 

The  Lord  Chamberlain  of  her  Majesty's  Household, 
The  Lord  in  Waiting  to  her  Majesty, 
The  Groom  in  Waiting  to  her  Majesty, 
The  Equerry  in  Waiting  to  her  Majesty, 
The  Equerry  to  her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
The   Equerry   to   her   Royal  Highness   the   Duchess  of 

Cambridge, 


360  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

The  Lady  in  Waiting  to  her  Majesty, 

The  Bedchamber  Woman  to  her  Majesty, 

Two  Maids  of  Honour  to  her  Majesty, 

The  Lady   in   Waiting   upon   her   Eoyal   Highness  the 

Duchess  of  Kent, 
The   Lady   in  Waiting  upon  her   Eoyal   Highness   the 

Duchess  of  Cambridge, 
The   Lady   in   Waiting   upon   her  Eoyal   Highness  the 

Hereditary  Grand  Duchess  of  Mecklenburgh  Strelitz. 
A  Guard  of  Honour  was  mounted  at  the  station,  and 
the  procession  advanced  slowly  onward  from  the  station  at 
Slough  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  to  St.  George's 
Chapel,  Windsor,  followed  by  three  State  carriages  con- 
veying the  members  of  her  Majesty's  Household,  and  also 
by  the  State  carriages  of  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Cambridge, 
and  of  his  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

On  the  procession  arriving  at  the  entrance  of  St. 
George's  Chapel,  the  escort  of  the  Blues,  which  had 
joined  it  at  Slough,  filed  off,  a  Guard  of  Honour  of  the 
Grenadier  Guards  being  there  in  attendance. 

Exactly  at  twelve  o'clock  the  bell  of  the  chapel  tolled 
out  its  solemn  note,  and  the  body  of  her  late  Eoyal  High- 
ness was  borne  within  the  walls  of  that  sacred  edifice, 
which  for  a  long  series  of  years  has  been  the  consecrated 
depository  of  her  Eoyal  race. 

The  coffin,  which  was  of  mahogany,  and  covered  with 
rich  crimson  velvet,  was  placed  on  tressels,  having  a  black 
velvet  pall,  bearing  eight  heraldic  escutcheons,  over  it.  At 
the  head  of  the  lid  there  was  a  coronet,  and  at  the  foot 
the  torch  of  life  reversed ;  with  massive  handles  and 
plates ;  the  whole  being  intended  to  represent  a  splendid 
casket.  It  bore  the  following  inscription  : — 


MAET,  DUCHESS   OF    GLOUCESTER  361 

DEPOSITUM 

ILLUSTRISSIALS:  PRINCIPISS.& 
MABL3B, 

1LLUSTRISSIMI    PRINCIPIS 

GULIELMI   FREDERICI, 
DUCIS      GLOCESTRI^     ET     EDINBURGI 

VIDU^E, 

ET   FILI^E   NATU   QUARTS, 
AUGUSTISSIMI   ET   POTENT1SSIMI 

GEORGII    TERTII 

DEI    GRATIA     BRITANNIARUM    REGIS, 
OBIIT   TRICESIMO    DIE   APRIL1S, 

MDCCCLVII. 
ANNOQUE   2ETATIS   LXXXII. 

The  nave  through  which  the  funeral  procession  passed 
was  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  the  floor  and  also  the 
seats  in  the  choir  were  covered  with  the  same  material : 
in  front  of  the  reading-desk  was  an  escocheon  of  the  arms 
of  the  late  Duchess. 

On  the  procession  moving  from  the  entrance,  the  gentle- 
men and  boys  composing  the  choir  of  St.  George's  Chapel 
commenced  singing  the  25th  and  26th  verses  of  the  llth 
chapter  of  St,  John  ("  I  am  the  resurrection")  ;  and  when 
the  body  reached  the  choir,  the  90th  Psalm  ("  Lord,  thou 
hast  been  our  refuge")  was  chanted.  The  coffin,  as  already 
described,  was  placed  upon  tressels  with  the  feet  towards 
the  altar,  and  the  coronet  and  cushion  were  laid  upon  the 
coffin.  The  chief  mourner,  the  Duchess  of  Atholl,  sat  at 
the  head  of  the  corpse,  attended  by  Lady  Couper.  The 
supporters  of  the  pall — the  Hon.  Mrs.  Liddell  and  Lady 
Georgiana  Bathurst,  and  Lady  Caroline  Murray  and  Lady 
Charles  Somerset — sat  on  either  side.  The  Lord  Chamber- 
lain, the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  stood  at  the  feet,  having 
on  his  right  the  Vice-Chamberlain,  Lord  Ernest  Bruce, 
and  on  his  left  the  Comptroller  and  Chief  Equerry  of  the 


362  THE   EOTAL  PRINCESSES. 

late  Duchess,  Colonel  the  Hon.  Augustus  Liddell,  and  the 
Comptroller  in  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  Department,  Mr. 
Norman  Macdonald. 

Shortly  before  the  arrival  of  the  procession,  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Prince  Consort,  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  and  his  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cambridge, 
entered  the  chapel,  and  were  conducted  to  stalls  imme- 
diately adjoining  that  of  the  Sovereign.  Prince  Albert 
and  the  Duke  wore  the  riband  and  star  of  the  Garter. 
His  Serene  Highness  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe  Weimar 
was  also  conducted  to  a  seat. 

Their  Eoyal  Highnesses  the  Duchess  of  Cambridge,  the 
Hereditary  Grand  Duchess  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  and 
the  Princess  Mary  of  Cambridge,  were  in  the  Eoyal 
closet  of  the  chapel. 

Earl  Spencer,  Lord  Steward  of  the  Queen's  Household, 
and  the  Marquis  of  Abercorn,  Groom  of  the  Stole  to  the 
Prince,  occupied  their  respective  stalls  as  Knights  of  the 
Garter  on  opposite  sides  of  the  chapel,  and  each  wore  the 
riband  and  star  of  the  order. 

Beneath  Lord  Abercorri's  stall  .were  seated  the  visitors, 
friends  of  the  late  Duchess — viz.,  Earl  Howe,  Viscount 
Falkland,  Lord  Eedesdale,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Waldegrave,  Sir 
William  Gomm,  Colonel  F.  H.  Seymour  (son  of  Sir 
George  Seymour),  Colonel  Forster,  and  Colonel  Stephens. 

On  the  entrance  of  the  procession  in  the  choir,  the 
executors  of  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  late  Duchess,  the 
Earl  of  Verulam,  Mr.  H.  W.  Vincent,  and  Mr.  Mortimer 
Drummond,  were  conducted  to  seats  in  front  of  those 
occupied  by  the  friends  of  the  deceased  Duchess. 

The  following  were  also  conducted  to  seats — viz.,  the 
Master  of  the  Horse,  the  Duke  of  Wellington ;  the  Lady 
in  Waiting  to  the  Queen,  the  Countess  of  Desart ;  the 


MAET,  DUCHESS    OP    GLOUCESTEE.  363 

Bedchamber  Woman,  Lady  Codrington ;  the  Maids  of 
Honour,  the  Hon.  Eleanor  Stanley  and  the  Hon.  Lucy 
Kerr;  the  Lady  in  Waiting  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
Lady  Anna  Maria  Dawson ;  the  Lady  in  Waiting  to  the 
Duchess  of  Cambridge,  Lady  Geraldine  Somerset;  the 
Lady  in  Waiting  to  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duchess  of 
Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  Lady  Caroline  Cust ;  the  Lord  in 
Waiting  to  the  Queen,  Lord  Waterpark ;  the  Groom  in 
Waiting,  General  Sir  Edward  Bowater ;  the  Clerk  Mar- 
shal, Lord  Alfred  Paget ;  the  Representative  of  his  Ma- 
jesty the  King  of  Hanover,  Baron  de  Brandeis,  and  his 
Aide-de-Camp,  Lieutenant  de  Brandeis ;  the  Equerry  to 
his  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  Major-General  the 
Hon.  Sir  Edward  Cust ;  the  Equerry  to  the  Duchess  of 
Kent,  Colonel  Sir  George  Couper,  Bart. ;  the  Equerry  to 
the  Duchess  of  Cambridge,  Baron  Knesebeck ;  the  Gentle- 
man in  Waiting  to  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duchess  of  Meck- 
lenburg Strelitz,  Baron  von  During ;  the  Lord  in  Waiting 
to  Prince  Albert,  Viscount  Torrington ;  the  Groom  in  Wait- 
ing, Colonel  F.  Seymour,  C.B. ;  the  Equerry  in  Waiting, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Ponsonby ;  in  waiting  on  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  Mr.  P.  Cavendish  and  Mr.  Gibbs ;  the  Equerry 
to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  Colonel  the  Hon.  James  Mac- 
donald;  the  Chaplain  of  the  late  Eoyal  Duchess, the  Eev.E. 
Nepean ;  and  the  medical  attendants,  Dr.  Ferguson,  Dr. 
Hawkins,  and  Mr.  Hills. 

Garter  King-at-Arms,  Sir  Charles  Young,  bearing  his 
gold  sceptre,  stood  near  the  coffin. 

The  Canons  of  Windsor,  the  Eev.  William  Canning, 
the  Eev.  Charles  Proby,  and  the  Hon.  and  Eev.  Edward 
Moore,  preceded  the  body  from  the  entrance  of  the 
chapel,  and  the  Hon.  and  Eev.  Mr.  Cust  was  also 
present. 


364  THE   ROYAL   PEINCESSES. 

The  90th  Psalm  having  been  chanted,  the  Dean  of 
Windsor,  the  Hon.  and  Eev.  Gerald  Wellesley,  who  wore 
his  badge  of  office  in  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  read  the 
lesson,  commencing  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead." 
When  this  was  finished,  the  members  of  the  choir  of  the 
chapel  sang  Handel's  anthem,  from  Job,  chap.  29,  verses 
11  and  12,  "  When  the  ear  heard  her,"  together  with  the 
chorus,  "  She  delivered  the  poor  that  cried." 

The  coffin,  of  crimson  velvet  with  gilt  mountings,  which 
had  been  covered  with  a  black  velvet  pall,  having  eight 
escutcheons  of  her  Royal  Highness's  arms  emblazoned 
thereon,  was  then  uncovered,  and  was  removed  to  the  en- 
trance of  the  Royal  vault,  and  the  Dean  proceeded  with 
the  service,  "  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman,"  and  "  For- 
asmuch as  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God,"  when  the 
coffin  was  gradually  lowered  into  the  vault  near  the 
Sovereign's  stall. 

The  choristers  then  sang,  "  I  heard  a  voice  from 
Heaven"  (Croft).  The  Dean  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
and  also  the  prayer,  "  Almighty  God,  with  whom  do  live 
the  spirits  of  them  that  depart."  A  second  anthem,  also 
by  Handel,  "  Her  body  is  buried  in  peace,  but  her  name 
liveth  evermore,"  was  then  sung.  The  Dean  concluded 
the  burial  service  with  the  collect,  "  0  merciful  God." 

Garter  King-at-Arms  proclaimed  near  the  grave  the 
style  of  her  Royal  Highness  the  late  Duchess  as  widow  of 
William  Frederick,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  fourth  daughter  of 
the  late  King  George  III.,  and  aunt  of  her  present 
Majesty  the  Queen. 

Dr.  Elvey,  who  presided  at  the  organ,  then  played  the 
"Dead  March"  in  Said. 

Their  Royal  Highnesses  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  were  conducted  out 


MAET,  DUCHESS    OF    GLOUCESTER.  3G5 

of  the  chapel,  the  service  concluding  at  twenty-five  minutes 
past  one  o'clock. 

The  Prince  Consort  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  at  Windsor  Castle,  having  travelled  from  Osborne 
to  attend  the  funeral.  His  Royal  Highness  took  his  de- 
parture about  three  o'clock,  on  his  return  to  Osborne. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  had  arrived  at  Windsor  Castle  from 
London  soon  after  eleven  o'clock,  in  order  to  be  present  at 
the  funeral :  his  Eoyal  Highness,  attended  by  Mr.  F. 
Cavendish  and  Mr.  Gibbs,  quitted  the  Castle  in  the  after- 
noon, on  his  return  to  Buckingham  Palace. 

The  Lord  Chamberlain  and  the  gentlemen  of  his  depart- 
ment remained  in  the  chapel  after  the  departure  of  the 
Royal  family,  to  superintend  the  closing  of  the  vault. 

Nothing  more  remains  to  be  added  of  the  Princess 
Mary,  except  that  as  her  private  career  in  life  was  marked 
by  every  womanly  virtue,  and  the  profuse  exercise  of  un- 
ostentatious charity,  she  will  long  be  remembered  in  the 
high  society  in  which  she  moved  and  of  which  she  was  so 
distinguished  an  ornament,  with  the  deepest  regret ;  and 
the  nation,  in  awarding  their  esteem  and  grateful  memory 
to  this  Princess,  cannot  forget  that  in  her  they  have  lost 
the  last  representative  of  a  generation  which  has  passed 
away  to  belong  to  after  ages  as  subject  of  history. 


366 


CHARLOTTE  CAROLINE  AUGUSTA, 

DAUGHTER  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Birth  of  Princess  Charlotte — Her  baptism — Education — Early  bene- 
volence— Visits  Bognor — Restricted  intercourse  with  her  mother — 
Windsor — Has  the  measles — Confirmation — Comes  of  age — Death 
of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick- — Visits  the  Leviathan — Entertainment 
at  Frogmore — Original  genius  of  Queen  Charlotte — First  Drawing- 
room — Her  first  evening  party  at  Carlton  House — Prince  of  Orange 
— Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe-Cobourg — Princess  marries  the  latter — 
Her  income — Anecdote  of  her  spirit — Retires  to  Claremont — In- 
stances of  her  benevolence — Her  death — Public  announcement  of 
the  event — Grief  of  her  family  and  the  nation — Personal  appear- 
ance and  character — Princesses  Augusta  and  Mary  of  Cambridge 
— Marriage  of  the  former  to  the  Duke  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz. 

THERE  is  so  much  of  pleasure  always  associated  with 
pain  in  every  circumstance  in  this  world,  that  sometimes, 
when  there  is  the  fairest  promise,  there  is  the  bitterest  of 
disappointments ! 

Never,  surely,  was  this  fact  of  the  perishable  and  un- 
certain nature  of  earthly  hopes  more  evident  than  in  the 
instance  before  us  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  the  only 
daughter  of  George  IV.  This  Princess,  from  her  birth 
the  heiress  of  the  first  kingdom  in  the  world,  the  hope 
and  darling  of  a  nation,  after  being  happily  reared  to  ma- 
turity, in  health,  beauty,  virtue,  and  the  possession  of  all 
that  could  make  life  dear,  was  snatched  from  the  world  at 
a  moment  when  existence,  before  so  dear,  would  have 
become  endowed  with  double  charms — when  the  happy 
wife  was  about  to  prove  the  blessings  of  the  happy  mother ! 

The  first  memorable  event  of  my  own  infant  years  was 
the  deep,  solemn  tolling  of  that  bell  whose  mournful  note 
announced  the  departure  of  this  Princess — one  of  the  best 


CHARLOTTE    CAROLINE   ATJGTJSTA.  367 

'and  most  beloved  of  the  daughters  of  our  Hanoverian  sove- 
reigns. The  impression  it  made  will  never  be  forgotten ! — 
it  was  echoed  by  every  countenance — the  index  to  every 
heart ! 

G-eorge  IV.  and  his  cousin,  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth, 
second  daughter  of  his  Serene  Highness  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  were  united  to  each  other  on  the  8th  of  April, 
1795.  Their  only  daughter  was  born  on  the  7th  of 
January,  1796.  The  event  took  place  at  Carlton  House, 
between  the  hours  of  one  and  two  in  the  morning.  There 
were  present  at  the  time  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lord  High  Chancellor, 
the  Lord  President  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  the  Duke  of 
Leeds,  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  Earl  Jersey,  Master  of  the 
Horse  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Lord  Thurlow,  and  the 
Ladies  of  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales' 
Bedchamber. 

The  infant  Princess  was  christened  on  Thursday,  the 
llth  of  February.  At  half-past  four,  their  Majesties  and 
the  Princesses  arrived  at  Carlton  House,  having  been  pre- 
ceded by  the  younger  Princesses,  and  other  visitors. 
"  Dinner  was  served  up  soon  after,  which  consisted  of  two 
full  courses  and  a  dessert,  in  the  most  elegant  and  frugal 
style.  None  but  the  Eoyal  family  and  relatives  sat  down 
to  table.  The  Princess  of  Wales  was  hostess  on  this 
joyous  occasion." 

At  half-past  nine  o'clock,  by  the  King's  appointment  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  State 
officers  of  the  King's  andQueen'shouseholds,  and  the  several 
attendants  of  their  Majesties  and  the  Royal  family,  arrived, 
and  were  ushered  into  the  Great  Audience  Chamber, 
at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Princess,  who  lay  in  a  State 
cradle,  with  the  attendants.  The  sponsors  were  the  King 

BE  2 


368  THE    EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

and  Queen,  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York.  The 
names  given  were,  Charlotte  Caroline  Augusta. 

After  the  christening,  there  were  refreshments  distri- 
buted to  the  assembled  guests. 

Such  was  the  brilliant  dawn  of  a  life  which  from  the 
first  was  regarded  as  very  precious  to  the  English  nation. 
Not  long  afterwards  arose  the  unhappy  differences  between 
the  parents  of  the  Royal  babe  which  more  or  less  must 
have  had  an  influence  on  her,  both  morally  and  physically. 
Happily  for  the  little  Charlotte,  the  earlier  years  of  her  life 
were  passed  beneath  the  genial  influence  of  a  mother's  love, 
that  holiest  of  all  earthly  ties,  as  all  who  have  known 
must  admit,  and  certainly  the  most  unselfish!  That 
Caroline  of  Brunswick  doated  on  her  child,  her  only  one, 
is  not  surprising — she  was  a  most  engaging  little  creature, 
from  every  account.  But  though  under  her  mother's  per- 
sonal inspection,  she  was  not  wholly  under  her  care,  being 
provided  with  a  separate  establishment  at  Shrewsbury 
House,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  residence  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  at  Blackheath.  There  the  little  Princess  was 
brought  up  by  the  Dowager  Countess  of  Elgin,  Miss 
Garth,  and  Miss  Hunt.  The  visits  of  Caroline  to  her 
daughter  were  restricted  to  once  a  week,  when  she  had  at 
least  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  that  her  own  wishes  were 
carried  out  as  regarded  her  child. 

The  journal  of  B.  Porteous,  Bishop  of  London,  makes 
the  following  mention  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  at  the 
age  of  five  years  : — 

"  Yesterday,  the  6th  of  August,  1801,  I  passed  a  very 
pleasant  day  at  Shrewsbury  House,  near  Shooter's  Hill, 
the  residence  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales  ;  the 
day  was  fine,  and  the  prospect  extensive  and  beautiful, 
taking  in  a  large  reach  of  the  Thames,  which  was  covered 


CHAELOTTE    CAROLINE    AUGUSTA.  369 

with  vessels  of  various  sizes  and  descriptions.  We  saw  a 
good  deal  of  the  young  Princess :  she  is  a  most  capti- 
vating and  engaging  child ;  and,  considering  the  high 
station  she  may  hereafter  fill,  a  most  interesting  and  im- 
portant one.  She  repeated  to  me  several  of  her  hymns 
with  great  correctness  and  propriety ;  and  on  being  told 
that  when  she  went  to  Southend,  in  Essex  (as  she  after- 
wards did  for  the  benefit  of  sea-bathing),  she  would  then 
be  in  my  diocese,  she  fell  down  on  her  knees  and  begged 
my  blessing.  I  gave  it  to  her  with  all  my  heart,  and  with 
my  earnest  secret  prayers  to  God  that  she  might  adorn 
her  illustrious  station  with  every  Christian  grace ;  and 
that,  if  ever  she  became  the  Queen  of  this  truly  great  and 
glorious  country,  she  might  be  the  means  of  diffusing 
virtue,  piety,  and  happiness  through  every  part  of  her 
dominions !" 

At  a  subsequent  period  her  Eoyal  Highness  inquired  of 
a  clergyman  what  his  opinion  was  of  a  death-bed,  and  how 
to  make  it  easy :  she  said  this  had  often  been  a  subject  of 
conversation  with  her  grandfather,  and  that  she  desired  to 
collect  opinions  about  it.  That  she  was  much  indebted  to 
Lady  Elgin  for  being  the  first  to  put  Dr.  Watts'  hymns 
into  her  hand — most  of  which  she  could  repeat  from 
memory. 

The  Baroness  de  Clifford  succeeded  the  Countess  of 
Elgin  in  the  pleasing  task  of  superintending  her  edu- 
cation. Afterwards,  in  1809,  Dr.  John  Eisher,  Bishop  of 
Salisbury,  aided  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nott,  as  sub-preceptor, 
were  chosen  by  his  Majesty  to  educate  the  young  Princess, 
whom  he  regarded  as  a  ward  of  the  crown,  and  presump- 
tive heiress  to  the  throne.  On  this  plea  she  was  removed 
from  the  immediate  guardianship  of  her  mother,  about 
the  period  when  the  delicate  investigation  of  the  charges 


370  THE    EOTAL   PEIKCESSES. 

made  by  Sir  John  and  Lady  Douglas  against  the 
Princess  of  Wales  took  place,  and  the  aged  King  ad- 
vanced his  own  claim  to  be  the  protector  of  his  young 
granddaughter,  who  by  this  change  was  thrown  into 
the  sphere  of  the  more  direct  influence  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte, for  whom,  either  naturally  or  by  instilled  principle, 
she  seemed  to  have  entertained  some  dislike.  The  Queen 
secretly  influenced  the  studies  of  Princess  Charlotte,  and, 
much  to  her  credit,  employed  Mrs.  Hannah  More  to  write 
an  elementary  work  for  her  advantage. 

The  success  of  the  young  Princess  in  pursuit  of  mental 
attainments  is  developed  by  the  following  letter,  the  pro- 
duction of  a  very  early  age,  and  which  has  the  merit  of 
being  authentic.  It  is  addressed  to  the  Countess  of 
Albemarle : — 

"MY    EVEE   DEAE    LADY   Al/BEMAELE, 

"  I  most  heartily  thank  you  for  your  very  kind 
letter,  which  I  hasten  to  answer.  But  I  must  not  forget 
that  this  letter  must  be  a  letter  of  congratulation — yes,  of 
congratulations  the  most  sincere.  I  love  you ;  and  there- 
fore there  is  no  wish  that  I  do  not  form  for  your  happiness 
in  this  world.  May  you  have  as  few  cares  and  vexations 
as  may  fall  to  the  lot  of  man ;  and  may  you  long  be  spared, 
and  may  you  long  enjoy  the  blessing  of  all  others  the 
most  precious,  your  dear  mother,  who  is  not  more  pre- 
cious to  you  than  to  me.  But  there  is  a  trifle  which 
accompanies  this,  which  I  hope  you  will  like ;  and  if  it 
sometimes  reminds  you  of  me,  it  will  be  a  great  source  of 
pleasure  to  me.  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  see  you,  for  it 
is  long  since  I  have  had  that  pleasure. 

"  Adieu,  my  dear  Lady  Albemarle,  and  believe  me  ever 
"  Your  affectionate  and  sincere  Friend, 

"CHAELOTTE." 


CHAELOTTE    CAEOLIKE   AUGUSTA.  371 

The  allusion  in  the  above  effusion  to  the  maternal  care 
seems  to  be  made  .directly  from  the  heart  of  the  young 
writer. 

In  1807  Mrs.  Campbell  and  Mrs.  Udney  were  sub- 
governesses  to  the  Princess  Charlotte.  The  most  talented 
masters  that  could  be  procured  were  honoured  with  the 
office  of  assisting  this  Royal  Princess  in  her  progress. 
Her  attainments  were  proportionate  to  the  expectations 
of  her  family  and  the  nation,  and  calculated  to  render  her 
worthy  of  the  throne  she  was  expected  to  adorn. 

There  were,  however,  times  when  this  young  heiress- 
presumptive  would  exhibit  a  high  spirit,  accompanied  by 
waywardness  and  caprice.  It  is  even  said  that  on  one 
occasion  the  Bishop,  her  tutor,  having  mildly  corrected 
her  for  some  trifling  inattention,  she  snatched  off  his  wig, 
dashed  it  on  the  floor,  and  indignantly  quitted  the  room ! 
Another  time,  too,  when  her  aged  grandmother,  Queen 
Charlotte,  was  reminding  her  that  a  gift  from  herself — a 
handsome  shawl — had  not  yet  been  acknowledged,  the 
Princess  took  the  shawl  that  minute  from  her  shoulders, 
and  put  it  into  the  tire !  These  were  odd  little  stories  to 
circulate  about  a  Royal  Princess,  but  if  they  really  were 
true  ones  of  Princess  Charlotte,  we  are  told  that  as  she 
advanced  in  age  her  youthful  sallies  of  spirit  subsided, 
and  she  became  both  tractable  and  amiable.  Very  much 
to  her  praise  was  the  amende  honorable  she  made  to  the 
poor  dancing-master,  who,  having  ordered  some  music  she 
disliked,  received  her  refusal  to  dance.  No  persuasion 
changing  her  resolution,  he  quitted  the  room.  She  ran 
after  him,  and  requested  his  return — she  would  finish  her 
lesson,  which  in  fact  she  did ;  but  the  Prince,  thinking 
the  master  disagreeable  from  this  circumstance,  dismissed 
him,  much  to  his  daughter's  chagrin,  who  would  not  rest 


372  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

till  she  had  procured  his  reinstatement  in  office,  declaring 
that  she  alone  was  to  blame  in  the  matter. 

The  following  account,  written  by  a  person  who  sub- 
scribes himself  D.  Forbes,  is  extracted  from  the  "  Gentle- 
man's Magazine,"  1817,  and  refers  to  a  communication  in 
1804 : — "  On  leaving  Paris  for  England,  I  was  intrusted 
with  a  confidential  communication  to  the  Dowager  Coun- 
tess of  Elgin ;  which,  in  these  days  of  suspicion,  it  was 
deemed  imprudent  to  commit  to  paper ;  and  soon  after  our 
arrival  in  London,  I  accompanied  my  wife  and  daughter 
on  a  visit  to  her  ladyship  at  a  villa  in  Kent,  where  she 
resided  with  the  Princess  Charlotte,  then  in  the  ninth 
year  of  her  age. 

"  We  had  the  honour  of  being  introduced  to  her  Royal 
Highness,  who  received  us  with  that  kind  and  amiable 
condescension  which  at  every  future  period  marked  her 
character.  The  Princess  particularly  addressed  herself  to 
my  daughter,  as  nearest  her  own  age  ;  and  was  rather 
playfully  conversing  with  her  on  some  late  event  in  Paris, 
when  I  accidentally  used  the  word  Emperor;  upon 
which  the  Princess,  addressing  herself  to  me,  '  Did  you 
say  the  Emperor,  Sir  ?  What  Emperor  ?  Here  we  know 
only  of  two  Emperors,  those  of  Germany  and  Russia.' 
I  replied,  '  The  Emperor  of  France.'  '  Emperor  of 
France  !'  exclaimed  her  Royal  Highness,  with  a  dignified 
look  and  altered  manner.  '  What,  Bonaparte !  let  me 
advise  you  never  to  call  him  Emperor  in  this  country,  for 
it  will  not  go  down/  I  expressed  my  concern  at  having 
offended  her  Royal  Highness ;  particularly  as  I  had  just 
written  a  letter  for  the  '  Gentleman's  Magazine,'  in 
which  I  had  more  than  once  given  him  that  appellation. 
'  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  your  letter,'  replied  our 
noble-minded  British  Princess  ;  *  but  let  me  repeat  my 


CHARLOTTE    CAROLINE   AUGUSTA.  373 

advice,  never  again  to  give  the  Usurper  of  France  that 
title  in  England — for,  I  once  more  assure  you,  it  will  not 
go  down.'  I  promised  obedience  to  the  Royal  command, 
and  in  two  much  later  instances  of  kindness  from  our  be- 
loved and  lamented  Princess,  I  was  happy  to  know  I  had 
not  lost  her  favour." 

Bryan  Carly,  a  botanist  of  worth  and  respectability, 
was  honoured  by  the  condescending  notice  of  her  Royal 
Highness  when  employed  in  the  grounds  of  Lady  de  Clif- 
ford in  Padding  ton  Green.  One  of  the  instances  was  a  case 
of  instruments  presented  by  her  own  hand,  and  the  other 
a  quarto  Oxford  Bible,  in  which  the  Princess  wrote  the 
following  lines  : — 

"  I  give  this  good  book  to  Bryan  Carly,  as  a  mark  of 
my  sincere  regard  and  esteem  ;  and  which  I  hope  he  will 
always  keep,  as  a  remembrance  of  her  who  is  very  truly 
his  friend  and  well-wisher, 

"  CHARLOTTE. 

"May  15,  1808." 

The  Princess,  had  not  only  a  superior  knowledge  of  the 
arts  herself,  but  patronized  them  in  others.  There  are 
innumerable  anecdotes  of  her  taste  and  genius,  and  also  of 
her  benevolence  and  goodness  of  heart. 

The  late  worthy  Major made  a  highly  laboured 

drawing,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  from  a  print  of  the 
"Misers,"  and  coloured  it  from  recollection.  Mrs.  Udney 
was  prevailed  upon  to  introduce  the  Major,  who  was  an 
amateur,  to  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Charlotte,  at 
Warwick  House,  to  afford  him  the  honour  of  submitting 
his  work  as  a  copy  of  the  picture  at  Windsor  Castle.  The 
drawing  was  much  admired,  but  the  amateur  was  embar- 
rassed, on  being  told  by  the  young  Princess  that  he  had 


374  THE    EOTAL   PRIKCESSES. 

mistaken  the  colouring :  for  one  of  the  Misers  was  repre- 
sented in  the  colour  worn  by  the  other,  and  the  caps  were- 
also  coloured  vice  versa.  It  should  be  mentioned,  that 
her  Eoyal  Highness  had  seen  the  picture  but  once,  and 
that  eight  years  previously  to  this  interview.  It  is  dan- 
gerous to  rely  upon  the  reminiscence  of  eight  years'  date ; 
but,  unfortunately  for  the  amateur,  the  Princess's  memon7- 
was  the  most  correct.  To  the  honour  of  the  Major,  how- 
ever, it  must  be  added,  that  he  candidly  told  this  story  of 
himself. 

The  health  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  requiring  sea- 
bathing, she  passed  three  successive  summers  at  Bognor, 
under  the  superintendence  of  her  governess,  Lady  de- 
Clifford.  She  bathed  three  or  four  times  a-week,  and 
might  be  seen  driving  about  the  neighbourhood  in  a 
little  market-cart  drawn  by  her  four  favourite  grey  ponies 
— a  paternal  present,  which  she  had  learnt  to  manage  with 
grace  and  ability.  At  other  times,  she  would  stroll  on  the 
beach,  in  the  simplest  dress,  not  even  disdaining  to  visit 
the  humble  cottages  of  the  surrounding  poor. 

During  the  residence  of  her  Royal  Highness  at  Bognor, 
where  she  had  gone  for  the  recovery  of  her  health,  an 
officer  of  long  standing  in  the  army  was  arrested  for  a 
small  sum,  and  being  at  a  distance  from  his  friends,  and 
unable  to  procure  bail,  he  was  on  the  point  of  being  torn 
from  his  family,  to  be  conveyed  to  Arundel  gaol.  The 
circumstance  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Princess,  who, 
in  the  momentary  impulse  of  generous  feeling,  exclaimed, 
"  I  will  be  his  bail !"  Then,  suddenly  recollecting  herself, 
she  inquired  the  amount  of  the  debt ;  which,  being  told 
her,  "  There,"  said  she,  handing  a  purse  with  more  than 
the  sum,  "  take  this  to  him.  It  is  hard  that  he  who  has 


CHAELOTTE    CAKOLINE    AUGUSTA.  375 

exposed  his  life  on  the  field  of  battle  should  ever  expe- 
rience the  rigours  of  a  prison." 

During  the  last  illness  of  an  old  female  attendant,  for- 
merly nurse  to  the  Princess  Charlotte,  she  visited  her 
every  day,  sat  by  her  bedside,  and  with  her  own  hand 
administered  the  medicine  prescribed.  When  death  had 
closed  the  eyes  of  this  poor  woman,  instead  of  fleeing  in 
haste  from  an  object  so  appalling  to  the  young  and  gay  in 
general,  the  Princess  remained,  and  gave  -utterance  to  the 
compassion  she  felt,  on  viewing  the  remains  in  that  state 
from  which  Majesty  itself  cannot  be  exempt.  A  friend  of 
the  deceased,  seeing  her  Royal  Highness  was  much  affected, 
said,  "  If  your  Royal  Highness  would  condescend  to  touch 
her,  perhaps  you  would  not  dream  of  her."  "  Touch  her," 
replied  the  amiable  Princess,  "  yes,  poor  thing,  and  kiss 
her  too !  almost  the  only  one  I  ever  kissed,  except  my 
poor  mother"  Then,  bending  her  graceful  head  over  the 
coffin  of  her  humble  friend,  she  pressed  her  warm  lips  to 
the  clay-cold  cheek,  while  tears  of  sensibility  flowed  from 
her  eyes.* 

When  not  at  the  seaside,  the  young  Princess  either 
stayed  with  her  father  at  Carlton  House,  or  with  the 
aged  King  at  Windsor,  with  whom  she  was  an  especial 
favourite.  On  the  day  of  the  Jubilee,  the  Princess  accom- 
panied her  father  to  Windsor  to  offer  her  personal  con- 
gratulations to  her  grandfather. 

In  the  spring  of  1809,  the  Princess  Charlotte  caught 
the  measles,  during  which  illness  she  was  visited  by  the 
Queen,  who  presented  her  with  a  superb  service  of  china, 
manufactured  on  purpose,  from  drawings  executed  by 
Lady  de  Clifford,  the  governess  of  the  Princess. 

*  "Noble  Deeds  of  Woman,"  by  Mrs.  Matthew  Hall. 


376  THE   EOYAL   PELSTCESSES. 

The  intercourse  with  her  mother,  forbidden  altogether 
in  1806,  had  been  renewed  after  the  Princess  of  Wales 
appeared  at  Court,  but  with  certain  painful  restrictions. 
Early  in  1813  the  Princess  of  Wales,  finding  her  daughter, 
then  residing  at  Warwick  House,  had  been  prevented  by 
indisposition  paying  the  visit  she  intended,  communicated 
her  intention  of  visiting  her  daughter  at  her  own  resi- 
dence to  the  Prince  Eegent.  She  was  informed,  in  reply, 
that  the  Princess  would  be  able  to  see  her  on  the  llth, 
at  Kensington  Palace,  as  usual.  Subsequently,  however, 
the  visit  of  the  Princess  to  her  was  forbidden,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  letter  having  been  made  public ;  and  in  this 
crisis  the  Privy  Council,  after  several  meetings  for  that 
subject,  decided  the  mother  and  daughter  should  continue 
to  meet,  only  under  certain  restrictions. 

During  the  time  that  the  aged  Duchess  of  Brunswick, 
her  maternal  grandmother,  was  in  this  country,  where  she 
had  taken  refuge  after  the  death  of  her  husband  at  the 
battle  of  Jena,  the  Princess  Charlotte  used  to  visit 
her  at  her  mother's  residence  at  Blackheath ;  and  the 
death  of  that  amiable  and  unfortunate  Princess,  in  1813, 
was  a  severe  blow  both  to  the  Princess  of  Wales  and  her 
daughter. 

Her  affection  for  her  mother,  whom  she  was  not  always 
permitted  to  see,  was  unbounded,  and  the  treatment  that 
mother  experienced  from  the  Boyal  family  gave  her  much 
pain.  Filial  affection  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  charac- 
teristics in  the  character  of  the  Princess  Charlotte.  On 
one  particular  occasion,  at  a  time  when  this  maternal  and 
filial  intercourse  was  restrained,  a  most  affecting  interview 
took  place  by  accident,  the  carriages  of  mother  and  daughte^ 
meeting  in  Piccadilly. 

An  unrestrained  intercourse  was  at  first  allowed  between 


CHARLOTTE    GASOLINE   AUGUSTA.  377 

Warwick  House  and  Connaught-place,  but  not  destined 
to  continue.  In  1814,  Princess  Charlotte's  attempts  to 
indulge  in  a  closer  correspondence  with  her  mother 
than  had  previously  been  permitted  excited  the  anger 
of  the  Prince  Regent,  who  intimated,  in  rather  harsh 
terms,  his  intention  of  removing  her  without  delay  to  his 
own  residence.  It  was  on  July  the  12th,  1814,  that  all 
the  Princess's  household  was  suddenly  dismissed,  and  her 
person  confided  for  a  short  period  to  the  Dowager  Countess 
of  Rosslyn  and  the  Countess  of  Ilchester.  Intimation 
was  likewise  given  to  her  that  she  was  to  remove  to  Cran- 
bourne  Lodge,  and  remain  there  under  the  superintendence 
of  certain  ladies,  without  whose  acquiescence  neither 
letters  nor  visits  were  to  be  received.  The  young  Princess, 
however,  contrived  to  quit  Warwick  House  unperceived, 
stepped  into  a  hackne}r-coach,  and  drove  off  to  her  mother's 
house  at  Blackheath.  After  some  negotiations,  and  on 
receiving  an  assurance  that  she  should  not  be  immured 
nor  treated  with  severity,  she  was  eventually  prevailed 
upon  to  trust  herself  to  the  Regent's  protection.  The 
Princess  of  Wales  soon  afterwards  went  to  Italy,  and  all 
restraint  upon  the  Princess  was  then  removed. 

During  the  year  1813,  when  Princess  Charlotte  was 
staying  at  Windsor,  the  aged  King  would  often  listen  with 
delight  to  the  performances  of  the  Princess  on  the  piano- 
forte. One  day,  being  desirous  of  obtaining  the  opinion  of 
the  Bishop  of  Salisbury  on  a  piece  she  had  played  badly, 
she  inquired  if  he  was  pleased.  Being  answered  in  the 
negative,  she  ran  up  to  him  and  seized  his  hand,  saying — 
"  Now  I  know  you  are  my  friend ;  for  I  have  convinced 
myself  that  you  do  not  flatter  me  when  you  are  pleased  to 
approve." 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  the  Princess  was  confirmed,  the 


378  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

rite  having  been  till  then  postponed  by  the  wish  of  the 
King,  her  grandfather. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  the  day  of  her  coming  of  age, 
Warwick  House  was  thronged  with  visitors,  and  every 
distinction  due  to  such  an  occasion  testified;  but  the 
empty  pageants  of  the  world  had  less  real  enjoyment  for 
the  mind  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  than  the  solace  of  a 
short  visit  to  her  Royal  mother  at  Conn  aught-place,  who 
received  her  with  the  honours  of  one  born  to  an  empire, 
but  dispensed  immediately  with  form,  and  substituted  the 
endearments  of  tenderness  and  affection. 

It  was  soon  after  she  received  the  afflicting  news  of  the 
death  of  her  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  at  Quatre  Bras, 
that  Princess  Charlotte  went  to  Weymouth.  Having  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  go  on  board  the  Leviathan  man-of- 
war,  on  reaching  that  vessel  she  said  to  the  lieutenant 
who  escorted  her  party — "I  resign  the  accommodation 
chair,  provided  to  hoist  us  on  deck,  to  the  Bishop  and  the 
ladies ;  do  you,  sir,  take  care  of  my  clothes,  and  I  will  go 
up  the  ladder." 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1815,  the  Queen  gave  a  grand 
entertainment  at  Frogmore,  in  honour  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte  .having  completed  her  nineteenth  year. 

One  circumstance  which  does  infinite  credit  to  the 
original  genius  of  the  good  Queen,  and  showrs  her  supe- 
riority of  intellect,  is  the  fact  of  her  having  established  a 
printing  press  at  Frogmore,  where,  among  other  literary 
treasure,  are  some  important  works,  illustrated  at  a  great 
expense.  Adjoining  the  Library,  which  looks  into  the 
garden,  is  a  room  containing  a  printing  press,  and  every 
necessary  apparatus,  from  which  have  issued  some  small 
pieces,  under  the  immediate  direction  of  her  Majesty. 
Besides  many  single  sheets  on  religious  subjects,  there 


CHABLOTTE  CAROLINE  AUGUSTA.         371) 

have  been  printed  at  this  Eoyal  press  sets  of  cards,  exhi- 
biting chronological  abridgments  of  the  History  of  Rome, 
Germany,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal ;  all  of  them  ex- 
tremely well  calculated  to  assist  the  memory  and  exercise 
the  faculties  of  young  persons.  Two  books  only,  of  sixty 
copies  each,  have  been  printed  there,  and  both  in  the  year 
1812.  The  first,  a  small  octavo  of  one  hundred  and  eleven 
pages,  bearing  the  title,  "  Translations  from  the  German, 
in  Prose  and  Verse,"  is  thus  inscribed — "  The  gift  of  the 
Queen  to  her  beloved  daughters,  Charlotte  Augusta 
Matilda,  Augusta  Sophia,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  Sophia ; 
and,  with  her  permission,  dedicated  to  their  Eoyal  High- 
nesses, by  Ellis  Constantia  Knight."  The  other  is  a 
foolscap  quarto,  of  ninety  pages,  with  the  simple  title  of 
"  Miscellaneous  Poems."  Both  have  an  etching,  byway  of 
vignette,  representing  a  garden  view  of  the  Library.  All 
the  translations  in  the  first  book  are  religious,  consisting 
of  prayers,  meditations,  and  hymns ;  the  prose  part  being 
chiefly  taken  from  the  works  of  Dr.  Seiler,  whose  explana- 
tory works  on  the  Scriptures  may  be  considered  as  models 
of  rational  and  enlightened  piety,  which  are  equally  cal- 
culated to  improve  the  understanding  and  touch  the 
heart. 

The  volume  of  "  Miscellaneous  Poems"  consists  chiefly 
of  fugitive  pieces,  which  appear  to  have  struck  the  fancy  of 
the  selector,  who  has  also  interspersed  some  original  ver- 
sions from  Italian  and  German  writers.  The  following 
devotional  piece,  to  be  sung  to  Pleyel's  German  Hymn, 
will  speak  for  itself: — 

Oh  !  my  God,  thy  servant  hear ; 
To  my  prayer  incline  thine  ear ; 
When  ruddy  morning  streaks  the  skies, 
To  thee  I  lift  mine  op'ning  eyes. 


380  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

When  the  sun  conceals  his  head 
Beneath  the  western  ocean's  bed, 
Of  thee,  my  God,  I  ask  repose, 
To  calm  with  sleep  my  pains  and  woes. 

When  I  press  the  bed  of  death, 
Take,  oh  take,  my  parting  breath ! 
Save  me,  by  thy  gracious  power, 
From  all  the  horrors  of  that  hour. 

When  the  righteous  Judge,  thy  Son, 
Shall  sit  upon  His  glory's  throne, 
And  all  th'  angelic  host  shall  see 
The  dead  arise  from  earth  and  sea— 

Oh !  then  may  I  and  mine  rejoice 
To  hear  the  trumpet's  awful  voice  ; 
And,  cloth'd  in  white  robes,  ever  sing 
Hosannas  to  our  heavenly  King. 

From  the  visit  of  the  Allied  Sovereigns  till  May  18th, 
1815,  Princess  Charlotte  had  not  been  seen  at  Court.  On 
that  day  she  appeared,  to  the  delight  of  all  beholders,  at 
the  Queen's  Drawing-room,  arrayed  in  the  most  splendid 
jewels,  "  with  a  diamond  tiara,  shaded  by  the  Prince's 
plume."  On  the  29th  of  the  same  month  she  gave  her 
first  evening  party  to  the  Queen  and  the  Princesses  at 
Caiiton  House. 

The  young  Prince  of  Orange,  who  had  been  educated 
in  England,  and  long  regarded  by  this  nation  as  the  in- 
tended husband  of  this  Princess,  was,  on  December  14th, 
formally  introduced  to  her  by  her  father;  after  which, 
every  means  was  taken  to  throw  this  youthful  pair  into 
each  other's  company.  During  the  visit  of  the  Allied 
Sovereigns  to  this  country,  when,  on  June  2nd,  Princess 
Charlotte  made  her  first  appearance  in  public,  the  Prince 
of  Orange  paid  her  marked  attention,  formally  handed  her 
to  her  carriage,  and  afterwards  dined  with  the  Royal 
family  at  Caiiton  House.  JNot  long  aftor^  all  thoughts 


CHAHLOTTE    CAROLINE    AUGUSTA.  381 

of  tin's  match  were  entirely  broken  off  by  the  decision  of 
the  Princess  herself.  It  was  in  the  year  1814  that  the 
daughter  of  George  IV.  first  honoured  by  her  especial 
notice  the  Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg,  to  whom  she 
was  united  two  years  afterwards,  at  Carlton  House,  in 
May,  1816.  The  consent  of  the  Regent  having  been 
obtained,  and  every  arrangement  duly  made,  after  the 
usual  prefatory  ceremonies  the  Great  Seal  of  England  was 
affixed,  by  order  of  John  Lord  Eldon,  High  Chancellor,  to 
the  instrument  authorizing  the  marriage,  which  took  place 
May  2nd,  1816,  in  the  great  Crimson  Room  at  Carlton 
House.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  his  Grace  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  the  presence  of  her  Majesty, 
the  Prince  Regent,  the  Dukes  of  York,  Clarence, 
Kent,  &c.  Two  days  after,  his  Royal  father-in-law  was 
pleased  to  appoint  his  Serene  Highness  Leopold  George 
Frederick,  Prince  of  Saxe-Coburg  of  Saalfield,  a  General 
in  the  British  army.  The  history  of  the  present  King  of 
the  Belgians  is  already  too  well  known  to  require  intro- 
duction here. 

Parliament  voted  60,OOOZ.  for  the  outfit  of  the  Royal 
pair,  10,000?.  per  annum  as  pin-money  for  the  bride,  and 
60,OOOZ.  a-year  during  their  joint  and  several  lives. 

Princess  Charlotte  did  not,  it  is  said,  look  her  best  at 
the  Drawing-room  given  on  the  occasion  of  her  marriage. 
She  stood  apart  in  a  window  recess  with  her  back  to  the 
light,  looking  deadly  pale.  A  contemporary  writer  says, 
"Prince  Leopold  was  looking  about  him  with  a  keen 
glance  of  inquiry,  as  if  he  would  like  to  know  in  what 
light  people  regarded  him.  The  Queen-Mother  was,  or 
pretended  to  be,  in  the  highest  possible  spirits,  and  was 
very  gracious  to  everybody.  At  the  time  I  was  in  this 
courtly  scene,  and  especially  as  I  looked  on  the  Princess 
c  c 


382  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

Charlotte,  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  and  feeling  very  sorry  and  very  angry  at  her  cruel 
fate I  dare  say  the  Princess  Charlotte  was  think- 
ing of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  when  she  stood  in  the  gay 
scene  of  to-day's  Drawing-room,  and  that  the  remembrance 
of  her  mother,  excluded  from  all  her  rights  and  privileges  in 
a  foreign  country,  and  left  almost  without  any  attendants, 
made  her  feel  very  melancholy.  I  never  can  understand 
how  Queen  Charlotte  could  dare  refuse  to  receive  the 
Princess  of  Wales  at  the  public  Drawing-room,  any  more 
than  she  would  any  other  lady,  of  whom  nothing  has  been 
publicly  proved  against  her  character.  Of  one  thing  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  the  Queen  is  the  slave  of  the  Regent." 

Before  her  marriage  she  was  waited  upon  by  one  of  the 
ministers,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  some  details  re- 
specting her  income.  She  did  not  consider  his  proposition 
sufficiently  liberal,  and  addressed  him  in  these  words : — 
"  My  lord,  I  am  heiress  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain, 
and  my  mind  has  risen  to  a  level  with  the  exalted  station 
I  am  to  fill ;  therefore,  I  must  be  provided  for  accordingly. 
Do  not  imagine  that  in  marrying  Prince  Leopold  I  ever 
can,  or  will,  sink  to  the  rank  of  Mistress  Coburg.  En- 
tertain no  such  idea,  I  beg  of  you." 

To  describe  the  happy  and  domestic  life  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte  and  her  husband,  at  Claremont,  would  be  to 
repeat  that  which  has  already  been  the  theme  of  many  a 
more  gifted  pen.  A  little  poem  on  the  death  of  this 
Princess  commences — 

If  perfect  bliss,  without  alloy, 

To  wedded  love  be  given, 
Th'  illustrious  Charlotte  felt  that  joy, 

Her  home  a  little  heaven  ! 
There  Fashion's  idle  slaves  might  blush  to  see 
Exalted  rank  from  vice  and  folly  free. 


CHARLOTTE    CAROLINE    AUGUSTA.  383 

When  on  the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  she 
retired  with  her  consort  to  Claremont,  she  found  a  poor 
old  woman,  Dame  Bewley,  who  had  formerly  lived  with 
several  families  who  had  successively  occupied  the  estate, 
hut  now,  worn  down  with  age  and  infirmity,  was  unable 
to  labour  any  longer.  She  was  living  on  the  occasional 
charity  of  the  mansion,  and  the  small  earnings  of  her 
aged  husband.  No  sooner  did  the  benevolent  Princess 
hear  of  this,  than  she  visited  Dame  Bewley,  whom  she 
found  endeavouring  to  read  an  old  Bible,  the  small  print 
of  which  to  her  enfeebled  eyes  was  almost  undistinguish- 
able.  The  next  day  the  Princess  sent  her  a  new  Prayer-Book 
and  Bible,  of  the  largest  print ;  her  shattered  cottage  was 
rebuilt,  and  she  no  longer  lived  on  the  precarious  bounty 
of  the  successive  Lords  of  Claremont. 

The  Princess  Charlotte's  acts  of  beneficence  were  alike 
distinguished  for  their  liberality  and  judiciousness.  Her 
bounty  was  invariably  preceded  by  inquiry,  and  never 
with  her  knowledge  did  it  fall  but  on  merit  and  virtue. 
Her  Royal  Highness  carried  this  habit  of  discrimination 
even  into  the  choice  of  her  tradesmen.  More  than  one  of 
them  were  indebted  for  the  preference  they  obtained  to 
the  honourable  anxiety  of  the  Princess  to  indemnify  them. 
for  the  losses  they  had  sustained  through  other  less 
opulent  branches  of  the  Royal  family.  In  the  majority  of 
cases,  however,  the  motive  for  selection  was  of  a  more 
unmixed  kind — the  pure  desire  of  doing  the  most  good 
with  the  money  which  she  expended. 

Finding  that  all  who  had  applied  for  the  honour  of 
serving  her  household  with  meat  were  opulent,  her  Royal 
Highness  inquired  if  there  were  no  other  butchers  in 
Esher.  The  steward  at  first  replied  he  believed  there  were 
no  others ;  but,  on  recollection,  he  said  there  was  one  man, 
c  c2 


384  THE    EOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

but  that  he  was  in  such  low  circumstances  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  him  to  undertake  the  contract.  "  I 
should  like  to  see  this  man,"  said  the  Princess.  He  was, 
of  course,  though  very  unexpectedly,  summoned  to  Clare- 
mont ;  when  he  candidly  confessed  that  his  poverty  was 
such  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  him  to  send  in  such 
meat  as  he  would  wish  to  supply  to  the  Royal  household  : 
he  never  even  thought  of  offering  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  the  contract.  "  What  sum,"  inquired  the  Princess, 
"  would  be  necessary  to  enable  you  to  go  to  the  market 
upon  equal  terms  with  your  more  opulent  fellow-trades- 
men?" The  poor  man  was  quite  embarrassed  at  such  a 
prospect  before  him,  and  overwhelmed  with  the  Royal 
condescension.  At  length  he  named  a  sum.  "  You  shall 
have  it,"  said  the  amiable  Princess,  "  and  shall  henceforth 
supply  my  household." 

This  noble  act  of  generosity  rescued  a  deserving  man 
from  the  struggles  of  poverty,  and  enabled  him  to  make  a 
comfortable  provision  for  his  family. 

In  one  of  her  Royal  Highness's  walks  with  Prince  Leo- 
pold, in  November,  1816,  she  addressed  a  decent-looking 
person,  who  was  employed  as  a  day-labourer,  and  said, 
"My  good  man,  you  have  seen  better  days  ?"  "  I  have, 
your  Royal  Highness,"  answered  the  labourer;  "I  have 
rented  a  good  farm;  but  the  change  in  the  times  has 
ruined  me."  At  this  reply  she  burst  into  tears,  and  ob- 
served to  Prince  Leopold,  "  Let  us  be  grateful  to  Provi- 
dence for  His  blessings,  and  endeavour  to  fulfil  the  impor- 
tant duties  required  of  us,  to  make  all  our  labourers 
happy !"  On  her  return  home,  she  desired  the  steward  to 
obtain  a  list  of  all  the  deserving  objects  of  charity  em- 
ployed in  the  house  and  park,  and  in  the  village  of  Esher, 
with  the  number  of  each  family,  &c. 


CHARLOTTE    CAEOLINE    AUGUSTA.  385 

A  communication  was  then  made  to  the  household  that 
it  was  the  wish  of  their  Royal  and  Serene  Highnesses  to 
make  them  happy  and  comfortable,  yet  that  there  should 
be  no  waste  of  a  single  article  of  provisions  at  the  several 
tables,  but  that  all  the  remnants  should  be  delivered  to 
the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  who  was  appointed  to  distribute 
food  to  the  several  applicants  who  had  tickets,  in  propor- 
tionate quantities.  This  regulation  was  cheerfully  obeyed, 
and  for  nineteen  months  scarcely  a  crust  of  bread  was 
wasted  throughout  the  whole  establishment.  Instead  of 
festivities  on  the  Prince's  birthday,  in  December,  150Z. 
was  expended  in  supplying  the  honest  and  poor  labourers 
with  clothing ;  and  on  the  birthday  of  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte, in  January,  her  Royal  Highness  laid  out  the  same 
sum  in  clothing  the  poor  women. 

The  Princess  Charlotte  always  exerted  her  utmost  in- 
fluence to  promote  the  trade  and  commerce  of  her  native 
country.  Being  informed  of  the  distressed  state  of  the 
weavers  in  Spitalfields,  in  the  year  1817,  she  immediately 
ordered  from  a  manufactory  there  a  suite  of  elegant  rich 
furniture,  and  a  variety  of  rich  silks  for  dresses,  to 
the  value  of  1000Z.,  which  were  sent  as  presents  to  tier 
Continental  connexions.  She  explicitly  announced  to  her 
establishment  that  she  expected  they  would  wear  dresses 
of  British  manufacture  only ;  and  at  the  same  time  her 
Royal  Highness  insisted  that  her  dressmakers  should  not 
introduce  anything  foreign  into  the  articles  she  ordered, 
on  pain  of  incurring  her  displeasure,  and  ceasing  to  be 
longer  employed.  On  one  occasion,  an  Indian  shawl  of 
the  most  exquisite  workmanship,  the  value  of  which  was 
estimated  at  three  thousand  guineas,  being  handed  to  her 
Royal  Highness,  the  Princess,  having  ascertained  that  the 
shawl  had  been  clandestinely  brought  into  the  country, 


386  THE   ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

severely  rebuked  the  person  who  had  tendered  it  to  her, 
and  said,  "  In  the  first  place,  I  cannot  afford  to  give  three 
thousand  guineas  for  a  shawl ;  and  in  the  second,  a  Nor- 
wich shawl,  of  the  value  of  half-a-crown,  manufactured  by 
a  native  of  England,  would  become  me  better  than  the 
costliest  article  which  the  loom  of  India  ever  produced."* 

In  November,  1817,  she  gave  birth  to  a  still-born  male 
child;  after  which  she  was  pronounced  to  be  doing  extremely 
well.  On  the  following  morning,  however,  she  was  attacked 
first  with  convulsions,  afterwards  with  faintness,  and  her 
medical  attendants  being  summoned,  found  her  at  the 
point  of  death.  She  received  the  tidings  with  calm 
resignation,  and  employed  the  small  remainder  of  her  time 
in  testifying  by  signs  her  affection  for  the  young  and  de- 
voted husband  she  was  about  to  be  parted  from  for  ever. 

When  informed  of  her  child's  death,  short!  v  before  her 
own,  she  said — "  I  feel  it  as  a  mother  naturally  should ;" 
adding, "  It  is  the  will  of  Grod !  praise  to  Him  in  all  things  !" 
She  died  November  6th,  1817,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two. 

The  grief  caused  by  her  death  was  unparalleled  in  our 
annals :  the  stroke  was  private  as  well  as  public,  and  went 
home  to  the  heart  of  every  British  subject. 

The  afflicting  news  was  officially  communicated  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  thus  : — 

"  To  the  Riglit  Honourable  tlie  Lord  Mayor. 

"Whitehall,  November  6th,  6  o'clock,  A.M. 
"MY  LORD, 

"  It  is  with  the  deepest  sorrow  that  I  inform 
your  Lordship   that   her   Royal  Highness   the   Princess 
Charlotte  expired  this  morning  at  half-past  two  o'clock. 
"I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c.,  &c., 

"  SlDMOUTH." 
*  "  Noble  Deeds  of  Woman,"  by  Elizabeth  Starling. 


CHARLOTTE    CAROLINE    AUGUSTA.  387 

The  following  lines  were  written  by  Lord  Byron  on  the 
removal  and  interment  of  the  remains  of  her  Eoyal  High- 
ness the  Princess  Charlotte : — 

Bright  be  the  place  of  thy  soul ! 

No  lovelier  spirit  than  thine 
E'er  burst  from  its  mortal  control 

In  the  orbs  of  the  blessed  to  shine. 
On  earth  thou  wert  all  but  Divine, 

As  thy  soul  shall  immortally  be  ; 
And  our  sorrow  may  cease  to  repine, 

When  we  know  that  thy  God  is  with  thee. 

LORD  BYRON. 

In  person  Charlotte  was  of  "  middle  stature,  stout,  but  of 
elegant  proportions ;  her  eyes  were  blue,  large,  and  intelli- 
gent ;  her  complexion  unusually  fair,  the  expression  of  her 
features  dignified,  and  on  the  whole  her  appearance  prepos- 
sessing. Her  spirit  was  high,  her  temper  irascible,  and 
her  inclination  somewhat  despotic ;  but  her  affections  warm, 
her  mind  cultivated,  and  benevolence  unbounded.  As  she 
had  been  educated  in  sound  moral,  religious,  and  consti- 
tutional principles,  it  is  thought  that,  on  the  throne,  she 
might  have  exhibited,  with  some  of  the  failings,  many  of 
the  high  and  noble  qualities  of  her  favourite  model  Eliza- 
beth, the  lion-hearted  Queen." 

She  was  a  pious,  intelligent,  energetic,  and  benevolent 
Princess,  often  visiting,  and  relieving  in  person  the  poor  ; 
and  her  loss  was  deeply  felt.  Robert  Hall  preached  a  most 
eloquent  sermon  on  her  death.* 

By  the  death  of  this  lamented  Princess,  and  subsequent 
marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Kent,  her  present  Most  Gracious 
Majesty  has  inherited  the  Crown  of  these  realms.  The 

*  Maria  Josepha  Hale. 


388  THE    ROYAL    PKINCESSES. 

amiable  Queen  Adelaide  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  two 
of  her  children  in  earliest  infancy.* 

There  are,  indeed,  two  sister- Princesses,  though  farther 
removed  from  the  throne  by  the  line  of  succession ; 
daughters  of  the  late  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

The  Princess  Augusta  Caroline  Charlotte  Elizabeth 
Mary  Sophia  Louisa,  the  eldest,,  was  born  at  Hanover, 
July  19th,  1822.  On  June  28th,  1843,  she  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Frederick  William  Charles  George  Ernest 
Adolphus  Gustavus,  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of  Mecklen- 
burg-Strelitz.  Her  sister-Princess,  Mary  Adelaide  Wil- 
helmina  Elizabeth,  second  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge, was  also  born  at  Hanover,  November  27th,  1833. 
She  was  married,  6th  July,  1866,  to  Prince  Teck. 

*  Queen  A'delaide  had  two  daughters  by  "William  IV.,  of  whom  the- 
eldest,  Elizabeth  Adelaide,  born  March  4th,  1819,  lived  only  a  fe\r 
hours.  Another  daughter,  who  was  christened  Elizabeth,  born  pre- 
maturely December  2,  1820,  died  March  4th,  1821. 


389 


VICTORIA  ADELAIDE  MARY  LOUISA, 

PRINCESS    ROYAL    OF    ENGLAND, 

AND  NOW  HER  IMPERIAL  AND  ROYAL  HIGHNESS,  CROWN 
PRINCESS  OF  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  AND  OF  PRUSSIA. 

Accession  and  marriage  of  the  Queen—  Birth  of  the  Princess  Royal — 
Her  christening,  and  sponsors — Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales — Visit 
of  the  King  and  Queen  of  the  Belgians — Visit  of  the  Queen  to  the- 
Duke  of  Wellington— The  Princess  Royal's  birthday— The  Princess 
accompanies  her  parents  to  Scotland — Louis  Philippe's  present  to 
her  doll — Birth  of  Princess  Louise — The  Princess  visits  Dublin — 
Opening  of  the  Coal  Exchange — The  Royal  Family  visit  Belgium — 
Prince  of  Prussia  comes  to  England — Great  Exhibition  of  1851 — 
Princess  Royal  visits  the  Court  of  France — Her  Confirmation — 
Prince  Frederick  William  visits  the  Queen — Drawing-room  on  the 
Queen's  birthday — Personal  appearance  of  the  Princess  Royal — 
Fancy  Ball  at  Hanover  Square  Rooms — Prince  Frederick  William 
visits  Scotland— Peace  commemoration — Serious  accident  to  the 
Princess  Royal — Goes  on  board  the  Resolute—  Birth  of  Princess 
Beatrice — Prince  Frederick  William  and  Princess  Royal  sponsors 
to  the  Royal  babe — Vote  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
Princess  Royal's  marriage — Handel  Festival — Distribution  of  the 
Victoria  Cross — She  visits  the  Manchester  Exhibition — Present  at  the 
opening  of  Parliament — Departure  of  Prince  Frederick  William — 
Princess  Royal  inspects  the  Leviathan — Her  future  household — 
Royal  trousseau — Present  to  the  bridesmaids — Festival  performances 
— State  Ball — Arrival  of  the  Royal  Bridegroom — Medals  of  the  mar- 
riage— The  Royal  Wedding — Departure  for  Windsor— Grand  ball  at 
Buckingham  Palace — Presents  to  the  Royal  pair — Prince  Frederick 
William  invested  with  the  Order  of  the  Garter — Departure  of  the 
married  pair — Embarkation — Safe  arrival  at  Antwerp — Reception 
there  and  at  Brussels — Their  arrival  at  Potsdam — Interview  with 
Royal  Family — Public  entry  into  Berlin — Reception  at  the  Palace — 
Residence  of  the  young  couple — Presentation  of  young  ladies  of 


390  THE    EOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

Berlin— Deputation  with  a  present  from  the  city — Court  Ball — 
Celebrated  Fackeltanz— Soiree  given  by  the  Prince  of  Prussia — 
Donations  to  the  poor  of  Berlin  and  Potsdam  from  the  Princess — 
Domestic  life — Court  etiquette— Birth  of  her  first  son — The  Prin- 
cess's love  of  gardening — Visit  of  the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort — 
Death  of  the  latter — Visit  of  the  Princess  to  the  Queen — Birth  of 
other  children  to  the  Princess — Picture  of  her  family  life. 

THESE  records  of  the  Royal  Princesses  would  naturally 
have  included  her  present  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  so 
long  the  brightest  ornament  of  her  country,  under  the 
character  of  a  maiden  Princess,  had  not  her  accession  to 
the  throne  placed  her  biography  among  those  of  the 
Queens  Regnant  of  these  realms.  To  this  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance, and  to  her  happy  marriage  afterwards  with 
Prince  Albert,  we  are  indebted  for  the  birth  of  five  Eoyal 
Princesses,  the  representatives  of  their  mother,  and,  like 
her,  educated  to  become  an  'ornament  and  glory  to  their 
sex  arid  station.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  enter  minutely 
into  the  history  of  the  several  Royal  daughters  of  her 
Majesty,  but  to  glance  briefly  at  the  most  prominent  fea- 
tures which  call  for  special  attention. 

Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty  Queen  Victoria  was  united 
to  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe-Coburg,  at  St.  James's  Chapel, 
on  the  10th  of  February,  in  the  year  1840. 

The  first-born  child  of  this  auspicious  union  was  Victoria 
Adelaide  Mary  Louisa,  Princess  Royal  of  England,  born 
at  Buckingham  Palace  21st  of  November,  1840. 

On  February  10th  the  Princess  Royal  was  christened  in 
Buckingham  Palace,  with  every  state  and  solemnity  be- 
fitting the  occasion.  A  temporary  altar,  with  the  furniture 
from  the  Chapel  Royal,  was  erected  in  the  Throne  Room 
in  the  place  of  the  throne. 

The  rite  was  performed  in  the  presence  of  her  Majesty, 
the  Prince  Consort,  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  the  Queen 


YICTOKIA    ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  391 

Dowager,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  the  Archbishops  of  Can- 
terbury and  York,  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Norwich, 
and  the  Dean  of  Carlisle,  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  the 
late  Duke  and  Prince  George  of  Cambridge,  the  late  Duke 
of  Wellington,  Viscount  Melbourne,  Lord  John  Russell, 
and  others  of  the  nobility. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  performed  the  service ; 
and  when  he  came  to  that  part  for  naming  the  Princess, 
her  Majesty  the  Queen  Dowager  named  her,  Victoria 
Adelaide  Mary  Louisa.  The  late  Duke  of  Wellington 
officiated  as  sponsor,  on  the  part  of  the  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Coburg  and  Gotha.  The  other  sponsors  were :  the  Queen 
Dowager,  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
the  King  of  the  Belgians,  and  the  Duke  of  Sussex. 

In  the  evening  a  grand  dinner  was  given  in  the  Picture 
Gallery,  at  which  seventy-one  guests  were  present. 

From  her  earliest  infancy,  the  first-born  of  a  Sovereign 
so  beloved  was  naturally  dear  to  the  nation,  and  an  object 
of  tender  interest  to  all  who  surrounded  her.  Of  her  Royal 
father  it  is  related,  that  one  day,  when  a  gentleman  was 
at  the  Palace  who  formerly  had  the  honour  of  assisting 
him  in  his  English  studies,  his  Royal  Highness  inquired 
would  he  like  to  see  the  Princess  ?  The  answer  may  be 
imagined.  The  Prince  Consort  himself  brought  his  infant 
daughter  from  the  nursery,  with  these  words :  "  To  you,  I 
suppose,  children  seem  nearly  all  alike ;  but,  to  my  eyes, 
this  little  girl  appears  more  beautiful  than  any  other  in- 
fant I  have  ever  seen !" 

On  the  9th  of  November,  1841,  the  birth  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  gave  an  heir  apparent  to  the  throne ;  to  which 
till  that  period  the  Princess  Royal  had  been  presumptive 
heiress. 

The  same  year,  June  23rd,  the  late  King  and  Queen  of 


392  THE    EOTAL    PTUtfCESSES. 

the  Belgians,  with  their  infant  son  the  Duke  of  Brabant, 
and  suite,  arrived  at  Buckingham  Palace,  on  a  visit  to  the 
Queen. 

Her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  Consort,  accompanied  by 
the  Eoyal  children,  quitted  Windsor  on  November  10th, 
1842,  for  Walmer  Castle,  Deal,  in  order  to  pass  a  few  weeks 
with  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  21st  of  that 
month  being  the  birthday  of  the  Princess  Royal,  was 
celebrated  by  general  rejoicings  and  illuminations. 

The  Princess  Alice  Maude  Mary  was  born  in  1843 : 
Prince  Alfred,  now  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  in  1844.  On 
May  26th,  1846,  Princess  Helena  Augusta  was  added  to 
the  little  group. 

The  Princess  Royal  accompanied  her  Majesty  and  the 
Prince  Consort,  in  September,  1844,  when  they  left  Windsor 
Castle  for  Scotland.  The  Royal  party  landed  at  Dundee, 
and  visited  Blair  Athol,  the  castle  of  Lord  Glenlyon,  where 
they  remained  some  time  to  enjoy  the  beauties  of  the 
surrounding  scenery. 

It  is  necessary  here  to  mention  the  mysterious  chest 
which  arrived  in  London  in  February,  1846,  bearing  upon 
it  the  Royal  arms  of  France.  It  was  addressed  to  the 
"Doll  of  the  Princess  Royal,"  and  contained  a  complete 
trousseau,  suited  for  either  morning  or  evening  costume, 
and  two  splendid  ball  toilettes,  manufactured  by  the  most 
eminent  Parisian  modiste,  all  designed  with  the  utmost 
delicacy  and  taste.  A  jewel-case,  with  diamonds  of  the 
purest  water,  accompanied  this  unique  present  from  the 
late  King  Louis  Philippe  to  "  the  Doll  of  her  Royal  High- 
ness the  Princess  Royal  of  England." 

The  education  of  the  Princess  Royal  has  been  such  as 
might  be  expected  from  the  well-known  character  of  her 
Royal  parents.  It  has  been  affirmed  that  no  man  ever 


YICTOKIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  393 

arrived  at  greatness  and  distinction  who  might  not  trace 
his  career  back  to  the  principles  instilled  by  the  maternal 
care  in  infancy.  If  man  be  then  so  in  need  of  moulding 
from  that  tender  hand,  how  much  more  the  woman ! 

In  connexion  with  this  subject,  the  nation  must  ever 
cast  back  its  retrospective  glance  in  grateful  acknow- 
ledgment to  the  late  Duchess  of  Kent :  and  when  that 
is  remembered,  we  no  longer  wonder  that  in  the  fair 
daughters  of  the  youthful  Royal  family  are  discernible 
those  many  traces  of  virtue  and  goodness  requisite  to 
adorn  their  sex  and  station.  The  tastes  and  pursuits  of 
the  young  scions  of  Royalty  have  ever  been,  by  judicious 
care,  directed  to  those  points  in  science  and  art  calculated 
to  tend  to  their  improvement  and  advantage  ;  and  while 
the  ornamental  accomplishments  have  been  studied,  we 
cannot  wonder  that  the  more  valuable  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart  have  ever  taken  the  precedence. 

At  this  time  was  born,  March  18,  1848,  Louise  Caro- 
line Alberta,  the  fourth  daughter  of  her  Majesty,  who  was 
baptized  in  the  Chapel  of  Buckingham  Palace.* 

In  the  autumn  of  1848,  the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort, 
with  the  Princess  Royal  and  other  members  of  their 
youthful  family,  embarked  for  Scotland,  where  they  landed 
at  Aberdeen,  and  proceeded  thence  to  Balmoral  Castle. 

In  her  ninth  year,  Princess  Victoria  visited  Dublin, 
Cork,  &c.,  with  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  Consort,  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  Princess  Alice. 

The  Princess  Royal's  first  visit  of  state  in  England  was 
on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  the  Coal  Exchange, 
London,  at  which  time  she  was  ten  years  of  age.  In  the 

*  Princes  Arthur  and  Leopold,  tbe  two  younger  brothers  of  the 
Princess  Royal,  were  born,  the  former,  May  1st,  1850,  the  latter,  May 
7th,  1853. 


394  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

first  of  three  carnages  rode  the  Prince  Consort,  Princess 
Eoyal,  and  Prince  of  Wales,  with  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
Master  of  the  Horse.  On  arriving  at  Whitehall-stairs, 
where  the  Royal  barge,  the  Queen's  shallop,  and  the 
Admiralty  barge,  were  drawn  up  close  in-shore,  they 
embarked  at  half-past  twelve  o'clock,  amidst  the  enthu- 
siastic greetings  of  the  multitude,  by  whom,  as  i\\ey  pro- 
ceeded amid  waving  handkerchiefs  and  streaming  banners, 
they  were  received  with  continued  expressions  of  loyal 
affection.  At  Custom  House  Quay  the  procession  was 
formed.  After  a  grand  dejeuner,  the  Eoyal  children 
were  conducted  to  the  Prince  Consort's  table,  who  rose, 
and  led  them  forward  to  the  body  of  the  Hall,  where  they 
were  received  with  great  cheering.  At  three  o'clock  the 
Eoyal  party  took  their  departure. 

The  Princess  Eoyal  and  Prince  of  Wales  accompanied 
the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort  in  August,  1850,  on  their 
visit  to  the  Court  of  King  Leopold,  in  Belgium,  which 
visit  was  repeated  in  the  summer  of  1852. 

The  union  which  has  happily  been  accomplished  be- 
tween the  Princess  Eoyal  of  England  and  Prince  Fre- 
derick William  of  Prussia,  had  been  long  and  ardently 
desired  by  the  members  of  both  Eoyal  families.  So  early 
as  April,  in  the  year  1848,  Prince' William  Frederick 
Louis  of  Prussia,  father  of  Prince  Frederick  William, 
during  a  visit  paid  to  the  Queen  of  England  at  Osborne 
is  said  to  have  entertained  for  the  first  time  the  idea  of 
the  union  of  his  son  with  the  Princess  Eoyal,  then  but  a 
child — yet  who  was  so  interesting  and  attractive  in  her 
manners,  that  she  became  quite  a  favourite  with  her 
future  father-in-law.  Prince  Frederick  William,  who 
was  born  in  1831,  was  then  in  his  seventeenth  year,  and 
was  ten  years  older  than  his  future  bride.  His  Eoyal 


YICTOBIA    ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  395 

parents  had  been  several  times  in  England.  The 
Prince  of  Prussia  was  brother  and  next  heir  to  the 
throne  of  Frederick  William  IV.,  the  reigning  King.* 
As  Prince  Frederick  William  is  an  only  son,  he  is 
heir  -  presumptive  to  the  Crown,  and  it  may  be 
expected,  in  ruling  over  the  dominions  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  that  he  will  display  his  virtues  and  talents. 
Fortunately  for  Prince  Frederick  William,  his  early  hopes 
have  not  been  doomed  to  be  crushed,  as  were  those  of  his 
renowned  relative ;  but  a  prospect  of  domestic  happiness, 
as  well  as  a  path  of  future  greatness,  opened  to  his  view. 

One  of  the  visits  made  by  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Prussia  to  this  country  was  on  the  opening  of  the  Great 
Exhibition,  when  they  were  accompanied  by  the  young 
Prince :  at  that  interesting  ceremony  the  Princess  Royal 
was  also  present.  The  Prince  held  a  commission  in  the 
Eegiment  of  Prussian  Foot  Guards,  and  enjoyed  other 
military  appointments.  On  his  marriage  he  was  promoted 
by  the  King  to  the  rank  of  Major-General.  He  is  a  very 
fine-looking  man,  tall,  and  of  a  dignified  and  graceful 
deportment ;  his  manners  are  gracious  and  conciliatory, 
and  he  is  very  popular  with  both  army  and  people. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen, 
with  the  Prince  Consort,  to  the  Court  of  France,  the 
Princess  Eoyal,  with  her  brother,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
accompanied  her  parents.  They  embarked  at  Osborne, 
August  18th,  1855,  and  arrived  safely  at  Boulogne,  where 
the  appearance  of  the  Eoyal  squadron  was  announced  by 
the  discharge  of  cannon  from  the  heights  and  the  batteries 
on  shore,  by  volleys  of  musketry  from  the  troops,  and  the 
shouts  of  a  multitude  of  spectators. 

"  A  handsome  pavilion  had  been  erected  on  the  pier,  in 

*  Ou  his  death,  Jan.,  1861,  the  Prince  succeeded  him  as  William  I. 


-396  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

which  the  Emperor,  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  suite, 
awaited  the  approach  of  his  guests.  The  instant  the  Royal 
yacht  ran  alongside,  the  Emperor  hastened  on  board,  and 
saluted  the  Queen,  kissing  her  hand  and  both  cheeks ;  he 
then  shook  hands  with  Prince  Albert,  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  the  Princess  Royal,  and  with  every  mark  of 
joy  and  welcome  conducted  them  to  the  pavilion.  The 
Royal  party  immediately  proceeded  in  carriages  to  the 
railway  station,  the  Emperor  riding  on  one  side  the  Queen's 
carriage,  and  Marshal  Magnaii  on  the  other." 

On  arriving  at  St.  Cloud,  the  Royal  party  found  the 
entire  Palace  placed  at  the  disposal  of  her  Majesty,  who 
was  received  by  the  Empress,  the  Princess  Mathilde,  the 
ladies  and  officers  of  the  household,  and  the  high  officers 
of  state. 

The  memorable  event  of  the  betrothal  of  Prince  Frede- 
rick William  to  the  object  of  his  affections,  is  thus  men- 
tioned by  Queen  Victoria  herself  in  her  published 
Journal : — 

"  September  29,  1855. 

"  Our  dear  Victoria  was  this  day  engaged  to  Prince 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  who  had  been  on  a  visit 
to  us  since  the  14th.  He  had  already  spoken  to  us  on  the 
20th,  of  his  wishes  ;  but  we  were  uncertain,  on  account  of 
her  extreme  youth,  whether  he  should  speak  to  her  him- 
self, or  wait  till  he  came  back  again.  However,  we  felt  it 
was  better  he  should  do  so,  and  during  our  ride  up  Craig- 
na-lan  this  afternoon,  he  picked  a  piece  of  white  heather, 
(the  emblem  of  "good-luck"),  which  he  gave  to  her ;  and 
this  enabled  him  to  make  an  allusion  to  his  hopes  and 
wishes,  as  they  rode  down  Glen-  Gernoch,  which  led  to  this 
liappy  conclusion." 

On   Thursday,  March  15,  185G,  her  Majesty  and  the 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MART    LOUISA.  397 

Princess  Eoyal  visited  the  ruins  of  Covent  Garden  Theatre, 
which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  The  Eoyal  party  ap- 
proached the  theatre  by  way  of  Hart-street,  and  alighted 
in  Princes-place,  in  which  her  Majesty's  private  entrance 
was  situated.  There  they  were  received  by  Mr.  Gye,  the 
lessee  of  the  building,  and  were  conducted  to  a  position 
which  commanded  an  advantageous  view  of  the  ruins. 
The  wall  under  which  her  Majesty  stood  when  she 
visited  the  ruins  soon  after  fell  to  the  ground,  showing 
that  the  Queen  must  have  run  a  great  risk  while  she  re- 
mained there. 

The  Confirmation  of  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  Princess 
Eoyal,  took  place  in  the  Private  Chapel  at  Windsor  Castle, 
March  26th,  1856. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  Oxford, 
Lord  High  Almoner  ;  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  Clerk  of  the 
Closet ;  the  Dean  of  Windsor,  Eesident  Chaplain  to  the 
Queen  ;  the  Eev.  Lord  Wriothesley  Eussell,  Deputy  Clerk 
of  the  Closet  in  Waiting,  and  the  Eev.  H.  G.  Ellison, 
Vicar  of  Windsor,  took  their  seats  within  the  rails  of  the 
communion-table  shortly  before  twelve  o'clock. 

The  Ministers  and  other  company  invited  to  witness 
the  ceremony  assembled  in  the  Green  Drawing-room 
shortly  before  twelve  o'clock,  the  Ladies  and  Gentlemen 
in  Waiting  on  the  Queen  and  the  Eoyal  family  assembling 
in  the  corridor ;  the  company  were  then  conducted  to  their 
seats  in  the  Chapel. 

About  twelve  o'clock  the  Princess  Eoyal  entered  the 
Chapel  with  her  father,  the  Prince  Consort,  who  placed 
her  in  a  chair  in  front  of  the  communion-table.  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen,  and  his  Majesty  the  King  of  the 
Belgians  followed,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  Eoyal  and 
illustrious  personages.  The  King  of  the  Belgians,  the 

D    D 


398  THE    E.OYAL    PRINCESSES. 

godfather  of  the  Princess  Royal,  was  conducted  to  a  seat 
near  the  Princess  under  the  pulpit ;  and  in  a  line  with  the 
King  were  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  godmother  of  the  Prin- 
cess ;  the  Duchess  of  Cambridge,  and  the  Princess  Mary, 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- Weimar, 
Prince  Ernest  of  Leiningen,  and  Prince  Victor  of  Hohen- 
lohe.  The  Queen  was  seated  opposite  to  the  King  of  the 
Belgians,  while  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
the  Princess  Alice,  Prince  Alfred,  Princess  Helena,  and 
Princess  Louise  were  placed  opposite  the  other  members 
of  the  Royal  family.  The  great  officers  of  State  and  the 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  in  Waiting  took  their  seats  im- 
mediately behind  the  Royal  family.  The  remainder  of 
the  company  invited  occupied  pews  on  either  side  of  the 
Chapel. 

The  Princess  Royal  wore  a  rich  white  silk  glace  dress, 
with  five  flounces  pinked,  the  body  richly  trimmed  with 
white  ribbon  and  Mechlin  lace. 

The  ceremony  commenced  by  a  hymn,  sung  by  the 
gentlemen  and  boys  of  the  Royal  Chapel  of  St.  George. 

The  Bishop  of  Oxford  read  the  Preface,  and  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  performed  the  ceremony  and 
concluded  the  service,  the  Princess  kneeling  before  his 
Grace.  The  Archbishop  at  the  close  delivered  an  exhor- 
tation, and  part  of  the  268th  hymn  was  then  sung  by  the 
choir. 

The  ceremony  being  ended,  the  Queen  and  the  King  of 
the  Belgians,  the  Princess  Royal  and  the  Prince  Consort, 
with  the  Royal  family,  quitted  the  Chapel  and  entered  the 
Green  Drawing-room,  where  her  Majesty  received  the  con- 
gratulations of  the  distinguished  company  present. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  with  her  Majesty  and  the 
Prince  Consort  when  they  proceeded  to  St.  James's  Palace 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  399 

to  hold  the  first  Drawing  Room  in  the  season,  April  10, 
1856.  On  this  occasion  of  her  debut,  the  Princess  Royal 
wore  a  dress  of  rich  white  glace  silk,  with  three  skirts  of 
white  tulle,  looped  up  with  bunches  of  corn-flowers,  and 
rich  white  satin  ribbon.  The  body  was  trimmed  with  a 
wreath  of  corn-flowers,  ribbon,  and  blonde.  The  train  was 
of  rich  white  moire  antique,  trimmed  with  bouillons  of 
tulle  and  corn-flowers,  her  head-dress  was  formed  of  a 
wreath  of  corn-flowers,  feathers,  and  lappets. 

The  arrival  of  Prince  Frederick  William,  as  a  suitor  for 
the  hand  of  the  Princess  Royal,  on  May  20th,  1856,  was 
a  circumstance  of  uncommon  interest  in  the  Court  circles, 
and  indeed  to  the  whole  country.  The  Prince  landed  at 
Dover  on  the  night  of  Tuesday,  and  on  the  following  morn- 
ing travelled  to  Portsmouth,  where  his  Royal  Highness 
was  met  by  the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort,  accompanied 
by  the  Princess  Royal.  The  illustrious  party  proceeded 
together  to  Osborne. 

On  Monday,  the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort,  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  Prince  Alfred,  and  the  Princess  Royal, 
crossed  over  in  the  Fairy,  and  proceeded  up  the  South- 
ampton Water  to  the  spot  appointed  for  the  erection  of 
the  Royal  Victoria  Hospital,  of  which  her  Majesty  laid  the 
first  stone.  After  the  ceremony  was  over,  the  Royal  party 
re-embarked  in  the  Fairy,  and  returned  to  Osborne. 

The  following  account  has  been  given  of  the  Princess 
Royal  as  she  appeared  at  the  next  Drawing  Room,  held  in 
honour  of  her  Majesty's  birthday,  in  May,  1856  : — 

"  I  was  scarcely  prepared  to  behold  in  her  a  fine  grown 
woman,  taller  by  a  couple  of  inches  than  her  mother,  and 
carrying  herself  with  the  ease  and  grace  of  womanhood. 
It  is  no  stretch  of  loyalty  or  courtesy  to  call  the  Princess 
Royal  pretty.  She  is  perfectly  lovely.  The  regularity  of 

D   D   2 


400  THE    KOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

lier  features  is  perfect.  Her  eyes  are  large,  and  full  of  in- 
telligence, imparting  to  her  face  that  sort  of  aspect  which 
indicates  good-humour.  The  nose  and  mouth  are  deli- 
cately and  exquisitely  formed,  the  latter  giving  the  effect 
of  great  sweetness.  The  Princess  is  more  like  her  father 
than  her  mother ;  she  is  like  the  Queen  in  nothing  but  the 
nose  ;  in  all  other  respects  she  is  a  female  image  of  her 
father." 

June  Gth,  1856,  the  Princess  Royal  and  Prince  Frede- 
rick William  of  Prussia  went  to  a  fancy  ball,  at  the 
Hanover-square  Eooms,  with  her  Majesty  and  the  Prince 
Consort,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music. 
On  this  occasion,  when  the  splendour  of  dress  and  di- 
versity of  costume  was  remarkable,  the  young  Princess 
Royal  surprised  every  beholder  by  the  elegant  simplicity 
of  her  white  robe  and  wreath  of  flowers. 

The  Prince's  first  acknowledged  visit  as  the  intended 
husband  of  the  Princess  Royal,  who  had  then  scarcely 
attained  her  fifteenth  year,  caused  no  small  sensation  in 
England.  It  was  just  at  the  close  of  the  Russian  war 
when  the  Prince  arrived  at  Aberdeen,  and  proceeded  by 
the  Dundee  Railway  on  a  visit  to  Balmoral.  He  was 
received  at  Banchory  by  the  Prince  Consort,  and  on  the 
following  day  the  Queen  and  Prince,  accompanied  by 
Prince  Frederick  William,  visited  the  camp  of  the  Forbes 
Highlanders,  on  the  banks  of  the  Dee. 

At  the  time  of  the  Peace  Commemoration,  in  June, 
1856,  a  few  minutes  before  the  commencement  of  the  fire- 
works in  the  Green  Park,  the  Queen,  Prince  Consort,  the 
members  of  the  Royal  family,  Prince  Frederick  William 
of  Prussia,  and  other  persons  of  rank,  took  their  seats  in 
a  pavilion  erected  on  the  north  end  of  Buckingham  Palace, 
facing  the  Park,  to  witness  the  display  of  fireworks. 


VICTOBIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  101 

The  Peace  Festival  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  Sydenham, 
was  honoured  by  her  Majesty's  presence,  and  that  of  the 
Prince  Consort,  the  Princess  Royal,  and  other  members  of 
the  Royal  family. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  prevented  accompanying  her 
Majesty  arid  the  Prince  Consort  to  the  ball  at  Grosvenor 
House,  given  by  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness  of  West- 
minster, on  June  26,  1856,  by  an  accident  which  might 
have  been  attended  even  with  fatal  consequences.  The 
ball  was  to  take  place  on  Thursday  :  about  midnight  on 
the  previous  Tuesday,  the  Princess  was  engaged  in  her 
boudoir,  and  was  in  the  act  of  lighting  a  wax-taper,  when 
a  spark  ignited  the  sleeve  of  a  gauze  dress  worn  by  her 
Royal  Highness ;  the  flames  spread  rapidly,  and  in  an 
instant  the  whole  sleeve,  from  the  wrist  to  the  shoulder, 
was  in  a  blaze.  Her  Royal  Highness  manifested  remark- 
able presence  of  mind  under  the  trying  circumstances,  and 
succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  flames  before  they  had  com- 
municated with  the  body  of  the  dress.  Her  arm  was 
much  burnt,  and  she  was  in  consequence  confined  to  the 
Palace, — so  that  she  was  unable  to  accompany  her  Royal 
parents  to  the  ball  at  Grosvenor  House,  as  originally  in- 
tended. 

In  August,  1856,  the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort,  accom- 
panied by  five  of  the  Royal  children,  made  an  excursion 
along  the  coast  as  far  as  Plymouth,  and  on  their  return 
paid  a  visit  to  Mount  JSdgecumbe  and  Salisbury. 

In  December,  1856,  during  their  sojourn  at  Osborne, 
the  Princess  Royal,  in  company  with  her  Royal  parents, 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Princess  Alice,  went  on  board 
the  Resolute,  then  in  Covves  harbour.  This  stout 
old  ship  had  recently  arrived  from  an  Arctic  cruise,  after 
having  been  conveyed  into  a  port  of  the  United  States, 


402  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

and  was  escorted  thence  by  an  American  naval  force,  and 
was  the  first  relic  that  reached  our  shores  of  the  many 
expeditions  which  have  been  despatched  in  search  of  Sir 
John  Franklin.  The  English  and  American  flags  de- 
corated the  vessel,  and  when  the  Queen  set  her  foot  on 
deck,  the  Eoyal  Standard  was  hoisted  at  the  main.  The 
Royal  party  went  over  the  ship,  and  examined  her 
with  manifest  interest. 

The  birth  of  the  ninth  child  of  her  Majesty  and  the 
Prince  Consort  took  place  on  April  14th,  1857.  The 
ceremonial  of  the  christening  was  performed  in  the  fol- 
lowing month.  The  sponsors  were  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
the  Princess  Eoyal,  and  Prince  Frederick  William  of 
Prussia.  The  sacred  rite  was  performed  in  the  Private 
Chapel  of  Buckingham  Palace :  the  Royal  Princess  was 
named  Beatrice  Mary  Victoria. 

The  death  of  the  aged  Duchess  of  Gloucester  took 
place  about  the  same  period  as  the  opening  of  the  Arts 
Exhibition  at  Manchester,  to  the  great  affliction  of  the 
whole  of  the  Royal  family. 

The  indispensable  consent  of  the  King  of  Prussia  to 
the  marriage  of  his  nephew  with  the  Princess  Royal  of 
England  having  been  formally  demanded,  and  granted 
by  his  Majesty,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  Court,  the 
following  message  was  communicated  on  the  18th  of 
May,  1857,  to  the  House  of  Commons  : — "  Her  Majesty 
having  agreed  to  a  marriage  proposed  between  the 
Princess  Royal  and  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Frederick 
William  of  Prussia,  has  thought  fit  to  communicate  the 
same  to  the  House  of  Commons.  Her  Majesty  is  fully 
persuaded  that  this  marriage  cannot  but  be  acceptable  to 
all  her  faithful  subjects  ;  and  the  many  proofs  which 
the  Queen  has  received  of  the  affectionate  attachment 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MAET    LOUISA.  403 

of  this  House  to  her  Majesty's  person  and  family, 
leave  her  no  room  to  doubt  of  the  concurrence  and 
assistance  of  this  House  in  enabling  her  to  make  such  a 
provision  for  her  eldest  daughter,  with  a  view  to  the 
said  marriage,  as  may  be  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  the 
Crown  and  the  honour  of  the  country."  The  House  sub- 
sequently passed  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  granting  a 
sum  of  40,000/.  as  an  outfit,  and  settled  an  annuity  of 
8000Z.  a  year  for  life  on  her  Royal  Highness. 

The  yearly  allowance  of  8000£.  voted  by  the  Parliament 
was  to  be  paid  quarterly  to  a  commissioner  named  by  her 
Majesty,  who  was  to  receive  it  to  the  sole  use  of  the 
Princess.  Their  lioyal  Highnesses  were  precluded,  either 
separately  or  conjointly,  from  making  any  dispositions 
with  regard  to  this  amount,  which  was  to  be  paid  to  the 
proper  hands  of  the  Princess  herself,  and  her  sole  receipt 
to  be  taken  for  it. 

The  provision  made  by  the  King  of  Prussia  for  the 
i'uture  heir  to  the  throne,  was  strictly  in  accordance  with 
the  regulations  already  existing  in  the  ministry  of  the 
Royal  house.  By  this,  Prince  Frederick  William  was  to 
receive  an  appanage  of  92,000  thalers  (13,800?.)  a  year,  to 
be  increased  when,  in  the  due  course  of  nature,  his  uncle,  the 
then  King,  should  die  and  he  thus  become  Crown  Prince. 
In  the  marriage  contract  it  is  stated  that  the  expenses  of 
the  joint  establishment  of  their  E-oyal  Highnesses  shall  be 
defrayed  out  of  the  above-mentioned  sum :  the  interest, 
however,  of  the  marriage  portion  which  her  Majesty  gave 
to  the  Princess  Victoria — viz.,  40,000/. — is  to  go  in  aid  of 
the  same.  The  aforesaid  capital  to  be  handed  over  to 
a  commissioner  appointed  by  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  is 
to  pay  it  into  the  Crown  Treasury,  and  give  security  for 
it  on  the  Crown  Trust  Fund,  until  all  arrangements  are 


404  THE   EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

completed.  The  interest  of  the  40,000?.  to  be  paid  over 
every  six  months  to  a  commissioner  named  by  their  Royal 
Highnesses  and  in  the  event  of  the  decease  of  either,  to 
go  to  the  survivor. 

The  ratification  of  the  marriage  treaty  between  the 
Royal  pair  was  engrossed  here,  in  duplicate,  on  parchment, 
for  the  signatures  of  Queen  Victoria  and  King  Frederick 
William  IV.  The  text  was  threefold — viz.,  in  English, 
French,  and  German.  It  was  signed  at  the  Foreign 
Office  by  the  Prussian  Minister  and  by  Lord  Clarendon, 
and  also  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  1857,  the  Queen  and  her  dis- 
tinguished guests  attending  the  celebration  of  the  Handel 
Festival  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  the  Royal  party  arrived  a 
little  before  one  o'clock.  With  the  Queen  were  the 
Archduke  Maximilian  of  Austria,  the  Prince  Consort,  the 
Princess  Royal,  and  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia, 
Princess  Alice,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales.  On  this  occa- 
sion, "  as  soon  as  the  audience  had  settled  themselves  for 
the  concert,  a  photograph  of  the  whole  scene,  with  the 
Royal  box  as  a  centre,  was  rapidly  taken  ;  and,  before  the 
first  part  of  the  Oratorio  was  over,  well-finished  copies 
framed  and  glazed,  were  laid  before  her  Majesty  and  her 
guests."  Nearly  18,000  persons  were  present. 

When,  on  June  26th,  1857,  her  Majesty  went  to  Hyde 
Park  to  distribute  the  Victoria  Cross  of  he  Order  of 
Valour,  the  Princess  Royal  was  present,  and  also  Prince 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia:  the  latter  wore  a  blue 
uniform,  faced  with  silver. 

The  visit  of  her  Majesty  to  the  Great  Art  Treasures 
Exhibition,  Manchester,  took  place  in  August,  1857.  On 
this  occasion  the  cortege  consisted  of  six  carriages,  in  the 


VICTOKIA   ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  405 

last  of  which  were  seated  the  Queen,  the  Prince  Consort, 
Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  the  Princess  Royal, 
and  her  sister. 

The  Princess  Royal  has  always  been  very  dear  to  the 
cottagers  on  the  Balmoral  estate,  whose  humble  homes  she 
was  accustomed  to  visit,  to  inform  herself  of  the  various 
details  of  lowly  Scottish  life.  When  the  last  visit  to 
Balmoral  was  paid,  the  dependents  were  invited  up  to  the 
lawn  to  bid  farewell  to  her  Royal  Highness.  The 
Princess  Royal's  feelings  entirely  overcame  her  on  this 
occasion,  and  it  became  necessary  for  the  Prince  Consort 
to  bid  them  adieu  in  her  name,  she  being  unable  to  make 
her  appearance. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1857,  the  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  the  Princess  Royal,  the  band  of  the  Royal  Horse 
Guards  played  a  corale  on  the  south  terrace  of  Windsor 
Castle,  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  garrison  of 
Windsor,  consisting  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards  and  the 
second  battalion  of  the  Fusileer  Guards,  paraded  in  the 
quadrangle  of  the  Castle  to  witness  the  ceremony  of  the 
presentation  of  the  Victoria  Cross  by  her  Majesty. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  Consort,  accompanied  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  Princess  Royal,  Princes  Alfred, 
Arthur,  Leopold,  Princesses  Alice,  Helena,  Louise,  Prince 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  and  Prince  Leiningen, 
entered  the  quadrangle  soon  after  eleven  o'clock.  The 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  Major-General  Sir  G.  Wetherall,  and 
the  Equerries  in  Waiting,  attended  her  Majesty.  The 
Queen  was  received  with  a  Royal  salute,  and  went  down 
the  ranks ;  after  which  the  presentation  of  the  crosses  took 
place.  The  regiments  then  marched  back  in  slow  and 
quick  time,  wheeled  into  line,  presented  arms,  and  gave 
three  cheers  in  honour  of  the  Princess  Royal's  birthday. 


406  THE    EOYAL    PEIFCESSES. 

The  Duchess  of  Kent  was  in  the  Castle,  and  witnessed 
the  ceremony. 

On  the  3rd  of  December  her  Majesty  opened  the  Parlia- 
ment in  person,  with  the  usual  procession.  The  Princess 
Royal  preceded  the  Queen  to  the  House  of  Lords,  accom- 
panied by  Princess  Mary  of  Cambridge,  and  witnessed  the 
ceremony  ;  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia  was  also 
present.  The  Royal  party  afterwards  went  to  St.  James's 
Palace  and  visited  the  Chapel  Royal,  which  had  been 
thoroughly  altered  and  refitted  for  the  occasion  of  the 
approaching  marriage. 

A  deputation  from  the  Merchant  Taylors,  on  the  3rd  of 
December,  was  admitted  to  an  interview  with  Prince 
Frederick  William,  at  Buckingham  Palace,  and  presented 
to  his  Royal  Highness  the  freedom  of  that  ancient  and 
honourable  Company.  The  Prince  left  Buckingham  Palace 
the  same  evening,  on  his  return  to  the  Continent,  where 
he  arrived  in  safety,  after  having  encountered  a  very  severe 
passage. 

The  young  Prince  of  Prussia,  while  in  England,  had 
visited  the  Leviathan,  the  wonder  of  the  day.  After  his 
departure,  the  Princess  Royal  herself  went  to  inspect  that 
vessel,  on  Saturday,  December  5th.  The  Royal  visitor 
was  received  by  Mr.  Brunei  and  Mr.  Yates,  and  conducted 
over  the  entire  yard,  when  all  the  ponderous  apparatus  for 
lowering  the  huge  mass,  the  greatest  that  has  ever  yet 
been  moved,  were  duly  explained.  The  enormous  solidity 
and  strength  of  the  bases  required  to  resist  the  backward 
strain  of  the  hydraulic  presses  seemed  to  amaze  her  Royal 
Highness,  who  examined  and  inquired  into  every  detail, 
inspecting  the  hydraulic  machines,  the  construction  of  the 
cradles,  and  the  double  purchases,  which,  working  from 
the  land  to  the  moored  barges,  dragged  the  vessel  towards 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  407 

the  river.  While  the  Princess  remained,  it  was  unfortu- 
nately impossible  to  move  the  vessel ;  but  this  loss  was 
almost  compensated  by  all  the  apparatus  for  moving  her 
being  quite  at  rest,  and  so  enabling  her  to  approach  it 
nearly.  Her  Royal  Highness  quitted  the  yard  shortly 
before  one  o'clock,  and  returned  immediately  afterwards  to 
Windsor. 

On  the  18th  of  December,  Mr.  Leonard  Wyon  was 
honoured  with  a  final  sitting  by  the  Princess  Royal  at 
Oshorne,  for  the  medal  commemorative  of  the  approaching 
marriage.  The  obverse  bears  the  heads  of  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  in  relief,  with  the  inscription — "  Victoria, 
Princess  Royal  of  England — Frederick  William,  Prince  of 
Prussia."  The  reverse  is  a  garland  of  roses,  myrtle,  and 
orange  blossom,  with  the  date  of  the  marriage — "  January 
25th,  185.8."  The  medal  was  struck  in  gold,  silver,  and 
bronze,  the  value  of  the  first  being  forty,  and  of  the  second, 
three  guineas. 

The  ladies  arid  gentlemen  of  the  Princess  Royal's 
future  household  were  invited  to  come  over  to  the  Royal 
wedding  by  her  Majesty,  and  entered  on  their  duties 
about  the  Princess  as  soon  as  the  nuptials  were  concluded. 
They  were  the  Count  and  Countess  Perponcher,  the  Cham- 
berlain and  Mistress  of  the  Robes,  and  the  Countesses 
Marie  zu  Lynar  and  Wally  von  Hohenthal,  Ladies  in 
Waiting. 

The  Royal  trousseau  was  composed  of  every  kind 
of  article  requisite  for  the  wardrobe  of  a  Princess — 
silks,  velvets,  satins,  lace,  Indian  shawls,  and  stuffs,  &c., 
manufactured  by  the  most  eminent  firms,  and  prepared  by 
the  first  hands  in  the  art  of  millinery.  Even  in  this  depart- 
ment the  innate  benevolence  of  her  Majesty  was  ex- 
tended to  the  children  of  the  Royal  Schools  at  Windsor 


408  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

by  large  orders,  and  to  a  society  formed  during  the  Crimean 
war  for  employing  the  wives  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Guards 
in  plain  needlework. 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  is  said  to  have  presented  each  of 
the  bridesmaids  of  the  Princess  Eoyal  with  a  diamond 
and  turquoise  ornament.  Those  ladies  who  occupied  a 
prominent  position  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  nuptials  had 
a  similar  distinction  conferred  on  them.  Fourteen  beau- 
tiful bracelets  of  the  same  pattern  and  with  similar  jewels 
were  manufactured  for  the  event,  besides  a  number  of 
brooches  and  pins.  These  latter  contained  on  a  shield  of 
blue  enamel  the  cipher  of  the  Princess  in  diamonds,  sur- 
mounted by  the  Prussian  eagle,  also  in  brilliants. 

The  coat  of  arms  peculiar  to  the  Princess  Eoyal  had 
been  obtained  from  competent  authority,  bearing  the  arms 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  on  a  shield  chancre,  and  the 
arms  of  Coburg  Gotha  on  a  shield  of  pretension,  sur- 
mounted by  the  crown  peculiar  to  a  Princess  of  the  Blood 
Eoyal.  This  was  her  coat  of  arms  as  an  unmarried 
Princess.  In  that,  however,  which  she  has  assumed  since 
her  marriage,  her  arms  are  emblazoned  on  a  lozenge 
or  oval  shield  (which  in  English  heraldry  is  given  only  to 
maids  and  widows),  and  surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  oak 
leaves. 

The  Prince's  birthday,  October  18th,  had  been  at  first 
fixed  upon  for  the  solemnization  of  the  Eoyal  nuptials  ; 
eventually  the  day  was  changed — when  it  was  finally 
settled  to  be  the  25th  of  January. 

The  guests  invited  to  England  by  her  Majesty  to  be 
present  on  the  occasion  were,  his  Majesty  the  late  King 
of  the  Belgians,  their  Eoyal  Highnesses  the  Duke  of 
Brabant  and  the  Count  of  Flanders,  their  Eoyal  High- 
nesses the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia,  Prince  Frederick 


VICTOEIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  409 

Charles,  nephew  of  the  King  and  son  of  Prince  Charles, 
Prince  Albert,  brother  of  the  King,  Prince  Charles  Albert 
(son  of  Prince  Albert),  Prince  Adalbert,  cousin  of  the 
King,  and  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  Sigmaringen :  their 
Royal  Highnesses  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Baden*  and 
Prince  William  of  Baden  (brother  of  the  Grand  Duke), 
and  their  Royal  Highnesses  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Saxe-Coburg.  There  were  also  present  their  Serene 
Highnesses  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- Weimar,  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Hohenlohe  Langenburg,  Princess  Feodore 
and  Prince  Victor  of  Hohenlohe,  and  the  Prince  of 
Leiningen. 

Four  "  Festival  Performances"  were  given  in  honour  of 
the  approaching  nuptials.  For  the  accommodation  of  the 
Queen  and  her  Royal  guests,  about  a  third  of  the  ground 
tier  of  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  was  converted  into  one 
spacious  box,  handsomely  adorned,  and  the  concert-room, 
into  which  it  opened,  fitted  up  as  a  banquet-hall,  with 
most  tasteful  decorations. 

Each  of  the  four  performances  was  intended  to  repre- 
sent a  department  of  dramatic  art.  The  first  of  the  series 
took  place  Tuesday,  January  19th,  and  was  devoted  to 
tragedy,  followed  by  a  short  farce. 

The  pieces  selected  were  Macbeth,  preceded  by  Spohr's 
Overture  to  Macbeth,  with  Locke's  incidental  music;  and 
the  National  Anthem  at  the  conclusion  of  the  tragedy. 
The  farce  performed  was  Oxenford's  Twice  Killed. 

The  second  Festival  Performance  took  place  on  Thurs- 
day, January  21st.  The  pieces  selected  were  Balfe's  Rose 
of  Castile,  and  Mr.  C.  Selby's  farce  of  The  Soots  at  the 
Swan. 

*  The  Duke  of  Baden  was  prevented  by  illness  from  coming  to 
England,  and  his  death  occurred  before  the  Royal  marriage. 


410  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

On  Wednesday  evening,  the  20th  January,  the  Queen 
gave  a  State  Ball,  to  which  about  eleven  hundred  persons 
were  invited.  Her  Majesty  received  her  distinguished 
guests  in  the  White  Drawing  Eoom. 

The  Princess  Royal,  rendered  so  much  more  interesting 
than  ever  by  the  circumstances  in  which  she  was  placed, 
was  elegantly  attired  for  the  ball  in  a  robe  of  India 
muslin,  white  spotted  with  gold,  looped  up  with  bouquets 
of  white  roses  and  variegated  leaves :  the  Princess  wore 
round  her  head  a  wreath  of  the  same  flowers  and  leaves. 
The  ornaments  were  diamonds. 

On  the  21st  a  Eeview  took  place  at  Woolwich,  which 
was  visited  by  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Consort, 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Prince  Alfred,  both  in  High- 
land costume.  The  Royal  visitors  afterwards  visited  the 
Arsenal. 

On  the  22nd  the  Queen,  Princess  Royal,  and  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Prussia,  visited  the  Chapel  Royal,  when 
her  Majesty  pointed  out  the  place  where  she  wished  her 
own  Chair  of  State  should  be  on  the  morning  of  the  mar- 
riage— on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  altar.  On  either  side 
of  her  Majesty's  chair  were  placed  five  crimson  velvet 
stools,  richly  embroidered  with  gold  lace — the  three  on 
the  left  intended  for  the  Princesses  Alice,  Helena,  and 
Louise  ;  those  on  the  right,  for  the  Princes  Arthur  and 
Leopold.  The  Prince  of  Wales  had  a  place  apart,  more 
to  the  front  of  the  altar,  and  Prince  Alfred  among  the 
illustrious  guests  on  the  right.  The  Prince  Consort  and 
King  of  the  Belgians  had  crimson  stools,  similar  to  all 
others  provided,  except  for  her  Majesty,  in  the  centre  of 
the  liaut  pas.  On  the  right,  immediately  behind  where 
the  bridegroom  was  to  stand,  were  the  places  for  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia.  The  places  for  Prince 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  411 

William  of  Baden  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Saxe- 
Coburg  were  also  upon  the  right.  The  Duchess  of  Kent's 
seat  was  on  the  left,  near  that  of  the  Queen.  A  few 
minutes  sufficed  to  change  these  arrangements,  decided  on 
at  three  o'clock,  though  the  Queen  had  expressed  her 
entire  approbation  :  as  shortly  before  four  a  telegram 
arrived  at  Buckingham  Palace  announcing  the  death  of 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden,  which  caused  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg  and  Prince  William  of  Baden  to 
seclude  themselves  in  their  own  private  apartments,  and 
it  was  not  expected  that  they  would  be  present  at  the 
marriage  ceremony.  The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire also  rendered  it  probable  that  his  niece,  the  Duchess 
of  Sutherland,  would  be  prevented  attending  her  Majesty 
on  the  occasion  as  Mistress  of  the  Robes. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  interesting  in  the  inci- 
dents which  accompanied  the  arrival  of  Prince  Frederick 
William  in  England  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage.  The 
weather  was  so  stormy  the  day  before,  that  several  vessels 
were  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Calais,  the  port  from  which 
the  Prince  was  expected  to  embark.  In  the  evening  of 
Thursday,  a  telegraphic  announcement  was  received  at 
Dover  that  the  Vivid  would  depart  shortly  after  seven 
o'clock  on  the  following  morning.  The  weather  had 
meanwhile  taken  a  favourable  turn  ;  the  day  was  as  calm 
and  resplendent  as  heart  could  desire,  and  the  Vivid  had  a 
rapid  and  favourable  passage.  The  Prince,  on  landing  at 
the  Admiralty-pier,  was  met  by  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  Frederick 
Stovin,  K.C.B.,  Groom  in  Waiting  to  her  Majesty,  Captain. 
M'lllwaine,  K.N.,  the  Admiralty  Superintendent,  the  Duke 
of  Richmond,  K.G.,  General  Crauford,  Commandant  of  the 
Garrison,  Colonel  Ward,  R.E.,  Colonel  Brown,  E.A..  Cap- 
tain Smithett,  and  Mr.  S.  Latham,  the  Prussian  Consul. 


412  THE    EOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

The  guard  of  honour  presented  arms,  the  band  playing  the 
National  Anthem,  and  at  the  same  moment  a  Royal  salute 
was  discharged  from  the  Drop  Battery.  The  Prince  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Lord  Warden  Hotel,  where  the  Eoyal 
apartments  had  been  prepared  for  his  reception,  and 
where  he  received  a  congratulatory  address  from  the 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Dover,  to  which  he  gave  a 
heartfelt  reply,  assuring  his  auditors  that  this  was  the 
sixth  time  he  had  passed  through  Dover,  and  that  the 
present  was  the  happiest  moment  of  his  life. 

At  the  Bricklayers'  Arms  Station  the  Eoyal  visitor  was 
met  by  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Prince 
Alfred,  who  proceeded  with  him  to  Buckingham  Palace, 
the  three  Eoyal  carriages  used  on  the  occasion  being 
escorted  by  a  detachment  of  the  2nd  Life  Guards.  His 
Eoyal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Prussia  met  his  son  in  the 
Grand  Hall, and  accompanied  him  to  her  Majesty  the  Queen. 

The  third  Festival  Performance  in  honour  of  the  Prin- 
cess Eoyal's  nuptials  took  place  on  Saturday,  January  23rd. 
La  Sonnamlula  was  the  opera  selected ;  it  was  followed 
by  a  Festival  Cantata,  composed  expressly  for  the  occasion, 
from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : — 

"  Suon  the  parting  hour  will  come, 

Joy  is  mingled  with  regret ; 
.Royal  bride,  thy  native  home, 

Girt  by  ocean,  ne'er  forget. 
Gentle  be  the  gales  that  bear 

Britain's  child  to  foreign  lands  ; 
Angels  guard  the  treasure  fair 

Trusted  to  your  fostering  hands." 

CHORUS. 
"  Raise  on  high  a  joyous  song, 

Let  the  world  your  rapture  know  ; 
In  a  torrent  full  and  strong 
Let  the  blended  voices  flow." 


YICTOKIA   ADELAIDE    MART    LOUISA.  413 

FINALE. 

"  Hail  !  to  the  Queen  of  the  white-cliff  d  isle  ! 
Still  may  she  bask  beneath  fortune's  smile  ; 
Blessed  by  the  favour  of  Heav'n  above, 
Blessed  in  her  children's — her  subjects'  love  !" 

The  evening's  entertainment  concluded  with  a  Diver- 
tissement Allec/orique,  by  M.  Massot. 

This  being  the  first  time  on  which  the  Princess  Royal 
had  been  present  in  public  in  the  company  of  Prince 
Frederick  William,  who  was  seated  by  her  side,  much 
enthusiasm  was  expressed  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Na- 
tional Anthem.  The  Queen  had  several  times  graciously 
responded  as  usual  by  curtsies  to  the  cheers  from  all 
sides  of  the  house,  when  the  cry  of  "  Princess  !"  "  Prin- 
cess!"  ran  round  the  whole  building.  The  young  and 
interesting  object  of  this  national  compliment  appeared 
for  the  moment  only  to  hesitate  whether  she  should  ac- 
knowledge it,  when  her  Royal  mother  beckoned  her  to 
the  front  of  the  box,  and  she  gracefully  curtsied  to  the 
•assembled  multitude  amidst  the  greatest  display  of  enthu- 
siastic feeling. 

The  Prince  brought  with  him  to  London  as  presents  a 
number  of  the  medals  struck  at  Berlin  in  commemoration 
of  the  marriage.  The  wedding  rings  used  at  the  nuptials 
of  the  Princess  Royal  are  of  Silesian  gold,  and  were  manu- 
factured at  Breslau. 

A  special  marriage  licence  had  moreover  been  prepared 
in  conformity  with  the  Act  of  Parliament  (12  Geo.  III.), 
for  regulating  the  future  marriages  of  the  Royal  Family. 
This  was  written  on  vellum,  and  to  it  was  attached  the 
Official  Seal. 

There  were  many  thousands  of  hearts  that  beat  high 
with  anxiety  overnight,  in  the  one  fond  hope  that  that 

E   E 


414  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

wedding-day  might  prove  fair  for  the  sake  of  her  who  was 
to  be  given  away — whose  heart  was  with  her  hand  to  be 
bestowed  by  herself  on  the  worthy  object  of  her  own  and 
the  nation's  choice — a  choice  approved  by  her  parents, 
who  must  have  felt  in  parting  with  her  that  they  were 
onlv  the  more  closely  binding  those  ties  which  nature 
herself  had  already  formed  between  the  families  of  Eng- 
land and  Prussia.  That  the  tie  now  formed  by  Victoria, 
Princess  Royal,  might  be  happy,  was  the  spontaneous 
prayer  which  rose  from  the  heart  of  all ;  that  her  Royal 
mother  had  been  happy,  was  the  assurance  of  the  past  in 
token  of  the  future,  which  promised  all  that  was  bright 
and  fair ;  and  when  the  sun  pierced  through  the  dense  fog 
which  had  enveloped  the  morning  in  its  cloudy  veil,  and 
dissipated  with  its  smile  -all  doubts  of  the  usual  "  Royal 
weather,"  as  though  smiling  in  benediction  on  the  bridal 
pair,  the  multitudes  who  thronged  the  line  of  route  gladly 
accepted  the  happy  prognostic  of  the  wedded  life  of  their 
favourite  Princess. 

At  twelve  o'clock  the  bridal  procession  began  to  wend 
its  way  through  the  Park  to  the  Palace  of  St.  James. 
Twenty  carriages  conveyed  the  Royal  family,  and  those 
illustrious  guests  who  had  assembled  to  witness  this  inte- 
resting event,  to  the  gate  of  St.  James's  Palace,  where  a 
covered  way  had  been  erected  at  the  private  entrance  from 
the  garden.  The  interior  of  the  pavilion  was  lined  with 
scarlet  and  purple  cloth,  and  the  drapery  was  arranged  in 
elegant  folds  around  the  opening  at  either  end.  The  slender 
pillars  which  supported  the  roof  were  connected  by  garlands 
formed  of  holly,  golden  furze,  and  laurustinus  in  flower, 
with  pendents  composed  of  tendrils  of  ivy.  A  knot  with 
streamers  of  the  colours  of  England  and  Prussia  united 
the  garlands  over  each  column.  The  principal  entrance 


YICTOKIA   ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  415 

to  the  Palace  was  set  in  a  frame  of  leaves,  flowers,  and 
berries,  combined  in  a  highly  pleasing  manner,  and  was 
surmounted  by  an  arch,  consisting  of  palm-branches  and 
other  exotic  plants.  Her  Majesty  was  received  by  the 
great  officers  of  State,  and  conducted  to  the  Royal  closet. 
The  banister  of  the  narrow  staircase  by  which  the  Queen 
ascended  was  tastefully  decorated  with  creeping  plants, 
interwoven  with  roses  and  camellias.  A  change,  almost 
magical  in  its  effect,  had  been  made  in  the  Royal  closet. 
The  walls  were  covered  with  rich  embossments  in  white 
and  gold,  the  ceiling  was  chastely  painted  and  gilded  in 
the  same  colours,  while  nothing  could  exceed  the  richness 
and  elegance  of  the  furniture.  From  the  Royal  closet 
the  Princess  Royal,  accompanied  by  the  Prince  Consort 
and  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  was  conducted  to  the  Re- 
tiring Room,  a  remarkably  handsome  apartment,  exqui- 
sitely decorated  for  the  occasion.  Her  Majesty,  however, 
passed  at  once  into  the  Robing  Room,  one  of  the  noblest 
saloons  in  the  Palace,  fitted  with  the  rich  and  quaint  but 
somewhat  sombre  furniture  of  the  time  of  Queen  Anne. 
Her  Majesty's  Procession  was  formed  in  the  Throne  Room, 
where  an  elegant  table,  covered  with  crimson  velvet  cloth 
festooned  with  blue  cords  and  tassels,  had  been  placed  for 
the  signing  of  the  marriage  register.  The  windows  were 
filled  with  flowers,  and  the  mantelpiece  bore  a  miniature 
parterre,  the  edges  of  the  white  marble  being  fringed  with 
delicate  twining  plants.  No  attempt  seemed  to  have  been 
made,  except  by  the  introduction  of  flowers,  to  improve 
the  State  apartments.  The  passage  of  the  processions 
through  Queen  Anne's  Room,  the  Tapestry  Room,  and 
the  Armoury,  was  a  scene  equally  splendid  and  impressive* 
The  ladies  who  occupied  the  seats  prepared  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  in  the  bloom  of 
E  E  2 


416  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

youth,  were  all  in  full  Court  dress ;  they  rose  as  each 
procession  passed  them,  and  did  homage  to  it  by  a  deep 
obeisance,  which  was  graciously  acknowledged  by  her 
Majesty  and  the  other  principal  personages.  Most  of  the 
gentlemen  present  were  in  military  or  naval  uniform.  At 
the  top  of  the  great  staircase  leading  to  the  Colour  Court 
were  the  initials  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  formed  of 
white  flowers  upon  a  background  of  evergreens,  plaited 
so  as  to  compose  a  rich  natural  tapestry,  the  whole  sup- 
ported by  palm  branches,  displaying  the  colours  of  England 
and  Prussia. 

At  half-past  twelve,  a  few  notes  on  the  organ  were 
heard,  which  were  immediately  followed  by  the  arrival  of 
the  Princess  of  Prussia,  mother  of  the  bridegroom,  in  the 
Chapel.  Two  young  ladies  in  the  group  of  Ladies  of 
Honour  and  Gentlemen  in  Waiting  attendant  on  the 
Princess  of  Prussia  attracted  particular  attention,  for  it 
was  understood  they  were  the  first  ladies  appointed  of  the 
future  household  of  the  young  Princess :  they  were  the 
Countess  Hohenthal  and  the  Countess  Lynar — about  her 
own  age,  interesting  in  appearance,  and  uniformly  attired 
in  elegant  and  simple  pink  dresses.  Countess  Bernstorff, 
wife  of  the  Prussian  Minister,  attended  also  on  the 
Princess. 

The  approach  of  the  Procession  of  the  Queen  was  an- 
nounced by  the  sound  of  trumpets  and  the  beat  of 
drums.  She  was  attended  by  the  Princess  Mary  of  Cam- 
bridge, the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
Lady  Macdonald,  and  Lady  Caroline  Barrington. 

Never  surely  had  Queen  Victoria  felt  more  happy  or 
more  proud  than  on  the  present  occasion,  when,  sur- 
rounded by  her  whole  family,  the  infant  Beatrice  alone 
excepted,  she  attended  at  the  Chapel  Eoyal  to  witness 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  417 

the  nuptials  of  her  first-born  daughter.  Just  before  the 
Queen,  yet  close  enough  to  be  at  her  side,  were  the  two 
elder  Princes,  attired  in  Highland  costume.  The  two 
younger  Princes  came  close  by  the  side  of  her  Majesty, 
and  then  followed  the  three  younger  Princesses — Alice, 
Helena,  and  Louise,  all  of  them  dressed  in  light  pink  tulle. 

The  Master  of  the  Ceremonies  and  other  officials  con- 
ducted her  Majesty  to  her  Chair  of  State,  and  the  rest  of 
the  members  of  the  procession  to  their  various  seats, 
while  the  other  portions  of  the  assembly  remained 
standing. 

The  procession  of  the  Bridegroom  followed  almost  im- 
mediately after;  and  as  the  assembly  rose  to  receive 
Prince  Frederick  William,  he  bowed  to  them  in  a  very 
graceful  manner,  appearing  to  great  advantage. 

His  Royal  Highness,  who  wore  the  uniform  of  the 
Prussian  Guards,  and  carried  his  helmet  of  polished  silver 
in  his  hand,  is  tall  in  figure,  and  has  a  soldierly  bearing. 
On  arriving  at  the  altar,  he  made  a  profound  obeisance  to 
his  Royal  mother,  and  afterwards  to  her  Majesty.  He 
then  knelt,  and  passed  a  few  moments  in  devotion. 

Another  nourish  of  trumpets  announced  the  arrival  of 
the  Royal  Bride,  whose  procession  entered  the  Chapel  at 
a  quarter  to  one  o'clock.  The  dress  of  the  Princess  was 
of  virgin  white.  It  consisted  of  a  rich  robe  of  white  moire 
antique,  ornamented  with  three  flounces  of  Honiton  lace. 
The  design  of  the  lace  consisted  of  bouquets  in  openwork, 
of  the  rose,  shamrock,  and  thistle,  in  three  medallions. 
At  the  top  of  each  flounce,  in  front  of  the  dress,  were 
wreaths  of  orange  and  myrtle  blossoms — the  latter  being 
the  bridal  flower  of  Germany — every  wreath  terminating 
with  bouquets  of  the  same  flowers,  and  the  length  of  each 
being  so  graduated  as  to  give  the  appearance  of  a  robe 


418  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

defined  by  flowers.  The  apex  of  this  floral  pyramid  was 
formed  by  a  large  bouquet  worn  on  the  girdle.  The 
train,  more  than  three  yards  in  length,  was  of  white  moire 
,  antique,  trimmed  with  two  rows  of  Honiton  lace,  sur- 
mounted by  wreaths  similar  to  those  on  the  flounces  of 
the  dress,  with  bouquets  at  short  intervals. 

The  Bride's  necklace,  ear-rings,  and  brooch  were  of 
diamonds  ;  she  wore  also  the  Prussian  Order  of  Louisa, 
and  a  Portuguese  Order.  The  head-dress  was  a  wreath  of 
orange  flowers  and  myrtle  ;  the  veil  of  Honiton  lace,  to 
correspond  with  the  dress.  The  design  of  the  lace  was 
alternate  medallions  of  the  rose,  shamrock,  and  thistle, 
with  a  rich  ground  of  leaves.  The  veil  was  of  an  altogether 
new  style,  entirely  the  suggestion  of  her  Majesty. 

The  bridal  bouquet  of  the  Princess  Royal  was  intrusted 
to  the  skill  and  taste  of  Mr.  Harding,  and  the  suggestions 
of  Prince  Frederick  William  as  to  its  component  parts  are 
said  to  have  been  gallantly  transmitted  a  fortnight  before 
the  auspicious  event  for  which  it  was  intended. 

On  the  right-hand  side,  the  young  Bride  was  supported 
"by  her  father,  the  Prince  Consort ;  on  her  left,  by  her 
godfather,  the  King  of  the  Belgians. 

The  train  of  the  Bride  was  fitly  sustained  by  the  fairest 
daughters  of  the  first  Peers  of  the  land  ;  two  and  two,  they 
followed  thus  : — Lady  Susan  Charlotte  Catherine  Pelham 
Clinton,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  ;  Lady  Cecilia 
Catherine  Gordon  Lennox,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond ;  Lady  Katherine  Hamilton,  daughter  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Abercorn  ;  Lady  Emma  Charlotte  Smith  Stanley, 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Derby ;  Lady  Susan  Catherine 
Mary  Murray,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Dunmore ;  Lady 
Constance  Villiers,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of v Clarendon; 
Lady  Victoria  Noel,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Grains- 


TICTOKIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  419 

borough  ;  and  Lady  Cecilia  Maria  Charlotte  Molyneux, 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Sefton. 

These  lovely  and  high-born  young  ladies,  the  personal 
friends  of  the  Princess  Eoyal — every  one  of  them  lineally 
descended  from  the  Royal  houses  of  England  and  Scot- 
land— were  uniformly  attired  in  dresses  selected  from  a 
design  furnished  by  the  taste  of  the  illustrious  Bride  her- 
self. Their  dresses  consisted  of  a  white  glace  petticoat, 
entirely  covered  by  six  'deep  tulle  flounces,  over  which  fell 
a  tunic  of  tulle,  trimmed  with  ruches  of  tulle,  looped  upon 
one  side  with  a  bouquet  of  pink  roses  and  white  heather. 
The  body  was  trimmed  with  draperies  of  tulle,  with  hang- 
ing sleeves  of  the  same  material,  trimmed  with  ruches. 
A  bouquet  of  the  same  flowers  was  worn  on  the  girdle, 
and  on  each  shoulder. 

Before  quitting  Buckingham  Palace,  the  Princess 
Eoyal  had  taken  an  affectionate  farewell  of  her  brides- 
maids, each  of  whom  she  tenderly  embraced,  with  expres- 
sions of  gratitude  for  their  obliging  attentions. 

On  arriving  at  the  Chapel,  the  Bride  was  conducted  to 
her  seat  on  the  left  side  of  the  liaut  pas  leading  to  the  Com- 
munion Table,  noar  the  Queen's  chair  of  state,  and  the 
Prince  Consort  and  King  of  the  Belgians  were  conducted 
to  their  seats  on  the  liaut  pas  near  the  Bride.  The  Lord 
Chamberlain  and  Vice-Chamberlain  stood  near  the  Queen. 

The  Princess  Royal  knelt  when  she  was  conducted  to 
the  altar,  and  while  she  remained  in  that  position,  the 
corale  appointed  for  the  service  commenced — 

"  This  day  with  gladsome  voice  and  heart, 
We  prrdse  thy  name,  0  Lord,  who  art 

Of  all  good  things  the  giver. 
For  England's  first-born  hope  we  pray — 
From  hour  to  hour,  from  day  to  day, 

Be  near  her  now  and  ever. 


420  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

King  of  Kings  !  Lord  of  Lords  ! — 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 

"We  adore  tliee  ; 

Hear  us  while  we  kneel  before  Thee." 


At  the  conclusion  Handel's  "  Hallelujah  Chorus"  \vas 
sung,  and  Mendelssohn's  "Wedding  March"  played  after- 
wards as  the  procession  left  the  Chapel. 

The  service  ended,  Prince  Frederick  William  embraced 
his  Royal  father,  by  kissing  first  his  hand  and  then  his 
cheek ;  he  then  saluted  his  mother  in  a  similar  manner. 
Meanwhile  the  Royal  Bride  was  affectionately  embraced 
by  her  Majesty  and  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  the  Prince 
Consort,  and  her  sisters.  Prince  Frederick  William  then 
crossed  the  liaut  pas,  and  kissed  the  Prince  Consort,  the 
King  of  the  Belgians,  and  lastly,  her  Majesty,  who  em- 
braced his  Royal  Highness  with  much  affection.  The 
Princess  Royal,  on  her  part,  at  the  same  instant  stepped 
across  to  her  father-in-law,  whose  hand  she  seized,  and 
would  have  kissed,  but  that  the  gallantry  of  his  Royal 
Highness  preferred  to  receive  the  token  of  affection  upon 
his  cheek.  The  Princess  now  embraced  her  illustrious 
mother-in-law  most  affectionately,  and  then,  resigning 
herself  to  the  conduct  of  her  Royal  husband,  retired  from 
the  Chapel,  followed  by  the  ladies  of  her  household,  arid 
by  the  Countess  Bernstorff,  in  the  order  of  procession 
prescribed.  The  Queen's  procession  was  then  re-formed,  and 
followed  the  Bride  and  Bridegroom  to  the  Throne  Room 
in  the  same  order  in  which  it  had  entered  the  Chapel. 

On  the  Royal  party  arriving  in  the  Throne  Room,  the 
marriage  was  formally  attested  by  the  signatures  of  the 
Queen  and  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Crown  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Prussia,  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  and  all 
the  junior  branches  of  the  English  Royal  family.  The 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  421 

record  was  also  signed  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  the 
other  Cabinet  Ministers  present,  and  also  by  lus  Excel- 
lency Count  Bernstorff. 

A  very  interesting  incident  occurred  immediately  after 
the  return  of  the  bridal  party  to  Buckingham  Palace. 
The  windows  opening  into  the  balcony  were  unclosed, 
and,  to  the  delight  of  thousands  of  her  loyal  subjects,  the 
Queen  stepped  out  and  bowed  to  the  enthusiastic  acclama- 
tions of  the  vast  crowd  before  her.  She  then  retired,  but 
as  speedily  returned,  and,  leading  by  the  hand  the  Princess 
Eoyal,  presented  her  to  the  multitude.  As  the  Queen 
withdrew,  the  Royal  Bridegroom  took  his  place  by  the 
side  of  his  Bride,  and  hand  in  hand  the  illustrious  pair- 
received  a  most  vociferous  ovation.  The  Prince  Consort, 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia, 
in  turn  appeared  before  the  delighted  spectators,  and 
received  a  hearty  welcome  ;  and  finally,  the  Bride  and 
Bridegroom  again  came  forward,  and  took  a  farewell 
greeting.  No  words  can  convey  an  idea  of  the  enthu- 
siasm which  this  most  graceful  and  considerate  act  on  the 
part  of  her  Majesty  excited. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  her  Majesty  and  the  Court,  a 
dejeuner  was  served  in  the  State  Dinner  Eoom,  into  which 
the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort,  the  Prince  and  Princess 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  the  Eoyal  family,  and 
foreign  Princes,  passed  from  the  Picture  Gallery. 

The  Wedding  Cake  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
table ;  it  was  between  six  and  seven  feet  in  height,  and 
was  divided  from  the  base  to  the  top  into  three  compart- 
ments, all  in  white. 

The  newly  married  pair  departed  for  Windsor  Castle  at 
twenty-five  minutes  before  five  o'clock. 

The  Queen,  Prince  Consort,  and  Eoyal  family,  with  the 


422  THE    EOTAL    PEIXCES- 

Prince  and  Princess  of  I  jompanied  their  T, 

Highnesses  to  the  Grand  Hall,  where  the  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen  in  Waiting  had  assembled.  Her  Majesty  and 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia  took  leave  of  their 
Royal  relatives  at  the  principal  entrance,  and  the  Prince 
Consort  accompanied  his  daughter  and  Prince  Frederick 
William  to  their  carria. 

The  Bride  Prince—  ired  in  a  white  epingle 

high  up,  with  plain  skirt,  with  lace  collar  and  sleev 
cloak  of  white  epingle  trimmed  with  grebe  :  the  bonnet 
white  e"pmgle,  trimmed  with  orange-blossoms,  and  a  Brus- 
sels lace  veil.     Lady  Churchill,  the  Countess  Perponcher, 
and  Sir  Frederick  Stovin   were    in  attendance  on 
Royal  Highnesses.     The  Royal  pair  arrived  at  the  Pacl- 
dingtou   station   of  the   Gr  .  rn   Railway   a  few 

minutes  after  five  o'clock,  where  a  special   train  was  in 
.;g  to  convey  them  to  Windsor, 
rhe  George-street  terminus,  Windsor,  arrange:, 
had  been  made  for  as  many  persons  as  possible,  without 
inconvenience,  to  witness  the  arrival  of  their  R-oyal  High- 
nesses.    Seats  0:1  one  side  of  the  platform  were  e: 
for  500  Etonians,  who  had  assembled  in  full  dress,  wear- 
ing r  In  front  of  her  Majestv's  Reception  B 
were  the  Mayor  and   TV  s    of  the   boroug':. 
drawn  up  in  the  rear  was  a  guard  of  honour  composed  of 
the  Scots  Fusileer  Guards. 

The  Royal   train   arrived   at    twenty  minutes   to  six, 

amidst  an  announcement  of  fireworks  and  firing  of  cannon, 

_  :iard  of  honour  saluting.     Xo  sooner  were  the  Bride 

and  Bridegroom  seated  in  their  carriage,  than  the   Eton 

le  number  of  one  hundred,  yoked  theinse. 
the  vehicle,  and  the  remainder  surrounding  it  formed  an 
;-ort.      This   ingenious   manoeuvre    accom- 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MAET    LO ; 

plished,  t  pair  were  drawn  in   triumph  : 

the  acclamations  of  a>  :Iiousands, 

i^usileer  Guards  preceding  the  carriage  to  clear 
the  \v.  town  was  brilliantly  illuminated. 

A  S:..::  GOB  Buckingham  Palace  and  brilliant 

illuminations  closed  the  evening  in  the  English  metro- 
polis. 

\ _  neral  holiday  by  common  consent  was  el 

ool,  Birmingham.  X  .  .raam,  Brighton,  Canter- 
bury. Wakefield,  Leicester,  Bristol,  Manchester,  &c.  In 
these  cities  and  towns,  entertainments  were  given  on  a 
brilliant  scale,  while  bells  were  rung,  and  flags  and 
banners  floated  in  •  .  et. 

On  the  night  of  the  25th  of  January,  a  ball  was  given 
in  Pa:  :i  honour  of  the  marriage 

-.?  Princess  Royal  of  England.     The  Emperor  and 
Empress  were  present.     His  M;  ra  the  Order  of 

the  Garter,  and  with  the  Empress  joined  in  the  dancing. 
During  supper,  his  Majesty  rose  and  proposed,  in  a  few 
and  appropriate  words,  the  health  of  the  Pric 
of  England,  expressing  a  hope  that  she  might  be  as  happy 
in   her  marrie  .  ?  her  amiable  qualities  so  richly 

merited.     This  toast  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm. 

In  Berlin,  on  the  wedding-day,  Lord  Bloomfield  g 
brilliant  ball  at  the  Hotel  of  the  Engli^  .    Among 

the  company  were   their    Royal  Highnesses  Prince  and 
Princess  Carl  and  the  Prince-  .     The  portrait 

of  the   Princess    Royal,  by  Alter,  lent    to  Lord 

Bloomfield  for  the  occasion  by  Prince  Frederick  William, 
red  the  admiration  of  the  whole  company. 

In  all  the  impor:  s  of  Prussia,  the  authc 

instituted  >  in  celebration  of  the  marriage. 

Mr.  Buchanan's  fete,  at  Copenhagen,  in  honour  of  the 


424  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

occasion,  was  very  brilliant.  The  King  of  Denmark  came 
there  in  full  state,  with  a  military  escort,  and  running* 
footmen  bearing  torches  in.  front.  The  Dowager  Queen 
Amalia,  the  Hereditary  Crown  Prince  Ferdinand,  Prince 
Christian  of  Denmark,  and  the  Eoyal  Princesses,  honoured 
our  Minister  and  Mrs.  Buchanan  with  their  company. 

Sir  Halph  Abercromby,  at  the  Hague,  gave  a  grand 
dinner  on  the  wedding-day,  at  which  the  Queen  of  Hol- 
land, granddaughter  of  Caroline  Matilda,  was  present ; 
Lord  Howard  de  Walden  also  gave  a  fete  at  Brussels. 

The  following  more  solid  commemoration  of  this  event 
occurred  on  the  occasion  : — 

The  national  society  called  the  "  Friedrich  Wilhelm 
Victoria  Stiftung,"  founded  January  1st,  1856,  at  the  time 
of  the  Prince  of  Prussia's  jubilee  in  honour  of  the  ap- 
proaching marriage,  not  only  supplied  seven  young  bridal 
couples  with  a  donation  of  100  thalers  each  towards  com- 
mencing housekeeping — five  of  whom  were  married  on  the 
25th  January,  and  the  remaining  two  on  February  8fch, 
the  day  of  the  entry  into  Berlin — but  the  same  was  also- 
done  for  one  couple  in  Spandau,  two  in  Magdeburg,  and 
one  in  Breslau.* 

A  lofty  open  coronet  of  diamonds  was  the  gift  of  the 
King  and  Queen  of  Prussia  to  the  young  English  bride, 
the  design  of  which,  with  its  thin  spires  of  brilliants  and 
open  shell-work  between,  is  probably  one  of  the  most 
chaste  and  graceful  that  has  ever  been  executed.  The 
presents  of  the  Queen  of  England  to  her  beloved  daughter 
were,  first,  a  broad  diamond  necklace,  with  a  treble  row  of 
the  most  brilliant  drops,  and  long  pointed  terminals,  which 
match  the  light  tracery  of  the  coronet.  The  second  gift 

*  On  the  meeting  of  this  society  in  1862,  it  was  found  that  no  less 
than  forty  couples  had  received  similar  donations. 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MART    LOUISA.  425 

from  the  Royal  mother  consisted  of  three  massive  brooches, 
somewhat  in  the  style  and  size  of  the  Scotch  plaid  brooch, 
but  which,  instead  of  having  an  open  circlet  in  the  middle, 
were  in  each  case  filled  with  a  noble  pearl  of  the  very 
largest  size  and  purity  of  colour. 

The  Queen's  third  present  was  three  silver  candelabra, 
the  centre-piece  springing  from  an  elaborate  base,  sur- 
rounded by  large  groups  of  figures,  exquisitely  chased,  in 
full  relief.  This  is  four  feet  high,  and  supports  between 
twenty  and  thirty  branches.  The  two  others  are  to  match 
the  centre,  and  are  equally  elaborate,  and  almost  equally 
massive  and  lofty. 

The  gift  of  the  Prince  Consort  was  most  costly — a 
superb  bracelet  of  brilliants  and  emeralds,  in  both  design 
and  execution  beautiful.  This  ornament  the  Princess 
Royal  wore,  on  the  occasion  of  her  marriage,  on  the  right 
arm  ;  on  the  left  arm  she  wore  a  bracelet,  also  of  diamonds 
and  emeralds,  presented  by  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Royal 
Household,  but  inferior  in  value  to  the  other,  both  in 
design  and  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  set. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  gave  his  sister  a  suite  of  ear-rings, 
brooch,  and  necklace  of  opals  and  diamonds.  The  Princess 
Alice  gave  a  small  but  beautifully  formed  brooch  of  pearls  ; 
and  the  Princesses  Helena,  Louise,  and  Beatrice  a  massy 
stud  brooch  or  button,  similar  in  shape  to  those  of 
diamond  and  pearl  of  the  Queen's  gifts,  before  mentioned. 
These  brooches  are  of  massive  gold,  ornamented  with 
pearls  and  emeralds,  pearls  and  rubies,  and  pearls  and  sap- 
phires. The  Duchess  of  Cambridge  gave  a  noble  bracelet 
of  diamonds  and  opals  ;  and  the  Princess  Mary  her  portrait 
in  massive  gold  frame  and  stand. 

A  magnificent  necklace,  composed  of  pure  brilliants  and 
turquoises,  and  called  "  the  Turquoise  Necklace,"  from  the 


426  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

size,  value,  and  rarity  of  the  latter  gems,  was  the  gift  of 
the  bride's  Boyal  father-in-law,  the  Prince  of  Prussia. 
The  Princess  of  Prussia's  gift  was  a  stomacher  brooch  of 
brilliants,  of  which  the  stones  were  of  the  purest  water, 
and  the  setting  and  design  exquisite.  Her  grandmother, 
the  venerable  Duchess  of  Kent,  presented  the  Princess 
Royal  with  a  magnificent  and  useful  dressing-case,  of 
which  the  articles  were  all  of  massive  silver-gilt,  enriched 
with  bright-red  coral,  and  for  simplicity  and  beauty  of 
design  not  to  be  surpassed.  A  writing-desk  to  match  the 
dressing-case  was  presented  by  the  Duchess  of  Buccleugh. 

From  the  Maharajah  Dhuleep  Singh,  the  Bride  received 
an  opera-glass,  of  elaborate  design.  The  Duchess  of  Saxe- 
Weimar  gave  a  magnificent  bracelet  of  rubies,  diamonds, 
and  emeralds  :  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg 
bestowed  plain  bracelets  with  enamel  miniatures  of  the 
givers  on  each.  The  Marchioness  of  Breadalbane  gave  a 
toilet  hand-mirror,  of  whicli  the  frame  was  of  massive 
gold  set  with  pearls,  the  handle  composed  entirely  of  one 
brilliant  cairngorm. 

The  gift  of  the  Bridegroom — the  most  costly,  though 
in  appearance  the  most  simple  of  any — was  a  necklace  of 
pearls,  the  value  of  which  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact 
that  the  necklace,  though  full-sized,  requires  only  thirty- 
six  to  complete  the  entire  circle ;  the  pearls  graduate  in 
size  from  the  centre,  tapering  less  and  less  as  they  approach 
each  end.  The  three  centre  pearls  in  this  superb  circlet 
are  said  to  be  of  great  value,  being  estimated  at  28,000 
thalers  (4200Z.).  The  pearls  are  remarkably  pure — the 
largest,  in  the  centre,  of  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut — and  the 
number  composing  the  necklace  have  only  been  accumu- 
lated by  dint  of  great  diligence,  during  a  lengthened 
period. 


YICTOKIA    ADELAIDE    MART    LOTIISA.  427 

A  large  edition  of  the  sacred  volume — a  Bible,  bound  in 
the  most  costly  and  gorgeous  style — has  on  the  fly-leaf 
this  inscription  : — 

"  The  Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  to  her  Eoyal  Highness  the  Princess  Royal,  on  the 
occasion  of  her  marriage,  with  sincere  prayers  to  Almighty 
God  for  her  happiness  in  time  and  eternity. 

"  SHAFTESBTTRY,  President. 

"January,  1858." 

On  Tuesday  afternoon,  January  26,  these  splendid  testi- 
monials of  affection  were  exhibited  at  Buckingham  Palace 
to  the  representatives  of  the  British  people.  Amongst 
them  was  a  Brussels  lace  dress,  the  present  of  his  Majesty 
the  King  of  the  Belgians,  made  expressly  for  the  young 
Bride,  and  valued  at  50,000  francs,  or  2000Z.  sterling.  It 
was  in  a  little  card-box,  with  a  delicate  fringe  left  out  to 
show  the  pattern.  Very  many  even  of  the  most  costly 
presents  were  not  exhibited,  as  a  great  number  of  the 
gifts  to  the  Bride  had  been  already  packed  up,  and  sent 
off  to  Berlin  ;  of  this  number  were  magnificent  presents 
from  the  Countess  of  Fife,  the  Countess  of  Derby,  the 
Countess  of  Clarendon,  and  others ;  articles  of  their  own 
work  sent  by  every  lady  of  the  Royal  household,  and  by 
many  personal  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the  Princess. 

The  King  of  the  Belgians  and  his  sons,  and  his  Serene 
Highness  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  Sigmaringen,  took 
leave  of  the  Queen,  on  their  departure  for  the  Continent, 
on  January  26th.  The  Princes  Albert,  Frederick  Charles, 
Frederick  Albert,  and  Adalbert  of  Prussia,  with  their 
suite,  left  Buckingham  Palace  the  same  day  at  an  early 
hour,  on  a  visit  to  several  of  the  principal  ports  and  towns 
in  England. 


428  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Deputations  from,  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge waited  on  the  Queen  with  congratulations  upon  the 
marriage ;  as  did  also  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Corporation  of 
the  City  of  London,  as  well  as  the  body  of  Protestant  Dis- 
senting Ministers,  and  the  body  of  English  Presbyterian 
Ministers. 

On  Wednesday,  her  Majesty,  the  Prince  Consort,  and 
the  Royal  family  departed  for  Windsor. 

At  a  quarter  to  two  their  Royal  Highnesses  Prince 
Frederick  William  and  Princess  Victoria  came  from 
Windsor  Castle  in  an  open  phaeton  to  the  station,  and 
were  received  with  the  usual  military  honours,  a  Prussian 
air  being  played  amid  hearty  acclamations  from  the  assem- 
bled throng.  The  Prince  and  Princess  awaited  in  the 
saloon  the  coming  of  the  Royal  train.  On  its  arrival  the 
youthful  couple  advanced  across  the  platform  to  the  car- 
riage doors.  The  Prince  Consort,  who  was  the  first  to 
leave  the  carriage,  affectionately  patted  the  cheek  of  his 
•daughter  while  handing  out  her  Majesty.  The  meeting 
of  the  Royal  mother  and  daughter  exhibited  the  warmest 
affection.  Her  Majesty  afterwards  saluted  Prince  Fre- 
derick William ;  and  as  soon  as  the  Princess  had  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Queen  a  magnificent  bouquet  of 
flowers,  she  affectionately  embraced  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  all  the  Royal  children. 

After  passing  through  the  saloon,  her  Majesty,  the 
Prince  Consort,  and  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick 
William  entered  the  pony  phaeton,  and,  followed  by  five 
other  carriages,  which  contained  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
Princess  Alice,  the  rest  of  the  Royal  family,  visitors,  and 
suite,  left  the  station,  and  proceeded  at  a  slow  pace 
through  the  town  to  the  Castle,  amidst  the  joyous  accla- 
mations of  the  people. 


YICTOKIA    ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  429 

A  grand  and  imposing  spectacle  took  place  at  the  solemn 
installation  of  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia  as  a 
Knight  of  the  Most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter,  on  the 
following  day,  her  Majesty  having  convened  a  Chapter  of 
the  Order  at  the  Castle  for  that  purpose. 

At  five  minutes  past  three  o'clock,  her  Ro}ral  Highness 
the  Princess  Frederick  William  of  Prussia  passed  through 
the  Grand  Reception  Boom  into  the  Throne  or  Garter 
Room,  attended  by  the  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  her 
household,  to  witness  the  investiture  of  her  husband ;  his 
Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales  (in  Highland 
dress),  and  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Alice,  accom- 
panied their  sister.  The  Prussian  Minister  and  Countess 
Bernstorff  followed  the  Princess  into  the  Throne  Room, 
where  her  Royal  Highness  was  ushered  to  a  chair  at  the 
east  end  of  the  apartment.  The  Princess  wore  a  dress  of 
white  silk  brocaded  with  gold,  trimmed  with  gold  lace, 
and  a  white  satin  skirt,  trimmed  with  gold  lace.  Her 
Royal  Highness's  head-dress  was  formed  of  holly,  gold 
leaves,  white  feathers,  and  diamond  ornaments. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William,  after  the 
investiture  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  attended  Divine 
Service  in  St.  George's  Chapel. 

The  Queen  gave  a  grand  dinner  in  the  evening  in  the 
Waterloo  Gallery.  All  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  assist- 
ing at  the  Chapter  were  honoured  with  invitations  :  the 
guests  amounted  to  seventy-one.  The  magnificent  service 
of  silver-gilt  was  used  for  the  occasion,  and  the  plateau 
was  brilliantly  lit  by  numerous  golden  candelabra  filled 
with  wax-lights,  the  candelabrum  of  St.  George  forming 
the  centre  ornament  of  the  Royal  table. 

At  half-past  eleven  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  January 
29th,  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Windsor  presented 
r  F 


430  THE    EOTAL    PKINCESSES. 

an  address  of  congratulation  on  behalf  of  themselves  and 
the  town  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William, 
on  the  happy  occasion  of  their  nuptials. 

On  the  evening  of  Friday,  January  29th,  the  fourth  and 
last  of  the  Festival  Performances  in  honour  of  the  Princess 
Royal's  nuptials  with  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia, 
took  place  at  her  Majesty's  Theatre.  The  house  was 
decorated  nearly  the  same  as  on  the  former  occasion  ;  on 
the  panels  of  the  second-tier  boxes,  immediately  fronting 
the  stage,  were  inscribed,  in  golden  letters  upon  a  crimson 
ground,  the  words  "  May  Heaven  bless  them  !"  Pier 
Majesty's  box  was  draped  very  tastefully  in  crimson  and 
blue  velvet,  the  canopy  being  surmounted  with  the  arms 
of  England  and  Prussia.  At  the  base  of  the  Royal  box, 
on  either  side,  a  "  beef-eater"  kept  watch  and  ward  during 
the  whole  performance ;  and  two  other  of  these  officials 
were  stationed  respectively  on  the  right  and  the  left  of 
the  proscenium. 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Princess  Alice,  and  the  rest  of 
the  Royal  children  occupied  a  box  directly  in  front  of  the 
stage,  and  consequently  at  some  distance  from  their  august 
parents. 

At  half-past  seven  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  Consort, 
with  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia  and  his  Royal 
Bride,  attended  by  the  Court,  entered  the  theatre  amidst 
continued  acclamations. 

The  Princess  Frederick  William  of  Prussia  wore  a  dress 
of  light  blue  tulle  over  blue  silk,  trimmed  with  white 
blonde ;  a  large  diamond  brooch,  with  pendants  ;  a  neck- 
lace and  ear-rings  of  diamonds.  Her  Royal  Highness 
wore  a  wreath  of  sweet  peas  as  a  head-dress. 

On  the  entrance  of  the  Royal  party  the  curtain  rose  and 
discovered  the  whole  corps  dramatique  upon  the  stage,  all 


YICTOKIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  431 

the  ladies  being  dressed  in  white.  The  National  Anthem 
was  then  sung,  with  additional  verses  made  for  the  occa- 
sion bv  Mr.  Alfred  Tennyson,  the  Poet  Laureate,  which 
were  as  follows  : — 

CHORUS. 

"  God  save  our  Prince  and  Bride  ! 
God  keep  their  hands  allied  ! 

God  save  the  Queen  ! 
Clothe  them  with  righteousness  ! 
Crown  them  with  happiness  ! 
Them  with  all  blessings  bless  ! 
God  save  the  Queen !" 

SOLO. 

"  Fair  fall  this  hallow'd  hour  ! 
Farewell,  our  England's  flower  ! 

God  save  the  Queen  ! 
Farewell,  fair  Rose  of  May  ! 
Let  both  the  peoples  say, 
'  God  bless  thy  marriage  day  !' 
God  save  the  Queen  !" 

The  piece  selected  for  representation  was  Sheridan's 
comedy  of  The  Rivals,  at  the  close  of  which  the  National 
Anthem  was  again  sung.  Then  followed  The  Spitalfields 
Weaver ',  and  at  the  conclusion  her  Majesty  and  the  Royal 
party  retired  amidst  general  and  hearty  cheering. 

The  Queen  held  a  Drawing  Room  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
January  30th,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  congratula- 
tions on  the  happy  event  of  the  Royal  nuptials.  No  pre- 
sentations took  place  on  the  occasion.  At  the  Drawing 
E/oom,  his  Koyal  Highness  the  Prince  Consort  was  on  the 
right  of  the  Queen.  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess 
Frederick  William  was  on  her  Majesty's  left,  with  his 
Royal  Highness  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia 
standing  by  her  side. 

r  r  2 


432  THE    EOTAL   PKINCESSES. 

The  Queen  wore  a  train  of  cerise  and  silver  brocaded 
silk,  trimmed  with  silver  blonde  and  bows  of  cerise  satin 
ribbon.  The  petticoat  white  satin,  trimmed  with  bouil- 
lonnies  of  silver  blonde  and  branches  of  camellias.  The 
dress  ornamented  with  diamonds.  'Her  Majesty  wore  a 
diadem  of  diamonds  and  feathers. 

The  Princess  wore  a  dress  of  white  moire  antique, 
trimmed  with  satin  ruches,  white  roses,  and  jessamine. 
The  petticoat  white  moire  antique,  with  deep  flounces  of 
Honiton  lace,  trimmed  to  correspond  with  the  train.  The 
corsage  was  ornamented  with  diamonds.  Her  Royal 
Highness  wore  a  diadem  of  diamonds  and  a  necklace  of 
pearls. 

The  Court  was  brilliantly  and  numerously  attended,  all 
being  eager  to  behold  and  to  congratulate  on  so  joyous  an 
occasion  the  beloved  daughter  of  a  Sovereign  so  dear  to 
all  classes  of  her  people,  and  who,  for  her  own  intrinsic 
worth  and  amiable  disposition,  was  an  object  of  general 
affection  and  esteem. 

On  the  same  day,  Saturday,  January  30th,  their  Royal 
Highnesses  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William  of 
Prussia  received  various  addresses  of  congratulation  at 
Buckingham  Palace.  In  the  evening  her  Majesty  had  a 
dinner  party,  and  afterwards  an  evening  party,  at  both  of 
which  the  newly-married  pair  were  present. 

Many  pleasing  anecdotes  are  preserved  of  the  affection 
testified  by  Princess  Victoria  towards  those  who  had  sur- 
rounded her  Royal  person  from  childhood,  and  whose 
attachment  and  services  she  delicately  acknowledged  in 
parting  from  them.  Mrs.  Anderson,  who  for  twelve  years 
had  been  her  instructress  in  music,  was  highly  gratified 
about  this  time  by  receiving  a  very  handsome  bracelet,  with 
a  pendant  enclosing  a  locket  of  the  Princess's  own  hair. 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  433 

The  morning  at  length  arrived  on  which  our  beloved 
Princess  Royal  was  to  bid  adieu  to  her  parents,  her  rela- 
tives, her  native  country,  and  with  the  husband  of  her 
choice  to  depart  to  a  new  land,  a  foreign  home,  to  the 
bosom  of  another  family — -in  the  midst  of  other  and  novel 
scenes  to  pass  her  life.  This  parting  could  not  but  fall 
heavily  on  not  only  the  young  Bride — who  had  never 
through  her  life  been  separated  from  the  home-ties  of  her 
childhood's  years  up  to  the  present  period — but  still  more 
on  the  parents  who  had  given  away  their  first-born,  their 
hope  and  pride.  The  whole  nation,  too,  grieved  to  lose 
the  blooming  Princess  whose  presence  had  long  gladdened 
them  with  a  smile.  Yet  with  the  cloud  comes  the  rain- 
bow smile,  and  it  could  not  be  forgotten  by  those  who 
would  have  mourned,  that  this  shade  of  sorrow  must 
eventually  be  swept  away  by  the  national  joy,  the  alliance 
of  two  mighty  nations,  the  renewal  of  ancient  ties  of  con- 
sanguinity, the  reception  in  triumph  of  the  Royal  daughter 
of  an  illustrious  house  into  the  home  and  affection  of  not 
only  her  husband's  ancestors  but  her  own. 

The  party  assembled  at  a  quarter  to  twelve  in  the  Great 
Hall  of  Buckingham  Palace,  to  take  leave  of  the  bridal 
pair,  were  her  Majesty  and  all  the  Royal  family :  the 
Prince  Consort,  the  two  elder  Princes,  and  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge  were  to  accompany  them  to  Gravesend.  Among 
those  who  had  to  bid  an  immediate  farewell  were  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  the  Duchess  and  Princess  Mary  of  Cam- 
bridge, the  Duke  of  Saxe  Coburg,  and  Prince  Victor  of 
Hohenlohe.  The  Queen  and  her  children,  the  Duchesses 
of  Kent  and  Cambridge,  and  Princess  Mary  accompanied 
the  bridal  pair  to  the  principal  entrance. 

Princess  Frederick's  travelling  dress  was  of  drab  silk 
with  green  trimmings  ;  a  black  velvet  mantle,  and  over  it 


THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

a  burnous ;  a  bonnet  of  maroon  velvet  with  white  ostrich 
feathers,  and  a  black  veil. 

At  length  the  last  embrace,  the  farewell  was  spoken,  and 
from  the  windows  of  her  regal  residence  alone  could  the 
Queen  of  England  gaze  on  the  departing  procession  which 
conveyed  away  from  the  happy  home  of  her  youth  the 
cortege  of  the  Princess  Royal.  The  Prince  and  Princess 
were  handed  by  the  Master  of  the  Horse  into  an  open 
carriage-and-four,  the  Prince  Consort  and  Prince  of  Wales 
taking  the  opposite  seats.  The  rest  of  the  Royal  party 
and  the  suite  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  occupied  five  more 
open  carriages,  each  drawn  by  four  horses. 

Her  Majesty  and  the  Royal  children  came  out  on  the 
balcony  and  watched  the  procession  as  long  as  it  continued 
in  sight,  although  the  snow  had  already  begun  to  fall.  It 
was  about  twelve  o'clock  when  the  procession  passed 
through  the  gateway  of  the  Palace,  the  band  of  the  Cold- 
stream  Guards  playing  "  Home,  sweet  Home."  First 
came  a  detachment  of  the  Life  Guards;  then  an  open 
carriage-and-four,  containing  the  Prince  and  Princess  Fre- 
derick William,  the  Prince  Consort,  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales ;  a  second  carriage,  in  which  were  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge  and  Prince  Alfred  ;  and  four  other  carriages, 
conveying  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  attendance  on  the 
Royal  party  ;  a  detachment  of  the  Life  Guards  brought  up 
the  rear.  The  snow  fell  faster  and  faster  as  the  procession 
moved  at  a  gentle  trot  along  the  Mall,  by  Stafford  House, 
down  Cleveland  Row  and  Pall  Mall.  The  Princess  Royal 
was  scarcely  able  to  subdue  her  emotion  sufficiently  to 
acknowledge  the  cheers  she  received  on  all  sides  in  her 
progress.  The  route  intended  to  be  taken  having  been 
thought  by  some  to  be  through  the  Horse  Guards,  the 
multitude  had  congregated  in  Trafalgar  Square,  as  the 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  435 

locality  commanding  the  double  approach  to  the  Strand, 
through  which  the  line  of  route  was  certain  to  take  place. 
Not  a  point  was  unoccupied ;  not  a  window  unfilled,  even 
of  houses  of  several  stories,  to  the  very  top  ;  handkerchiefs 
waved,  bells  rang  out  gaily  their  peals,  flags  waved  across 
the  street,  and  far  as  eye  could  see  was  a  countless  multi- 
tude, who,  as  the  beloved  object  of  solicitude  appeared, 
rent  the  air  with  their  acclamations. 

At  Temple  Bar,  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Sheriffs  had  arrived 
in  their  State  carriages,  to  conduct  the  Royal  party  into 
the  City  with  a  guard  of  honour  of  the  Artillery  Company, 
who  presented  arms. 

Up  the  sides  of  Temple  Bar  ran  clusters  of  the  national 
flags  of  the  two  countries,  flanked  by  shields  on  which 
were  emblazoned  the  arms  of  the  Royal  houses  of  England 
and  Prussia,  while  over  the  gate  were  medallions  of  the 
Prince  and  Princess,  surmounting  the  legends — "  Grod 
speed  you  !" — "  Farewell !"  The  Lord  Mayor  presented  a 
bouquet  of  choice  flowers  to  the  fair  Bride  as  she  entered 
his  magisterial  domains  :  which  gallant  compliment  having 
been  graciously  received,  the  procession  moved  on  at  the 
same  gentle  trot,  preceded  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Sheriffs, 
through  the  densely  crowded  streets,  till  it  was  hardly 
possible  to  discern  St.  Paul's,  except  on  a  close  approach. 
After  passing  Ludgate  Hill,  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  Can- 
non Street,  King  William  Street,  amid  a  concourse  of  ani- 
mated people,  and  enthusiastic  cheers  from  all  points  in 
the  route,  the  Royal  cortege  approached  London  Bridge, 
where  the  broad  thoroughfare  had  been  ornamented  for 
the  occasion.  The  bells  rang  merrily,  the  ships  on  the 
river  were  gaily  decked,  and  thus  the  bridal  couple  pro- 
ceeded onward,  and  passed  out  of  this  ancient  metropolis 
by  the  Dover  and  Old  Kent  Road  to  the  Bricklayers' 


436  THE    EOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

Arms  Station,  where  an  enthusiastic  multitude  had  assem- 
bled to  obtain  a  last  sight  of  the  Princess. 

In  the  receiving-room  a  bouquet  of  the  choicest  flowers 
from  Paris  was  presented  to  the  Princess  Royal  by  Miss 
Mary  Eborall,  the  pretty  little  daughter  of  the  General 
Manager  of  the  Company,  which  her  Royal  Highness  very 
graciously  accepted. 

After  about  five  minutes — during  which  interval  she 
gave  all  a  chance  of  being  gratified  by  beholding  her  as 
she  moved  from  side  to  side  of  the  carriage — she  entered, 
and  was  followed  by  Prince  Frederick  William,  the  Prince 
Consort,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Prince  Alfred,  and  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge.  There  was  already  one  occupant  of  the 
Royal  saloon  railway  carriage,  a  little  Italian  greyhound 
belonging  to  the  Princess  Frederick  William,  brought 
over  to  England  as  a  present  to  her  from  Berlin  by  the 
Prince  her  husband.  It  had  awaited  the  arrival  of  its 
master  and  mistress  with  some  impatience,  and  greeted 
them  briskly  on  their  arrival.  The  Royal  party  having 
taken  their  seats,  the  signal  was  given,  and  the  train  moved 
off  amid  loud  and  heartfelt  cheers. 

At  ten  minutes  to  one,  the  train  quitted  the  Brick- 
layers' Arms  Station  on  its  way  to  Gravesend,  where  the 
embarkation  was  to  take  place.  Here  the  Royal  party 
arrived  at  twenty-five  minutes  to  two  o'clock. 

A  great  concourse  of  persons  had  congregated  from 
all  parts  to  Gravesend  on  the  morning  of  that  day  when 
the  young  Princess  was  to  bid  adieu  to  her  native  land, 
to  catch  a  parting  look  of  one  so  dear  to  the  nation. 

As  soon  as  the  Railway  Station  was  cleared,  the  Royal 
party,  in  four  carriages,  drawn  by  four  horses  each,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Pier,  escorted  by  the  Cobham  troop  of  the 
West  Kent  Yeomanry,  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MAHT    LOUISA.  437 

Darnlev.  Through  the  whole  route  they  were  enthusias- 
tically cheered. 

The  Eoyal  party  first  passed  from  the  Station  under  a 
splendid  triumphal  arch.  Almost  immediately  on  enter- 
ing the  town,  the  travellers  were  greeted  with  parting 
words  of  hearty  remembrance. 

The  whole  length  of  Windmill  Street  had  stages  of 
seats  erected  in  front  of  the  houses :  the  children  of  the 
Gravesend  and  Milton  Union,  stationed  within  the  railings 
of  St.  Thomas's  Almshouses,  sent  up  their  cheer  of  wel- 
come as  the  Eoyal  carriages  passed.  A  balcony  the  entire 
length  of  Harmer  Street  was  festooned  with  evergreens 
and  white  roses,  which  had  a  very  gay  effect.  The  smil- 
ing Princess  bowed  her  acknowledgments  as  she  passed, 
for  ths  kind  reception  shown  by  the  garlands,  wreaths,  and 
wishes  for  her  happiness  expressed  around  her  in  every 
direction,  and  proceeded  with  the  Eoyal  party,  amid  con- 
tinued cheering  until  they  reached  the  Terrace  Pier,  where 
she  was  hailed  by  the  National  Anthem.  The  Eoyal  party 
was  received  by  the  Mayor  of  Gravesend,  Mr.  Troughton  ; 
the  Mayor  and  Town  Clerk  of  Maidstone,  and  also  of 
Eochester,  &c.  On  entering  the  Pier  the  Town  Clerk 
presented  the  address  of  the  Town  and  Corporation  to 
Prince  Frederick  William,  who  graciously  received  it. 

As  the  Eoyal  part}'  proceeded  along  the  Pier,  fifty- 
eight  young  ladies,  most  of  whom  were  children,  who 
were  stationed  on  either  side  of  the  procession,  strewed 
flowers  from  their  baskets  in  the  path  of  the  Prince  and 
Princess.  They  were  all  uniformly  attired  in  white  dresses, 
with  mantles  of  blue  trimmed  with  swansdown,  and  on 
their  heads  a  wreath  of  drooping  lilies  of  the  valley.  The 
Mayor's  daughter  was  the  one  at  the  head  of  the  fair 
throng  appointed  to  present  Princess  Frederick  William 


438  THE    EOTAL    PEINCESSES. 

with  a  bouquet,  which  she  accomplished  with  much  child- 
ish grace.  Although  the  fair  Bride  had  already  a  magni- 
ficent one  in  her  hand  when  it  was  presented  to  her,  she 
transferred  it  instantly  to  Prince  Frederick  William,  and 
receiving  the  one  offered  by  Miss  Trough  ton  with  a  smile 
and  curtsey,  carried  it  herself  in  her  hand  as  she  proceeded 
down  the  Pier. 

The  yards  of  all  the  vessels  of  the  flotilla  were  manned, 
and  as  the  Princess  with  her  husband  stepped  upon  the 
gangway  leading  to  the  Royal  yacht,  the  cheers  were 
deafening.  Once  the  Princess  half  turned  and  looked 
back  upon  the  Pier,  at  all  the  windows  of  which  hats  and 
handkerchiefs  were  waving  ;  and  then  slowly  entering  the 
saloon  on  the  quarter-deck,  was  seen  no  more. 

Three-quarters  of  an  hour  elapsed  from  this  time  before 
the  Royal  party  reappeared  —  an  interval  devoted  to 
luncheon,  but  spent,  doubtless,  in  the  exchange  of  that 
affectionate  intercourse  attending  a  long  parting  interview 
between  the  bride  and  her  father  and  brothers.  When 
the  Prince  Consort  reappeared,  though  grave  and  com- 
posed, it  was  evidently  not  without  a  struggle  j  but  his 
young  sons,  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Prince  Alfred,  at- 
tempted not  to  conceal  their  grief — the  latter  wept  bit- 
terly. With  them  was  Prince  Frederick  William,  who 
shook  hands  heartily  with  the  Prince  Consort  and  his 
sons  at  parting.  Lady  Churchill  and  Viscount  Sydney 
remained  on  board  to  accompany  the  Prince  and  Princess 
to  Berlin. 

All  then  quitted  the  vessel,  and  remained  standing  at 
the  head  of  the  gangway  while  the  Royal  yacht  cast  off 
her  hawsers  and  prepared  to  start.  The  Prince  Consort, 
as  though  remembering  something  more  he  had  desired  to 
say,  or  anxious  to  take  another  farewell  of  those  on 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE   MAEY    LOUISA.  43D 

board,  had  proceeded  half  down  the  gangway  with  that 
intention,  when  some  other  vessel  of  the  squadron  ran 
smash  into  the  Terrace  Pier,  shaking  it  almost  to  its 
foundation,  and  smashing  her  own  paddle-box  to  pieces. 
The  shock  was  so  violent,  and  the  Prince  himself  so 
startled,  that  he  hastened  back  up  the  gangway,  which, 
like  a  bridge,  led  from  the  yacht  to  the  Pier,  at  once  aban- 
doning his  intention  of  again  going  on  board.  At  the 
same  moment  he  caught  hold  of  his  sons,  calling  out, 
"Where  is  George?"  meaning  the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 
Happily  the  Royal  party  regained  the  Pier  without 
injury. 

Another  incident,  at  the  very  same  moment,  had  put  in 
peril  the  vessel  containing  the  Royal  pair.  The  Victoria 
and  Albert,  in  moving  astern  to  bring  her  head  round, 
drove  on  to  the  bowsprit  of  the  Monkey  tug-boat,  which 
went  through  one  of  the  plate-glass  windows  of  the  saloon. 
No  further  mischief,  however,  was  done  ;  and  the  Royal 
yacht  began  to  cast  off,  and  swing  with  her  head  towards 
the  centre  of  the  river.  The  sullen  boom  of  cannon  an- 
nounced the  departure  of  England's  Royal  Princess.  The 
Prince  Consort  and  Prince  Frederick  William  waved  their 
hands  in  token  of  farewell,  and  the  young  Princes,  yield- 
ing to  the  sorrow  of  the  parting  scene,  shed  tears  of  natural 
grief;  and  as  the  snow,  drifting  thickly  around,  soon  hid 
the  vessel  from  sight,  the  Prince  Consort  and  his  sons 
returned  to  their  carriage,  greeted  on  their  passage  by 
continued  cheering.  Having  returned  to  the  Railway 
Station,  they  re-entered  the  train,  and  proceeded  to  Lon- 
don. 

A  Royal  squadron  accompanied  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
down  the  river,  the  guns  of  Tilbury  Fort  firing  a  salute 
as  they  passed. 


440  THE    110YAL    PRINCESSES. 

About  thirteen  miles  from  Gravesend,  the  lloyal  yacht 
ran  into  the  stern  of  a  barque,  the  Ryliope,  of  Hartlepool, 
bearing  up  the  river,  and  carried  away  the  whole  of  her 
taffrail.  The  Victoria  and  Albert  slackened  steam  on  the 
occurrence  of  the  collision,  which  had  been  unavoidable, 
but,  finding  the  injured  vessel  in  no  danger,  proceeded  on 
the  voyage. 

There  was  so  great  a  gale  at  Hamburg,  and  the  snow- 
storm was  so  heavy  on  Tuesday  morning,  that  great 
anxiety,  was  felt  about  the  safe  landing  of  the  Royal 
couple,  the  French  and  Belgian  mails  not  coming  to  hand 
as  usual.  The  Victoria  and  Albert  did  not  leave  theNore 
till  two  o'clock  on  Wednesday,  February  3rd,  and  was 
expected  to  have  reached  Antwerp  between  nine  and  ten. 
It,  however,  only  arrived  in  the  Scheldt  at  eleven,  and  did 
not  reach  Antwerp  until  four  o'clock. 

The  morning  of  Wednesday,  February  3rd,  broke  forth 
enveloping  Antwerp  and  the  surrounding  country  in  a  thick 
fog,  and  no  news  as  yet  of  the  Royal  squadron.  The  King 
of  the  Belgians,  accompanied  by  the  Duke  de  Brabant,  the 
Count  de  Flandres,  and  a  brilliant  suite,  arrived  from  Brus- 
sels at  ten  o'clock ;  but  the  firing  of  the  guns  of  Fort  St. 
Lillo,  nine  miles  below  the  city,  at  three  o'clock,  was  the 
first  signal  of  the  approach  of  the  lloyal  pair.  The  quays 
were  thickly  crowded  with  people,  and  flags  of  England, 
Prussia,  and  Belgium  floated  from  the  windows  of  the 
houses.  The  Victoria  and  Albert,  with  the  Prussian  flag 
at  the  main  and  the  Union  Jack  at  the  fore,  and  tastefully 
decorated,  moved  slowly  up  amid  the  shouts  of  the  spec- 
tators. She  anchored  in  the  centre  of  the  river,  nearly 
opposite  the  Porte  de  1'Escaut,  and  was  saluted  by  the 
guns  of  the  citadel  and  by  those  of  the  Tete  de  Flandre. 
The  Fairy  passed  between  the  Victoria  and  Albert  and  the 


YICTOlilA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  441 

quay,  and  dropped  her  anchor  a  little  further  up  the  river. 
Her  example  was  followed  by  the  Osborne  and  the  Vivid. 
The  Curacoa  also  steamed  up  in  the  same  direction ;  but 
before  taking  up  her  position  by  the  side  of  her  tiny  con- 
sorts, she  returned  the  salute  of  the  citadel  with  two 
broadsides,  which  seemed  almost  to  shake  the  earth. 

As  soon  as  the  firing  had  ceased,  the  King  proceeded  on 
board  the  Victoria  and  Albert,  and,  after  exchanging  affec- 
tionate greetings  with  the  young  Prince  and  Princess,  gave 
them  a  hearty  welcome  to  his  dominions.  Lord  and  Lady 
Howard  de  Walden  also  went  on  board  the  yacht,  and 
offered  their  congratulations.  A  few  minutes  were  spent 
in  receiving  the  parting  homage  of  the  officers  of  the  ship  ; 
and  the  last  word  having  been  spoken,  the  Princess  Royal 
v/as  conducted  by  the  King  down  the  ladder  to  an  elegant 
twelve-oared  boat,  painted  white  and  gold.  Prince  Fre- 
derick William  followed,  and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in 
attendance  were  landed  in  the  boats  belonging  to  the 
Eoyal  yacht.  The  moment  that  the  Princess  left  the  side 
of  the  Victoria  and  Albert,  the  crew,  officers  and  men, 
mounted  the  paddle-boxes,  and  gave  three  lusty  cheers. 
The  crews  of  the  Curacoa,  Fairy,  Osborne,  and  Vivid  also 
sent  forth  repeated  and  deafening  "  hurrahs  !"  in  testimony 
of  their  loyalty  and  affection. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  handed  on  shore  and  conducted 
to  the  carriage  by  the  King,  the  Prince,  her  husband,  fol- 
lowing between  the  two  Belgian  Princes.  In  her  progress 
from  the  river-side  she  was  greeted  with  the  most  enthu- 
siastic applause.  She  conversed  with  the  King  in  a  cheer- 
ful, lively  mariner,  evidently  none  the  worse  for  the  voyage 
from  Gravesend.  Her  dress  was  a  light-coloured  moire 
antique  ;  she  wore  a  black  velvet  pelisse  and  grey  silk 
bonnet,  trimmed  with  flowers  and  cherry-coloured  ribbons* 


442  THE    EOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

All  the  Royal  party,  the  Count  de  Flandres  excepted,  en- 
tered one  carriage  drawn  by  four  beautiful  bays,  in  which 
they  proceeded  to  the  Railway  Station,  and  found  a  special 
train  was  in  readiness  to  convey  them  to  Brussels,  where, 
on  their  arrival,  the  English  National  anthem,  "  God  save 
the  Queen,"  from  the  military  band,  saluted  the  travellers. 
Having  graciously  bowed  their  acknowledgments  to  the 
cordial  greetings  received  from  all  sides,  his  Majesty,  their 
Royal  Highnesses  and  suites,  entered  the  eight  State 
carriages  in  waiting,  and  the  cortege  proceeded  to  the 
Palace  by  the  Boulevards,  under  the  escort  of  two  squadrons 
of  the  Regiment  of  Guides. 

On  arriving  at  the  Palace,  the  Prince  and  Princess 
Frederick  William  were  received  by  the  Duchess  of  Bra- 
bant, surrounded  by  her  ladies  of  honour,  and  the  principal 
officers  of  the  Ducal  household. 

As  the  Royal  travellers  did  not  arrive  till  a  quarter 
before  seven  o'clock,  the  dinner  was  postponed  until  eight. 
This  delay,  caused  by  the  obstacles  the  English  flotilla 
had  encountered  in  the  Scheldt,  deranged  the  whole  of  the 
preparations  made  for  the  fete  of  the  evening,  it  being 
nearly  half-past  nine  o'clock  when  the  Royal  party  entered 
the  salle  of  the  Diplomatic  circle,  when  time  had  become 
so  limited  that  no  formal  presentations  could  be  made.  His 
Majesty,  the  newly-married  pair,  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  Brabant,  and  Count  of  Flanders  walked  for  some  time 
through  the  Ball  Room,  saluting  all  persons  whom  they 
met. 

The  fair  young  Bride  was  attired  in  a  robe  of  rose  silk, 
ornamented  with  tulle  illusion,  with  roses  on  the  skirt ; 
her  head-dress,  a  crown  of  roses.  The  only  jeweller}'-  worn 
by  her  was  the  magnificent  necklace  of  thirty-six  pearls 
presented  to  her  by  her  husband.  She  had  also  formed, 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MART    LOUISA.  443 

en  sautoir,  a  large  ribbon  of  blue  moire  embroidered  with 
roses,  the  distinctive  decoration  of  the  Order  of  the  Swan 
worn  by  the  Prussian  ladies. 

The  ball  was  opened  by  their  Royal  Highnesses,  a 
quadrille  being  formed,  in  which  the  Duke  of  Brabant 
danced  with  the  Princess  Frederick  William,  and  Prince 
Frederick  William  with  the  Princess  de  Ligne. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  Royal  party  entered  the  Salle  de 
Buffet,  where  exquisite  refreshments  were  laid  out  in  pro- 
fusion, amidst  a  forest  of  flowers  of  the  rarest  plants,  and 
several  jets  of  perfumed  water.  On  their  return  to  the 
Ball  Room  the  dancing  was  renewed,  and  continued  till  the 
supper  hour. 

After  partaking  of  a  truly  regal  supper,  the  King, 
Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William,  and  the  Duchess 
of  Brabant,  retired  to  their  several  apartments  ;  but  danc- 
ing continued  till  half-past  twelve,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Belgian  Princes.  At  eight  o'clock  the  following  morning 
the  bridal  pair  started  for  the  Railway  Station,  where  a 
special  train  was  in  waiting  to  conduct  them  to  Cologne. 
Escorted  by  two  squadrons  of  the  Guides,  they  occupied 
eight  carriages.  The  King  accompanied  the  bridal  pair 
as  far  as  the  Railway  Station.  The  Duke  of  Brabant  and 
Count  of  Flanders,  and  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  of 
England  and  Prussia,  proceeded  with  them  as  far  as  the 
frontier,  by  Verviers. 

At  Herbesthal  the  young  couple  were  met  by  Count 
Redern,  deputed  to  convey  to  the  young  British  Princess 
a  welcome  from  the  King  of  Prussia.  As  soon  as  she  set 
foot  for  the  first  time  on  Prussian  ground,  a  guard  of 
honour  of  thirty  men  of  the  28th  (late  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington's Prussian  regiment)  presented  arms.  At  the 
station  also  had  assembled  the  General  Commanding-in- 


444  THE    ROYAL    PKINCESSES. 

chief  of  the  Rhenish  Provinces,  Lord  Bloomfield,  and 
others.  Here,  too,  a  deputation  from  Eupeu,  a  town  in 
the  vicinity,  was  received  hy  the  Royal  travellers. 

At  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  first  Prussian  town,  a  few  hours 
only  could  be  spent.  The  young  pair  visited  the  Cathedral, 
built  by  Charlemagne,  the  Town  Hall,  and  partook  of  a 
dejeuner. 

Aix-la-Chapelle  was  gaily  adorned  in  honour  of  this 
occasion,  flags  and  flowers  ornamenting  the  streets. 

During  their  visit  the  military  and  civil  authorities 
were  presented,  and  some  addresses.  At  Dureu  they  made 
a  halt  of  a  few  minutes  only,  and  proceeded  to  Cologne, 
where  they  had  arranged  to  remain  the  night.  The  civil 
and  military  authorities  received  the  travellers  at  the 
station  ;  and  after  viewing  the  Cathedral  and  other  inte- 
resting objects,  their  Royal  Highnesses  partook  of  a  late 
dinner.  The  evening  was  wound  up  at  Cologne  by  a 
grand  concert  and  ball :  the  latter  was  opened  by  their 
Royal  Highnesses. 

The  Royal  couple  resumed  their  journey  at  an  early 
hour  on  Friday,  through  Deufrz,  Dusseldorf,  and  Deusburg, 
to  Herne  Bohun,  at  which  station,  being  the  frontier  of 
the  province  of  Westphalia,  the  General  in  command  of 
the  troops  presented  himself  to  pay  his  respects.  From 
thence,  through  Dortmund,  Bielefield,  Minden,  and 
Biickenburg  to  Hanover,  where  a  short  visit  of  a  couple 
of  hours  was  paid  to  the  Hanoverian  Court.  The  travel- 
lers proceeded  to  Brunswick-Oschersleben  and  Magdeburg, 
where  they  halted  for  the  night,  not  arriving  till  eleven 
o'clock. 

Magdeburg  was  brilliantly  illuminated  on  this  memo- 
rable occasion,  and  the  following  morning  a  wedding 
present  was  offered  by  the  town.  This  was  a  silver  model 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MART    LOUISA.  445 

of  the  Market-place  equestrian  statue  of  the  Emperor 
Otho  I.,  founder  of  Magdeburg,  who  married  Editha,  an 
English  Princess.  The  model  weighs  half  a  hundred- 
weight, and  cost  about  5000  thalers,  or  750Z. 

At  twelve  on  Saturday  the  Royal  pair  started  again,  to 
proceed  by  way  of  Brandenburg  to  Potsdam.  This  latter 
town  was  the  birthplace  of  the  Prince  her  husband. 

The  Railway  Station  there  was  decorated  in  the  most 
tasteful  manner  with  the  flags  of  the  two  countries : 
wreaths,  flowers,  and  ribbons  were  intertwined,  interlaced, 
and  interspersed  with  every  imaginable  device  and  demon- 
stration of  welcome  and  affection.  The  bridge  that  leads 
from  the  station  into  the  town  was  so  thoroughly  orna- 
mented with  evergreens,  flags,  &c.,  that  it  seemed  as 
though  it  had  been  built  solely  for  the  purpose  of  decora- 
tion, and  to  afford  the  admiring  lieges  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  to  advantage  the  procession  during  the  very  limited 
space  that  it  traversed.  Over  the  gate  of  entrance  to  the 
bridge  was  an  arch  of  evergreens,  bearing  on  each  side 
words  of  hearty  greeting. 

From  the  seven  bridges  which  cross  the  Havel  Canal 
were  waving  the  united  flags  of  England  and  Prussia,  and 
an  immense  concourse  had  assembled  to  witness  the  arrival 
of  the  bridal  pair.  On  the  Railway  platform,  close  to  the 
old  station,  were  members  of  the  Rifle  Club,  with  their 
banners  and  a  band  of  music.  Next  were  stationed  the 
various  guilds  of  merchants  and  tradesmen,  with  banners, 
emblems,  and  a  band  of  music.  Then  the  members  of  the 
Magistrates'  College,  and  other  civil  authorities.  Opposite 
the  spot  where  the  Prince  and  his  Bride  were  to  alight 
were  the  Princes  of  the  Blood,  with  their  suite.  Outside 
the  Station  stood  the  Royal  equipages;  those  of  the 
officials,  with  the  military  escort.  The  artillery  fired,  the 
&  a 


440  THE    EOTAL    PETNCESSES. 

bells  rang,  and  the  Prussian  National  Hymn,  with  "  God 
save  the  Queen,"  was  struck  up  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Royal  pair,  who,  on  alighting,  were  warmly  greeted  by 
the  members  of  their  family. 

The  Prince  wore  the  uniform  of  an  Infantry  General, 
with  the  scarf  of  the  Order  of  the  Black  "dagle.  The 
Princess  was  attired  in  a  dark  silk  travelling  -dress,  a  dark 
shawl,  and  a  green  silk  bonnet.  The  Prh-ice  of  Prussia 
kissed  his  daughter-in-law  very  affectionately,  embraced 
and  kissed  his  son,  and  presented  those  of  the  Royal 
family  as  yet  unknown  to  the  Princess.  The  whole 
Royal  party  then  withdrew  into  the  reception-room  of 
the  Railway  Station,  where  various  high  •  officers  of  the 
army  and  Court,  who  were  in  waiting,  were  introduced, 
and  a  loyal  address  was  presented  by  the  Head  Burgo- 
master. 

After  the  Address,  to  which  both  Prince  and  Princess 
bowed  their  acknowledgments,  and  the  representatives  of 
Potsdam  had  been  assured  by  his  Royal  Highness  of  his 
gratitude  for  the  love  expressed  to  tht^m  both  by  his 
native  town,  the  bridal  couple  and  their  suite  entered 
their  carriages  in  waiting,  and  drove  in  procession  into  the 
town  amidst  enthusiastic  cheers  from  tire  multitude. 

One  remarkable  feature  in  the  eiite'rtainment  provided 
on  this  occasion  was  the  assemblage  .of  a  countless  multi- 
tude of  beautiful  white  swans,  purposely  collected  by  the 
Swan  Master,  and  which  were  alluded  to  remain  beside  the 
bridge  over  which  the  procession  passed : — a  novel  spec- 
tacle, which  much  astonishec/l  and  pleased  the  Princess. 

On  alighting  at  the  entrance  of  the  Stadt  Schloss,  the 
young  couple  found  the  Mall  and  marble  staircase  richly 
decorated  with  flowers  rand  shrubs  and  costly  plants  ;  and 
here,  at  the  top  of  f£ue  staircase,  were  the  Princess  of 


VICTOEIA  ADELAIDE   MAEY    LOUISA.  447 

Prussia  and  all  the  Koyal  Princesses  assembled  to  receive 
them,  while  the  households  of  the  different  families  ranged 
themselves  along  the  stairs.  The  Princess  Frederick 
William  then  entered  the  saloon  of  the  Great  Elector,  a 
noble  room,  decorated  with  pictures  and  works  of  art ; 
there  the  civil  and  military  authorities  were  presented, 
and  in  an  adjoining  apartment  their  ladies.  From  the 
windows  of  the  saloon  the  young  couple,  surrounded  by 
their  royal  relatives,  looked  out  on  the  procession  of  the 
trades'  companies,  which  marched  past  with  their  bands, 
their  flags,  and  their  emblems.  When  the  procession  had 
all  marched  past,  the  Prince  and  Princess  thanked  the 
people  for  their  exertions  with  a  silent  bow ;  and  the  Royal 
party  withdrew  to  a  diner  enfamille,  which  was  served  at 
four  o'clock,  in  the  strictest  privacy. 

At  half-past  eight  that  evening,  their  Royal  Highnesses 
the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William,  with  the 
whole  of  the  Royal  family,  household,  and  distinguished 
visitors,  repaired  to  the  Theatre,  to  witness  the  grand 
Festival  Performance  of  "  Von  Hundert  Jahren,"  by  the 
1  cading  artists  of  the  Theatre  Royal  of  Berlin.  This 
piece,  rich  in  military  reminiscences  of  the  past  century, 
is  said  to  have  been  selected  for  the  express  entertainment 
of  the  fair  Bride  by  Prince  Frederick  William,  in  order 
that  the  heroes  of  Frederick  the  Great's  time,  "  in  their 
habits  as  they  lived,"  might  appear  before  the  eyes  of  the 
youthful  Princess.  The  entertainment  was  strictly  a 
soiree  d' invitation  given  by  the  Court,  and  no  money 
could  have  purchased  a  seat  on  the  occasion.  Their  Royal 
Highnesses  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William 
were  received,  on  entering  their  box,  with  tremendous 
cheering. 

In  the  evening  the  town  was  brilliantly  illuminated. 
G  a  2 


448  THE    BOYAL   PETNCESSES. 

The  performance  at  the  Theatre  had  been  intended  for 
the  Sunday  evening,  but  was  altered  to  the  Saturday,  in 
consideration  of  the  English  feelings  as  regarded  the 
Sabbath. 

The  bridal  pair  attended  Divine  service  on  Sunday  at  the 
Garnison  Kirche,  where  Dr.  Krummacher  preaches.  The 
Municipality  of  Potsdam  afterwards  waited  on  them  to 
present  them  with  a  silver  tazza,  as  an  offering  from 
the  town ;  the  Kaufmannschaft,  or  Guild  of  Merchants, 
made  also  a  present ;  an  Address  was  presented  by  the 
Jewish  community,  and  another  by  the  Rifle  Guild  ;  from 
the  young  girls  of  Potsdam,  a  copy  of  verses. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  left  Potsdam  next  morning  at 
an  early  hour,  and,  stopping  at  the  halfway  station.  Zeh- 
lendorf,  on  their  way  to  Berlin,  they  entered  the  carriages 
which  were  in  waiting  there  for  them  and  their  suite,  and 
drove  to  Bellevue  Palace.  In  all  the  villages  they  passed 
through  in  this  short  drive,  there  were  festal  preparations 
made  for  their  reception,  triumphal  arches,  bands  of  young 
girls  in  white,  flowers  showered  on  them,  and  poems  recited 
to  the  full  extent  the  time  would  admit  of.  In  the  village 
of  Schoneberg,  forty  Bauern  (small  freeholders)  received 
the  bridal  cortege,  mounted  on  excellent  horses,  with 
saddlecloths  and  head-gear  in  the  English  colours,  con- 
ducted it  throughout  the  whole  of  their  district,  and  left 
it  only  on  the  confines  of  Berlin. 

In  one  point  of  the  route,  prior  to  entering  the  town 
the  people  threw  flowers  into  the  carriage  as  the  Princess 
passed,  for  which  she  bowed  her  smiling  acknowledgments. 

At  Bellevue  Palace  the  King  and  Queen  surprised  the 
young  couple  with  a  visit,  instead  of  allowing  them  to  go 
out  of  their  way  to  Charlottenburg,  to  call  upon  them. 
As  soon  as  the  near  approach  of  the  Prince  and  Princess 


YICTOEIA   ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  449 

was  announced,  the  King  left  the  apartments  where  they 
were  waiting,  and  went  to  the  bottom  of  the  staircase  to 
meet  his  niece.  The  delighted  Princess  stooped  to  kiss 
his  Majesty's  hand ;  but  the  King,  anticipating  her  inten- 
tion, took  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her,  exclaiming  with 
emotion,  "  How  delightful  this  is !  Here  you  are  at  last !" 
He  then  led  her  up  into  the  Palace,  where  the  Queen  also 
received  her  very  affectionately. 

When  the  young  couple  left  Bellevue,  the  King  returned 
to  Charlottenburg,  while  her  Majesty  hastened  by  a  detour 
to  arrive  at  the  Schloss  in  Berlin,  in  time  to  receive  her 
niece,  in  common  with  the  other  members  of  the  Royal 
family — a  circumstance  which,  not  being  either  pre- 
arranged or  expected,  was  the  more  gratifying. 

At  Bellevue,  the  Princess  made  her  final  arrangements 
of  the  toilette  prior  to  her  entry  into  Berlin,  exchanging 
her  travelling  dress  for  the  splendid  costume  in  which  she 
appeared  in  the  grand  procession. 

Half  an  hour  after  arriving  at  Bellevue,  the  troops 
destined  to  escort  the  Royal  party  into  the  city  had 
assembled  in  front  of  the  building,  while  the  Butchers 
and  other  Corporations  of  Berlin,  all  mounted,  occupied 
the  adjoining  allee,  and  all  the  space  lying  between  it  and 
the  "Kleinen  Stem  Platz."  On  the  arrival  of  the  Royal 
cortege  at  the  "  Kleinen  Stern  Platz,"  a  halt  was  made  to 
receive  the  Festival  Poem  of  the  Butchers'  Company, 
which  was  duly  placed  on  a  velvet  cushion  by  "  Slaughter 
Master"  Oppen,  who,  with  his  Guild,  moved  on  afterwards 
in  advance  of  the  procession,  towards  the  Brandenburger 
Gate. 

The  Butchers  were  indebted  to  an  act  of  gallantry  per- 
formed during  the  Seven  Years'  War,  for  the  privilege  of 
going  out  on  horseback  to  meet  the  Princess  Royal. 


450  THE    EOTAL   PBINCESSES. 

Berlin,  at  one  period  of  that  eventful  struggle,  being 
divested  of  its  entire  garrison  by  Frederick  the  Great,  for 
the  services  of  a  distant  campaign,  it  was  found  desirable 
that  the  Princess  Amelia,  the  King's  sister,  should  be 
conducted  to  a  place  of  safety.  In  the  absence  of  a  mili- 
tary escort,  the  Butchers'  Guild  offered  their  services,  and, 
in  fact,  did  escort  the  fair  Princess  to  Magdeburg.  In 
acknowledgment  of  the  service,  Princess  Amelia  of  Prussia 
embroidered  them  a  flag  with  her  own  Royal  hands,  and 
the  King  conferred  on  them  the  privilege  of  escorting  in 
future  any  Princess  who,  on  such  a  festive  occasion  as  that 
just  mentioned,  should  make  a  formal  entry  into  the  town. 
Honour  to  whom  honour  is  due !  This  Guild  must  have 
had  much  reason  to  pique  themselves  on  their  own  pro- 
minent position  in  the  civic  pageant  above  described. 

In  Berlin,  at  the  corner  of  each  avenue  of  the  Linden 
promenade,  from  the  Brandenburg  Gate  up  to  about  the 
centre,  were  high,  wooden  monuments  painted  in  imitation 
of  marble,  and  bearing  flowers,  banners,  flags,  emblems, 
and  plaster  busts  of  the  Princess  Frederick  William  and 
all  the  Royal  family.  Further  on  towards  the  Royal 
Palace,  were  furze-clothed  flagstaff's  with  streamers ;  and 
across  the  Schloss  Briicke  were  suspended,  from  the  vessels 
lying  at  either  side  of  the  bridge,  immense  garlands,  from 
which  depended  myriad-coloured  fancy-lamps,  and  an  alle- 
gorical transparency  bearing  an  inscription  denoting  a 
hearty  welcome.  This  was  a  greeting  from  the  Canal 
Navigation  Company  of  Berlin.  All  the  temporary  tri- 
bunes erected  on  every  available  spot  upon  the  line  of 
procession  were  lined  with  pink  calico  and  muslin,  and 
decorated  externally  with  banners,  wreaths,  garlands,  &c., 
&c.  Rugs  and  carpets  were  suspended,  moreover,  from 
the  fronts  of  the  houses. 


VICTORIA  ADELAIDE    MARY   LOUISA.  451 

To  the  right  of  the  Brandenburg  Gate  were  stationed 
the  members  of  the  Church  and  Magistracy,  the  Corpora- 
tion, and  a  deputation  from  the  merchants  of  Berlin. 
Exactly  opposite  were  the  Poor-law  Commissioners,  paro- 
chial authorities,  and  other  civil  officials.  These  two  tri- 
bunes contained  COO  persons.  The  grand  City  Tribune, 
holding  2600,  was  erected  between  the  Palace  of  the 
Prince  of  Prussia  and  the  Royal  Opera  House,  and  gor- 
geously decorated  by  the  Magistracy  ;  its  occupants  were 
the  families  of  officials.  Another  tribune,  opposite  the 
Palace,  held  the  members  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament, 
amounting  to  four  hundred.  Many  other  tribunes  were 
erected,  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned,  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  public  generally  ;  altogether,  the  Linden- 
Strasse  presented  a  brilliant  and  imposing  spectacle. 

Near  the  gold-fish  pond  were  ranged  the  children  of  the 
Orphans'  Charity  School,  the  girls  belonging  to  which 
presently  ran  before  the  Royal  carriage  strewing  flowers. 
Near  these  were  the  British  residents,  headed  by  Lord 
Ponsonby,  and  carrying  their  national  banner.  Next  to 
them  were  the  civil  and  military  officers  destined  to 
receive  the  Royal  travellers  at  the  gates  of  the  town.  On 
the  Pariser-Platz  just  inside  the  gate  were  the  Head  Bur- 
gomaster and  chief  civic  dignitaries  of  Berlin. 

On  the  approach  of  the  Royal  cortege,  a  murmuring  sound 
rose  louder  and  louder  as  it  approached,  and  became  over- 
whelming to  the  ears.  Shouts  of  exultation  arose  on 
every  side,  hats  and  handkerchiefs  waving  from  all  points, 
and  "  God  save  the  Queen"  was  played  by  the  band,  and 
responded  to  by  the  human  mass  in  one  universal  chorus. 
"  Never  was  grander  welcome  given  to  man  or  woman !" 

The  beloved  centre  of  this  homage,  the  sweet  young 
Princess,  looked  extremely  well,  and  appeared  to  take  a 


452  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

deep  interest  m  this  her  triumphal  entry  into  her  future 
home. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  wedded  pair  at  the  Brandenburg 
Grate,  the  Chief  Burgomaster  addressed  them  in  terms  of 
the  most  cordial  welcome. 

When  the  Royal  procession  had  passed  slowly  by,  the 
Rifle  Corps  and  various  Guilds  followed  in  their  appointed 
order,  bands  of  music  preceding  each  different  trade.  Only 
one  trade  was  absent — the  printers — the  very  one  to 
which  Prince  Frederick  William  belongs ;  for,  in  com- 
pliance with  an  old  custom  in  the  Prussian  Royal  family, 
every  Prince  must  learn  a  trade,  and  that  of  a  com- 
positor was  the  one  chosen  by  his  Royal  Highness.  The 
Trades'  Companies  carried  emblems  of  their  handicraft 
which  in  some  cases  consisted  of  the  most  elaborate 
models. 

The  State  carriage  was  met  at  the  foot  of  the  Palace 
steps  by  the  Princes  of  the  Royal  house,  all  of  whom 
eagerly  approached  the  vehicle  to  assist  the  Princess  to 
alight.  Her  Royal  Highness  was  attired  in  a  heavy 
white  moire  antique  robe,  an  ermine  tippet,  and  a  diadem 
of  diamonds.  The  family  greetings  at  the  foot  of  the 
staircase  were  most  cordial.  The  Princess,  leaning  upon 
the  arm  of  her  young  husband,  and  familiarly  conversing 
in  a  joyous  tone  with  the  surrounding  Princes,  at  once 
proceeded  to  the  so-called  White  Saloon,  where  she  was 
received  by  the  assembled  Princesses  of  the  Blood-royal. 
Thence  she  was  conducted  by  the  entire  company  into  the 
so-called  Red  Saloon,  where  all  the  chief  officers  of  State, 
with  the  Knights  of  the  Black  Eagle  in  gala  costume, 
were  assembled  to  welcome  the  illustrious  pair.  Here  the 
company  remained  for  some  time,  and  the  Prince  and 
Princess  appeared  no  less  than  three  times  on  the  balcony 


VICTOEIA    ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  453 

to  acknowledge  the  enthusiastic  welcome  of  the  masses 
assembled  without  the  Palace. 

The  "White  Saloon"  of  the  Palace,  in  which  the  Royal 
dinner  party  took  place  after  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  and 
his  Bride,  is  in  length  105  feet,  breadth  51  feet,  and 
height  41  feet.  The  walls  are  of  pure  white,  delicately 
veined  with  gold.  The  decorations  and  handles  of  the 
doors  are  of  massive  silver.  Twelve  pillars  of  Carrara 
marble  support  twelve  statues  (by  Eggers)  of  the  Electors 
of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern.  Immediately  under  the 
richly-ornamented  ceiling  are  eight  colossal  statues,  sus- 
tained by  groups  of  caryatides,  and  symbolically  repre- 
senting Peace,  Faith,  Love;  and  Glory  ;  and  a  little  lower 
down,  ten  figures,  likewise  in  bas-relief,  symbolizing  the 
various  arts  and  sciences.  The  floor  is  of  rare  and  costly 
woods ;  and  to  all  these  splendours  were  added  on  the 
present  occasion  six  entirely  new  pictures  illustrative  of 
the  eight  Prussian  provinces,  and  emblematical  of  the 
means  by  which  a  nation  may  become  great  and  happy. 
The  royal  dinner-table,  which  extended  the  whole  length 
of  the  saloon,  was  lighted  by  a  hundred  massive  and  gor- 
geous lustres. 

Her  Royal  Highness  Princess  Frederick  William  was 
attired  in  a  white  robe  of  moire  antique,  an  ermine  cape,  a 
diadem  of  brilliants,  and  a  splendid  velvet  train,  embroi- 
dered with  silver,  supported  by  two  pages. 

At  the  dinner,  the  Prince  of  Prussia  rose  and  gave  the- 
toast — "  Their  Majesties  the  King  and  the  Queen,  her 
Majesty  the  Queen  of  England  and  his  Royal  Highness 
the  Prince  Consort;"  and  again,  after  some  little  time, 
"  The  auspicious  matrimonial  alliance  of  Prussia  and 
Great  Britain,  and  the  illustrious  newly-married  couple." 
After  the  banquet  was  over,  and  the  guests  had  retired, 


454  THE    KOYAL    PEINCESSES. 

the  Royal  family,  together  with  their  numerous  relations 
present,  drove  ahout  the  town  in  a  cortege  of  twenty  car- 
riages to  view  the  very  extensive  and  brilliant  illumina- 
tions, and  were  everywhere  received  by  the  people  with 
the  most  hearty  and  vociferous  expressions  of  joy,  after 
which  the  whole  party  took  tea  en  famille  at  the  Prince 
of  Prussia's  Palace. 

The  Schloss,  the  Palaces  of  the  different  Royal  Princes, 
the  Ministerial  hotels,  and  all  the  public  buildings  in  the 
town,  were  illuminated  on  the  night  of  the  entry  of  the 
newly-married  couple  into  Berlin.  The  Victoria,  in  the 
Bradenburg  Thor,  was  lit  up  with  electric  light ;  the 
colossal  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great,  and  other  monu- 
ments at  the  west  end  of  the  town,  were  illuminated  with 
gas. 

One  of  the  most  admirable  instances  of  public  rejoicing 
was  that  afforded  by  the  popular  place  of  entertainment 
known  as  Kroll's  Garten,  for  which,  on  Monday  evening, 
February  10th,  3000  free  tickets  of  admission  had  been 
distributed  to  the  military,  the  receivers  of  public  charity, 
and  the  operatives.  A  prize  dramatic  composition,  en- 
titled Victoria  Regia,  was  performed  in  honour  of  the 
Princess.  "  This  rare  and  costly  plant  is  discovered  growing 
on  an  island,  and  guarded  by  Neptune,  but  is  nevertheless 
carried  off  by  Amor ;  at  which  the  deity  of  the  Trident  is, 
in  his  wrath,  about  to  exhibit  all  the  terrors  of  his  winds 
and  waves  to  impede  the  passage  of  the  lovers  across  his 
domain,  when  Minerva  interferes  and  explains  the  matter 
to  his  complete  pacification  ;  on  which  the  winds  cease 
blowing,  the  waves  cease  tossing,  and  English  and  Prussian 
vessels  are  seen  crossing  the  Channel,  joyously  sporting  all 
possible  canvass  and  bunting.  Borussia  and  Britannia  meet 
and  congratulate  each  other  on  the  happiness  and  auspicious 


VICTOEIA    ADELAIDE    MABY    LOUISA.  455 

union  of  their  children  ;  the  ciphers  of  the  Bride  and 
Bridegroom,  surmounted  by  a  crown,  appear  in  jets  of 
flame ;  and  the  orchestra  striking  up  the  joint  national 
hymns,  the  whole  audience  rise  and  join  vociferously  in 
patriotic  harmony." 

The  poor  in  the  workhouses  and  sick  in  the  hospitals 
were  not  uncared  for  on  a  day  of  such  general  rejoicing. 

The  new  Palace  destined  for  the  future  residence  of  the 
Boyal  pair  was  nearly  completed  on  their  arrival. 

The  present  abode  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick 
William  is  known  under  the  name  of  the  old  King's 
Palace ;  it  was  built  originally  for  the  Commandant  of 
Berlin,  but  in  1734  was  assigned  by  Frederick  William  I. 
to  his  son,  afterwards  Frederick  the  Great,  who,  on  com- 
ing to  the  throne,  destined  it  to  become  the  residence  of 
all  future  Crown  Princes,  and  affixed  to  it  the  inscription, 
"  Palais  du  Prince  Royal  de  Prusse."  His  own  brother 
next  in  age,  August  William,  occupied  it  as  a  residence ; 
and  after  him  Frederick  William  III.,  his  son,  who  took 
possession  of  it  on  the  morning  of  his  marriage,  in  1793, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  years  of  disaster  to  Prussia, 
never  quitted  it  till  the  time  of  his  death. 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  February  there  was  a  de- 
jeuner dinatoire  in  the  apartments  of  the  Prince  and  Princess 
Frederick  William,  after  which  the  Eoyal  pair  received 
the  congratulations  of  sixty  young  ladies,  unmarried 
daughters  of  the  various  municipal  officers  of  the  city, 
dressed  in  bridal  array.  Owing  to  the  extreme  coldness  of 
the  weather  the  customary  ceremonial  of  these  young 
girls  receiving  the  Bride  at  the  gates  of  the  town  in 
bridal  costume  was  dispensed  with.  The  Princess 
Royal,  however,  subsequently  expressed  her  wish  that  the 
youthful  party  should  be  admitted  to  present  their  Address 


456  THE    KOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

the  next  day  after  the  entry,  at  the  Schloss,  which  was 
accordingly  done.  The  young  ladies  being  drawn  up  in  a 
semicircle,  the  Prince  led  in  the  Princess  on  his  arm,  on 
which  Fralilein  Krausnick,  stepped  forward,  and,  with  a 
few  suitable  words,  presented  to  the  Princess  a  poem  in 
the  name  of  the  City,  beautifully  bound  and  illustrated, 
and  lying  on  a  velvet  cushion  encircled  by  a  wreath  of 
flowers ;  after  which  Fraiilein  Nannyn,  addressed  the 
Prince  and  Princess  in  a  short  poem  written  for  the  occa- 
sion :  a  brooch  has  since  been  presented  to  the  j'oung 
ladies,  bearing  the  portraits  of  the  bridal  couple,  in  high 
relief,  on  a  medallion  of  circular  form,  encompassed  by  the 
chain  of  the  Order  of  the  Black  Eagle,  and  supported  with 
the  Prussian  Crown.  After  the  Prince  and  Princess  had 
thanked  the  young  ladies,  and  shaken  the  two  spokeswomen 
by  the  hand,  the  semicircle  opened,  and  displayed  to  view 
the  noble  present  which  the  City  of  Berlin  had  prepared 
for  the  young  couple,  and  which  was  here  mounted  on  a 
table,  backed  by  a  deputation  of  the  municipality.  It 
consisted  of  a  silver  vase  about  four  feet  high,  on  the  body 
of  which  is  represented  in  relief  the  festal  entry  of 
the  Prince  and  Princess  into  Berlin,  somewhat  idealized, 
but  containing  about  seventy  portraits,  not  only  of  the 
prominent  members  of  the  Municipality,  but  also  of  the 
present  notabilities  of  art  and  science  in  Berlin.  The  vase 
stands  on  a  silver  slab  four  inches  thick  and  thirty  inches 
in  diameter,  on  which  a  plan  of  Berlin  as  it  now  is,  is  en- 
graved, the  outer  border  surrounding  it  bearing  the  em- 
blazonries peculiar  to  each  district  of  the  town,  and  the 
inner  containing  the  names  of  the  municipal  authorities  of 
the  time  being.  This  silver  plate  stands  on  a  pedestal 
thirty -four  inches  high,  so  that  in  the  whole  this  centre- 
piece is  full  seven  feet  in  height,  to  which  also  the  height 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MART    LOUISA.  457 

of  the  branch  candelabra  corresponds.  The  weight  of  the 
whole  four  pieces  amounts  to  about  5  cwt. ;  the  entire  cost 
has  been  30,000  thalers,  and  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
silver  contained  in  it  about  14,000  thalers.  The  Chief 
Burgomaster,  the  same  who  delivered  the  spirited  Address 
of  the  day  before,  begged  their  Royal  Highnesses'  accep- 
tance of  this  offering  in  the  name  of  the  City  of  Berlin, 
and  explained  the  intention  of  the  artist  in  the  allegorical 
forms  introduced ;  on  which  the  Prince  answered  : — 

"  I  am  extremely  glad,  gentlemen,  that  I  have  an  op- 
portunity to-day  to  express  to  you  in  my  own  and  the 
Princess's  name  the  thanks  which  we  feel  towards  the  City 
of  Berlin  for  the  great  gratification  it  gave  us  on  our  entry 
yesterday.  It  was  impossible  for  us  then  to  give  utterance 
to  our  thanks.  We  were  then  rendered  incapable  of  doing 
so  by  that  which  moved  us  both  so  deeply — by  the  extent 
of  the  lively  interest  and  sympathy  which  manifested 
itself  for  us  so  uninterruptedly.  Our  entire  journey  has 
afforded  us  most  touching  proofs  of  attachment,  and  the 
festal  reception  in  Berlin  has  formed  a  worthy  keystone 
and  finishing  stroke  to  the  whole,  and  will  for  ever  remain 
unforgotten  by  myself  and  my  wife.  And  this  splendid 
present,  for  which  we  have  further  to  present  to  you  our 
most  hearty  thanks,  shall  remain  as  a  pledge  that  the 
feelings  that  now  exist  between  us  shall  remain  un- 
changed." 

The  Princess  added  a  few  words  of  acknowledgment ; 
and  after  a  few  cordial  interchanges  of  kind  expression  on 
all  sides,  the  deputation  withdrew,  to  make  room  for  the 
members  of  the  two  Houses  of  Diet,  who  came  up  to  pre- 
sent Addresses  to  their  Royal  Highnesses. 

On  the  same  morning  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick 
William  also  received  a  deputation  from  the  Academy  of 


458  THE    EOTAL    PETNCESSES. 

Sciences,  when  an  eloquent  Address  was  delivered  by  the 
Chief  Secretary.  A  brief  but  pithy  answer  was  made  by 
the  Prince. 

The  Clergy  of  Berlin  came,  headed  by  one  of  the  King's 
chaplains,  to  congratulate  the  newly-married  pair,  and  to 
present  them  with  a  Bible,  which  it  has  of  late  been  cus- 
tomary for  every  bridal  couple  to  receive  from  the  hands 
of  the  clergyman  on  the  celebration  of  their  nuptials. 

Then  came  a  deputation  from  all  the  Universities  in 
Prussia — that  from  the  Berlin  University  being  the  most 
numerous— which  delivered  a  Latin  oration  to  their  Royal 
Highnesses;  and  from  the  answer  to  which,  given  by  Prince 
Frederick  William,  we  discovered  that  the  Princess  is  a, 
good  Latin  scholar,  having  been  instructed  in  that  lan- 
guage simultaneously  with  her  Royal  brothers. 

The  Academy  of  Arts,  in  an  Address  through  its  Secre- 
tary, laid  claim  to  the  right  of  enrolling  the  Princess 
among  its  members,  seeing  that  her  talent  as  a  composer 
and  draughtswoman  entitled  her  to  be  received  among 
them.  It  was  the  Princess  Royal  of  England  who,  some 
time  before,  had  contributed  a  spirited  drawing  to  the  Ex- 
hibition for  the  benefit  of  the  Crimean  Fund,  which  sold 
for  two  hundred  guineas.  Having  been  requested  to  set 
her  own  value  on  the  work  of  art,  the  young  Princess 
modestly  inquired  wlietlicr  it  ivould  really  le  too  tnucli  to 
expect  a  pound  for  it  ?  It  is  well  known  what  multitudes 
thronged  to  an  exhibition  containing  the  productions  of 
her  genius. 

On  the  llth  the  English  residents  at  Berlin  presented 
their  Address,  the  deputation  being  introduced  by  Lord 
Bloomfield,  and  the  Address,  beautifully  illustrated  and 
illuminated,  and  bound  in  blue  velvet. 

A  deputation  of  ci-devant  officers  of  the  1st  Regiment  of 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  459 

Foot  Guards  came  next — and  then  the  Committee  for  the 
erection  and  decoration  of  the  Gedenlce  Halle,  which  is  to 
be  fitted  up  in  the  new  Palace  as  a  votive  offering  from  the 
Arts  and  industry  of  Berlin. 

The  new  building — to  be  erected  at  the  expense  of  the 
city,  to  commemorate  the  great  "  Einholung's"  ceremony, 
is  to  consist  of  an  octagon  with  a  cupola,  in  which  will 
be  the  only  windows.  Immediately  opposite  the  principal 
entrance  is  to  be  placed  a  large  picture,  representing  the 
meeting  of  Wellington  and  Blucher  after  the  Battle  of 
Waterloo.  Next  to  this  will  be  two  other  pictures — one 
delineating  the  landing  of  King  William  III.  in  England, 
and  his  reception  by  the  Prince  Regent,  afterwards 
George  IV.  (1816)  ;  the  other,  his  Majesty  Frederick 
William  IV.,  assisting  as  godfather  at  the  christening  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales. 

The  order  of  the  festivities  was — after  the  dejeuner 
dinatoire  at  one,  the  cour  at  seven,  and  a  Polonnaise  ball 
in  the  White  Saloon  at  eight  o'clock,  which  last  must  in- 
deed have  been  a  truly  magnificent  spectacle. 

The  throne  has  been  removed,  and  under  its  canopy, 
which  remained,  a  small  carpet  was  laid  to  mark  the  spot 
where  the  bridal  couple  would  stand,  the  Koyal  Princesses 
stretching  away  in  a  curved  line  to  the  left  of  the  Prince, 
the  Eoyal  Princes  occupying  a  semicircle  to  the  right  of 
the  Princess  ;  the  space  not  occupied  by  royalty  left  open 
to  the  eye  the  highest  nobility  of  Prussia  and  the  Corps 
Diplomatique,  with  their  ladies.  The  space  kept  open 
within  the  circle,  marked  out  by  pages  stationed  at  in- 
tervals, was,  perhaps,  no  larger  than  the  largest  London 
drawing-room  ;  but  the  entire  space  behind  the  favoured 
foremost  line  was  filled  in  with  some  fifteen  thousand  of 
the  flower  of  the  Prussian  nation. 


460  THE    EOTAL    PKINCESSES. 

The  Princess  wore  a  white  silk  or  moire  dress,  em- 
broidered down  the  front  with  silver  in  a  pattern,  repre- 
senting the  twigs  or  branches  of  a  rose-tree,  and  at  each, 
point  where  the  bud  might  be  supposed  to  form  in 
nature,  a  rose  of  pink  crape,  as  it  appeared  to  be,  grew 
out  of  the  dress.  The  same  with  the  rich  pink  robe  and 
train,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  thickly  set  with  pink 
roses,  and  was  carried  by  two  pages,  and  held  out  to  its 
full  extent,  apparently  about  twelve  feet  long.  The  pearl 
necklace,  the  present  of  her  illustrious  husband,  consisting, 
as  we  have  said,  of  thirty-six  large  pearls,  and  a  tiara  of 
diamonds,  composed  the  entire  ornaments  the  Princess 
wore.  Appended  to  the  left  shoulder,  however,  was  an 
Order,  consisting  of  a  medal  suspended  from  a  bow  of  black 
and  white  ribbon,  which  had  just  been  conferred  on  her  by 
the  Queen. 

After  advancing  into  the  saloon,  preceded  by  pages, 
chamberlains,  and  the  gentlemen  of  their  own  household, 
the  Prince  and  Princess  took  up  their  position  on  the 
reserved  carpet  beneath  the  canopy,  and,  permission  having 
been  accorded  by  the  Prince  of  Prussia  to  the  High  Cham- 
berlain, Count  Eedern,  the  Prince  and  Princess  opened  the 
ball  by  advancing  arid  making  their  obeisances  to  the 
Prince  and  then  to  the  Princess  of  Prussia,  and  sub- 
sequently to  the  company  generally  while  passing  round 
the  open  circle,  preceded  by  the  Chamberlains,  &c.  After 
two  rounds  the  Princess  was  led  round  by  each  of  her 
Royal  uncles  and  cousins,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Weimar,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburgh-Strelitz,  the 
Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg,  and  various  other  relatives,  the 
assembled  company  receiving  and  returning  their  obei- 
sances as  they  passed  round,  the  orchestra  playing  the 
while  a  Fackeltanz  composed  by  Count  Eedern,  and  then 


YTCTOKIA   ADELAIDE    MAEY    LOUISA.  461 

the  "Wedding  March"  from  Mendelssohn's  Midsummer 
Niglifs  Dream.  When  the  Princess  had  at  length  "  trod 
a  measure"  with  each  of  her  male  relatives  of  Royal 
lineage,  the  Prince  went  through  the  same  series  of  evolu- 
tions with  his  female  relatives,  commencing  with  his 
mother,  the  Princess  of  Prussia,  each  of  the  ladies'  trains 
being  borne  by  two  pages  at  full  length,  as  had  been  the 
case  also  with  the  Princess  Frederick  William.  With  this 
the  dance  closed,  which  had  been  in  fact  the  Fackeltanz 
usually  performed  at  the  Prussian  Court  on  occasion  of 
Royal  marriages,  with  the  omission  of  the  tapers  and  the 
substitution  of  Chamberlains,  &c.,  in  the  place  of  the 
Ministers  of  State.  The  practical  purpose  of  this  Court 
ceremony  was  to  introduce  the  Bride  to  the  whole  assem- 
bled Court,  and  show  the  latter  to  the  Bride  in  all  its 
pomp. 

On  Thursday  evening,  February  llth,  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Prussia  gave  a  very  brilliant  soiree  to  about 
2000  of  the  most  distinguished  persons  in  Prussia.  The 
Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William  appeared  about 
half-past  eight  o'clock,  soon  after  which  a  Polonaise  was 
commenced,  in  which  the  Prince  of  Prussia  led  the  Princess 
Frederick  William ;  the  ball  was  then  considered  opened, 
and  the  series  of  appointed  dances  commenced. 

The  celebrated  "  Fackel  Zug"  must  be  mentioned  here. 

A  number  of  young  students,  amounting  to  950,  from 
the  Berlin  University,  the  Frederick  William  Institution, 
the  Architectural  and  Polytechnic  Schools,  assembled  on 
the  night  of  the  13th  of  February,  bearing  large  torches, 
upon  the  Pariser-Platz,  opposite  the  Brandenburg  Gate, 
and  having  formed  in  order,  proceeded  along  the  Linden- 
street  to  the  Royal  Palace  accompanied  with  bands  of 
music. 

H   H 


462  THE   EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

On  arriving  at  the  Palace,  a  deputation  proceeded  to  the 
chambers  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William, 
while  the  students  who  were  stationed  without  sang  in 
full  chorus  the  Prussian  National  Hymn,  "  God  save  the 
Queen,"  and  a  new  Lied,  written  expressly  for  the  occa- 
sion, interspersing  their  performance  with  enthusiastic 
"  Hurrahs,"  and  "  Hochs."  When  the  deputation  returned, 
the  members  of  the  procession  moved  forward  till  they 
arrived  at  the  Donhofs-Platz,  when  they  extinguished 
their  torches  with  great  solemnity,  singing,  "  Graudeamus 
igitur,"  with  a  full  chorus,  in  which  the  assembled  multi- 
tude joined  with  much  zest. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  William  have  since 
published  the  following  lines  addressed  to  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  Prussia : — 

"  From  the  very  first  moment  of  our  setting  foot  on 
the  soil  of  our  country,  after  our  marriage,  there  have 
been  so  many  valuable  proofs  of  sincere  interest  in  our 
happiness  shown  us  unremittingly,  that  the  remembrance 
of  them  will  remain  indelible  in  our  hearts  for  our  whole 
lives. 

"  It  has  only  been  to  very  few  that  we  could  in  person 
express  our  feelings,  and  sufficiently  thank  for  all  the 
manifestations  and  presents.  In  speaking  thus  our  thanks 
to-day  to  the  whole  country,  we  do  so  with  the  ardent 
prayer  to  God  that  He  will  confer  on  our  dear  country 
His  most  ample  blessings,  now  and  for  ever. 

"  FEIEDEICH  WILHELM,  Prince  of  Prussia. 
"  VICTOEIA,  Princess  of  Prussia. 

"Berlin,  February  19th." 

The  Princess  Frederick  William  has  placed  1000  thalers 
at  the  disposal  of  the  municipal  authorities  for  distribution 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  463 

among  the  poor  ;  she  has  also  sent  300  thalers  to  the  town 
of  Potsdam  for  the  same  purpose.  The  letter  which  ac- 
companied the  gift  to  the  City  of  Berlin  is  as  follows : — 

"  Mr.  Burgomaster, — The  reception  that  has  heen  given 
to  my  husband  and  myself  in  Berlin  was  one  so  beautiful 
and  so  festal,  the  city  and  all  its  inhabitants  have  taken  so 
lively  an  interest  in  it,  that  my  heart  experiences  the  ne- 
cessity of  finding  some  expression  for  the  warm  gratitude 
it  feels.  "Will  you  be  the  exponent  of  these,  my  feelings,  to 
the  city  and  its  population  ? 

"  They  are  feelings  which  I  owe  in  no  less  measure  for 
the  hearty  reception  and  welcome  in  all  the  towns,  and 
every  place  that  we  touched  in  our  journey  hither,  than 
for  proofs  of  interest  from  all  the  provinces  of  the  king- 
dom. This  country,  in  which  I  have  long  taken  a  most 
lively  interest,  has  by  its  friendly  advances,  made  it 
doubly  easy  for  me  to  feel  myself  at  home  in  it  as  belong- 
ing to  it. 

"  I  believe  I  act  conformably  to  the  feelings  of  the 
population  of  the  capital  in  herewith  sending  you,  Mr. 
Burgomaster,  as  a  token  of  my  sentiments,  a  sum  for 
the  poor  of  Berlin,  the  distribution  of  which  among 
worthy  recipients,  I  venture  to  beg  the  magistracy  to 
undertake,  with  full  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  its 
application. 

"  To  this  end  I  will  also  make  over  to  the  magistracy 
for  their  consideration,  the  applications  for  relief  which 
have  been  made  to  me. 

"  Your  well-affectioned 

"  VICTORIA. 

"  Princess  Friedrich  "Wilhelm  von  Preussen,  Princess 
Royal  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland." 
H  H  2 


464  THE   EOTAL   PRINCESSES. 

There  is  great  originality  of  character  in  the  Princess 
Royal,  and  she  studiously  maintains  the  habits  she  ac- 
quired in  England. 

In  Prussia  there  is  great  strictness  of  etiquette  observed 
in  every-day  life.  A  Prussian  Princess,  for  instance,  is  not 
allowed  by  her  mistress  of  the  robes  to  take  up  a  chair, 
and,  after  having  carried  it  through  the  whole  breadth  of 
the  room,  to  put  it  down  in  another  corner.  Princess 
Victoria  was  caught  by  the  Countess  Perponcher  com- 
mitting such  an  act.  The  venerable  lady  remonstrated 
against  this  act  with  a  considerable  degree  of  earnestness. 
"  I'll  tell  you  what,  my  dear  Countess,"  replied  the 
Princess;  "you  are  probably  aware  of  the  fact  of  my 
mother  being  the  Queen  of  England  ?"  The  Countess 
bowed.  "Well,"  resumed  the  Princess,  "then  I  must 
reveal  to  you  another  fact.  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  has,  not  once,  but  very  often,  so 
far  forgotten  herself  as  to  take  up  a  chair.  I  speak  from 
personal  observation,  I  can  assure  you.  Nay,  if  I  am  not 
greatly  deceived,  I  noticed  one  day  my  mother  carrying  a 
chair  in  each  hand  in  order  to  set  them  for  her  children. 
Now,  let  me  ask,  do  you  really  think  that  my  dignity 
forbids  anything  which  is  frequently  done  by  the  Queen 
of  England?"  The  Countess  bowed  again,  but  could 
make  no  reply. 

At  another  time  the  Countess  Perponcher  took  the 
Princess  by  surprise,  when  arranging  and  stowing  away 
a  quantity  of  linen  in  one  of  her  apartments ;  and  here 
again  her  arguments  met  with  a  similar  reproof. 

The  Princess  indeed  effected  a  general  reform  in  the 
habits  of  her  household.  The  chambermaids  were  used  to 
clean  their  rooms  in  silk  dresses.  One  morning  the 
Princess  summoned  them  to  her  presence,  and  after  as- 


VICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MART   LOTJTSA.  465 

suring  them  that  the  expense  of  such  clothes  must  exceed 
their  wages,  which  she  had  no  intention  of  raising,  sug- 
gested the  use  of  cotton  dresses  as  more  economical ; 
adding,  to  make  her  meaning  quite  clear,  "  There  ought, 
you  know,  to  be  a  difference  in  the  description  of  dress 
worn  by  mistress  and  servant.  I  do  not  want  to  hurt 
your  feelings,  but  you  will  understand  my  intention  at 
once  when  I  tell  you  that  I  wish  to  follow  the  practice 
observed  at  the  English  Court  in  these  matters." 

Her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  Consort  visited  their  be- 
loved daughter  in  her  new  home  soon  after  her  marriage. 
They  embarked  at  G-ravesend  August  10th,  1858,  and  after 
passing  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt,  they  steamed  next  day 
to  Antwerp,  whence  King  Leopold's  carriages  conveyed 
them  to  the  Brussels  and  Cologne  railway  station.  At 
Malines  they  were  joined  by  the  King  and  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Brabant,  who  accompanied  them  to  Verviers. 
At  Aix-la-Chapelle  the  Prince  of  Prussia  met  their 
Royal  Highnesses,  who  thence  proceeded  to  Dusseldorf, 
where  they  were  entertained  by  the  Prince  and  Princess 
of  Hohenzollern  Sigmaringen.  After  a  night  passed  in 
the  Brutenbach  Hof  they  set  off  for  Berlin,  passing 
through  several  of  the  lesser  German  States  as  well  as 
Hanover.  The  Royal  travellers  were  received  and  hos- 
pitably entertained  at  Herrenhaussen  by  the  King  and 
Queen  of  Hanover.  At  Magdeburgh  Prince  Frederick- 
William  awaited  the  arrival  of  these  illustrious  guests, 
and  escorted  them  on  to  Potsdam.  On  arrival  at  the 
small  station  at  the  Wild  Park  the  Queen  met  and  cor- 
dially embraced  her  daughter. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  Consort  were  entertained  with 
great  magnificence  by  the  Prince  of  Prussia  and  Court 
circle ;  but  they  took  up  their  residence  at  the  house  of 


466  THE    EOTAL    PBINCESSES. 

their  son-in-law  and  daughter.  After  viewing  many  things 
worthy  of  attention  in  and  around  Potsdam,  her  Majesty 
and  the  Prince  Consort  quitted  Babelsberg  on  Sunday, 
September  29th,  for  England.  Passing  through  Cologne,, 
they  embarked  at  Antwerp  for  Dover,  whence  on  the  fol- 
lowing Tuesday  they  proceeded  to  Osborne,  arriving  there 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 

We  have  now  to  record  that  the  Princess  Frederick 
William  'gave  birth  to  a  son  on  27th  January,  1859y 
at  three  P.M.,  which  happy  intelligence  was  received 
by  the  Queen  of  England  at  Windsor  Castle  just  six 
minutes  after  the  occurrence.  Subsequent  communications 
certified  the  fact  that  the  young  mother  and  her  Royal 
babe  were  progressing  favourably. 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  add  that  great  joy  was  shown 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Windsor  011  this  occasion.  The 
bells  of  the  Chapel  Royal  of  St.  George  and  St.  John's 
Church  sent  forth  merry  peals  on  the  same  evening. 

We  take  the  following  account  of  the  infant  Prince's 
baptism,  which  took  place  on  the  5th  March,  from  the 
official  Gazette : — 

"  The  baptism  of  the  prince  born  on  the  27th  of 
January,  son  of  his  Eoyal  Highness  Prince  Frederick 
"William  of  Prussia,  took  place  this  day  at  one  o'clock. 
Dr.  Strauss,  principal  Court  Chaplain,  assisted  by  several 
other  clergymen,  officiated.  The  young  Prince  received 
the  names  of  Frederick  William  Victor  Albert.  The  fol- 
lowing distinguished  persons  were  present — The  Prince 
Regent  of  Prussia  and  the  Princess  his  wife ;  the  Prince 
and  Princess  Charles  of  Prussia,  the  Prince  and  Princess 
Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia,  the  Princes  Albrecht,  father 
and  son,  Alexander  George  and  Adalbert  of  Prussia,  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Saxe- Weimar,  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg 


TICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  467 

and  Gotha,  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  and  Prince  Hohenzollern." 

The  Prince  Regent  held  the  Royal  babe  at  the  bap- 
tismal font,  the  young  mother  witnessing  the  ceremony 
from  an  apartment  the  doors  of  which  opened  into  the 
chapel.  When  the  baptism  was  over,  the  Grand  Mistress 
of  the  Household,  Countess  Perponcher,  took  the  child  to 
its  mother,  and  all  the  company  followed  to  present  their 
congratulations. 

In  celebration  of  this  event  the  streets  were  decked 
with  flags  and  garlands,  and  at  night  the  entire  city  was 
illuminated.  Among  the  handsomest  public  edifices  was 
the  Hotel  de  Ville,  which  was  lighted  up  by  more  than 
50,000  jets  of  gas,  and  in  all  the  theatres  a  gala  represen- 
tation was  given. 

The  following  announcement  on  the  part  of  the  Royal 
parents  was  published  also  in  the  Berlin  Gazette,  which 
bore  their  signature — 

"  The  birth  of  our  son  has  been  hailed  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  with  such  hearty  demonstrations  of  sympathy 
as  will  never  be  forgotten  in  our  parental  hearts.  And 
this,  we  freely  acknowledge,  was  but  a  sequel  to  the  warm 
reception  with  which  we  were  greeted  a  year  ago,  on  entering 
Berlin  as  a  newly-married  pair.  For  all  these  demonstra- 
tions of  joy,  and  hearty  congratulations,  we  think  we 
cannot  do  better  than  return  our  sincerest  thanks  on  so 
appropriate  an  occasion  as  the  present,  when  the  holy  rite 
of  baptism  has  been  administered  to  our  beloved  child. 
May  we  succeed,  under  God's  assistance,  in  educating  our 
son  for  the  honour  and  welfare  of  our  dear  fatherland  ! 

"Berlin,  5th  March,  1859." 

We    have  before    remarked  that   the    Princess   keeps 


468  THE    BOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

up  all  her  old  habits  and  vocations.  She  paints  very 
well ;  is  a  very  good  musician  ;  reads  much ;  takes  an  active 
interest  in  household  matters.  She  is  very  fond  of  gar- 
dening, and  is  in  the  habit,  when  writing  to  her  family,  of 
giving  careful  directions  for  the  training,  pruning,  and 
manuring  of  the  favourite  trees  and  shrubs  all  planted 
with  her  own  hands  in  her  gardens  at  Windsor  and  at 
Osborne. 

One  lady  who  was  much  at  the  English  Court,  says  she 
has  often  seen  her,  before  her  marriage,  coming  in  after  an 
hour  or  two  of  hard  work  among  her  garden  pets,  with 
her  apron  full  of  green  peas  or  early  potatoes,  which  she 
was  carrying  to  the  kitchen,  with  an  injunction  that  they 
were  to  be  sent  up  in  a  dish  by  themselves  to  the  Queen. 
Another  relates  how  she  has  often  seen  her  busy  among 
the  pans  of  milk  and  cream,  in  her  private  dairy,  or  with 
her  arms  covered  with  flour  up  to  the  elbows,  deep  in  the 
manufacture  of  cakes  and  pies  in  the  beautiful  little 
kitchen  set  apart  for  the  special  use  of  the  royal  children, 
where  they  mixed  up  dough,  whipped  sjdlabubs,  baked, 
boiled,  stewed,  and  did  just  as  they  pleased  ;  the  milk  and 
butter,  the  eggs  and  the  fruit,  being  all  of  their  own 
raising. 

The  birth  of  a  Princess  of  Prussia  next  claims  mention. 
This  event  took  place  at  Potsdam,  July  24,  I860,  at  ten 
in  the  morning. 

The  infant  received  the  baptismal  names  of  Victoria 
Elizabeth  Augusta  Charlotte.  She  is  most  commonly 
styled  by  the  latter  name. 

Two  months  afterwards  her  Majesty  and  the  Prince 
Consort,  with  Princess  Alice,  left  England,  on  September 
22nd,  in  the  Victoria  and  A  Ibert,  reaching  Antwerp  on  the 
following  evening.  The  King  of  the  Belgians  visited  his 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MAET   LOUISA.  469 

niece  the  next  day,  on  board  the  vessel,  and  escorted  her 
through  his  dominions.  At  Aix-la-Chapelle  the  Royal 
party  was  joined  by  the  Prince  Regent  of  Prussia,  who 
accompanied  them  on  a  part  of  their  way  to  Frankfort. 
At  that  city  the  Princess  of  Prussia  and  the  Grand  Duchess 
of  Baden  awaited  their  arrival.  They  reached  Coburg  on 
the  25th,  where  they  were  received  by  their  hosts  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  and  it  was  there  that 
they  had  the  happiness  of  again  beholding  their  beloved 
child,  Princess  Frederick  "William,  who,  with  her  husband, 
was  anxiously  expecting  their  arrivial. 

The  festivities  which  were  at  first  planned  to  welcome 
these  illustrious  guests  were  arrested  by  the  death  of  the 
Dowager  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg,  which  cast  a  veil  of 
sadness  over  all  rejoicings. 

The  Royal  visitors  remained  at  Coburg  till  October  10th, 
when  they  departed  on  their  return  to  England. 

The  loss  of  her  grandmother,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  was 
a  sad  source  of  grief  to  the  Princess.  This  distressing 
event  followed  very  rapidly  on  the  decease  of  the  Dowager 
Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg. 

After  the  funeral  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  in  March, 
1861,  the  Court  removed  to  Osborne  in  July.  It  was  at 
that  time  that  the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia, 
with  their  children,  Prince  William  and  Princess  Char- 
lotte, accompanied  the  Royal  family  to  the  latter  place. 

When  the  death  of  the  much-lamented  Prince  Consort 
occurred,  December  14th,  1861,  his  daughter,  the  Princess 
Royal,  was  at  Berlin,  and  prevented  by  recent  severe  in- 
disposition from  travelling.  Indeed,  the  death  of  the 
Prince  followed  too  soon  on  the  discovery  of  his  danger  for 
such  a  journey  to  have  availed. 

Prince  Frederick  William  arrived  in  England  on  this 


470  THE    EOTAL    PEINCESSES. 

sad  occasion,  and  returned  to  Berlin  on  December  26th, 
from  "Windsor.  Though  he  had  travelled  all  night,  the 
Crown  Prince  visited  his  Royal  parents  without  loss  of 
time. 

The  Council  and  Magistrates  of  Berlin  presented  an 
Address  of  Condolence  to  the  Princess  Royal  upon  the 
death  of  Prince  Albert,  to  which  she  replied  in  the  fol- 
lowing words : — 

"  For  the  sympathy  you  have  expressed  towards  me 
after  the  heavy  stroke  of  fate  which  has  afflicted  the  Royal 
family  and  the  people  of  England,  and  which  has  been  the 
bitterest  sorrow  of  my  life,  I  return  to  the  Magistrates 
and  Council  of  Berlin  my  most  sincere  thanks.  In  such 
a  calamity  the  mind  lifts  itself  above  earthly  things,  and 
seeks  for  consolation  in  sources  which  are  imperishable. 
If  anything  earthly  could  diminish  the  weight  of  this 
heavy  affliction,  it  would  be  the  thought  that  the  irre- 
parable loss  is  acknowledged  as  such  in  every  circle ;  and 
that  the  rare  and  lofty  attributes  of  my  dear  father,  so 
prematurely  removed,  will  be  embalmed  in  an  enduring 
memory." 

As  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  Crown  Princess  at 
once  determined  on  a  lengthened  visit  of  condolence  to  the 
bereaved  Queen  and  Royal  family  of  England.  Her  Royal 
Highness  arrived  at  Osborne  on  Friday,  February  15th, 
at  half-past  eleven  o'clock.  The  Royal  yacht  Victoria 
and  Albert  conveyed  the  Princess,  who  disembarked  at 
Osborne  Pier,  where  Princess  Alice  and  Prince  Arthur 
were  waiting  to  accompany  her  to  the  Palace. 

The  suite  in  attendance  on  the  Crown  Princess  were 
Countess  Schulenberg,  Grande  Maitresse;  Countess 
Blucher,  Count  Fiirstenstein,  Baron  Ernest  Stockmar, 
and  Dr.  Wegner. 


VICTORIA   ADELAIDE    MARY    LOUISA.  471 

On  the  6th  March,  1862,  the  Queen,  accompanied  by 
her  family  and  the  Crown  Princess,  who  was  still  on  a 
visit  to  her,  removed  from  Osborne  to  Windsor. 

On  Thursday,  March  27,  1862,  her  Royal  Highness 
the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia,  accompanied  by  Princess 
Alice  and  Prince  Alfred,  paid  a  long  visit  of  inspection  to 
the  Exhibition  Buildings  at  South  Kensington.  So 
private  a  visit  was  this,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term, 
that  no  one  but  the  Royal  Commissioners  were  aware  of 
their  coming. 

On  Monday,  March  31,  the  Crown  Princess  bade  fare- 
well to  her  beloved  mother,  and  quitted  Windsor  Castle 
on  her  return  to  her  foreign  home.  Prince  Alfred  accom- 
panied her  Royal  Highness  by  special  train  on  the  North 
Kent  Railway,  as  far  as  Gravesend,  whence,  having  em- 
barked with  her  suite  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Royal 
yacht,  the  Crown  Princess  sailed  immediately  for  Antwerp. 

On  the  morning  of  the  opening  of  the  Great  Exhibition 
in  London,  1st  May,  1862,  while  the  members  were 
forming  their  ranks  for  the  procession,  Earl  G  ran ville  read 
to  those  around  him  the  following  telegram  which  had 
been  placed  in  his  hands  as  he  left  his  residence  : — 

"  Berlin  Palace,  May  1,  9  A.M. 

"  From  Victoria,  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia,  to  the 
Earl  Granville. 

"  My  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  to-day's  ceremony, 
and  of  the  whole  undertaking. 

"PRINCESS  ROYAL." 

The  second  son  and  third  child  of  their  Royal  High- 
nesses the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia  was 
born  August  14th,  1862.  Prior  to  the  birth  of  the  Royal 


472  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

babe,  special  prayers  were  offered  up  in  all  the  churches 
through  Prussia,  by  the  King's  order,  for  the  safety  of  the 
Princess  in  her  approaching  accouchement. 

The  ceremony  of  baptism  took  place  on  the  13th  of 
September,  at  the  Palace  of  Potsdam,  his  Majesty's 
Chaplain,  the  Rev.  M.  Heym,  officiating,  assisted  by  others 
of  the  metropolitan  clergy.  There  were  twenty-three 
sponsors  for  the  infant,  either  in  person,  or  by  proxy. 
The  names  given  to  him  were  Albert  William  Henry. 
There  were  present  at  this  christening  the  King  and 
Queen,  the  Queen  Dowager,  Prince  and  Princess  Charles, 
Princess  Alexandrine,  and  Prince  Frederick  Charles. 

A  grand  dinner  was  given  by  the  Crown  Prince  on  this 
occasion,  and  he  received  from  the  Municipal  Authorities  of 
Berlin  an  Address  of  Congratulation  on  the  happy  event. 

On  September  27th,  1862,  the  Crown  Prince  and  Crown 
Princess,  with  their  children,  left  the  Prussian  capital  for 
Gotha  on  a  visit  to  the  Queen  of  England,  who  had  been 
staying  at  Rheinhardsbrunn,  with  the  other  members  of 
her  family  and  suite,  for  whom  the  Victoria  Hotel, 
Coburg,  was  engaged.  This  must  have  been  a  great 
comfort  to  her  Majesty  under  her  twofold  heavy  bereave- 
ment, to  be  surrounded  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  Prince  and  Princess  Louis  of 
Hesse,  and  the  junior  members  of  her  own  family.  She  also 
received  frequent  visits  from  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg, 
then  staying  in  the  neighbourhood. 

A  correspondent  on  this  subject  writes,  "  Queen  Victoria 
has  visibly  improved  during  her  short  stay  among  the 
Thuringian  mountains,  and  may  now  be  described  as 
almost  well.  Her  Majesty  drives  out  daily,  generally 
after  breakfast,  and  even  rainy  da}^s  have  not  prevented 
•out-door  exercise.  The  Princes  and  Princesses  often  take 
long  walking  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  Prince 


YICTORIA    ADELAIDE    MAET    LOUISA.  473 

Arthur,  a  few  days  since,  who  had  left  the  high  road  to 
climb  the  Neselberg  with  his  tutor,  had  the  misfortune  to 
sprain  his  ankle  so  badly  that  he  was  obliged  to  be  carried 
down  the  mountain  by  his  guide. 

The  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia  came  to  England  on  the 
occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  whom 
from  earliest  infancy  she  had  been  most  tenderly  attached, 
and  the  myrtle  intermixed  in  the  wedding  bouquet  of  the 
Princess  Alexandra  was  reared  from  that  used  in  the 
bridal  bouquet  of  the  Princess  Royal. 

In  the  marriage  procession  the  Crown  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Prussia  rode  in  the  eleventh  carriage. 

In  November,  1863,  the  Crown  Princess  laid  the  stone 
of  a  new  church,  dedicated  to  All  Saints,  about  to  be 
erected  at  "Windsor.  She  was  accompanied  by  the  Crown 
Prince,  Princess  Louise,  and  Prince  Arthur ;  there  was 
also  a  numerous  suite  in  attendance. 

In  1864,  on  the  15th  of  September,  another  son  was 
born  to  the  royal  pair.  This  child  was  baptized  by  the 
names  of  Francis  Frederick  Sigismund. 

A  daughter  was  added  to  the  little  group  on  the  12th 
of  April,  1866,  named  Frederica  Amelia  Wilhelmina 
Victoria.  The  christening  took  place  at  Potsdam  May  24th, 
our  Queen's  birthday  ;  and  the  King  of  Prussia  held  the 
child  during  the  ceremony. 

The  first  of  these  two  children  was  destined  to  be  cut 
off  in  infancy  at  the  age  of  a  year  and  nine  months.  The 
news  of  the  death  of  the  little  Prince  Sigismund  deeply 
affected  Her  Majesty  and  the  Royal  Family.  A  State 
concert,  announced  to  take  place  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
was  postponed ;  and  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales 
were  prevented  attending  a  ball  at  the  Turkish  Embassy, 
given  in  honour  of  the  Sultan's  accession  to  the  throne. 

A  bitter  fate  had  not  permitted  his  Royal  Highness  the 


474  THE    BOYAL    PEINCESSES. 

Crown  Prince  to  be  present  at  the  deathbed  of  his  beloved 
child,  and  the  sacred  duties  he  owed  to  his  Fatherland 
also  prevented  his  appearing  at  his  son's  funeral,  which 
took  place  June  25th,  at  Potsdam. 

The  Princess's  goodness  of  heart  and  practical  talents 
were  brought  fully  into  view  in  the  year  1866,  when  she 
was  the  means  of  establishing  the  "  National  Victoria 
Society  for  the  Benefit  of  the  Sick  and  Wounded  in 
the  War"  against  Austria,  recently  waged  in  Bohemia, 
and  got  up  a  Bazaar  in  connexion  with  it,  which  was  held 
in  her  own  elegantly  simple  and  homelike  palace.  The 
public  generally  were  admitted  on  payment  of  a  small 
sum,  increased  at  the  option  of  the  donor :  nor  were  the 
good  Prussians  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  coming  into  personal  contact  with  their  well- 
beloved  King,  who  was  a  large  purchaser  on  the  occasion, 
and  other  members  of  the  Royal  family,  who,  like  the 
Crown  Princess  and  Prince,  made  themselves  actively  use- 
ful. A  visitor  felt  himself  gently  tapped  upon  the  shoul- 
der, and  heard  a  cheery  voice,  exclaiming — "  Just  let  us 
pass,  will  you  ?"  Turning  round,  he  found  himself  face 
to  face  with  Prince  Frederick  William,  who  was  assisting 
Ms  wife,  as  he  loved  to  call  our  Princess  Royal,  to  make 
her  way  through  the  throng  to  her  stall.  This  she  had 
provided  with  socks,  gloves,  and  little  garments  of  various 
kinds  likely  to  attract  mothers,  and  a  very  successful 
dealer  she  proved.  Many  pleasing  episodes  connected 
with  the  unwonted  mingling  of  ranks  at  this  Bazaar  were 
remarked,  and  its  success  financially  was  very  considerable, 
not  less  than  6000Z.  sterling  being  realized.  Refined 
amiability  was  the  term  most  commonly  made  use  of  to 
describe  the  Princess  and  her  demeanour.  The  "  Arabian 
Nights"  were  brought  vividly  to  mind  when  the  Turkish 
Ambassador  purchased  a  bouquet  of  violets  for  a  thousand 


YICTOKIA   ADELAIDE    MART    LOTJISA.  475 

thalers,  and  begged  permission  of  the  Princess  to  present 
it  to  her,  in  token  of  respect,  from  his  lord  and  master  the 
Sultan. 

The  accouchement  of  the  Crown  Princess  again  took 
place  at  the  Eoyal  Palace  in  Berlin,  February  10th, 
1868.  Her  Eoyal  Highness  was  safely  delivered  of  a 
son  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  that  day.  Her 
health  continued  to  progress  favourably,  and  the  state 
of  the  infant  Prince  was  also  satisfactory.  He  was  after- 
wards christened  by  the  names  of  Joachim  Frederick 
Ernest  Waldemar.  The  baptismal  ceremonial  took  place 
at  Berlin,  March  22nd,  1868.  He  is  the  sixth  child  of 
the  Eoyal  pair. 

A  high  authority  thus  writes  of  the  family  life  of  the 
Crown  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia,  "It  recalls  to 
mind,  in  its  purity  and  affection,  no  less  than  the  fact  of 
its  numerous  offspring,  the  domestic  circle  which  had 
been  not  long  before  unexpectedly  and  terribly  broken  by 
death  at  Windsor  Castle."  Princess  Victoria  possesses 
all  the  domestic  virtues  of  her  mother,  the  Queen  of 
England :  her  love  of  order,  her  economy,  her  watchful 
eye  over  every  department  of  the  household,  and  above 
all,  her  unlimited  love  for  her  children.  The  first 
visit  in  the  morning  is  to  the  nursery,  and  she  spends 
as  large  a  portion  of  the  day  as  her  station  will 
permit  in  the  company  of  her  little  ones,  following 
•every  arrangement  for  their  bodily  and  mental  well- 
being  with  the  eye  of  love.  The  children  make  their 
appearance  every  night  at  dessert,  no  matter  what  guests 
may  be  present.  The  Crown  Princess  is  a  housekeeper 
whom  many  far  below  her  in  station  would  do  well  to 
take  as  a  pattern.  She  understands  and  takes  an  interest 
in  everything.  The  symbols  of  the  womanly  virtues — 
Bible,  harp,  and  spinning-wheel,  may  serve  as  hers.  A 


476  THE    EOYAL   PKINCESSES. 

spinning- wheel,  adorned  with  a  red  ribbon,  stands  in  her 
drawing-room,  not  for  show,  but  for  practical  use,  and  is 
brought  into  operation  every  day  by  the  Princess's  own 
hand.  Nor  do  her  domestic  duties  prevent  her  finding 
time  for  artistic  pursuits,  and  taking  an  interest  in  every- 
thing connected  with  art.  She  excels  particularly  in 
water-colour  painting.  Vanity  and  love  of  dress  are 
foreign  to  her  nature,  but  when  it  is  necessarjr  for  her  to 
appear  as  the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia,  she  invents  her 
own  toilette  by  the  aid  of  her  artistic  genius. 

On  Tuesday,  June  14th,  1870,  the  Crown  Princess  of 
Prussia  was  again  safely  delivered  of  a  daughter  at  the 
New  Palace  in  Potsdam,  the  news  of  which  happy  event 
was  immediately  transmitted  to  the  Queen  of  England  at 
Balmoral,  and  to  the  several  members  of  the  English  and 
Prussian  Royal  families. 

The  names  given  to  the  Eoyal  infant  were  Sophia 
Dorothea  Ulrica. 

Little  needs  be  said  in  these  pages  of  this  noble  and 
high-spirited  Princess,  in  whose  praise  volumes  might  be 
recorded.  The  brilliant  military  talents  of  the  Crown 
Prince  Frederick,  combined  with  the  German  valour, 
have  won  for  himself  and  his  consort  the  new  title 
of  Imperial.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that 
any  reference  to  the  important  military  services  rendered 
to  his  country  in  Denmark,  Bohemia,  and  latterly  in 
France,  would  be  out  of  place  in  this  work.  The  Princess 
Royal  of  England  has  hereafter  to  be  addressed  by  the 
title  of  Crown  Princess  Imperial  of  the  German  Empire 
and  of  Prussia.  But  a  heart  like  hers  soars  above  worldly 
honours,  and  can  stoop  to  the  alleviation  of  sufferings 
among  the  most  humble  of  the  afflicted. 


477 


PRINCESS  ALICE   MAUD  MARY, 

SECOND  DAUGHTER  OF  HER  MAJESTY  QUEEN  VICTORIA, 
AND  PRINCESS  LOUIS  OF  HESSE-DARMSTADT. 

JOY  and  grief  tread  fast  on  each  other's  heels,  and  are 
often  found  as  closely  allied  as  are  the  deep  shades  of 
night  which  blend  into  a  soft  and  resplendent  morning. 
Joy  and  grief  were  deeply  mingled  in  the  birth,  as  also 
subsequently  at  the  bridal,  of  this  fair  flower  of  our  Court. 
It  may  be  said  that  a  sort  of  foreshadowing  of  the  land- 
scape of  the  future  presented  itself  on  the  occasion  of  the 
birth  of  the  Princess  Alice.  There  was  mourning  just 
then  within  the  Palace,  for  the  remains  of  the  good,  frank, 
and  accomplished  Duke  of  Sussex  were  awaiting  their 
removal  to  his  last  earthly  home.  Sincere  was  the 
sorrow  of  his  countrymen,  for  they  well  knew  the  worth 
of  the  deceased  Prince.  The  following  particulars  of  the 
birth  of  the  Princess  were  made  public  officially  at  the 
time. 

"  This  morning,  April  25th,  18-13,  the  Queen  was  safely 
delivered  of  a  Princess.  The  occurrence  had  been  delayed 
beyond  the  expected  time,  Mrs.  Lilly,  the  nurse,  having 
been  in  attendance  on  her  Majesty  from  the  1st  of  April." 

Dr.  Locock  had  not,  as  he  had  done  at  the  birth 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  slept  in  readiness  for  several 
previous  nights  in  the  Palace,  but  had  returned  to  his 
home.  Messengers  were  sent  for  him,  Dr.  Ferguson, 
and  Sir  James  Clark  at  half-past  one  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  on  their  arrival  also  for  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  Sir 
i  I 


478  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Robert  Peel,  and  other  great  officers  of  State.  The  child 
was  born  at  five  minutes  past  four,  at  which  time  Prince 
Albert  was  present,  but  every  other  person  who  had  been 
summoned,  the  Earl  of  Liverpool  excepted,  was  too  late 
for  the  event,  and  awaited  only  the  issue  of  the  first 
bulletin  announcing  that  the  Queen  and  her  infant  were 
extremely  well,  before  they  took  their  departure. 

On  the  event  being  communicated  to  the  usual  autho- 
rities the  customary  salutes  were  fired,  and  other  demon- 
strations of  joy  celebrated.  At  Whitehall,  the  same  after- 
noon, a  Privy  Council  was  held,  at  which  were  present 
Prince  Albert,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lord 
President,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  other  illustrious  per- 
sonages. A  form  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  for  the  safe 
delivery  of  the  Queen  was  ordered  to  be  read  in  churches 
arid  chapels  throughout  the  kingdom  on  the  following 
Sunday. 

The  ceremony  of  the  baptism  of  the  infant  Princess 
took  place  on  June  2nd,  1843,  in  the  Chapel  Royal,. 
Buckingham  Palace,  in  the  presence  of  her  Majesty  and 
Prince  Albert,  the  Queen  Dowager,  and  the  Duchess  of 
Kent,  and  most  of  the  principal  members  of  the  Royal 
family,  Foreign  Ministers,  &c. 

As  soon  as  the  visitors  had  taken  their  seats,  the  pro- 
cession of  the  Sponsors  was  first  formed.  These  comprised 
H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  (as  proxy  for  the  King 
of  Hanover),  H.R.H.  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of 
Mecklenburg-Strelitz  (as  proxy  for  the  Hereditary  Prince 
of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha),  H.R.H.  the  Duchess  of  Kent 
(proxy  for  her  Serene  Highness  Princess  of  Hohenlohe 
Langenburg),  and  H.R.H.  the  Princess  Sophia  Matilda. 

We  must  duly  chronicle  here  the  dress  of  the  infant 
Princess.  This  consisted  of  a  robe  of  Honiton  lace  over 


ALICE    MAUD    MARY.  479 

white  silk,  made  at  Spitalfields,  with  cap  to  correspond, 
the  whole  being  of  British  manufacture. 

The  Service  was  performed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, assisted  by  the  Archbishop  of  York,  the  Bishop 
of  London,  and  the  Bishop  of  Norwich  ;  the  Sponsors 
standing  near  the  font,  opposite  to  her  Majesty  and 
Prince  Albert,  made  the  customary  responses.  When 
the  Archbishop  came  to  that  part  of  the  Service  for 
naming  the  Princess,  two  amongst  them — viz.,  the 
Princess  Sophia  Matilda  and  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke 
of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz — named  her  Royal  Highness 
"  Alice  Maud  Mary."  After  the  conclusion  of  the  Bap- 
tismal Service,  the  Princess  Alice  was  reconducted  to  the 
Eoyal  nursery  from  the  Chapel. 

The  Hallelujah  Chorus  from  Beethoven's  "  Mount  of 
Olives"  having  been  performed  with  admirable  effect,  her 
Majesty  and  Prince  Albert,  the  Queen  Dowager,  the 
Royal  Sponsors,  and  the  other  illustrious  visitors,  left  the 
Chapel  and  returned  to  the  Queen's  apartments. 

The  events  of  the  Princess  Alice's  life  during  the  earlier 
years  of  her  childhood  present  but  few  incidents  to  call 
for  remark.  We  may  mention,  however,  that  it  was 
rumoured  on  one  occasion  that  two  of  the  Royal  children — 
Princess  Alice  being  one  of  them — actuated  by  a  spirit 
of  fun,  not  uncommon  we  believe  with  young  folks  of 
even  exalted  birth,  had  strayed  into  an  apartment  in  which 
a  housemaid  was  busily  at  work  in  polishing  a  stove-grate. 
They  sportively  demanded  that  her  brushes  should  be  given 
up  to  them,  pretending  that  they  wished  to  help  her  ;  and 
on  getting  possession  of  these  domestic  implements, 
proceeded  sans  ceremonie  to  apply  them  to  the  face  of 
the  maid,  blackening  her  dress  meanwhile.  She,  hear- 
ing the  approaching  footstep  of  Prince  Albert,  was 
i  I  2 


480  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

readv  to  sink  from  confusion.  His  Royal  Highness 
entered  the  room,  and  at  sight  of  the  escapade  was 
as  much  astonished  himself;  and  on  ascertaining  from 
the  reluctant  servant  the  true  version  of  the  story,  forth- 
with represented  the  matter  to  the  Queen,  who  very  soon 
after  led  the  young  culprits  to  the  servants'  quarters,  and 
having  selected  the  maid  who  had  been  operated  upon,  she 
at  once  ordered  her  daughters  to  ask  pardon  for  the  liherty 
they  had  taken.  Nor  was  this  all,  for  the  Queen  insisted 
that  her  daughters  should  pay,  out  of  their  pocket  money, 
the  cost  of  a  ne\v  dress,  bonnet,  shawl,  and  gloves,  in  order 
fully  to  repair  the  mischief  they  had  done.  It  is  said 
that  the  young  Princesses  did  not  in  the  least  mind  part- 
ing with  their  money  :  it  was  asking  the  poor  girl's  pardon 
they  did  not  relish. 

On  August  30th,  1852,  her  Majesty  with  Prince  Albert 
and  five  of  their  elder  children,  left  Osborne  for  an  autum- 
nal visit  to  Balmoral.  From  Grosport  the  Royal  party 
traversed  the  line  to  Basingstoke,  thence  they  passed  on  to 
Swindon,  then  visiting  Gloucester,  Birmingham,  and 
Derby,  where  they  stayed  that  night.  Passing  through 
York  and  Berwick,  they  reached  Edinburgh  at  five  in 
the  afternoon.  Their  residence  for  the  night  was  the 
Palace  of  Holyrood,  and  Prince  Albert  and  the  children 
drove  round  the  romantic  town  in  the  evening.  Proceed- 
ing on  their  route  to  Cupar  Angus,  the  Royal  party 
travelled  by  carnages  till  they  arrived  at  their  Highland 
home. 

News  arrived,  on  September  16th,  while  on  an  excur- 
sion, of  the  death  of  one  of  her  Majesty's  most  illustrious 
subjects  :  this  was  no  other  than  the  great  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington. Her  Majesty  lost  no  time  in  offering  her  condo- 
lence, through  the  Earl  of  Derby,  to  the  Duke's  family : 


ALICE    MAUJ)    MARY.  4-81 

all  pleasure  arrangements  were  countermanded,  and  the 
household  went  into  mourning.* 

On  October  12th  the  Court  removed  from  Balmoral, 
and  another  interesting  excursion  varied  the  homeward 
route.  From  Chester  the  Royal  family  proceeded  to 
Bangor,  and  on  the  following  morning  inspected  the 
famous  Britannia  Bridge  over  the  Menai  Straits,  the 
Queen  walking  through  the  tube,  the  Prince  over  the  top 
of  it,  and  then  took  a  minute  survey  of  the  wonderful 
structure.  Windsor  Castle  was  reached  on  Wednesday 
evening. 

In  the  next  year,  1853,  we  find  an  extract  deserving  of 
a  place  here,  which  records  in  the  Queen's  own  words 
the  ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation-stone  of  the  new 
Royal  residence  at  Balmoral. 

"  September  28fh,  1853. — A  fine  morning  early  ;  but 
when  we  walked  out  at  half-past  ten  o'clock,  it  began 
raining,  and  soon  poured  down  without  ceasing.  Most 
fortunately  it  cleared  up  before  two,  and  the  sun  shone 
brightly  for  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation-stone 
of  the  new  house.  Mamrna  and  all  her  party  arrived  from 
Abergeldie  a  little  before  three.  I  annex  the  programme 
of  the  ceremony,  which  was  strictly  adhered  to,  and  was 
really  very  interesting." 

The  programme  is  then  given.  It  provides  that  the 
stone  being  prepared,  and  suspended  over  that  upon 
which  it  was  to  rest  (in  which  was  a  cavity  for  the 
bottle  containing  the  parchment  and  coins),  the  workmen 


*  It  was  from  the  middle  balcony  of  Buckingham  Palace  that 
Majesty  and  the  Royal  children  beheld  the  funeral  pageant  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  the  flag  above  the  building  being   half  lowered  ou  the 
sad  occasion. 


482  THE    KOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

were  to  stand  in  a  semicircle  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  stone,  and  the  women  and  home  servants  in  an  inner 
semicircle. 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  and  his  Royal  Highness  the 
Prince  Consort,  accompanied  by  the  Royal  children,  and 
her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  attended 
by  her  Majesty's  guests  and  suite,  were,  after  proceed- 
ing from  the  house,  to  stand  on  the  south  side  of 
the  stone,  the  suite  remaining  behind  and  on  each  side  of 
the  Royal  party. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson  then  prayed  for  blessing  on 
the  work.  Her  Majesty  next  affixed  her  signature  to 
the  parchment,  recording  the  day  of  the  ceremony  ;  this 
was  followed  by  that  of  the  Prince  and  the  Royal  children, 
the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  others,  whom  her  Majesty  had 
commanded  to  be  present;  and  the  parchment  was  placed 
in  the  bottle.  One  of  each  of  the  current  coins  of  the 
present  reign  was  also  placed  within  the  bottle ;  and  this 
having  been  sealed  up,  was  placed  in  the  cavity.  The 
trowel  was  delivered  to  her  Majesty  by  Mr.  Smith,  of 
Aberdeen,  the  architect;  and  the  mortar  having  been 
spread,  the  stone  was  lowered. 

The  level  and  square  were  then  applied,  and  their  cor- 
rectness having  been  ascertained,  the  mallet  was  delivered 
to  the  Queen  by  Mr.  Stuart,  the  clerk  of  the  works,  when 
her  Majesty  struck  the  stone,  and  declared  it  to  be  laid. 
The  cornucopia  was  placed  upon  the  stone,  and  the  oil 
and  wine  poured  out  by  the  hands  of  her  Majesty.  The 
pipes  having  played,  her  Majesty  with  the  Royal  family 
retired.  The  workmen  were  regaled  with  a  good  dinner, 
and  amused  themselves  on  the  green  with  Highland  games 
till  seven  o'clock ;  after  which  a  dance  took  place  in  the 
ball-room, 


ALICE    MAUD    MARY.  483 

A  visit  was  made  in  April,  1855,  by  the  Emperor  and 
Empress  of  the  French  to  England  ;  and  there  were  many 
marks  of  honour  paid  by  the  Court  and  people  to  their 
distinguished  visitors.  Among  the  rest  was  a  grand 
review  of  the  Household  troops,  held  in  Windsor  Great 
Park.  On  Tuesday  the  Emperor  and  Prince  Albert, 
with  a  numerous  suite,  having  left  the  Castle  at  four 
o'clock,  the  Empress  and  her  Majesty,  the  members  of 
the  .Royal  family,  and  ladies  in  attendance,  proceeded  to 
the  ground  in  several  open  barouches.  The  Royal  car- 
riages were  occupied  by  the  Queen  and  the  Empress,  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  Princess  Royal,  the  young  Princes 
Alfred,  Arthur,  and  Princesses  Alice  and  Helena,  with 
other  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Household.  They 
passed  under  a  triumphal  arch  amidst  enthusiastic  cheer- 
ing, through  the  streets  and  Long  Walk,  to  the  ground 
chosen  for  this  military  pageant.  At  the  close  of  the 
Review,  the  Emperor  and  Prince  passed  along  the  lines, 
followed  by  the  Royal  carriages,  the  colours  being  drooped, 
and  the  men  saluting  in  the  usual  style. 

Princess  Alice  accompanied  the  Princess  Royal  and  the 
Prince  of  Wales  on  one  of  the  visits  made  to  the  Continent 
by  their  Royal  parents.  The  Queen  and  Prince  Consort 
with  their  children  departed  from  Osborne  to  visit  the 
King  of  the  Belgians,  their  yachts  being  escorted  by  a 
squadron  of  steam  frigates.  The  very  rough  weather 
compelled  the  squadron  to  pass  the  night  at  anchor  in 
the  Downs.  On  the  following  morning,  in  a  strong  gale 
the  fleet  ran  across  to  the  Scheldt,  but  the  yacht  did 
not  reach  Antwerp  till  half-past  six  in  the  evening.  King 
Leopold  had  ceased  to  expect  his  niece,  owing  to  the 
roughness  of  the  weather,  and  had  to  be  summoned  by 
telegraph ;  he  dined  on  board  the  yacht,  but  the  Royal 


484  THE    BOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

party  did  not  land  till  the  following  morning.  Quitting 
Antwerp  in  the  afternoon  they  drove  to  Brussels,  view- 
ing the  streets  and  buildings  of  that  city,  by  whose 
citizens  they  were  cordially  received.  On  Friday  her 
Majesty  went  to  Brussels  and  held  a  reception  in  the 
Palace  of  the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  and  the 
chief  officials.  On  Saturday  the  Royal  family  turned 
homewards,  and,  while  at  Antwerp,  they  proceeded  to 
visit  the  Exhibition  of  Paintings  and  Sculpture,  and  the 
Museum  with  its  matchless  collection  of  Rubens's  finest 
works,  and  thence  to  the  famous  cathedral.  In  the 
afternoon  they  re-embarked  in  the  yachts  and  steamed 
down  the  river,  anchoring  for  the  night  off  Terneuse. 

On  the  following  morning  the  squadron  again  got 
under  weigh ;  but  it  now  blew  so  fierce  a  gale  and  the 
weather  was  so  thick,  that  they  proceeded  no  further  than 
Flushing,  where  the  men-of-war  came  to  an  anchor,  while 
the  yachts  returned  to  the  smoother  water  of  Terneuse. 
On  Monday  the  squadron  again  set  sail,  and  succeeded  in 
getting  over  to  the  English  coast ;  but  so  thick  a  fog 
covered  the  sea,  that  it  was  deemed  prudent  to  anchor  for 
the  night  in  Dungeness  Roads  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
Tuesday  at  mid-day  that  her  Majesty  arrived  at  Osborne 
House,  having  suffered  a  voyage  as  disagreeable  as  bad 
weather  could  make  it. 

The  Glasgow  Waterworks — an  extraordinary  undertak- 
ing, by  which  the  superfluous  waters  of  Loch  Katrine 
are  conducted  through  a  mountain  and  across  morasses, 
to  be  conveyed  to  the  dwellings  in  that  town — were  opened 
by  her  Majesty  with  great  ceremony  in  October,  1859. 
The  Queen,  Prince  Consort,  and  two  Princesses,  leaving 
Edinburgh,  made  a  tour  amid  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the 
Trossachs,  and  crossed  the  foot  of  Loch  Katrine  to  the 


ALICE    MAUD    MARY.  485 

spot  where  the  first  outlet  is  constructed — about  eight 
miles  from  the  lowest  point.  There  a  large  concourse  of 
people  waited  to  witness  the  ceremony.  After  an  address 
presented  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  Waterworks,  to 
which  ti  suitable  reply  was  made  by  her  Majesty,  the 
Queen  put  in  motion  the  apparatus  by  which  the  waters 
of  the  lake  were  admitted  into  the  tunnel ;  and  notice 
having  been  given  by  electric  telegraph  of  the  event, 
various  salutes  were  fired  from  the  batteries  of  Edinburgh 
and  Stirling  castles,  and  all  the  bells  in  Glasgow  were  set 
ringing  in  honour  of  the  event. 

We  here  subjoin  an  extract  from  the  "  Queen's 
Journal :" — 

"  September  15th,  1859. — I  ascended  Loch-na-Garr  with 
Alice,  Helena,  Bertie,  Lady  Churchill,  Colonel  Bruce,  and 
our  usual  attendants,  and  returned  after  six  o'clock." 

In  the  ascent  of  Ben  Muich  Dhul,  which  is  4297  feet 
high,  one  of  the  highest  mountains  in  Scotland,  October 
7th,  the  Queen  again  names  Princess  Alice :  — 

"  At  ten  minutes  to  nine  we  started  in  the  sociable  with 
Bertie  and  Alice,  and  our  usual  attendants." 

The  Royal  party  made  the  ascent  on  ponies,  one  carry- 
ing the  luncheon  baskets.  "After  all  the  cloaks  had  been 
placed  on  the  ponies  we  mounted  and  began  our  journey — 
I  was  on  Victoria,  Alice  on  Dobbins.  I  and  Alice  rode 
part  of  the  way,  walking  wherever  it  was  steep." 

We  should  add,  that  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse  is  several 
times  named  in  the  "  Queen's  Journal"  as  accompanying 
the  Royal  party  in  their  excursions  at  Balmoral,  about  the 
time  that  he  became  publicly  known  as  a  suitor  for  the 
hand  of  Princess  Alice. 

At  a  Council  held  April  30th,  1861,  at  Buckingham 


486  THE    ROYAL    PRIXCESSES. 

Palace,  "  Her  Majesty  was  pleased  to  declare  her  consent 
to  a  contract  of  matrimony  between  her  Royal  Highness 
the  Princess  Alice  Maud  Mary  and  his  Grand  Ducal 
Highness  Prince  Frederick  William  Louis  of  Hesse,  which 
consent  her  Majesty  has  also  caused  to  be  signified  under 
the  Great  Seal." 

On  Friday,  the  3rd  of  May,  the  betrothal  of  the 
Princess  Alice  to  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse  was  communi- 
cated by  the  Queen  to  the  House  of  Lords. 

In  the  marriage  treaty  the  future  husband  of  the 
Princess  Alice  is  styled  his  Grand  Ducal  Highness  the 
Prince  Frederick  Louis  Charles  of  Hesse,  son  of  his  Grand 
Ducal  Highness  the  Prince  Charles  William  Louis  of 
Hesse,  and  nephew  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Hesse. 

In  July,  1861,  the  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse  returned  to 
the  Continent,  having  previously  taken  leave  of  the 
Queen  at  Buckingham  Palace. 

Some  notice  ought  here  to  be  taken  of  a  visit  made  by 
the  Queen  to  Ireland  in  September,  186.1,  accompanied  by 
the  Princesses  Alice  and  Helena,  on  a  "  pouring  wet"  day. 
Her  Majesty  having  left  Dublin,  visited  and  inspected  the 
troops  at  Curragh,  drawn  up  on  the  semicircular  ridge 
of  hills  stretching  from  the  Prince's  quarters  to  the  camp 
proper.  On  this  gentle  slope  were  mustered  a  little  army 
of  10,000  men  in  masses  of  cavalry  and  horse  artillery, 
with  columns  of  infantry  in  the  centre.  The  Queen, 
Princesses,  with  Lord  Carlisle,  were  in  an  open  carriage; 
the  Prince  Consort,  dressed  in  Field-Marshal's  uniform, 
and  Prince  Alfred  as  a  midshipman,  followed  on  horse- 
back. Soon  after  the  Queen  arrived  the  storm  breaking 
forth,  made  it  necessary  that  the  carriage  should  be  closed. 
The  Prince  Consort  and  Prince  Alfred  remained,  how- 


ALICE    MAUD    MAEY.  487 

ever,  on  horseback,  and  were  saturated  with  rain.  Equally 
exposed  vvas  the  Prince  of  Wales  at  the  head  of  his  Grena- 
diers. The  evolutions  of  the  day  ended,  the  Queen  drove 
off  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  Stand  Station,  followed  on  her 
departure  by  train  with  a  loyal  outburst  of  cheers. 

It  was  during  this  visit  to  Ireland  that  the  Royal  party 
spent  a  day  at  the  Lakes  of  Killarney.  They  embarked  at 
twelve  o'clock  at  Ross  Castle,  amid  the  cheers  of  thousands 
and  followed  by  an  immense  flotilla  of  boats.  The  mist, 
which  at  first  rested  on  the  mountain  tops,  having  gra- 
dually cleared  off,  the  remainder  of  the  day  continued 
remarkably  line.  In  the  State  barge  were  the  Queen, 
the  Prince  Consort,  Prince  of  Wales,  Prince  Alfred, 
Princess  Alice,  Princess  Helena,  Lady  Churchill,  Earl 
Granville,  and  Lord  and  Lady  Castlerosse.  After  rowing 
round  Innisfallen,  and  coasting  under  the  Toomies  and 
Glans  mountains,  the  Royal  party  landed  at  one  o'clock 
at  Glana.  After  a  short  excursion  through  the  demesne, 
they  sat  down  to  a  magnificent  dejeuner  at  Glana  Cottage. 
The  bay  was  crowded  with  boats,  and  the  cheers  again 
rang  forth  and  awoke  the  echoes.  After  re-embarking, 
the  procession  of  boats,  led  by  the  Royal  barge,  went 
through  the  middle  of  the  Tore  Lake,  threaded  the  Long 
Range,  passed  the  Eagle's  Nest  into  the  Upper  Lake,  and 
reached  Derry  Cunnihy  at  four  o'clock.  The  Queen  and 
party  landed,  and  partook  of  tea.  On  the  return  the 
Royal  party  landed  at  Ross  Island,  amid  renewed  acclama- 
tions. At  Killarney  House  they  entered  the  carriages 
in  waiting,  and,  escorted  by  the  1st  Royals,  started  at 
6-30  to  Muckross  Abbey,  the  seat  of  Mr.  Herbert.  The 
Queen  and  Prince  Consort  appeared  throughout  the  day 
to  be  greatly  delighted,  and  repeatedly  expressed  their 
unqualified  admiration  of  the  scenery.  On  Wednesday 


433  THE    EOTAL    PRINCESSES. 

morning  the  Royal  party  drove  round  other  portions  of 
Muckross  demesne.  They  visited  Tore  Lake,  to  witness 
the  stag  hunt  intended  by  Colonel  Herbert  to  take  place. 
The  Queen  remained  on  the  lake  till  six  o'clock,  and  the 
State  barge  went  repeatedly  through  the  flotilla  of  boats. 

Her  Majesty  arrived  at  Balmoral  on  the  following 
Saturday. 

It  now  becomes  our  sad  duty  to  give  an  account  of  an 
event  which  plunged  not  only  the  Royal  family,  but  the 
whole  nation,  into  the  deepest  affliction — the  death  of  the 
Prince  Consort.  Whatever  had  been  the  cause,  the 
lamented  Prince  was  attacked  with  a  serious  illness,  which 
betokened  incipient  gastric  fever;  yet  his  condition  was 
not  at  tirst  such  as  to  create  alarm,  nor  was  this  felt  till 
the  Wednesday  preceding  his  death,  though  the  Prince 
himself  had  unfavourable  presentiments.  On  Thursday 
no  change  had  taken  place  for  the  better  ;  on  Friday 
even  the  Queen  had  no  suspicion  of  danger,  and  took  her 
usual  drive.  On  her  return  a  change  for  the  worse  had 
taken  place,  and  the  fatal  result  painfully  presented  itself 
to  the  minds  of  all  around.  Throughout  the  day  the 
patient's  strength  declined,  and  in  his  delirium  he  called 
for  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  presence  of  mind  of  the 
Princess  Alice  had  already  caused  a  telegraphic  despatch 
to  be  sent  off  to  her  brother.  At  half-past  eight  on 
Friday  night  the  Queen  and  her  family  were  admitted  to 
take  a  last  farewell ;  the  only  absent  ones  were  the  Crown 
Princess  of  Prussia,  then  ill,  and  Princes  Alfred  and 
Leopold.  Tne  Queen  and  Princess  Alice  sat  up  with  the 
patient  the  whole  of  Friday  night,  and  were  joined  in 
their  mournful  watch  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  From  this 
affecting  scene  Princess  Alice  was  carried  away  in  a  state 
of  hysterical  agitation  ;  and  when  the  fatal  news  was  made 


ALICE    MAUD    MART.  489 

known  to  her,  she  was  seized  with  a  rigidity  of  the  nerves 
and  temporary  insensibility,  to  the  great  alarm  of  all 
around  her.  Nature  could  no  more  !  It  was  this  young 
girl  who  had  from  the  first  moment  of  this  bitter  trial 
displayed  so  much  power  of  rnind  and  energy  beyond  her 
years  ;  whose  hand  had  soothed  the  sufferer;  whose  tears 
had  been  carefully  withheld ;  but  now  that  all  hope  was 
lost,  gave  way,  and  in  the  silence  of  her  own  chamber 
found  a  vent  for  the  sorrow  which  had  been  smothered 
till  then  for  the  sake  of  others. 

In  an  early  stage  of  the  disorder,  and  especially  on 
the  previous  Sunday,  when  the  Prince  was  ill  and  weak, 
Princess  Alice  had  spent  the  afternoon  alone  with  her 
father,  the  others  being  at  church.  "  He  begged  to  have 
his  sofa  drawn  to  the  window  that  he  might  see  the  sky 
and  the  clouds  sailing  past.  He  then  asked  her  to  play 
to  him,  and  she  went  through  several  of  his  favourite 
hymns  and  chorales.  After  she  had  pla}red  some  time, 
she  looked  round  and  saw  him  lying  back,  his  hands 
folded  as  if  in  prayer,  and  his  eyes  shut.  He  lay  so  long 
without  moving  that  she  thought  he  had  fallen  asleep. 
Presently  he  looked  up  and  smiled.  She  said,  '  Were 
you  asleep,  dear  papa  ?'  '  Oh  no,'  he  answered ;  '  only  I 
have  such  sweet  thoughts  !'  " 

He  loved  to  hear  hymns  and  prayers.  He  could  not 
speak  to  the  Queen  of  himself,  for  she  could  not  bear 
to  listen,  and  shut  her  eyes  to  the  danger.  His  daughter 
saw  that  she  must  act  differently, 'and  never  let  her  voice 
falter  or  shed  a  single  tear  in  his  presence.  She  sat  by 
him,  listened  to  all  he  said,  repeated  hymns,  and  then, 
when  she  could  bear  it  no  longer,  would  walk  calmly  to 
the  door  and  rush  away  to  her  room,  returning  with  the 
same  calm  and  pale  face,  without  any  appearance  of  the 


490  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

agitation  she  had  gone  through  :  in  fact,  self-control  was 
never  more  highly  exemplified  than  on  this  trying  occa- 
sion by  the  conduct  of  the  Princess  Alice. 

The  dreaded  event  soon  occurred,  and  the  Queen  was 
left  a  widow. 

After  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  lamented  Prince  had 
been  completed,  but  one  act  of  love  remained  to  be 
performed.  This  was  the  placing  on  the  coffin  those 
dear  memorials  of  love  and  regret  from  the  bereaved 
Queen  and  her  children,  three  wreaths  and  a  bouquet,  the 
day  before  brought  from  Osborne  to  Windsor.  The 
former  were  simple  chaplets  of  moss  and  violets,  wreathed 
by  the  three  elder  Princesses  :  the  bouquet  of  violets, 
with  a  white  camellia  in  the  centre,  was  sent  by  the 
widowed  Queen.  Between  the  heraldic  insignia  were 
placed  these  last  tributes  from  his  widow  and  orphan 
daughters.  With  this  last  act  of  grateful  care  the  aper- 
ture to  the  Royal  vault  was  closed,  and  thus  Prince 
Albert,  who  had  lived  in  honour  and  died  in  peace,  was 
consigned  to  his  tomb  with  every  mark  of  affection. 

The  Queen,  who  had  been  in  strict  confinement  from 
the  time  of  her  loss,  returned  to  Windsor  on  the  5th 
March,  1862,  with  the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia, 
Princess  Alice,  and  the  rest  of  the  Royal  family. 

On  March  15th,  1862,  her  Majesty  laid  the  first  stone  of 
a  Mausoleum  to  be  erected  at  Frogmore  for  the  reception 
of  the  late  Prince  Consort  and  herself.  It  was  not  till 
the  18th  December  in  the  same  year  that  this  structure 
was  ready  to  receive  the  last  remains  of  the  object  of  her 
deepest  affection.  The  coffin  was  removed  on  a  hearse 
from  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor.  The  ceremonial 
observed  was  quite  private,  and  was  witnessed  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  his  brothers  and  Prince  Louis  of 


ALICE    MATJD    MA11Y.  491 

Hesse,  who  went  in  a  mourning  coach.  There  were  also 
present  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  the  Dean  of  Windsor,  with 
other  officials.  After  a  brief  and  appropriate  ceremony,  the 
coffin  was  placed  in  the  sarcophagus,  when  the  Princes 
placed  upon  it  the  wreaths  of  flowers  woven  by  their  sisters' 
own  hands  to  repose  on  the  breast  of  their  lamented 
father. 

Her  Majesty,  who  had  been'  staying  for  some  time  at 
Balmoral,  returned  to  Windsor  Castle  in  the  beginning  of 
June,  1862,  and  proceeded  thence  to  Osborne,  where  the 
marriage  of  the  Princess  Alice  with  the  Prince  of  Hesse 
was  to  take  place.  The  Queen's  birthday  had  not  been 
publicly  celebrated  this  year. 

Notwithstanding  her  grief,  her  Majesty's  interest  in  the 
progress  of  the  International  Exhibition  never  flagged. 
With  considerate  kindness  she  purchased  1000  half- crown 
tickets  for  the  Exhibition,  to  be  given  in  her  name  to 
deserving  pupils  of  the  various  schools  of  design,  as  well 
as  3000  shilling  tickets  for  distribution  among  the  work- 
men who  helped  to  build  the  Industrial  Palace. 

The  Royal  Princes  and  Princesses  had  been  during  their 
sojourn  at  Windsor  almost  every  day  at  the  great  building. 

The  marriage  of  the  Princess  Alice  to  the  Prince  Frede- 
rick William  Louis  of  Hesse  took  place  privately  at 
Osborne  on  July  1st,  1862,  the  Archbishop  of  York  per- 
forming the  ceremony.  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  was  still 
suffering  deeply  from  the  effects  of  her  recent  severe 
affliction,  and  in  the  most  private  manner  attended  the 
union  of  her  beloved  daughter  in  a  robe  of  the  deepest 
mourning,  the  sad  index  of  her  mental  sorrow.  She  was 
accompanied  by  her  four  sons,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Prince 
Alfred,  and  the  Princes  Arthur  and  Leopold. 

The  Bridegroom,  who,  as  we  have  already  said,  is  the 


492  THE   BOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

eldest  son  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  was  supported 
by  his  brother,  Prince  Henry  of  Hesse. 

The  lovely  and  amiable  Princess  Alice  was  supported 
at  this  interesting  moment  by  her  uncle,  the  reign- 
ing Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  by  whom  she  was 
given  away ;  and  the  youthful  bridesmaids  were  her 
own  three  sisters,  Princesses  Helena,  Louise,  and  Bea- 
trice, arid  the  Princess  Anna  of  Hesse,  the  Bridegroom's 
sister. 

Private  as  the  wedding  was  wished  to  be,  there  were 
many  Royal  and  noble  witnesses  who,  with  their  several 
suites,  assembled  to  witness  so  truly  interesting  a  spec- 
tacle ;  some  few  had  indeed  been  honoured  with  invitations 
on  the  occasion. 

The  Royal  Bride's  dress  on  this  occasion  was  of  a  design 
which  had  been  furnished  by  her  deceased  father,  who  had 
taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  ceremony,  which  had  been 
fixed  to  take  place  on  a  day  shortly  subsequent  to  his 
lamented  decease.  His  Royal  Highness  had  also  selected, 
in  consultation  with  her  Majesty,  a  magnificent  series  of 
wedding  presents,  distinguished  for  their  intrinsic  and 
artistic  value. 

The  wedding  dress  must  be  particularly  mentioned 
here:  this  consisted  of  a  deep  flounce  of  Honiton 
guipure  lace,  composed  of  rose,  myrtle,  and  orange  blos- 
soms, with  a  veil  to  correspond. 

After  the  ceremony  the  newly  married  pair  left  Osborne 
for  St.  Clare,  near  Ryde,  and  afterwards  proceeded  to 
Hesse-Darmstadt. 

We  have  now  to  regard  the  incidents  connected  with 
Princess  Alice,  in  her  new  relation  of  a  wife,  residing  at 
her  home  in  Darmstadt,  and  visiting  from  time  to  time 
various  places  on  the  Continent.  Whenever  the  Queen 


ALICE    MAUD    MAEY.  493 

visited  German}7"  we  are  pretty  sure  to  find  her  daughter's 
movements  were  in  the  same  direction. 

On  the  3rd  of  September,  1862,  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Hesse-Darmstadt  inspected  a  body  of  troops  at  Worms. 
The  Prince  and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  arrived  in  the 
town  early  in  the  morning  from  Auerbach  :  and  whilst 
his  Royal  Highness  joined  the  Grand  Duke,  the  Princess 
paid  a  visit  to  the  Cathedral.  On  leaving  it,  she  went  to 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  where  a  boat  was,  in  waiting 
to  receive  her.  After  enjoying  a  short  trip  on  the  river, 
she  rejoined  her  husband,  and  returned  to  Auerbach. 
On  September  6th,  Prince  Louis  and  his  young  wife 
arrived  from  the  latter  place  at  Lindenfels  about  noon, 
where  they  visited  the  ruins  of  the  castle,  and  enjoyed  for 
some  time  the  delightful  panorama  of  scenery  around 
them. 

On  Sunday,  April  8th,  1863,  at  a  quarter  before  5  A.M., 
Princess  Louis  of  Hesse — her  Majesty  having  been  with 
her  Royal  Highness  throughout  the  previous  night — was 
gladdened  by  the  birth  of  a  Princess. 

In  the  room  with  the  Princess  at  the  birth  of  the  child 
were  besides  the  Queen,  his  Royal  Highness  Prince 
Louis  of  Hesse,  Sir  Charles  Locock,  Dr.  Farre,  and  the 
nurses.  In  an  adjoining  apartment  were  Sir  J.  Clark, 
Viscount  •  Sydney,  Lord  Chamberlain,  Sir  George  Grey, 
and  Baron  de  Ricon,  Head  of  the  Household  of  Prince 
Charles  of  Hesse.  Intelligence  of  the  happy  event  was 
immediately  transmitted  by  telegraph  to  the  Grand  Duke 
and  Court  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  and  to  the  various  mem- 
bers of  the  Royal  family  ;  the  latest  bulletin  stating  that 
the  Princess  and  her  child  were  going  on  perfectly  well. 

The  christening  of  the  infant  Princess,  daughter  of 
Prince  and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse,  took  place  on  Mon- 
K:  K 


49 4  THE    EOTAL   PEINCESSES. 

day,  April  28th,  1863,  in  presence  of  her  Majesty,  at 
Windsor  Castle,  in  the  Green  Drawing  Room,  according  to 
the  rites  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  baptism  was  performed  in  German  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bender,  Court  Chaplain  to  the  Grand  Ducal  family 
of  Hesse,  who  travelled  from  Darmstadt  specially  to  offi- 
ciate on  this  occasion.  The  sponsors  present  were  her 
Majesty  the  Queen,  his  Grand  Ducal  Highness  Prince 
Alexander  of  Hesse  (representing  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Hesse),  H.R.H.  Princess  Mary  of  Cambridge,  H.R.H.  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  his  Grand  Ducal  Highness  Prince 
Henry  of  Hesse.  The  infant  was  named  by  the  Queen, 
who  held  the  child  at  the  font,  Victoria  Alberta  Elizabeth 
Matilda  Mary. 

The  font  of  silver  gilt  used  upon  this  occasion  was 
originally  made  for  the  christening  of  the  Princess  Royal, 
and  was  filled  with  water  brought  from  the  River  Jordan 
by  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

Various  Royal  and  illustrious  persons  were  present  at 
the  ceremony. 

The  chief  officers  of  State,  and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
of  the  household,  and  also  the  Royal  family,  were  then 
conducted  to  the  White  Room,  where  a  Register  of  the 
Baptism  was  signed;  and  the  general  company  to  the 
Dining  Room,  where  a  dejeuner  was  served. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  marriage,  10th 
March,  1863,  the  ninth  carriage  in  the  procession  conveyed 
Princess  Helena,  Princess  Louise,  and  Lady  Caroline  Bar- 
rington,  the  Bearer  of  the  Train  of  Princess  Helena. 
In  the  tenth  carriage  the  Princess  Beatrice,  Prince 
Louis  of  Hesse,  and  the  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse.  And  in 
the  eleventh  carriage  the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Prussia. 


ALICE    MAUD    MABY.  495 

Among  the  presents  from  the  Prince  and  Princesses 
jointly  to  the  Royal  pair,  was  "  a  noble  brooch  composed 
of  brilliants  and  sapphires."  The  Prince  and  Princess 
Louis  of  Hesse  gave  a  bracelet  of  turquoise  and  brilliants. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  Leopold,  with  the  Princesses 
Helena,  Louise,  Beatrice,  and  suite,  embarked  at  Woolwich 
for  Germany  at  a  quarter  past  six  o'clock,  on  the  8th  of 
August,  1863. 

On  the  llth,  the  Queen  arrived  at  Coburg  at  8  A.M., 
and  immediately  proceeded  to  Eosenau. 

It  was  on  August  6th,  just  before  this  visit  to 
Germany,  that  the  formal  recognition  of  Prince  Alfred 
of  England  as  heir  to  the  Duchy  of  Saxe-Coburg  took 
place  at  the  capital  of  that  State,  on  the  twenty-first 
anniversary  of  the  Prince's  birth. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  lamented  Prince  Consort's 
birthday,  Wednesday,  August  26th,  1863,  her  Majesty, 
then  at  the  Castle  of  Eosenau,  planted  a  tree  in  remem- 
brance, in  front  of  the  Schloss  in  which  the  revered 
Prince  was  born.  The  Duchess  of  Coburg  visited  the 
Queen  early  in  the  day ;  and  the  same  day  Prince  and 
Princess  Louis  of  Hesse,  arriving  on  a  visit  to  the  Duchess 
of  Coburg,  immediately  proceeded  to  visit  her  Majesty, 
and  remained  with  her  till  the  evening. 

On  the  7th  of  September  the  Queen  and  Eoyal 
family  left  E-osenau,  on  their  return  to  England.  The 
next  day,  the  8th,  her  Majesty  reached  Kranichstein, 
near  Darmstadt,  and  spent  the  day  with  Princess  Louis 
of  Hesse.  The  Queen  took  leave  of  the  Princess,  and  left 
Kranichstein  at  ten  o'clock  the  same  evening.  Next 
morning  she  embarked  at  Antwerp  for  England,  and  had 
to  encounter  a  boisterous  storm. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  accompanied 
K  K  2 


496  THE    BOYAL   PBINCESSES. 

the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  on  May  30th,  1864,  to 
Claremont,  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Comte 
de  Paris,  where  these  illustrious  guests,  after  being  received 
by  the  members  of  the  French  Royal  family,  were  con- 
ducted into  the  reception-room  to  the  presence  of  the  late 
venerable  Queen  of  the  French,  who  received  and  welcomed 
them.  The  Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Louis  of 
Hesse,  at  the  dejeuner,  sat  on  the  right  of  the  aged 
Queen ;  the  Duke  of  Mecklenburg  and  the  Princess  of 
Wales  on  the  left.  Princess  Alice  wore  a  blue  silk  on  this 
occasion.  Prince  and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  also  in  the 
evening  attended  the  ball  given  by  the  Duke  de  Chartres, 
in  honour  of  this  occasion. 

At  the  christening  of  Prince  George,  second  son  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  July  7th,  1865,  two  of  the  sponsors 
were  represented  by  the  Royal  sister  princesses.  Princess 
Louis  of  Hesse  (Princess  Alice),  was  represented  by 
H.R.H.  Princess  Louise,  and  the  Duchess  of  Cambridge 
by  H.R/.H.  Princess  Helena. 

The  accouchement  of  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  took 
place  on  Wednesday  llth  July,  1866,  at  Darmstadt. 
The  Princess,  with  her  infant  daughter,  progressed  most 
favourably ;  the  child  was  named  Irene  Mary  Louisa 
Anna. 

By  command  of  the  Queen  a  Drawing  Room  was 
held  on  Saturday,  June  15th,  1867,  at  St.  James's  Palace, 
by  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse,  at  which  Court  all  pre- 
sentations made  were,  by  the  Queen's  pleasure,  con- 
sidered equivalent  to  presentations  made  to  her  Majesty. 
On  this  occasion  the  Princess  appeared  in  a  blue  and  silver 
moire  train,  thickly  embroidered  with  silver,  and  a  blue 
crape  petticoat  trimmed  with  white  and  silver,  a  diadem 
of  diamonds,  two  rows  of  diamonds  round  the  neck,  and  a 


ALICE    MAUD    MART.  497 

large  diamond  brooch  and  earrings.  The  Orders  worn  by  her 
were  Victoria  and  Albert,  Louise  of  Prussia,  St.  Catherine 
of  Eussia,  with  diamond  star,  St.  Isabel  of  Portugal,  and 
the  Mecklenburg  Order. 

When  the  magnificent  State  Ball  was  given  at  Buck- 
ingham Palace  in  the  same  month,  Princess  Louis  of 
Hesse,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse 
arrived  at  the  garden  entrance  about  half-past  ten,  from 
Marlborough  House.  Princess  Louise  was  there  also 
about  the  same  time,  attended  by  Lady  Caroline  Barring- 
ton  and  Colonel  Cavendish. 

Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  continued  to  reside  with  the 
Court,  then  at  Windsor,  in  June,  1867,  her  family  and 
herself  in  good  health. 

By  command  of  the  Queen  a  Drawing  Room  was  held  on 
Thursday,  June  27th,  at  St.  James's  Palace,  on  behalf  of 
her  Majesty.  At  this  thirty-five  presentations  took  place. 
The  Princess  Alice  took  her  station  in  front  of  the  Throne, 
accompanied  by  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

A  ball  was  given  at  the  Hotel  deVilleto  the  Sovereigns 
then  visiting  Paris,  June,  1867.  This  fete  given  by  the 
Prefect  of  the  Seine  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  the  King 
of  Prussia  cost  more  than  36,000£.  The  guests  were  more 
than  8000  in  number.  The  limits  of  this  work  debar 
any  description,  but  it  may  be  noted  that  on  the  raised 
platform  in  the  centre  of  the  Salle  des  Fetes,  underneath 
a  silken  canopy  the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  the  King  of 
Prussia  occupied  two  central  seats,  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
being  at  the  right  of  the  Russian  Czar,  and  the  Empress 
at  the  left  of  the  King  of  Prussia.  The  other  Princes 
and  Princesses  were  placed  according  to  their  rank.  In 
the  quadrille  of  honour  the  Czarewitch  danced  with 
Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  (Princess  Alice),  and  the  Grand 


498  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

Duke   Vladimir   with    his   cousin,   Princess   Eugenie   of 
Leuchtenburg. 

On  July  20th,  1867,  the  Queen,  accompanied  by  Prince 
and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse,  Princess  Louise,  Princes 
Arthur  and  "Leopold,  and  Princess  Beatrice,  left  Windsor 
Castle,  en  route  for  Osborne  House.  The  Princess  Vic- 
toria, Princess  Elizabeth,  and  Princess  Irene  of  Hesse, 
and  the  infant  Prince  Christian  Victor  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  having  left  the  Castle  early  in  the  morning 
for  the  same  place. 

When  the  magnificent  reception  was  given  to  the  Sultan 
in  July,  1867,  by  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London, 
Prince  and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  honoured  Guildhall  by 
their  presence.  Upon  this  occasion  the  Address  of  the 
Lord  Mayor  was  read  and  duly  responded  to.  Three 
thrones  were  erected  on  a  carpeted  eminence  before  the 
dais,  and  two  velvet-cushioned  chairs.  The  Sultan  occu- 
pied the  central  throne,  with  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  his 
right,  the  Lord  Mayor  on  his  left,  and  the  Lady 
Ma3roress  and  Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  on  end  chairs. 

When  the  dancing  commenced  the  Princess  Alice  of 
Hesse  said,  with  spirit,  "  I  am  going  to  dance  with  the 
Lord  Mayor."  But  alas!  the  Lord  Mayor  was  no  dancer; 
and,  sad  to  say,  was  forced  to  confess  it,  and  decline  the 
honour  about  to  be  conferred  on  him  by  a  Koyal  Princess 
of  England.  In  this  civic  visit  the  agreeable  manners  of 
Princess  Alice  won  every  heart. 

Princess  Louis  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  with  her  younger 
children,  accompanied  the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia  on  her 
return  from  Homburg  to  Berlin,  at  the  close  of  1870. 

In  addition  to  the  children  of  the  Princess  Louis  of 
Hesse,  we  must  mention  that  she  has  had  two  sous  by  her 
marriage — viz. :  Ernest  Louis  Charles  Albert  William,  born 
Nov.  25th,  1868,  and  a  young  prince,  born  Oct.  7th,  1870. 


499 


PEINCESS  HELENA  AUGUSTA 
VICTORIA, 

THIRD  DAUGHTER  OF  HER  MAJESTY. 

THE  firing  of  the  Park  and  Tower  guns  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  May  25th,  1846,  announced  that 
another  addition  had  been  made  to  the  family  of  our  be- 
loved Queen  ;  and  the  same  day  the  happy  event  was  duly 
confirmed  by  the  publication  of  the  official  bulletin,  which 
stated  that  at  Buckingham  Palace,  "  at  five  minutes 
before  three  o'clock  this  afternoon,"  the  Queen  was  hap- 
pily delivered  of  a  Princess,  there  being  present  on  the 
occasion,  besides  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert, 
several  Lords  of  her  Majesty's  Privy  Council  and  the 
Ladies  of  the  Bedchamber.  The  tidings  quickly  spread 
through  the  metropolis,  and  successive  announcements 
made  known  that  her  Majesty  and  the  infant  Princess 
were  both  doing  well. 

As  soon  as  practicable,  the  Privy  Council  having 
assembled  at  the  Council  Chamber,  Whitehall,  a  Form  of 
Thanksgiving,  usual  on  such  occasions,  was  ordered  to  be 
prepared  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbuiy,  to  be  read 
all  churches  and  chapels  on  Sunday,  May  31st,  or  the 
Sunday  next  after  the  receipt  of  the  same  by  the  respec- 
tive ministers.  In  pursuance  of  this  order,  a  suitable 
prayer  was  ordered  to  be  read  in  all  churches  through- 
out England. 

The  24th  of  May  had  become  memorable  as  the  day 


500  THE    EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

which  gave  Queen  Victoria  herself  to  the  British  nation. 
But  we  may  add  that  the  date  of  her  infant's  birth,  May 
25th,  1846,  was  marked  by  an  event  which  has  led  to 
great  changes  in  the  history  of  Europe.  This  was  no  less 
than  the  escape  of  the  late  Emperor  of  the  French  from 
the  castle  of  Ham.  His  subsequent  adventures,  his  be- 
coming President  of  the  Republic,  the  famous  coup 
d'etat,  his  elevation  to  the  rank  of  Emperor,  and  his 
recent  downfall,  are  events  of  much  too  great  importance 
to  be  discussed  in  these  pages. 

The  Royal  babe  was  not  long  after  baptised  at  Buck- 
ingham Palace,  the  ceremony  taking  place  July  25th.  On 
this  occasion  most  of  the  members  of  the  Royal  family  were 
present ;  the  Foreign  Powers  connected  with  them  by  mar- 
riage were  also  represented ;  there  were  besides,  the  Cabinet 
Ministers,  Officers  of  the  Royal  Household,  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of 
London  and  of  Norwich,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Courtenay  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Howarth,  and  a  train  of  official  and  distinguished 
personages. 

The  Primate  of  England  performed  the  ceremony,  when 
the  names  Helena  Augusta  Victoria  were  duly  bestowed 
on  the  Royal  infant.  There  were  three  sponsors:  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  as  proxy  for  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  ; 
the  other  two  being  his  Royal  Highness  the  Hereditary 
Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  and  her  Royal 
Highness  the  Duchess  of  Cambridge. 

Afterwards  there  was  a  State  Banquet. 

As  an  instance  of  the  simple  and  admirable  way  in 
which  the  Queen  brought  up  her  children,  we  may  state 
that  at  Osborne  a  large  portion  of  pleasure-ground  was 
appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  young  Princes  and  Prin- 
cesses. Each  of  them  had  a  flower  and  vegetable  garden, 


HELENA   AUGUSTA    VICTORIA.  501 

greenhouses,  hothouses,  and  forcing  frames,  nurseries, 
tool-houses,  and  even  a  carpenter's  shop.  Here  the  Royal 
children  used  to  pass  much  of  their  time.  Each  was  sup- 
plied with  a  set  of  tools,  marked  with  the  name  of  the 
owner,  and  here  they  became  quite  adepts  in  the  various 
branches  of  gardening.  There  was,  moreover,  a  building 
provided,  the  ground  floor  of  which  was  fitted  up  as  a 
kitchen,  with  pantries,  closets,  dairy,  larder — all  complete 
in  their  arrangements.  In  this  building  might  be  seen 
the  young  Princess  and  her  sisters  arrayed  a  la  cuisiniere, 
floured  up  to  the  elbows,  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  pastry- 
making  ;  cooking  vegetables  from  their  own  gardens, 
preserving,  pickling,  baking  —  either  to  partake  among 
themselves,  or  to  distribute  their  handiwork  to  the  neigh- 
bouring poor.  The  Queen  would  have  nothing  left  un- 
learned by  her  children,  who  were  the  happiest  of  the 
happy  when  staying  in  their  home  at  Osborne. 

The  Queen,  in  her  "  Journal,"  after  making  mention  of 
her  children,  and  when  speaking  of  one  of  her  explorations, 
which  took  place  on  Wednesday,  October  16th,  1861,  thus 
adverts  to  the  Princess  Helena : — "  Helena  was  so  de- 
lighted, for  this  was  the  only  really  great  expedition  in 
which  she  had  accompanied  us." 

On  Monday,  the  day  before  the  Princess  of  Wales's 
birthday,  the  Queen,  accompanied  by  the  Princesses 
Helena  and  Louise,  attended  by  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Bruce, 
Major-General  the  Hon.  A.  N.  Hood,  and  Colonel  F. 
Ponsonby,  went  to  London,  and  visited  the  Duchess 
Dowager  of  Sutherland  and  Lady  Augusta  Bruce,  at 
tlieir  respective  residences.  Her  Majesty  also  honoured 
Mr.  Foley  and  Mr.  Theed  with  a  visit  at  their  studios. 
At  Mr.  Foley's,  the  Queen  inspected  the  monument  to 
the  late  General  Bruce;  and  at  Mr.  Theed's,  her  Majesty 


502  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

inspected  the  statues  of  the  Prince  Consort  and  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  both  of  which  were  advancing  towards  completion. 

By  command  of  the  Queen  a  Drawing  Room  was  held 
on  Tuesday,  afc  St.  James's  Palace,  by  Princess  Helena, 
on  behalf  of  her  Majesty.  Presentations  at  this  Court 
were,  by  the  Queen's  pleasure,  considered  as  equivalent  to 
presentations  to  her  Majesty.  Princess  Helena,  accom- 
panied by  Princess  Louise,  attended  by  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  in  waiting,  and  escorted  by  a  detachment  of 
the  Life  Guards,  arrived  at  St.  James's  from  Buckingham 
Palace  at  two  o'clock,  and  was  received  by  the  Duchess 
of  Wellington  and  the  great  Officers  of  State  of  the 
Queen's  Household.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  escorted  by 
a  detachment  of  the  Horse  Guards,  and  attended  by  the 
Earl,  of  Mount  Edgcumbe,  Mr.  C.  L.  Woods,  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  .Keppel,  arrived  at  the  Palace  from 
Marlborough  House  about  two  o'clock.  The  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  de  Brabant,  and 
Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- Weimar  were  present  at  the  Court. 
The  Hon.  Corps  of  Gentlemen-at-Arms  was  on  duty,  as 
was  also  the  Corps  of  Yeomen  of  the  Guard. 

Princess  Helena  took  her  station  in  front  of  the  Throne, 
accompanied  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Princess  Louise,  and 
the  other  members  of  the  .Royal  family,  with  the 
various  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  attendance. 

Princess  Helena  wore  a  train  of  rich  white  silk,  trimmed 
with  bouillons  of  tulle,  and  bouquets  of  narcissus  ;  petticoat 
of  white  glace,  covered  with  tulle,  and  festooned  with 
wreaths  of  narcissus.  Her  head-dress  was  a  diadern  of 
emeralds  and  diamonds,  plume,  and  veil ;  the  ornaments, 
emeralds  and  diamonds,  with  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Order,  and  Order  of  St.  Isabel. 

Princess  Louise  wore  a  train  of  rich  blue  silk,  trimmed 


HELENA   AUGUSTA   YICTOHIA.  503 

with  ruches  of  tulle  and  silver  cord ;  petticoat  of  white 
glace,  with  a  tunic  of  silver  tulle,  trimmed  with  straw- 
berry blossoms.  Head-dress,  wreath  of  strawberry  blos- 
soms, plume,  and  veil ;  ornaments,  rubies  and  diamonds  ; 
and  Victoria  and  Albert  Order. 

The  Foreign  Ambassadors  and  Ministers  having  been 
introduced  in  the  order  of  their  precedence,  several  pre- 
sentations in  the  diplomatic  circle  took  place. 

The  Queen  opened  Parliament  in  person  February  6th, 
1866.  The  Queen's  Speech,  read  from  the  Throne  by  the 
Lord  Chancellor,  announced  the  intended  marriage  of  the 
Princess  Helena  with  Prince  Christian. 

"  I  have  recently  declared  my  consent  to  a  marriage 
between  my  daughter  Princess  Helena  and  Prince 
Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein-Sondenburg-Augusten- 
burg.  I  trust  this  union  may  be  prosperous  and  happy." 

The  Queen  then  proceeded  to  allude  in  feeling  terms 
to  the  loss  of  her  beloved  uncle,  the  King  of  the  Belgians. 

The  approaching  marriage  of  Princess  Helena,  an- 
nounced by  her  Majesty,  gave  occasion,  at  an  early  day 
in  the  Session,  to  messages  from  the  Crown  to  the  two 
Houses,  asking  them  to  concur  in  making  a  provision  for 
the  Princess  ;  also  for  Prince  Alfred,  on  his  coming  of  age. 

The  dowry  agreed  to  by  Parliament  to  be  bestowed  on 
the  Princess,  who  was  described  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  "to  have  been  for  some  time  the  stay  and 
solace  of  her  illustrious  mother,"  was  30,OOOZ.,  with  an 
annuity  of  6000Z. 

At  a  Court  held  on  Saturday,  May  5th,  1866,  Princess 
Helena  wore  a  train  of  pink  silk,  trimmed  with  bows 
of  pink  and  white  satin  ribbon  ;  with  head-dress,  pink 
roses,  feathers,  and  veil.  Diamond  ornaments,  Victoria 
and  Albert  Order,  and  Order  of  St.  Isabel. 


THE    EOYAL  PRINCESSES. 

The  twentieth  anniversary  (25th  May)  of  the  birth  of 
H.E.H.  Princess  Helena,  was  kept  at  Windsor  Castle  by 
command  of  her  Majesty,  by  an  entertainment,  as  well  in 
honour  of  that  event  as  also  of  her  approaching  nuptials. 

The  fete  was  given  in  the  afternoon  in  the  Conser- 
vatory of  the  Castle  to  all  the  servants  of  the  Eoyal 
Household,  their  wives  and  children,  for  whom  tea  had 
been  provided,  and  was  followed  afterwards  by  a  dance. 
These  rejoicings  took  place  in  the  presence  of  her 
Majesty  and  the  Eoyal  family. 

A  deputation  of  ladies,  consisting  of  the  Hon.  Mrs. 
Locke  King,  and  ten  others,  among  whom  was  Miss 
Nugent,  had  the  honour  of  being  received  by  her  Eoyal 
Highness  Princess  Helena,  at  Windsor  Castle,  in  July, 
1866,  to  present  her  Eoyal  Highness  with  a  Bible,  accom- 
panied by  an  admirable  address,  which  was  read  by  Miss 
Nugent. 

Her  Eoyal  Highness,  in  accepting  the  gift,  thus 
replied : — 

"  Accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  your  beautiful  present : 
it  is  most  valuable  to  me  in  itself,  but  it  is  rendered  still 
more  so  by  the  kind  words  with  which  you  have  accom- 
panied it,  and  by  the  proof  thus  given  that  you,  daughters 
like  myself  of  our  dear  England,  can  appreciate  the  feel- 
ings which  bind  me  to  my  native  land,  and  to  my  beloved 
mother,  and  can  sympathize  with  the  joy  that  fills  my 
heart  to  think  that  it  will  still  be  my  happiness  to  live 
among  you." 

The  total  of  subscribers  for  the  present  was  7786. 

Prince  Frederick  Christian  was  born  on  January  22nd, 
1831,  and  is  a  younger  son  of  the  late  Duke  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  who,  owing  to  his  claims  to  the  Sovereignty  of 
that  Duchy,  gave  a  pretext  for  war  to  the  German  Powers. 


HELENA   AUGUSTA   VICTORIA.  505 

The  full  family  name  is  Schleswig-Holstein-Sondenburg- 
Augustenburg,  and  its  lineage  is  collateral  with  that  of 
the  reigning  families  of  Denmark  and  Russia.  The  father 
of  Prince  Christian  married  in  1820,  a  Danish  lady,  Louisa 
Sophia,  Countess  of  Danneskiold-Samsoe,  which  union  led 
to  the  birth  of  several  children. 

The  London  Gazette  gave  the  following  announcement 
at  the  time  of  his  marriage  with  Princess  Helena.  "  The 
Queen  has  been  pleased  to  declare  and  ordain  that  his 
Serene  Highness  Prince  Frederick  Christian  Charles 
Augustus,  of  Schleswig-Holstein-Sondenburg-Augusten- 
burg,  shall  henceforth,  upon  all  occasions  whatsoever,  be 
styled  '  His  Royal  Highness'  before  his  name,  and  such 
titles  as  now  do  and  hereafter  may  belong  to  him  ;  and 
to  command  that  the  said  Royal  concession  and  declara- 
tion be  registered  in  her  Majesty's  College  of  Arms.  The 
Queen  has  also  been  pleased  to  appoint  his  Royal  Highness 
Prince  Frederick  William  Charles  Augustus,  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  to  be  Major-General  in  the  Army." 

Prince  Christian  had  before  this  marriage  held  a  com- 
mission in  the  Prussian  Army.  It  has  been  said  the 
Princess  Helena  first  became  acquainted  with  her  present 
husband  on  the  occasion  of  unveiling  the  statue  of  the 
Prince  Consort  at  Coburg,  and  that  the  striking  resem- 
blance he  bore  to  her  beloved  father,  had  interested  in 
his  favour  the  affections  of  the  young  Princess. 

Prince  Christian  came  to  England  on  Monday,  July 
2nd,  1866,  having  crossed  from  Hamburg  to  Dover  in 
H.M.S.  Helicon.  He  was  received  on  his  arrival  with  Eoyal 
honours,  and  proceeded  soon  after  to  London  by  the 
South  Eastern  Railway,  and  on  his  arrival  drove  to 
Buckingham  Palace.  That  day  he  visited  the  King  and 
Queen  of  the  Belgians,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales, 


£06  THE   EOYAT,   PRINCESSES. 

and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge.  On  Tuesday,  he  left  the 
Palace,  and,  accompanied  by  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  pro- 
ceeded to  Windsor  Castle.  At  the  station  a  guard  of 
honour,  consisting  of  three  sergeants  and  one  hundred 
rank  and  file  of  the  third  battalion  Grenadier  Guards, 
with  the  Queen's  colours,  and  the  band  of  the  regiment, 
was  drawn  up.  An  escort  of  thirty  troopers  of  the  Royal 
Horse  Guards  was  also  present,  and  escorted  the  Prince 
to  the  Castle.  The  Queen  and  Princesses,  attended  by 
the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  waiting,  received  his  Royal 
Highness  at  the  entrance  of  the  Castle. 

The  nuptials  of  her  Royal  Highness  Helena  Augusta 
"Victoria  with  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Christian  were  so- 
lemnized in  the  Chapel  within  Windsor  Castle,  soon  after 
twelve  o'clock,  July  5th,  1866. 

The  members  of  the  Royal  family,  and  other  Royal  and 
illustrious  visitors  who  were  to  be  present,  assembled  in 
the  White  Drawing  Room  at  twelve  o'clock. 

The  Princess  Helena  was  in  the  Queen's  private  apart- 
ments, the  suite  of  her  Royal  Highness  remaining  in  the 
adjoining  corridor ;  while  Prince  Christian,  with  the 
supporters  of  his  Royal  Highness  and  attendants,  took 
their  places  in  the  Red  Room. 

The  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Queen's  Household 
assembled  in  the  corridor,  which  was  also  occupied  by  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  in  attendance  on  the  Royal  visitors. 

The  Foreign  Ambassadors,  with  the  Cabinet  Ministers 
and  others  invited  to  be  present,  assembled  in  the  Red  and 
Green  Drawing  Rooms,  from  whence  they  were  conducted 
to  seats  provided  for  them  in  the  Chapel. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  London 
{Dean  of  her  Majesty's  Chapel  Royal),  the  Bishop  of 
Oxford,  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester (Prelate  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter),  and  the 


HELENA   AUGUSTA   VICTORIA.  507 

Dean  of  Windsor,  assembled  and  robed  in  the  Audience 
Chamber,  whence  they  proceeded  to  the  Chapel  and  took 
their  places  within  the  rails  of  the  altar. 

As  soon  as  the  visitors  had  taken  their  seats,  the  Boyal 
procession  was  formed  in  the  corridor,  and  moved  from 
the  White  Drawing  Boom  in  formal  order. 

As  the  procession  passed  along  the  corridor  and  entered 
the  Chapel,  Mendelssohn's  March  from  "  Athalie"  was 
played  while  the  Bridegroom  was  conducted  to  the  seat  pre- 
pared for  his  Eoyal  Highness  on  the  right  side  of  the  altar. 
The  supporters  occupied  seats  near  his  Eoyal  Highness. 

The  Lord  Chamberlain  and  Vice-Chamberlain  then  re- 
turned, as  before,  to  her  Majesty's  apartments,  to  attend 
her  Majesty  and  the  Bride,  whose  procession  having  been 
formed,  moved  to  the  Chapel  in  the  following  order : — 

The  Lord  Chamberlain  and  the  Vice-Chamberlain. 

THE  BRIDE, 
Supported  by  her  Majesty  the  Queen  and 

H.B.H.  the  Prince' of  Wales. 

The  train  of  her  Eoyal  Highness  borne  by  eight 

unmarried  daughters  of  Dukes,  Marquises,  and  Earls. 

The  Mistress  of  the  Eobes,  the  Duchess  of  Wellington. 

The  Lady  of  the  Bedchamber  in  Waiting,  the 

Duchess  of  Eoxburghe. 

The  Maids  of  Honour  in  Waiting, 

Hon.  Emily  S.  Cathcart ;    Hon.  Horatia  C.  Stopford. 

The  Woman  of  the  Bedchamber  in  Waiting,  the 

Hon.  Mrs.  Eobert  Bruce. 
The  Lord  of  the  Bedchamber  to  H.E.H.  the  Prince  of 

Wales,  the  Viscount  Hamilton. 

The  Lord  in  Waiting,  Lord  Methuen. 

The  Procession  winding  up  with  the  equerries  and  other 

officials. 


508  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

As  the  procession  passed  along  the  corridor,  Handel's 
March  from  "Scipio"  was  played. 

Her  Majesty's  dress  was  of  rich  black  moire  antique, 
interwoven  with  silver  and  trimmed  with  black  crape, 
and  a  row  of  diamonds  round  the  body.  Her 
Majesty  wore  a  coronet  of  diamonds  attached  to  a 
long  white  crape  lisse  veil,  a  diamond  necklace  and  cross, 
and  a  brooch  composed  of  a  large  sapphire  set  in 
diamonds.  Her  Majesty  also  wore  the  ribbon  and  star 
of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  and  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Order. 

H.R.H.  Princess  Helena  wore  a  bridal  dress  of  rich  blue 
satin,  with  deep  flounces  of  Honiton  guipure,  the  train  of 
extra  length  trimmed  with  bouquets  of  orange-blossom 
and  myrtle,  lined  with  white  glace  and  trimmed  with 
Honiton  guipure,  with  cordons  and  bouquets  of  orange- 
blossom  and  myrtle.  The  design  of  the  lace  was  of  roses, 
ivy,  and  myrtle,  and  the  wreath  was  composed  of  orange- 
blossoms  and  myrtle,  while  the  bridal  veil  (a  square)  was 
of  the  choicest  Honiton  lace  to  match  the  dress ;  the 
Bride  also  wore  a  necklace. 

The  King  of  the  Belgians,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Prince 
Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  and  Prince  Edward  of 
Saxe- Weimar  wore  military  uniforms  ;  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh that  of  his  naval  rank  ;  while  the  Duke  of  Argyll  ap- 
peared in  Highland  costume. 

The  ceremony  over,  the  Bride  was  warmly  embraced  by 
her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  leaning  upon  the 
arm  of  her  husband,  was  then  conducted  by  the  united 
procession  to  the  White  Drawing  Room,  and  in  presence 
of  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  the  Kegistry  of  the 
Marriage  was  attested  in  due  form. 

The  Royal  party  after  this  partook  of  luncheon  pri- 


HELEXA   ATJGUSTA  VICTORIA.  509 

vately  in  the  Oak  Room.  There  was,  of  course,  a  magni- 
ficent wedding-cake. 

After  luncheon  the  Bride  and  Bridegroom  started  for 
Osborne,  soon  after  four  o'clock,  after  bidding  farewell 
to  the  Queen  and  the  Royal  family.  They  left  the  Castle 
in  an  open  carriage,  drawn  by  four  greys,  with  outriders  in 
scarlet,  and  proceeded  to  the  station  of  the  Great  Western 
Railway,  with  an  escort  of  the  Koyal  Horse  Guards,  amidst 
the  hearty  cheers  of  the  people. 

On  arriving  at  Southampton  they  were  met  at  the 
railway  station  by  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  that 
town,  who  presented  an  address  of  congratulation.  They 
embarked  in  the  Royal  yacht  Alberta,  and  were  thus  con- 
veyed to  Osborne,  where  they  remained  until  Saturday, 
when  they  were  joined  by  the  Queen,  who  came  that  day 
from  Windsor. 

Prince  and  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein 
embarked  from  Osborne  in  the  Royal  yacht  Victoria  and 
Albert,  commander  the  Prince  Leiningen,  en  route  for 
Cherbourg,  whence  they  made  a  Continental  tour,  visiting 
Paris,  &c.,  and  afterwards  rejoined  the  Queen  at  Balmoral. 

The  Queen's  gift  to  Prince  Christian  on  this  occasion 
was  a  silver  service  for  the  dinner  table,  comprising  a  large 
centre-piece  and  two  side-pieces,  with  a  set  of  candlesticks  ; 
the  centre-piece  representing  tall  clumps  of  bulrushes  in 
pools  of  water,  with  swans  and  water  lilies. 

Among  the  wedding  presents  was  the  bracelet  given  to 
the  Bride  by  the  Maharajah  Dhuleep  Singh.  This  massive 
gold  armlet  had  for  its  centre  an  ornament  composed  of 
white  enamel  with  Indian  rubies  and  pearls,  and  was  so 
made  as  to  be  removed  and  worn  as  a  brooch.  The  band, 
which  was  most  elegant,  was  composed  of  diagonal  lines  of 
Oriental  pearls  and  rubies. 

L   L 


510  THE    KOYAL    PEJNCESSES. 

Princess  Christian  gave  birth  to  a  Prince  at  Windsor 
Castle,  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  April  14th,  1867. 
The  Queen,  who  had  constantly  remained  with  her  daugh- 
ter during  the  day,  was  present  when  the  child  was  born, 
as  was  also  Prince  Christian,  while  the  eminent  medical 
attendants  and  official  personages  were  waiting,  as  custo- 
mary, in  adjoining  apartments.  Telegraphic  communica- 
tions announced  that  the  state  of  her  Royal  Highness  and 
the  infant  Prince  continued  very  favourable. 

The  ceremony  of  the  christening  was  fixed  for  Tuesday, 
May  21st,  1867,  in  the  private  chapel  of  Windsor  Castle, 
when  the  robe,  mantle,  and  cap  worn  by  the  infant 
Prince  were  of  rich  Irish  lace  over  white  satin,  the  gift 
of  the  Queen. 

The  ceremony  took  place  at  one  o'clock.  Chairs  were 
arranged  on  each  side  of  the  nave  for  the  Queen,  the  spon- 
sors, and  the  Royal  personages  invited  to  be  present. 
The  font  was  placed  in  front  of  the  altar,  the  officiating 
clergy  being  seated  within  the  rails  of  the  altar. 

The  occasion  was  honoured  by  the  presence  of  Royal 
personages,  the  relatives  of  the  Princess,  several  Cabinet 
Ministers  and  Foreign  Ambassadors,  and  other  distin- 
guished guests. 

The  sponsors  for  the  infant  Prince  were  the  Queen,  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  Princess  Louise  (proxy  for  the  Crown 
Princess  of  Prussia),  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  (proxy  for 
the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha),  Prince  Arthur  (proxy 
for  the  Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein-Augustenburg),  and 
Lady  Churchill  (proxy  for  the  Princess  Dowager  of 
Hohenlohe-Lauenburg).  The  sponsors  were  ranged  on 
the  left  side  of  the  altar,  and  the  infant  Prince  was  after- 
wards brought  into  the  chapel,  attended  by  Lady  Susan 
Melville.  The  Queen  then  handed  the  Prince  to  the 


HELEXA   AUGUSTA   YICTOEIA.  511 

Archbishop,  and  named  him  Christian  Victor  Albert 
Ludwig  Ernest  Anton. 

Her  Majesty,  accompanied  by  the  Eoyal  and  distin- 
guished guests,  afterwards  proceeded  to  the  Green  Drawing 
Eoom,  where  the  baptismal  registry  was  completed. 
Luncheon  was  served  for  the  Royal  family  in  the  Oak 
Eoom,  and  for  the  other  guests  in  the  Dining  Eoom. 
During  the  collation  the  Lord  Steward  gave  the  following 
toasts — "Prince  Christian  Victor  of  Schleswig-Holstein," 
"  The  Queen,"  "Their  Eoyal  Highnesses  the  Prince  and 
Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein." 

Prince  and  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein, 
attended  by  Lieut.-Col.  and  Mrs.  G.  G.  Gordon,  left 
Frogmore  House,  June  24th,  en  route  for  the  Con- 
tinent, on  a  visit  to  the  Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein- 
Augustenburg,  and  other  members  of  Prince  Christian's 
family  in  Silesia.  Their  infant  son,  Prince  Christian 
Victor,  remaining  at  Windsor  Castle  during  the  absence 
of  his  parents. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein 
arrived  at  Dover  15th  August,  1867,  on  their  return  from 
the  Continent,  and  proceeded  shortly  after  by  the  South- 
eastern Eailway,  on  their  way  to  Windsor.  Their  Eoyal 
Highnesses,  who  were  attired  in  mourning,  arrived  at  the 
Windsor  station  at  7.40  the  same  evening,  and  on  quitting 
the  train  drove  at  once  to  Frogmore  House. 

Prince  and  Princess  Christian  entertained  Princess 
Louise,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  and  a  distinguished 
circle  at  dinner  at  Frogmore  Lodge,  on  the  23rd  November, 
1867.  Their  Eoyal  Highnesses  afterwards  had  an  evening 
party,  at  which  Prince  Arthur  and  Prince  Leopold  were 
present. 

On  the  following  Sunday  the  Prince  and  Princess,  the 
L  L  2 


512  THE    KOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

Duke  of  Cambridge,  and  Princess  Henrietta  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  attended  Divine  service  in  the  private  chapel  of 
Windsor  Castle  ;  and  on  the  next  day  the  Prince  and 
Princess  left  Frogmore  Lodge,  on  a  visit  to  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Marlborough,  at  Blenheim  Palace. 

After  their  return  from  this  visit,  the  Prince  and  Prin- 
cess Christian  paid  a  visit  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
"Wales  at  Sandringham.  The  Duke  and  Duchess  d' Aumale 
at  the  same  time  visited  Sandringham,  where  many  dis- 
tinguished guests  had  then  assembled  to  celebrate  her 
Royal  Highness  the  Princess's  birthday.  The  Prince  met 
their  Royal  Highnesses  at  Wolverton  Station  on  the  2nd 
December,  and  the  children  assembled  to  celebrate  the 
birthday  received  the  Royal  party  with  loud  acclamations. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  Christian,  and  Princess 
Henrietta  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  left  Frogmore  Lodge 
Dec.  17th,  1867,  and  after  paying  a  visit  to  M.  and 
Madame  Van  de  Weyer,  at  New  Lodge,  Wenkfield, 
and  to  Earl  Cowley  at  Draycot,  proceeded  to 
Osborrie  House  on  a  visit  to  the  Queen,  to  pass  the 
Christmas. 

On  Christmas  Eve  the  Queen  gave  a  Christmas 
tree  to  the  children  of  the  Whippingham  Schools. 
Her  Majesty,  accompanied  by  Prince  and  Princess 
Christian,  Princesses  Louise  and  Beatrice,  Princes  Arthur 
and  Leopold,  and  the  Princess  Henrietta  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  and  attended  by  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
her  suite,  entered  the  servants'  hall,  where  the  children 
were  assembled.  Here  her  Majesty,  assisted  by  the 
members  of  the  Royal  family,  distributed  the  gifts.  Re- 
freshments were  also  given  to  the  labourers  on  the  Royal 
demesne. 

The  Duke  of  St.  Albans  was  married  to  Miss  Sybil 


HELENA   AUGUSTA   VICTOEIA.  513 

Grey  on  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  Queen  Victoria's 
accession,  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's.  Among  the 
guests  on  this  occasion  were  Prince  and  Princess  Christian 
and  Princess  Louise,  who  came  to  London  from  Windsor, 
and  honoured  the  breakfast  with  their  presence.  There  were 
Royal  gifts,  too,  to  the  fair  bride :  the  Queen  gave  a  gold 
chain  and  locket,  with  a  cross  in  rubies  studded  with 
diamonds,  and  two  valuable  Indian  shawls.  The  Prince 
of  Wales  made  some  costly  presents,  Prince  and  Princess 
Louis  of  Hesse  gave  a  large  gold  locket  with  ruby  centre  ; 
Princess  Christian  a  handsome  china  vase,  Princess  Louise 
a  lapis-lazuli  and  pearl  locket. 

The  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Holstein  gave  birth 
to  a  son  at  Frogmore  House,  Windsor,  February  26th, 
1869.  This  gratifying  intelligence,  accompanied  by  the 
assurance  that  mother  and  infant  were  perfectly  well,  was 
no  sooner  received  by  the  Queen,  than  her  Majesty  and 
the  Royal  family  left  Osborne  for  Windsor.  There  they 
were  met  at  the  station  by  Prince  Christian,  who  accom- 
panied the  Queen  and  Princess  Louise  to  Frogmore 
House,  then,  having  visited  the  Princess  Christian  and 
taken  luncheon,  they  proceeded  to  the  Castle.  The  Queen's 
visits  were  afterwards  very  frequent  to  her  daughter. 

The  baptismal  names  of  the  infant  Prince  were  Albert 
John. 

The  Queen  received  intelligence,  on  the  20th  March, 
1869,  of  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein- 
Augustenburg,  father  of  Prince  Christian,  which  took 
place  at  Prinkenau,  in  Silesia.  Court  mourning  was 
ordered  on  the  receipt  of  this  sad  news. 

The  Queen  and  the  Boyal  family  visited  the  Royal 
mausoleum  at  Frogmore  on  Tuesday,  the  eighth  anni- 
versary of  the  death  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent. 


5i  THE   EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Prince  Christian  of  Schleswig-Hoistein  returned,  25th 
March,  1869,  to  Frogmore  House,  from  attending  the 
funeral  of  his  father  on  the  Continent. 

Prince  and  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Hoistein, 
accompanied  by  their  two  children,  and  attended  by  Lady 
Susan  Melville  and  Colonel  Gordon,  left  Frogmore 
House  for  London,  en  route  for  Balmoral  Castle,  on 
a  visit  to  the  Queen.  Upon  the  arrival  of  their  Royal 
Highnesses  at  the  Euston  terminus,  the  Princess  felt 
unequal  to  the  fatigue  of  so  long  a  journey  ;  and  symptoms 
being  apparent  of  a  return  of  the  indisposition  which  pre- 
vented Princess  Christian  from  accompanying  the  Queen 
to  the  Highlands,  it  was  arranged,  by  the  advice  of  Sir 
William  Jenner,  that  their  Royal  Highnesses  should  return 
to  Frogmore.  The  Princess  was  sufficiently  recovered  to 
drive  in  the  grounds  of  Frogmore  on  the  following  day. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  visited  her  Royal  Highness  early  in 
the  day.  Dr.  Fairbank,  her  Majesty's  surgeon,  who  had 
left  Windsor  for  Paris,  was  telegraphed  for  to  be  in  atten- 
dance upon  the  Princess,  who,  in  the  meanwhile,  was  under 
the  care  of  Sir  William  Jenner.  A  Queen's  messenger  pro- 
ceeded to  Scotland  with  intelligence  of  the  sudden  indis- 
position of  her  Royal  Highness.  The  Princess  con- 
tinued to  regain  strength,  and  Prince  Christian  went  on  a 
visit  to  the  Queen  at  Balmoral,  the  Princess  remaining  at 
Frogmore  House. 

In  November,  1869,  occurred  the  marriages  of  the 
Marquis  of  Lansdowne  with  Lady  Maud  Hamilton,  and 
the  Marquis  of  Blandford  with  the  Lady  Alberta 
Hamilton,  daughters  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Aber- 
corn,  which  were  celebrated  at  Westminster  Abbey  in 
presence  of  a  Royal  and  noble  assemblage  ;  there  being 
among  others  present  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales 


HELENA   AUGUSTA   YICTOEIA.  515 

and  Prince  and  Princess  Christian.  Each  of  the  noble 
brides  had  six  bridesmaids,  and  the  gifts  on  the  occasion 
to  the  fair  brides  (of  whom  one,  Lady  Alberta,  was  god- 
child of  the  late  Prince  Consort)  were  both  costly  and 
magnificent. 

On  Monday,  December  13th,  1869,  Princess  Christian 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  new  chancel  in  the  parish 
church  of  New  Windsor.  Prince  Christian  was  present 
at  the  ceremony.  Their  Royal  Highnesses  dined  with 
the  Queen. 

His  Boyal  Highness  is  now  Lord  High  Steward  of 
Windsor — an  office  never  before  filled  since  the  death  of 
the  late  Prince  Consort. 


516 


LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA. 

PBINCESS  LOUISE,  the  fourth  daughter  of  our  gracious 
Sovereign,  whose  name  is  at  this  time  on  the  lip  of  every 
young  lady  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  who,  being  on 
the  eve  of  her  union  with  the  object  of  her  cherished  at- 
tachment, engages  the  sympathy  of  all  her  sex — the 
Princess  Louise  is  generally  considered  as  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  accomplished  of  the  daughters  of  her  Majesty. 
Her  advantages  have  certainly  been  great,  for  she  has 
necessarily  been  much  more  in  the  society  of  her  beloved 
mother  than  any  of  her  other  children,  and  has  proved 
one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  consolation  to  her  under 
her  heavy  bereavement.  Every  incident  of  the  lives  of 
this  Royal  family  of  sister  Princesses  is  deserving  of 
record,  but  limited  as  this  work  must  be,  we  must  be 
content  to  select  a  few  points  which  demand  especial 
notice. 

The  birth  of  the  Princess  took  place  on  the  morning 
of  March  18th,  1848,  at  Buckingham  Palace. 

In  the  room  with  her  Majesty  were  Prince  Albert,  Dr. 
Locock,  and  Mrs.  Lilly,  the  monthly  nurse.  In  the 
adjoining  apartment  were  the  other  medical  attendants,  Sir 
James  Clark  and  Dr.  Ferguson.  The  Duchess  of  Kent  was 
present  with  the  lady  in  waiting  on  the  Queen ;  also  the 
ministers  and  officers  of  State  summoned  on  the  occasion. 
Her  Majesty's  progress  to  recovery  was  happily  so 
favourable  that  but  few  bulletins  were  issued. 

The  following  "  Form  of  Prayer  and  Thanksgiving"  was 


LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA.  517 

ordered  to  be  read  in  all  churches  and  chapels  in  the 
Kingdom  on  Sunday,  the  26th  March. 

"  Almighty  and  merciful  God,  by  whose  Providence 
the  whole  world  is  governed  and  preserved  ;  we  yield 
Thee  hearty  thanks  that  it  hath  pleased  Thee  to  deliver 
Thy  servant,  our  Sovereign  Lady  the  Queen,  from  the 
perils  of  childbirth,  and  to  make  her  a  joyful  mother. 
We  humbly  beseech  Thee  to  keep  her  under  Thy  fatherly 
care  and  protection ;  and  enable  her  in  the  hour  of  weak- 
ness to  feel  the  support  of  Thine  everlasting  arm.  De- 
fend the  infant  Princess  from  all  dangers  which  may 
happen  to  the  body,  and  from  all  evil  which  may  assault 
and  hurt  the  soul ;  and  grant  that  as  she  grows  in  years 
she  may  grow  in  grace,  and  in  every  Christian  virtue.  Let 
Thy  continual  help  preserve  our  Queen  and  her  Royal 
Consort ;  that  Thou  being  their  ruler  and  guide  they  may 
so  pass  through  things  temporal  that  they  finally  lose 
not  the  things  eternal. 

"  And  grant,  0  Lord,  that  Thy  goodness  to  our  land 
may  so  affect  the  hearts  of  us,  Thy  people,  that  we  may 
show  our  thankfulness  by  ready  obedience  to  Thy  will, 
by  dutiful  allegiance  to  our  Sovereign,  and  by  Christian 
charity,  one  towards  another,  that  so  living  in  the  faith 
of  Thy  dear  Son,  who  loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us, 
we  may  be,  indeed,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,  and 
shew  forth  Thy  praise,  who  hast  called  us  to  Thy  king- 
dom and  glory.  Grant  this,  O  Heavenly  Father,  for 
Jesus  Christ's  sake,  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour. 
Amen." 

The  baptism  of  the  Princess  took  place  in  the  Chapel 
of  Buckingham  Palace. 

The  sponsors  were  his  Serene  Highness  the  Duke 
Gustavus  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  (represented  by  the 


518  THE    KOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Prince  Consort),  the  reigning  Duchess  of  Saxe-Meiningen 
(represented  by  the  Queen-Dowager),  and  the  Hereditary 
Duchess  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz  (represented  by  the 
Duchess  of  Cambridge).  The  baptismal  service  was 
performed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  the 
Queen-Dowager  named  the  Princess,  Louise  Caroline 
Alberta. 

On  Thursday,  March  18th,  1849,  a  juvenile  party  was 
given  at  Buckingham  Palace,  on  the  occasion  of  the  little 
Princess  having  arrived  at  the  first  anniversary  of  her 
birth.  And  here  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  aged  nurse 
of  the  Marquis  of  Lome  the  other  day  reminded  him, 
when  he  kindly  called  to  see  her  in  her  late  illness,  that 
he  had  to  thank  her  for  being  the  first  person  who  took 
him,  when  a  child,  to  see  the  Princess  at  Buckingham 
Palace!  Was  it  perhaps  on  this  very  *  occasion  ?  Of 
the  young  "  Heir  of  Argyll"  the  Queen  thus  speaks  in  her 
Journal,  when  making  a  visit  to  Inverary  Castle,  little 
imagining  that  he  was  destined  to  become  her  future  son- 
in-law 

"  Outside  stood  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  just  two  years  old, 
a  dear,  white,  fat,  fair  little  fellow,  with  reddish  hair,  but 
very  delicate  features  ;  like  both  his  father  and  mother  ;  he 
is  such  a  merry,  independent  little  child.  He  had  a  black 
velvet  dress  and  jacket,  with  a  '  sporran'  scarf  and  High- 
land bonnet." 

Her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert,  with  the  Eoyal  children, 
on  March  23rd,  1850,  visited  the  New  Palace  at  West- 
minster, the  New  House  of  Commons,  the  Centre  Hall, 
St.  Stephen's  Hall,  the  Peers'  Library,  and  the  frescoes 
then  in  progress  of  execution. 

The  Queen  and  the  Prince,  with  the  younger  members 
of  the  Royal  family,  on  Friday  the  20th  April,  inspected 


LOUISE    CAROLINE    ALBERTA.  519 

the  presents  sent  to  her  Majesty  by  the  Emperor  of 
Morocco,  consisting  of  nine  barbs,  with  the  dress  saddles 
of  the  country  and  horse  furniture  complete.  These  pre- 
sents were  delivered  to  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert byHadj 
Abdallah  Lamartz,  Kaid  Abdekrim,  and  Hassan  Boocheta. 
On  the  following  morning  three  of  the  horses  were  in- 
spected in  the  Riding  School,  when  Abdallah  Lamartz 
and  Kaid  Abdekrim,  together  with  a  groom,  exhibited 
feats  of  horsemanship  with  which  the  Queen  and  Prince 
and  the  younger  members  of  the  Royal  family  were  much 
gratified. 

The  Queen  gave  a  State  Ball  on  Wednesday,  June 
29th,  1850,  at  which  all  the  members  of  the  Royal  family 
were  present. 

The  Court  at  Osborne,  July  27tk,  1850. — On  Friday 
the  Queen  visited  Carisbrook  Castle  with  Prince  Albert 
and  some  of  the  Royal  children  ;  not  forgetting  the 
window  where  Charles  I.  tried  to  make  his  escape. 

Her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert,  with  the  younger 
members  of  the  Royal  family,  left  Buckingham  Palace  for 
Balmoral,  on  the  7th  August,  I860.  Her  Majesty  pro- 
fited by  this  occasion  to  review  the  Volunteers  of  Scotland 
in  the  Queen's  Park,  Edinburgh. 

The  quiet  sojourn  of  the  Court  at  Balmoral  wras  not 
interrupted  by  any  circumstances  needing  record.  The 
Court  left  Balmoral  on  the  15th  and  returned  to  Osborne? 
which  was  left  a  few  days  afterwards  for  a  visit  to  Ger- 
many. An  account  of  which  has  already  been  given  in 
the  memoir  of  the  Princess  Royal. 

On  Christmas  Eve  this  year,  by  her  Majesty's  com- 
mand, the  children  of  the  workmen  and  labourers  on  the 
Osborne  estate  assembled  in  the  servants'  hall  at  Osborne, 
where  a  Christmas  tree  with  gifts  was  arranged.  At  half- 


520  THE    ROYAL    PEINCESSES. 

past  four  o'clock  the  Queen,  accompanied  by  the  members 
of  the  Royal  family,  proceeded  to  the  hall,  and  assisted 
by  the  Princes  and  Princesses,  distributed  the  presents  to 
the  children,  which  consisted  of  articles  of  wearing  apparel, 
books,  toys,  &c.  The  Queen  subsequently  gave  the 
labouring  men  and  women  great  coats,  blankets,  and 
other  articles. 

The  following  year,  1861,  was  one  of  great  trial  to  our 
excellent  Queen  and  all  the  lloyal  family.  The  first  grief 
which  she  was  called  upon  to  suffer  was  the  loss  of  her 
mother,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  who  died  on  the  16th  of 
March,  after  a  short  illness.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  the  Prince  Consort  was  taken  ill,  and  although  no 
fatal  issue  was  at  first  dreaded,  it  too  soon  became  mani- 
fest that  his  days  were  numbered.  To  the  intense  sorrow 
of  her  Majesty  and  the  lloyal  family,  as  well  as  to  her 
subjects  throughout  the  United  Kingdom,  the  Prince 
breathed  his  last  on  the  14th  of  December.  This  sad 
event  had  the  effect  of  withdrawing  the  Queen  in  a 
great  degree  from  appearing  in  public;  her  chief  con- 
solation being  in  the  affectionate  care  and  attentions  of 
her  children,  conspicuous  among  whom  were  the  Princesses 
Alice  and  Louise. 

During  the  Queen's  visit  to  Germany  in  1863,  Princess 
Louise  remained  at  Osborne,  under  the  care  of  Lady 
Caroline  Barrington,  the  Hon.  Horatia  Stopford,  and 
Lieut.-Col.  Cavendish. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Mrs.  Thorny  eroft  was 
appointed  instructress  in  the  art  of  sculpture  to  the 
young  Princesses.  This  accomplished  artist  must  feel 
very  proud  of  the  eminent  rank  which  her  pupils 
eventually  attained.  Of  the  talents  exhibited  by  Princess 
Louise  we  shall  have  more  to  say  elsewhere. 


LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA.          521 

Early  in  September,  we  are  informed  that  her  Royal 
Highness  honoured  Sir  James  Clark  with  a  visit  at 
Eagle's  Nest,  Bournemouth,  accompanied  by  Lady  C. 
Barrington,  the  Hon.  Horatia  Stopford,  and  others  in 
attendance  upon  her.  The  Princess  arrived  at  Bourne- 
mouth in  the  Elfin  steam-yacht,  and  was  received  at  the 
pier  by  Sir  James  Clark,  who  conducted  her  to  the 
Eagle's  Nest.  After  partaking  of  luncheon,  her  Royal 
Highness  visited  Cranborn  Gardens,  and  then  proceeded 
to  the  Flagstaff,  which  is  the  highest  eminence  at 
Bournemouth.  The  Princess,  who  was  greatly  pleased 
with  the  general  appearance  of  the  place,  shortly  after 
re-embarked  on  board  the  Elfin,  and  returned  to  Os- 
borne. 

The  confirmation  of  H.R.H.  Princess  Louise  took 
place  at  Whippingham  Church,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  on 
Saturday,  January  21st,  1865,  when  the  ceremony  was 
performed  by  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

Precisely  at  twelve  o'clock  her  Majesty  the  Queen 
arrived  at  the  church,  accompanied  by  Princess  Louise, 
having  been  preceded  by  their  Koyal  Highnesses  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  Princess  Helena,  Princes 
Arthur  and  Leopold,  and  Princess  Beatrice. 

Her  Majesty  and  the  Royal  family  having  taken  their 
places  on  either  side  of  the  chancel,  Princess  Louise  stood 
at  the  communion-rail,  within  which  were  the  Arch- 
bishop, the  Dean  of  Windsor,  and  the  Rev.  George 
Prothero. 

Her  Majesty's  next  embarkation  for  Germany  took 
place  August  8th,  1865.  The  Queen,  with  Prince 
Leopold,  the  Princesses  Helena,  Louise,  Beatrice,  and 
suite,  embarked  soon  after  six  o'clock,  at  the  Royal 
Arsenal  Pier,  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude  of  her  loyal 


522  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

subjects.  The  Eoyal  train  was  met  at  the  different 
stations  by  the  directors  and  other  railway  officials. 
The  train  entered  the  Eoyal  Arsenal  at  about  six 
o'clock,  amidst  the  usual  Royal  salutes.  Her  Majesty 
and  the  Eoyal  family  were  accompanied  by  their  suite ; 
and  on  alighting  from  the  carriages  at  the  end  of  the 
pier,  the  Eoyal  party  was  received  by  Commodore  Dunlop 
(flag-officer  of  the  port),  Major-General  Ward  (com- 
mandant), and  a  staff  of  field  officers;  the  pier  and  its 
approaches  presenting  a  brilliant  appearance.  Her  Majesty 
and  the  Eoyal  family  and  suite  having  been  conducted 
to  the  place  of  embarkation  by  Commodore  Dunlop,  the 
Queen  leading  the  Princess  Beatrice,  was  followed  by 
Prince  Leopold,  the  Princesses  Helena  and  Louise,  with 
Prince  Arthur,  who  went  on  board  the  Alberta,  but  did 
not  accompany  the  Eoyal  family  down  the  river.  Her 
Majesty,  who  was  attired  in  deep  mourning,  appeared  in 
good  health  and  spirits,  and  repeatedly  acknowledged  in 
a  most  gracious  manner  the  marks  of  loyalty  shown 
by  those  assembled  on  the  pier.  On  arriving  at  the 
pier-head,  her  Majesty  and  the  Eoyal  party  walked  on 
board  the  steam-vessel  Alberta,  and  were  there  received 
by  the  Prince  Leiningen,  commander  of  the  Eoyal  steam- 
yacht,  with  whom  her  Majesty  cordially  shook  hands, 
the  bands  of  the  Eoyal  Artillery  and  Marines  per- 
forming the  National  Anthem.  Her  Majesty  soon  after 
this  took  leave  of  Prince  Arthur,  who,  accompanied  by 
Major  Elphiristone,  returned  to  Greenwich ;  and  the 
Alberta  steamed  down  the  river  to  Greenhithe  ;  at  which 
place  the  Queen  embarked  on  board  the  Eoyal  yacht, 
and  proceeded  to  the  Nore,  where  the  Eoyal  squadron 
remained  during  the  night,  and  thence  proceeded  to 
Antwerp. 


LOUISE    CAKOLIKE   ALBE11TA.  523 

The  Queen  arrived  at  Coburg  on  the  llth  of  August, 
at  eight  A.M.,  and  immediate!}'  proceeded  to  Rosenau. 

The  Queen  returned  from  Germany  in'  September.  Her 
Majesty  having  left  the  Castle  at  Eosenau  with  their 
Royal  Highnesses  the  Princesses  Helena  and  Louise, 
and  Prince  Leopold,  stopped  en  route  at  Darmstadt,  where 
she  was  met  by  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse.  Her  Majesty 
stopped  also  at  Ostend  to  visit  the  late  King  Leopold. 
His  Royal  Highness  Prince  Leopold,  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  and  suite,  went  to 
Antwerp,  and  embarked  in  the  Royal  yacht  Victoria  and 
Albert. 

The  Queen,  after  visiting  the  King,  whom  her  Majesty 
found  in  much  improved  health,  left  Ostend  and  arrived 
by  railway  at  Antwerp,  and  at  once  went  on  board  her 
yacht,  which  steamed  down  the  Scheldt. 

After  a  fine  passage,  her  Majesty  arrived  off  Greenhithe. 
A  special  train  from  Woolwich  Arsenal  conveyed  the 
Queen  and  Royal  family  to  Windsor  Castle. 

At  the  Queen's  first  Court  held  this  season  (1866)  at 
Buckingham  Palace,  both  the  Princesses  Helena  and 
Louise  were  present.  The  dress  of  Princess  Louise  is 
thus  described : — 

The  Princess  wore  a  train  of  rich  white  silk,  bor- 
dered with  swansdown ;  petticoat  of  white  tulle  over 
glace  silk,  trimmed  with  bows  of  white  ribbon  and  black 
velvet;  head-dress — diamonds,  feathers,  and  veil;  orna- 
ments— diamonds,  Victoria  and  Albert  Order,  and  the 
Order  of  St.  Isabel. 

In  the  evening  the  Princess  of  Wales,  with  the  Prin- 
cesses Helena  and  Louise,  visited  the  Olympic  Theatre.] 

The  Queen  and  junior  members  of  the  Royal  family  con- 
tinued at  Windsor  Castle  during  March,  1866,  in  the  en- 


524  THE    EOYAL   PEINCESSES. 

joyment  of  excellent  health.  The  mausoleum  at  Frogmore 
was  thrown  open  between  twelve  and  three  o'clock,  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  that  the 
members  of  the  Royal  household  might  visit  the  tomb. 
The  Queen  on  this  occasion  was  accompanied  by  Princess 
Louise,  and  walked  and  drove  in  the  Castle  grounds. 

Sunday,  the  18th  March,  was  the  eighteenth  anniver- 
sary of  the  birthday  of  the  Princess  Louise. 

Her  Majesty,  accompanied  by  Princesses  Helena  and 
Louise,  honoured  Baron  Marochetti  and  Mr.  Theed  with 
visits  at  their  studios ;  and  in  the  evening  Princesses 
Helena  and  Louise  visited  the  Olympic  Theatre. 

On  Saturday,  May  31st,  1866,  the  Queen,  accompanied 
by  Princess  Helena,  Princess  Louise,  and  Prince  Arthur, 
drove  in  a  carriage  and  four  to  the  cavalry  barracks  in 
Windsor.  Her  Majesty  was  received  by  Colonel  the  Hon. 
D.  de  Ros,  commanding  the  1st  Regiment  of  Life 
Guards.  The  Regiment  received  the  Queen  with  a  Royal 
salute,  and  presented  arms,  the  band  playing.  Her 
Majesty  drove  slowly  past  the  Regiment,  which  was 
drawn  up  in  line,  and  after  inspecting  the  ranks,  the 
Queen  and  the  Royal  family  alighted,  and  proceeded  to 
the  north  wing  of  the  barracks  and  inspected  the  various 
alterations  which  had  been  carried  out  at  her  Majesty's 
suggestion.  The  Queen  afterwards  visited  the  library, 
the  children's  school,  and  the  hospital,  and  thence  pro- 
ceeded to  the  buildings  in  course  of  erection  for  the 
married  men's  quarters.  After  the  visit  of  inspection 
her  Majesty  returned  to  the  parade  and  witnessed  a  troop 
of  twelve  non-commissioned  officers  and  troopers  perform 
the  "post"  practice,  under  Riding-master  Cox,  at  a 
gallop,  the  exercise  including  the  various  cavalry  sabre 
cuts  and  thrusts. 


LOUISE    CAEOLINE    ALBEIITA.  525 

The  great  naval  review  at  Spithead  in  I860  must  have 
been  an  interesting  spectacle,  witnessed  as  it  was  by 
the  Queen,  Princess  Louise,  and  the  Eoyal  family.  The 
Queen  embarked  on  board  the  Alberta  at  Trinity  Pier, 
and  went  out  to  the  Victoria  and  Albert  yacht,  Captain 
the  Prince  of  Leiningen,  in  Cowes  Roads,  when  the  Royal 
yacht  steamed  round  to  Osborae  bay,  where  she  remained 
until  the  Osborne  arrived  with  the  Sultan  on  board.  The 
Sultan  came  on  board  the  Victoria  and  Albert  with  the 
Imperial  Princes,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge, the  Viceroy  of  Egypt  and  his  suite,  &c.  The 
Queen  afterwards  invested  the  Sultan  with  the  Order  of 
the  Garter  on  the  quarter-deck.  Luncheon  was  shortly 
after  served  in  the  deck  saloon.  Then  the  Royal  yacht 
steamed  back  through  the  fleet  to  Osborne  bay,  where 
the  Queen  and  Royal  family  took  leave  of  the  Sultan,  and 
proceeded  in  the  Alberta  to  Osborne  Pier. 

Princess  Louise  was  present  at  the  opening  of  Par- 
liament for  the  session  of  1867.  In  this  season  her  Royal 
Highness  often  accompanied  the  Princess  of  Wales  in  her 
drives. 

Princess  Louise  was,  on  the  10th  May,  1867,  one  of  the 
sponsors  for  the  third  child  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales,  named  Louise  Victoria  Alexandra  Dagmar. 

June  24ith,  1867. — Princess  Louise  wore,  at  a  Court 
held  at  Buckingham  Palace,  a  train  of  blue  and  white 
silk,  trimmed  with  blue  and  white  satin,  and  a  petticoat 
of  white  tulle  over  white  glace,  trimmed  with  blue  and 
white;  head-dress — blue  convolvulus,  feathers,  and  veil; 
diamond  ornaments,  and  the  Order  of  Victoria  and  Albert 
and  of  St.  Isabel. 

The  Queen   laid   the  foundation-stone  at    Bagshot  of 
the  Royal  Albert  Asylum  in  July,  1867,  when  Prince  and 
M  M 


526  THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

Princess  Louis  of  Hesse  were  present,  and  also  Princess 
Louise. 

The  Queen,  after  walking  in  the  castle  grounds  at  Wind- 
sor with  Princess  Louise  on  Monday,  November  llth,  gave 
Lord  Stanley  an  audience.  Subsequently,  accompanied  by 
Princess  Louise,  her  Majesty  entered  the  White  Drawing 
Room,  when  Baron  Dujardin,  the  Belgian  Minister,  and 
General  Salomons,  the  Haytian  Minister,  were  presented 
to  the  Queen  by  Lord  Stanley,  to  deliver  their  credentials. 
On  Saturday,  November  16th,  Princess  Louise  was  her 
Majesty's  companion  in  a  visit  to  the  Earl  and  Countess 
Delawarr,  at  Knole  Park,  Sevenoaks,  Kent.  Her  Majesty 
was  attended  by  Sir  T.  M.  and  Lady  Biddulph  and  others 
of  her  suite.  The  Royal  party  had  travelled  from  Windsor 
by  a  special  train,  first  on  the  Great  Western  Railway  to 
Long  Hedge  Junction,  and  from  this  point  by  the  London, 
Chatham,  and  Dover  Railway  to  Sevenoaks,  whence  the 
Queen  drove  to  Knole  Park.  Her  Majesty  remained  to 
luncheon,  and  afterwards  returned  by  the  same  route  as 
that  she  had  traversed  in  the  morning. 

In  December,  the  Court  being  still  at  Windsor,  the 
Queen,  accompanied  by  Princess  Louise,  and  attended  by 
Lady  Churchill,  Lord  Charles  Fitzroy,  and  Colonel  du 
Plat,  came  to  London  and  paid  a  visit  of  condolence  to 
Yiscountess  Jocelyn,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  her 
eldest  daughter,  the  Hon.  Alice  Jocelyn  ;  and  also  to  visit 
Viscountess  Palmerston  at  her  residence  in  Park  Lane. 

As  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  taste  in  dress  of 
the  Royal  Princesses  is  excellent,  and  well  adapted  as  a 
model  for  the  daughters  of  the  English  nobility. 

On  August  5th,  1868,  the  Queen,  accompanied  by 
Princesses  Louise  and  Beatrice  and  by  Prince  Leopold, 
left  Osborne  for  Switzerland,  and  embarked  in  the  Victoria 


LOUISE  CAEOLINE  ALBERTA.  527 

and  Albert  for  Cherbourg.  Her  Majesty,  who  travelled 
as  the  Countess  of  Kent,  preserving  a  strict  incognita, 
dined  on  board  the  yacht,  and  landed  at  eleven  P.M. 
An  Imperial  train  of  ten  carriages  was  provided  for  her 
accommodation,  luxuriously  fitted  up.  The  route  taken 
was  by  Bayeux,  Caen,  Evreux,  and  Nantes.  When  Paris 
w'as  reached,  her  Majesty  was  received  by  Lord  Lyons 
with  his  staff.  The  Queen  proceeded  in  the  Ambassador's 
carriage  to  the  Hotel  of  the  Embassy,  remaining  there 
during  the  day.  Here  she  received  a  visit  from  the 
Empress  Eugenie,  and  a  visit  also  from  the  Duke  of 
Edinburgh.  The  Queen  went  from  Paris  to  Bale,  and 
then  continued  her  journey  through  exquisite  scenery  to 
Lucerne.  The  residence  occupied  by  the  Queen  and  Royal 
family  there  is  called  the  Villa  (Pension)  Wallace.  It 
stands  on  a  hill,  overlooking  the  town,  with  the  Righi 
on  the  left,  and  Mont  Pilatus,  distinguished  by  its  ser- 
rated ridge,  upon  the  right,  and  the  lake  and  snowy  St. 
Gothard  range  of  Alps  immediately  located  in  front. 
Other  members  of  the  Royal  suite  were  in  a  pretty  chalet, 
situated  in  the  grounds,  and  closely  adjoining  the  lake. 
The  scenery  of  this  neighbourhood  is  perhaps  unequalled 
in  Europe. 

The  Queen  here  enjoyed,  under  her  assumed  name, 
the  strictest  retirement,  and  was  highly  delighted  with 
her  visit  to  this  place.  While  at  Lucerne,  her  Majesty 
drove  out  daily  in  a  carriage  and  four,  and  made  frequent 
excursions  in  the  neighbourhood  with  the  different 
members  of  her  family.  On  one  of  these  the  Queen  was 
accompanied  by  Princess  Louise  and  Prince  Leopold,  when 
she  crossed  the  lake  by  steamer  to  Brunnen,  and  drove 
home  by  Goldau.  Another  tour  was  made,  again  Princess 
Louise  being  her  companion,  and  the  Marchioness  of  Ely, 

M   M   2 


528  THE    EOYAL    PRINCESSES. 

Sir  William  Jenner,  and  Major-General  Sir  T.  M.  Biddulph 
in  attendance,  when  her  Majesty  left  Lucerne  for  the 
Fiirka,  near  the  St.  Gothard  Pass,  and  spent  three  days 
at  a  small  inn  at  Fliiclen.  All  state  etiquette  was  set  aside 
on  these  tours.  On  one  occasion  her  Majesty  even 
alighted  at  a  road-side  inn,  and  partook  of  tea.  Again 
Princess  Louise  accompanied  the  Queen,  and  with  Prince 
Leopold  made  an  excursion  to  the  Righi  Culm ;  and 
another  time  drove  with  her  Royal  mother  to  Engelberg. 

When  the  Queen  visited  the  cattle-sheds  on  the  Gutsch, 
while  the  servant  was  engaged  feeding  the  beasts,  the 
man  saluted  her  Majesty  with  "  Good  day,  Madam  Queen." 
Her  Majesty  smiled,  and  asked  various  questions  as  to  the 
management  of  the  cattle.  Another  time  the  Queen  went 
to  Goldau,  and  took  a  seat  to  draw,  while  her  suite  went 
on  the  Schritt.  After  some  time,  her  Majesty  called 
a  poor  woman,  who  was  standing  near,  to  summon  her 
attendants  to  return,  for  which  service  the  Queen  amply 
rewarded  her. 

It  was  during  this  visit  that  Princess  Louise  made  an 
ascent  of  Mont  Pilatus  with  the  Queen,  the  particulars 
of  which  are  extremely  interesting. 

At  the  close  of  their  visit  to  Switzerland  the  Royal 
travellers  returned  first  to  Windsor,  and  afterwards  pro- 
ceeded to  Balmoral. 

On  13th  March,  1869,  Princess  Louise,  attended  by  the 
Duchess  of  Roxburgh  and  the  rest  of  her  suite,  visited 
Prince  Arthur,  at  the  Ranger's  Lodge,  Greenwich,  and 
remained  to  luncheon ;  after  which  Princess  Louise  and 
Prince  Arthur  drove  to  Deptford  Dockyard,  and  were 
present  at  the  launch  of  her  Majesty's  steamship  Druid, 
the  ceremony  of  christening  the  ship  being  performed  by 
the  Princess  Louise. 


LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA. 

Their  Royal  Highnesses,  on  their  arrival,  were  received 
with  due  honours,  by  Captain  A.  P.  E.  Wilmot,  C.B.r 
Captain  Superintendent,  Admiral  Sir  Henry  Denham, 
Captain  Edmoristone,  C.B.,  and  W.  E.  P.  Saunders,  the- 
Master  Shipwright.  The  Princess  Louise  christened  the 
vessel  in  the  usual  style,  and  with  a  chisel  and  mallet  cut. 
the  cord  to  which  the  weight  for  knocking  away  the  dog- 
shore  was  attached,  and  the  ship  moved  down  into  the 
water  amid  the  hearty  cheers  of  a  large  number  of  spec- 
tators. Their  Royal  Highnesses  and  the  principal 
visitors  drank  success  to  the  Druid,  and  with  this  the  last 
of  the  launches  at  Deptford  was  brought  to  a  close. 
Their  Royal  Highnesses  were  conducted  to  their  carriages 
and  returned  home. 

The  twenty-first  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Princess 
Louise,  on  the  18th  March,  was  kept  very  privately, 
owing  to  the  recent  death  of  the  Duke  of  Schleswig-Hol- 
stein. 

Princess  Louise  accompanied  her  mother  the  Queen, 
in  May,  1869,  in  her  State  visit  to  the  Royal  Academy, 
where  she  was  received  by  the  President,  Sir  F.  Grant,  and 
the  members  of  the  Royal  Academy.  Sir  S.  Smirke, 
R.A.,  was  on  this  visit  presented  to  the  Queen  as  architect 
of  the  new  buildings  of  the  Royal  Academy.  The  Royal 
visitors  inspected  the  pictures  and  statuary  for  more  than 
an  hour. 

A  reviewer  of  the  sculptures  at  Burlington  House  gives 
precedence  to  the  bust  of  the  Queen  executed  by  the 
Princess  Louise,  as  "  well  deserving  high  commendation. 
As  the  unassisted  production  of  an  amateur,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  works  we  have  seen.  The  likeness  is 
singularly  faithful ;  regal  dignity  is  combined  with  anima- 
tion, the  modelling  is  refined^  the  action  of  the  neck  well 


530  THE    ROYAL   PRINCESSES. 

understood  ;  the  carriage  of  the  head,  too,  is  admi- 
rable." 

Princess  Louise  is  equally  at  home  in  sculpture  and  in 
painting.  Casts  in  stearine  from  two  busts  of  Prince 
Leopold  and  Princess  Amelie  of  Saxe-Coburg,  are  worthy 
of  the  sculptor  who  wrought  the  admirable  bust  of  her 
Majesty  which  we  have  just  adverted  to. 

"But  her  most  important  contribution  is  a  picture 
painted  in  body  colours,  called  '  In  Aid  of  Sufferers.' 
The  scene  is  that  of  a  battle-field  at  nightfall  —  the 
figures  of  dead  and  wounded  faintly  discernible  over 
the  darkling  plain,  and  the  deep-blue  sky  contrasted  by 
the  glare  of  burning  houses  on  the  horizon.  In  the 
front  a  Sister  of  Charity  pitifully  stanches  the  bleeding 
breast  of  a  desperately  wounded  soldier,  whilst  another 
Sister  is  advancing  to  render  further  aid.  The  picture 
is  excellent  in  composition,  drawing,  and  effect.  At 
first  sight  it  recals  in  some  measure  the  picture  of  the 
battle-field  by  the  Princess  Royal,  executed  at  the  time 
of  the  Crimean  War ;  but  on  comparing  it  with  a  chromo- 
lithograph of  that  picture  hanging  beneath,  it  was  found 
to  be  essentially  distinct." 

Princess  Louise  was  one  of  the  sponsors  at  the  baptism 
of  the  daughter  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  St.  Albans,  in 
May,  1869. 

At  the  Drawing  Room,  held  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
May  1869,  the  dress  worn  by  her  Royal  Highness  con- 
sisted of  a  train  of  rich  blue  crystalline  silk,  trimmed 
with  white  tulle,  and  a  petticoat  of  white  tulle,  trimmed 
with  blue  satin  and  yellow  roses.  Head  dress — feathers 
and  veil  with  roses,  and  a  diadem  of  rubies  and  diamonds. 
Diamond  ornaments,  Victoria  and  Albert  Order,  Order  of 
St.  Isabel,  and  the  Coburg  and  Gotha  family  Order. 


LOUISE  CAEOLTNB  ALBERTA.          531 

Her  Majesty  passed  at  Balmoral  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  her  birth  (24th  May,  1869).  There,  after  investing 
Prince  Arthur  with  the  Order  of  the  Thistle,  and  Prince 
Leopold  with  the  Order  of  the  G-arter,  the  Queen  planted 
a  tree  in  commemoration  of  the  event.  The  Glassalt  Shiel 
was  the  drive  chosen  by  her  Majesty,  in  which  she  was 
accompanied  by  Princess  Louise,  Prince  Leopold,  and  the 
Duke  of  Argyll. 

The  Queen,  accompanied  b}r  Princesses  Louise  and 
Beatrice,  and  Princes  Arthur  and  Leopold,  were  present 
at  a  dance  given  in  honour  of  the  Royal  birthday  to  the 
tenants  and  retainers  on  the  estates  of  Balmoral,  Aberdeen, 
and  Birkhall,  which  took  place  in  a  marquee  close  to  the 
Castle,  and  began  as  early  as  half-past  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon. 

On  June  21st,  1869,  Princess  Louise,  attended  by  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Wellesley,  went  to  Hampton  Court,  and  was 
present  at  the  Bazaar  in  aid  of  the  Cambridge  Asylum. 

At  the  Queen's  State  Ball,  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
Princess  Louise  was  present  with  the  other  members  of 
the  Royal  family. 

The  dress  she  wore  on  this  occasion  was  of  straw- 
coloured  poult  de  soie,  trimmed  with  bouillons  of  straw 
tulle,  and  a  scarf  of  white  gossamer,  trimmed  with  white 
fringe,  looped  back  with  chatelains  of  green  arid  purple 
grapes  and  vine-leaves.  Head-dress — a  wreath  of  vine-leaves 
and  grapes  with  diamonds.  Ornaments — diamonds,  the 
Victoria  and  Albert  Order,  the  Order  of  St.  Isabel,  and 
the  Coburg  and  G-otha  family  Order. 

On  Saturday  evening,  the  31st  October,  1869,  the 
Queen,  with  the  Princess  Louise  and  the  other  members  of 
the  Royal  family,  witnessed  from  the  Castle  the  old 
Highland  custom  of  keeping  Halloween,  by  the  lighting 


532  THE    ROYAL    PKINCESSES. 

of  bonfires,  and  by  a  procession  of  torchbearers.  The 
gathering  numbered  about  one  hundred.  The  torchbearers, 
after  making  the  circuit  of  the  Castle,  ended  the  festivi- 
ties by  dancing  reels  to  the  strains  of  her  Majesty's 
piper. 

At  the  opening  of  Blackfriars'  Bridge,  early  in  Novem- 
ber, 1869,  Princess  Louise  rode  in  the  carriage  with  her 
Majesty,  Princess  Beatrice,  and  Prince  Leopold.  The 
Royal  party  was  most  enthusiastically  received  through- 
out the  entire  route. 

The  New  Hall  of  the  Inner  Temple  was  opened  by  her 
Koyal  Highness  Princess  Louise  on  Saturday,  May  14th, 
1870.  She  came  at  half-past  one,  with  Prince  Christian, 
attended  "by  Lady  Churchill,  the  Hon.  Miss  Cavendish, 
the  Lord  Chamberlain,  Colonel  Lynedoeh  Gardiner, 
Colonel  the  Hon.  A.  Hardinge,  and  Colonel  Grant  Gordon. 
The  Princess  wore  a  dress  of  pale  blue  gauze.  The  Eoyal 
party  was  received  at  the  entrance  to  the  building  by  the 
Treasurer  and  the  senior  Benchers  of  the  Inner  Temple, 
who  conducted  them  up  the  stone  steps,  and  along  the 
southern  corridor  to  the  western  door  of  the  New  Hall, 
under  the  gallery.  Among  the  distinguished  persons 
were  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  Chief  Justice  Bovill,  in 
their  robes,  Lord  Westbury,  Mr.  Lowe,  Mr.  Card  well, 
Mr.  Bruce,  and  Mr.  Goschen,  in  plain  attire.  The 
Princess  and  her  company  were  conducted  to  the  upper 
end  of  the  hall,  whence  passing  through  an  eastern  door, 
and  an  ante-chamber,  she  arrived  at  a  staircase  leading  to 
the  library,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  a  door,  giving  access  to 
the  private  apartments  of  the  Treasurer.  At  this  door 
Mrs.  Pickering  met  the  procession,  and  presented  to  the 
Princess  a  magnificent  bouquet,  which,  having  been 
graciously  accepted,  her  lioyal  Highness  proceeded  to 


LOUISE    CAROLINE    ALBERTA.  533 

the  Library,  and  took  the  place  assigned  to  her,  with 
Prince  Christian  on  her  right  hand.  The  senior  Benchers 
and  the  guests  admitted  to  the  library  having  formed 
a  circle,  the  Treasurer  read  an  address  to  the  Princess,  and 
she  then  gave  this  gracious  reply : — 

"It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  be  permitted  to  re- 
present the  Queen,  my  dear  mother,  on  an  occasion  of  so 
much  interest  to  the  profession  of  which  you  are 
members.  Her  Majesty  authorizes  me  to  express  the 
cordial  satisfaction  with  which  she  has  learnt  the  comple- 
tion of  the  beautiful  building  which  you  have  erected  on  a 
site  so  rich  in  historical  interest,  and  so  long  associated 
with  the  illustrious  Bar  of  England.  I  thank  you  for  the 
kindness  with  which  you  have  received  me  here  to-day, 
and  I  will  not  fail  to  communicate  to  the  Queen  your 
expression  of  loyal  attachment  to  her  throne  and  person." 

The  Treasurer  next  turned  to  his  Royal  Highness 
Prince  Christian,  and  said,  that  he  had  the  honour  to 
announce  that  his  Royal  Highness  had  been  elected  a 
Bencher  of  the  Inner  Temple,  if  he  would  please  to 
accept  the  office.  The  Prince  replied  :  "  It  will  give  me 
sincere  pleasure."  He  was  hereupon  invested  by  the 
Treasurer  with  a  Bencher's  gown,  which  seemed  to  afford 
some  amusement  to  the  Princess. 

Their  Royal  Highnesses  signed  their  names  in  the 
visitors'  book,  and  were  again  conducted  to  the  hall.  The 
Treasurer  took  the  chair  afc  the  raised  table,  with  the 
Princess  on  his  right  hand,  and  Prince  Christian  on  his 
left;  and  the  dejeuner  was  served.  At  the  same  table 
were  the  ladies  in  attendance  on  her  Royal  Highness  ;  and 
there  were  also  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Lord  Cham- 
berlain, Lord  Westbury,  Chief  Justice  Bovill,  the  Master 
of  the  Temple,  Mr.  Lowe,  Mr.  Bruce,  Mr.  Cardwell,  Mr. 


531  THE    110YAL    PRINCESSES. 

Goschen,  and  the  Hon.  Colonel  Hardinge.  After  the 
toast  of  "  The  Queen"  and  "  Princess  Louise"  had 
been  duly  honoured,  the  health  of  Prince  Christian  was 
given,  as  the  junior  Bencher,  and  his  Eoyal  Highness 
responded  in  excellent  English.  The  Princess  then  rose 
from  the  table  and  pronounced  very  emphatically,  "  I 
declare  this  Hall  opened." 

The  proceedings  of  the  day  were  then  over,  and  her 
Eoyal  Highness  departed  amidst  loud  cheers. 

A  fancy  bazaar,  to  obtain  means  of  raising  a  fund  for 
the  enlargement  of  the  North-Eastern  Hospital  for 
Children,  Hackney  Road,  near  Shoreditch  Church,  was 
held  during  three  days  at  the  City  Terminus  Hotel, 
Cannon  Street.  It  was  opened  on  Monday,  August  16th, 
1870,  by  her  Royal  Highness  Princess  Louise.  The 
great  hall  of  the  hotel  was  elegantly  decorated,  and  the 
stalls  were  filled  with  the  usual  miscellaneous  collec- 
tion of  fancy  toys  and  needlework,  placed  on  each  side 
of  the  room,  the  centre  of  which  was  left  open  for  the 
visitors. 

The  Princess,  accompanied  by  her  suite,  arrived  soon 
after  twelve.  She  was  received  by  the  Reception  Com- 
mittee, and  conducted  upstairs  to  the  hall,  a  choir  in  the 
gallery  singing  "  God  save  the  Queen."  After  going  round 
the  "  fancy  fair,"  inspecting  stalls  and  making  purchases, 
her  Royal  Highness  took  her  station  on  a  dais  erected  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  hall,  Lady  Churchill  standing  on 
the  right,  and  Mrs.  Allsop  on  the  left  hand.  Mr.  Charles 
Reed,  M.P.,  read  an  address,  after  which  Miss  J.  M.  Tylor, 
and  three  other  ladies,  all  dressed  in  white,  presented  a 
bouquet,  and  Miss  Hannah  de  Rothschild  an  illuminated 
«opy  of  the  address,  to  the  Princess,  who  received  these 
presents  with  a  gracious  smile.  The  choir  sang  "  Hail ! 


LOUISE    CAROLINE    ALEEliTA.  535 

smiling  morn;"    and  the    Princess    took    her    departure 
amidst  the  cheers  of  a  crowd  outside. 

There  was,  by  the  Queen's  command,  a  State  Ball  at 
Buckingham  Palace  on  Tuesday,  May  17th,  1870,  at 
which  the  Princess  Louise  was  present.  The  King  of 
the  Belgians,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  Prince 
Christian,  and  the  Princess  Teck  were  also  present.  1800 
were  invited.  ^ 

On  this  occasion  Princess  Louise  wore  a  dress  of 
rich  lace  and  tulle,  ornamented  with  garlands  of  dif- 
ferent coloured  roses ;  head-dress,  roses  and  diamonds ; 
ornaments,  diamonds;  orders,  Victoria  and  Albert,  the 
Order  of  St.  Isabel,  and  the  Coburg  and  Gotha  family 
Order. 

Princess  Louise's  name  will  for  ever  be  associated  with  the 
opening  of  the  Thames  Embankment.  Her  Royal  Highness 
came  to  Marlborough  House  on  the  appointed  day  to  meet 
the  Prince,  and  proceeded  thence  to  the  place,  where 
they  arrived  at  twelve  o'clock ;  the  line  of  embankment 
was  gaily  decorated  for  the  occasion  ;  the  pavilion  or 
grand  stand  was  covered  with  crimson  cloth,  striped 
awning,  &c.,  and  a  gallery  on  each  side,  and  there  was 
another  stand  also,  towards  Charing  Cross,  for  15,000 
people.  The  Eoyal  procession  consisted  of  five  carriages, 
in  the  fourth  of  which  rode  Viscount  Sydney,  Lord  Cham- 
berlain, Earl  of  Bessborough,  the  Lord  Steward ;  Lady 
Churchill,  the  lady  in  attendance  on  her  Royal  Highness 
Princess  Louise.  The  fifth  carriage  contained  the  Mar- 
quis of  Ailesbury,  the  Master  of  the  Horse ;  her  Royal 
Highness  Princess  Louise,  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  The  route  taken  by  the  procession  was  by  the 
Mall,  the  Horse  Guards,  Whitehall,  and  Parliament  Street, 
to  Westminster  Bridge,  where  the  procession  entered  on 


THE    EOYAL   PRINCESSES. 

the  Embankment.  It  was  there  met  by  Sir  John  Thwaites, 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Works,  and  others,  who  pro- 
ceeded along  the  Embankment  in  advance  of  their  Royal 
Highnesses  to  the  pavilion.  As  the  Royal  carriage  drove 
up  the  guard  of  honour  presented  arms,  and  their  Royal 
Highnesses  were  received  with  a  general  cheer,  which 
they  courteously  acknowledged.  Sir  John  Thwaites  pre- 
sented the  Prince  of  Wales  with  an  address,  explaining 
the  construction  of  the  Embankment,  and  asking  the 
Royal  approval.  The  Prince,  who  was  attired  in  a 
military  uniform,  briefly  replied,  commending  the  Em- 
bankment for  its  beauty  and  convenience,  and  referring 
to  the  sanitary  benefits  of  the  main  drainage  works  con- 
nected therewith. 

After  a  few  minutes'  halt,  the  Royal  procession 
passed  along  the  Embankment  towards  Blackfriars. 
The  Prince  and  Princess  Louise  were  cheered  from 
the  stand,  at  Charing  Cross,  and  at  several  other 
points,  as  King's  College,  the  Temple  Pier,  and  Black- 
friars  Bridge,  all  crowded  with  spectators,  and  gaily 
surmounted  with  flags.  Returning  to  the  pavilion,  and 
thence  to  Westminster  Bridge,  their  Royal  Highnesses 
were  greeted  with  the  warmest  cheers.  Having  gone  over 
the  entire  ground,  the  Prince  of  Wales  formally  declared 
the  Victoria  Embankment  open  to  the  public,  and  a  Royal 
salute  was  fired  to  announce  the  event,  while  the  bells  of 
Westminster  Abbey  sent  forth  a  merry  peal  of  congratu- 
lation. The  same  route  was  adopted  by  the  procession  on 
returning  to  Maiiborough  House,  the  whole  being  accom- 
plished in  about  an  hour. 

While  the  Queen  was  at  Balmoral  in  October.  1870,  the 
weather  was  very  inclement,  yet  her  Majesty  and  her 
daughters  continued  to  dwell  at  the  Castle — where  indeed 


LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA.          537 

they  found  it  desirable  to  remain  on  account  of  the  acci- 
dent which  for  a  time  disabled  Princess  Louise  for  exer- 
tion. This  accident  to  the  Princess  Louise  was  a 
sprained  knee. 

The  Royal  party  again  witnessed  the  festival  of  Hal- 
loween. It  was  about  this  time,  too,  that  the  Queen 
contributed  100Z.,  the  Princess  Louise  the  sum  of  20Z., 
and  her  brother,  Prince  Leopold,  the  same  amount  in  aid 
of  the  Captain  Relief  Fund. 

The  Marquis  of  Lome  visited  the  Queen  at  Balmoral 
Castle  during  the  month  of  October. 

The  Queen  left  Balmoral  on  Nov.  24th,  at  one  o'clock, 
posting  from  Ballater,  accompanied  by  her  two  daugh- 
ters and  Prince  Leopold.  Princess  Louise  was  con- 
veyed from  a  couch  to  the  railway  saloon.  Dr.  Mar- 
shall of  Braemar,  who  had  been  in  attendance  upon  her 
Royal  Highness  during  her  indisposition,  accompanied 
the  Princess  to  Windsor.  The  Queen  travelled  by  a 
special  train,  provided  by  the  London  and  North-Western 
Company,  occupying  a  State  saloon.  At  Aberdeen  a  con- 
course of  two  thousand  persons  assembled,  among  whom 
were  the  Lord  Provost  and  the  chief  civic  authorities,  Sir 
Thomas  Gladstone,  and  the  Chairman  and  various  Direc- 
tors of  the  Deeside  Railway.  The  Royal  travellers  were 
greeted  upon  their  arrival  with  enthusiastic  cheers,  which 
her  Majesty  acknowledged  by  bowing  from  the  windows ; 
but  the  cheers  being  continued,  the  blinds  of  Princess 
Louise's  saloon  were  drawn  up,  and  her  Royal  Highness' s 
couch  was  conveyed  to  the  window,  whence  the  Princess 
acknowledged  the  kindly  demonstrations  of  affection 
towards  her  by  repeatedly  bowing.  The  journey  was 
afterwards  continued  to  Perth,  where  the  Queen  and  the 
Royal  family  dined  in  the  committee-room  of  the  station, 


538  THE    EOYAL    PEINCESSES. 

winch  had  been  specially  fitted  up  for  the  occasion.  At 
Beattock  the  train  stopped  ten  minutes,  that  the  saloons 
might  be  arranged  for  the  night.  The  rest  of  the  journey 
to  Windsor  was  continued  with  but  slight  intermission. 
A  pilot  engine  preceded  the  Eoyal  train  by  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  and  every  arrangement  was  made  that  could  con- 
tribute to  the  safety  and  comfort  of  the  Queen. 

The  first  public  mention  of  the  intended  union  of  the 
charming  Princess  Louise  to  the  Marquis  of  Lome  was  thus 
made  in  the  Morning  Post,  in  the  year  1870  : — 

"  The  Queen  has  given  her  consent  to  the  marriage  of 
her  fourth  daughter,  Louise  Caroline  Alberta,  to  the  Mar- 
quis of  Lome,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll.  We  may 
add  that  the  Marquis  was  born  6th  August,  1845." 

This  announcement  caused  as  much  pleasurable  feeling 
as  surprise  among  the  public.  The  extreme  popularity  of 
the  young  Princess,  and  the  great  sympathy  felt  for  her 
happiness  and  future  welfare,  gave  a  peculiar  character  to 
the  sentiments  expressed,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  choice  thus  heralded  was  received  with  heartfelt 
acclamation. 

We  have  been  assured  by  those  well  qualified  to  form 
an  opinion,  that  a  perfect  sympathy  of  taste  in  literature, 
music,  and  all  the  elegant  accomplishments  of  refined  life, 
between  the  young  couple,  forms  the  basis  of  the  ardent 
attachment  which  happily  exists  between  them.  So 
devoted,  indeed,  is  the  regard  of  the  Princess  for  the 
object  of  her  attachment,  that  she  has  been  known  to 
declare  should  any  unfavourable  difficulty  arise  to  prevent 
her  union  with  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  there  was  one  thing 
she  was  determined  upon :  never  to  marry  a  foreign 
prince.  We  think  this  is  a  strong  proof  that  an 
attachment  so  deep  must  have  commenced  in  early  life,  and 


LOUISE  CAROLINE  ALBERTA.          539 

that  ill  the  heart  of  the  Princess  it  must  "  have  grown  with 
her  growth,  and  strengthened  with  her  strength." 

We  here  subjoin  a  brief  account  of  the  noble  family  of 
Argyll,  so  well  worthy  of  the  new  honour  about  to  be 
conferred  on  them. 

The  ancient  family  of  Campbell,  of  which  the  present 
Duke  of  Argyll  is  the  representative,  through  a  descent 
of  eight  centuries,  derived  the  Lordship  of  Lochow, 
in  Argyleshire,  by  marriage  with  an  heiress.  From  Sir 
Colin  Campbell  of  Lochow,  the  chief  of  the  house  is  still 
called  MacCullum  More.  He  was  knighted  by  Alexan- 
der III.,  1280,  and  an  obelisk  yet  remains  to  show  the 
spot  where  this  gallant  chieftain  fell,  in  conflict  with  his 
powerful  neighbour,  the  Lord  of  Lome. 

The  present  Duke  is  the  eighth  who  has  enjoyed  that 
high  rank,  and  John  Douglas  Sutherland,  Marquis  of 
Lome,  M.P.  for  Argyleshire,  his  eldest  son,  born  August 
6th,  1845,  by  the  Duke's  marriage  with  the  sister  of  the 
present  Duke  of  Sutherland. 

Of  the  Sutherland  family  so  much  is  familiar  to  the 
English  reader  that  it  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  say 
anything  here.  The  late  Duchess  was  third  daughter  of 
George,  sixth  Earl  of  Carlisle,  and  married  to  George. 
Granville,  second  Duke  of  Sutherland,  by  whom  she  had 
four  sons  and  seven  daughters.  On  the  death  of  his  father, 
in  1861,  the  eldest  son  succeeded  to  the  title,  and  is  the 
present  Duke.  The  Duchess-Dowager,  his  mother,  died 
October  27th,  1868.  The  eldest  daughter,  Elizabeth 
Georgiana,  by  her  marriage  with  the  present  Duke  of 
Argyll,  July  31st,  1841,  became  mother  of  a  numerous 
family,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  John  Douglas  Sutherland, 
Marquis  of  Lome. 

We  may  add  that  there  are  to  be  eight  bridesmaids ; 


540  THE    ROYAL    PRINCESSES. 

the  seven  named  below  are  to  have  the  honour  of  attending 
upon  the  Princess  Louise :  Lady  Constance  Seymour, 
daughter  of  the  Marquis  of  Hertford ;  Lady  Elizabeth 
Campbell,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll ;  Lady  Florence 
Lennox,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Kichmond;  Lady 
Florence  Leveson-Gower,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Suther- 
land ;  Lady  Mary  Butler,  daughter  of  the  Marquis  of 
Ormonde  ;  Lady  Alice  Fitzgerald,  daughter  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Kildare ;  and  Lady  Florence  Montague,  daughter 
of  the  Earl  of  Sandwich. 

The  21st  of  March  is  the  day  fixed  on  for  the  marriage 
of  her  Koyal  Highness  the  Princess  Louise,  arid  we  are 
quite  sure  that  every  one  of  our  young  countrywomen  will 
desire  that  the  sun  may  pour  forth  his  brightest  smiles  on 
the  fair  bride,  and  bless  her  and  the  object  of  her  affec- 
tions in  the  path  they  commence  together  on  that  day. 

Mr.  Gladstone  proposed  in  the  House  of  Commons  the 
dowry  of  the  Princess  Louise  (£30,000),  amidst  cheers 
of  approval.  During  this  hearty  expression  of  loyal  regard, 
the  House  was  surprised  at  Mr.  Taylor,  the  member  for 
Leicester,  rising  to  move  its  rejection  ;  a  proceeding  which 
was  received  with  continuous  cries  of  impatience.  A  divi- 
.sion  was  forthwith  taken,  which  resulted  in  the  grant 
being  carried  by  350  to  1 — the  unit  being  Mr.  Favvcett, 
the  blind  member  for  Brighton.  The  upshot  of  course 
created  hearty  laughter.  The  Annuity  Bill  (£6000  per 
annum)  has  now  become  law. 

Princess  Louise,  being  so  much  beloved,  has  on  this 
occasion  received  many  tokens  of  affection  not  only  from 
her  family  but  from  the  Clan  Campbell,  and  other  sources. 

THE   END. 


DA  Hall,    (Mrs.)  Matthew 

483  The  royal  princesses 

A1H26  of  England 


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