CHAPTER IX
Fox's denial of the marriage – Once more at Brighton – Again in 1788 – The Prince at a fatal prize-fight – His birthday – Dress at Brighton – The Prince leases his house at Brighton – Unfilial conduct of the Prince – Probability of a Regency
BUT how about Fox's denial of the Prince's marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert? was that to pass unnoticed? Certainly not, and there was a slight disturbance in Florizel's matrimonial establishment, which may as well be told in Lord Stourton's suave diction.
'The first signal interruption to this ill-fated engagement arose from the pecuniary difficulties of his Royal Highness, when, on the question of the payment of his debts, Mr. Fox thought himself justified by some verbal, or written permission of the Prince, to declare to the House of Commons that no religious ceremony had united the parties. This public degradation of Mrs. Fitzherbert so compromised her character and her religion, and irritated her feelings, that she determined to break off all connection with the Prince, and she was only induced to receive him again into her confidence, by repeated assurances that Mr. Fox had never been authorised to make the declaration; and the friends of Mrs. Fitzherbert assured her, that, in this discrepancy as to the assertion of Mr. Fox and the Prince, she was bound to accept the word of her husband. She informed me that the public supported her, by their conduct, on this occasion; for, at no period of her life, were their visits so numerous to her house, as on the day which followed Mr. Fox's memorable speech; and, to use her own expression, the knocker of her door was never still during the whole day.
'I told her that I understood there was a scrap of paper from the Prince to Mr. Fox; that Sir John Throckmorton, a friend of his, had assured me of the fact of the Prince wishing much to obtain possession of it; but, though written on a dirty scrap of paper, it was much too valuable to be parted with. She said that she rather doubted the fact. I think that the difference between the assertions of the Prince and Mr. Fox may be accounted for under a supposition (which I have also heard) either that there was some ambiguity in the expressions used, or that Mr. Fox might have referred to what had passed, antecedently, at Devonshire House, without being privy to their subsequent more formal engagements.
'However this may be, an accommodation took place between Mrs. Fitzherbert and the Prince, though she, ever afterwards, resolutely refused to speak to Mr. Fox. She was, however, obliged to see him sometimes, and was much urged by the Prince to a reconciliation; but, though of a forgiving disposition upon other occasions, and even benefiting some who most betrayed her confidence, she was inflexible on this point, as it was one of the only means left her to protect her reputation. She thought she had been ill-used, in a most unjustifiable manner, by this public declaration before the House of Commons; especially as she had been waited upon by Mr. Sheridan, who had informed her, that some explanation would, probably, be required by Parliament, on the subject of her connection with the Heir apparent. She then told him, that they knew she was like a dog with a log round its neck, and they must protect her. She went so far with respect to Mr. Fox, that when, afterwards, during his administration, he made overtures to her, in order to recover her good will, she refused, though the attainment of the rank of Duchess was to be the fruit of their reconciliation. On naming this circumstance to me, she observed that she did not wish to be another Duchess of Kendal.'50
Gillray published a satirical print on May 21, 1787, entitled 'Dido Forsaken. Sic transit gloria Reginæ.' Mrs. Fitzherbert, crucifix in hand, is seated on a heap of ruins, in utter despair, whilst a breeze, blown by Pitt and Dundas, carries away her crown, orb, sceptre, and coronet, as Princess of Wales. In a boat named Honor, bound for Windsor, sail away the Prince, Fox (who steers), Lord North, and Burke. The Prince says, 'I never saw her in my life.' Fox clinches this with, 'No, never in his life, Damme.' North and Burke asseverate 'No, never.' On the ground lie fetters, an axe, rods, and a harrow, 'for the conversion of heretics,' being a delicate allusion to Mrs. Fitzherbert being a Roman Catholic.
However, the difference between the couple was made up, and they were in Brighton together early in July. The Prince evidently used some of his newly-got money on his seaside residence, for we read in the Morning Herald for July 3, 1787: 'Last Tuesday morning (26 June) as the painters were beautifying the great dome of the Prince of Wales's house at Brighthelmstone, the scaffolding broke down, whereby several of the workmen were killed, and others terribly wounded. His Royal Highness has caused enquiry to be made into the condition of their families, in order to give them relief.'
We hear very little of his stay at Brighton during this year. The Morning Herald of July 24 tells us: 'The Prince, we are happy to say, has derived much benefit from the air of Brighthelmstone, and the exercise which he has taken in its environs. We have never seen his Royal Highness in better health, or more apparent spirits than in his evening walks on the Steyne. His companions in these promenades, exclusive of the gentlemen of his suite, are, in general, Mrs. F – , with the Countess of Talbot, and Lady Stawell.'
In the same newspaper of August 6, we find under the heading 'Brighthelmstone, Aug. 3. This scene feels, at present, a temporary desertion from the general resort of the visitants to the races of Lewes. The Prince has also left it this morning, on hearing of the arrival of his brother, the Duke of York, from the Continent.
'The races above mentioned derived more celebrity from the brilliant attendance with which they were honoured, than from the sport which they afforded. The betting on the first day was so generally on the side of Marplot that eighty guineas to sixty, and immediately before starting sixty to forty were offered and refused. Mr. Fox took the odds that were offered against Balloon, to the amount of about five hundred pounds, and Mr. Tetherington is said to have cleared upwards of a thousand by the success of his horse Marplot.
'Amongst those present were the Prince, the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, the Princesse de Lamballe, who was particularly distinguished through the day by the enviable attentions of the Duke of Queensberry. The Duchess of Rutland, the Countess of Talbot, Lord and Lady Abergavenny, Mrs. Fitzherbert, Lord Clermont, Lord Grosvenor, Sir John Lade, Sir Richard Heron, Mr. Fox, Mr. Wyndham, Mr. Pelham, Col. Fitzpatrick, etc., added to the fashion of the group.
'After the first race, the Prince, with a select party, retired to partake of an entertainment provided for them at the seat of Mr. Wyndham, near Lewes.'
In 1788 the Prince went to Brighton for the season on July 1, and very shortly, when driving with Mrs. Fitzherbert, they were both upset. Neither could have been much hurt, for the Morning Post of July 5 says that the Prince came to town the previous day, and that 'Mrs. Fitzherbert is totally recovered from the effects of her accident.' Still, this trivial event gave food to the caricaturist, 'The Prince's Disaster, or a fall in Fitz.' They have been for a drive in an open carriage, which has broken down. Mrs. F – lies on the ground, and the Prince is being thrown out.
That their mutual relations were cordial is evidenced by a satirical print, April 3, 1788, where Mrs. Fitzherbert is seen leading the Prince in chains. She says, 'Who can behold without transport "the glass of fashion and the mould of form, the observ'd of all observers," smiling in chains?' He replies, 'Delightful slavery! A day, an hour, of such sweet bondage is worth an eternity of celestial happiness!'
We get a glimpse of what Brighton was, at this time, by the two following newspaper cuttings. Morning Post, July 14: 'Brighton, with the Prince, and such Company as follow the Prince, will do very well, though, of late years, it has not been so crowded as formerly. Many reasons have been assigned for this change – we, however, for propriety's sake, shall give none.' Ibid., July 21: 'Brighton, notwithstanding the return of the Prince, does not bear the appearance of pleasure and fashion.'
And it can hardly be wondered at, for the Prince had relapsed, since he had got his debts paid, and kept very bad company. He always was fond of seeing prize-fights, and he and the Duc d'Orleans saw the fight between Humphries and Martin at Newmarket, on May 3, 1786; but he had more than he bargained for at Brighton Races this year. The event is thus recorded in Boxiana (vol. i., p. 219, ed. 1818): 'Tyne next entered the lists with Earl, upon a stage erected near the stand on the Brighton Race ground, on August 6, 1788. Never were more fashionables assembled at a boxing match than the above; the town of Brighthelmstone was literally drained of its company, and the race stand was crowded to excess with nobility and gentry; among whom was his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Earl was a tall, strong man, and, in point of appearance, the favourite, and was actually becoming so from his exertions, when Tyne put in a blow upon his temple, that made him reel against the rail of the stage, and he instantly dropped down dead: which unfortunate circumstance produced a most afflicting scene; and the Prince declared he would never witness another battle. His Royal Highness, with great humanity and consideration, settled an annuity on Mrs. Earl and family. It appeared by the evidence before the Coroner's jury that Earl had been for some time previous to the battle engaged in an election contest at Covent Garden, and had been in one continued state of inebriety during the whole of it. It was the opinion of professional men, that the vessels being so overcharged with blood was the immediate cause of his death.'
The Morning Post of August 9 has the following from Brighton: 'The Prince of Wales gains many hearts by his great affability and good humour. His company is much better than it used to be, and he is certainly more sparing of his libations to Bacchus.
'Mrs. F – t looks more elegant than ever. One can, indeed, hardly help exclaiming with the army of Mahomet the Second, when he showed them his Irene – "Such a woman is worth a kingdom!"
'The Prince of Wales has won money on the races – more money than one would wish a Prince of Wales to win.'
The same newspaper of August 15 says: Brighthelmstone. – The celebration of the Prince's birthday was in a style of the utmost gaiety and conviviality, the more general and uniform, from the contracted circle in which it shone. The Prince gave a most sumptuous entertainment at the Marine Pavilion,51 of which all the Nobility and Gentry in the town and neighbourhood partook by invitation. In the evening the illuminations were general, and some of them conspicuous for taste, particularly the Castle, the front of which was covered with various coloured lamps. A Ball was given by the Jockey Club, in honour of the Prince, who honoured several ladies with his hand during the course of the evening.'
Ibid., September 6. – 'The Prince of Wales does not slumber in dull indolence at his retreat at Brighton, but promotes and participates in many manly exercises. Cricket is, at present, the chief amusement patronized by his Royal Highness, who is dexterous and indefatigable. Most of the young noblemen in the neighbourhood join in this vigorous and wholesome exercise, in which the domestics of the Prince are permitted to partake.'
We get a good glimpse of our great grandfathers and grandmothers at Brighton in the Morning Post of September 18: 'Dress at Brighton. – The fashionable bathing dress at Brighton is chiefly a pair of buff trousers, and a slight jacket.
'This is adopted by all the young men of the place, and such a number of idle, sauntering land lubbers meet the eye, every morning, on the Steyne, that one cannot help wishing for a sturdy press gang to give them useful employment, or, at least, keep them out of mischief.
'After breakfast, they are then accoutred for the sports of the field.
'The sporting dress is a brown jacket, with a multiplicity of pockets on each side, that reach from the bottom to the top, so that, from this appearance, it is somewhat difficult to determine which the fashionable tribe most resemble, a set of grooms, or a company of smugglers.
'When the dinner hour arrives, after these sprightly and heroic gentlemen have slain their thousands and ten thousands, according to their own account, in the field, with as little winking and blinking as Major Sturgeon himself, they then attire themselves in order to enjoy the pleasures of the table; and, however deranged they may, afterwards, be by convivial excess, they march, or stagger away to the Rooms, as circumstances may determine, and entertain the Ladies with elegant and decent gallantry.
'The Ladies have no particular dress for the morning, but huddle away to the bathing-place, in close caps and gipsy bonnets, so that they look like a set of wandering fortune tellers, who have just had the opportunity of pillaging the contents of a frippery warehouse, with which they have bedecked themselves in haste.
'It is to be remarked that the Ladies do not atone for the negligence of the morning, by neatness and elegance during the rest of the day, but shuffle on something by dinner time, covering themselves with an enormous nondescript bonnet, which, to the confusion of all order, they, afterwards, think a proper garb for the assembly.
'If a spectator, not cognizant in the fanciful and capricious variations of ton, were to cast his eyes on the motley groupe contained in the Rooms, of an evening; far from supposing them persons of the first fashion attired for a Ball, he would consider them as a band of Bedlamites; or, at best, conclude that the whole presented the extravagant vagaries of a Masquerade.'
This year Mrs. Fitzherbert moved into a house in Pall Mall, which had a private entrance into the grounds of Carlton House. There was a question put in the Morning Post of October 10 which was never answered. 'A Question, What is the reason that Mrs. Fitzherbert, who is a lady of fortune and fashion, never appears at Court? She is visited by some ladies of high rank – has been in public with them – and, yet, never goes to the Drawing Rooms at St. James's. This question is sent for publication by a person who pays no regard to the idle reports of the day, and wishes to have the mystery cleared up.'
The house which Weltje had taken for His Royal Highness had the Castle Tavern on one side of its grounds, and Grove House on the other, and considerable alterations were made in it since it was leased to Weltje from Mr. Kempe for £150 per annum with the option of purchase (which was exercised) for £3,000, and the house and gardens were leased by Weltje to the Prince for a term of twenty-one years from Christmas, 1787.
When the King was taken ill with his first attack of mental aberration, in November, 1788, the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert came up to London, a fact which the pictorial satirist soon got hold of; and a print was published in that month, in which the King was depicted as being in bed, a Bishop reading prayers for his restoration to health. This solemn group is interrupted by the Prince of Wales bursting into the room, calling out, 'Damme, come along, I'll see if the old fellow's – or not!' Following him are George Hanger, with a bottle, and Sheridan. To point this satire the more, a picture of the Prodigal Son hangs on the wall.
Miss Burney gives us an account of the King's seizure and of the arrival of the Prince, and although his conduct was not as heartless as shown in the etching, it was bad enough. 'Soon after, suddenly arrived the Prince of Wales. He came into the room. He had just quitted Brighthelmstone. Something passing within seemed to render this meeting awfully distant on both sides. She (the Queen) asked him if he should not return to Brighthelmstone. He answered, yes, the next day.'
But this he did not do, as there were already rumours of a Regency, yet his conduct towards his father seems to have been very bad. Grenville, writing to his brother, the Duke of Buckingham, November 23, 1788, says: 'Think of the Prince of Wales introducing Lord Lothian into the King's room when it was darkened, in order that he might hear his ravings at the time that they were at the worst. Do not let this fact come from you; it begins to be pretty well known here, and, no doubt, will find its way to Ireland; but it is important that we should not seem to spread the knowledge of anything which can injure his Royal Highness's character in public opinion.'52
There was much intriguing as to a Regency, the Ministry at first suggesting that the Government should be carried on by a Commission; but on December 30, 1788, Pitt wrote a letter to the Prince of Wales, stating that His Majesty's Ministers had come to the conclusion to offer him the Regency of the kingdom, under certain restrictions.
The Prince replied at once, expressing his sorrow at the occasion of his proposed elevation, but accepting the trust. Of course, this suggestion of the Government could not be acted upon without mature deliberation, and it was not until January 30, 1789, that the following resolutions of the Lords and Commons were presented to the Prince of Wales: 'That his Royal Highness be empowered to exercise the Royal authority under the title of Regent.' – 'That the power given, should not extend to the granting of any Peerage, except to the Royal issue.' – 'Nor to the grant of any office in reversion, or any office, salary, or pension, than during his Majesty's pleasure; or to the granting his Majesty's real, or personal estates.' – 'That the care of his Majesty be committed to the Queen, who should nominate all persons to the offices in the household.'
Needless to say, the Prince made no objections, and by February 12 the Regency Bill had gone through all its stages in the House of Commons, and was ordered to be sent to the Lords. But the proverbial 'slip 'twixt cup and lip' occurred. On February 19 the Lord Chancellor informed the House of Lords that, according to the report of his physicians, the King's health was steadily mending, and they therefore abstained from further consideration of the Regency Bill.
The physicians' hopes were fully justified; the King got better rapidly, and on February 27 his perfect recovery was announced, the prayer for the same was discontinued, and a form of prayer of thanksgiving for his restoration to health was ordered to be read in all churches and chapels throughout England and Wales. Rejoicings and illuminations were the order of the day, and on April 23, the day of general thanksgiving, the King, Queen, and Royal Family went in state to St. Paul's Cathedral, to return thanks to God for His mercy in giving the King his health and reason once again.
Naturally, there were satirical prints going about, but not so many as might be thought. There was one in February, 1789, called 'The Rival Queens. A Political Heat for Lege and Grege.' Madame Schwellenburg, the Queen's Mistress of the Robes, armed with the Lord Chancellor's mace, is making a desperate onslaught on Mrs. Fitzherbert, who defends herself with a crucifix. Pitt officiates as second to the German lady, and Florizel performs the same office towards his wife.
On April 29 appeared 'The Funeral Procession of Miss Regency,' in which are numerous figures. On the coffin are a dice-box and two dice, the Prince of Wales's coronet, and an empty purse. The chief mourner is Mrs. Fitzherbert, who is in deep grief at the loss of her position. Of course Fox and Sheridan are among the mourners, as are also the Prince's household, amongst whom is the 'Clerk of the Dish Clouts,' Weltje, who laments:
'Vor by Got, ve do pine, and in sadness ve tink
Dat it's long till de Prince vear de Crown.'