The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Wednesday 9 March 2005

Royal Wedding Fiasco
Or, Charles Isn't the Only Prince of Wales with Nuptial Issues

At three o�clock in the afternoon, Sir James Harris the Earl of Malmesbury, escorted Princess Caroline of Brunswick into St. James�s Palace, and immediately sent a message for the Prince of Wales to greet his royal bride. George Augustus Frederick, eldest son of King George III, raced posthaste to greet his long-awaited bride.

As George approached, Caroline attempted to kneel before him, but her stoutness and natural lack of grace caused her to stumble inelegantly before the most refined prince in Europe. Ever willing to play the gallant gentleman, George lifted his bride to her feet and briefly embraced her. In an instant, the expectant atmosphere disintegrated. The Prince, perhaps having imbibed Caroline�s unwashed personal bouquet, immediately released the dazed young woman. Without a word, he turned abruptly and moved to a distant corner of the room.

�Harris,� he called. �I am not well. Pray get me a glass of brandy.�

The stunned ambassador struggled to respond. No amount of anticipation or preparation could have foretold the Prince�s uncharacteristically rude behavior. �Sir,� he offered awkwardly. �Had you not better have a glass of water?�

George swore. �No,� he replied testily. �I will go directly to the Queen.�

Then he rushed from the room, leaving Malmesbury speechless. The astonished Princess, however, quickly found her tongue. �My God! Is the Prince always like this? I find him very fat and not nearly as handsome as his portrait.�

Three days later, the couple married, but their relationship never improved. The Prince of Wales had been on the verge of his thirty-second birthday when he informed his father of his decision to acquire a royal bride. The King rejoiced in his eldest son�s belated engagement. Although the relationship between father and son was not as acrid as those filial relationships between previous Hanoverians, George III often felt frustrated by the Prince�s low standard of behavior and irresponsible refusal to live within his substantial income.

However, in choosing his wife, the Prince of Wales had permitted himself to be guided by poor advice from one of his many brothers (who had thought Caroline quite lovely many years earlier), self-interested advice from his mistress (who had thought that an inelegant bride would assure the groom�s loyalty to the mistress), and a desire for money that far exceeded his desire to wed. The fact that he was already secretly and illegally married did not enter into the equation.

Tall and charming, the Prince enjoyed public adoration. His growing popularity was not lessened by his early and unerring tendency to become embroiled in scandalous affairs. From the age of 16, he had embarked upon a series of romantic entanglements with unsavory women, including an actress who blackmailed the King over the Prince�s indiscreet love letters, the widow of a hanged highwayman, and the wife of a foreign ambassador.

Adding further to his disgrace, in his father�s opinion, George never attempted to live within his income. His first step toward lifelong indebtedness began with Carlton House in London. Although he had promised to refurbish the house with just the necessary furniture, he embarked upon massive renovations that were to continue almost incessantly for the next forty years. Then, he began building another palatial abode in Brighton. He spared no expense on either project.

The King also was troubled to learn that his fun-loving son had taken up company with a circle of hard-drinking, heavy-gambling, women-seducing chaps who espoused the ideals of the American Revolution.

George settled down briefly in his early 20s, when he fell in love with Maria Fitzherbert. The twice-widowed Catholic woman had very high standards, however, and refused to be his mistress. So, in a closed-door secret ceremony the 23-year-old Prince and his nearly 30-year-old bride made their vows. The clandestine marriage violated two acts of Parliament: the 1701 Act of Settlement barring Catholics or their spouses from ascending the British throne and the 1772 Royal Marriages Act requiring all descendants of King George II to obtain the King�s permission to marry.

In order to discourage gossip, the couple lived parallel lives in separate households. And, despite the Prince�s spendthrift habits which eventually left them �as poor as church mice� according to Maria, they were quite happy together for several years.

Within five years, however, the Prince was growing restless with his marriage and with his life. His carefree behavior had earned him a reputation as the �Prince of pleasure� and he became known as Prinny, an affectionate if irreverent nickname among the masses. Echoing the predicament of many Princes of Wales, George had no useful employment. He was denied a military commission, he was given no constitutional duties, and he was not permitted to assist the King with any of his political responsibilities. Unlike the current Prince of Wales, George did not engage himself in charitable works or attempt to learn more about the country he would one day lead. Left to his own devices, the merrymaking Prince soon found himself even more deeply in debt, and in love with another woman, a 41-year-old grandmother named Frances Lady Jersey. A domineering woman, Lady Jersey envied Maria�s influence over the Prince. George could not resist the beautiful and seductive Lady Jersey. One day, at a dinner party, Maria received a note from her husband stating that he intended never to see her again.

Weeks later, George�s desperate financial situation helped him decide to take a royal bride. Just seven years after Parliament had increased his income and granted debt-relieving funds for the work on Carlton House, George�s continued decadence had increased his debts to an astronomical �630,000.

The Prince realized that he would not receive additional funds unless he finally married an appropriately Protestant royal bride. Without exhibiting any personal interest in the bride herself, George selected his father�s niece, Caroline of Brunswick. By choosing the young woman most acceptable to the King, George expedited the marriage process, thereby avoiding drawn-out marriage negotiations that might have delayed the increase in his annual allowance.

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth was the second daughter of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenb�ttel and King George III�s sister, Augusta. Impressions of Caroline were generally favorable. Carefree and kind, the vivacious Princess had been an attractive young girl with perfect rosebud lips and abundant blonde curls, although this natural freshness had been tempered by time as she entered her mid-20s. Never interested in fashion, Caroline dressed plainly. Although Caroline attracted several unfulfilled marriage proposals, she exhibited a natural exuberance and lack of inhibition that troubled her parents. Therefore, she was raised in near-seclusion. The young Princess endured constant surveillance by her governess, who followed her everywhere, including the dance floor, to thwart the girl�s tendency toward indiscreet conversation. The enforced isolation only heightened Caroline�s impulsiveness and willfulness.

Although Charles and Augusta kept their daughter under close supervision, dubious stories circulated about the overprotected Caroline�s free and easy attitude. Without a doubt, Caroline�s spontaneous manner did nothing to dampen the vicious stories that she was morally deficient or that she had lost her virginity. In an age of repressive etiquette, Caroline�s behavior frequently skirted the edge of propriety. Her easy laughter and kindness to people of low rank earned her little esteem from contemporaries.

By the time the Earl of Malmesbury introduced her to the Prince of Wales, the Princess already had been confronted by her future husband�s mistress, Lady Jersey. In fact, the Prince had secured Lady Jersey a position among Caroline�s ladies-in-waiting. It was she who re-dressed Caroline in an unflattering dress and over-applied the Princess�s make up before she met the Prince. While most young ladies of the day would not have been aware of a fianc�s sexual escapades, Caroline�s mother had told her daughter about Lady Jersey�s role in George�s life.

Nevertheless, Caroline went forward with the wedding, hoping that the Prince of whom she had heard so many wonderful things would indeed be her Prince Charming. George, however, was not in the mood for such fairytales. Shortly before Caroline reached England, he had been informed that, due to the ongoing war against Napoleon, his allowance would not be increased. Furthermore, he would be required to pay all of Caroline�s expenses and provide her a sufficient allowance from his own income.

On the day of the wedding, George, who usually enjoyed pomp and ceremony, was petulant and moody. His thoughts were with Maria Fitzherbert. That morning, he told his brother that Maria was the only woman he would ever love. He repeated this mournful refrain to a friend in the carriage on the way to the wedding. �I shall never love any woman but Fitzherbert,� he moaned as the carriage drove him steadily to his unwanted bride.

George entered the chamber physically supported by the bachelor Dukes of Bedford and Roxburgh. Obviously inebriated, he slumped into his seat. As the ceremony began, several guests noticed that while the Princess was composed, the Prince appeared unsteady. Nevertheless, everyone was somewhat astonished when the Archbishop of Canterbury seemed to reprimand the Prince in the middle of the service. �I am required to ask anyone present who knows a reason why these persons may not lawfully marry, to declare it now,� the Archbishop purposefully laid down his book. He looked first to the King, and then to the Prince. No one mentioned that the Prince had not divorced his secret wife.

Receiving no response, the Archbishop moved on to the vows. Turning to George, he twice repeated the question �Will you love her, comfort her, honour and protect her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?� The emotional Prince burst into tears.

�I will,� he responded, but throughout the ceremony his attention was distracted by the presence of Lady Jersey. His confusion and disorientation, heightened by alcohol, were apparent to everyone as the congregation knelt in prayer. As the Lord�s blessing was invoked, George stood suddenly and turned as if to flee. The King�s barking voice rang across the chapel, freezing the Prince in mid-flight. George knelt immediately but his nightmare had not yet ended.

The ceremony was only the beginning of the evening. As he walked unsteadily up the aisle with his new bride on his arm, George looked forward to the wine that would be served at the reception. Despite her groom�s disturbing behavior, Caroline remained cheerful, speaking softly to her new husband in French as they entered the drawing room for dinner. Her efforts met with cross words from the normally amiable Prince.

By the time the bridal couple reached the nuptial chamber, George was beyond inebriation. According to Caroline, he was unable to perform and fainted near the fireplace. The next day, George went riding even though guests had been invited to enjoy slices of wedding cake. As Caroline readily received their guests, a young girl was thoughtless enough to voice the thought in many people�s heads. �What an odd marriage,� she was heard to remark.
 

- Cheryl