Princess Charlotte of Wales

The bright spot of the Regency era was Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick. Despite the horror of their marriage, the couple managed to produce a lovely and sweet daughter, and proceeded to make her life pretty miserable. George left most of her upbringing to governesses and servants, and severely limited her contact with her mother. Charlotte was devoted to her mother, despite her faults. King George III adored his only grandchild and was responsible for arranging her education, with the clear goal of training her for the role of future queen.

I am surprised that a Regency costume drama has never been made of her life, as it is so full of intrigue, passion, and tragedy, all played by a spunky heroine that even Jane Austen could not have imagined. Charlotte was said to have identified with Austen's Marianne in Sense and Sensibility.

The Prince Regent was anxious to make an advantageous marriage for his daughter, and settled on William, the Hereditary Prince of Orange. Charlotte's first meeting with him was not a success, as William had joined all the other men in getting drunk. I'm making a long, complicated story very short, but during this time, Charlotte met a poor German nobleman, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, and the two fell in love. The end result was that they married and lived happily ever after. Well, happily for a year or so.

The public adored Charlotte and her happy match was viewed as not only a fairy-tale ending, but a triumph over the machinations of her father. Here, Dolly and Minerva are thrilled to see the loving couple at the theatre, while watching a performance of Sheridan's The Rivals. Mrs. Malaprop was a popular character, famed for her hilariously garbled figures of speech. Her name has gone on in the term malapropisms, substituting a word for a similar one, to humorous effect.

Here's a picture of Princess Charlotte next to the dress she wore in it.

A Green Bag

The Prince Regent did his worst to discredit his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, in any way possible. In 1806, a secret commission was set up called, inappropriately, "The Delicate Investigation". George wanted to prove that Caroline was having affairs, and as the investigation became widely public, it was anything but delicate. The previous year, Caroline had taken in a three-month-old baby boy, William Austin, and rumors flew that the child was Caroline's. George had surrounded Caroline with his own choice of ladies-in-waiting, who were more than happy to deliver slanderous reports. As her own daughter, Charlotte, had been taken from her home, her lonely mother's heart had driven her to adopt 8 or 9 children, who were sent out to be fostered by nearby families. Eventually, a Sophia Austin testified to the commission that little William was hers.

Socially isolated by George's decrees, Caroline left England for some years. She hired a manservant, Bartolomeo Pergami, and as he was always by her side, rumors again flew. George was determined to find grounds for divorce in all this and set up another commission to gather evidence. All very complicated, and meanwhile, George found himself king. Caroline returned from the continent and was thrown into a bewildering situation. George was doing all he could to get rid of her, or at very least, strip her of any royal position. Part of the investigation against her was the Green Bag. Caroline's apartments were searched thoroughly for any evidence that she was living with Pergami, and whatever evidence found was to be put into special green cloth bags. The caricature artists had a field day with the green bags, usually pointing back at George, who could fill countless bags with his own evidence.

Britain's Best Hope

For all the Prince Regent did to alienate Princess Caroline, the British public seemed to like her. She had the common touch in abundance, and George's habits of high living, gambling, and prodigal spending did not endear him to the average Briton. This print clearly depicts the hope that Caroline's influence would provide some stability in government and society, something George spent little time worrying about. Alas, it was not to be. She was only to live another year. 

Dolly and Minerva decide to visit Mrs.John Bull after seeing the print, and get an earful on the subject. Lucky for them, Mr. Bull isn't home -- they'd be there all day, listening to his tirade!

The Prince's Ladies

Unlike his father George III, Prince George began collecting mistresses at an early age, most of them prominent titled women who bartered their reputations for the dubious social advantage and promise of financial gain. However, he met a widow, Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert, who would become the love of his life. A devout Catholic, she refused to become his mistress, and only gave in to him after a clandestine marriage ceremony in 1785. Unfortunately, the marriage was illegal, according to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which put poor Maria in a very difficult position. Meanwhile, George was being prodded toward an actual marriage arrangement with Princess Caroline of Brunswick, with the promise from Parliament that his allowance would be increased. Maria was informed that their relationship was at an end, and George married Caroline in 1795. What a disaster! The pair met the day before the wedding and George's first response was to request a drink. He spent the wedding day thoroughly drunk and barely recalled fulfilling his husbandly duty. 

Caroline was not every man's dream girl. Twenty-seven years old, Caroline was very much lacking in social graces; garrulous and coarse-mannered, although friendly and high-spirited. She was not particularly pretty, and her low standards of personal hygiene were noted by everyone down-wind of her. Her wedding night was the sum total of her intimate contact with the Prince, and nine months later, she gave birth to a daughter, Princess Charlotte

Back to Mrs. Fitzherbert. Torn this way and that between duty, love, and temptation, George attempted to revive his relationship with Maria, even writing a will bequeathing all his worldly goods "to my Maria Fitzherbert, my wife, the wife of my heart and soul". After the Pope declared their marriage valid in 1798, the pair took up where they left off. 

When George became king, he distanced himself from Maria, but from all accounts, still loved her deeply. He requested to be buried with the "lover's eye" brooch he had given her in lieu of a wedding ring. Although some websites say this is Maria's eye, it is actually George's, painted by the artist Richard Cosway and mounted in a brooch frame. Lover's eyes became quite a fashion, with the implicit message, "I am always looking at you".

The Prince's Ball at Brighton

What Regency blog is complete without the Prince Regent? Poor George, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and little else to recommend him. His father, George III, seemed to put a damper on all his prospects. First off, III lived to the ripe old age of 82, meaning that the Prince of Wales would not become king until he was 58. That's a long time to wait around until he was to take the position he was born to. His unfortunate father was afflicted with a terrible disease, assumed today to be acute porphyria. One symptom was recurring bouts of insanity, making it impossible for him to act in his ruling capacity. As a result, his son was appointed Prince Regent, ruling in his father's stead, though not with any actual power. 

George III, for all the negative opinion voiced by American colonists, was quite a nice man. He was a sober and clean-living young man, rejecting any opportunities to be a wild wastrel in his spare time. He agreed to an arranged marriage with Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he met on their wedding day. Fortunately, they hit it off from the start and had a very happy marriage and 15 children. George III was devoted to his family and never took a mistress.

Young George did not take after his father in that respect, but dove into high-living at an early age. Despite his parents' tight control over the purse strings, Prince George plowed his way through society, racking up huge debts which he believed would be taken care of once he became king. Parliament holds the purse, dear boy.  One of George's greatest extravagances was the building of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. A huge pleasure palace of fantastic oriental design, it was the party headquarters in the foremost seaside resort of the Georgian era, and a never-ending source of inspiration for the caricature artists of the times. Here's a great one of George and a mistress enjoying their new giraffe.

Dolly and Minerva have managed to be invited to a ball at the Royal Pavilion. Nice escorts, girls!