THE ROYAL MARRIAGE
The rumour that the King would espouse a Princess of Brunswick had
arisen from a proposal to that effect made by the Princess Dowager, but
for many reasons this suggestion was not acted upon. Subsequently a
princess of the house of Hesse was thought of, but her levity of conduct
was such that, when it came to the point, it was found that "nobody
would take it upon them to recommend her." Eventually Lord Bute
instructed a Colonel Graeme or Graham to visit the German courts to find
a princess who should be "perfect in her form, of pure blood and healthy
constitution, possessed of elegant accomplishments, particularly music,
to which the King was much attached, and of a mild and obliging
disposition." The appointment of Graeme for this responsible errand
caused much surprise, for the selected envoy had been notorious as a
Jacobite; which provoked Hume to the remark that Graeme had exchanged
the dangerous office of making a king for the more lucrative one of
making a king's marriage. However, the envoy was conscientious, and "in
the character of a private gentleman, played lotto with the ladies of
one court, and drank the aperient waters with the antiquated dames of
another, merely to hear the tittle-tattle of the day, respecting the
positive or negative virtues, the absence or excellence of personal
charms, which at that time distinguished the marriageable princesses of
the numerous royal, ducal, or princely families of Protestant
Germany."[133] Graeme carried out his task to the best of his ability.
He had been commanded to seek a peerless Dulcinda: he found Princess
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,[134] who subsequently rewarded him
for his share in her promotion by the bestowal of one of the richest
places in the gift of the Queen of England, the Mastership of St.
Catherine's Hospital.
[133] Huish: _The Public and Private Life of George III_.
[134] Princess Charlotte Sophia, younger daughter of Charles Louis, Duke
of Miroir, the second son of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The
Princess was born on May 16, 1744; her father died in 1751.
[Illustration: _From a drawing by T. McArdell_
QUEEN CHARLOTTE]
There is, however, another account of the selection of Princess
Charlotte as consort of George III. The King of Prussia's army had
devastated the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the young Princess
protested in a letter to the monarch....
"May it please your Majesty, I am at a loss whether I should
congratulate or condole with you on your late victory over Marshall
Daun, November 3, 1760 since the same success which has covered you with
laurels, has overspread the country of Mecklenburg with desolation. I
know, Sire, that it seems unbecoming my sex, in this age of vicious
refinement, to feel for one's country, to lament the horrors of war, or
wish for the return of peace. I know you may think it more properly my
province to study the arts of pleasing, or to inspect subjects of a more
domestic nature; but, however unbecoming it may be in me, I cannot
resist the desire of interceding for this unhappy people. It was but a
very few years ago that this territory wore the most pleasing
appearance; the country was cultivated, the peasants looked cheerful,
and the towns abounded with riches and festivity. What an alteration at
present from such a charming scene! I am not expert at description, nor
can my fancy add any horrors to the picture; but surely even conquerors
would weep at the hideous prospects now before me. The whole country, my
dear country, lies one frightful waste, presenting only objects to
excite terror, pity, and despair. The business of the husbandman and
shepherd are discontinued. The husbandman and the shepherd are become
soldiers themselves, and help to ravage the soil they formerly
cultivated. The towns are inhabited only by old men, old women, and
children; perhaps here and there a warrior, by wounds or loss of limbs,
rendered unfit for service, left at his door; his little children hang
round him, ask an history of every wound, and grow themselves soldiers,
before they find strength for the field. But this were nothing, did we
not feel the alternate insolence of either army as it happens to advance
or retreat, in pursuing the operations of the campaign. It is impossible
to express the confusion, even those who call themselves our friends
create; even those from whom we might expect redress oppress with new
calamities. From your justice, therefore, it is we hope relief. To you
even women and children may complain, whose humanity stoops to the
meanest petition, and whose power is capable of repressing the greatest
injustice."
A copy of this document, so the story goes, found its way, either by
accident or design, to George III, who, not pausing to consider that it
was unlikely to have been composed by a sixteen-year-old princess,
exclaimed to Lord Hertford: "This is the lady whom I shall select for my
consort--here are lasting beauties--the man who has any mind may feast
and not be satisfied. If the disposition of the Princess but equals her
refined sense, I shall be the happiest man, as I hope, with my people's
concurrence, to be the greatest monarch in Europe." If in a wife George
desired such qualities as a knowledge of the elements of Lutheran
divinity, natural history, and mineralogy, with some French, a trifle of
Italian, and a style of drawing that even a courtier could describe only
as "above that of the ordinary amateur," they were, for the asking, to
be had in this Princess. Apparently these accomplishments sufficed, for
_pourparlers_ were exchanged, and the King's intention to marry Princess
Charlotte was on July 8, 1761, notified by himself to the Privy Council.
"Having nothing so much at heart as to procure the welfare and happiness
of my people, and to render the same stable and permanent to posterity,"
he said, "I have, ever since my accession to the throne, turned my
thoughts towards the choice of a Princess for my consort; and I now,
with great satisfaction acquaint you, that after the fullest information
and maturest deliberation, I am come to a resolution to demand in
marriage the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a princess
distinguished by every eminent virtue and amiable endowment, whose
illustrious line has constantly shown the firmest zeal for the
Protestant religion, and a particular attachment to my family. I have
judged proper to communicate to you these my intentions, in order that
you may be fully apprised of a matter so highly important to me and to
my kingdom, and which I persuade myself will be most acceptable to all
my loving subjects."
To this meeting of the Privy Council was summoned Lord Harcourt, who,
after the King's speech, was to his great surprise informed by Lord Bute
that he had been appointed Master of the Horse, and was to go to
Strelitz to make formal application for the hand of the Princess. "After
what happened to me some years ago, it was beneath me to become a
solicitor for favours," he said. "This honour I expected about as much
as I did the bishopric of London, then vacant." He accepted the mission,
and on August 8 set sail for Strelitz--"if he can find it," Walpole said
satirically, in allusion to the size of the Duchy, the dimensions of
which were one hundred and twenty miles long by thirty miles broad.
"They say the little Princess who had written the fine letter about the
horrors of war--a beautiful letter without a single blot, for which she
was to be rewarded, like the heroine of the old spelling book story--was
at play one day with some of her young companions in the gardens of
Strelitz, and that the young lady's conversation was, strange to say,
about husbands," Thackeray has written. "'Who will take such a poor
little princess as me?' Charlotte said to her friend, Ida von Buelow, and
at that very moment the postman's horn sounded, and Ida said, 'Princess!
there is the sweetheart.' As she said, so it actually turned out. The
postman brought letters from the splendid young King of all England, who
said, 'Princess! because you have written such a beautiful letter, which
does credit to your head and heart, come and be Queen of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland, and the true wife of your most obedient servant,
George.' So she jumped for joy; and went upstairs and packed all her
little trunks; and set off straightway for her kingdom in a beautiful
yacht, with a harpsichord on board for her to play upon, and around her
a beautiful fleet, all covered with flags and streamers."[135]
[135] Thackeray: _The Four Georges_.
This playful account is not, perhaps, historically correct, but, if the
story is to be believed, it conveys the true spirit of the offer and its
acceptance. The Princess was just seventeen years of age, and had led
the quietest life imaginable, studying under Madame de Grabow, the
"German Sappho," cultivating medicinal herbs and fruit for the poor, and
employing her leisure with embroidery and needlework. Six days a week
she had worn the simplest attire; on the seventh only, when she attended
church in state, had been granted the privilege of full dress and the
delight of a drive in a coach and six. Indeed, she had never dined at
the ducal table until, on the arrival of Lord Harcourt, her brother
Adolphus Frederick, the reigning Duke, told her she was expected to be
present. "Mind what you say," he added, and "don't behave like a child";
and of course the warning produced a fit of shyness, the discomfort of
which more than counterbalanced the pleasure of her first dinner party.
Later in the evening, or (some authorities say) the next morning, the
Duke, again cautioning her, "_Allons, ne faites pas l'enfant, tu vas
etre reine d'Angleterre_," led her into a drawing-room, where, after
Lord Harcourt had presented some jewels from his master, the marriage
ceremony was performed, with Drummond, the resident English minister at
the ducal court, as the King's proxy.[136]
[136] This alliance interfered with another marriage. The Duke of
Roxburgh had fallen in love with Princess Christina, Charlotte's elder
sister, and would probably have married her, but this plan perforce fell
through when George III selected Princess Charlotte for his consort, for
it was one of the conditions of the contract that no member of the
Mecklenburg-Strelitz family should wed an English subject. Neither
Princess Christina nor her suitor ever married.
The treaty of marriage was signed on August 15, 1761, and although,
suddenly nervous at the prospective plunge into the unknown world, the
new Queen would willingly have postponed her departure for a few days
longer, yet, as the coronation of her husband and herself was already
fixed for September 22, she was compelled to leave Strelitz two days
after the ceremony. At Stade she was met by the Duchess of Hamilton and
the Duchess of Ancaster, who had come to escort the bride to her adopted
country. "I hope friendship may take the place of ceremony in our
relations," she greeted them, having apparently at once caught the tone
of regal graciousness; and she completed the conquest of the noble dames
when, after gazing at them, she said wonderingly and a little fearful:
"Are all English women as beautiful as you?" Queen Charlotte was very
humble in those early days, and her childish delight in the salutes with
which cannons and bells greeted her was tempered with meek astonishment:
"Am I worthy of all these honours?"
The royal party embarked at Cuxhaven on August 22, but did not reach
Harwich until Sunday, September 6. The delay, which was occasioned by
exceptionally rough weather, caused some anxiety as to the safety of the
Queen, especially in London, where the news of her arrival was not
known until Monday. "Last night at ten o'clock it was neither certain
where she landed, nor when she would be in town," Horace Walpole wrote
on Tuesday, September 8, "I forgive history for knowing nothing when so
public an event as the arrival of a new queen is a mystery even at this
very moment at St. James's. The messenger that brought the letter
yesterday morning said she _arrived_ at half-an-hour after four at
Harwich; this was immediately translated into _landing_, and notified in
these words to the ministers. Six hours afterwards it proved no such
thing, and, that she was only in Harwich Road; and they recollected that
half-an-hour after four happens twice in twenty-four hours, and the
letter did not specify which of the twices it was. Well, the bridesmaids
whipt on their virginity; the New Road and the Parks were thronged; the
guns were choking with impatience to go off; and Sir James Lowther, who
was to pledge his Majesty, was actually married to Lady Mary Stuart.
Five, six, seven, eight o'clock came, and no queen."
The Queen had remained on board until three o'clock on Monday afternoon,
so as to allow time for the preparations incidental to her reception.
She then drove to Colchester, which was reached at five o'clock, and
from there went on to Witham, where she stayed overnight at Lord
Abercorn's.[137] Leaving Witham early in the morning, the Queen arrived
at noon at Romford, where she was met by the King's coaches and
servants. She entered one of the royal carriages, dressed in "a fly-cap
with rich lace lappets, a stomacher ornamented with diamonds, and a gold
brocade suit of clothes with a white ground." Her companions desired her
to curl her _toupee_ but this she declined to do on the ground that it
looked as well as that of any of the ladies sent to fetch her, adding
that if the King wished her to wear a periwig she would do so, but
otherwise would remain as she was.
[137] James, eighth Earl of Abercorn (1712-1789), carried his
independence to a disconcerting bluntness. When he presented himself at
St. James's, the King thanked him for his courtesy to the Queen, and
said he feared his visit must have given him a good deal of trouble. "A
good deal indeed," replied the Earl.
From Romford the Queen and her attendants, watched by immense crowds,
proceeded to "Stratford-le-bow and Mile-end turnpike, where they turned
up Dog-row, and prosecuted their journey to Hackney turnpike, then by
Shoreditch Church, and up Old Street to the City-road, across Islington,
along the New-road into Hyde Park, down Constitutional-hill into St.
James's Park." At the sight of the Palace, the Queen turned pale, and,
noticing that the Duchess of Hamilton smiled, "My dear Duchess," she
said, "you may laugh; you have been married twice, but it is no joke to
me." At twenty minutes past three in the afternoon she arrived at St.
James's, and Walpole remarked that the "noise of the coaches, chaises,
horsemen, mob, that have been to see her pass through the parks is so
prodigious that I cannot distinguish the guns."
The King received his bride at the entrance to the palace, and, though
he had chosen her for her "lasting beauties", was so surprised by the
homeliness of her features that, says Galt, "an involuntary expression
of the King's countenance revealed what was passing within." Lady Anne
Hamilton goes so far as to say that, "At the first sight of the German
Princess, the King actually shrank from her gaze, for her countenance
was of that cast that too plainly told of the nature of the spirit
working within,"[138] but this is almost certainly exaggeration, and may
be dismissed with the following statement by the same author: "In the
meantime the Earl of Abercorn informed the Princess of the previous
marriage of the King and of the existence of his Majesty's wife; and
Lord Harcourt advised the Princess to well inform herself of the policy
of the kingdom, as a measure for preventing much future disturbance in
the country, as well as securing an uninterrupted possession of the
throne to her issue. Presuming therefore that the German Princess had
hitherto been an open and ingenuous character, such expositions,
intimations, and dark mysteries, were ill-calculated to nourish
honourable feelings, but would rather operate as a check to their
further existence. To the public eye the newly married pair were
contented with each other; alas! it was because each feared an exposure
to the nation. The King reproached himself that he had not fearlessly
avowed the only wife of his affections; the Queen because she feared an
explanation that the King was guilty of bigamy, and thereby her claim,
as also that of her progeny (if she should have any), would be known to
be illegitimate. It appears as if the result of those reflections formed
a basis for the misery of millions, and added to that number millions
yet unborn."[139]
[138] _Secret History of the Court of England._
[139] Lady Anne Hamilton: _Secret History_.
Lord Harcourt wrote from Strelitz of the bride as "no regular beauty",
but credited her with a charming complexion, very pretty eyes, and a
good figure, summing her up as a very fine girl, and Mrs. Papendiek, who
came over with her, has placed on record a not dissimilar picture, "She
was certainly not a beauty, but her countenance was expressive and
intelligent. She was not tall, but of a slight, rather pretty figure;
her eyes bright and sparkling with good humour and vivacity, her mouth
large, but filled with white and even teeth, and her hair really
beautiful." Walpole has said that within half-an-hour of her arrival in
the metropolis one heard of nothing but proclamations of her beauty, but
his first description of her was not flattering, and his second denies
her all claim to good looks. "Her person was small and very lean, not
well made; her face pale and homely, her nose somewhat flat and mouth
very large. Her hair, however, was of a fine brown, and her countenance
pleasing," he wrote on her arrival; but later remarked: "She had always
been, if not ugly, at least ordinary, but in her later years her want of
personal charms became, of course, less observable, and it used to be
said that she was grown better-looking. I said one day something to this
effect to Colonel Desbrowe, her Chamberlain. 'Yes,' he replied, 'I do
think the _bloom_ of her ugliness is going off!'"
Immediately upon her arrival the King introduced to his bride the
members of his family, and soon after the royal party sat down to
dinner. Later the bridesmaids[140] and the Court were introduced, and
in such numbers that she exclaimed as the long procession passed before
her, "_Mon Dieu, il y en a tout, il y en a tout._" She bore herself with
dignity, but was civil and good-humoured, showed pleasure when she was
told she should kiss the peeresses, and betrayed a pretty reluctance to
give her hand to be kissed by the humbler folk. At ten o'clock all
repaired to the chapel where the marriage ceremony was repeated. The
Queen was, of course, in bridal costume, and Walpole thought she looked
very sensible, cheerful, and remarkably genteel. "Her tiara of diamonds
was very pretty, her stomacher was sumptuous," he commented: "her
violet-velvet mantle so heavy that the spectators know as much of her
upper half as the King himself." This was a trying ordeal after a long
journey, but the Queen forgot or disguised her fatigue, and when the
party returned to the drawing-room, was quite cheerful, played the
spinet and sang while the company was waiting for supper, talked French
with some guests and German with her attentive husband. "It does not
promise," said Walpole, "as if they would be the two most unhappy people
in England."
[140] The bridesmaids, dressed in white lustring with silver trimmings
ornamented with pearls and diamonds, were chosen from the unmarried
daughters of dukes and earls, and were ten in number: Lady Sarah Lennox,
Lady Caroline Russell, Lady Anne Hamilton, Lady Elizabeth Kerr, Lady
Harriet Bentinck, Lady Caroline Montague, Lady Elizabeth Keppel, Lady
Louisa Greville, Lady Elizabeth Harcourt, and Lady Susan Fox
Strangways.