THE NUPTIALS.
How the Prince and his friends passed the interval between dinner and
the ceremony is not stated in history, but if they spent it over their
wine certainly the Prince came up to time looking his best when the
procession was formed in the great drawing-room of St. James’s Palace
at eight o’clock; then, the great crowd of peers and peeresses were
marshalled into order of precedence.
The ceremony took place in the Chapel of the Palace and was performed
by the Bishop of London to a running accompaniment of artillery in the
neighbouring park. Here is an account of it all from the _Gentleman’s
Magazine_ for April, 1736, which must also have been a _Ladies’
Magazine_ in the reading at any rate, from the elaborate descriptions
of the dresses worn; no doubt this accurate journal issued a double
wedding number to give room for the information, and greatly increased
its circulation thereby.
The account:
“Her Highness was in her hair, wearing a crown with one bar, as
Princess of Wales, set all over with diamonds; her robe, likewise, as
Princess of Wales, being of crimson velvet, turned back with several
rows of ermine, and having her train supported by four ladies, all of
whom were in virgin habits of silver, like the Princess, and adorned
with diamonds not less in value than from twenty to thirty thousand
pounds each. Her Highness was led by His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cumberland, and conducted by His Grace the Duke of Grafton, Lord
Chamberlain of the Household, and the Lord Hervey, Vice-Chamberlain,
and attended by the Countess of Effingham, and the other ladies of her
household.
“The marriage service was read by the Lord Bishop of London, Dean of
the Chapel; and after the same was over, a fine anthem was performed by
a great number of voices and instruments.
“When the procession returned his Royal Highness led his bride; and
coming into the drawing-room, their Royal Highnesses kneeled down and
received their Majesties’ blessing.
“At half-an-hour after ten their Majesties sat down to supper in
_ambigu_, the Prince and the Duke being on the King’s right hand, and
the Princess of Wales and the four Princesses on the Queen’s left.
“Their Majesties retiring to the apartments of the Prince of Wales,
the bride was conducted to her bedchamber, the bridegroom to his
dressing-room, where the Duke undressed him, and his Majesty did his
Royal Highness the honour to put on his shirt.
“The bride was undressed by the Princesses, and being in bed in a rich
undress, his Majesty came into the room, the Prince following soon
after in a night-gown of silver stuff, and cap of the finest lace.
“The quality were admitted to see the bride and bridegroom sitting up
in bed surrounded by all the Royal Family.”
That must have been an engaging sight which the little King came upon,
when due intimation had been conveyed to his royal ears that the bride
had been undressed, and re-dressed by her royal maids; the spectacle
of a pretty Princess, in very becoming night attire, sitting up in bed
and blushingly awaiting her bridegroom, must have been a taking sight
indeed.
It seems to have been the custom in those days for a Royal bride and
bridegroom to have held a formal reception in their bedroom, while
sitting up in bed, before finally saying good-night. As a matter of
fact, this was not an English tradition at all, but a ceremony borrowed
from Versailles, where it might have been better understood.
On the occasion of the previous marriage in the family when the
Princess Royal had wedded the Prince of Orange, the latter, never a
favourite with the Queen--as has been stated already--did not make
much of a show sitting up in bed without his peruke and gorgeous
wedding-clothes, which had certainly toned down his deformities and
want of good looks.
Commenting on the following day upon the sight of this royal couple,
the Queen cried:--
“Ah! mon Dieu! quand je voiois entrer ce monstre pour coucher avec ma
fille, j’ai pensé m’évanouir. Je chancelois auparavant mais ce coup là
m’a assommée.”
The Princess, however, did not share this view, and in her way really
appeared to be fond of her husband, and was dutiful to him according to
her lights.
It may be well to mention that the four bridesmaids referred to in the
foregoing account were: Lady Caroline Lennox, daughter of the Duke of
Richmond; Lady Caroline Fitzroy, daughter of the Duke of Grafton; Lady
Caroline Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire.
It will be seen that all these ladies bore the name of the Queen, the
fourth, Lady Sophia Fermor, daughter of the Earl of Pomfret, bore the
name of the King’s mother, whom he had always regarded as Queen of
England.
It is said that the King had grumbled at the scarcity of new clothes
at his birthday drawing-room, certainly he could not with reason have
complained of the display at his son’s wedding.
This is a description of some of them from that excellent journal
the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, and which seems to have fulfilled, and
fulfilled well, the double functions of the _Queen_ newspaper and the
_Court Circular_ of our day:
“His Majesty was dressed in a gold brocade turned up with silk,
embroidered with large flowers in silver and colours, as was the
waistcoat; the buttons and stars were diamonds.
“Her Majesty was in plain yellow silk, robed and faced with pearls,
diamonds, and other jewels of immense value.
“The Dukes of Grafton, Newcastle and St. Albans, the Earl of Albemarle,
Lord Hervey, Colonel Pelham, and many other noblemen were in gold
brocades of from three to five hundred pounds a suit. The Duke of
Marlborough was in a white velvet and gold brocade, upon which was an
exceedingly rich _point d’Espagne_. The Earl of Euston and many others
were in clothes flowered or sprigged with gold; the Duke of Montagu in
a gold brocaded tissue.
“The waistcoats were universally brocades with large flowers.
“’Twas observed most of the fine clothes were the manufactures of
England, and in honour of our own artists. The few which were French
did not come up to these in richness or goodness or fancy, as was seen
by the clothes worn by the Royal Family, which were all of British
manufacture. The cuffs of the sleeves were universally deep and open,
the waists long, and the plaits more sticking out than ever. The ladies
were principally in brocades of gold and silver, and wore their sleeves
much lower than hath been done for some time.”[35]
One account states that the Prince in his night attire of “silver
stuff”--which must have been most uncomfortable--passed gaily among the
guests at his bedroom reception, whilst his pretty young wife sat bolt
upright in the heavily-draped four-poster. That he exchanged quips and
retorts with the ladies and gentlemen of the Court, in the broad style
which then was fashionable, and that a general air of levity and frolic
prevailed over all without restraint.
One could have wished that those two joyous maids-of-honour, Mary
Bellenden and Mollie Lepel, could have been there, with their bosom
friend, Mrs. Howard, to add their witty congratulations to the crowd
of compliments which floated round the fair young girl wife sitting up
in bed; if those good-humoured jokes were perhaps a little stronger
than they ought to have been, we may rest assured that judging from
their letters which are still extant, that beautiful merry trio,
“Bella-dine,” “the Swiss” and “the Schatz” would have been quite equal
to the occasion.[36]
And so the stiff brocades and the powdered heads having made due
obeisance to the four-poster and its sacred contents, someone
discreetly pulled the curtains, and the crowd withdrew.
[Illustration: MARY BELLENDEN,
4th Duchess of Argyll.
Copied for this book from the Gallery at Inverary by the kindness of
the present Duke.]
FOOTNOTES:
[35] _Gentleman’s Magazine_, April, 1736.
[36] Alas! Poor Mary Bellenden, then fourth Duchess of Argyle, died on
the 18th September, that year, still young.
Lightly rest, thy native Scottish soil upon thee, Mary,
Sweet be thy soul’s eternal rest!