1866.
Of all the wild stories which have been concocted by pretenders to
regal lineage, none that has obtained any public notice has been so
utterly absurd in its developments as that told by Lavinia Janneta
Horton Ryves. In 1866 this individual, the daughter of Mr. Serres, an
artist, and the wife of a Mr. Ryves, actually brought her claim to be
recognized as Princess of Cumberland into a court of law. According to
the statement which Mrs. Ryves made through her counsel, and which,
indeed, was only a recapitulation of what had already appeared in
various periodicals, her grandmother Olive had been married to the Duke
of Cumberland, brother of George the Third, and had had the marriage
acknowledged by that monarch. This statement was supported by several
documents purporting to be signed by King George, and several other
persons of exalted position, but which were characterized by the
prosecution as impudent forgeries, the production, apparently, of Mrs.
Serres, and the jury would seem to have taken the same view of their
nature.
The story _in extenso_ was this: the Rev. Dr. James Wilmot, of
Barton-on-the-Heath, Warwickshire, met and became enamoured of the
sister of Count Poniatowski, subsequently King of Poland. Dr. Wilmot
married this Polish lady, but, in order to retain his Fellowship, kept
the marriage a profound secret. One child, Olive, a very beautiful
girl, was the sole issue of this love match. When this lovely daughter
was seventeen years of age, she was seen at a nobleman's house by the
Duke of Cumberland, fallen in love with, and after a very brief
courtship married by the prince. This marriage, which was alleged to
have been celebrated by the bride's father, Dr. Wilmot, on March 4th,
1767, was also a secret one. On the 3rd of April, 1772, a daughter,
christened after her mother, Olive, was born of this clandestine union;
but, previous to the interesting event, the Duke of Cumberland,
availing himself of the secrecy of his first marriage, actually
committed bigamy by taking unto himself a second wife, in the person of
Lady Anne Horton, sister of the infamous Colonel Luttrel. The second
Olive, according to the testimony of the claimant, was first baptized
as daughter of the Duke of Cumberland, and then, by command of George
the Third, in order to preserve her royal father from the penalty of
bigamy, was again baptized at another church as the daughter of Robert
Wilmot (Dr. Wilmot's brother), and Anna Maria his wife. A certificate
to this effect was produced, purporting to be signed by the two Wilmot
brothers and the Earl of Warwick, and as means of the child Olive's
future identification it was certified that she had "a large mole on
the right side, and another crimson mark upon the back near the neck."
The so-called "Princess of Cumberland" died in France, on the 5th of
December, 1774, and, according to Dr. Wilmot's supposed certificate,
"in the prime of life of a broken heart," evidently caused by her royal
husband's desertion of her. George the Third was perfectly cognizant
of his brother Cumberland's union with Olive Wilmot, and was therefore
deeply indignant at his heartless behaviour; but as, according to
another portion of the claimant's story, he had contracted a similar
bigamous union himself, he was necessarily compelled to keep quiet
about the occurrence. However, in order to compensate his little niece
in some way for her loss of birthright, he not only allowed her
putative parents five hundred pounds per annum for her support, but
placed in their hands the following acknowledgment of her claims to
royalty.
"George R.--We hereby are pleased to create Olive of Cumberland Duchess
of Lancaster, and to grant our royal authority for Olive, our said
niece, to bear and use the title and arms of Lancaster, should she be
in existence at the period of our royal demise.
"Given at our Palace of St. James's, May 17th, 1773.
"CHATHAM,
"J. DUNNING."
When about seventeen this "Duchess of Lancaster" _in petto_ came to
London, and made the acquaintance of John Thomas Serres, proprietor of
the Coburg Theatre, and son of a royal academician. Upon the 1st of
September, 1792, this descendant of the sovereigns of England and
Poland was married to Mr. Serres, but, as might be anticipated, the
union was not a very happy one, and in 1803 a separation took place.
Of the four children who were issue of this marriage, two daughters
grew up, one of whom, Lavinia, born in 1797, remained with her mother,
whilst the other went with her father. Mrs. Serres, who became an
author and artist, and published a book to prove that the _Letters of
Junius_ were written by Dr. James Wilmot, would appear to have been
somewhat crazed, at least towards the latter part of her life. She
assumed the title of Princess of Cumberland, and brought up her
daughter Lavinia in the belief that she was of royal lineage. Dr.
Wilmot, who died in 1807, at the advanced age of eighty-five, was
supposed to have left his daughter the following remarkable document:--
"MY DEAR OLIVE,--As the undoubted heir of Augustus, King of Poland,
your rights will find aid of the sovereigns that you are allied to by
blood, should the family of your father act unjustly; but may the great
Disposer of all things direct otherwise. The Princess of Poland, your
grandmother, I made my lawful wife, and I do solemnly attest that you
are the last of that illustrious blood. May the Almighty guide you to
all your distinctions of birth! Mine has been a life of trial, but not
of crime!"
J. WILMOT.
"_January_ 1791."
It was not until 1815, according to the evidence given by Mrs. Ryves at
the trial, that her mother knew anything of her royal parentage, she
having been brought up in the belief that she was the daughter of
Robert Wilmot, Dr. Wilmot's brother. When the wonderful information
was conveyed to her, through the instrumentality of the Earl of
Warwick, she took the title of Princess, and, so said the witness, was
even acknowledged by the Duke of Kent and other members of the royal
family as a relative. The Duke of Kent, so it was alleged, even
granted to the _soi disant_ princess one-third of his Canadian estates,
binding himself, his heirs, and executors to a solemn observance of the
covenant, and promised to see her reinstated in her royal rights. In
1818 he further bound himself, his heirs, executors, and assigns
(according to the claimant's story), to pay the Princess Olive an
annuity of four hundred pounds; and this annuity, so it was averred,
was duly paid until the Duke's demise, after which event it was not
continued. Indeed, such trust did the Duke of Kent repose in the
"Princess Olive," if the documents produced might be relied on, that he
constituted her guardian of his daughter Alexandrina (our present
Majesty), and directress of her education, on account of her
relationship, and because the Duchess of Kent was not familiar with
English modes of education. Out of respect for a mother's feelings,
the "Princess Olive," as her daughter explained, did not attempt to
execute this desire of her deceased cousin of Kent.
So thoroughly were the "Princess Olive's" royal claims ventilated that,
it is averred, she was entertained at the civic banquet at the
Guildhall, on the 9th of November, 1820, and permitted, or invited, by
the Lord Mayor (Alderman Thorpe), to occupy one of the seats usually
assigned to members of the royal family. In 1834 the putative
princess, otherwise Mrs. Serres, died, leaving her claims as an
inheritance to her daughter Lavinia Jannetta Horton, then the wife of
Mr. Anthony Thomas Ryves, and the mother of several children. The
personal appearance of Mrs. Ryves, so believers in her claims asserted,
was greatly in favour of her alleged descent from the royal family;
but, unfortunately for her pretensions, neither judge nor jury would
admit such supposed resemblance as evidence.
In replying on the remarkable statements made at the trial, the
Attorney-General ruthlessly demolished the whole fabric of the
"Cumberland romance." He did not impute aught to Mrs. Ryves more than
that having brooded over the matter for so many years she had at last
persuaded herself of the truth of the fiction she was representing; but
Mrs. Serres, he suggested, was really the concocter of the whole
scheme. True it was, contended Sir Roundell Palmer, that the
petitioner's mother, Mrs. Serres, was not quite responsible for her
actions, so many of them having been of an ultra-eccentric character.
He described several of her crazy words and deeds, and showed how she
had varied her tale from time to time; at first only claiming to be an
illegitimate scion of the royal stock, and first making claims to regal
legitimacy in a time of great public agitation--at the period of Queen
Caroline's trial. Indeed, said the Attorney-General, a revolution was
threatened by the deceased claimant if her pretensions were not
recognized within a few hours.
The jury were unanimous, and immediately pronounced against the claims
of the petitioner, Mrs. Ryves, whose wonderful documents and marvellous
certificates were all ordered to be impounded. Since that trial, the
claims of Mrs. Ryves and her offspring appear to have passed into
oblivion.