received another mark of the confidence of his royal master, in a
commission to demand the Princess Caroline of Brunswick in marriage for
the Prince of Wales. This mission was conferred upon him directly by the
king, and no discretionary power was given to offer information or advice
either to the court or the government. It does not appear that the subject
was ever mentioned to Lord Malmesbury before his credentials arrived;
certain it is that he had no communication with the person most deeply
interested in the alliance, and therefore no means of ascertaining his
wishes or his motives. The Prince of Wales had never seen his cousin.
Probably, beyond the false impression conveyed by a portrait, he knew
nothing of her; for the little court of Brunswick was rarely visited by
the English, and the military occupations of the Duke kept him almost
constantly from home. It must ever be matter of deep regret that more
prudence was not employed in the conduct of this unhappy business. Royal
marriages are at best precarious; for there is too often a larger
ingredient of policy than of affection in the alliance. This one needed
not to have been a matter of policy. Neither the illustrious bridegroom,
nor the kingdoms over which he was afterwards to rule, could derive any
advantage from a more intimate connexion with the diminutive state of
Brunswick. It is, therefore, almost incomprehensible that no precautions
were taken, and no investigations made, before the prince was finally
committed. Surely some one might have been found worthy to play the part
of a Buckingham to the successor of Charles--some intimate of the prince,
who, acquainted with his tastes and inclinations, might have visited
Brunswick as a stranger, and, without betraying the actual nature of his
mission, might have acquired a sufficient knowledge of the manners and
character of the princess to frame an adequate report. Common prudence
should have suggested this; but there is too much reason to fear that the
match was the result of motives little creditable to other members of the
royal family of England, and was not expected by them to secure the
ultimate happiness of either party. This, at least, was the opinion of
Lord Malmesbury, a shrewd observer, and well versed in the domestic
politics of St James's. He says--"She (the princess) talks about the Duke
of Clarence, whom she prefers to the Duke of York, and it struck me
to-day, for the first time, that he originally put her into the prince's
head; and that with a view to plague the Duke and Duchess of York, whom
he hates, and whom the prince no longer likes, well knowing that the
Princess Caroline and Duchess of York dislike each other; and that this
match would be particularly unpleasant to her and the duke." Again,
"Princess Caroline asks about the Duke of Clarence--says she believes he
was the person who first mentioned her to the prince.--N.B. My own private
ideas and feelings on this remark."
Endowed by nature with a good heart and some quickness of apprehension,
this princess was as uneligible a personage as could possibly have been
selected for so high a dignity as that of consort to the future king of
Great Britain. Her education had been wretchedly neglected. She was vain,
giddy, and imprudent; addicted to the society of persons infinitely
beneath her rank, whom she treated with unbecoming familiarity; totally
ignorant of the world and its usages, and withal something of a _bavarde_.
She stood in awe of her father, who was an austere person, and, it is
said, treated his children habitually with much severity. For her mother
she had no respect, and did not scruple, when she could find an
opportunity--which occurred but too often--to turn her into ridicule. Her
conversation was that of a thorough gossip--her manners those of a flirt.
She was disposed to be liberal, not from generosity, but from absolute
carelessness--a fault which she extended to her person. Lord Malmesbury's
first impressions of her are by far the most favourable; and yet it will
be seen from these, that mediocrity was the utmost limit of her charms.
"The Princess Caroline much embarrassed on my first being presented to
her--pretty face--not expressive of softness--her figure not
graceful--fine eyes--good hand--tolerable teeth, but going--fair hair and
light eyebrows--good bust--short, with what the French call _des epaules
impertinentes_." Her personal habits may be gathered from the following
passages of the Diary:--
"Argument with the Princess about her toilette. She piques herself on
dressing quick; I disapprove this. She maintains her point; I,
however, desire Madame Busche to explain to her that the Prince is
very delicate, and that he expects a long and very careful _toilette
de properte_, of which she has no idea; on the contrary, she neglects
it sadly, and is _offensive_ from this neglect. Madame Busche
executes her commission well, and the Princess comes out the next day
_well washed all over_."
"Princess Caroline had a tooth drawn--she sends it down to me by a
page--nasty and indelicate."
"I had two conversations with the Princess Caroline; one on the
toilette, on cleanliness, and on delicacy of speaking. On these
points I endeavoured, as far as was possible for a _man_, to
inculcate the necessity of great and nice attention to every part of
dress, as well as to what was hid as to what was seen. (I knew she
wore coarse petticoats, coarse shifts, and thread stockings, and
these never well washed, or changed often enough.) I observed that a
long toilette was necessary, and gave her no credit for boasting that
hers was a _short_ one. What I could not say myself on this point, I
got said through women; through Madame Busche, and afterwards through
Mrs Harcourt. It is remarkable how amazingly on this point her
education has been neglected, and how much her mother, though an
Englishwoman, was inattentive to it."
Such were the personal habits of the future Queen of England, who, in this
normal virtue, fell infinitely beneath the level of a daughter of a
British tradesman. It is plain that Lord Malmesbury has left much unsaid;
but enough there is to show that, in every way, she was unfitted to be the
wife of the most fastidious prince in Europe. In point of morals, the
examples afforded her at the court of Brunswick were of the worst possible
description. Conjugal fidelity seems to have been a virtue totally unknown
to the German sovereigns. The following, according to Lord Malmesbury,
were the existing _liaisons_ of Frederick William of Prussia. "The female
in actual possession of favour is of no higher degree than a servant-maid.
She is known by the name of Mickie, or Mary Doz, and her principal merit
is youth and a warm constitution. She has acquired a certain degree of
ascendancy, and is supported by some of the inferior class of favourites;
but as she is considered as holding her office only during pleasure, she
is not courted, though far from neglected, by the persons of a higher
rank. The two candidates for a more substantial degree of favour are
Mdlle. Vienk and Mdlle. Bethman." Of the Emperor Leopold we are told the
following anecdote:--"Kinckel said that Bishopswerder told him, that Lord
Elgin, when in Italy, would have succeeded in making a triple alliance for
the purpose of general peace and tranquillity, when he was with the
Emperor Leopold at Florence, if he had not run too much after Madame
Lamberti, (Leopold's mistress,) and by that means displeased and soured
him." The father of the Princess was not one whit better than his royal
brethren. His mistress, Mdlle. de Hertzfeldt, lived at court, and was on
intimate terms with the rest of the family. She appears to have been a
clever woman, and well acquainted with the character of the Princess. Lord
Malmesbury, who had known her formerly, made no scruple of applying to her
for information. "In the evening with Mdlle. de Hertzfeldt--old Berlin
acquaintance, now Duke's mistress--much altered, but still clever and
agreeable--full of lamentations and fears--says the Duke has been cruelly
used--abuses the king of Prussia--she always thought him a _bete_, and not
a _bonne bete_--talks of the _Illumines_ and their sects--her apartment
elegantly furnished, and she herself with all the _appareil_ of her
situation. She was at first rather ashamed to see me, but soon got over
it." Her advice regarding the future treatment of the Princess is so
interesting that we give it entire.
"Je vous conjure, faites que le prince fasse mener, au commencement,
une vie retiree a la Princesse. Elle a toujours ete tres genee et
tres observee, et il le falloit ainsi. Si elle se trouve tout a coup
dans le monde sans restriction aucune, elle ne marchera pas a pas
egaux. Elle n'a pas le coeur deprave--elle n'a jamais rien fait de
mauvais, mais la parole en elle devance toujours la pensee; elle se
livre a ceux a qui elle parle sans reserve, et de la il s'ensuit
(meme dans cette petite cour) qu'on lui prete des sens et des
intentions que ne lui ont jamais appartenus. Que ne sera-t-il pas en
Angleterre--ou elle sera entouree de femmes adroites et intriguantes,
_auxquelles elle se livrera a corps perdu_, (si le Prince permet
qu'elle mene la vie dissipee de Londres,) et qui placeront dans sa
bouche tels propos qu'elles voudront, puisqu'elle parlera elle-meme
sans savoir ce qu'elle dit. _De plus, elle a beaucoup de vanite, et
quoique pas sans esprit, avec peu de fond_--la tete lui tournera si
on la caresse et la flatte trop, si le Prince la gate; et il est tout
aussi essentiel qu'elle le craigne que qu'elle l'aime. Il faut
absolument qu'il la tienne _serree_, qu'il se fasse respecter, sans
quoi, _elle s'egarera_. Je sais que vous ne me comprometterez pas--je
vous parle comme a mon vieux ami. Je suis attachee coeur et ame au
Duc. Je me suis devouee a lui, _je me suis perdue pour lui_. C'est le
bien de sa famille que je veux. Il sera le plus malheureux des hommes
si cette fille ne reussit pas mieux que son ainee. Je vous repete,
elle n'a jamais rien fait de mauvais, mais elle est sans jugement, et
on l'a jugee a l'avenant. _Je crains la Reine. La Duchesse ici, qui
passe sa vie a penser tout haut, ou a ne jamais penser de tout,
n'aime pas la Reine, et elle en a trop parle a sa fille._ Cependant,
son bonheur depend d'etre bien avec elle, et, pour Dieu, repetez lui
toujours cette maxime, que vous avez deja plus d'une fois
recommandee."
The education of the Princess had been most lamentably neglected.
"Letter from the Prince--well satisfied, and approves of what I have
done--positively refuses to let Mademoiselle Rosenzweit come over.
She was to be a sort of _reader_. King writes on the subject to the
Duchess; both she and the Duke press it. I insist upon it, and it is
settled that she is not to accompany the Princess. Duke takes me
aside, and says that the only reason why he wished her to be with the
Princess was, _that his daughter writes very ill, and spells ill, and
he was desirous that this should not appear_. Affected to be
indifferent about this refusal, but at bottom hurt and angry.
Suspects the Queen, whom he and the duchess hate."
Perhaps no ambassador, ever sent upon such a mission, was placed in more
embarrassing circumstances than Lord Malmesbury. He was entreated on all
sides to undertake a kind of tutelage of the Princess; to prepare her mind
for the future life she must lead; to warn her of her faults, and school
her as to the behaviour which became a Princess of Wales. It was quite
plain that even her own relatives, and those who regarded her most
partially, had little expectation that the marriage would prove auspicious
or happy; and that their doubts arose, not from any rumours of the
bridegroom's instability, but from their knowledge of the character of the
bride. To act the part of Mentor, under such circumstances, required much
delicacy and tact, both of which qualities Lord Malmesbury possessed in an
eminent degree. More, however, was requisite in order to make them
effectual. It was impossible, in a hurried and limited period, to repair
the fatal effects of years of indolence and neglect. Lord Malmesbury could
merely warn, but the task of improvement was hopeless. What he did,
however, was well done. From his courteous manners, and kindly tone of
conversation, he speedily became a great favourite with the Princess, and
sometimes--as we have already seen--used his personal influence with
success. Yet this familiar intercourse, while it certainly heightened his
estimation of her good qualities, impressed Lord Malmesbury with the
thorough conviction that the Princess was in no way qualified to maintain
her future rank. She made him her confidant in certain passages of her
history, which it would have been far wiser to have concealed:--"Dinner
and concert at court; Princess out of humour; very nonsensical confidence
about Prince of Orange; cannot be committed to writing; must recollect it,
as well as my answer and advice." And again--"After dinner, long and
serious conversation with the Princess on her manner of calling women by
their plain name; of saying 'ma chere,' 'mon coeur,' &c.; and of
_tutoying_ when talking to them in German; she takes it right; prepare her
for a still more serious conversation on the subject of hereditary Prince
of Orange."
We must state, in justice to the Princess, that all the lectures of Lord
Malmesbury--and they were neither few nor trifling--were taken by her in
extreme good part. Indeed, his lordship appears at one time to have been
apprehensive that he was gaining too much influence over his future
mistress, and that caution was necessary on his side.
"The Princess Caroline asked me, with an apology, as for _une
question indiscrette_, whether I was to be _her Lord Chamberlain_? On
my saying I knew nothing of it, she was very gracious, and expressed
a strong wish it should be; and added, that she feared it would not
be good enough for me, and that I would decline it. I told her any
situation which placed me near her would be flattering to me, but
that these situations were sought for by many persons who had better
claims than myself; and that, besides, I never solicited any thing,
and could not expect that such an office would be offered to me
without my asking for it. She again (and apparently in earnest)
expressed her wish that it should be, and said it would be of
infinite use to her to have a person near her she was used to, and
whom she had confidence in."
On another occasion, when the Princess renewed her desire, Lord Malmesbury
is more significant--
"She again urges me to accept a place about her court at my return. I
avoid an explicit answer, but earnestly entreat her not to solicit
any thing on my behalf; _I had the Duke of Suffolk and Queen Margaret
in my thoughts_!"
When Lord Malmesbury's years and grave functions are considered, the touch
of vanity, which in this latter paragraph peers through his diplomatic
caution, is somewhat amusing.
An anonymous letter, which arrived from England, led to the following
conversations:--"At dinner I found the Duchess and Princess alarmed,
agitated, and uneasy at an anonymous letter from England, abusing the
Prince, and warning them, in the most exaggerated terms, against Lady
----, who is represented as the worst and most dangerous of profligate
women. The Duchess, with her usual indiscretion, had shown this letter to
the Princess, and mentioned it to every body. I was quite angry with her,
and could not avoid expressing my concern, first, at paying _any_
attention to an anonymous letter, and secondly, at being so very imprudent
as to bruit forth its contents. The Duke, on being acquainted with it,
thought as I did, but was more uneasy than he ought. Mademoiselle
Hertzfeldt again talks to me as before about the Princess Caroline. "Il
faut la gouverner par la peur, _par la terreur meme_. Elle s'emancipera si
on n'y prend pas garde--mais si on la veille soigneusement et severement,
elle se conduira bien." The King of England, in a letter to the Duchess,
says--"Qu'il espere que sa niece n'aura pas trop de vivacite, et qu'elle
menera une vie sedentaire et retiree." These words shock Princess
Caroline, to whom the Duchess very foolishly reads the letter.
"Princess Caroline shows me the anonymous letter about Lady ----,
evidently written by some disappointed milliner or angry
servant-maid, and deserving no attention: I am surprised the Duke
afforded it any. Aimed at Lady ----; its object to frighten the
Princess with the idea that she would lead her into an affair of
gallantry, and be ready to be convenient on such an occasion. This
did _not_ frighten the Princess, although it did the Duke and
Duchess; and on my perceiving this, I told her Lady ---- would be
more cautious than to risk such an audacious measure; and that,
besides, it was _death_ to presume to approach a Princess of Wales,
and no man would be daring enough to think of it. _She asked me
whether I was in earnest._ I said such was our law; that any body who
presumed to _love_ her, was guilty of _high_ treason, and punished
with _death_, if she was weak enough to listen to him; so also would
_she_. _This startled her._"
The following is Lord Malmesbury's own summary of her character, sketched
at a favourable moment:--
"If her education had been _what it ought_, she might have turned out
excellent; but it was that very nonsensical one that most women
receive--one of privation, injunction, and menace; to believe no man,
and never to express what they feel, or say what they think, _for
all_ men are inclined to entrap them, and all feelings are improper;
this vitiates or _abrutis_ all women--few escape." (Surely this
censure is too sweeping.) "On summing up Princess Caroline's
character to-day, it came out to my mind to be, that she has quick
parts, without a sound or distinguishing understanding; that she has
a ready conception, but no judgment; caught by the first impression;
led by the first impulse; hurried away by appearances or
_enjouement_; loving to talk, and prone to make missish friendships
that last twenty-four hours. Some natural, but no acquired morality,
and no strong innate notions of its value and necessity; warm
feelings, and nothing to counteract them; great good humour, and much
good nature--no appearance of caprice--rather quick and _vive_, but
not a grain of rancour. From her habits, from the life she was
allowed and even compelled to live, forced to dissemble; fond of
gossiping, and this strengthened greatly by the example of her good
mother, who is all curiosity and inquisitiveness, and who has no
notion of not gratifying this desire at any price. In short, the
Princess, in the hands of a steady and sensible man, would probably
turn out well, but when it is likely she will meet with faults
perfectly analogous to her own, _she will fail_. She has no governing
powers, though her mind is _physically_ strong. She has her father's
courage, but it is to her (as to him) of no avail. _He_ wants mental
decision: _she_, character and tact."
This mission of Lord Malmesbury extended over a period of nearly five
months. An abortive attempt was made to conduct the Princess to England by
the way of Holland; but the inroads of the French into that country
rendered the expedition highly dangerous. In fact, by this time the fate
of Holland was sealed. One of the severest winters ever known had opened a
natural and universal bridge to the invaders over the most effective
barriers of the country. All was flight, terror, and confusion. The envoy
returned with his royal charge to Hanover, there to await intelligence of
the arrival of the British fleet at Stade, as the passage by the Elbe
alone seemed practicable. During this anxious period, Lord Malmesbury
received several letters from the Prince of Wales, which are given in his
correspondence. These are well worthy of attention. Although a strict
grammarian might find fault with their construction, there is no
appearance of any thing like indifference on the part of the Prince. On
the contrary, he seems to have awaited with extreme anxiety the arrival of
his consort, and to have been much vexed and annoyed by the delay which
intervened. The following is an extract from his first letter, dated 23d
November 1794, and written shortly after Lord Malmesbury's arrival at
Brunswick:--
"I have desired Captain Hislop to give you an ample and thorough
account of the steps I have taken towards the expediting every thing
on this side of the water, as well as with my brother the Duke of
York, to whom I have written also by Hislop; and as to what is now
necessary to forward the completing every thing at Brunswick, I must
leave that to you, hoping that you will make every exertion possible
to put the Princess in possession of her own home as near the 20th of
the ensuing month as possible; for every thing that can create delay
at the present moment is bad on every account, but particularly to
the public, whose expectations have now been raised for some months,
and would be quite outrageous were it possible for them to perceive
any impediment arising to what they have had their attention drawn to
for so long a time; besides the suspense, and the naturally
unpleasant feelings attendant upon suspense, which I myself must be
subject to, and the very honourable, fair, and handsome manner in
which the Duke and Duchess have both conducted themselves to me in
this transaction; their having also, in their last letters, both to
the King and me, said that the Princess was ready to set off
instantly. In short, all these reasons make it necessary for me, my
dear lord, to desire you to press your departure from Brunswick at as
short a date as possible from the receipt of this letter."
In another communication of a later date, (21st February 1795,) the Prince
thus expressed himself:--
The accounts you are so good as to give me of the temper and
resignation with which the Princess is so good as to bear with the
interruptions in her journey, is more than I fancy any one would
venture to say of me from hence, as, I assure you, all the
mismanagements, procrastinations, and difficulties that I have met
with in the conduct of that business on this side of the water, have
totally put patience (a virtue, you well know, that our family in
general are not much endowed with) out of the question.
"I hope you will make this plan," (that of the embarkation and
landing,) "acceptable to the Princess as well as the Duchess, as you
must be well acquainted with my impatience; and I beg you will assure
them both, that there is no sort of respect, state, and attention
that shall not be shown to the Princess the moment she sets her foot
on our dear little island. I am convinced you will heartily concur
with me in my anxious endeavours, through this, or even any other
means, to bring your voyage to as expeditious and happy a termination
as possible. I write to the Duchess of Brunswick by the same courier,
which letters you will have the goodness to deliver into her hands
yourself. I cannot help once more reiterating my thanks to you, my
dear lord, for your judgment and caution through all these late
occurrences."
On the 28th of March the embarkation was effected, and, after a prosperous
but foggy passage, the royal squadron entered the Thames. It was destined,
however, by management or mismanagement--for we know not which to call
it--that the jealousy of the Princess should be awakened from the very
first hour she landed in Great Britain. The lady, regarding whom the
anonymous letter above referred to was written, and whose _liaison_ with
the Prince of Wales was the subject of public scandal, had been selected
as one of the Ladies of Honour to meet the Princess on her arrival. This
was neither more nor less than a premeditated insult, and Caroline must
have felt it as such. We can exempt no one from the censure attachable to
such a proceeding. Even if it can be supposed that the general rumour was
unjust with regard to the nature of that connexion, its mere publicity
should have prevented the Prince from subjecting his bride to such
society, at least at so early a period. But we apprehend that no such
palliative can be urged. Under these circumstances, it was the clear duty
of the King to have interfered, and, in his double capacity of uncle and
father-in-law, to have prevented this affront from being offered to the
unprotected Princess. Altogether, it was a scandalous arrangement, and
Lord Malmesbury felt it as such. The following extract speaks volumes as
to the feelings entertained by the haughty favourite towards the wife:--