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ROYALTY
IN ALL AGES
[Illustration: text decoration]
T. F. THISELTON-DYER, M.A. OXON.
[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH]
ROYALTY
IN ALL AGES
The Amusements, Eccentricities, Accomplishments,
Superstitions, and
Frolics of the Kings and
Queens of Europe
BY
T. F. THISELTON-DYER, M.A. OXON.
_WITH SIX ETCHED PORTRAITS FROM
CONTEMPORARY ENGRAVINGS_
LONDON
JOHN C. NIMMO, LTD.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
MDCCCCIII
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
At the Ballantyne Press
PREFACE
It has been remarked that to write of the private and domestic acts of
monarchs while still alive savours of scandal and bad taste, but when
dead their traits of character, however strange and eccentric they may
have been in their lifetime, at once become matter of history. Adopting
this rule, we have confined ourselves in the present work to dealing
with royalty in the past; and, in a field so wide, we have, as far as
possible, endeavoured to make each chapter concise and representative of
the subject treated. The following pages, whilst illustrating the
marvellous versatility of royalty, when seriously analysed tend to show
how vastly superior the latter-day sovereigns have been when compared
with those of earlier times, many of whose extraordinary freaks and
vagaries as much degraded the throne, as the refined and cultivated
tastes of her late Majesty Queen Victoria elevated and beautified it.
T. F. THISELTON-DYER.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. ROYALTY AT PLAY 1
II. FREAKS OF ROYALTY 10
III. ROYAL REVELRY 37
IV. ROYAL EPICURES 57
V. CURIOUS FADS OF ROYALTY 85
VI. DANCING MONARCHS 99
VII. ROYAL HOBBIES 120
VIII. THE ROYAL HUNT 135
IX. ROYAL MASQUES AND MASQUERADES 152
X. ROYALTY IN DISGUISE 168
XI. ROYAL GAMESTERS 184
XII. ROYALTY ON THE TURF 204
XIII. ROYAL SPORTS AND PASTIMES 223
XIV. COURT DWARFS 239
XV. ROYAL PETS 247
XVI. ROYAL JOKES AND HUMOUR 264
XVII. ROYALTY AND FASHION 288
XVIII. ROYALTY WHIPT AND MARRIED BY PROXY 306
XIX. COURT JESTERS AND FOOLS 313
XX. ROYALTY AND THE DRAMA 334
XXI. ROYAL AUTHORS 357
XXII. ROYAL MUSICIANS 376
XXIII. SUPERSTITIONS OF ROYALTY 395
INDEX 433
LIST OF ETCHED PORTRAITS
QUEEN ELIZABETH _Frontispiece_
EDWARD I. _To face page_ 46
EDWARD III. ” 136
CHARLES II. ” 210
CHARLES IX., KING OF FRANCE ” 240
LOUIS XIV. ” 348
ROYALTY
CHAPTER I
ROYALTY AT PLAY
The great Mogul Emperor was a chess player, and was generous enough to
rejoice when he was beaten by one of his courtiers, which was the exact
reverse of Philip II. of Spain, who, when a Spanish grandee had won
every game in which he had played against the King, could not conceal
his vexation. Whereupon the skilful but injudicious player, returning
home, said to his family: “My children, we have nothing more to do at
Court. There we must henceforth expect no favour; the King is offended
because I have won of him every game of chess.” Napoleon did not like
defeat even at chess, for, if he perceived his antagonist gaining upon
him, he would with one hasty movement sweep board and pieces off the
table on to the ground.
In some cases, however, if we are to believe the traditions of history,
chess has been responsible for some serious fracas. Thus a story is told
of William the Conqueror, how when a young man he was invited to the
Court of the French king, and during his stay there was one day engaged
at chess with the King’s eldest son, when a dispute arose concerning a
certain move. William, annoyed at a certain remark made by his
antagonist, struck him with the chess-board, which “obliged him to make
a precipitate retreat from France to avoid the consequences of so rash
an act.”
A similar anecdote is told of John, the youngest son of Henry II., who
quarrelled over the chess-board with one Fulco Guarine, a Shropshire
nobleman, receiving such a blow as almost to kill him. John did not
easily forget the affront, and long after his accession to the throne
showed his resentment by keeping him from the possession of Whittington
Castle, to which he was the rightful heir. It is also said that Henry
was engaged at chess when the deputies from Rouen informed him that the
city was besieged by Philip, King of France; but he would not listen to
their news until he had finished his game. A curious accident happened
to Edward I. when he was playing at chess at Windsor, for, on suddenly
rising from the game, the next moment the centre stone of the groined
ceiling fell on the very spot where he had been sitting, an escape which
he attributed to the special protection of Providence. It is further
recorded that Edward I. received from one of the dignitaries of the
Temple, in France, a chess-board and chess-men made of jasper and
crystal, which present he transferred to his queen; hence it has been
concluded that she, too, was skilled in the noble game.
But his son, Edward II., got into disrepute by playing at
chuck-farthing, or cross and pile, which was held to be a very unkingly
diversion, “and sufficient to disgust the warlike peers who had been
accustomed to rally round the victorious banner of his father.” In one
of his wardrobe accounts these entries occur: “Item--paid to Henry, the
King’s barber, for money which he lent to the King to play at cross and
pile, five shillings. Item--paid to Pires Barnard, usher of the King’s
chamber, money which he lent the King, and which he lost at cross and
pile to Monsieur Robert Wattewille, eight-pence.”[1]
De Foix, on hearing that the Queen of Scots had resolved on the marriage
with her cousin Darnley, went to Elizabeth that he might discuss the
matter. He found her at chess, and, profiting by the opportunity of
discussing the matter, he said: “This game is an image of the words and
deeds of men. If, for example, we lose a pawn, it seems but a small
matter; nevertheless, the loss often draws after it that of the whole
game.”
The Queen replied, “I understand you. Darnley is but a pawn, but may
well checkmate me if he be promoted.”
Charles I. was occupied, it is said, at chess when he was informed of
the final resolution of the Scots to sell him to the Parliament; but he
was so little discomposed by this intelligence that he continued the
game in no way disconcerted. A similar anecdote is told of John
Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who, having been taken prisoner by Charles
V., was condemned to death--a decree which was intimated to him while
at chess with Ernest of Brunswick, his fellow-prisoner. But after a
short pause he challenged his antagonist to finish the game, played with
his usual attention, and expressed his satisfaction at winning. And
coming down to the reign of her late Majesty, Queen Victoria, it is said
she was fond of most games, enjoying chess or draughts, which in her
later days she exchanged for patience. When more actively inclined she
would play at ball or battledore and shuttle-cock with the ladies of the
Court, a practice which she continued till middle life.
As a warning against the perilous habit of playing chess with a wife, it
is related of Ferrand, Count of Flanders, that, having constantly
defeated the Countess, she conceived a hatred against him, which reached
such a height that when the unfortunate Count was taken prisoner at the
battle of Bouvines, she suffered him to remain a long time in prison,
although, according to common report, she might easily have procured his
release.
It was while playing at chess with a knight, nicknamed the “King of
Love,” that James I. of Scotland referred to a prophecy that a king
should die that year, and remarked to his playmate, “There are no kings
in Scotland but you and I. I shall take good care of myself, and I
counsel you to do the same.”
Don John of Austria had a room in his palace in which there was a
chequered pavement of black and white marble, upon which living men
attired in varied costumes moved under his direction according to the
laws of chess. It is also related of a Duke of Weimar that he had
squares of black and white marble, on which he played at chess with red
soldiers.
Although Louis XIII. firmly prohibited all games of chance at Court, he
had so strong an affection for chess that he rarely lost an opportunity
of playing a game in his coach whenever he went abroad. In this respect
he was very different to Louis IX., who forbade any of his officers to
play at dice or at chess; and report goes that his anger on one
occasion, at finding the Duke of Anjou engaged in a move of chess, knew
no bounds.
Henry III. of France was passionately fond of the childish game
bilboquet or “cup and ball,” which, it is said, he used to play even
when walking in the street; and piquet is commonly reported to have
derived its name from that of its inventor, who contrived it to amuse
Charles VI. of France.
The poor imbecile Charles II. of Spain did his best to amuse his young
wife Marie Louise of Orleans, but not with much effect. He would play
with her at “jouchets,” which appears to have been an amusement of the
nature of that known as “spills,” for three or four hours a day--“a
game,” writes Madame de Villars, “at which one might lose a pistole
during all that time _par malheur extraordinaire_.”
Indeed, sovereigns, like other mortals, have sought recreation and a
rest from the anxieties of life in sometimes what may seem the most
childish amusements. One of Napoleon’s favourite games, for instance,
was blind-man’s-buff, a pastime which, it may be remembered, Canning and
Sir William Scott played with the Princess Caroline whilst at Montagu
House. Napoleon, too, was very fond of children, and would carry the
infant King of Rome in his arms, and standing in front of a mirror, make
all kinds of grimaces in the glass. At breakfast he would take the child
upon his knee, “dip his fingers in the sauce, and daub his face with it;
the child’s governess scolded, the Emperor laughed, and the child,
always pleased, seemed to take delight in the rough caresses of his
father.”[2]
Henry IV. of France also delighted in a romp with his children. The
story goes that one day, when trotting round the room on his hands and
knees, with the Dauphin on his back, and the other children urging him
on to gallop in imitation of a horse, an ambassador suddenly entered and
surprised the royal family in the midst of their play. Henry, rising,
inquired, “Have you children, M. l’Ambassadeur.” “Yes, sire.” “In that
case I proceed with the sport.” An anecdote which reminds us of one told
by Ælian of Agesilaus, who, on being found by a friend riding on a stick
for the amusement of his son, he bade his visitor not speak of it to any
one until he was a father himself.
George III. was on one occasion discovered on all-fours, with one of his
children riding astride his back; and most readers are acquainted with
the well-known painting of “George III. playing at Ball with the
Princess Amelia.” His Majesty also took pleasure in a game of
backgammon, a source of recreation of which Louis XIV. was fond. One day
when playing at this game, a dispute arose about a doubtful throw, the
surrounding courtiers remaining silent. The Count de Grammont happening
to come in, the King asked him to decide the matter. He instantly
answered, “Your Majesty is in the wrong.” “How,” said Louis, “can you
decide before you know the question?”
“Because,” replied the Count, “had there been any fault, all these
gentlemen would have given it in favour of your Majesty.”
The King submitted to his decision.
Queen Victoria, too, was fond of children, with whom she enjoyed a romp;
and Catherine II. of Russia would spend her leisure time in affording
infinite delight to the young folk, for whose amusement she would invent
all kinds of impromptu games.
Billiards became very popular during the reign of Louis XIV., to whom it
was recommended by his physicians as an exercise after meals. It is said
that Chamillard, who played with the King, entirely owed his political
fortune to the amount of skill which he displayed in this game. In the
_Mémoires Complets et Authentiques du Duc de Saint Simon_, par M.
Chernel (1872, vol. ii. p. 29), we read that Louis XIV. during the
winter evenings played billiards with M. le Vendôme or M. le Grand,
occasionally with Le Maréchal de Villeroy, and sometimes with the Duc de
Grammont.
Cards have always been popular playthings with royalty--incidents
connected with which will be found in our chapter on gambling. Primero
was the fashionable game at the English Court during the Tudor dynasty,
and Shakespeare represents Henry VIII. playing at it with the Duke of
Suffolk. It was succeeded by a game called “maw,” which appears to have
been the favourite diversion of James I. Weldon, alluding to the
poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury in his “Court and Character of King
James,” says: “The next that came on the stage was Sir Thomas Monson,
but the night before he was come to his trial, the King, being at the
game of maw, said, ‘To-morrow comes Thomas Monson to his trial.’ ‘Yes,’
said the King’s card-holder, ‘when, if he does not play his master’s
prize, your Majesty shall never trust me.’” This remark, it is said, so
ran in the King’s mind that at the next game he excused himself from
playing as he was sleepy, remarking that he would play out that set the
next night.
And occasionally, it would seem, the play-hours of monarchs have proved
almost if not quite fatal. Thus it was in the winter of 1521 that the
Count of St. Pol, being elected King of the Bean, Francis I. of France
challenged him and his party to a combat with snowballs. Amidst them a
brand was flung, which struck the King on the head, and for some days
placed his life in jeopardy.
It was on Easter Eve 1498 that Charles VIII. of France proceeded to the
battlements of the Castle of Amboise with his queen to watch some of the
courtiers playing ball in the fosses below. But traversing a narrow
passage, Charles struck his head against the archway of a low door,
which, it is said, brought on a kind of fit. He was carried into a
little chamber near, recovered his speech once or twice, and after nine
hours of agony he died.