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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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