A Queen of Tears, vol. 1 of 2: Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway and Princess of Great Britain and Ireland — John Shaqi
A Queen of Tears, vol. 1 of 2: Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway and Princess of Great Britain and IrelandWilkins, W. H. (William Henry)
History
A Queen of Tears, vol. 1 of 2: Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway and Princess of Great Britain and Ireland
Wilkins, W. H. (William Henry)
Caroline Mathilde, Queen, consort of Christian VII, King of Denmark, 1751-1775
Moreover, he instilled in the minds of his children the loftiest
sentiments of patriotism. In view of the German predilections of
his father and grandfather the training which Frederick gave his
children, especially his eldest son, had much to do in after years
with reconciling the Tory and Jacobite malcontents to the established
dynasty. The wounds occasioned by the rising of 1745 were still
bleeding, but the battle of Culloden had extinguished for ever the
hopes of the Stuarts, and many of their adherents were casting about
for a pretext of acquiescing in the inevitable. These Frederick met
more than half way. He was not born in England (neither was Charles
Edward), but his children were, and he taught them to consider
themselves Englishmen and not Germans, and to love the land of their
birth. His English sentiments appear again and again in his letters and
speeches. They crop up in some verses which he wrote for his children
to recite at their dramatic performances. On one occasion the piece
selected for representation was Addison's play of _Cato_, in which
Prince George, Prince Edward, and the Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth
took part. Frederick wrote a prologue and an epilogue; the prologue was
spoken by Prince George. After a panegyric on liberty the future King
went on to say:--
Should this superior to my years be thought,
Know--'tis the first great lesson I was taught.
What! though a boy! it may with pride be said
A boy--in England born, in England bred;
Where freedom well becomes the earliest state,
For there the laws of liberty innate--etc., etc.
There came an echo of this early teaching years later when George III.
wrote into the text of his first speech to parliament the memorable
words: "Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of
Briton".
In the epilogue spoken by Prince Edward similar sentiments were
expressed:--
In England born, my inclination,
Like yours, is wedded to this nation:
And future times, I hope, will see
Me General in reality.[5]
Indeed, I wish to serve this land,
It is my father's strict command;
And none he ever gave shall be
More cheerfully obeyed by me.
[5] Prince Edward, Duke of York, became a Vice-Admiral of the Blue.
We get many pleasant glimpses, in contemporary letters and memoirs,
of the domestic felicity of the royal household at Kew and Leicester
House; of games of baseball and "push pin," with the children in
the winter, of gardening and cricket in the summer, and of little
plays, sometimes composed by the Prince, staged by the Princess and
acted by their sons and daughters all the year round. "The Prince's
family," Lady Hervey writes, "is an example of innocent and cheerful
amusement,"[6] and her testimony is corroborated on all sides.
[6] Lady Hervey's _Letters_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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