It was easy to imagine, had there been no other reason, that the Princess-Dowager of Wales would be glad to be out of England while these proceedings were being made public. The King, who lived a virtuous and sober life, and his intensely respectable Queen Charlotte, were scandalised beyond measure at these revelations, and the possibility of another, and even worse, scandal maturing in Denmark filled them with dismay. At present the secret was well kept in England. Whatever the English envoy might write in private despatches, or Prince Charles of Hesse retail through his mother, or the Princess Augusta transmit from Brunswick respecting the indiscretions of Matilda, no whisper was heard in England at this time, outside the inner circle of the royal family. Therefore all the conjectures as to the reason of the Princess-Dowager's visit to the Continent were wide of the mark. The real motive of her journey was not even hinted. The Princess-Dowager was hooted as she drove through the streets of Canterbury on her way to Dover, and so great was her unpopularity that it was rumoured that London would be illuminated in honour of her departure. The Princess, as announced, travelled first to Brunswick, where she was received by her daughter Augusta and the rest of the ducal family with honour and affection. It was arranged that the King and Queen of Denmark, who were then at Traventhal, should also journey to Brunswick and join the family circle. Everything was prepared for their coming, the town was decorated and a programme of festivities drawn up, when suddenly the Grand Marshal of the King of Denmark arrived at Brunswick with the news that the Queen was ill, and unable to travel so far. That Matilda's illness was feigned there can be little doubt, for she was well enough the next day to go out hunting as usual with Struensee by her side, and in the evening she played cards until midnight. The incident showed how greatly the Queen had changed, for Matilda's family affections were strong, and under other circumstances she would have been overjoyed at the prospect of meeting her mother after years of separation, and seeing again her favourite sister Augusta. But Struensee knew that the journey of the Princess-Dowager boded no good to his plans, and persuaded the Queen to offer this affront to her mother.