Late in October the Prince and Princess of Wales left Hampton Court for St. James’s Palace, returning by water in state barges in the way they had come. “The day was wonderfully fine, and nothing in the world could be pleasanter than the passage, nor give one a better idea of the riches and happiness of this kingdom,” writes Lady Cowper. The brief vice-reign was nearing its end. A few days after they returned from Hampton Court the Princess fell ill in labour, and her danger was increased by a quarrel between her English ladies and the German midwife. “The midwife had refused to touch the Princess unless she and the Prince would stand by her against the English ‘Frows,’ who, she said, were ‘high dames,’ and had threatened to hang her if the Princess miscarried. This put the Prince in such a passion that he swore he would fling out of window whoever had said so, or pretended to meddle. The Duchesses of St. Albans and Bolton happened to come into the room, and were saluted with these expressions.”[78] The courtiers’ mood then changed, and they all made love to the midwife, including the Prime Minister, Townshend, who “ran and shook and squeezed her by the hand, and made kind faces at her, for she understood no language but German”. The upshot of this dispute was that the poor Princess, after being in great danger for some hours, gave birth to a dead Prince. As soon as the Princess had recovered, the Prince set out on a progress through Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, though without his consort, who was too weak to accompany him. His progress was a royal one, and he played the part of a king, receiving and answering addresses from Jacobites and others, and being greeted everywhere by the acclamation of the people, who lit bonfires, held holiday, and gave themselves up to feastings and merriment wherever he appeared. He also increased his popularity by several acts of grace, such as dispensing with passports between Dover and Calais.[79] All this coming to the King’s ears made him determined to end it.