George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820; Great Britain -- History -- George III, 1760-1820
The daughters gave little trouble, except the Princess Royal, who,
according to Mrs. Papendiek, rather set herself against the Queen. "She
was incensed at her mother constantly inviting to Windsor the daughters
of such families as were attached to the Government party, saying that
they could not amuse the King, but only ran idly about the house,
interrupting everybody; and she desired her Lady-in-waiting to say that
she never received any one in the morning. Her Royal Highness now
averred that she had never liked the Queen, from her excessive severity,
that she had doubted her judgment on many points, and went so far as to
say that she was a silly woman."[279] The hand of the Princess Charlotte
was sought in 1796 by the Crown Prince of Würtemburg; but some delay
occurred before a definite acceptance of the offer was made, as there
was some mystery concerning the fate of the Crown Prince's first wife.
After inquiries, however, George III expressed himself satisfied with
the explanations tendered to him, and in the following year the marriage
took place. The account of her farewell interview with her father shows
that at least the Princess's objection to one parent did not extend to
the other. "The last interview between his Majesty and his royal
daughter was of the most affecting kind. The Princess hung upon her
father's neck, overwhelmed in grief, and it was not until her consort
urged her to close the painful scene, that she could be prevailed upon
to leave her father. The affectionate parent followed her to bid her
farewell, but he was so overcome by the excess of his parental feelings,
that he could not give utterance to his words, and his streaming eyes
looked the last blessing, which his lips could not pronounce." With her
departure from England in May, 1797, this Princess passes out of English
history.
[279] _Court and Private Life._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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