Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 2 (of 2)Doran, Dr. (John)
History
Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 2 (of 2)
Doran, Dr. (John)
Hanover, House of; Queens -- Great Britain -- Biography
The lady went on to describe the common talk of the Princess as being
such as to disgust the men, and to cause mothers to send away their
daughters if the latter happened to be listeners. The Queen was said
to be the especial object of the ridicule of the Princess, and she
hinted at an improper intercourse existing between her Majesty and Mr.
Addington! The whole royal family, it was further alleged, were the
objects of her satire; but all the statements in the deposition fade
into nothing before one respecting the Princess, in which the latter is
represented as confessing to Lady Douglas that she was about to become
a mother, laughing heartily at the confession itself, hinting that it
would not be difficult to fix the paternity on the Prince, and ending
by declaring that the matter would be settled satisfactorily by making
the world believe that she had adopted an infant belonging to some
other person. The deponent then says that she saw the Princess a short
time previous to her alleged adoption of the child (subsequently proved
to be the son of the Austins); that then her condition of health was
not to be mistaken; and that some time subsequently she saw the child
and Princess together, and that the latter laughingly acknowledged
it to be her own. The immediately succeeding details will not bear
telling; and this is the less necessary as they are excessively
improbable, and were proved to be untrue. They are followed by others
regarding the coolness which sprung up between the Princess and lady,
with consequent squabbles, and final separation at the end of 1803. In
conclusion, we hear of the return of the Douglases from Devonshire,
the refusal of the Princess to receive her former lady-in-waiting,
the receipt of the anonymous letters and drawings, the appeal to the
Duke of Kent, the temporary suspension of hostilities, and lastly, the
communication made to the Duke of Sussex, which the latter conveyed to
the Prince of Wales, and which was followed by the deposition of which
I have endeavoured, however imperfectly, to furnish a _resumé_ that may
be comprehended without giving offence. Those who are acquainted with
the original document will allow that this is no very easy task.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account