“‘Sure such a day was never known, Such a king, and such a throne!’ there was a general titter, which soon exceeded all the bounds of Court decorum,” at which one of the lords of the bedchamber clapped his hands. The company took the hint and joined in a general plaudit, at which the old king was highly pleased, without knowing the real cause of the compliment. “Our tars,” writes Mr. Planché, “are too gallant to feel annoyed by the fact that their uniform was first worn by a lady. In 1748 George II. accidentally met the Duchess of Bedford on horseback in a riding-habit of blue faced with white, and was so pleased with the effect of it, that a question having been raised as to the propriety of deciding upon some general dress for the royal navy, he immediately commanded the adoption of those colours.”[122] Caroline Matilda, the posthumous child of Frederick, Prince of Wales--who at the age of fifteen became the wife of Christian VII., King of Denmark--gave great offence to the graver Danish matrons by riding in that costume astride like a man. “An abominable riding-habit,” writes Sir Robert Keith, “with a black slouched hat has been almost universally introduced here, which gives every woman the air of an awkward _postillion_. In all the time I have been in Denmark I have never seen the Queen out in any other garb.”[123] Her horsemanship, however, was the admiration of the ladies of Denmark. When Queen Charlotte arrived in England, out of respect for the women of her adopted country, she appeared in the dress which was then most in vogue among the English ladies. She was attired in a gold brocade with a white ground, “had a stomacher ornamented with diamonds, and a fly cap with richly laced lappets”--a mode of dress which was much appreciated. As D’Israeli has remarked in his “Anecdotes of Fashion,” “the Court in all ages and in every country are the modellers of fashions;” but occasionally, it must be acknowledged, they have incurred their own ridicule, or discomfort. When Louis VII., for instance--to obey his bishops--cropped his hair and shaved his beard, his consort, Eleanor, revenged herself as she thought proper, disgusted at his unusual and ridiculous appearance. His Majesty obtained a divorce, after which Eleanor married the Count of Anjou, afterwards our Henry II. The chief majesty of Louis XIV. lay in his wig, a fact which he recognised. Every night he allowed his valets to undress his body, but not his head, and when the disrobing was completed--save the head--he retired behind the curtains, which were carefully closed. With his own royal hand he then removed his wig, and thrusting it between the curtains gave it to a valet. Before the curtains were opened in the morning the wig was passed back to the monarch, who was never seen without his wig. Similarly, Catherine II. of Russia kept her perruquier for more than three years in an iron cage in her bedchamber, to prevent his telling people that she wore a wig.[124]