Social England under the Regency, Vol. 1 (of 2)Ashton, John
History
Social England under the Regency, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Ashton, John
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Regency -- England
"No answer was given to this letter; and, therefore, on the 26th,
she directed a letter to be written, expressing her surprise that no
answer had been given to her application for a whole week.
"To this an answer was received, addressed to the Princess; stating
that in consequence of her Royal Highness's demand, the letter had
been read to the Prince Regent on the 20th, but that he had not been
pleased to express his pleasure thereon.
"Here the correspondence closed; and no ulterior benefit accrued from
it to the afflicted mother, nor to the daughter."
The Princess Charlotte, however, did see more of Society, for she
went to the Splendid Fête given by her father, at Carlton House, on
the 5th of February, in honour of her Majesty's birthday, and at the
ball which followed she danced with her uncle, the Duke of Clarence,
afterwards William IV. Then she went to the Opera with the Duchess of
York, and she also kept her birthday with great festivities, but she
was not presented at Court, as she was resolute in being presented by
no one except her mother.
In February, Warwick House was allotted to her, as a residence, and
all her baggage, saddle horses, &c., were removed thither. Here,
however, her mother was forbidden to visit her, and the chronicles
of the times dilate strongly on an accidental meeting of the mother
and daughter in Hyde Park, where they drew their respective carriages
close together, and embraced each other through the windows,
conversing together for some ten minutes.
When her maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Brunswick died, her
father hinted to her the propriety of a visit to her mother, leaving
it to her whether it should be before or after the funeral. Needless
to say, but very few hours elapsed before she, accompanied by the
Duchess of Leeds, and Miss Knight, were at Blackheath, where the
Princess of Wales then lived.
She was now a young woman, and would be of age early next year, so it
was time to look about for a husband for her; and the person pitched
upon was none other than the Prince of Orange, whom we have lately
seen as going back to Amsterdam, to enjoy his own again. At this time
he was serving in Spain as _aide-de-camp_ to Lord Wellington; but it
was represented to him that there were other things for him to do,
and he quitted the seat of war, and came over to England, possibly
rejoicing in the anticipation of the good things coming to him; and
on the 14th of December, he was formally introduced at Warwick House,
by the Prince Regent, to the Princess Charlotte, whom he was expected
to woo and win. His suit and its success belong to 1814, and will be
told in its place.
Of the condition of the poor old King, this year, we hear very
little; the monthly bulletins were certainly issued, but they were of
the most meagre description. Madame d'Arblay, even, although she was
over here, and had the best of opportunities for hearing about him,
only mentions him once, in her letters to her father, in May:--
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