The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IVGreville, Charles
History
The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV
Greville, Charles
Great Britain -- History -- George IV, 1820-1830; Great Britain -- History -- William IV, 1830-1837
Halford has been with me this morning gossiping (which he likes);
he gave me an account of his discovery of the head of Charles I.
in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, to which he was directed by
Wood's account in the 'Athenae Oxonienses.' He says that they
also found the coffin of Henry VIII., but that the air had
penetrated and the body had been reduced to a skeleton. By his
side was Jane Seymour's coffin untouched, and he has no doubt her
body is perfect. The late King intended to have it opened, and he
says he will propose it to this King. By degrees we may visit the
remains of the whole line of Tudor and Plantagenet too, and see
if those famous old creatures were like their effigies. He says
Charles's head was exactly as Vandyke had painted him.
July 26th, 1831 {p.168}
At Oatlands on Saturday, and came back on Sunday night. Nobody
there but my father, mother, Walpole, Sneyd, and Alava; very
different from what I once remember it. There has been a great
deal of talk about the Duke of Wellington giving Lord Munster the
Lieutenancy of the Tower, the truth of which is as follows:--It
is in the King's gift, and he sent to the Duke and desired him to
name somebody. The Duke would have liked to name one of
three--Fitzroy Somerset, Colin Campbell, or Hardinge. The latter
would not have been agreeable to Government, and therefore it
would have occasioned the King an embarrassment; the second was
provided for, and Lord Hill advised the first to remain as he is
(though I don't see why he could not have had both); so the Duke
thought it would gratify the King if he was to name Munster.
Munster wrote a very civil letter to the Duke, full of thanks and
saying that he begged he would not think of him if he had anybody
else to give it to, and that he would take upon himself to
explain to the King his not accepting it. The Duke persisted,
and so he had it. I must say he might have found some one out of
the number of his old officers to give it to rather than Munster.
The King of France's Speech arrived yesterday, but nothing was
said in the House of Lords, because Lord Grey was at Windsor. It
will make a stir--the general tone of it, and the demolition of
the fortresses which cost us seven millions. Not one of the
papers made a remark upon it; nothing will do for them but
Reform.
[Page Head: THE CHOLERA.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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