Bad Queen Caroline (Part 2)
(Our story so far: England's future King George IV has unwillingly married Princess Caroline of Brunswick. He is a fastidious dandy; she is sloppy and smelly. He considers himself a true prince of a man, polite and sensitive; she enjoys shocking others with outrageous behavior. To complicate matters, George is already secretly married to another woman, Maria Fitzherbert. He regards Caroline with complete disgust -- and things are about to get worse.)
George and Caroline spent their honeymoon in a rented house filled with George's disreputable friends, who, according to Caroline, "were constantly drunk and filthy, sleeping & snoring in bouts on the sofas." George had also brought along his mistress, Lady Jersey. No wonder Caroline said the place "resembled a bad brothel much more than a palace."
Somehow the bride and groom managed to put aside their differences long enough to consummate the marriage, and on January 7, 1796 -- nine months after the wedding -- their daughter Charlotte was born. Two days later, George drew up a new will in which he left all his property to his "beloved and adored Maria Fitzherbert." To Caroline, "her who is call'd the Princess of Wales," he left a single shilling. Furthermore, he specified that Caroline should be allowed no part in raising Charlotte.
Women had no right to custody of their children under the laws of the time, and when Caroline left George in December 1797 she was forced to leave her daughter behind as well. Happy to be rid of his official wife, George took up with Maria Fitzherbert again, while Caroline consoled herself by living lavishly and -- at least according to rumor -- having affairs with anyone who took her fancy, male or female.
By 1805 Caroline's reputation was so bad that the government launched a "Delicate Investigation" into her private life. She had adopted a little boy, and gossip had it that he was actually her own illegitimate son. Her husband hoped this would be proven true so he would have grounds for a divorce, but the investigating commission found no evidence that the princess had committed adultery.
Angrily the prince struck out at Caroline in every way he could. He refused to be in the same room with her, got newspapers to publish sordid stories about her sex life, and refused to let her see their daughter more than once a week (this was later reduced to once every two weeks).
Go To Page: 1 2
Articles in this Topic Discussions in this Topic
Latest Articles