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The king, however, was determined to divorce Caroline as soon as possible. He and his supporters insisted that Caroline was unfit to sit on the throne because she had committed adultery. Never mind that George himself had kept a string of mistresses throughout his marriage -- or that he had secretly married another woman, Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert, before Caroline became his bride. The ordinary people of England were vehemently on Caroline's side. Mobs roamed the streets shouting "Long live the queen!" and attacking those who refused to join in. Even the Duke of Wellington, a national hero, was accosted by a group of Caroline supporters. He told them, "Well, gentlemen, since you will have it so, God save the queen -- and may all your wives be like her." So great was the outcry against the king that a revolution was feared. But George remained obstinate, and his reluctant ministers had no choice but to introduce a bill into the House of Lords "to deprive Her Majesty, Caroline Amelia Elizabeth, of the Title, Prerogaties, Rights, Privileges, and Exemptions of Queen Consort of this Realm; and to dissolve the Marriage between His Majesty and said Caroline Amelia Elizabeth." The debate over this bill lasted more than three months and was, in effect, the public trial of Queen Caroline. Witnesses against the queen were presented by the government and cross-examined by her legal advisers. The hearings were covered closely by the newspapers, and Caroline herself attended almost every day (although as the weeks dragged on she became bored and began spending hours playing backgammon in the next room). Much of the focus was on Caroline's relationship with an Italian manservant who while travelling with her had allegedly shared her tent -- and her bathtub. But public opinion remained with Caroline. As one observer, Lady Cowper, wrote, "The Queen has a strange luck in her favour; the worse she behaves, the more it rebounds to her credit... She says she it is true she did commit adultery once, but it was with the Husband of Mrs Fitzherbert. She is a droll woman." In the end the "Bill of Pains and Penalties" was defeated by a vote of 123 to 95. The king would not get his divorce -- but Caroline would not get her crown. She continued to petition for the right to take part in the coronation, but to no avail. On the day of the ceremony, in a scene right out of a movie, she turned up at the Westminster Abbey and went from door to door, demanding entrance, but was refused. One door was literally slammed in her face. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Bad Queen Caroline (Part 3) in Royal History is owned by . Permission to republish Bad Queen Caroline (Part 3) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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