Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub

Genealogy.

94 Frederick William Charles, G. G. S.

95 Henry of Prussia, G. G. G. S.

96 Mary of Prussia, G. G. G. D.

269

Ages. 43

6

2

97 Frederica of Prussia, Dutchess of York, G. G. D. 50 98 Wilhelmina of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands,

G. G. D.

99 No. 35, G. G. G. S.

100 No. 36, G. G. G. S.

101 No. 37, G. G. G. S. 102 No. 38, G. G. G. D.

her children.

103 Christina of Prussia, Princess of Hesse-Cassel,

G. G. D.

104 No. 46, G. G. G. S.

105 No. 47, G. G. G. S.

106 No. 48, G. G. G.D.

her children.

43

40

107 Frederica of Prussia, Princess Dowager of Orange, G.D.

108 No. 34, G. G. S.

109 No. 29, No. 35, G. G. G. S. 110 No. 100, No. 36, G. G. G. G.S. 111 No. 101, No. 37, G. G. G. S. 112 No. 102, No. 38, G. G. G.D. 113 No. 39, G. G. D.

114 No. 40, No. 14, G. G. G.S.

115 No. 41, No. 15, G. G. G. S.

her descendants.

116 Frederick William of Prussia, G. S.

37

117 Frederica Dorothea of Prussia, Princess Radzivil,

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors][merged small]

122 Charles XIII. King of Sweden, G. S. 123 Sophia of Sweden, Abbess of Quedlenberg, G. D.- 64

From the foregoing account it will be seen, that the three persons nearest the throne, being married and having children, are the King of Wirtemberg, Prince Paul his brother, and the Princess Frederica Buonaparte, their sister. This would be a grievous prospect, if we did not recollect, that although there is now no grandchild of George III. yet all his sons, and probably more than one of his daughters, are still of an age at which a proper marriage might be hoped to produce

270

Prince to the Princess of Wales.

offspring. The Duke and Dutchess of Gloucester are little more than 40 years of age, and have been not much above a year married. It must, however, be confessed, that until we have a more certain prospect of issue from the British branch, the public attention will be turned to the two young Princes of Brunswick, the sons and grandsons of the two illustrious Dukes of Brunswick who lost their lives in the fields of Jena and Waterloo. These young Princes were educated in England: but that is but a small alleviation of the repugnance we feel at having a foreign King; and this is a consideration which enhances and imbitters all the regrets which the loss of our own lovely and excellent Princess excites.

1

Our readers will not fail to observe with interest, the state of the Electoral Family of Hesse, the venerable age of the Elector, and his two brothers, and their numerous children and grand-children; and the circumstance, that the three wives of the three elder Princes are still living (two of them being in their own right, as well as their husbands, in succession to the British crown) will not be easily paralleled.

(B.)

Letter from the Prince of Wales to the Princess of Wales.

"Madam,-As Lord Cholmondeley informs me that you wish I would define in writing the terms upon which we are to live, I shall endeavour to explain myself upon that head with as much clearness and as much propriety as the nature of the subject will admit. Our inclinations are not in our power, nor should either of us be held answerable to the other, because nature has not made us suitable to each other. Tranquil and comfortable society, however, is in our power. Let our intercourse, therefore, be restricted to that; and I will distinctly subscribe to the condition which you required through Lady Cholmondeley, that even in the event of any accident happening to my daughter, which I trust Providence will in its mercy avert, I shall not infringe the terms of my restriction, by proposing at any period a

Princess to the Prince of Wales.

271

connection of a more particular nature. I shall now finally close this disagreeable correspondence, trusting that as we have completely explained to each other, the rest of our lives will be past in uninterrupted tranquillity.

With great truth and sincerity, yours,
GEORGE P.":

Windsor Castle, April 30, 1796.

The following is the Answer of the Princess of Wales to that Letter:

"The avowal of your conversation with Lord Cholmondeley neither surprises nor offends me. It merely confirmed what you have tacitly insinuated for this twelvemonth. But after this, it would be a want of delicacy, or rather, an unworthy meanness in me, were I to complain of those conditions which you impose upon yourself.

"I should have returned no answer to your letter, if it had not been conceived in terms to make it doubtful whether this arrangement proceeds from you or from me; and you are aware that the credit of it belongs to you alone.

"The letter which you announce to me as the last, obliges me to communicate to the King, as to my Sovereign, and my Father, both your avowal and my answer. You will find enclosed the copy of my letter to the King. I apprise you of it, that I may not incur the slightest reproach of duplicity from you. As I have at this moment no protector but his Majesty, I refer myself solely to him upon this subject; and if my conduct meets his approbation, I shall be, in some degree at least, consoled. I retain every sentiment of gratitude for the situation in which I find myself, as Princess of Wales, enabled by your means to indulge in the free exercise of a virtue dear to my heart, -I mean charity.

"It will be my duty likewise to act upon another motive, -that of giving an example of patience and resignation under every trial.

"Do me the justice to believe that I shall never cease to pray for your happiness, and to be

Your much devoted

May 6, 1796.

CAROLINE."

272

The King to the Princess of Wales.

(C.)

Letters from the King to the Princess of Wales.

"Windsor Castle, Jan. 29, 1807.

"The King has this moment received the Princess of Wales's letter, in which she intimates her intention of coming to Windsor on Monday next; and his Majesty wishing not to put the Princess to the inconvenience of coming to this place so immediately after her illness, hastens to acquaint her, that he shall prefer to receive her in London upon a day subsequent to the ensuing week; which will also better suit his Majesty, and of which he will not fail to apprise the Princess.

(Signed)

GEORGE R."

"Windsor Castle, Feb. 10, 1807 "As the Princess of Wales may have been led to expect, from the King's letter to her, that he would fix an early day for seeing her, his Majesty thinks it right to acquaint her, that the Prince of Wales, upon receiving the several documents which the King directed his Cabinet to transmit to him, made a formal communication to him of his intention to put them into the hands of his Lawyers; accompanied by a request, that his Majesty would suspend any further steps in the business, until the Prince of Wales should be enabled to submit to him the statement which he proposed to make. The King, therefore, considers it incumbent on him to defer naming a day to the Princess of Wales, until the farther result of the Prince's intention shall have been made known to him.

(Signed)

GEORGE R."

MESSAGE FROM THE KING.

April 21, 1807.

To Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.

"The King having referred to his confidential Servants the proceedings and papers relative to the written declara

Message from the King.

273

tions which had been laid before his Majesty, respecting the conduct of the Princess of Wales, has been apprized by them, that after the fullest consideration of the examinations taken on that subject, and of the observations and affidavits brought forward by the Princess's legal advisers, they agree in the opinions submitted to his Majesty in the original Report of the four Lords by whom his Majesty directed that the matter should, in the first instance, be inquired into; and that in the present stage of the business, upon a mature and deliberate view of this most important subject in all its parts and bearings, it is their opinion that the facts of this case do not warrant their advising that any further step should be taken in the business by his Majesty's Government, or any other proceedings instituted upon it, except such only as his Majesty's Law Servants may, on a reference to them, think fit to recommend, for the prosecution of Lady Douglas, on those parts of her deposition which may appear to them to be justly liable

thereto.

"In this situation, his Majesty is advised that it is no longer necessary for him to decline receiving the Princess into his Royal Presence.

"The King sees, with great satisfaction, the agreement of his Confidential Servants, in the decided opinion expressed by the four Law Lords upon the falsehood of the accusations of pregnancy and delivery brought forward against the Princess by Lady Douglas. On the other matters produced in the course of the Inquiry, the King is advised, that none of the facts or allegations stated in preliminary examinations, carried on in the absence of the parties interested, are to be considered as legally or conclusively established. But in those examinations, and even in the answer drawn in the name of the Princess by her legal advisers, there have appeared circumstances of conduct on the part of the Princess, which his Majesty could never regard but with serious concern. The elevated rank which the Princess holds in this country, and the relation in which she stands to his Majesty and the Royal Family, must always deeply involve both the interests of the State, and the personal feelings of his Majesty, in the propriety and correctness of her conduct; and his Majesty, therefore, cannot forbear to express, in the conclusion of the business,

T

« EdellinenJatka »