Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill - Plaidy Jean. Страница 82

When she was walking with the King in the gardens she mentioned the delicate subject which she knew would upset him, but she was determined to speak of it.

'The Prince of Wales is approaching thirty. Is it not time that he thought about giving us the heir to the throne?'

The King's brows were drawn together into a worried frown.

'There is this affair ... this woman. She seems a good woman. If he is married to her ...'

'Married to her I How can he be married to her? He cannot marry without your consent and he has never asked it. Therefore he cannot have had it. He is not married to this woman and therefore he should be married to a German Princess.'

'Yes/ agreed the King. 'It is true ... He should marry.'

The Queen nodded. She was thinking that her niece Louise, Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, would be a very good match. How comforting if her own niece were Princess of Wales! How grateful she would be to Aunt Charlotte who had arranged this marriage for her! She would defer to her aunt in everything. Yes, it must be Louise.

'There is another matter/ said the Queen. 'He sets himself up to be the patron of the Whigs. He should be made to receive Tories at Carlton House as well as Whigs. His debts are constantly settled by the Treasury and yet he turns his back on Tories. It is a ridiculous situation/

The Quarrel

'A ridiculous situation, eh?' agreed the King.

The Queen happened to know—for now that she was a woman of influence she had her spies everywhere—that the Prince's creditors were getting so impatient that he would soon again be begging the King's help in the settlement of his debts. At such times lie was more humble—by necessity of course. Well, when he came he would have a shock waiting for him.

The King received the Prince. Mr. Pitt had suggested that there must be a formal reconciliation because the constant bickerings in the family were dangerous to the country's reputation abroad.

Tears filled the King's eyes; he wept more easily than ever nowadays, and his memory failed him so that at times he was living in the past. This was George—the precious infant, the first born, who had brought such joy to his parents—handsome, charming, healthy, sound in mind and body, the child for whom he had planned and schemed. What has gone wrong? the King asked himself.

The Prince too was moved. This poor old man who rambled frequently, who wept without reason, who was obsessed by the fear of falling once more into madness, was a shadow of the martinet he had once been; and the Prince, whose emotions were superficial, and who wept as easily as the King, found himself wishing for a reconciliation.

In a humble tone he told of his debts.

The King nodded without reproaches and said that there would have to be conditions if the debts were settled.

The Prince enquired what conditions.

'It is time you produced the heir to the throne.'

'But I have many brothers.'

'The country expects the Prince of Wales to provide the heirs unless he is unable to do so. I do not believe, my son, that you suffer from such a disability.'

'Good God, no.'

'Then ... there should be a marriage. A German Princess would be most suitable.'

'A German!' cried the Prince in disgust.

'She must be Protestant. You realize that.'

The Prince turned pale. 1 would resist such a suggestion with all my might/

The King nodded. He understood. The Prince had gone through a ceremony of marriage with that woman, who was a good woman. She was a Catholic and had insisted on the ceremony. He understood; and he had no wish to embarrass the Prince.

'Well/ he said, 'since you are so set against it let us hope that we may shelve that matter for a while. But there is another.'

The Prince was so relieved that he said impulsively: T will endeavour to meet Your Majesty's wishes on all other matters except this one.'

'You must receive Tories at Carlton House,' said the King. 'By making it a Whig stronghold—and yourself nominal head of the Whigs—you offend the Government.'

The Prince was thoughtful. Anything ... just anything to stop this talk about marriage. And what of the Whigs? What had they done for him? Fox ... Fox had denied his marriage in Parliament, he had ruined his case for the Regency by talking of rights. What did he owe the Whigs?

'Yes, Father,' he said, 'I will receive Tories at Carlton House.'

The King nodded; and the two smiled at each other, on better terms than they had been for many years. But the Prince knew who had suggested those terms to his father and he hated the Queen more than ever.

Shortly after the debts of the Prince of Wales had been settled Frederick, Duke of York, presented himself to the King with a similar request.

'Money, money, money,' cried the King. 'Can you never have enough of it.'

The Duke of York placed his hand on his heart and bowed. 'Never, sir,' he said vehemently.

The King eyed his favourite son with affection.

'Now,' he said to him: 'There is one condition I must make before your debts are settled, my son.'

'Name it,' cried the Duke. 4 I accept it.'

'Without hearing what it is, eh, what?'

'The pressing demands of my creditors are the most urgent consideration in my life, sir.'

'It's marriage,' said the King. 'You must marry without dc lay.'

The Duke grimaced. 'Well, I'm ready to consider it, sir.'

'More sensible than your brother.' The King's eyes were clouded suddenly. 'You are all a great worry to me. There's William setting up house with a play-actress... a Mrs. Jordan ... and aping a respectable married man.'

'Better than aping a disreputable one, sir.'

These sons of his disconcerted him. They could not be serious when situations demanded seriousness. 'There's your brother, the Prince of Wales ... Oh, I don't know ... I do not know. I can't sleep of nights thinking of you all and wondering what will become of you. You understand that, eh, what?'

The Duke said gently: 'Don't fret over me, Father. I will marry when you wish and whom you choose for me.'

The King embraced his son. 'Frederick ... I always said you were the Hope of the House. I always knew you would not fret me as your brother does.'

'George does not mean to, Father. It's easier to be the Duke of York than the Prince of Wales. Besides, George is more flamboyant than I am . . . Larger than life, that's George. He's a fine fellow at heart. You can't blame him.' 'You always stood together, you two.' 'We never forget we're brothers.'

The King was weeping silently. Then he said: 'There won't be much delay. The Princess Royal of Prussia is the lady suggested for you, Frederica Charlotte Ulrica. You must make your preparations without delay for I think your brother's reluctance to consider providing us with an heir to the Crown makes this a necessity.'

He would do it, said the Duke, not only for the settlement oi his debts but for the sake of his dear brother George.

# * *

Frederick left almost immediately for Berlin where he was

married to his bride. He was not very pleased with her for she was small, exceedingly plain and badly pockmarked; and she was no more pleased with him than he was with her. If he thought that he was doing her an honour by marrying her, she implied, she wished quickly to disillusion him. He might be the son of the King of England but she was the daughter of the King of Prussia—and in her eyes Prussia was of no less importance in the world than England.

The Duke shrugged his shoulders, went through the ceremony and consoled himself with the thought that marriage was not going to interfere with his life very much. He would do his duty—if possible provide an heir—and then go back to the pleasures of his bachelor existence. When he looked at his ugly little wife who constantly smelt of the animals which she kept in her apartments he consoled himself with the reminder that he had done it for George.