The Princess of Wales Has Friends in High Places

‘The Prince of Wales was bitterly disappointed. His father’s ministers had let him down. Their disapproval was not enough. They had found him no grounds for divorce.His wife, on the other hand, was self – righteously triumphant. During the “Delicate Investigation” the King had not visited her, and he had not invited her to visit him. But now that she had been acquitted by his arbitrary tribunal, she felt that it was his duty to acknowledge her innocence publicly by inviting her to court again. She wrote to the King asking him to receive her, but the King was not so sure that he should. There was much in the report that could not be condoned. So the Princess of Wales decided to write to him again. Since she had not been allowed to present her defence to the committee in Downing Street, she would present it to the King in Windsor instead.With the best but biased legal advice from Spencer Perceval, who had recently resigned the office of Attorney General after the death of Pitt, she laid out her detailed rebuttal of every charge that the Dougleses had brought against her. Her letter, dated 2 October, was so long that it became known sarcastically as “The Book”.

Nine weeks later, when she had received no reply, not even an acknowledgement, the Princess wrote to the King again begging for him to receive her and restore her reputation. At the same time, however, in a barely veiled threat, she arranged to have copies of “The Book” printed.

Nevertheless, it was another seven weeks before the Lord Chancellor’s office informed the Princess that, despite his reservations, the King was now ready to receive her. But week after week went by without any invitation arriving.

Eventually, on 5 March 1807, five months after her first letter, the Princess of Wales lifted the veil from her threat. If she did not receive an invitation within the next week, she would publish “The Book”.’

[an extract from ‘Charlotte&Leopold’ by James Chambers]

‘”I am a real Brunswick, and do not know what fear is,” the Princess had told Lady Douglas, and now she was fearless in her determination to be accepted once more by the Royal Family. She had her supporters and sympathizers, and some powerful political friends. Lord Eldon, the ex-Lord Chancellor, and Spencer Perceval, later to become Tory Prime Minister, were her advisers, and with their assistance she drew up a document giving a detailed defence of her
conduct, which, under the title of “The Book”, she threatened to publish. On May 18, 1807, it was reported that the Princess of Wales had appeared at the Opera and at the Queen’s Drawing Room. Although greeted with marked frigidity by Queen Charlotte, the Princess had a riotous reception at Covent Garden. She felt that she had won. The Book was withdrawn.’

[an extract from ‘Prinny’s Daughter: A Biography of Princess Charlotte of Wales’ by Thea Home]

‘By then the gossips in London society had exhausted their imaginations speculating about what “The Delicate Investigation” had discovered and about what might be in “The Book”. To the press and the general public, who knew very little about the Princess of Wales and a great deal that they did not like about her husband, she was a wronged woman who deserved their support. The reputation of the royal family sank even further.

Spencer Perceval believed, and indeed hoped, that publication of “The Book” would bring down the government that had treated the Princess so shoddily. But, as it turned out, there was never any need for publication. A few days later, the coalition government destroyed itself. The Cabinet resigned, bitterly divided over whether or not Roman Catholics should be allowed to sit in Parliament and hold commissions in the army.

The Tories were returned to the office. George Canning became Foreign Secretary and Spencer Perceval became Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Princess of Wales had friends in high places.

[an extract from ‘Charlotte&Leopold’ by James Chambers]

Picture: Caroline of Brunswick and Spencer Perceval