A Royal Scandal Drama about the matrimonial disaster that took place 200 years ago
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Drama about the matrimonial disaster that took place 200 years ago between George, Prince of Wales and his wife Caroline of Brunswick.
Drama about the matrimonial disaster that took place 200 years ago between George, Prince of Wales and his wife Caroline of Brunswick.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00:00Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God and in the face of this
00:00:09congregation.
00:00:10This is the true story.
00:00:12Everything you are about to see really happened, and almost all of what you're going to hear
00:00:17is what the people involved actually said.
00:00:20It happened in Britain 200 years ago.
00:00:26It's the story of a marriage between a prince and princess of Wales, a marriage that went
00:01:03It's been another hard night for George, Prince of Wales.
00:01:27He said himself that he was rather too fond of wine and women, but what's a man to do
00:01:32while waiting to inherit the throne?
00:01:37He can find a hobby.
00:01:39In George's case it was architecture.
00:01:42It cost a fortune, but spending money was another of the prince's favorite pastimes.
00:01:51He was very particular about his appearance.
00:01:55He spent over 20 pounds a week on lavender water, rose water, elderflower water, jasmine
00:02:01pomatum, orange pomatum, eau de cologne, essence of bergamot, eau de miel d'Angleterre, milk
00:02:08of roses, huile antique, and oil of jessamine.
00:02:16The public hated him for his extravagance, but at least he smelled nice.
00:02:24It wasn't long before the prince was in debt.
00:02:27He owed about 18 and a half million pounds at today's prices.
00:02:32There was only one way out, get married.
00:02:37Parliament had promised to come up with a great deal of money if he did.
00:02:42The bride-to-be was Princess Caroline of Brunswick.
00:02:46When I am princess of Wales, I want to be loved by the people.
00:02:52To be loved is, I think, a mistaken one, ma'am.
00:02:56A people should respect and honor a great princess, as they will you if you keep your
00:03:03dignity and your distance.
00:03:08No one quite knows why Caroline of Brunswick was chosen.
00:03:11True, she was Protestant, royal, and a virgin, but why was this German princess picked over
00:03:19a number of other more refined, more suitable candidates?
00:03:23One damn chow and fry is as good as another, George is said to have muttered.
00:03:32He sent his friend, Lord Malmesbury, as his envoy to ask for Caroline's hand in marriage.
00:03:38I like singing, and dancing, and...
00:03:42Malmesbury found the princess vastly happy with her future expectations, but also in
00:03:47need of a little reassurance.
00:03:50Who do you think would make the best Princess of Wales, myself?
00:03:56Do you think my sister-in-law, Princess Frederica, could do better?
00:04:03You are the choice of the Prince of Wales, ma'am.
00:04:06Yes, but who do you think would be best?
00:04:13You, ma'am, possess by nature what Princess Frederica can never acquire, beauty, and grace,
00:04:19and all the essential qualities that Princess Frederica has, such as prudence, discretion,
00:04:27tact.
00:04:29You may attain.
00:04:31Do I want some?
00:04:33You cannot have too much of them.
00:04:35I should never learn this, I'm too open, too idle.
00:04:43She has no fixed character, a light and flighty mind, but meaning well and well disposed.
00:04:50My eternal theme to her is to think before she speaks, to recollect herself.
00:04:55Her heart is very, very light, unsusceptible of strong or lasting feelings.
00:05:00In some respects, this may make her happier, but certainly not better.
00:05:04Malmesbury had much advice to offer Caroline, but some things were too delicate to raise
00:05:10face to face.
00:05:12It was time for a discreet word with Her Lady-in-Waiting.
00:05:15Yes, it concerns His Highness the Prince of Wales and Her Highness Princess Carola.
00:05:20Yeah?
00:05:21His Highness the Prince of Wales is very delicate in his tastes, in his clothes, in the preparation
00:05:30of his toilette.
00:05:31Oh, yeah.
00:05:32Yes, I've watched Her Highness the Princess, and she is less careful in her clothes, in
00:05:41her person.
00:05:46Yeah?
00:05:49To please the Prince, attention should be paid to every part of her dress, to what is
00:05:55hidden as well as what is seen.
00:05:59What is hidden?
00:06:02The undergarments, her toilette.
00:06:10Oh, yeah.
00:06:12Her Highness is very quick.
00:06:15In Morgan, she make her toilette in 15 minutes.
00:06:19Yes, exactly.
00:06:20That's precisely the problem.
00:06:23What problem?
00:06:26Madam, Her Highness the Princess smells.
00:06:31Oh, is that all?
00:06:34I speak with her.
00:06:40The next day, Lord Malmesbury was to observe that Madam Bush had executed her commission
00:06:48well.
00:06:51How very well you look this morning, ma'am.
00:06:53I don't feel particularly well.
00:06:56I have received a terrible letter from London.
00:06:58Oh, from whom?
00:06:59I don't know.
00:07:00It's not signed, but it says the Prince has a mistress, Sir Lady Jersey.
00:07:06What am I to do?
00:07:09I could be a slave to the man I love, but to a man I do not love, who does not love
00:07:14me, impossible.
00:07:17This is very evident.
00:07:18You're ridden by some disappointed milliner, some angry maidservant who deserves no attention.
00:07:24You must rise above it, ma'am.
00:07:26Yes.
00:07:28Oh, I'm determined never to appear jealous.
00:07:31I know the Prince is flighty.
00:07:33I know the Prince is flighty.
00:07:36I am prepared on this point.
00:07:38Oh, I do not believe you will have any occasion to exercise this very wise resolution.
00:07:44But if any woman should try to make you jealous, never let it show.
00:07:48Reproaches and sourness never reclaimed anyone.
00:07:51And I know the Prince well enough to be quite sure that he cannot resist softness and caresses.
00:07:57And this is the surest way to recover his tottering affection.
00:08:02I know the Prince has been somewhat free in his way of life.
00:08:09But this comes from an emptiness in his situation.
00:08:13I was made to fill this up.
00:08:16I will domesticate him, make him enjoy all the homely virtues.
00:08:21Then he will be happier than ever.
00:08:23So, with much optimism, Lord Malmesbury's wise words of advice
00:08:28and her own resolve to rise above jealous feelings,
00:08:32Caroline arrived in London and was met by her new lady-in-waiting,
00:08:37personally appointed by the Prince of Wales.
00:08:40Welcome, Your Highness.
00:08:42Your Highness, may I present Lady Jersey.
00:08:48Where is the Prince?
00:08:50His Royal Highness has asked me to greet you personally
00:08:54and to accompany you to Carlton House.
00:08:57But perhaps first you would like to change your costume.
00:09:01I assume Your Highness does not intend to be presented in your current attire.
00:09:07Why? What's wrong with it?
00:09:09I do think that this dress that I have brought for you
00:09:14is a little more subdued for the occasion.
00:09:17And may I suggest this turban
00:09:21instead of your hat?
00:09:25I like this hat.
00:09:27I dare say.
00:09:30But not with this dress.
00:10:09Your Highness, may I present the Princess Caroline,
00:10:11Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick.
00:10:17I'm not well. Pray, get me a glass of brandy.
00:10:37Sir, you'd better not have a glass of water.
00:10:39Damn you, no! I will go directly to the Queen.
00:10:47My God, does the Prince always act like this?
00:10:52I think he's very rude, and he's nothing like his handsomest portrait.
00:10:57His Royal Highness is quite naturally very affected and flurried by this first interview,
00:11:03but I'm sure you'll find me quite different at dinner tonight, ma'am.
00:11:11But dinner was not a great success.
00:11:18This time it was the Princess whose behaviour was not all that could be expected.
00:11:23My father had a mistress, you know, in Brunswick.
00:11:28She was a beautiful woman. She had very, very red hair.
00:11:33Malmesbury was disappointed with his pupil.
00:11:37The Princess was flippant, rattling, affecting railery and wit,
00:11:43and throwing out coarse and vulgar hints about Lady Jersey, who was present.
00:11:48Actually, she probably would have been about the same size as Lady Jersey on top.
00:11:55Yes, but she was a very attractive woman, much more attractive than my mother.
00:12:00But apart from that, she was very, very...
00:12:03The Prince was evidently disgusted, and this unfortunate dinner fixed his dislike of the Princess.
00:12:09Nothing she did improved matters.
00:12:11Instead, her giddy manners and attempts at cleverness and coarse sarcasm
00:12:16increased his dislike until it became positive hatred.
00:12:20What really are they?
00:12:22Mistresses.
00:12:24They don't seem to read very much. I think they're, you know, a bit slow.
00:12:28So much for all of Malmesbury's hard work.
00:12:33Three days later, they were married.
00:12:36And therefore is not by any to be enterprised, lightly or wantonly,
00:12:43but reverently, discreetly, soberly...
00:12:47Alas, not altogether soberly.
00:12:50The Prince was somewhat tipsy, quite drunk, in fact.
00:12:56George Augustus Frederick.
00:13:00Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife?
00:13:04Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health,
00:13:11and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?
00:13:29Forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live.
00:13:40I will.
00:13:47Caroline Amelia Elizabeth.
00:13:51Why did the Archbishop repeat himself?
00:13:54Wilt thou have this man for thy wedded husband?
00:13:56Perhaps he, like some others in the congregation that day,
00:14:00knew that the Prince had a secret.
00:14:03Keep him in sickness and in health.
00:14:05He was already married.
00:14:07Forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?
00:14:12I will.
00:14:14Ten years earlier, the 22-year-old George went through a secret ceremony with Maria Fitzherbert.
00:14:20He was passionately in love with her.
00:14:23It hadn't been easy to persuade her to marry him, but he pursued her unrelentingly,
00:14:28not just with soft words and flowers, but with his own blood.
00:14:37I will not live unless you promise to be my wife,
00:14:43and permit me to put a ring around your finger.
00:14:49As a devout Roman Catholic, Maria had refused to become George's mistress,
00:14:55but she knew she could never be his wife, not legally anyway.
00:15:00It was against the law for Catholics to marry future kings,
00:15:04but George refused to take no for an answer.
00:15:08How the Prince had got into this bloody state is debatable.
00:15:12He said that he'd stabbed himself with a sword.
00:15:19But it was later rumoured that he had just opened up an old wound
00:15:23and smeared the blood all over his chest.
00:15:29Will you be my wife?
00:15:31I will.
00:15:33Oh well, however it happened, it did the trick with Mrs. Fitzherbert.
00:15:40The secret marriage lasted for ten years.
00:15:45But by the time of his second wedding, George's affections had shifted...
00:15:53...to Lady Jersey.
00:15:57He was certainly a prince of hearts.
00:16:01Send thy blessing upon these, thy servant, this man and this woman.
00:16:08Ah, the wedding night.
00:16:30THE WEDDING
00:16:54Fortunately for the royal succession, next morning George remembered his motto.
00:16:59Ich dien, I serve.
00:17:06The prince had done his duty. A royal heir was on the way.
00:17:11But there was never much of a honeymoon feeling around.
00:17:15Good night, ma'am.
00:17:17Good night.
00:17:19Within two weeks they had ceased to live together as man and wife.
00:17:24Ma'am Spree, you saw her at dinner tonight. How do you like these manners?
00:17:28I cannot approve of them, Your Highness, but her father did tell me...
00:17:31...she was often very high-spirited and careless.
00:17:34As I see. Why didn't you tell me all this before?
00:17:37You could have written to me from Brunswick.
00:17:39Oh, it didn't seem of sufficient consequence at the time...
00:17:42...and with respect I must remind Your Highness I was sent to arrange a marriage...
00:17:45...not to advise on the suitability of the bride.
00:17:50Poor George. To make things worse, he never even saw the money he'd been promised.
00:17:56His creditors got there first and he was now worse off than before.
00:18:03Still, neither marital nor financial problems changed the princely way of life.
00:18:14From a prince to a king.
00:18:17And none too soon.
00:18:20But while the prince continued as before, he kept the princess on a tight rein.
00:18:27She was forbidden to see anyone without his approval...
00:18:30...and the people he approved of were mostly very dull and very old.
00:18:42Apart from her chief lady-in-waiting...
00:18:49...and his wife.
00:18:51George refused to dine with his wife.
00:19:19I'd rather see toads and vipers crawl across my food...
00:19:22...than sit at the same table as that woman.
00:19:26And spent as little time in her company as he possibly could.
00:19:34I do not know how I shall bear the loneliness.
00:19:39Queen Selton visits me and my sisters-in-law show me the same sympathy.
00:19:45Sir Lady Chersey is still here.
00:19:48I hate her and I know she feels the same way towards me.
00:19:53My husband has wholly given up to her, so you can easily imagine the rest.
00:19:59But the princess was not entirely alone.
00:20:02She found some new friends.
00:20:04The newspapers.
00:20:06When the Times heard of her plight, it called her a state prisoner.
00:20:10And while her inattentive husband became ever more unpopular...
00:20:13...public sympathy for Caroline grew.
00:20:16Especially when nine months after the wedding, Princess Charlotte was born.
00:20:26Mother and child were in excellent health...
00:20:28...but the father was certain he was dying.
00:20:31And so he wrote his will, listing all his worldly possessions...
00:20:35...and leaving them to...
00:20:37...the wife of my heart and soul.
00:20:41My true and real wife.
00:20:43My second self. My beloved.
00:20:46And adored Maria Fitzherbert.
00:20:59I entreat my adored Maria...
00:21:03...that whenever she quits this life...
00:21:06...my coffin should be taken out...
00:21:09...and placed next to hers.
00:21:12And that the two inward sides of the coffins...
00:21:16...should be taken out...
00:21:19...and the two coffins then be soldered together.
00:21:23She who is called the Princess of Wales...
00:21:26...wears jewels that are mine.
00:21:29I bequeath them to my infant daughter...
00:21:32...and to her who is called the Princess of Wales...
00:21:35...I leave...
00:21:39...one shilling.
00:21:43And to her who is called the Princess of Wales...
00:21:46...I leave...
00:21:49...one shilling.
00:21:54Oh!
00:22:04The prince made a full recovery a few days later.
00:22:09By now things were rather complicated in the palace.
00:22:12There weren't just two in this marriage...
00:22:15...or even three.
00:22:17There were four.
00:22:19George made no secret of his relationships...
00:22:22...with both Jersey and Fitzherbert.
00:22:25For a year Caroline had put up with her situation...
00:22:28...but now emboldened by being mother to the heir to the throne...
00:22:31...she started to fight back.
00:22:34Sir, I wish to be excused from dining alone with a person...
00:22:38...whom I can neither like nor respect...
00:22:41...and who is your mistress.
00:22:44And to be shut up with her all so long day.
00:22:48Forgive me, my dear prince...
00:22:50...if my expressions are too strong.
00:22:53Believe that it is a heart...
00:22:55...wounded by the most acute pain...
00:22:58...the most deadly sorrows that pleads for your help.
00:23:02Madam, let me remind you...
00:23:05...that the intimacy of my friendship with Lady Jersey...
00:23:08...my mistress as you indecorously term her...
00:23:11...was perfectly known to you before you accepted my hand...
00:23:14...for you yourself told me so immediately on your arrival here.
00:23:18I deeply regret the coldness...
00:23:20...and great contempt of your conduct towards me.
00:23:24I only ask for your friendship...
00:23:26...which would be very precious to me.
00:23:30Madam, if you wish for more of my company...
00:23:34...you would do well not to make my own house obnoxious to me.
00:23:40Sir, I wish to know the exact terms...
00:23:43...upon which we are imputed to live.
00:23:46In particular, I want to be assured...
00:23:48...that you will never again...
00:23:50...not even in the event of the death of our daughter...
00:23:53...make any attempt to produce another heir.
00:23:58In the event of any accident happening to my daughter...
00:24:02...I shall not infringe the terms of restriction...
00:24:04...by purposing at any period...
00:24:06...a connection of a more particular nature.
00:24:10I shall now finally close this disagreeable correspondence...
00:24:14...trusting that as we have completely explained ourselves to each other...
00:24:18...the rest of our lives will be passed in uninterrupted tranquility.
00:24:27Tranquility was not to be.
00:24:30Caroline now wrote to the king...
00:24:32...who had always sympathized with his daughter-in-law...
00:24:35...and defended her against the prince.
00:24:37The king ordered that Lady Jersey be removed from her service...
00:24:41...a sweet victory for the princess.
00:24:44And soon everybody knew.
00:24:46It was in all the papers.
00:24:48The Times reported that Lady Jersey's letter of resignation was...
00:24:52...one of the most disrespectful we ever recollect to have read.
00:24:57How did they get hold of it?
00:25:00No one knows.
00:25:02No one knows.
00:25:06George's situation had become intolerable.
00:25:09His wife was more popular than he was.
00:25:11When she went out, people cheered.
00:25:14When he showed himself, he was hissed and booed.
00:25:17The crisis came when Caroline asked to visit friends in the country.
00:25:22The prince refused.
00:25:24There could be dangerous consequences...
00:25:26...if the princess of Wales were to travel all over England...
00:25:28...showing herself to the people, repeating her tricks...
00:25:31...especially if she persists in her artful and malicious conduct...
00:25:36...drawing popularity to herself at the expense of myself and my family.
00:25:57You wrote that you wished to see me, ma'am.
00:25:59There's no point in any explanation.
00:26:01I have only two words to say to you.
00:26:04I've been two and a half years in this house.
00:26:06You've treated me neither as your wife nor as the mother of your child...
00:26:10...nor as the princess of Wales.
00:26:12I advise you that from this moment I have nothing more to say to you...
00:26:16...and that I regard myself as being no longer subject to your orders or your rules.
00:26:25Is that all you have to say, ma'am?
00:26:29Yes.
00:26:37And that was the last time the prince of Wales spoke to the princess.
00:26:41He demanded a formal separation.
00:26:44The king refused.
00:26:46But he allowed Caroline to move out of the palace.
00:26:51And so she went to a small house just outside London in Blackheath...
00:26:55...and found a whole new lease of life.
00:26:59I'm coming to get you.
00:27:09Where are you?
00:27:11Where is your lovely bed?
00:27:13Dullness was a thing of the past.
00:27:15Now there were dinners and dancing and plenty of gentleman callers.
00:27:20War heroes, society painters, politicians...
00:27:24...all celebrated, ambitious and eligible.
00:27:29Who is that?
00:27:33Yes, it's Sir Sidney.
00:27:37Meanwhile, George, having now extricated himself from Lady Jersey...
00:27:42...wooed back his first wife.
00:27:45Sidney, save me.
00:27:49On my knees.
00:27:51I conjure you for myself.
00:27:54If you wish my life, you shall have it.
00:27:58Oh, God.
00:28:01Wretched experiences of the last five years...
00:28:04...have made my life only desirable in one shape to me.
00:28:08And that is in you.
00:28:10You know me.
00:28:12You are my wife.
00:28:15I will relinquish everything for you.
00:28:19Rank, situation, birth.
00:28:22And if that is not sufficient...
00:28:26...my life shall go also to her.
00:28:31My heart.
00:28:33My heart.
00:28:38My heart.
00:28:45Once again, George's methods were too powerful or underhand...
00:28:50...for Mrs Fitzherbert to resist.
00:28:53But although he recaptured Maria's heart...
00:28:57...he still couldn't win over the public's.
00:29:00Isn't this his unjust behavior to her?
00:29:04Given his own most disgraceful connections.
00:29:08Only adds to the opprobrium attaching to the heir to the throne.
00:29:12Have you ever heard such libels?
00:29:16Oh.
00:29:18Sent from Carlton House and separated from her child...
00:29:22...everyone must pity the wife of an incorrigible wastrel...
00:29:25...who, while our armies fight the French...
00:29:28...flagrantly squanders public money on senseless frivolity.
00:29:32God! When I have pleaded with the king to let me lead an army against the French!
00:29:39This will make you feel better.
00:29:42This will make you feel better?
00:29:44No one of taste, discernment or knowledge...
00:29:47...can do anything but deplore the gratuitous and ungenerous conduct...
00:29:51...of both the press and opposition against a prince who has been...
00:29:56...and is a glory of the people...
00:29:59...and a doness of loveliness.
00:30:02What paper's that?
00:30:03The Morning Post.
00:30:05I own the Morning Post.
00:30:13For a few years there was a truce.
00:30:15The prince and princess lived separate lives.
00:30:18But as these years went by...
00:30:20...Caroline's lively behavior did not go unnoticed.
00:30:24Sir Thomas Lawrence, the portrait painter, your highness.
00:30:29I regret to say that he is not alone.
00:30:33Lord Liverpool, the Home Secretary...
00:30:36...is listing the names of those gentlemen...
00:30:38...alleged to have been on intimate terms with the prince's wife at Blackheath.
00:30:44George Canning, a colleague of mine, I'm afraid.
00:30:49Admiral Sidney Smith, most distinguished war hero.
00:30:54Captain Thomas Manby, R.N.
00:30:57And finally, the Honorable Henry Hood.
00:31:01Who has so obligingly provided this list?
00:31:04Sir John and Lady Douglas...
00:31:07...neighbors of her highness's.
00:31:09If they're to be believed, her behavior has become extremely strange.
00:31:14She has sent Sir John an indelicate drawing.
00:31:26Sir Sidney doing Lady Douglas, your amiable wife.
00:31:32There's something more, your highness.
00:31:38A bastard.
00:31:40She's had a bastard.
00:31:51William.
00:31:53Sweet William.
00:31:56Sweet William's origins were uncertain.
00:32:00When Caroline came to Blackheath, she was forced to leave her daughter behind.
00:32:04Ever since, she had sought new objects for her affections.
00:32:08She began to collect children like her husband collected perfumes.
00:32:12She fostered eight local orphans, paying for their education and upkeep.
00:32:16But with the ninth, something different happened.
00:32:19William moved in.
00:32:22I'm so happy.
00:32:25I'll never regret leaving all that and coming here.
00:32:29That's how I've suffered.
00:32:32It's just as well I'm so strong-minded or I'd never have survived it.
00:32:37I should have been the man, you know.
00:32:40And he should have been the woman.
00:32:43He knows exactly how a coat should be cut...
00:32:46...or how a dress should be made.
00:32:49Actually, he'd make an excellent tailor or hairdresser...
00:32:54...but absolutely nothing else.
00:32:57Isn't that right, William?
00:33:00Give him to me.
00:33:03There were rumours that William was Caroline's own child...
00:33:07...an accusation too serious for the government to ignore.
00:33:11They ordered a private, so-called delicate investigation.
00:33:16Mary Wilson went into the room to make up the fire...
00:33:20...and saw Her Highness and Sir Sidney in such an indecent situation...
00:33:25...she was so shocked she fainted away at the door.
00:33:29She was with a naval officer, Your Honour, in a very compromising position.
00:33:34Was the man involved an admiral?
00:33:37Oh, I don't know, sir. He wasn't wearing his hat.
00:33:41Oh, and Samuel Roberts, the footman, told me that wasn't all.
00:33:46What did he say?
00:33:48That the princess was very fond of fucking, Your Honour.
00:33:52She then told me she was going to have a baby of her own.
00:33:55She said no-one would notice when it arrived...
00:33:57...everyone would just assume it was another foster child.
00:34:00She said no-one would know she was pregnant.
00:34:03She'd arrange cushions under her clothes...
00:34:05...and everyone would assume she was just growing fat.
00:34:08Did she say who the father was?
00:34:11No, but she said if she was discovered...
00:34:14...she would give the Prince of Wales the credit for it.
00:34:17I heard the princess sometimes adopted poor children...
00:34:19...so I took him to Blackheath.
00:34:22They told me he'd be brought up and treated like a young prince...
00:34:25...so I agreed to leave him there.
00:34:28I'm really grateful for all the princesses down for us.
00:34:31Once William's real mother came forward...
00:34:34...the delicate investigation had to conclude...
00:34:36...that the child was not Caroline's...
00:34:39...and it couldn't prove adultery either.
00:34:41The prince was disappointed.
00:34:44There were no grounds for a royal divorce.
00:34:49Years went by...
00:34:51...and Caroline and George continued their separate lives.
00:34:54But whereas he lived the grand life of royalty...
00:34:57...she became more and more isolated.
00:34:59Ignored by the royal family...
00:35:01...and bored by the life she was forced to lead...
00:35:04...she became increasingly outrageous.
00:35:07Such an exhibition!
00:35:09But that she did not feel for herself...
00:35:11...one should have felt for her.
00:35:13The most bare-bosomed, painted, eyebrowed figure one never saw.
00:35:16She's always seeking amusement...
00:35:18...and unfortunately often at the expense of propriety and prudence.
00:35:22Her conversation is uncommonly lively, odd and clever.
00:35:26What a pity she has not a grain of common sense...
00:35:28...nor an ounce of ballast to prevent high spirits.
00:35:31Every day she becomes more imprudent in her conduct...
00:35:35...more heedless of society.
00:35:37The poor princess is going on headlong to her ruin.
00:35:43The End
00:36:07That wicked princess on the heath!
00:36:09She is such a rake and such a rioter...
00:36:12...and such an irregular person...
00:36:14...that she makes rebellions and mutinies...
00:36:17...in every well-regulated house.
00:36:23While Caroline ran riot...
00:36:25...her father-in-law the king was slowly going mad.
00:36:28When he was finally declared insane...
00:36:31...the prince became regent...
00:36:33...and immediately used his new powers...
00:36:35...to restrict Caroline's access to their daughter.
00:36:39I've drafted a letter to your husband, your highness.
00:36:43Cut off from one of the few domestic enjoyments left to me...
00:36:47...the society of my child.
00:36:49This is Henry Broome...
00:36:51...ambitious Scots lawyer, rising opposition politician.
00:36:55He gave the princess's cause direction.
00:36:58She made him famous.
00:37:01Or by secret insinuation.
00:37:03There is a point beyond which a guiltless woman...
00:37:06...cannot with safety carry her forbearance onwards...
00:37:09...but must resort to whatever means possible...
00:37:12...to protect herself.
00:37:14The letter was published in the Morning Chronicle.
00:37:17Damn her!
00:37:19The order stands.
00:37:21She shall see her once a fortnight and no more.
00:37:26The private arguments of the prince and princess of Wales...
00:37:29...are not an interesting subject for breakfast reading.
00:37:33A pleasant change from, say, the third reading...
00:37:36...of the naval arsenal's bill.
00:37:39And it was Broome and his friends who made sure...
00:37:42...that no editor was ever short of the latest details.
00:37:51The press and the public loved Caroline...
00:37:54...but high society kept its distance.
00:37:58When the crown heads of Europe came to London...
00:38:01...to mark the victory over Napoleon...
00:38:04...the prince held some grand celebrations.
00:38:07Everyone who was anyone was invited.
00:38:11Well, almost.
00:38:13Sir, of all His Highness's subjects...
00:38:16...I alone am prevented from appearing in my proper place...
00:38:20...to partake of the general joy.
00:38:24It was the final humiliation.
00:38:28So, Mama, you're leaving?
00:38:31What should I stay here for?
00:38:34I've no life here.
00:38:36He deprives me of my position as princess of Wales...
00:38:39...of being the mother of his child.
00:38:42I'm ignored by everyone.
00:38:44I live in my little nutshell like a hermit.
00:38:47There are many who support you here, including myself.
00:38:50Pooh, Mr. Broome!
00:38:52The cause you are most interested in is your own.
00:38:55I have little enemies with no more or no less.
00:38:58You do it for your party, not for me.
00:39:02If you go, Ma'am...
00:39:04...there'll be many people encouraging the prince to divorce you.
00:39:07If you're abroad, we can't protect you or keep the public on your side.
00:39:11I don't know which of you gives me more trouble...
00:39:14...my friends or my enemies.
00:39:18I'm tired, Mr. Broome.
00:39:22I'm tired of being managed by you.
00:39:25And I'm tired of this life...
00:39:27...which cannot get any better until I leave this vile country.
00:39:32To the princess of Wales' damnation.
00:39:35And may she never return to England.
00:39:38George celebrated with his latest amour.
00:39:41Mrs. Fitzherbert had at last gone the way of Lady Jersey.
00:39:45Now it was the turn of Lady Hartford to act as his confidante.
00:39:53Once Caroline started travelling, she couldn't stop.
00:39:57For six years she travelled.
00:40:00It was like the best days of Black Heath all over again.
00:40:04She had all the freedom she wanted.
00:40:06There was dancing and parties...
00:40:08...and no one there to tell her what to wear or what to do.
00:40:14Are you quite sure you wish to hear all this, Your Highness?
00:40:18Go ahead, Liverpool. I'm quite prepared.
00:40:20Lord Liverpool was now Prime Minister...
00:40:23...with a country to run and an empire to nurture.
00:40:26His most pressing duty, however...
00:40:28...was to keep the prince informed of his wife's adventures.
00:40:32At Geneva she appeared at a ball dressed as Venus.
00:40:36So?
00:40:37And that is not dressed further than the waist.
00:40:42Lord Reedsdale reports from Barden...
00:40:44...that she attended the Grand Duke's hunting ball...
00:40:47...with half a pumpkin on her head.
00:40:52She told him it was the coolest sort of coiffure.
00:40:58At Genoa she was drawn through the streets...
00:41:01...in a mother-of-pearl carriage wearing pink boots...
00:41:04...with plenty of stout legs showing.
00:41:08And there's a letter from Lady Bessvera in Milan.
00:41:13She writes...
00:41:14I cannot tell you how sorry and ashamed I felt as an Englishwoman...
00:41:18...to see Her Highness in a little girl's white dress...
00:41:22...with a neck very low, disgustingly so.
00:41:27Enough. I've had enough.
00:41:29Put someone to watch her, Liverpool, and make this an official inquiry.
00:41:32This time I will get a divorce.
00:41:35One name appears regularly.
00:41:37He is called Pagami, Bartolomeo Pagami.
00:41:41Old Italian family, fallen on hard times.
00:41:44Has the manners of a gentleman.
00:41:46Started as her valet, promoted to chamberlain.
00:41:50Now eats at her table.
00:41:52Most of his relatives seem to be on the staff too.
00:41:55Mother, sisters, nephews.
00:41:57More, Liverpool, we need more.
00:42:00She entered Jerusalem on an ass with some 200 followers.
00:42:06Whilst there she founded the Order of St Caroline.
00:42:10As its Grand Master, she then appointed Count Bartolomeo Pagami...
00:42:16...Baron of Francina, Knight of Malta, and the Holy Sepulcher.
00:42:25Your Highness, may I express my deepest condolences...
00:42:29...on the truly tragic loss of your daughter.
00:42:32Princess Charlotte, married only a year before...
00:42:36...had died giving birth to a stillborn child.
00:42:39She was 19.
00:42:41Get on with it.
00:42:45In Sicily, Princess Caroline has had herself painted...
00:42:49...as a penitent Magdalene, with her hair disordered...
00:42:54...eyes heavenwards, naked to the waist.
00:42:57She has apparently given the picture to Pagami.
00:43:03There is now evidence from some 85 persons...
00:43:08...which appears to confirm the fact of a continued...
00:43:11...and adulterous intercourse between her Royal Highness and Pagami.
00:43:15They are to all appearances man and wife.
00:43:19Never was anything so obvious.
00:43:22Excellent.
00:43:24Your Majesty, may I express my sincerest condolences...
00:43:28...on the death of your esteemed father.
00:43:31The country has lost a most revered and honoured sovereign.
00:43:36But has gained a most respected and truly worthy successor.
00:43:43Does she know?
00:43:45I am informed she is already on her way to London.
00:43:48She must be stopped.
00:43:50Stop her!
00:43:53Caroline was intercepted just before she reached Calais.
00:43:58Mr. Brougham, what a surprise.
00:44:01Your Majesty, may I present Lord Hutcheson...
00:44:04...a representative of His Majesty's government.
00:44:06Your Majesty.
00:44:08And who is it you represent, Mr. Brougham?
00:44:11As always, Your Majesty, I'm here to protect your interests.
00:44:14Lord Hutcheson has some serious proposals.
00:44:17Well, be quick. I have a boat waiting.
00:44:20It is hereby agreed by Her Majesty...
00:44:23...Caroline Amelia Elizabeth...
00:44:25Yes, yes, my Lord.
00:44:27Sir Figgis, how much?
00:44:31Fifty thousand pounds per annum.
00:44:35Hmm. Payable for my entire life.
00:44:38Absolutely, Your Majesty.
00:44:40With what conditions?
00:44:42Your Majesty.
00:44:44Your Majesty.
00:44:46Your Majesty.
00:44:49With what conditions?
00:44:52That you take another title.
00:44:54The government is generous.
00:44:57Another title as well as Queen?
00:45:00Instead of Queen.
00:45:03What they are proposing, Your Majesty, is Duchess of Cornwall.
00:45:07Oh.
00:45:09Would I have to live there?
00:45:12No, ma'am.
00:45:14Oh, so I could live in London?
00:45:16No.
00:45:18The, um, proposal is...
00:45:20Yes, my Lord, I guess the proposal...
00:45:22...is that I don't come to England now or ever.
00:45:25You think I don't know this the minute I see you.
00:45:30What will they do if I do come?
00:45:32His Majesty may try to divorce you.
00:45:35They have much damaging evidence against you.
00:45:38And I have much against him.
00:45:40Your Majesty, do not be precipitous.
00:45:43If you accept these proposals, ma'am,
00:45:46you could have an agreeable and peaceful life.
00:45:49I don't want a peaceful life.
00:45:51I won't go quietly.
00:45:53I have endured a great deal to become Queen of England.
00:45:58And that is what I shall be.
00:46:02I'm afraid she was cheered all the way from Dover, Your Majesty.
00:46:07At Canterbury, some 10,000 people awaited her.
00:46:11Has Braun told you what she wants?
00:46:15She still insists that her name be included in the prayers for the royal family.
00:46:20Put her name in the liturgy. Never.
00:46:23And that she attend the coronation.
00:46:27Attend? Attend?
00:46:30You mean be crowned?
00:46:32Be crowned beside me?
00:46:34Yes, Your Majesty.
00:46:36Then cancel it! Cancel it!
00:46:39I will not be crowned with that woman beside me.
00:46:42I will be divorced first.
00:46:44As Your Majesty knows, the procedure is uncertain.
00:46:48I don't care!
00:46:50Find a new procedure than Liverpool. Arrange it.
00:46:54Or I'll find myself a new Prime Minister and a government that will.
00:46:57I will be divorced!
00:47:02The Queen's unexpected arrival also excited the public.
00:47:06Mobs roamed the streets, windows were smashed, and the cry everywhere was for the Queen.
00:47:12Something had to be done, and the government came up with a solution.
00:47:17They've issued a Bill of Pains and Penalties, Your Majesty.
00:47:21A Bill of Pains and Penalties?
00:47:23Sounds as if I should be fried and tortured.
00:47:26What does it mean?
00:47:28The Bill goes first to the Lords, then to the Commons.
00:47:33If it's passed, it'll strip you of your title and dissolve your marriage.
00:47:38It's a cunning device.
00:47:40Effectively, you'll be on trial.
00:47:43Witnesses will be called and cross-examined.
00:47:46We will call the King.
00:47:48With this procedure, ma'am, one can't.
00:47:51He won't even be named as plaintiff.
00:47:54Your reputation will be on trial, but not your husband's.
00:48:03The Queen on trial? No.
00:48:07Oh, no.
00:48:08I don't believe it.
00:48:10Surely not.
00:48:11Well, well.
00:48:12No!
00:48:14My Lords, the highest individual in the land is charged with one of the most serious offences,
00:48:21both against God and man, adulterous intercourse.
00:48:27I am aware, my Lords, of the reluctance with which your Lordships must listen to these disgusting details.
00:48:35Maybe not that reluctant.
00:48:37The House of Lords was packed to hear the Attorney-General, Sir Robert Gifford's opening attack on the Queen.
00:48:43I shall now proceed to call my first witness, Teodoro Maiochi.
00:48:53Teodoro.
00:48:55Teodoro!
00:48:59Things didn't start well for Caroline.
00:49:01Teodoro Maiochi was one of her most trusted servants.
00:49:06If he testified against her, who could she rely on?
00:49:10Do you remember Pagami at Messina, asking Lever the Princess to go and make some purchases?
00:49:16I do.
00:49:17Describe what took place when they partied from each other for that purpose.
00:49:23I saw Pagami say, will your Royal Highness permit me to go to Messina to make some purchases?
00:49:29And, having had this permission, he took her hand and kissed her lips.
00:49:38Did they dine there by themselves?
00:49:41They were alone.
00:49:43Where was the Princess sitting?
00:49:45On the bed.
00:49:47Where was Pagami sitting?
00:49:48On the ground, at the feet of Her Royal Highness.
00:49:53Did Her Majesty sleep under that tent on the whole journey from Jaffa?
00:49:58She slept always under that tent.
00:50:01Did anybody else sleep under the same tent?
00:50:04Bartolomeo Pagami.
00:50:06Maiochi seemed less sure of events when cross-examined by Broome on behalf of the Queen.
00:50:13Did you ever see William Austin asleep under the tent?
00:50:18Non mi ricordo.
00:50:20He did not remember.
00:50:22And where did Captain Hannan sleep?
00:50:26Non mi ricordo.
00:50:28And where did the Countess Alde sleep?
00:50:35Non mi ricordo.
00:50:37Maiochi failed to remember, not once, not twice, not even ten times.
00:50:42On eighty-three occasions he stated that his memory failed him.
00:50:46A small triumph for Broome.
00:50:49But Maiochi was not the only servant of the Princesses to testify against her.
00:50:54Over the weeks that followed, the prosecution called eighty-five of her former employees,
00:50:59and most of their evidence was damaging.
00:51:02Did you notice anything about Pagami's hand?
00:51:05Yes, it was in her dress.
00:51:09Yes, it was in her dress.
00:51:12Where, precisely?
00:51:14Under her skirt.
00:51:16And Her Majesty's hand?
00:51:19In his trousers, on his...
00:51:24cotorenzo.
00:51:26Cotorenzo?
00:51:28Parte privato.
00:51:31We understand.
00:51:34Once, when I made the bed, I noticed the sheets were in disorder.
00:51:41What do you mean by that?
00:51:44It had...
00:51:47stains.
00:51:49What sort of stains?
00:51:52As much as I have seen, they were white.
00:51:55You have stated you are a married woman.
00:51:59What did those...
00:52:01stains appear to be?
00:52:08Outside the House of Lords, the country was obsessed with the trial.
00:52:12The Times, a loyal supporter of the Queen, doubled its circulation.
00:52:16People talked of little else.
00:52:18Well, is she sound bad?
00:52:19She's worse.
00:52:21My husband has treated me like he has her.
00:52:24I should have thought myself entitled to act as she has.
00:52:27After all this, how impossible it will be for any man to divorce his wife for the next 20 years.
00:52:32My husband prevents me reading the newspaper.
00:52:35He merely reads out the elements that he considers suitable.
00:52:39Every day there were demonstrations for the Queen, large and small.
00:52:45Petitions were handed to her by bakers, glass workers, brass founders and seamen.
00:52:50The married ladies of Edinburgh collected over 8,000 signatures.
00:52:55We most sincerely lament the harsh and unprecedented usage which Your Majesty has received.
00:53:03The principles now advanced by your accusers do not apply to your case alone,
00:53:08but may be applied hereafter as a precedent by every careless and dissipated husband to rid himself of his wife,
00:53:15however good and innocent she may be, rendering all domestic felicity uncertain.
00:53:23Did you receive money to come here today and give this evidence?
00:53:28I received nothing else but my travelling expenses.
00:53:32What bargain have you made?
00:53:35What pay are you to have for coming here?
00:53:37Brougham's main line of attack against the witnesses was to suggest that they had all been bribed to testify against the Queen.
00:53:45It was a defence that fed well of British bigotry.
00:53:49John Bull regards these Italians as so many bugs and frogs.
00:53:54What we want is proof witnesses, credible ones.
00:53:58Ten Englishmen instead of a hundred Italians.
00:54:01And you saw no degradation...
00:54:03For more than three months Caroline sat in the Lords hearing her character blackened.
00:54:09George, meanwhile, hid himself in Windsor Castle, but he couldn't hide his dubious reputation.
00:54:16Brougham made sure that it was uppermost in everyone's minds, and Mr Brougham's powers of persuasion proved decisive.
00:54:24I am not, because of the form of this bill, allowed to ask the prosecution who their client is.
00:54:35If I knew I could bring forward documents and speeches without number against him,
00:54:40but I am allowed to know nothing about this mysterious being, this uncertain phantom, this uncertain shape.
00:54:55If I could see it, I might interrogate it, and bring out of its mouth, if it has a mouth, who and what it is.
00:55:05And whether it be a man or some other...
00:55:08Why did you withdraw the bill?
00:55:10There was no alternative, Your Majesty.
00:55:13But you won the final vote.
00:55:15Only by nine votes.
00:55:17Too small a majority to risk going to the Commons with.
00:55:21We simply didn't dare chance our luck there.
00:55:34It looked as though the Queen had won.
00:55:37Her supporters seemed to think so.
00:55:39For five nights they rejoiced, but one person wasn't celebrating.
00:55:46Caroline had been acquitted, but her reputation had been destroyed.
00:55:52She knew her victory was a hollow one.
00:56:04But she wasn't finished yet.
00:56:06There were palaces, money, and titles to fight for, and she was determined to get what she wanted.
00:56:11The King ignored her.
00:56:13He suspected that her support was fading, and he had better things to do.
00:56:17He was planning a coronation for one.
00:56:21The Queen, being particularly anxious to submit to the good taste of His Majesty,
00:56:26most earnestly entreats the King to inform the Queen in what dress he wishes her to appear on the day of the coronation.
00:56:36Issue instructions that she is not under any circumstances to appear.
00:56:40Now, let us think about the shoes.
00:56:42Velvet is tassels, and embroidered in gold and silver thread.
00:56:51On the morning of the coronation, Caroline arrived at the door of Westminster Abbey with her loyal supporter, Lord Hookes.
00:57:01Your ticket, please, Madam.
00:57:03I present your Queen to you. Surely it is not necessary for her to have a ticket.
00:57:07Our orders are to admit no one without a peer's ticket.
00:57:11This is your Queen. She is entitled to admission without such a ticket.
00:57:17Yes, I am your Queen. Will you not admit me?
00:57:21My orders are specific, and I feel myself bound to obey them.
00:57:25No one is allowed to enter without a ticket.
00:57:28Will Your Majesty take my ticket and go in alone?
00:57:31No. I will enter as Queen, and without a ticket.
00:57:38Am I to understand that you are refusing Her Majesty's admission?
00:57:42I only act in conformity with my orders.
00:57:50I am sorry for her.
00:57:53I am sorry for it.
00:57:56It was to be Caroline's last act of defiance.
00:57:59As she walked away, people shouted,
00:58:02Go back to Pergami!
00:58:05The public who had supported her for more than twenty years had finally deserted her.
00:58:13There is nothing like a good coronation to win over the people.
00:58:17And won over they were by the royal extravaganza.
00:58:22George's outfit alone cost the country 24,704 pounds, 8 shillings and 10 pence.
00:58:38Two weeks after the coronation, Caroline collapsed.
00:58:42The doctors diagnosed a blockage of the bowel and gave her enough castor oil, according to Bruen,
00:58:48to turn the stomach of a horse.
00:58:51It's likely she had stomach cancer.
00:58:55I'm going to die, Mr Bruen.
00:59:01But it doesn't matter.
00:59:03Your physicians are of quite a different opinion, Your Majesty.
00:59:06I know better than them.
00:59:09I do not wish to be buried here.
00:59:12I want to be buried in Brunswick.
00:59:16They did not like my young bones, so they shan't have my old ones.
00:59:22Oh, don't die without pain.
00:59:26But I die without regret.
00:59:34George was on his way to Ireland when he heard of his wife's death.
00:59:38He paced around his cabin most of the night
00:59:41and had all the flags lowered as a sign of mourning.
00:59:46The next day, his 59th birthday,
00:59:49he arrived in Dublin, apparently in great spirits and dead drunk.
01:00:00On the day of the funeral, Caroline's friends carried out her final wish.
01:00:12CLANGING
01:00:18Caroline of Brunswick, the injured Queen of England.
01:00:24Twenty-five years before,
01:00:26when Lord Malmesbury brought Caroline over from Brunswick,
01:00:29he said of her,
01:00:31in the hands of a sensible man who loved her,
01:00:34she would probably turn out well.
01:00:37But then her own father had said,
01:00:40the heart has nothing to do with royal marriages.
01:01:07CLANGING
01:01:37CLANGING