The Third George: (Georgian Series)

by Jean Plaidy

  The Lord Mayor’s procession was long and colourful and considerably enlivened by the Lady Mayoress. When she put her head out of the mayoral coach to pay homage to their Majesties her enormous headdress was caught in the window sash and she remained, her head stuck out uncomfortably as the coach rattled on. There were shouts of delight from the crowd and protests from the lady; and the whole procession had to be stopped while the footman extricated the lady and made it possible for her to put her head back in the carriage.

  Everyone was laughing, except the Lady Mayoress; and Charlotte recalled the coronation and a similar series of accidents.

  She was reminded how serious George had been on that occasion. It was indeed a solemn one. But he was even more serious today, which was strange.

  It occurred to Charlotte then that there might be some strange connection between George and the Quakers. She must try to discover what it was, for as a good wife she must be interested in what concerned her husband.

  *

  Lord Bute sat well back in his coach. He had consoled the Princess, but he was not feeling very secure. He knew the mood of the people and that they blamed him for Pitt’s retirement from the cabinet.

  He heard the shouts. ‘Pitt. God bless him. We want Pitt.’

  It was coming. He sat back in his coach. He heard the hurrahs and the shouts of approval. It was some seconds before he realized that they had mistaken him for Pitt.

  He kept well back. If only the coachman could whip up the horses. This slow, trundling along through a mob that could be murderous if it recognized the true occupant of the coach, was alarming.

  The coach jerked forward and he with it. A face stared in at him; for a few seconds Bute stared back. Then the face became almost demoniacal in its delight.

  ‘He’s no Pitt. It’s the Scotch Stallion himself.’

  The crowd was round his coach, preventing its moving backwards or forwards. Someone threw a stone through the window. Bute narrowly avoided it.

  ‘Go back to your heathen land beyond the Border,’ cried a voice.

  They were trying to cut the traces of the horse.

  ‘We’ll hang him on a tree where he belongs.’

  Oh, God, this is the end, thought Bute. On a day such as this the taverns would have been crowded while the people waited for the procession; they were inflamed by liquor and in such a mood they were capable of anything.

  Where were the ‘bruisers’ whom he had hired to follow him, for he had suspected something like this might happen. They were in fact battling their way through the mob to reach his coach. Suddenly he saw one on either side of the coach. The others would be doing their work.

  ‘Get back,’ shouted one of them. ‘You’re breaking the law.’

  ‘Whose law? Bute’s law? We take no account of that. We want the Scotch Boy. He won’t sleep in my lady’s bed again. We’re going to hang him high …’

  The door of the coach was opened suddenly. Bute saw that another coach had drawn up close. In it was Lord Hardwicke. One of the bruisers held off the mob while Lord Bute leapt from his own coach to that of Lord Hardwicke.

  Lord Hardwicke’s driver shouted to the mob to stand aside unless they wished to be run over and because of the urgency of the moment he drove through them. They scattered from right and left; and they satisfied their fury by destroying Lord Bute’s fine carriage while his lordship, beside his rescuer Lord Hardwicke, rode on to Guildhall.

  He was safe, but it was a depressing indication of popular feeling.

  *

  Charlotte and George drove from the Barclays’ house to Guildhall where various ceremonies had to be endured; and it was nine o’clock before they sat down to the banquet.

  Although they were received warmly by the Mayor and his Aldermen and the City merchants, when Pitt and Lord Temple entered the Guildhall the rafters shook with the cheers; and the hosts made no secret of who were the honoured guests.

  The King was out of favour. He had allowed Mr Pitt to be dismissed and the City of London which stood for Trade stood for Mr Pitt. It would not be forgotten in a hurry what Mr Pitt had done for the prosperity of London in the years when he had been at the helm.

  The City heartily disapproved of the King’s treatment of their Great Commoner and the City of London was a law unto itself; it would not hesitate to express its disapproval of the King’s action, for it considered that the prosperity of London was more important to England than all the kings and queens put together.

  Still George was not so unpopular as he might have been had he been older. He was young, a new king, and everyone knew that he did not rule. He was told what he must do and he did it. England was ruled by Jackboot and Petticoat and the City had shown what it thought of them.

  The King and Queen sat at a table in the front of the hall which had been set especially for them. Over it was a canopy and they could not complain of their reception for the Lord Mayor himself served the King and the Lady Mayoress the Queen, even though, when the King proposed the health of the City of London, there were some murmurs about government policy not being conducive to its health; and this compared ill with the wild enthusiasm accorded to Pitt.

  However, unlike the coronation banquet, this was expertly organized and there were four hundred and fourteen dishes with the accompanying wines – ample for the entire company of noblemen, ministers, aldermen and all city dignitaries.

  The ball that followed was equally successful; but at midnight the King made clear his wish to depart.

  The coaches were sent for, but it was discovered that the footmen and coachmen had been having a party on their own and that many of them were in such a state of drunkenness that they were unable to drive.

  The Princess Dowager, extremely anxious as to what had happened to Lord Bute, for she had heard rumours of his ride through the City, was very angry. She longed to be in her apartments, her lover beside her, so that she could assure herself that all was well with him.

  She paced up and down giving vent to her fury while George tried to soothe her by telling her that they must expect their servants to want a little entertainment when so much was being lavished on themselves.

  The King’s geniality was noted with approval; the Princess Dowager’s impatience with dislike.

  Tomorrow the shouts against Jackboot and Petticoat would be intensified; but the Princess Dowager was too worried and too exhausted to give that a thought.

  At length coachmen were found to drive the coaches and the royal party was able to set off for St James’s. Even the coachman who drove them was not entirely sober and this was evident when the royal coach turned into the gateway of St James’s Palace, for he did not judge his distance sufficiently well, and the coach came into collision with one of the posts. The King and the Queen were thrown from their seats and the roof caved in; the glass windows were broken; but to their astonishment neither George nor Charlotte was hurt.

  George descended from the coach and helped Charlotte out.

  ‘Your Majesty …’ stammered the coachman.

  But George only waved him aside. ‘We will walk to our own apartments,’ he said.

  What a strange day, thought Charlotte, in the royal bed while George lay beside her. She felt as though she were jolting in the coach; she could still hear the shouts of the people; could see the splendour of the Guildhall; but most clearly of all the Quaker household.

  How friendly George had been to them! She had never seen him quite like that before.

  She must ask him to explain to her this affinity he had for Quakers.

  When she fell asleep it was to dream of people in austere grey robes looking like nuns in the brilliant assembly. But in the weeks that followed she forgot George’s strangeness on that day, for an exciting probability had become a fact.

  The Queen was pregnant.

  The Birth of a Child

  WHEN GEORGE HEARD that Charlotte could expect a child during the following summer he was overcome by joy. But for the conflict prevai
ling among the members of his government this, he believed, could have been the happiest time of his life. He longed for a large family and Charlotte had shown, by becoming so quickly pregnant, that she was fertile.

  He was growing more and more devoted to Charlotte who was a good and loving wife, and he scarcely ever thought of Sarah Lennox. But he could not help remembering those other occasions – similar in a way – when Hannah had told him that she was expecting a baby. This was different. No need for subterfuge here – only rejoicing.

  If only Pitt had been content to accept the ruling of his cabinet how easy everything would have been. But with the weeks which followed the Lord Mayor’s banquet the people grew more and more restive. It did not help when in January it was necessary to declare war on Spain and Pitt’s policy was vindicated. People stood about in groups in the streets and demanded of each other: ‘Was this not the very issue on which Pitt resigned? And here they are declaring war after all. So Pitt was right … and they were wrong. And who rules now? Lord Bute. New-castle may call himself First Lord of the Treasury, but it is Bute who controls affairs.’

  Bute! They hated him. It was unsafe for him to venture in the streets. ‘Jackboot!’ they shouted after his carriage; and he could never be sure whether he was going to be attacked by the mob.

  Bute had been working towards this position of power over many years, but now it was his he was beginning to wonder if it had been worth while. He loved power; but he was fond of the King and truly wished to bring good to the country; and although he was aware of being overshadowed by the greatness of Pitt, he deeply regretted his departure. Perhaps this was not really what he had worked for after all. What he had desired was to be in control, yes, but with Pitt beside him – or a little behind him – to advise out of his great wisdom.

  If Pitt had been prepared to take second place … But Pitt was a man of great pride and dignity. He would have everything his way or he would have nothing.

  Bute still had the affection of the King and the Princess, and they both still regarded him with admiration as well as affection, which gave him great encouragement, and his speeches in Parliament were often so eloquent that many revised their opinion of him. Lacking the genius of men like Pitt and Fox, he was none the less something more than a man who had come to power because he had had the good fortune to attract the right mistress.

  Newcastle was an encumbrance and he felt he would be well rid of him. George did not like the man either, so he did not have to prepare the King to dislike him. Bute felt that if he could rid the Government of Newcastle he could perhaps make some headway. The opportunity came over the subsidy which England had been paying to Frederick of Prussia so that he might prosecute the war in Europe. Bute was against continuing with this, whereas Newcastle was of the opposite opinion.

  Newcastle threatened to resign and went to the King who had been prepared by Bute.

  ‘I fear Your Majesty,’ said Newcastle, ‘that I disagree with Lord Bute over this matter of aid to Prussia. The time may have come when I should retire into private life.’

  ‘Then, my lord, I must fill your place as best I can,’ retorted the King.

  Newcastle was taken aback; after all the years he had served the House of Hanover he had expected some protestation; but even he was quick enough to see that the King was welcoming his resignation and had no intention of persuading him to rescind it.

  Thus Newcastle resigned and Lord Bute held that position for which he had long schemed and plotted. He had become First Lord of the Treasury and was elected a Knight of the Garter. The Princess Dowager wept tears of joy to see him in his regalia; the King embraced him and told him that this was one of the happiest days of his life. Only Bute was a little uneasy, realizing how weighty affairs of state can be.

  However, he appointed Sir Francis Dashwood Chancellor of the Exchequer and George Grenville Secretary of State for the Northern Department – the post just evacuated by himself. Lord Henley remained Lord Chancellor; the Duke of Bedford was Lord Privy Seal, Lord Granville Lord President of the Council, and the Earl of Egremont Secretary of State for the Southern Department.

  With such a strong cabinet he felt his confidence rising. He told the King and the Princess Dowager that his first aim would be to bring about a lasting and honourable peace.

  *

  The Queen was now heavily pregnant and her child was expected to be born in the following August.

  Buckingham House was ready for habitation in June and she and the King decided that they would move in and enjoy it during the summer months. Furniture and pictures were brought from Hampton and St James’s to help furnish it, and when it was ready Charlotte was delighted, particularly when people called it the Queen’s House.

  There was a housewarming party to which the Court was invited and George, with his usual meticulous attention to detail, made the plans.

  There would be a concert, of course; both King and Queen were determined on that, and as it was brilliant summer it would be an al fresco occasion. The King selected a certain Mr Kuffe, who was a German, to take charge of the arrangements. Besides the concert there was to be a ball and the gardens would be. illuminated.

  Crowds waited outside to see the guests arrive and they were delighted by the sight of the King and his pregnant Queen on the balcony, for this pregnancy had won back the popularity which the King had lost at the time of Pitt’s resignation. Now he was their young king again. He could be said to be handsome though his fair skin was now often marred by pimples; but his very blue eyes were not as prominent as his grandfather’s and his jaw was only sullen in repose.

  If he would rid himself of the odious Bute and take back their idol Pitt they would have nothing of which to complain.

  But settling into Buckingham House was a joyous occasion and the crowds had come to cheer and applaud.

  It was a delightful ball, Charlotte decided; and she wished that they could have more balls.

  She confided this to George in the privacy of their apartments when the successful festivities had come to an end.

  He shook his head. ‘It would not be good for you in your condition.’

  ‘But George, I shall not be in this condition after August,’ she reminded him.

  ‘It may well be,’ he said, ‘that you soon will be again.’

  She considered this a little dolefully, for she had been feeling the heat rather too much and she had suffered certain discomforts. It would all be worth while once the child was born, but the idea of starting again almost immediately was a little subduing.

  However, she did not protest. After all, she would not be content with one child only.

  *

  Charlotte was feeling wan and exhausted. The Princess Dowager called on her and expressed her concern.

  ‘You should be in the country,’ she said. ‘There is nothing like country air when you are carrying.’

  ‘But I love this house.’

  ‘You should go to the country,’ insisted Augusta.

  It was not only the Queen’s health which made her feel this would be advisable. Charlotte was beginning to speak a little English and was taking too much interest in what was going on around her. She had expressed a view on Mr Pitt and what was more distressing was that she had commented to one of her women – so Miss Pascal had reported – that she believed the King to be especially interested in the Quaker religion and she herself would like to know something of it so that she could discuss it with His Majesty if the subject should arise.

  Quite clearly she was beginning to learn too much of what was going on around her. She and Lord Bute had brought Charlotte to England to bear the King’s children, not to meddle and probe.

  So the Queen should go to Richmond and live in retirement there.

  Princess Augusta directed her cold smile on her daughter-in-law.

  ‘Richmond! That is the answer. I shall know no peace until you are there. I shall instruct your ladies that they are not to bother you with too much chatter.�
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  ‘I enjoy my conversation with them. It enables me to improve my English.’

  ‘All in good time. Don’t forget you are carrying the heir to the throne.’

  ‘It may not be a boy.’

  ‘Of course it will be a boy,’ insisted Augusta, as though, thought Charlotte, it will be my fault if it is not – her own firstborn was a girl in any case. ‘And if this one is not a boy the next one will be.’

  Oh dear, thought Charlotte, how they do talk about the next before this one has appeared.

  ‘I shall prepare a schedule for you, my dear. You will wish for a little exercise and when the King is with you at Richmond you will take that together. I doubt not the King will be with you whenever he can spare the time from state duties. You will have your reading, your English lessons, your sewing. But I do not think your ladies should tire you too much at this stage. I shall give instructions that they shall spend only half an hour a week in conversation with you.’

  ‘Oh, but …’

  The Princess Dowager held up a playful finger which accorded strangely with her cold and calculating glance.

  ‘It is all for your good, my dear,’ she said. ‘We cannot allow anything to go wrong now, can we?’

  So Charlotte left Buckingham House and went to Richmond where the weeks of waiting passed slowly and monotonously.

  *

  George joined Charlotte at Richmond, and here began to live the life of the country gentleman. Richmond was near enough to St James’s to enable him to return for levees and important state occasions; but the thought of being a father and living a life of domestic happiness greatly appealed to him; and at Richmond he had time to be the devoted husband.

  He enjoyed the rural life and nothing pleased him so much as to go among the local people and talk to them, waving ceremony aside and asking them questions about their work and lives. He was particularly interested in the farms and would talk at great length with the farmers and even their labourers on agricultural matters.