by Cheyenne
And may you all have wives like her.’
That made the crowd laugh. Trust Wellington to give as good as he got. A
laugh went up. A cheer went up. He had after all saved them from Old Boney.
And the day of the trial approached and the excitement was intense.
Everyone was asking what the outcome would be.
————————
Caroline left Brandenburg House, where she had taken up residence, for the
court. She was dressed dramatically for the occasion in a dress of black figured
gauze with enormous white Bishop’s sleeves decorated with lace. A heavy lace
veil was swathed about her head and beneath this were seen the curls of her wig.
She was heavily painted and leaded. She looked, remarked one observer, like a
toy which was called a Fanny Royd— a product of Holland with a heavy round
bottom so that in whatever position it was placed it jumped upright. She came
rushing into the House in a most ungraceful fashion and made a bob at the throne
before seating herself, short legs apart, her dress falling in an ungainly manner over her chair.
Sir Robert Gifford, the Attorney General, presented the case for the Crown
with the Solicitor General Sir John Copley. The Queen’s leading counsel were
Brougham and Denman who were the opposite numbers of Gifford and Copley.
General opinion was that the Queen had the better men on her side.
The first two days of the trial were devoted to legal arguments and then the
first witnesses were called.
This was disastrous for the Queen because to her amazement the first witness
for the prosecution was Theodore Majocchi, one whom she had always regarded
as her faithful servant. The knowledge that he had come to give evidence against
her made her cry out somewhat incoherently. Some people said she denounced
him as a traitor and what she said was ‘Traditore’. Others that it was his name that she spoke. But in any case she was so overcome emotionally that in her usual
impetuous manner she rose and left the court.
There was a gasp of astonishment. How guilty was this woman who was
afraid of a servant’s evidence!
It was easy to see why she was afraid as the court listened to Majocchi in the
hands of his interrogators. He began by explaining the position of the Queen’s
and Pergami’s bedrooms in Tunis. They had been separated only by a small
chamber. He gave the impression that there could be no doubt of the liaison
between the Queen and Pergami. Her maid Louise Demont was called— she who
had served the Queen well and had kept a diary of her travels in the East and
written only praise of Caroline in that diary. But having lived close to the Queen she was recognized as an ideal witness against her if she could be persuaded to
give the damning evidence that was required of her. Temptation was too much for
Louise and she agreed to become a witness for the Crown. So with the evidence
of Majocchi and Louise Demont, the case looked very black against Caroline.
But it was a situation which Brougham and Denman found stimulating. As
they sifted the evidence they began to believe that the Queen was innocent of all but an indiscretion so great that it was the utmost folly. But innocent she was of that which the Crown was trying to prove. And with innocence and Brougham,
thought that gentleman, she must win.
It was easy to deal with Majocchi for the man was clearly lying. Captain
Hownam was called to prove that the, Queen’s and Pergami’s bedrooms in Tunis
had not been on the same floor. Majocchi had stated that the Queen dined in her
bedroom with Peragami who sat on her bed while they ate together. Captain
Hownam assured the Court that this was absolutely untrue. The whole suite had
always dined together.
So under fire Majocchi withered. He took refuge in the phrase, ‘I don’t
remember’— Non mi ricordo.
The people who followed the trial day by day were immensely amused by this
witness and a song was soon being sung in the streets:
‘To England I was trudged.
Nor cost me a single farden
And was safely lodged
In a place called Covent Garden
There I eat and drink
Of the best they can afford 0
Get plenty of the chink
To say Non mi ricordo .
‘To the House so large I went
Which put me in a stew
To tell a tale I was bent
Of which I nothing knew.
There was a man stood there
My precious brains he bored 0
To which I wouldn’t swear
I said Non mi ricordo.
There were many verses and these were added to hour by hour. People were
singing them everywhere.
‘Their witness,’ said Brougham chuckling, ‘is our witness.’
It was the same with Louise Demont. How easily the liars could be discredited
in the hands of men like Brougham and Denman.
There were other Italian witnesses, all eager to earn their money and testify
against the Queen. There was a certain Raggazoni who admitted that he had seen
indecent conduct between the Queen and Pergami. This had caused some concern
to Brougham until Hownam was able to tell the court that it was impossible for
the man to have seen this from the place in which he described himself to be.
Another witness, Sacchi, said that on a journey from Rome to Sinigaglia the
Queen had insisted that she and Pergami travel in a coach and that he. was riding beside the coach in attendance when he saw an act of misconduct. There were
other witnesses to prove that the Countess Oldi had travelled in the coach with
them and that Sacchi had also ridden in a coach and not on horseback.
Rastelli, another bribed witness, had further stories to tell. These Brougham
was not able to refute at the time but he had hopes of doing so.
He called on the Countess Oldi who had come to England with Caroline and
knowing her devotion to the Queen— and moreover she was the sister of Pergami
— he thought she would be a good witness.
She was distressed because of the cruel things which were being said about
the Queen.
‘So untrue,’ she cried. ‘So untrue.’
It was clear that she had a great affection for Caroline.
Should he call her? She was a foreigner, and it would be good to have an
Italian who had a good word to say for the Queen. But she was Pergami’s sister—
what effect would that have?
‘Of course,’ said Brougham, ‘people did go in and out of the Queen’s
bedroom.’
‘Never at any time,’ declared the Countess.
‘I thought the manners of the country might make this permissible.’
‘Never on any occasion.’
‘But it has been proved that people did wander in and out of Her Majesty’s
bedroom rather freely.’
‘Never at any time.’
She had learned her phrase, he realized; and she was going to stick to it,
having decided that only by denying everything could she serve the Queen.
Brougham imagined her in the hands of the Crown.
She would do as much harm to his cause as Majocchi had done to the other
side.
He decided not to call her.
His great opportunity came when he proposed to recall the man Rastelli and
heard that the Cro
wn had sent him back to Italy.
What a sensation when the cry went up ‘Call Rastelli’ and the Crown had to
admit that he had returned to Italy.
Brougham was a man to make the most of his opportunities. He wondered
why the man had been sent back. He had questions to ask him which he very
much doubted the fellow would be able to answer to the satisfaction of the court.
Was it not strange that he should have been sent away at such a time?
It was indeed strange, Lord Liverpool admitted. It was highly culpable; it was
iniquitous.
From that moment Brougham knew he had won his case.
————————
Denman summed up the case for the Queen brilliantly until he came to the
end of his speech.
‘I know that rumours are abroad of the most vague but at the same time of the
most injurious character. I have heard them even as we are defending Her Majesty
against charges which compared with these rumours are clear, comprehensible
and tangible— There are persons and these not of the lowest condition, nor
confined to individuals connected with the public press— not even excluded from
this august assembly— who are industriously circulating the most odious and
atrocious calumnies against Her Majesty— To a man who could even be
suspected of so base a practice as whispering calumnies to judges— distilling
leprous venom into the cars of jurors— the Queen might well exclaim: Come
forward, thou slanderer and let me see thy face. If thou wouldst equate the
respectability of an Italian witness come forth and depose in open court
—’ Denman gazed contemptuously at the King’s supporters. ‘ As thou art, thou art worse than an Italian assassin. ’
He went on declaiming the injuries the Queen had suffered and he had the
sympathy of the court for he spoke with touching eloquence; but unfortunately as
he neared the end of his speech he gave his listeners the opportunity to ridicule and this they seized eagerly.
He who the sword of Heaven will bear
Should be as holy as severe.
‘And if your lordships have been furnished with powers which I might almost
say scarcely omniscience itself possesses, to arrive at the secrets of this female, you will think that it is your duty to imitate the justice, beneficence and wisdom of that benignant Being who, not in a case like this when innocence is manifest
but when guilt was detected and vice revealed said: If no accuser can come forward to condemn thee, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.’
It was a brilliant speech; no case had been proved against Caroline but
Denman could not have chosen a peroratio which would have so delighted the
people.
There was a new song now to replace that of Non mi ricordo. It was:
Gracious Queen, we thee implore,
Go away and sin no more.
But if that effort be too great,
Go away— at any rate.
Poor Denman was furious with himself. But Brougham was not displeased.
He knew that they had won.
————————
There was still the Bill of Pains and Penalties. It passed through the House of
Lords with a majority of twenty-eight.
If, reasoned Brougham, that Bill was passed in spite of the fact that the Queen
could not be proved guilty of adultery, the first part of the Bill to exclude the Queen from her rights might still be put into force.
He called on Lord Liverpool.
‘If this Bill is passed,’ he said, ‘this will not be the end. We have had an
enquiry into the Queen’s private life, what if there is an enquiry into the King’s?’
‘He has had his mistresses as most Kings have,’ began Liverpool.
‘This is not so much a matter of mistresses as of wives. There is a strong
suspicion that as Heir Apparent, the King went through a form of marriage with
Maria Fitzherbert, and in the Act of Succession since the lady is a Catholic, this could mean losing the Crown.’
Liverpool understood. The Bill must not be passed.
On its next reading, it received only a majority of nine in the Lords
‘This is the end of the Bill,’ said Brougham to Denman. ‘We’ve won, man.
They’ll never attempt to pass it through the Commons.’
He was right. Lord Liverpool withdrew his Bill. The Queen was acquitted.
Through the cheering crowds, she drove to Brandenburg House.
Return to Brunswick
CAROLINE called Lady Anne Hamilton to her. ‘You see me— triumphant—’
she said, and she smiled wryly.
‘Is it the pain, Your Majesty?’
She nodded. ‘Give me the magnesia.’
Lady Anne brought the drug and Caroline mixed it with water herself.
‘And I’ll add a little laudanum,’ she said.
‘Your Majesty— is it wise to take so much?’
‘Well, my dear,’ she laughed. ‘When have I ever been wise?’
————————
The King was humiliated by the findings of the court. The Bill had been
thrown out. And he was still tied to that woman. Even Lady Conyngham found it
hard to console him. He was not feeling well; he was far too fat; he had the
Crown but life had lost its savour.
He stayed at Windsor. He wanted to shut himself away. He had no desire to
ride through the streets of London and suffer the further humiliation of having
mud thrown at his carriage and overhear the remarks he guessed the people would
make at his expense.
How different, he thought, from what he had dreamed in his youth. Then he
had been Prince Charming and everywhere he went the people applauded him.
They had preferred him to his old dull father. What a King he will make! they
said. And here he was— the King— skulking at Windsor, afraid to enter his
capital, thinking sadly of the trail of scandal which marked his progress from
Prince Charming to Prince Regent and King George IV.
It was dear Lady Conyngham who brought him comfort as usual.
She had changed the furniture in his bedroom a little and confessed to him
that she had been very bold.
‘Change what you will,’ he said fondly. ‘What pleases you pleases me.’
She sat beside him and they played a game of patience.
She said: ‘I have heard that the people are not so much for the Queen as they
were. They all believe she was guilty, of course.’
‘They cheer here wherever she goes.’
‘They are singing: Go away and sin no more.’
‘Then they have changed.’
‘They always knew she was guilty only it wasn’t possible to prove it. I think
they would like to see their King.’
‘You imagine them all to be as fond of him as you are,’ he told her
indulgently.
But as they retired to bed, he thought: The public is fickle. Perhaps they are
changing towards her. The enthusiasm was due to the impression that had been
given by her supporters that she was a persecuted woman.
Surely they must see that she was not the woman they would want for their
Queen. Whereas he was, in spite of his corpulence— until the doctors had
persuaded him to abandon his corsets which he knew for the best while he
regretted the result— a magnificent figure.
It was time he had a coronation. Perhaps he would go to the theatre and see
how he was rece
ived.
‘Your Majesty is thoughtful,’ said Lady Conygham.
He patted her shoulder. ‘As usual, my dear,’ he said, ‘you have succeeded in
comforting me.’
————————
The people were pleased to see him and because they now began to believe
that Caroline was guilty of infidelity and that he had come rather badly out of the trial they felt a little more affectionate towards him. He was a splendid figure and always would be; and he did look grand and imposing with the great diamond star
flashing on his chest.
It was time he gave them a coronation and coronations were great occasions
when there was feasting and revelry and everyone enjoyed life.
So cheers for the King and let him be crowned soon, and they would all turn
out to sing: ‘God save the King’.
He was deeply moved. He smiled and waved and showed his pleasure— and
the more he showed his pleasure the more they cheered.
He stood in his box at Drury Lane and received the ovation. Bowing, his band
on his heart, the tears of emotion visible on his cheeks, he loved his people. And, temporarily, they were prepared to love him.
————————
Preparations for the Coronation had begun and London was in a state of
excitement.
‘And what of the Queen?’ they asked each other. ‘She is not going to be
crowned. More trouble!’
When the King rode out they called after him: ‘Where’s your, wife, George?’
But it was asked with bantering affection and no mud was thrown at the royal
carriage.
But Caroline in Brandenburg House was determined to attend the Coronation.
She wrote to Lord Liverpool to tell him so.
Her Majesty feels under the necessity to establish herself in England and communicates to Lord Liverpool that the Queen intends to be present at the Coronation and request him to present the enclosed letter to His Majesty,
Caroline R.
The letter to which she referred was addressed to the King and in it she asked
him to command which ladies he desired should attend her on Coronation Day
and in what dress he wished her to appear.
Lord Liverpool replied that it was the King’s determination to receive no
communication from her and she was to form no part of the ceremonial of the
coronation.
Caroline’s reply was curt and to the point.
The Queen is much surprised— and assures the Earl that Her Majesty is determined to attend the Coronation; the Queen considers it one of her rights and privileges which she is determined to maintain.