Exactly after a year’s experience of married life the luckless pair finally separated. The Princess’s allowance was at first fixed at 20,000l. per annum, but after some undignified haggling on both sides touching money, the Princess declined the allowance proposed and, throwing herself on the generosity of the Prince, rendered him liable for any debts she might possibly contract. ‘It was settled that the Princess should retain her apartments at Carlton House, with free access to her child, who had a nursery establishment of her own, under the superintendence of Lady Elgin. This lady did not live in Carlton House, but was in attendance on the child at meals, ordered everything, and was the medium of communication between her parents respecting her. The Princess Caroline, naturally fond of children, doted on the baby; the Prince cared little about her, though he jealously asserted his authority, and was always on the watch to restrain interference on the part of the mother. In the summer of 1797, a sub-governess was appointed to reside in Carlton House, and act under the orders of Lady Elgin. The office was confided to Miss Hayman, who seems by her correspondence to have been a warm-hearted, devoted person. The Princess took a great fancy to her, and drew her into an intimacy which the Prince probably disapproved, for he dismissed her at the end of three months.’[8] With a few ladies the Princess subsequently retired to a small residence at Charlton, near Woolwich; but on being appointed Ranger of Greenwich Park she removed to Montague House, on Blackheath, where she had the care of her daughter, was very frequently visited by the King, and never on any occasion by her Majesty. At this period her income was settled. It was partly derived from the Prince, who contributed to her, as ‘Princess of Wales,’ 12,000l. per annum. The exchequer supplied another 5,000l.; the droits of the admiralty added occasionally a few pecuniary grants; and altogether her revenue amounted to about the same which she had previously declined to accept. With it she appeared content, lived quietly, cultivated her garden, looked after the poor, taught or superintended the teaching of several poor children, and, without a court, had a very pleasant society about her, with whom, however, she was alternately mirthful and melancholy.
If her residence at Blackheath was in many respects a sad one, it was not without its sunny side. There were joyous parties there occasionally, and the friends of the Princess, in spite of their sorrows and indignation, contrived, with their illustrious protégée, to pass a merry time of it between the lulls of the storm. The merriest hours there were those passed in playing at blind-man’s buff, where the Princess herself, that grave judge, Sir William Scott, and that equally grave senator, George Canning, were the sprightliest at the game. The company the Princess received there included some of the foremost people, for rank and for intellect, from all quarters of the world. Here is one of several entries relating to this subject, taken from William Windham’s Diary, October the 20th, 1805:—‘Dined at Princess’s: present Monsieur the Comte d’Artois (afterwards Charles X.), Duc de Berri, Prince de Condé, Duc de Bourbon, M. de Rulhière, Count de Escars, Lady Sheffield, Miss Cholmondeley, Mr. W. Lock, and Mr. J. Angerstein. When the Prince left, the Princess made a sign for us to stay, when a small supper was brought, which kept us till twelve.’ The petits soupers were hilarious and unceremonious. The Princess of Wales had not been long a resident at Montague House before her daughter, the Princess Charlotte, was removed to a mansion in the vicinity, where, under the superintendence of Lady Elgin, her early education was commenced with favourable auspices. It may, however, be questioned whether that be a proper term to apply in a case where a mother is deprived of the right to superintend the education of her own child. But it must be allowed that, though the Princess of Wales had a little taste, about the same amount of knowledge, and could stick natural flowers on ground glass so as to deceive the most minutely examining or the most courtly of Germans, she was as little capable of being governess to her own daughter as her mother had of being instructress to the Princess Caroline. The interviews between the latter and the Princess Charlotte now occurred but once a-week; and, under the circumstances, that was as frequent as interviews could be permitted. The little Princess, meanwhile, did not fare badly, nor did she lack wit, or lose opportunity of showing it. She delighted Dr. Porteus, Bishop of London, who, during a visit, had told her that when she repaired, as was intended, to Southend, for sea-bathing, she would then be in his diocese, by at once going down on her knees and asking his blessing.
Her poor mother was always as ready to make friends, but she wanted judgment to balance her tenderness. She never had such cause to repent at leisure for overhastiness of action as when she made the acquaintance of Sir John and Lady Douglas. The former was an officer lately returned from Egypt; the latter was the mother of an infant whose reported beauty inspired the Princess with a desire to see it. Without any previous intimation to Lady Douglas, with whom she was totally unacquainted, the Princess, one winter morning, the snow lying deep upon the ground, crossed the heath, ‘in a lilac-satin pelisse, primrose-coloured half-boots, and a small lilac travelling-cap, furred with sable,’ and presented herself at the gate of Lady Douglas’s house. She was invited to enter, under the supposition that she wished to rest. She did not see the infant; but there was an old Lady Stuart there, quite as childish, and of her the lady in attendance upon the Princess (during the hour the visit lasted) made some ‘fun;’ the same old lady ‘being a singular character, and talking all kind of nonsense.’
It was in all respects an evil hour when this acquaintance was first formed. It ripened, for a time, into intimacy; and when the mutual intercourse was at its highest, in 1802, the Princess, who had a strong inclination to patronise infants, and had several placed out at nurse, at her charge, in a house upon the heath, ‘took a liking’ for the infant son of a poor couple named Austin. The boy was born in Brownlow-street Lying-in Hospital, and Mrs. Austin was his mother. These two important facts were established beyond all doubt. Why the Princess should have resolved to take personal charge of so young an infant, only a few months old, defies conjecture. It may, perhaps, be accounted for by the fact that she knew she was narrowly watched by enemies who felt an interest in accomplishing her ruin, and she was elated with the idea of mystifying them by the presence of an infant at Montague House.
However this may have been, the intercourse with the Douglases continued with some degree of warmth on both sides. It was ultimately broken off by the Princess, who had been warned to be on her guard against Lady Douglas, as a dangerous and not very irreproachable character; and thereon the Princess of Wales declined to receive any more visits from her. The baronet and his lady, with Sir Sidney Smith, a very intimate friend of both parties, so incessantly besieged the Princess for some explanation of her conduct that she at length called into her council her brother-in-law, the Duke of Kent.
The Duke consented to see Sir Sidney Smith upon the subject, and from him his Royal Highness learned that Sir John was not so much aggrieved at the refusal of the Princess to receive Lady Douglas as he was at an anonymous letter accompanying a coarse drawing representing Sir Sidney and Lady Douglas, which had been forwarded to him, and of which he believed the Princess to be the author.
The Duke of Kent was a little too credulous, but he did not act unwisely. Apparently afraid that there was ground for the charge implied by Sir John, he was still more fearful of the effect the knowledge of it would have upon the King, then in a highly nervous condition, and he was more than all afraid of the evil consequences it might have, if divulged, of exasperating the existing fierce quarrel between the Prince of Wales and the King, whose visit to the Princess excited the utmost wrath in the bosom of the Prince. Taking all these circumstances into consideration, he succeeded in advising the parties to ‘let the matter drop.’ Sir John consented to do so if he were left unmolested. It must be added that Lord Cholmondeley, who was perfectly acquainted with the Princess’s handwriting, pronounced the letter as certainly not having been written by her. Of the drawing he could form no opinion, except one not at all flattering to the artist.
It was not likely that the matter would rest as the Duke of Kent desired. Sir John himself was not as quiescent as he had promised to be, and the details already mentioned came to the ears of the Duke of Sussex. The latter considered it his duty to make report thereof to the Prince of Wales, and the heir-apparent, of course, called upon Lady Douglas for a statement. His request was complied with, and a deposition was taken down from the lady’s own lips. It is a document of too great length to be inserted here, but its chief points may be stated. It professed great admiration of the Prince of Wales, and the exact reverse of his consort. It detailed the circumstances of the origin of the acquaintance between the Princess and Lady Douglas, and of the latter becoming one of the ladies-in-waiting to the former. The Princess was described as coarse in character, loose in conversation, and impure in action. Circumstances were detailed of her alleged intrigues, of her attempt to corrupt the virtue of Lady Douglas herself, of trying to seduce her into the commission of very serious sin, and of her laughing at her for not yielding to the seduction.
The lady went on to describe the common talk of the Princess as being such as to disgust the men, and to cause mothers to send away their daughters if the latter happened to be listeners. The Queen was said to be the especial object of the ridicule of the Princess, and she hinted at an improper intercourse existing between her Majesty and Mr. Addington! The whole royal family, it was further alleged, were the objects of her satire; but all the statements in the deposition fade into nothing before one respecting the Princess, in which the latter is represented as confessing to Lady Douglas that she was about to become a mother, laughing heartily at the confession itself, hinting that it would not be difficult to fix the paternity on the Prince, and ending by declaring that the matter would be settled satisfactorily by making the world believe that she had adopted an infant belonging to some other person. The deponent then says that she saw the Princess a short time previous to her alleged adoption of the child (subsequently proved to be the son of the Austins); that then her condition of health was not to be mistaken; and that some time subsequently she saw the child and Princess together, and that the latter laughingly acknowledged it to be her own. The immediately succeeding details will not bear telling; and this is the less necessary as they are excessively improbable, and were proved to be untrue. They are followed by others regarding the coolness which sprung up between the Princess and lady, with consequent squabbles, and final separation at the end of 1803. In conclusion, we hear of the return of the Douglases from Devonshire, the refusal of the Princess to receive her former lady-in-waiting, the receipt of the anonymous letters and drawings, the appeal to the Duke of Kent, the temporary suspension of hostilities, and lastly, the communication made to the Duke of Sussex, which the latter conveyed to the Prince of Wales, and which was followed by the deposition of which I have endeavoured, however imperfectly, to furnish a resumé that may be comprehended without giving offence. Those who are acquainted with the original document will allow that this is no very easy task.
Upon this statement, made in 1805, a commission was formed, under which various witnesses were examined. On the 11th of January 1806, William Cole, page to the Princess (a discarded servant), averred that he had been dismissed by the Princess of Wales, for no worse offence than looking indignant at conduct between his mistress and Sir Sidney Smith which shocked him, the page. He described various immoral proceedings as having gone on during his residence, that he had heard of worse after his departure from other servants, particularly from Fanny Lloyd, who had kindly informed him of the very improper conduct of her Royal Highness and Captain Manby of the Royal Navy, during the sojourn of the Princess at Southend, in the year 1804; and Cole added that he himself had witnessed conduct as infamous between the Princess and ‘Lawrence the painter’ as early as 1801.