Upon his arrival in England he was appointed Judge-Advocate at Gibraltar; and a new Charter of Justice for that dependency having been framed, various civil, admiralty, and judicial duties were annexed to the appointment of Judge-Advocate. Whilst the new Charter was preparing, Mr. Larpent was appointed to carry on the proceedings of the Court-martial on General Sir John Murray, at Winchester; and was subsequently joined with Mr. King, on behalf of the Government of the United States of America, in the inquiry into the unfortunate transactions which had taken place in the prison at Dartmoor.
These several proceedings having been satisfactorily terminated, Mr. Larpent in the spring of 1815 was, at the recommendation of Lord Commissioner Adam, selected by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent to undertake the delicate and confidential duty of inquiring into the allegations of improper conduct abroad, on the part of the then Princess of Wales, afterwards Queen Caroline. This confidential mission was accepted by Mr. Larpent, upon the express condition that his appointment should emanate directly from the Administration, and that his duties (to use his own words) “should consist not in acting a spy upon the actions of Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, but in examining and sifting the facts of the case, as stated and discovered by others.”
On this understanding, and after interviews with Lords Liverpool, Castlereagh, and Bathurst, and also with the approval of Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough, Mr. Larpent proceeded ostensibly to his appointment at Gibraltar, but really overland by Vienna, to see and consult with Count Munster, to whom he was accredited by the British Government “as its regularly-authorized, though secret and confidential, agent.”
However strong might be his own persuasion of the worse than improper conduct of the Princess, he felt the extreme difficulty of obtaining respectable parties to come forward with such evidence as would satisfy an English Court of Justice; and he never hesitated to represent the danger of taking public proceedings against her. Having conducted his mission with such prudence and discretion that its object was never known except to his employers, he proceeded to Gibraltar, and there executed his arduous civil and judicial duties to the entire satisfaction of the Governor, Sir George Don, and of the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
In 1820, upon leaving Gibraltar, he was again employed by the Government professionally in Italy upon matters connected with the unfortunate trial of Queen Caroline; and he communicated direct with the late Lord Gifford, upon whom, as Attorney-General, the management of the proceedings against Her Majesty officially devolved.
In 1821 Mr. Larpent was appointed by Lord Liverpool, one of the Commissioners of the Board of Audit of the Public Accounts. In 1824 he was transferred to the Board of Customs; and, in 1826, was appointed to the situation of Chairman of the Audit Board, in which he remained until his retirement, in 1843, from ill health.
He enjoyed his release from active official duties only about two years, dying in May, 1845. He was twice married; first, to Catharine, daughter of the late Frederick Reeves, Esq., of the East India Company’s Civil Service; and, secondly, to Charlotte, daughter to George Arnold Arnold, Esq., of Halsted Park, Kent, who survived him, but he left no issue by either.
The favourable opinion entertained of Mr. Larpent’s public services will be evident from the following testimonials which he received when he applied to Her Majesty’s Government for his retirement, viz.:—
(Copy.) No. 1.
Treasury Chambers,
23rd March, 1843.