'Amongst those present were the Prince, the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, the Princesse de Lamballe, who was particularly distinguished through the day by the enviable attentions of the Duke of Queensberry. The Duchess of Rutland, the Countess of Talbot, Lord and Lady Abergavenny, Mrs. Fitzherbert, Lord Clermont, Lord Grosvenor, Sir John Lade, Sir Richard Heron, Mr. Fox, Mr. Wyndham, Mr. Pelham, Col. Fitzpatrick, etc., added to the fashion of the group.
'After the first race, the Prince, with a select party, retired to partake of an entertainment provided for them at the seat of Mr. Wyndham, near Lewes.'
In 1788 the Prince went to Brighton for the season on July 1, and very shortly, when driving with Mrs. Fitzherbert, they were both upset. Neither could have been much hurt, for the Morning Post of July 5 says that the Prince came to town the previous day, and that 'Mrs. Fitzherbert is totally recovered from the effects of her accident.' Still, this trivial event gave food to the caricaturist, 'The Prince's Disaster, or a fall in Fitz.' They have been for a drive in an open carriage, which has broken down. Mrs. F—— lies on the ground, and the Prince is being thrown out.
That their mutual relations were cordial is evidenced by a satirical print, April 3, 1788, where Mrs. Fitzherbert is seen leading the Prince in chains. She says, 'Who can behold without transport "the glass of fashion and the mould of form, the observ'd of all observers," smiling in chains?' He replies, 'Delightful slavery! A day, an hour, of such sweet bondage is worth an eternity of celestial happiness!'
We get a glimpse of what Brighton was, at this time, by the two following newspaper cuttings. Morning Post, July 14: 'Brighton, with the Prince, and such Company as follow the Prince, will do very well, though, of late years, it has not been so crowded as formerly. Many reasons have been assigned for this change—we, however, for propriety's sake, shall give none.' Ibid., July 21: 'Brighton, notwithstanding the return of the Prince, does not bear the appearance of pleasure and fashion.'
And it can hardly be wondered at, for the Prince had relapsed, since he had got his debts paid, and kept very bad company. He always was fond of seeing prize-fights, and he and the Duc d'Orleans saw the fight between Humphries and Martin at Newmarket, on May 3, 1786; but he had more than he bargained for at Brighton Races this year. The event is thus recorded in Boxiana (vol. i., p. 219, ed. 1818): 'Tyne next entered the lists with Earl, upon a stage erected near the stand on the Brighton Race ground, on August 6, 1788. Never were more fashionables assembled at a boxing match than the above; the town of Brighthelmstone was literally drained of its company, and the race stand was crowded to excess with nobility and gentry; among whom was his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Earl was a tall, strong man, and, in point of appearance, the favourite, and was actually becoming so from his exertions, when Tyne put in a blow upon his temple, that made him reel against the rail of the stage, and he instantly dropped down dead: which unfortunate circumstance produced a most afflicting scene; and the Prince declared he would never witness another battle. His Royal Highness, with great humanity and consideration, settled an annuity on Mrs. Earl and family. It appeared by the evidence before the Coroner's jury that Earl had been for some time previous to the battle engaged in an election contest at Covent Garden, and had been in one continued state of inebriety during the whole of it. It was the opinion of professional men, that the vessels being so overcharged with blood was the immediate cause of his death.'
The Morning Post of August 9 has the following from Brighton: 'The Prince of Wales gains many hearts by his great affability and good humour. His company is much better than it used to be, and he is certainly more sparing of his libations to Bacchus.
'Mrs. F——t looks more elegant than ever. One can, indeed, hardly help exclaiming with the army of Mahomet the Second, when he showed them his Irene—"Such a woman is worth a kingdom!"
'The Prince of Wales has won money on the races—more money than one would wish a Prince of Wales to win.'