No one would have missed her;
Had it been the whole generation,
So much better for the nation;
But since ’tis only Fred,
Who was alive, and is dead,
There’s no more to be said.
George II. was playing cards when the news of his son’s death was brought to him. He turned very pale and said nothing for a minute; then he rose, whispered to Lady Yarmouth, “Fritz ist todt,” and quitted the room. But he sent that same night a message of condolence to the bereaved widow.
FREDERICK, PRINCE OF WALES, FATHER OF QUEEN MATILDA.
From the Painting by J. B. Vanloo at Warwick Castle, by permission of the Earl of Warwick.