Mrs. Harcourt— a friend of Lady Jersey who had planned with that lady that the Prince should marry not the fascinating Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, niece of the Queen) but the less attractive Caroline of Brunswick— was a woman of experience.
At the moment it was necessary for her to find her way into the Princess’s good graces, so she ignored the churlish reception and very soon Caroline’s temporary dislike had passed.
Malmesbury took the first opportunity of talking to Mrs. Harcourt and telling her of his fears. Mrs. Harcourt had, of course, been aware of Caroline’s failing and she told the Earl that she was doing all in her power to lure the Princess to cleaner habits.
‘Pray do so,’ begged the Earl, ‘or I fear for the results.’
‘My lord Earl,’ replied Mrs. Harcourt, ‘I think your anxiety over these matters has made you a little blind to our Princess’s virtues. I am sure the Prince will love her. She is so affectionate and good-natured. And you will agree that her desire to please everyone is most engaging.’
‘I recognize these virtues and I hope they will make up for the defects.’
‘Oh, but she is so lovable. And have you noticed a slight resemblance to Maria Fitzherbert— when Maria was young, I mean? I am sure it is there. That in itself would endear her to His Highness.’
‘I had not noticed,’ replied Malmesbury. ‘And certainly there is a great difference in the characters of these two ladies. If Her Highness possessed one half the dignity, the regality of Mrs. Fitzherbert—’
‘Ah, but she is so sweet-tempered and affable. I am sure she will please everyone.’
There was one person who would be very pleased, Mrs. Harcourt was sure, and that was Lady Jersey. But it was impossible to be with the Princess without feeling sympathy for her and Mrs. Harcourt genuinely did find her affable and affectionate.
She was well aware that these qualities would not carry her far with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. But the more she saw of the Princess, the more Mrs. Harcourt liked her and by the time they set sail for England she shared a little of Malmesbury’s desire to launch the Princess happily.
The Duchess clasped her daughter in her arms.
‘Goodbye, my daughter. May happiness be yours. Tell the King of England that I think of him often and I remember the happy days when we were children together. Tell him how happy I am to see my daughter heir to the throne— Princess of Wales— Queen of England.’
‘It would be scarcely kind to mention that, Mamma, because he has to die before I can be, hasn’t he?’
‘Don’t be so frivolous, Caroline. The King won’t like it. Remember he said he hoped you had not too much vivacity, and would be prepared for a quiet life.’
Caroline pouted. ‘I shall be myself and His Majesty will have to put up with me.’
‘Ob, my dear child, when will you learn? Well, you are married now and nothing can alter that and you are going to my dear— dear England. How I wish I were going with you! Oh no, I don’t. I’m sure I should soon be quarrelling with Charlotte. You will have to beware of Charlotte. I never liked her. She is sly and cunning and she will naturally hate you.’
Lord Malmesbury interrupted with apologies. It was time they left.
Caroline was not sorry to say goodbye to her mother, and she felt her spirits lifted a little. It was a relief that the waiting was over. Very soon now she would see her husband and since she had heard so much about him she was beginning to feel eager to start her married life. He was obviously a very fascinating personality; and she was determined to do everything that would please him, even endure a thorough bathing and changing her underclothes every day. They all seemed to insist on that and though it seemed rather foolish to her, to please him she would do it. Often she looked at the picture which had been brought over for her. He is undoubtedly very handsome, she thought. It will be pleasant to be Princess of Wales and we shall have children.
Yes, she was beginning to look forward with pleasure to the prospect.
The cavalcade arrived at Stade and there they spent the night. Next morning, at dawn, they sailed down the river to Cuxhaven where the English fleet lay in residence. Caroline was touched to realize that these magnificent ships had come from England to carry her to her new home.
As she boarded the Jupiter a royal salute was fired.
The journey to England had truly begun.
The Meeting
AFTER three days at sea the Jupiter arrived off the coast of Yarmouth.
Caroline, who was a good sailor, and had not suffered from seasickness as some of the company had, was on deck to get the first glimpse of her new country but all she saw was mist and the Captain told her that they could not land in such a fog but must wait a few hours before proceeding to Harwich. She had chatted familiarly with him throughout the voyage and he, like all the other officers on board, found her charming.
‘There’s nothing haughty about the new Princess of Wales,’ was their comment.
Lord Malmesbury looked on and saw much of his training dispensed with.
Often he heard her shrill laughter, noticed her coquettish glances at the men, deplored her habit of making what he called ‘missish friendships’ with her attendants and the habit into which she had slipped once more of calling her maids, ‘my dear’, ‘my heart’, ‘my love’. It pleased them perhaps— but it was not royal. And he heard too that Lady Jersey had been appointed as one of the ladies of her bed-chamber. This was a cruel action on the part of the Prince, but he supposed His Highness had been cajoled into it; and knowing something of that lady, Malmesbury saw great trouble ahead for his Princess.
The Prince, however, was almost certain to be a little interested in his bride.
His love of women would surely arouse in him a certain curiosity and if he found Caroline just a little to his taste he would be ready to be her lover, if only for a brief time, The fog lifted and the Jupiter was soon sailing past Harwich; they anchored at the Nore and then next day sailed on to Gravesend.
There Caroline said goodbye to the captain and officers of the Jupiter in a most affectionate manner and boarded the royal yacht Augusta for the journey up the Thames to Greenwich.
Malmesbury was beside her as they came up the river eager to see the effect the country had on her. The sight of those green fields touched him deeply.
Nowhere on Earth, he believed, was the grass so green. Caroline thought it beautiful and for once seemed to find nothing to say as she gazed at those fields, shut in by their hedges, and the graceful houses with their gardens coming down to the river’s edge; and as they came to Greenwich she could see the city’s buildings on the skyline dominated by the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Now, thought the Earl, there should be members of the Prince’s household waiting to greet his bride. He looked for them in vain.
So the Princess of Wales stepped ashore at Greenwich and found no one to welcome her.
As she sat in her carriage on the way to Greenwich, Lady Jersey was contemplacently smiling. We shall be at least an hour late, she thought, and that is exactly as I would wish it to be. She had in fact arranged that it should be so. Madam Princess would have to learn quickly that the lady who ruled the Prince’s household was his mistress and there was going to be no change in that arrangement now that he had a wife.
She was sure there was nothing to fear from Caroline— if her information was correct. The young woman was gauche, without grace and not particularly clean. How that had amused her! To think of Malmesbury— that most urbane of diplomats— finding it his duty to warn the Princess that she should take more baths!