Lord Bute found the King in his apartments. He went in unceremoniously. He wanted the King and everyone to realize the intimacy between them.
"A little difficulty between the Queen and your mother," he whispered. "I am certain that between us we shall quickly put it to rights.”
"A difficulty!" echoed the King.
"Yes, my dear Majesty ... a matter of jewels. The Queen feels she should not wear them and your mother feels she should.”
"Should it not be a matter for the Queen to decide?”
"This is for Communion. Perhaps an occasion for ceremony.”
"I... I should not have thought so.”
Bute was cautious. Here was a situation which he and the Princess Dowager had feared. If the Queen was allowed to have her own way she would quickly be advising the King and one of the first results of this would be to turn him from his mother. A matter of wearing or not wearing jewels was immaterial to Bute; but what was of the utmost importance was that the little Queen should not give herself airs, and that she must be made to understand that the Princess Dowager and her dear friend Lord Bute were the two who had guided His Majesty before his marriage and they intended to go on doing so.
"Your mother is of the opinion that it shows disrespect to religion not to wear the jewels and I agree with her.”
The King looked startled.
"And I have assured her that on consideration Your Majesty will share our view.”
"But Oh, these ladies! The Queen is charming. Perhaps she is no beauty but she is charming ...
charming ... and I am sure she has already fallen in love with Your Majesty. That I can well understand and should indeed be surprised if it were not so. But being in love she feels she can lead you. Oh, it is the way with women.”
"I have no intention of being led.”
"So I thought. Your Majesty has often remarked on the trouble which has come through kings being led by women and I can remember your saying on more than one occasion that you had no intention of allowing this to happen to you.”
"That's so. I should never allow any woman to persuade me from what I thought was right.”
"How fortunate this country is to have such a king. When I consider the last reigns ... No matter.
We have come safely through and I know you are going to command me to explain to her dear little Majesty that it is your wish that she wears the jewels. Not that... between ourselves … we see anything of great importance in this. But I know Your Majesty will agree with me that we must make it clear to the Queen that you are determined not to be ruled by her and that it is her duty to obey her husband." Before George could speak, Bute hurried on.
"This is a blessing, because in this very small matter we can set Her Majesty's feet on the right path. We can make known to her, so discreetly, Your Majesty's policy, for which knowing women I am sure she will respect you ... far more than if you were to give way and allow her to rule you.”
It all seemed a great bother about a small matter, George thought; but it was true that he was determined not to be governed by women; and Lord Bute was right as usual when he pointed out that Charlotte should be made aware of this in the beginning. Shortly afterwards the Princess Dowager had the satisfaction of seeing the Queen go to Communion in her diamonds.
**** It was some three weeks after the wedding, a glorious day and 22 September, the day fixed for the coronation. All along the route from the Palace to the Abbey scaffolding had been set up in the streets and high prices were demanded for seats in windows. London was eager to see the new King crowned; he was popular because he was young, had been born in England, looked and spoke like an Englishman and was the first English king they had had since James II; and because they had never cared for him and had sent him packing, they preferred to recall Good Charles's days when that romantic monarch had come back to England on his Restoration and made England merry. That was a hundred years ago and here was another, George, their king, newly ascended the throne and newly married. Of course they must come out on a glorious September day to shout their loyalty. And there was the Queen, too a German, not speaking English, which made them grimace. They were tired of Germans who couldn't or wouldn't speak English. But she was young and if she behaved herself they would accept her, for the King had chosen her in spite of the fact that he had had his eyes on Lady Sarah Lennox whom they would have far preferred. A lovely English girl was better than an ugly German one any day. Still, it was a coronation and a reign always meant new hopes of better times.
Charlotte awoke with a raging toothache and neuralgia. She decided not to mention this to Mademoiselle von Schwellenburg who was, she had to admit, becoming quite intolerable, setting herself up as the head of the women, making her own rule that no one should approach the Queen except through her. Charlotte would have to warn Schwellenburg that the English ladies would not like this at all. She had heard Miss Chudleigh make some retort to Schwellenburg which the latter did not understand. Nor did Charlotte but she guessed it was a witty quip by the manner in which the others laughed.
Miss Chudleigh and the Marchioness of Lome were outwardly very friendly, but Charlotte believed there was a certain animosity between them because the Duke of Hamilton, first husband of the Marchioness, had at one time been betrothed to Elizabeth Chudleigh. These two women were, Charlotte feared, somewhat light-minded. But Charlotte was in too much pain to think of them now. She lay in her bed dreading the moment when she would have to rise and prepare for the ceremony.
It came all too soon. Schwellenburg was bustling about her, talking in rapid German; this was an important occasion; only she should be in close contact with the Queen. Charlotte felt too weary to reprove her, but she guessed that before long she would have to do something about Schwellenburg. She stood quietly while she was dressed in the splendour of purple velvet and ermine; she hoped the coronet she would have to wear would not be too heavy; her poor head would not be able to support it, she was sure.
Her spirits rose a little as she drove through the streets to the Abbey with George beside her. Each day she felt more affection for him; she wanted to write and tell her family how content she was with her husband. He was so kind and had never hinted in any way that he was in love with another woman or had been before her arrival. She would like to tell them of her contentment. Her brother would not care; and how could she tell Christina when it would only make her regret her ill fortune the more bitterly; and if she told Ida von Billow it would be gossiped all over the Court in no time and come to Christina's ears that way. No, she must keep her contentment to herself.
George looked magnificent in his coronation robes; his face was flushed and his eyes seemed more blue than usual; he radiated purpose and that was what the people sensed; it was one of the reasons why they cheered him so loudly.
"God Save the King," they cried; and Charlotte had learned enough to know what that meant. And some said: "God save the Queen," She bowed and smiled at them and trusted the splendour of her garments made up for the plainness of her face. The solemn ceremony proceeded in the beginning without a hitch. There was Dr. Seeker, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his cope of white and gold, informing all those who had gathered to witness the ceremony that he presented to them "George, the undoubted King of the realm'.