A Royal Scandal (1997) - full transcript
Drama about the matrimonial disaster that took place 200 years ago between George, Prince of Wales and his wife Caroline of Brunswick.
[BBC sting music]
- [Archbishop] Dearly beloved,
we are gathered together here
in the sight of God and in
the face of this congregation.
- [Narrator] This is a true
story.
Everything you are about
to see really happened,
and almost all of what
you're going to hear
is what the people involved
actually said.
It happened in Britain 200
years ago.
It's the story of a marriage
between a Prince and Princess
of Wales,
a marriage that went wrong.
[fast classical orchestral
music]
[George snoring]
[somber orchestral music]
It's been another hard night
for George, Prince of Wales.
He said himself that he was
rather
too fond of wine and women,
but what's a man to do while
waiting to inherit the throne?
He can find a hobby.
In George's case, it was
architecture.
It cost a fortune, but spending
money
was another of the
Prince's favorite pastimes.
He was very particular
about his appearance.
He spent over 20 pounds
a week on lavender water,
rose water, elderflower water,
jasmine palmatum, orange
palmatum,
eau de cologne, essence of
bergamot,
eau de miel d'Anglettere,
milk of roses, huile antique
and oil of jessamine.
The public hated him for his
extravagance,
but at least he smelled nice.
It wasn't long before
the Prince was in debt.
He owed about 18 1/2 million
pounds, at today's prices.
There was only one way out, get
married.
Parliament had promised
to come up with a great
deal of money if he did.
The bride-to-be was Princess
Caroline of Brunswick.
- When I am Princess of Wales,
I want to be loved by the
people.
- The wish to be loved is, I
think, a mistaken one, ma'am.
A people should respect
and honor a great
princess, as they will you,
if you keep your dignity
and your distance.
- Oh!
- [Narrator] No one quite knows
why Caroline of Brunwsick was
chosen.
True, she was Protestant,
royal, and a virgin.
But why was this German
Princess picked over a number
of other more refined,
more suitable candidates?
[cackling]
- One damned German frau
is as good as another.
- [Narrator] George is
said to have muttered.
He sent his friend, Lord
Malmesbury,
as his envoy to ask for
Caroline's hand in marriage.
- I like singing and dancing,
and...
- Malmesbury found the Princess
vastly happy with her future
expectations,
but also in need of a little
reassurance.
- Who do you think would make
the best Princess of Wales?
Myself, or do you think
my sister-in-law, Princess
Frederica could do better?
- You are the choice of
the Prince of Wales, ma'am.
- Yes, but who do you think
would be best?
- You, ma'am, possess by
nature what Princess Frederica
could never acquire, beauty and
grace,
and all the essential qualities
that Princess Frederica has,
such as prudence,
discretion, and tact,
you may attain.
- Do I want them?
- You cannot have too much of
them.
- I shall never learn this.
I am too open, too idle.
- [Harris Voiceover] She
has no fixed character,
a light and flighty mind,
but meaning well and
well-disposed.
My eternal theme to her is
to think before she speaks,
to recollect herself.
Her heart is very, very light,
unsusceptible of strong
or lasting feelings.
In some respects, this
may make her happier,
bu certainly not better.
- [Narrator] Malmesbury had
much advice to offer Caroline,
but some things were too
delicate to raise face to face.
It was time for a discreet
word with her lady-in-waiting.
- Yes, it concerns His
Highness the Prince of Wales
and Her Highness Princess
Caroline.
- Jah.
- His Highness the Prince of
Wales is very
delicate in his tastes, in his
clothes,
in the preparation of his
toilette.
- Oh, jah.
- Yes, I've watched Her
Highness the Princess,
and she is less careful
in her clothes, in her person.
- Jah?
- To please the Prince,
attention should be paid
to every part of her dress,
to what is hidden,
as well as what is seen.
- What is, what is hidden?
- The um, the um...
Undergarments.
Her toilette.
- Oh jah, Her Highness is very
quick.
In morgen, she make her
toilette in 15 minute.
- Yes, exactly, that's
precisely the problem.
- What, what problem?
- Madame, Her Highness
the Princess smells.
- Oh, is that all?
I'll speak with her.
[clock chiming]
[bouncy classical orchestral
music]
- [Narrator] The next day,
Lord Malmesbury was to observe
that Madam Busch had
executed her commission well.
- How very well you look
this morning, ma'am.
- I don't feel particularly
well.
I have received a terrible
letter from London.
- Oh, from whom?
- I don't know, it's not signed.
But it says the Prince has a
mistress.
The Lady Jersey.
What am I to do?
I could be a slave to the man I
love,
but to a man I do not love,
who does not love me,
impossible.
- Well, this is very
evidently written by some
disappointed milliner,
some angry maid-servant,
and deserves no attention,
you must rise above it, ma'am.
- Yes.
Oh, I am determined
never to appear jealous.
I know the Prince is flighty.
I am prepared on this point.
- Oh, I do not believe that
you will have any occasion
to exercise this very wise
resolution.
But if any woman should
try to make you jealous,
never let it show.
Reproaches and sourness
never reclaimed anyone,
and I know the Prince well
enough to be quite sure that
he cannot resist softness, and
caresses,
and this is the surest way
to recover his tottering
affection.
- I know the Prince has been
somewhat free in his way of
life.
But this comes from an
emptiness in his situation.
I was made to fill this up.
I will domesticate him,
make him enjoy all the homely
virtues.
- Ah.
- Then he will be happier than
ever.
- [Narrator] So with much
optimism,
Lord Malmesbury's wise words of
advice,
and her own resolve to rise
above jealous feelings,
Caroline arrived in London
and was met by her new
lady-in-waiting,
personally appointed
by the Prince of Wales.
- [Jersey] Welcome, your
Highness.
- Your Highness, may
I present Lady Jersey.
- Where is the Prince?
- His Royal Highness has asked
me to greet you personally.
And to accompany you to Carlton
House.
But perhaps first you would
to change your costume.
I assume your Highness does
not intend to be presented
in your current attire?
- Why, what's wrong with it?
- I do think that this dress
that I have brought for you
is a little more subdued for
the occasion.
And may I suggest this turban,
instead of your hat?
- I like this hat.
- I daresay, but not with this
dress.
[footsteps clicking]
[door hinges clacking]
[somber classical orchestral
music]
- Your Highness, may I
present the Princess Caroline
Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick.
- Harris, I'm not well, pray
get me a glass of brandy.
- Sir, had you better not
have a glass of water?
- Damn you, no, I will
go directly to the Queen.
[footsteps retreating]
- Mein Gott, does the
Prince always act like this?
I think he's very rude.
And he's nothing like as
handsome as his portrait.
- His Royal Highness is
quite naturally very affected
and flurried by this first
interview.
But I'm sure you'll
find him quite different
at dinner tonight, ma'am.
[dishes clattering]
- [Narrator] But dinner
was not a great success.
This time, it was the
Princess whose behavior
was not all that could be
expected.
- My father had a mistress,
you know, in Brunswick.
She was a beautiful woman,
she had very, very red hair.
And...
[laughing]
- [Narrator] Malmesbury was
disappointed with his pupil.
- [Harris Voiceover] The
Princess was flippant, rattling,
affecting raillery and wit,
and throwing out coarse
and vulgar hints about Lady
Jersey, who was present.
- Actually, she probably would
have been about the same size
as Lady Jersey, on top.
[Caroline cackling]
Yes, but she was a very
attractive woman.
Much more attractive than my
mother.
But apart from that, she was
very, very--
- [Harris Voiceover] The
Prince was evidently disgusted
and this unfortunate dinner
fixed his dislike of the
Princess.
Nothing she did improved
matters,
instead, her giddy manners
and attempts at cleverness
and coarse sarcasm
increased his dislike until
it became positive hatred.
- Not really, are they?
Mistresses, they don't
seem to read very much.
I think they're, you know, a
bit slow.
- [Narrator] So much for all
of Malmesbury's hard work.
[Caroline cackling]
Three days later, they were
married.
- [Archbishop] And therefore
is not by any to be enterprised
lightly or wantonly,
but reverently, discreetly,
soberly--
- [Narrator] Alas, not
altogether soberly.
The Prince was somewhat
tipsy, quite drunk, in fact.
- George Augustus Frederick,
wilt thou have this
woman to thy wedded wife?
Wilt thou love her, comfort
her, honor and keep her
in sickness and in health,
and forsaking all other,
keep thee only under her
so long as ye both shall live?
[ominous orchestral music]
[someone coughing]
Forsaking all other,
keep thee only under her
so long as ye both shall live?
[suspenseful orchestral music]
- I will.
- [Archbishop] Caroline Amelia
Elizabeth.
- [Narrator] Why did the
Archbishop repeat himself?
- [Archbishop] Man for thy
wedded husband.
- [Narrator] Perhaps he, like
some others
in the congregation that day,
knew that the Prince had a
secret.
- [Archbishop] In sickness and
in health.
- [Narrator] He was already
married.
- [Archbishop] Forsaking all
other, keep thee only unto her
so long as ye both shall live?
- I will.
- [Narrator] 10 years earlier,
the 22-year-old George
went through a secret ceremony
with Maria Fitzherbert.
He was passionately in love
with her.
It hadn't been easy to
persuade her to marry him,
but he pursued her
unrelentingly,
not just with soft words and
flowers,
but with his own blood.
[Maria gasping]
- I will not live unless
you promise to be my wife,
and permit me to put a
ring around your finger.
- [Narrator] As a devout Roman
Catholic,
Maria had refused to
become George's mistress.
But she knew she could never be
his wife.
Not legally, anyway,
it was against the law
for Catholics to marry future
kings.
But George refused to
take no for an answer.
How the Prince had got into
this bloody state is debatable.
He said that he'd stabbed
himself with a sword.
[George grunting]
[sword clattering]
But it was later rumored
that he had just opened up an
old wound
and smeared the blood all over
his chest.
- Will you be my wife?
- I will.
- [Narrator] Oh well, however
it happened,
it did the trick with Mrs.
Fitzherbert.
The secret marriage last for 10
years.
- [Archbishop] Thy blessing
upon these,
thy servant, this man--
- [Narrator] But by the
time of his second wedding,
George's affections had shifted,
to Lady Jersey.
- [Archbishop] Creator and
Preserver of all mankind.
- [Narrator] He was
certainly a Prince of Hearts.
- [Archbishop] Everlasting
life, send thy blessing
upon these, thy servant,
this man and this woman.
[romantic orchestral music]
- [Narrator] Ah, the wedding
night.
[door hinges clacking]
[romantic orchestral music]
[thudding]
[George snoring]
Fortunately for the royal
succession, next morning,
George remembered his
motto, ich dien, I serve.
The Prince had done his duty,
a royal heir was on the way.
But there was never much of
a honeymoon feeling around.
- Good night, ma'am.
- Good night.
- [Narrator] Within two
weeks, they had ceased
to live together as man and
wife.
[doors thudding]
- Malmesbury, you saw
her at dinner tonight.
How do like these manners?
- I cannot approve of them,
your Highness.
But her father did tell
me that she was often
very high-spirited and careless.
- As I see, why didn't you
tell me all this before?
You could have written
to me from Brunswick.
- Oh, it didn't seem of
sufficient
consequence at the time.
And with respect, I must
remind your Highness,
I was sent to arrange a
marriage,
not to advise on the
suitability of the bride.
[George sighs]
- [Narrator] Poor George,
to make things worse,
he never even saw the
money he'd been promised.
His creditors got there first,
and he was now worse off than
before.
Still, neither marital
nor financial problems
changed the princely way of
life.
[chips clattering]
[whimsical classical music]
- From a Prince to a King.
- And none too soon.
[laughing]
- [Narrator] But while the
Prince continued as before,
he kept the Princess on a tight
rein.
She was forbidden to see
anyone without his approval,
and the people he approved of
were mostly
very dull and very old.
Apart from her chief
lady-in-waiting.
[dishes clattering]
[clock chiming]
George refused to dine with his
wife.
- I'd rather see toads and
vipers crawl across my food
than sit at the same table as
that woman.
- [Narrator] And spent as
little time in her company
as he possibly could.
- [Caroline Voiceover] I do not
know
how I shall bear the loneliness.
The Queen seldom visits me,
and my sisters-in-law
show me the same sympathy.
The Lady Jersey is still here.
I hate her, and I know she
feels the same way towards me.
My husband is wholly given up
to her,
so you can easily imagine the
rest.
- [Narrator] But the Princess
was not entirely alone.
She found some new
friends, the newspapers.
When the Times heard of her
plight,
it called her a state prisoner,
and while her inattentive
husband became
ever more unpopular, public
sympathy for Caroline grew,
especially when nine
months after the wedding,
Princess Charlotte was born.
[baby crying]
Mother and child were in
excellent health,
but the father was certain he
was dying.
And so he wrote his will,
listing all his worldly
possessions
and leaving them to--
- The wife of my heart and soul,
my true and real wife, my
second self,
my beloved and adored Maria
Fitzherbert.
I entreat my adored Maria
that whenever she quits this
life,
my coffin should be taken up
and placed next to hers.
And that the two inward
sides of the coffins
should be taken out
and the two coffins then
be soldered together.
[George sobbing]
She who is called the Princess
of Wales
wears jewels that are mine.
I bequeath them to my infant
daughter
and to her who is called the
Princess of Wales, I leave
one shilling.
[George moaning]
- [Narrator] The Prince
made a full recovery
a few days later.
By now, things were rather
complicated in the palace.
There weren't just two in this
marriage,
or even three, there were four.
George made no secret of his
relationships
with both Jersey and
Fitzherbert.
For a year, Caroline had
put up with her situation.
But now, emboldened by being
mother
to the heir to the throne,
she started to fight back.
- [Caroline Voiceover] Sir, I
wish to be excused from dining
alone with a person whom I
can neither like nor respect
and who is your mistress.
And to be shut up with
her all the long day.
Forgive me, my dear Prince,
if my expressions are too
strong,
believe that it is a heart
wounded by the most acute pain,
the most deadly sorrow,
that pleads for your help.
- [George Voiceover]
Madam, let me remind you
that the intimacy of my
friendship with Lady Jersey,
my mistress, as you
indecorously term her,
was perfectly known to you
before you accepted my hand,
for you yourself told me so
immediately on your arrival
here.
- [Caroline Voiceover] I
deeply regret the coldness
and great contempt of
your conduct towards me.
I only ask for your friendship,
which would be very precious to
me.
[quill tapping]
- [George Voiceover] Madam, if
you wish
for more of my company, you
would do well
not to make my own house
obnoxious to me.
[paper crunching]
- [Caroline Voiceover] Sir, I
wish to know the exact terms
upon which we are in future
to live, in particular,
I want to be assured that
you will never again,
not even in the event of
the death of our daughter,
make any attempt
to produce another heir.
[paper crunching]
- [George Voiceover] In
the event of any accident
happening to my daughter,
I shall not infringe
the terms of restriction
by purposing at any period a
connection
of a more particular nature.
[knocking]
I shall now finally close this
disagreeable correspondence,
trusting that as we have
completely
explained ourselves to each
another,
the rest of our lives will be
passed
in uninterrupted tranquility.
[paper rustling]
- [Narrator] Tranquility was
not to be.
Caroline now wrote to the King
who had always sympathized
with his daughter-in-law
and defended her against the
Prince.
The King ordered that
Lady Jersey be removed
from her service, a sweet
victory for the Princess.
And soon everybody knew,
it was in all the papers.
The Times reported that Lady
Jersey's
letter of resignation was one
of the most
disrespectful we ever
recollect to have read.
How did they get hold of it?
No one knows.
George's situation had become
intolerable.
His wife was more popular than
he was.
When she went out, people
cheered.
When he showed himself,
he was hissed and booed.
The crisis came when
Caroline asked to visit
friends in the country,
the Prince refused.
- There could be dangerous
consequences
if the Princess of Wales were
to travel all over England,
showing herself to the
people, repeating her tricks.
Especially if she persists
in her artful and malicious
conduct,
drawing popularity to herself
at the expense of myself and my
family.
[footsteps clacking]
[somber orchestral music]
- You wrote that you
wished to see me, ma'am.
- There is no point in any
explanation.
I have only two words to say to
you.
I've been 2 1/2 years in this
house.
You have treated me neither as
your wife,
nor as the mother of your child,
nor as the Princess of Wales.
I advise you that from this
moment,
I have nothing more to say to
you
and that I regard myself as
being
no longer subject to your
orders or your rules.
- Is that all you have to say,
ma'am?
- Yes.
- [Narrator] And that was the
last time
the Prince of Wales spoke to
the Princess.
He demanded a formal separation.
The King refused,
but he allowed Caroline
to move out of the palace.
And so she went to a small
house just outside London,
in Blackheath, and found
a whole new lease of life.
[parrot squawking]
- I'm coming to get you.
[laughing]
Where are you?
- [Narrator] Dullness
was a thing of the past.
Now there were dinners and
dancing,
and plenty of gentlemen
callers, war heroes,
society painters, politicians,
all celebrated, ambitious and
eligible.
- Oh!
Yes, it's Sir Sidney.
- [Narrator] Meanwhile George,
having now extricated himself
himself from Lady Jersey,
wooed back his first wife.
- Save me.
Save me.
On my knees, I conjure you from
myself.
If you wish my life, you shall
have it.
Oh, God!
The wretched experiences
of the last five years
have made my life only
desirable in one shape to me
and that is in you.
You know
you are my wife.
I will relinquish everything
for you,
rank, situation, birth.
And if that is not sufficient,
my life shall go also.
Oh, my heart!
My heart!
My heart!
[George sobbing]
- [Narrator] Once again,
George's methods
were too powerful, or underhand,
for Mrs. Fitzherbert to resist.
But although he'd
recaptured Maria's heart,
he still couldn't win over the
public's.
- Listen to this.
His unjust behavior to her,
given his own most
disgraceful connections,
only adds to the opprobrium
attaching to the heir to the
throne.
Have you ever heard such libels?
Oh!
Sent from Carlton House and
separated from her child,
everyone must pity the wife
of an incorrigible wastrel,
who, while our armies fight the
French,
flagrantly squanders public
money on senseless frivolity.
God, when I have pleaded with
the King
to let me lead an army against
the French.
- This will make you feel
better.
No one of taste, discernment
or knowledge can do anything
but deplore the gratuitous
and ungenerous conduct
of both the press and opposition
against a Prince who has been
and is a glory of the people,
an Adonis of Loveliness.
- What paper is that?
- The Morning Post.
- I own the Morning Post.
[birds chirping]
- [Narrator] For a few
years, there was a truce.
The Prince and Princess
lived separate lives.
But as these years went by,
Caroline's lively behavior
did not go unnoticed.
- Sir Thomas Lawrence, the
portrait painter, your Highness.
I regret to say that he is not
alone.
- [Narrator] Lord Liverpool,
the Home Secretary,
is listing the names of those
gentlemen alleged to have been
on intimate terms with the
Prince's wife at Blackheath.
- George Canning, a colleague
of mine, I'm afraid.
Admiral Sidney Smith, a
most distinguished war hero.
Captain Thomas Manby, RN.
And finally, the Honorable
Henry Hood.
- Who has so obligingly
provided this list?
- Sir John and Lady Douglas,
neighbors of Her Highness's.
If they're to be believed,
her behavior has become
extremely strange.
She has sent Sir John
an indelicate drawing.
- Sir Sidney doing Lady
Douglas, your amiable wife.
- And there's something
more, your Highness.
- A bastard, she's had a
bastard.
[baby crying]
- Oh William!
[baby crying]
Sweet William.
- [Narrator] Sweet William's
origins were uncertain.
When Caroline came to
Blackheath,
she was forced to leave
her daughter behind.
Ever since, she had sought new
objects for her affections.
She began to collect children
like her husband collected
perfumes.
She fostered eight local
orphans,
paying for their education and
upkeep.
But with the ninth,
something different happened.
William moved in.
- Oh, I'm so happy.
I'll never regret leaving
all that and coming here.
God, how I've suffered.
It's just as well I'm so
strong-minded
or I'd never have survived it.
I should have been the man, you
know,
and he should have been the
woman.
He knows exactly how a coat
should be cut
or how a dress should be made.
Actually, he'd make an
excellent tailor or hairdresser,
but absolutely nothing else.
[man chuckling]
Isn't that right, William,
oh give him to me.
- [Narrator] There were
rumors that William
was Caroline's own child,
an accusation too serious
for the government to ignore.
They ordered a private so-called
Delicate Investigation.
- Yes.
- Mary Wilson went into the
room to make up the fire
and saw Her Highness and Sir
Sidney
in such an indecent situation.
She was so shocked, she
fainted away at the door.
- She was with a naval
officer, Your Honor,
in a very compromising position.
- [Hutchison] Was the
man involved an Admiral?
- Oh, I don't know, sir,
he wasn't wearing his hat.
Oh, and Samuel Roberts, the
footman,
told me that wasn't all.
- [Hutchison] What did he say?
- That the Princess was very
fond of fucking, Your Honor.
- She then told me she was
going to have a baby of her own.
She said no one would
notice when it arrived.
Everyone would just assume
it was another foster child.
She said no one would
know she was pregnant.
She'd arrange cushions under
her clothes,
and everyone would assume
she was just growing fat.
- [Hutchison] Did she
say who the father was?
- No, but she said if she was
discovered,
she would give the Prince
of Wales the credit for it.
- I heard that the Princess
sometimes adopted poor children,
so I took him to Blackheath.
They told me he would be
brought up
and treated like a young prince.
So I agreed to leave him here.
I'm really grateful
for all the Princess has done
for us.
- [Narrator] Once William's
real mother came forward,
the Delicate Investigation had
to conclude
that the child was not
Caroline's,
and it couldn't prove adultery,
either.
The Prince was disappointed.
There were no grounds for a
Royal divorce.
Years went by,
and Caroline and George
continued their separate lives.
But whereas he lived the
grand life of royalty,
she became more and more
isolated.
Ignored by the Royal Family
and bored by the life
she was forced to lead,
she became increasingly
outrageous.
- Such an exhibition!
But that she did not feel for
herself,
one should have felt for her!
Such an over-dressed,
bare-bosomed,
painted eye-browed figure one
never saw.
- She is always seeking
amusement and unfortunately,
often at the expense of
propriety and prudence.
- Her conversation is uncommonly
lively, odd and clever.
What a pity she has not
a grain of common sense,
nor an ounce of ballast
to prevent high spirits.
- Every day, she becomes more
imprudent in her conduct,
more heedless of society.
The poor Princess is going
on headlong to her ruin.
[quiet orchestral music]
- That wicked Princess on the
heath,
she is such a rake and such a
rioter,
and such an irregular person,
that she makes rebellions and
mutinies
in every well-regulated house.
[laughing]
- [Narrator] While Caroline ran
riot,
her father-in-law the
King was slowly going mad.
When he was finally declared
insane,
the Prince became Regent
and immediately used his new
powers
to restrict Caroline's
access to her daughter.
- I have drafted a letter to
your husband, your Highness.
Cut off from one of the few
domestic enjoyments left to me,
the society of my child.
- [Narrator] This is Henry
Brougham,
Ambitious Scots lawyer,
rising Opposition politician.
He gave the Princess's cause
direction.
She made him famous.
- Or by secret insinuation.
There is a point beyond which
a guiltless woman cannot with
safety
carry her forebearance onwards,
but must resort to whatever
mean possible
to protect herself.
- [Narrator] The letter was
published
in the Morning Chronicle.
- Damn her, the order stands.
She shall see her once
a fortnight and no more.
- [Narrator] The private
arguments
of the Prince and Princess of
Wales.
A not uninteresting subject
for breakfast reading.
A pleasant change from, say,
the Third Reading of
the Naval Arsenals Bill.
And it was Brougham and
his friends who made sure
that no editor was ever
short of the latest details.
[footsteps clacking]
The press and the public loved
Caroline,
but high society kept its
distance.
When the crowned heads
of Europe came to London
to mark the victory over
Napoleon,
the Prince held some grand
celebrations.
Everyone who was anyone was
invited.
Well, almost.
- [Caroline Voiceover] Sir, of
all His Highness's subjects,
I alone am prevented from
appearing in my proper place
to partake of the general joy.
- [Narrator] It was the final
humiliation.
- So ma'am, you're leaving.
- What should I stay here for?
I've no life here.
He deprives me of my position
as Princess of Wales,
of being the mother of his
child.
I'm ignored by everyone.
I live in my little
nutshell like a hermit.
- There are many who support
you here, including myself.
- Pooh, Mr. Brougham.
The cause you are most
interested in is your own.
I am a stick to beat your
political enemies with,
no more or no less.
You do it for your party, not
for me.
- If you go, ma'am,
there will be many people
encouraging the Prince to
divorce you.
If you're abroad, we cannot
protect you
or keep the public on your side.
- I don't know which of
you gives me more trouble,
my friends or my enemies!
I'm tired, Mr. Brougham.
I'm tired of being managed by
you
and I'm tired of this life,
which cannot get any better
until I leave this vile country!
[glasses clinking]
- To the Princess of Wales,
damnation,
and may she never return to
England.
- [Narrator] George celebrated
with his latest amour.
Mrs. Fitzherbert had a last
gone the way of Lady Jersey.
Now it was the turn of Lady
Hertford
to act as his confidante.
[couple laughing]
Once Caroline started
traveling, she couldn't stop.
For six years, she traveled.
It was like the best days of
Blackheath all over again.
She had all the freedom she
wanted.
There was dancing and
parties and no one there
to tell her what wear or what
to do.
- Are you quite sure
you wish to hear all this, your
Highness?
- Go ahead, Liverpool,
I am quite prepared.
- [Narrator] Lord Liverpool
was now Prime Minister
with a country to run
and an Empire to nurture.
His most pressing duty, however,
was to keep the Prince informed
of his wife's adventures.
- At Geneva, she appeared
at a ball dressed as Venus.
- So?
- That is, not dressed
further than the waist.
Lord Redesdale reports from
Baden
that she attended the
Grand Duke's hunting ball,
with half a pumpkin on her head.
She told him it was the
coolest sort of coiffure.
At Genoa, she was drawn
through the streets
in a mother-of-pearl
carriage wearing pink boots
with plenty of stout leg
showing.
And there's a letter from
Lady Bessborough in Milan.
She writes, I cannot tell you
how sorry
and ashamed I felt as an
Englishwoman
to see Her Highness in a
little girl's white dress
with a neck very low,
disgustingly so.
- Enough, I've heard enough!
Put someone to watch her,
Liverpool.
And make this an official
enquiry.
This time, I will get a divorce.
- One name appears regularly.
He is called Pergami,
Bartolemeo Pergami.
Old Italian family, fallen on
hard times.
Has the manners of a gentleman,
started as her valet,
promoted to chamberlain,
now eats at her table.
Most of his relatives seem
to be on the staff, too.
Mother, sisters, nephews.
- More, Liverpool, we need more.
- She entered Jerusalem on an
ass, with some 200 followers.
Whilst there, she founded
the Order of Saint Caroline.
As its Grand Master,
she then appointed Count
Bartolomeo Pergami,
Baron of Francina,
Knight of Malta and the Holy
Sepulchre.
Your Highness, may I express
my deepest condolences
on the truly tragic loss of
your daughter.
- [Narrator] Princess Charlotte,
married only a year before,
had died giving birth
to a stillborn child.
She was 19.
- Get on with it.
- In Sicily, Princess Caroline
has had herself painted
as a penitent Magdalene,
with her hair disordered,
eyes heavenwards, naked to the
waist.
She has apparently given
the picture to Pergami.
There is now evidence from some
85 persons
which appears to confirm the
fact
of a continued and adulterous
intercourse
between her Royal Highness and
Pergami.
They are to all appearances man
and wife.
Never was anything so obvious.
- Excellent.
- Your Majesty, may I express
my sincerest condolences
on the death of your esteemed
father.
The country has lost a
most-revered and honored
sovereign.
But has gained a most-respected
and truly worthy successor.
- Does she know?
- I am informed she is
already on her way to London.
- She must be stopped, stop her.
- [Narrator] Caroline was
intercepted
just before she reached Calais.
- Mr. Brougham, what a surprise!
- Your Majesty, may I
present Lord Hutchison,
a representative of His
Majesty's government.
- [Hutchison] Your Majesty.
- And who is it you
represent, Mr. Brougham?
- As always, Your Majesty,
I'm here to protect your
interests.
Lord Hutchison has some serious
proposals.
- Well, be quick, I have a boat
waiting.
- It is hereby agreed by her
Majesty
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth--
- Yes yes, my Lord, the
figures, how much?
- 50,000 pounds per annum.
- Oh, payable for my entire
life?
- Absolutely, Your Majesty.
- With what conditions?
- Take you take another title.
- The government is generous.
Another title, as well as Queen?
- Instead of Queen.
- What they are proposing, Your
Majesty,
is Duchess of Cornwall.
- Oh.
Would I have to live there?
- No, ma'am.
- So I could live in London?
- No.
The proposal is--
- Yes, my Lord, I guess the
proposal.
That I don't come to England
now, or ever.
You think I don't know
this the minute I see you?
What will they do, if I do come?
- His Majesty may try to
divorce you.
They have much damaging
evidence against you.
- And I have much against him.
- Your Majesty, do not be
precipitous.
- If you accept these
proposals, ma'am,
you could have an agreeable
and peaceful life.
- I don't want a peaceful
life, I won't go quietly.
I have endured a great deal
to become Queen of England
and that is what I shall be.
- [Liverpool] I'm afraid she
was cheered
all the way from Dover, Your
Majesty.
At Canterbury, some
10,000 people awaited her.
[George coughing]
- Has Brougham told you what
she wants?
- She still insists that
her name be included
in the prayers for the Royal
Family.
- Put her name in the liturgy,
never!
- And that she attend the
coronation.
- Attend, attend!
You mean, be crowned?
Be crowned beside me?
- Yes, Your Majesty.
- Then cancel it, cancel it!
I will not be crowned
with that woman beside me.
I will be divorced first.
- As Your Majesty knows,
the procedure is uncertain.
- I don't care!
Find a new procedure then,
Liverpool.
Arrange it, or I'll find
myself a new Prime Minister
and a government that will.
I will be divorced!
- [Narrator] The queen's
unexpected arrival
also excited the public.
Mobs roamed the streets,
windows were smashed,
and the cry everywhere was for
the Queen.
Something had to be done
and the government came
up with a solution.
- They've issued a Bill
of Pains and Penalties,
Your Majesty.
- A Bill of Pains and Penalties.
It sounds as if I should
be fried and tortured.
What does it mean?
- The Bill goes first to the
Lords,
then to the Commons.
If it's passed, it will
strip you of your title
and dissolve your marriage.
It's a cunning device.
Effectively, you'll be on trial.
Witnesses will be called
and cross-examined.
- We will call the King.
- With this procedure, ma'am,
one can't.
He won't even be named as
plaintiff.
Your reputation will be on
trial, but not your husband's.
- The Queen on trial, no!
- Oh no!
- I don't believe it!
- Surely not!
- Well, well!
- [Both Women] No!
- My Lords, the highest
individual in the land
is charged with one of
the most serious offenses
both against God and man,
adulterous intercourse.
I am aware, my Lords, of the
reluctance
with which your Lordships must
listen
to these disgusting details.
- [Narrator] Maybe not that
reluctant.
The House of Lords was packed
to hear the Attorney General,
Sir Robert Gifford's
opening attack on the Queen.
- I shall now proceed to
call my first witness.
Teodoro Majocchi.
- Teodoro.
Teodoro!
- [Narrator] Things didn't
start well for Caroline.
Teodoro was one of her
most trusted servants.
If he testified against
her, who could she rely on?
- Do you remember Pergami at
Messina
asking leave of the Princess
to go and make some purchases?
- I do.
- Describe what took place
when they parted from each
other for that purpose.
- I saw Pergami say,
will your Royal Highness
permit me to go to Messina
to make some purchases?
And having had this permission,
he took her hand and kissed her
lips.
- Did they dine there by
themselves?
- They were alone.
- [Gifford] Where was
the Princess sitting?
- On the bed.
- Where was Pergami sitting?
- On the ground, at the
feet of her Royal Highness.
- Did her Majesty sleep under
that tent
on the whole journey from Jaffa?
- She slept always under that
tent.
- Did anybody else sleep
under the same tent?
- Bartolomeo Pergami.
- [Narrator] Majocchi
seemes less sure of events
when cross-examined by Brougham
on behalf of the queen.
- Did you ever see William
Austin sleep under the tent?
[speaking in a foreign language]
- [Narrator] He did not
remember.
- And where did Captain Hannan
sleep?
[speaking in a foreign language]
- And where did the Countess
Oldi sleep?
[speaking in a foreign language]
- [Narrator] Majocchi
failed to remember not once,
not twice, not even 10 times.
On 83 occasions, he stated
that his memory failed him.
A small triumph for Brougham.
But Majocchi was not the only
servant of the Princess's
to testify against her.
Over the weeks that followed,
the prosecution called 85
of her former employees
and most of their evidence was
damaging.
- Did you notice anything
about Pergami's hand?
- Yes, it was in her dress.
- Where, precisely?
- Under her skirt.
- And her Majesty's hand?
- In his trousers, on his
[speaking in a foreign language]
[speaking in a foreign language]
- Parte privato.
- We understand.
- Once, when I made the bed,
I noticed the sheets were in
disorder.
- What do you mean by that?
- It had...
Stains.
- [Gifford] What sort of stains?
- As much as I have seen, they
were white.
- You have stated you are a
married woman.
What did those stains appear to
be?
- I won't stand for it.
- [Narrator] Outside the House
of Lords,
the country was obsessed with
the trial.
The Times, a loyal supporter of
the Queen
doubled it's circulation.
People talked of little else.
- Well, is she so bad?
- He's worse.
- If my husband had
treated me like he has her,
I should have thought myself
entitled to act as she has.
- After all this, how impossible
it will be for any man
to divorce his wife for the
next 20 years.
- My husband prevents me
reading the newspaper.
He merely reads out the
elements he considers suitable.
- [Narrator] Every day,
there were demonstrations
for the Queen, large and small.
Petitions were handed to her
by bakers, glass workers,
brass founders, and seamen.
The married ladies of Edinburg
collected over 8,000 signatures.
- We most sincerely lament the
harsh and unprecedented usage
which Your Majesty has received.
The principles now
advanced by your accusers
do not apply to your case alone,
but may be applied
hereafter as a precedent
by every careless and
dissipated husband
to rid himself of his wife,
however good and innocent she
may be,
rendering all domestic felicity
uncertain.
- Did you receive money to come
here today
and give this evidence?
- I received nothing else
but my traveling expenses.
- What bargain have you made?
What pay are you to have for
coming here?
- [Narrator] Brougham's
main line of attack
against the witnesses was to
suggest
that they had all been bribed
to testify against the Queen.
It was a defense that fed
well off British bigotry.
- John Bull regards these
Italians
as so many bugs and frogs.
What we want is proof
witnesses, credible ones,
10 Englishmen instead
of a hundred Italians.
- [Gifford] And you saw no
degradation--
- [Narrator] For more than
three months,
Caroline sat in the Lords',
hearing her character blackened.
George, meanwhile, hid
himself in Windsor Castle.
But he couldn't hide
his dubious reputation.
Brougham made sure
that it was uppermost in
everyone's minds,
and Mr. Brougham's powers of
persuasion proved decisive.
- I am not, because of
the form of this bill,
allowed to ask the prosecution
who their client is.
If I knew, I could bring
forward documents
and speeches without number
against him.
But I am allowed to know nothing
about this mysterious being,
this uncertain phantom,
this uncertain shape.
If I could see it, I might
interrogate it
and bring out of its
mouth, if it has a mouth,
who and what it is.
And whether it be a man or some
other--
- Why did you withdraw the bill?
- There was no alternative,
Your Majesty.
- But you won the final vote.
- Only by nine votes, too small
a majority
to risk going to the Commons
with.
We simply didn't dare
chance our luck there.
[fireworks popping]
- [Narrator] It looked as
though the Queen had won.
Her supporters seemed to think
so.
For five nights, they rejoiced.
But one person wasn't
celebrating.
Caroline had been acquitted,
but her reputation had been
destroyed.
[Caroline sobbing]
She knew her victory was a
hollow one.
[sad classical orchestral music]
But she wasn't finished yet.
There were palaces, money,
and titles to fight for,
and she was determined
to get what she wanted.
The King ignored her.
He suspected that her support
was fading,
and he had better things to do.
He was planning a Coronation,
for one.
- The Queen, being particularly
anxious
to submit to the good
taste of His Majesty,
most earnestly entreats the King
to inform the Queen in what
dress he wishes her to appear
on the day of the Coronation.
- Issue instructions that she
is not
under any circumstances to
appear.
Now, let us think about the
shoes.
Velvet, with tassels,
and embroidered in gold and
silver thread.
- [Narrator] On the
morning of the Coronation,
Caroline arrived at the
door of Westminster Abbey
with her loyal supporter, Lord
Hood.
- Your ticket, please, madam.
- I present you Queen to you.
Surely it is not necessary
for her to have a ticket?
- Our orders are to admit no
one without a peer's ticket.
- This is your Queen.
She is entitled to admission
without such a ticket.
- Yes, I am your Queen,
will you not admit me?
- My orders are specific
and I feel myself bound to obey
them.
No one is allowed to
enter without a ticket.
- Will Your Majesty take
my ticket and go in alone?
- No, I will enter as
Queen, and without a ticket.
- Am I to understand
that you are refusing
her Majesty admission?
- I only act in conformity with
my orders.
- I am sorry for it.
- [Narrator] It was to be
Caroline's last act of defiance.
As she walked away, people
shouted, go back to Pergami.
The public who had supported
her for more than 20 years
had finally deserted her.
[choir and organ music]
There's nothing like a good
Coronation
to win over the people,
and won over they were
by the Royal extravaganza.
George's outfit alone cost
the country 24 thousand,
704 pounds,
eight shillings, and 10 pence.
Two weeks after the
Coronation, Caroline collapsed.
The doctors diagnosed
a blockage of the bowel
and gave her enough castor
oil, according to Brougham,
to turn the stomach of a horse.
It's likely she had stomach
cancer.
- I'm going to die, Mr.
Brougham.
But it doesn't matter.
- Your physicians were of
quite a different opinion,
Your Majesty.
- I know better than them.
I do not wish to be buried here.
I want to be buried in
Brunswick.
They did not like my young
bones,
so they shan't have my old ones.
I don't die without pain.
But I die without regret.
- [Narrator] George was
on his way to Ireland
when he heard of his wife's
death.
He paced around his
cabin most of the night
and had all the flags lowered
as a sign of mourning.
The next day, his 59th birthday,
he arrived in Dublin,
apparently in great spirits,
and dead drunk.
[thudding]
On the day of the funeral,
Caroline's friends carried
out her final wish.
Caroline of Brunswick, The
Injured Queen of England.
25 years before, when Lord
Malmesbury
brought Caroline over from
Brunswick, he said of her,
in the hands of a sensible
man who loved her,
she would probably turn out
well.
But then her own father had
said,
the heart has nothing to
do with Royal marriages.
[mournful classical orchestral
music]
- [Archbishop] Dearly beloved,
we are gathered together here
in the sight of God and in
the face of this congregation.
- [Narrator] This is a true
story.
Everything you are about
to see really happened,
and almost all of what
you're going to hear
is what the people involved
actually said.
It happened in Britain 200
years ago.
It's the story of a marriage
between a Prince and Princess
of Wales,
a marriage that went wrong.
[fast classical orchestral
music]
[George snoring]
[somber orchestral music]
It's been another hard night
for George, Prince of Wales.
He said himself that he was
rather
too fond of wine and women,
but what's a man to do while
waiting to inherit the throne?
He can find a hobby.
In George's case, it was
architecture.
It cost a fortune, but spending
money
was another of the
Prince's favorite pastimes.
He was very particular
about his appearance.
He spent over 20 pounds
a week on lavender water,
rose water, elderflower water,
jasmine palmatum, orange
palmatum,
eau de cologne, essence of
bergamot,
eau de miel d'Anglettere,
milk of roses, huile antique
and oil of jessamine.
The public hated him for his
extravagance,
but at least he smelled nice.
It wasn't long before
the Prince was in debt.
He owed about 18 1/2 million
pounds, at today's prices.
There was only one way out, get
married.
Parliament had promised
to come up with a great
deal of money if he did.
The bride-to-be was Princess
Caroline of Brunswick.
- When I am Princess of Wales,
I want to be loved by the
people.
- The wish to be loved is, I
think, a mistaken one, ma'am.
A people should respect
and honor a great
princess, as they will you,
if you keep your dignity
and your distance.
- Oh!
- [Narrator] No one quite knows
why Caroline of Brunwsick was
chosen.
True, she was Protestant,
royal, and a virgin.
But why was this German
Princess picked over a number
of other more refined,
more suitable candidates?
[cackling]
- One damned German frau
is as good as another.
- [Narrator] George is
said to have muttered.
He sent his friend, Lord
Malmesbury,
as his envoy to ask for
Caroline's hand in marriage.
- I like singing and dancing,
and...
- Malmesbury found the Princess
vastly happy with her future
expectations,
but also in need of a little
reassurance.
- Who do you think would make
the best Princess of Wales?
Myself, or do you think
my sister-in-law, Princess
Frederica could do better?
- You are the choice of
the Prince of Wales, ma'am.
- Yes, but who do you think
would be best?
- You, ma'am, possess by
nature what Princess Frederica
could never acquire, beauty and
grace,
and all the essential qualities
that Princess Frederica has,
such as prudence,
discretion, and tact,
you may attain.
- Do I want them?
- You cannot have too much of
them.
- I shall never learn this.
I am too open, too idle.
- [Harris Voiceover] She
has no fixed character,
a light and flighty mind,
but meaning well and
well-disposed.
My eternal theme to her is
to think before she speaks,
to recollect herself.
Her heart is very, very light,
unsusceptible of strong
or lasting feelings.
In some respects, this
may make her happier,
bu certainly not better.
- [Narrator] Malmesbury had
much advice to offer Caroline,
but some things were too
delicate to raise face to face.
It was time for a discreet
word with her lady-in-waiting.
- Yes, it concerns His
Highness the Prince of Wales
and Her Highness Princess
Caroline.
- Jah.
- His Highness the Prince of
Wales is very
delicate in his tastes, in his
clothes,
in the preparation of his
toilette.
- Oh, jah.
- Yes, I've watched Her
Highness the Princess,
and she is less careful
in her clothes, in her person.
- Jah?
- To please the Prince,
attention should be paid
to every part of her dress,
to what is hidden,
as well as what is seen.
- What is, what is hidden?
- The um, the um...
Undergarments.
Her toilette.
- Oh jah, Her Highness is very
quick.
In morgen, she make her
toilette in 15 minute.
- Yes, exactly, that's
precisely the problem.
- What, what problem?
- Madame, Her Highness
the Princess smells.
- Oh, is that all?
I'll speak with her.
[clock chiming]
[bouncy classical orchestral
music]
- [Narrator] The next day,
Lord Malmesbury was to observe
that Madam Busch had
executed her commission well.
- How very well you look
this morning, ma'am.
- I don't feel particularly
well.
I have received a terrible
letter from London.
- Oh, from whom?
- I don't know, it's not signed.
But it says the Prince has a
mistress.
The Lady Jersey.
What am I to do?
I could be a slave to the man I
love,
but to a man I do not love,
who does not love me,
impossible.
- Well, this is very
evidently written by some
disappointed milliner,
some angry maid-servant,
and deserves no attention,
you must rise above it, ma'am.
- Yes.
Oh, I am determined
never to appear jealous.
I know the Prince is flighty.
I am prepared on this point.
- Oh, I do not believe that
you will have any occasion
to exercise this very wise
resolution.
But if any woman should
try to make you jealous,
never let it show.
Reproaches and sourness
never reclaimed anyone,
and I know the Prince well
enough to be quite sure that
he cannot resist softness, and
caresses,
and this is the surest way
to recover his tottering
affection.
- I know the Prince has been
somewhat free in his way of
life.
But this comes from an
emptiness in his situation.
I was made to fill this up.
I will domesticate him,
make him enjoy all the homely
virtues.
- Ah.
- Then he will be happier than
ever.
- [Narrator] So with much
optimism,
Lord Malmesbury's wise words of
advice,
and her own resolve to rise
above jealous feelings,
Caroline arrived in London
and was met by her new
lady-in-waiting,
personally appointed
by the Prince of Wales.
- [Jersey] Welcome, your
Highness.
- Your Highness, may
I present Lady Jersey.
- Where is the Prince?
- His Royal Highness has asked
me to greet you personally.
And to accompany you to Carlton
House.
But perhaps first you would
to change your costume.
I assume your Highness does
not intend to be presented
in your current attire?
- Why, what's wrong with it?
- I do think that this dress
that I have brought for you
is a little more subdued for
the occasion.
And may I suggest this turban,
instead of your hat?
- I like this hat.
- I daresay, but not with this
dress.
[footsteps clicking]
[door hinges clacking]
[somber classical orchestral
music]
- Your Highness, may I
present the Princess Caroline
Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick.
- Harris, I'm not well, pray
get me a glass of brandy.
- Sir, had you better not
have a glass of water?
- Damn you, no, I will
go directly to the Queen.
[footsteps retreating]
- Mein Gott, does the
Prince always act like this?
I think he's very rude.
And he's nothing like as
handsome as his portrait.
- His Royal Highness is
quite naturally very affected
and flurried by this first
interview.
But I'm sure you'll
find him quite different
at dinner tonight, ma'am.
[dishes clattering]
- [Narrator] But dinner
was not a great success.
This time, it was the
Princess whose behavior
was not all that could be
expected.
- My father had a mistress,
you know, in Brunswick.
She was a beautiful woman,
she had very, very red hair.
And...
[laughing]
- [Narrator] Malmesbury was
disappointed with his pupil.
- [Harris Voiceover] The
Princess was flippant, rattling,
affecting raillery and wit,
and throwing out coarse
and vulgar hints about Lady
Jersey, who was present.
- Actually, she probably would
have been about the same size
as Lady Jersey, on top.
[Caroline cackling]
Yes, but she was a very
attractive woman.
Much more attractive than my
mother.
But apart from that, she was
very, very--
- [Harris Voiceover] The
Prince was evidently disgusted
and this unfortunate dinner
fixed his dislike of the
Princess.
Nothing she did improved
matters,
instead, her giddy manners
and attempts at cleverness
and coarse sarcasm
increased his dislike until
it became positive hatred.
- Not really, are they?
Mistresses, they don't
seem to read very much.
I think they're, you know, a
bit slow.
- [Narrator] So much for all
of Malmesbury's hard work.
[Caroline cackling]
Three days later, they were
married.
- [Archbishop] And therefore
is not by any to be enterprised
lightly or wantonly,
but reverently, discreetly,
soberly--
- [Narrator] Alas, not
altogether soberly.
The Prince was somewhat
tipsy, quite drunk, in fact.
- George Augustus Frederick,
wilt thou have this
woman to thy wedded wife?
Wilt thou love her, comfort
her, honor and keep her
in sickness and in health,
and forsaking all other,
keep thee only under her
so long as ye both shall live?
[ominous orchestral music]
[someone coughing]
Forsaking all other,
keep thee only under her
so long as ye both shall live?
[suspenseful orchestral music]
- I will.
- [Archbishop] Caroline Amelia
Elizabeth.
- [Narrator] Why did the
Archbishop repeat himself?
- [Archbishop] Man for thy
wedded husband.
- [Narrator] Perhaps he, like
some others
in the congregation that day,
knew that the Prince had a
secret.
- [Archbishop] In sickness and
in health.
- [Narrator] He was already
married.
- [Archbishop] Forsaking all
other, keep thee only unto her
so long as ye both shall live?
- I will.
- [Narrator] 10 years earlier,
the 22-year-old George
went through a secret ceremony
with Maria Fitzherbert.
He was passionately in love
with her.
It hadn't been easy to
persuade her to marry him,
but he pursued her
unrelentingly,
not just with soft words and
flowers,
but with his own blood.
[Maria gasping]
- I will not live unless
you promise to be my wife,
and permit me to put a
ring around your finger.
- [Narrator] As a devout Roman
Catholic,
Maria had refused to
become George's mistress.
But she knew she could never be
his wife.
Not legally, anyway,
it was against the law
for Catholics to marry future
kings.
But George refused to
take no for an answer.
How the Prince had got into
this bloody state is debatable.
He said that he'd stabbed
himself with a sword.
[George grunting]
[sword clattering]
But it was later rumored
that he had just opened up an
old wound
and smeared the blood all over
his chest.
- Will you be my wife?
- I will.
- [Narrator] Oh well, however
it happened,
it did the trick with Mrs.
Fitzherbert.
The secret marriage last for 10
years.
- [Archbishop] Thy blessing
upon these,
thy servant, this man--
- [Narrator] But by the
time of his second wedding,
George's affections had shifted,
to Lady Jersey.
- [Archbishop] Creator and
Preserver of all mankind.
- [Narrator] He was
certainly a Prince of Hearts.
- [Archbishop] Everlasting
life, send thy blessing
upon these, thy servant,
this man and this woman.
[romantic orchestral music]
- [Narrator] Ah, the wedding
night.
[door hinges clacking]
[romantic orchestral music]
[thudding]
[George snoring]
Fortunately for the royal
succession, next morning,
George remembered his
motto, ich dien, I serve.
The Prince had done his duty,
a royal heir was on the way.
But there was never much of
a honeymoon feeling around.
- Good night, ma'am.
- Good night.
- [Narrator] Within two
weeks, they had ceased
to live together as man and
wife.
[doors thudding]
- Malmesbury, you saw
her at dinner tonight.
How do like these manners?
- I cannot approve of them,
your Highness.
But her father did tell
me that she was often
very high-spirited and careless.
- As I see, why didn't you
tell me all this before?
You could have written
to me from Brunswick.
- Oh, it didn't seem of
sufficient
consequence at the time.
And with respect, I must
remind your Highness,
I was sent to arrange a
marriage,
not to advise on the
suitability of the bride.
[George sighs]
- [Narrator] Poor George,
to make things worse,
he never even saw the
money he'd been promised.
His creditors got there first,
and he was now worse off than
before.
Still, neither marital
nor financial problems
changed the princely way of
life.
[chips clattering]
[whimsical classical music]
- From a Prince to a King.
- And none too soon.
[laughing]
- [Narrator] But while the
Prince continued as before,
he kept the Princess on a tight
rein.
She was forbidden to see
anyone without his approval,
and the people he approved of
were mostly
very dull and very old.
Apart from her chief
lady-in-waiting.
[dishes clattering]
[clock chiming]
George refused to dine with his
wife.
- I'd rather see toads and
vipers crawl across my food
than sit at the same table as
that woman.
- [Narrator] And spent as
little time in her company
as he possibly could.
- [Caroline Voiceover] I do not
know
how I shall bear the loneliness.
The Queen seldom visits me,
and my sisters-in-law
show me the same sympathy.
The Lady Jersey is still here.
I hate her, and I know she
feels the same way towards me.
My husband is wholly given up
to her,
so you can easily imagine the
rest.
- [Narrator] But the Princess
was not entirely alone.
She found some new
friends, the newspapers.
When the Times heard of her
plight,
it called her a state prisoner,
and while her inattentive
husband became
ever more unpopular, public
sympathy for Caroline grew,
especially when nine
months after the wedding,
Princess Charlotte was born.
[baby crying]
Mother and child were in
excellent health,
but the father was certain he
was dying.
And so he wrote his will,
listing all his worldly
possessions
and leaving them to--
- The wife of my heart and soul,
my true and real wife, my
second self,
my beloved and adored Maria
Fitzherbert.
I entreat my adored Maria
that whenever she quits this
life,
my coffin should be taken up
and placed next to hers.
And that the two inward
sides of the coffins
should be taken out
and the two coffins then
be soldered together.
[George sobbing]
She who is called the Princess
of Wales
wears jewels that are mine.
I bequeath them to my infant
daughter
and to her who is called the
Princess of Wales, I leave
one shilling.
[George moaning]
- [Narrator] The Prince
made a full recovery
a few days later.
By now, things were rather
complicated in the palace.
There weren't just two in this
marriage,
or even three, there were four.
George made no secret of his
relationships
with both Jersey and
Fitzherbert.
For a year, Caroline had
put up with her situation.
But now, emboldened by being
mother
to the heir to the throne,
she started to fight back.
- [Caroline Voiceover] Sir, I
wish to be excused from dining
alone with a person whom I
can neither like nor respect
and who is your mistress.
And to be shut up with
her all the long day.
Forgive me, my dear Prince,
if my expressions are too
strong,
believe that it is a heart
wounded by the most acute pain,
the most deadly sorrow,
that pleads for your help.
- [George Voiceover]
Madam, let me remind you
that the intimacy of my
friendship with Lady Jersey,
my mistress, as you
indecorously term her,
was perfectly known to you
before you accepted my hand,
for you yourself told me so
immediately on your arrival
here.
- [Caroline Voiceover] I
deeply regret the coldness
and great contempt of
your conduct towards me.
I only ask for your friendship,
which would be very precious to
me.
[quill tapping]
- [George Voiceover] Madam, if
you wish
for more of my company, you
would do well
not to make my own house
obnoxious to me.
[paper crunching]
- [Caroline Voiceover] Sir, I
wish to know the exact terms
upon which we are in future
to live, in particular,
I want to be assured that
you will never again,
not even in the event of
the death of our daughter,
make any attempt
to produce another heir.
[paper crunching]
- [George Voiceover] In
the event of any accident
happening to my daughter,
I shall not infringe
the terms of restriction
by purposing at any period a
connection
of a more particular nature.
[knocking]
I shall now finally close this
disagreeable correspondence,
trusting that as we have
completely
explained ourselves to each
another,
the rest of our lives will be
passed
in uninterrupted tranquility.
[paper rustling]
- [Narrator] Tranquility was
not to be.
Caroline now wrote to the King
who had always sympathized
with his daughter-in-law
and defended her against the
Prince.
The King ordered that
Lady Jersey be removed
from her service, a sweet
victory for the Princess.
And soon everybody knew,
it was in all the papers.
The Times reported that Lady
Jersey's
letter of resignation was one
of the most
disrespectful we ever
recollect to have read.
How did they get hold of it?
No one knows.
George's situation had become
intolerable.
His wife was more popular than
he was.
When she went out, people
cheered.
When he showed himself,
he was hissed and booed.
The crisis came when
Caroline asked to visit
friends in the country,
the Prince refused.
- There could be dangerous
consequences
if the Princess of Wales were
to travel all over England,
showing herself to the
people, repeating her tricks.
Especially if she persists
in her artful and malicious
conduct,
drawing popularity to herself
at the expense of myself and my
family.
[footsteps clacking]
[somber orchestral music]
- You wrote that you
wished to see me, ma'am.
- There is no point in any
explanation.
I have only two words to say to
you.
I've been 2 1/2 years in this
house.
You have treated me neither as
your wife,
nor as the mother of your child,
nor as the Princess of Wales.
I advise you that from this
moment,
I have nothing more to say to
you
and that I regard myself as
being
no longer subject to your
orders or your rules.
- Is that all you have to say,
ma'am?
- Yes.
- [Narrator] And that was the
last time
the Prince of Wales spoke to
the Princess.
He demanded a formal separation.
The King refused,
but he allowed Caroline
to move out of the palace.
And so she went to a small
house just outside London,
in Blackheath, and found
a whole new lease of life.
[parrot squawking]
- I'm coming to get you.
[laughing]
Where are you?
- [Narrator] Dullness
was a thing of the past.
Now there were dinners and
dancing,
and plenty of gentlemen
callers, war heroes,
society painters, politicians,
all celebrated, ambitious and
eligible.
- Oh!
Yes, it's Sir Sidney.
- [Narrator] Meanwhile George,
having now extricated himself
himself from Lady Jersey,
wooed back his first wife.
- Save me.
Save me.
On my knees, I conjure you from
myself.
If you wish my life, you shall
have it.
Oh, God!
The wretched experiences
of the last five years
have made my life only
desirable in one shape to me
and that is in you.
You know
you are my wife.
I will relinquish everything
for you,
rank, situation, birth.
And if that is not sufficient,
my life shall go also.
Oh, my heart!
My heart!
My heart!
[George sobbing]
- [Narrator] Once again,
George's methods
were too powerful, or underhand,
for Mrs. Fitzherbert to resist.
But although he'd
recaptured Maria's heart,
he still couldn't win over the
public's.
- Listen to this.
His unjust behavior to her,
given his own most
disgraceful connections,
only adds to the opprobrium
attaching to the heir to the
throne.
Have you ever heard such libels?
Oh!
Sent from Carlton House and
separated from her child,
everyone must pity the wife
of an incorrigible wastrel,
who, while our armies fight the
French,
flagrantly squanders public
money on senseless frivolity.
God, when I have pleaded with
the King
to let me lead an army against
the French.
- This will make you feel
better.
No one of taste, discernment
or knowledge can do anything
but deplore the gratuitous
and ungenerous conduct
of both the press and opposition
against a Prince who has been
and is a glory of the people,
an Adonis of Loveliness.
- What paper is that?
- The Morning Post.
- I own the Morning Post.
[birds chirping]
- [Narrator] For a few
years, there was a truce.
The Prince and Princess
lived separate lives.
But as these years went by,
Caroline's lively behavior
did not go unnoticed.
- Sir Thomas Lawrence, the
portrait painter, your Highness.
I regret to say that he is not
alone.
- [Narrator] Lord Liverpool,
the Home Secretary,
is listing the names of those
gentlemen alleged to have been
on intimate terms with the
Prince's wife at Blackheath.
- George Canning, a colleague
of mine, I'm afraid.
Admiral Sidney Smith, a
most distinguished war hero.
Captain Thomas Manby, RN.
And finally, the Honorable
Henry Hood.
- Who has so obligingly
provided this list?
- Sir John and Lady Douglas,
neighbors of Her Highness's.
If they're to be believed,
her behavior has become
extremely strange.
She has sent Sir John
an indelicate drawing.
- Sir Sidney doing Lady
Douglas, your amiable wife.
- And there's something
more, your Highness.
- A bastard, she's had a
bastard.
[baby crying]
- Oh William!
[baby crying]
Sweet William.
- [Narrator] Sweet William's
origins were uncertain.
When Caroline came to
Blackheath,
she was forced to leave
her daughter behind.
Ever since, she had sought new
objects for her affections.
She began to collect children
like her husband collected
perfumes.
She fostered eight local
orphans,
paying for their education and
upkeep.
But with the ninth,
something different happened.
William moved in.
- Oh, I'm so happy.
I'll never regret leaving
all that and coming here.
God, how I've suffered.
It's just as well I'm so
strong-minded
or I'd never have survived it.
I should have been the man, you
know,
and he should have been the
woman.
He knows exactly how a coat
should be cut
or how a dress should be made.
Actually, he'd make an
excellent tailor or hairdresser,
but absolutely nothing else.
[man chuckling]
Isn't that right, William,
oh give him to me.
- [Narrator] There were
rumors that William
was Caroline's own child,
an accusation too serious
for the government to ignore.
They ordered a private so-called
Delicate Investigation.
- Yes.
- Mary Wilson went into the
room to make up the fire
and saw Her Highness and Sir
Sidney
in such an indecent situation.
She was so shocked, she
fainted away at the door.
- She was with a naval
officer, Your Honor,
in a very compromising position.
- [Hutchison] Was the
man involved an Admiral?
- Oh, I don't know, sir,
he wasn't wearing his hat.
Oh, and Samuel Roberts, the
footman,
told me that wasn't all.
- [Hutchison] What did he say?
- That the Princess was very
fond of fucking, Your Honor.
- She then told me she was
going to have a baby of her own.
She said no one would
notice when it arrived.
Everyone would just assume
it was another foster child.
She said no one would
know she was pregnant.
She'd arrange cushions under
her clothes,
and everyone would assume
she was just growing fat.
- [Hutchison] Did she
say who the father was?
- No, but she said if she was
discovered,
she would give the Prince
of Wales the credit for it.
- I heard that the Princess
sometimes adopted poor children,
so I took him to Blackheath.
They told me he would be
brought up
and treated like a young prince.
So I agreed to leave him here.
I'm really grateful
for all the Princess has done
for us.
- [Narrator] Once William's
real mother came forward,
the Delicate Investigation had
to conclude
that the child was not
Caroline's,
and it couldn't prove adultery,
either.
The Prince was disappointed.
There were no grounds for a
Royal divorce.
Years went by,
and Caroline and George
continued their separate lives.
But whereas he lived the
grand life of royalty,
she became more and more
isolated.
Ignored by the Royal Family
and bored by the life
she was forced to lead,
she became increasingly
outrageous.
- Such an exhibition!
But that she did not feel for
herself,
one should have felt for her!
Such an over-dressed,
bare-bosomed,
painted eye-browed figure one
never saw.
- She is always seeking
amusement and unfortunately,
often at the expense of
propriety and prudence.
- Her conversation is uncommonly
lively, odd and clever.
What a pity she has not
a grain of common sense,
nor an ounce of ballast
to prevent high spirits.
- Every day, she becomes more
imprudent in her conduct,
more heedless of society.
The poor Princess is going
on headlong to her ruin.
[quiet orchestral music]
- That wicked Princess on the
heath,
she is such a rake and such a
rioter,
and such an irregular person,
that she makes rebellions and
mutinies
in every well-regulated house.
[laughing]
- [Narrator] While Caroline ran
riot,
her father-in-law the
King was slowly going mad.
When he was finally declared
insane,
the Prince became Regent
and immediately used his new
powers
to restrict Caroline's
access to her daughter.
- I have drafted a letter to
your husband, your Highness.
Cut off from one of the few
domestic enjoyments left to me,
the society of my child.
- [Narrator] This is Henry
Brougham,
Ambitious Scots lawyer,
rising Opposition politician.
He gave the Princess's cause
direction.
She made him famous.
- Or by secret insinuation.
There is a point beyond which
a guiltless woman cannot with
safety
carry her forebearance onwards,
but must resort to whatever
mean possible
to protect herself.
- [Narrator] The letter was
published
in the Morning Chronicle.
- Damn her, the order stands.
She shall see her once
a fortnight and no more.
- [Narrator] The private
arguments
of the Prince and Princess of
Wales.
A not uninteresting subject
for breakfast reading.
A pleasant change from, say,
the Third Reading of
the Naval Arsenals Bill.
And it was Brougham and
his friends who made sure
that no editor was ever
short of the latest details.
[footsteps clacking]
The press and the public loved
Caroline,
but high society kept its
distance.
When the crowned heads
of Europe came to London
to mark the victory over
Napoleon,
the Prince held some grand
celebrations.
Everyone who was anyone was
invited.
Well, almost.
- [Caroline Voiceover] Sir, of
all His Highness's subjects,
I alone am prevented from
appearing in my proper place
to partake of the general joy.
- [Narrator] It was the final
humiliation.
- So ma'am, you're leaving.
- What should I stay here for?
I've no life here.
He deprives me of my position
as Princess of Wales,
of being the mother of his
child.
I'm ignored by everyone.
I live in my little
nutshell like a hermit.
- There are many who support
you here, including myself.
- Pooh, Mr. Brougham.
The cause you are most
interested in is your own.
I am a stick to beat your
political enemies with,
no more or no less.
You do it for your party, not
for me.
- If you go, ma'am,
there will be many people
encouraging the Prince to
divorce you.
If you're abroad, we cannot
protect you
or keep the public on your side.
- I don't know which of
you gives me more trouble,
my friends or my enemies!
I'm tired, Mr. Brougham.
I'm tired of being managed by
you
and I'm tired of this life,
which cannot get any better
until I leave this vile country!
[glasses clinking]
- To the Princess of Wales,
damnation,
and may she never return to
England.
- [Narrator] George celebrated
with his latest amour.
Mrs. Fitzherbert had a last
gone the way of Lady Jersey.
Now it was the turn of Lady
Hertford
to act as his confidante.
[couple laughing]
Once Caroline started
traveling, she couldn't stop.
For six years, she traveled.
It was like the best days of
Blackheath all over again.
She had all the freedom she
wanted.
There was dancing and
parties and no one there
to tell her what wear or what
to do.
- Are you quite sure
you wish to hear all this, your
Highness?
- Go ahead, Liverpool,
I am quite prepared.
- [Narrator] Lord Liverpool
was now Prime Minister
with a country to run
and an Empire to nurture.
His most pressing duty, however,
was to keep the Prince informed
of his wife's adventures.
- At Geneva, she appeared
at a ball dressed as Venus.
- So?
- That is, not dressed
further than the waist.
Lord Redesdale reports from
Baden
that she attended the
Grand Duke's hunting ball,
with half a pumpkin on her head.
She told him it was the
coolest sort of coiffure.
At Genoa, she was drawn
through the streets
in a mother-of-pearl
carriage wearing pink boots
with plenty of stout leg
showing.
And there's a letter from
Lady Bessborough in Milan.
She writes, I cannot tell you
how sorry
and ashamed I felt as an
Englishwoman
to see Her Highness in a
little girl's white dress
with a neck very low,
disgustingly so.
- Enough, I've heard enough!
Put someone to watch her,
Liverpool.
And make this an official
enquiry.
This time, I will get a divorce.
- One name appears regularly.
He is called Pergami,
Bartolemeo Pergami.
Old Italian family, fallen on
hard times.
Has the manners of a gentleman,
started as her valet,
promoted to chamberlain,
now eats at her table.
Most of his relatives seem
to be on the staff, too.
Mother, sisters, nephews.
- More, Liverpool, we need more.
- She entered Jerusalem on an
ass, with some 200 followers.
Whilst there, she founded
the Order of Saint Caroline.
As its Grand Master,
she then appointed Count
Bartolomeo Pergami,
Baron of Francina,
Knight of Malta and the Holy
Sepulchre.
Your Highness, may I express
my deepest condolences
on the truly tragic loss of
your daughter.
- [Narrator] Princess Charlotte,
married only a year before,
had died giving birth
to a stillborn child.
She was 19.
- Get on with it.
- In Sicily, Princess Caroline
has had herself painted
as a penitent Magdalene,
with her hair disordered,
eyes heavenwards, naked to the
waist.
She has apparently given
the picture to Pergami.
There is now evidence from some
85 persons
which appears to confirm the
fact
of a continued and adulterous
intercourse
between her Royal Highness and
Pergami.
They are to all appearances man
and wife.
Never was anything so obvious.
- Excellent.
- Your Majesty, may I express
my sincerest condolences
on the death of your esteemed
father.
The country has lost a
most-revered and honored
sovereign.
But has gained a most-respected
and truly worthy successor.
- Does she know?
- I am informed she is
already on her way to London.
- She must be stopped, stop her.
- [Narrator] Caroline was
intercepted
just before she reached Calais.
- Mr. Brougham, what a surprise!
- Your Majesty, may I
present Lord Hutchison,
a representative of His
Majesty's government.
- [Hutchison] Your Majesty.
- And who is it you
represent, Mr. Brougham?
- As always, Your Majesty,
I'm here to protect your
interests.
Lord Hutchison has some serious
proposals.
- Well, be quick, I have a boat
waiting.
- It is hereby agreed by her
Majesty
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth--
- Yes yes, my Lord, the
figures, how much?
- 50,000 pounds per annum.
- Oh, payable for my entire
life?
- Absolutely, Your Majesty.
- With what conditions?
- Take you take another title.
- The government is generous.
Another title, as well as Queen?
- Instead of Queen.
- What they are proposing, Your
Majesty,
is Duchess of Cornwall.
- Oh.
Would I have to live there?
- No, ma'am.
- So I could live in London?
- No.
The proposal is--
- Yes, my Lord, I guess the
proposal.
That I don't come to England
now, or ever.
You think I don't know
this the minute I see you?
What will they do, if I do come?
- His Majesty may try to
divorce you.
They have much damaging
evidence against you.
- And I have much against him.
- Your Majesty, do not be
precipitous.
- If you accept these
proposals, ma'am,
you could have an agreeable
and peaceful life.
- I don't want a peaceful
life, I won't go quietly.
I have endured a great deal
to become Queen of England
and that is what I shall be.
- [Liverpool] I'm afraid she
was cheered
all the way from Dover, Your
Majesty.
At Canterbury, some
10,000 people awaited her.
[George coughing]
- Has Brougham told you what
she wants?
- She still insists that
her name be included
in the prayers for the Royal
Family.
- Put her name in the liturgy,
never!
- And that she attend the
coronation.
- Attend, attend!
You mean, be crowned?
Be crowned beside me?
- Yes, Your Majesty.
- Then cancel it, cancel it!
I will not be crowned
with that woman beside me.
I will be divorced first.
- As Your Majesty knows,
the procedure is uncertain.
- I don't care!
Find a new procedure then,
Liverpool.
Arrange it, or I'll find
myself a new Prime Minister
and a government that will.
I will be divorced!
- [Narrator] The queen's
unexpected arrival
also excited the public.
Mobs roamed the streets,
windows were smashed,
and the cry everywhere was for
the Queen.
Something had to be done
and the government came
up with a solution.
- They've issued a Bill
of Pains and Penalties,
Your Majesty.
- A Bill of Pains and Penalties.
It sounds as if I should
be fried and tortured.
What does it mean?
- The Bill goes first to the
Lords,
then to the Commons.
If it's passed, it will
strip you of your title
and dissolve your marriage.
It's a cunning device.
Effectively, you'll be on trial.
Witnesses will be called
and cross-examined.
- We will call the King.
- With this procedure, ma'am,
one can't.
He won't even be named as
plaintiff.
Your reputation will be on
trial, but not your husband's.
- The Queen on trial, no!
- Oh no!
- I don't believe it!
- Surely not!
- Well, well!
- [Both Women] No!
- My Lords, the highest
individual in the land
is charged with one of
the most serious offenses
both against God and man,
adulterous intercourse.
I am aware, my Lords, of the
reluctance
with which your Lordships must
listen
to these disgusting details.
- [Narrator] Maybe not that
reluctant.
The House of Lords was packed
to hear the Attorney General,
Sir Robert Gifford's
opening attack on the Queen.
- I shall now proceed to
call my first witness.
Teodoro Majocchi.
- Teodoro.
Teodoro!
- [Narrator] Things didn't
start well for Caroline.
Teodoro was one of her
most trusted servants.
If he testified against
her, who could she rely on?
- Do you remember Pergami at
Messina
asking leave of the Princess
to go and make some purchases?
- I do.
- Describe what took place
when they parted from each
other for that purpose.
- I saw Pergami say,
will your Royal Highness
permit me to go to Messina
to make some purchases?
And having had this permission,
he took her hand and kissed her
lips.
- Did they dine there by
themselves?
- They were alone.
- [Gifford] Where was
the Princess sitting?
- On the bed.
- Where was Pergami sitting?
- On the ground, at the
feet of her Royal Highness.
- Did her Majesty sleep under
that tent
on the whole journey from Jaffa?
- She slept always under that
tent.
- Did anybody else sleep
under the same tent?
- Bartolomeo Pergami.
- [Narrator] Majocchi
seemes less sure of events
when cross-examined by Brougham
on behalf of the queen.
- Did you ever see William
Austin sleep under the tent?
[speaking in a foreign language]
- [Narrator] He did not
remember.
- And where did Captain Hannan
sleep?
[speaking in a foreign language]
- And where did the Countess
Oldi sleep?
[speaking in a foreign language]
- [Narrator] Majocchi
failed to remember not once,
not twice, not even 10 times.
On 83 occasions, he stated
that his memory failed him.
A small triumph for Brougham.
But Majocchi was not the only
servant of the Princess's
to testify against her.
Over the weeks that followed,
the prosecution called 85
of her former employees
and most of their evidence was
damaging.
- Did you notice anything
about Pergami's hand?
- Yes, it was in her dress.
- Where, precisely?
- Under her skirt.
- And her Majesty's hand?
- In his trousers, on his
[speaking in a foreign language]
[speaking in a foreign language]
- Parte privato.
- We understand.
- Once, when I made the bed,
I noticed the sheets were in
disorder.
- What do you mean by that?
- It had...
Stains.
- [Gifford] What sort of stains?
- As much as I have seen, they
were white.
- You have stated you are a
married woman.
What did those stains appear to
be?
- I won't stand for it.
- [Narrator] Outside the House
of Lords,
the country was obsessed with
the trial.
The Times, a loyal supporter of
the Queen
doubled it's circulation.
People talked of little else.
- Well, is she so bad?
- He's worse.
- If my husband had
treated me like he has her,
I should have thought myself
entitled to act as she has.
- After all this, how impossible
it will be for any man
to divorce his wife for the
next 20 years.
- My husband prevents me
reading the newspaper.
He merely reads out the
elements he considers suitable.
- [Narrator] Every day,
there were demonstrations
for the Queen, large and small.
Petitions were handed to her
by bakers, glass workers,
brass founders, and seamen.
The married ladies of Edinburg
collected over 8,000 signatures.
- We most sincerely lament the
harsh and unprecedented usage
which Your Majesty has received.
The principles now
advanced by your accusers
do not apply to your case alone,
but may be applied
hereafter as a precedent
by every careless and
dissipated husband
to rid himself of his wife,
however good and innocent she
may be,
rendering all domestic felicity
uncertain.
- Did you receive money to come
here today
and give this evidence?
- I received nothing else
but my traveling expenses.
- What bargain have you made?
What pay are you to have for
coming here?
- [Narrator] Brougham's
main line of attack
against the witnesses was to
suggest
that they had all been bribed
to testify against the Queen.
It was a defense that fed
well off British bigotry.
- John Bull regards these
Italians
as so many bugs and frogs.
What we want is proof
witnesses, credible ones,
10 Englishmen instead
of a hundred Italians.
- [Gifford] And you saw no
degradation--
- [Narrator] For more than
three months,
Caroline sat in the Lords',
hearing her character blackened.
George, meanwhile, hid
himself in Windsor Castle.
But he couldn't hide
his dubious reputation.
Brougham made sure
that it was uppermost in
everyone's minds,
and Mr. Brougham's powers of
persuasion proved decisive.
- I am not, because of
the form of this bill,
allowed to ask the prosecution
who their client is.
If I knew, I could bring
forward documents
and speeches without number
against him.
But I am allowed to know nothing
about this mysterious being,
this uncertain phantom,
this uncertain shape.
If I could see it, I might
interrogate it
and bring out of its
mouth, if it has a mouth,
who and what it is.
And whether it be a man or some
other--
- Why did you withdraw the bill?
- There was no alternative,
Your Majesty.
- But you won the final vote.
- Only by nine votes, too small
a majority
to risk going to the Commons
with.
We simply didn't dare
chance our luck there.
[fireworks popping]
- [Narrator] It looked as
though the Queen had won.
Her supporters seemed to think
so.
For five nights, they rejoiced.
But one person wasn't
celebrating.
Caroline had been acquitted,
but her reputation had been
destroyed.
[Caroline sobbing]
She knew her victory was a
hollow one.
[sad classical orchestral music]
But she wasn't finished yet.
There were palaces, money,
and titles to fight for,
and she was determined
to get what she wanted.
The King ignored her.
He suspected that her support
was fading,
and he had better things to do.
He was planning a Coronation,
for one.
- The Queen, being particularly
anxious
to submit to the good
taste of His Majesty,
most earnestly entreats the King
to inform the Queen in what
dress he wishes her to appear
on the day of the Coronation.
- Issue instructions that she
is not
under any circumstances to
appear.
Now, let us think about the
shoes.
Velvet, with tassels,
and embroidered in gold and
silver thread.
- [Narrator] On the
morning of the Coronation,
Caroline arrived at the
door of Westminster Abbey
with her loyal supporter, Lord
Hood.
- Your ticket, please, madam.
- I present you Queen to you.
Surely it is not necessary
for her to have a ticket?
- Our orders are to admit no
one without a peer's ticket.
- This is your Queen.
She is entitled to admission
without such a ticket.
- Yes, I am your Queen,
will you not admit me?
- My orders are specific
and I feel myself bound to obey
them.
No one is allowed to
enter without a ticket.
- Will Your Majesty take
my ticket and go in alone?
- No, I will enter as
Queen, and without a ticket.
- Am I to understand
that you are refusing
her Majesty admission?
- I only act in conformity with
my orders.
- I am sorry for it.
- [Narrator] It was to be
Caroline's last act of defiance.
As she walked away, people
shouted, go back to Pergami.
The public who had supported
her for more than 20 years
had finally deserted her.
[choir and organ music]
There's nothing like a good
Coronation
to win over the people,
and won over they were
by the Royal extravaganza.
George's outfit alone cost
the country 24 thousand,
704 pounds,
eight shillings, and 10 pence.
Two weeks after the
Coronation, Caroline collapsed.
The doctors diagnosed
a blockage of the bowel
and gave her enough castor
oil, according to Brougham,
to turn the stomach of a horse.
It's likely she had stomach
cancer.
- I'm going to die, Mr.
Brougham.
But it doesn't matter.
- Your physicians were of
quite a different opinion,
Your Majesty.
- I know better than them.
I do not wish to be buried here.
I want to be buried in
Brunswick.
They did not like my young
bones,
so they shan't have my old ones.
I don't die without pain.
But I die without regret.
- [Narrator] George was
on his way to Ireland
when he heard of his wife's
death.
He paced around his
cabin most of the night
and had all the flags lowered
as a sign of mourning.
The next day, his 59th birthday,
he arrived in Dublin,
apparently in great spirits,
and dead drunk.
[thudding]
On the day of the funeral,
Caroline's friends carried
out her final wish.
Caroline of Brunswick, The
Injured Queen of England.
25 years before, when Lord
Malmesbury
brought Caroline over from
Brunswick, he said of her,
in the hands of a sensible
man who loved her,
she would probably turn out
well.
But then her own father had
said,
the heart has nothing to
do with Royal marriages.
[mournful classical orchestral
music]