1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,480 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankie. Listener discretion advised. 3 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: Just after midnight on November sixth, eighteen seventeen, Princess Charlotte 4 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: of Wales, aged twenty one, died in childbirth. The sun 5 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: she had delivered was dead as well a stillborn. To 6 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: say it was a shocking tragedy would be an understatement. 7 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 1: England plunged into mourning, shops ran out of black cloth. Eventually, 8 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: ribbon stores would have to beg the government to shorten 9 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: the official mourning period for fear that people going without 10 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: adornment in the Princess's honor would put them out of business. 11 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: Princess Charlotte had been the only child of a deeply 12 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: unhappy marriage. She was the daughter of the very unpopular 13 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: Prince of Wales, the Prince Regent future King George the Fourth. 14 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: Charlotte finally found bliss in her own marriage to Prince Leopold, 15 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,119 Speaker 1: only to be struck down less than eighteen months after 16 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: their fairy tale wedding. It was a story out of 17 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: a dark fairy tale, one that I told more in 18 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: depth in the episode The Princess that England lost. But 19 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: there's more to the story, namely what happened next. The 20 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: royal family, like the public, was devastated at the loss 21 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: of the vivacious, progressive and popular princess. For them, however, 22 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: the loss was more than just a personal one. Though 23 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: King George the Third had fifteen children at the time 24 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: of Charlotte's death, she was the king's only legitimate grandchild. 25 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: If none of her many many uncles produced legitimate children, 26 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: quickly the Hanoverian line, which had ruled England for more 27 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: than a century, would be over. It was a terrifying proposition, 28 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: especially for a family to whom their royal inheritance meant everything. 29 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: Given the importance of passing the crown down, it may 30 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: seem surprising that the Hanovers were even in that position. Again, 31 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 1: King George the Third and his wife, Queen Charlotte had 32 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: had fifteen children, thirteen of whom had survived to adulthood. 33 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: And yet, though the primary duty of royal children seems 34 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: to basically be to marry and procreate, when Charlotte died 35 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventeen, not only were there no more living 36 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: legitimate grandchildren, most of the by then middle aged princes 37 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: and princesses weren't been married. If you think this is unusual, 38 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: you would be right. George the Third's many royal children 39 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:15,279 Speaker 1: were themselves unusual. Raised by strict proper parents who demanded perfection, 40 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: the princesses were stifled and kept close long past marriageable age. 41 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: The princes found the freedom of adulthood intoxicating and ran 42 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: wild with their mistresses through the gambling halls of Europe. 43 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: The sons perhaps were enjoying the eighteen hundreds version of 44 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: what we think of as trust fund syndrome. They had 45 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: racked up scores of illegitimate children, tens of thousands of 46 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: pounds of public debt, and the disdain of the general public. 47 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: But now, with the fate of the family line at stake, 48 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: the princes and princesses would have to grow up and fast. 49 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: They were now in a race to arrange good marriage 50 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: is and produce airs. This, of course, was easier said 51 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: than done. I'm Danish schwartz, and this is noble blood. 52 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: From the beginning of his reign, George the Third planned 53 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: to do things differently. His great grandfather and grandfather, George 54 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: the First and George the Second, had both been born 55 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: and raised in the German Principality of Hanover, and they 56 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: spoke German as their first language, which meant that they 57 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,160 Speaker 1: were perceived as German by their British subjects. Their family 58 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: had gained the British throne thanks to seventeen o one's 59 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: Act of Settlement, which declared that only a Protestant could 60 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 1: rule England. When the childless Queen Anne died in seventeen fourteen, 61 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: who you might know from the movie The Favorite, the 62 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: throne passed to her nearest Protestant relative, George the First, 63 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: who began what became known as the Hannoverian line of 64 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: British monarchs from his Hanoverian predecessors. George the Third inherited 65 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: the throne of Great Britain and also a unique tradition 66 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: of hatred between father and son. George the First and 67 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: his son George the Second fought bitterly over matters both 68 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: political and personal, and the pattern repeated itself with George 69 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: the Second and his eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales. 70 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: Frederick died in seventeen fifty one before his father, but 71 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: Frederick's widow, Augusta, continued the estrangement with the King and 72 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: so the young of future George the Third grew up 73 00:05:55,839 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: barely knowing his grandfather. When in seventeen sixty the twenty 74 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: two year old George the Third learned that his grandfather 75 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,840 Speaker 1: was dead, he vowed to break the pattern set by 76 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: his forebearers. He would be a truly English king of 77 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: the English, and he would have a close relationship with 78 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 1: his children. He would be more successful on the first 79 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: count than the second. On the first count, he nailed it. 80 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: In fact, he is the only British monarch to never 81 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: once leave England. But his relationship with his children, well 82 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 1: we'll get to that. On August twelfth, seventeen sixty two, 83 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: Queen Charlotte gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, 84 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: whom they named George Augustus Frederick. I know there are 85 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: a lot of George's in this story, so for clarity's sake, 86 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: will refer to this newborn baby child George the future 87 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: regent future George the fourth as the Prince of Wales, 88 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: which is the ideal that he had during when this 89 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: story takes place, and will refer to his father, King 90 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: George the Third as King George. So over the next 91 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: twenty one years. King George's wife, Queen Charlotte, would give 92 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: birth to fourteen more children, six girls and nine boys, 93 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: and almost all of them would reach adulthood. The King 94 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: and Queen raised their children in relative simplicity. Both had 95 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: frugal tastes. Cartoons of the day regularly lampooned them for 96 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: drinking the cheapest wine and eating the worst cuts of meat. 97 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: They were a pretty wholesome couple. George never took a mistress, 98 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: and he was sometimes affectionately referred to as Farmer George 99 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:49,239 Speaker 1: for his interest in agriculture. The couple hoped to instill 100 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: the same wholesome habits in their children. They also hoped 101 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: to raise well educated, well disciplined children, and to this end, 102 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: the king created a strict, highly structured educational curriculum for 103 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: his princes. If the boys misbehaved or they didn't pay 104 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: attention in lessons, they were whipped by their tutors. The 105 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: princess's education was focused mostly on art and music, but 106 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: like their brothers, they were raised strictly. The queen instructed 107 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: their governesses to never allow any quote, incivilities or lightness 108 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: in their behavior unquote. Though the king had hoped to 109 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: create a warmer relationship with his children than he had 110 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:39,719 Speaker 1: shared with his own parents and grandparents. He was unwilling 111 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: to bend royal protocol enough to actually allow that the 112 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: Royal children were not allowed to speak to their parents 113 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: unless spoken to, They had to walk backwards when leaving 114 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,319 Speaker 1: their parents presence, and as soon as they left infancy, 115 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: they almost never saw their parents in informal settings. The 116 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: pressure placed on them was enormous, and affection from their 117 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: parents was explicitly tied to obedience and perfection. When the 118 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: Prince of Wales and his younger brother Frederick were sixteen 119 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: and fifteen, respectively, King George wrote to them, quote, act 120 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: uprightly and show the anxious care I have had of 121 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: you has not been misspent, and you will ever find 122 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: me not only an affectionate father, but a sincere friend unquote, 123 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: so not exactly unconditional love. Similarly, the Queen, writing to 124 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,200 Speaker 1: her third son William, told him quote, I love you 125 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: so well that I cannot bear the thought of you 126 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: being only mediocre. Perfection is the thing you should aim 127 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: at end quote. The result of this demanding, joyless upbringing 128 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: created children who would, as the historian John vander Kist 129 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 1: would write quote yearned to be everything. They're stolid, stayed dutiful. 130 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 1: Parents were not endquote. As the children emerged from the 131 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: cloistered world their parents had built for them, they began 132 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: to run wild. The Prince of Wales was the first 133 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: to disappoint their parents. At age seventeen, in love with 134 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,199 Speaker 1: his sister's twenty three year old governess Mary Hamilton's, he 135 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: wrote her a letter describing his own character pretty honestly, saying, 136 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: quote he was rather too fond of wine and women unquote. 137 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: Rebuffed by Hamilton's, the prince turned his attention to the 138 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: actress Mary Robinson. Robinson, married with an infant daughter, saw 139 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: the prince's affections as a chance to secure her family's fortunes, 140 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 1: and shrewdly she held down to the prince's effusive love letters, 141 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: many of which promised her money. When the affair ended 142 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: a year later, the letters were brought to the King's attention. 143 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: Few Curious, he had his courtiers negotiate a payoff with Robinson. 144 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: He then sent the prince's two younger brothers, Frederick and William, 145 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: out of the country to keep them away from the 146 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: bad influence of their older brother William, Duke of Clarence, 147 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: the third son, was sent into the navy, where he 148 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: gained a taste for practical jokes and a hearty, casual manner, 149 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: which endeared him to his shipmates but didn't serve him 150 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: as well in refined royal circles. The second son, Frederick, 151 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: Duke of York, was the father's favorite, and he was 152 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: sent to the family seat in Hanover for military training. 153 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: Though King George had vowed to always put England first, 154 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: he saw Germany as an excellent training ground for his sons, 155 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: and Frederick was eventually joined there in five by the 156 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: fourth in line, Edward, and then a year later by 157 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: three more brothers, Ernest, August and Adolphus, who went to 158 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: study at the University of go Engen. If the king 159 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: thought that separation from the scandalous Prince of Wales would 160 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: keep the younger brothers in line, he was mistaken. The 161 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: duchies of Germany had young noblewomen and gambling halls of plenty. 162 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: Though the king only gave his son's modest allowances, merchants 163 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,560 Speaker 1: and casino proprietors were only too willing to extend the 164 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: young men enormous lines of credit. Because of their royal name. 165 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: In short order, they all wrecked up thousands of pounds 166 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: of debt. The King begrudgingly paid off their debts and 167 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: admonished the boys harshly, only for the cycle to begin again. 168 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: The princes were no more responsible in their conduct with women, although, 169 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: as with their extravagance spending, their romantic affairs could be 170 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: seen as a former rebellion against the restrictions placed on 171 00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: them by their father. In sventeen seventy two, King George 172 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: the Third had proposed a parliament in Act regulating royal marriages, 173 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: which was eventually passed as the originally titled Royal Marriages Act. 174 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:16,679 Speaker 1: The king was motivated by the shocking marriages of his siblings, 175 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: including his brother Prince Henry's seventeen seventy one marriage to 176 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: a widowed commoner named Anne Horton, and his sister Caroline 177 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: Matilda's disastrous, scandal written marriage to the mentally ill King 178 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: of Denmark, which is a story that I covered in 179 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: the episode Queen Caroline Matilda's Personal Doctor. That marriage led 180 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: to a very scandalous affair. So George was understandably nervous 181 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,520 Speaker 1: when it came to the idea of his children's marriages. 182 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:53,080 Speaker 1: With the new provisions of the Act, any descendants of 183 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: King George the Second could not marry without the consent 184 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: of the reigning monarch. There was an exception if a 185 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: descendant was older than twenty five and permission was refused 186 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 1: by the monarch, the descendant could still marry, but only 187 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: with one year's notice and an assent of Parliament. However, 188 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:17,479 Speaker 1: it was thought unlikely that Parliament, knowing that the monarch disapproved, 189 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: would ever consent to the marriage. Previous acts further limited 190 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: who the royal family could marry. Most importantly, any royal 191 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: family member who married a Catholic would be removed from 192 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: the line of succession. Though the purpose of all of 193 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: these restrictions, especially the Royal Marriages Act, was to promote good, 194 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: beneficial marriages within the royal family, many even at the time, 195 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: believed it would have the opposite effect. If the royal 196 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: children weren't allowed to marry who they loved, it seemed 197 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 1: likely that they would simply go unmarried, and, as the 198 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 1: saying goes quote, live in sin. One member of Parliament 199 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: went so far as to joking, we call the Royal 200 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: Marriages Act quote an act to encourage fornication and adultery 201 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: in descendants of George the Second. His prediction would quickly 202 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 1: prove true. In December seen, the Prince of Wales secretly 203 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: married Maria fitz Herbert, a twice widowed Catholic commoner. You 204 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: can hear more about that doomed relationship in the episode 205 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: of this podcast called What I Has Wept For George 206 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 1: the Fourth and the Prince of Wales wasn't the only 207 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: brother to secretly wed. Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, the 208 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: sixth son, married Lady Augusta Murray, a Scottish noblewoman, in 209 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: seventeen first in Italy and then again in England. Their 210 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: marriage was annulled by the court in sevente because of 211 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: its violation of the Royal Marriages Act, but the couple 212 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: stayed together until eighteen o one and had two children. 213 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: The Duke of Sussex later took up with another woman, 214 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 1: Lady Cecilia Underwood, who he married after the death of 215 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: Lady Augusta in eighteen thirty one. Other brothers chose a 216 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: less formal but no less scandalous approach to romance. William, 217 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: Duke of Clarence had a twenty year relationship with the 218 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: Irish actress Dorothea Bland, known as Mrs Jordan's. The couple 219 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: had ten children together and they lived together in relative 220 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: happiness until eighteen eleven, when the Duke's mounting debts meant 221 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: that he needed to marry someone for income. He spent 222 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: the next few years unsuccessfully pursuing a number of young heiresses. 223 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: Another brother, Edward, Duke of Kent, also had a long 224 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: term relationship with his mistress Julie St. Laurent. After meeting 225 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: in sev The couple remained together for more than twenty 226 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: five years. Their life together was good, though they had 227 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: to live abroad where expend as were lower given the 228 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: Duke's surprise surprise large debts. Frederick, Duke of York, the 229 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:12,120 Speaker 1: favorite son remember, unlike most of his brothers, actually married legally. 230 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: In seventeen he married Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, at the 231 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: behest of his father, who hoped that his favorite second 232 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:25,159 Speaker 1: son could provide the legitimate air that the then illegally 233 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: wed Prince of Wales would not. Unfortunately, Frederick and Frederica, 234 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: despite their names, were an ill suited match, and by 235 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety four, they were amicably separated, with Frederica moving 236 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: to their country home Oatlands, where she would live surrounded 237 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:49,360 Speaker 1: by a menagerie of pets until her death. They had 238 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: no children. After the failure of Frederick's marriage, the Prince 239 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: of Wales reluctantly agreed to leave Maria fitz Herbert and 240 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: pursue a legitimate Mary. The King's promise to pay off 241 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: his debts certainly helped to motivate him to in sev 242 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: The Prince of Wales married Caroline of Brunswick woofin Bottle. 243 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: This arranged couple hated each other nearly instantly, but they 244 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: did have one daughter, Charlotte in January, the princess whose 245 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: tragic death twenty one years later would set the succession 246 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: crisis in motion. Given nearly all of the Prince's scandalous 247 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: behavior and outrageous debts, they were nearly universally despised by 248 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: the English public. Percy Shelley wrote of them, quote princes 249 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: the dregs of their dull race, who flow through public 250 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: scorn mud from a muddy spring. Rulers who neither see, 251 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: nor feel, nor no but each like to their fainting 252 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: country Kling unquote a pretty devastating poem. The Duke of Wellington, 253 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 1: remarking on the enormous sums the princes frequently requested from 254 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,439 Speaker 1: the parliament, called them quote the damnedest millstones around the 255 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: neck of any government that can be imagined unquote, and 256 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: what if the princesses Of the six girls, only one 257 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:32,920 Speaker 1: married while of childbearing age, largely because their parents preferred 258 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: to keep them close by as companions. Charlotte, the eldest 259 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: daughter apologies, I know there are a lot of Charlotte's 260 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: two in this story. This is not Charlotte the granddaughter 261 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: who died at one, nor Queen Charlotte. This is a 262 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: different Charlotte. The Queen's eldest daughter, married Frederick, Crown Prince 263 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: of Wurteinberg In, but they had no children. The next 264 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 1: or to wed would be Mary, who nearly twenty years 265 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: later married her cousin, William, Duke of Gloucester in eighteen sixteen. 266 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: Though the Duke loved Mary, her own motives for marriage 267 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: were more complicated, as her niece, Princess Charlotte recorded marriage 268 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: gave Mary an opportunity to escape her parents grasp quote 269 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: being her own mistress, having her own house and being 270 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,639 Speaker 1: able to walk in the streets all delight her in 271 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: their several ways end quote. Unfortunately, William would prove to 272 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: be even more controlling than Mary's parents, the King and Queen. 273 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,120 Speaker 1: The next Princess, Elizabeth, married Frederick Lane, Grave of hesse Homburg, 274 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 1: for similar reasons to marry, though their marriage would actually 275 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: be much happier. Some of her sisters found other outlets 276 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:57,119 Speaker 1: to evade the control of their parents. Sophia is rumored 277 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: to have had an illegitimate child by her father's chief equerry, 278 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: Thomas Garth, while Augusta had a long term relationship with 279 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:10,680 Speaker 1: an army officer, Sir Brent Spencer. Outside their romantic entanglements 280 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 1: and financial problems, the princes and princesses also had to 281 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: confront their fathers increasingly unstable physical and mental health, which 282 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: had begun to deteriorate by the early seventeen nineties. His 283 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: incapacity caused inter family power struggles, which would largely be 284 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,159 Speaker 1: resolved by making the Prince of Wales the Prince Regent, 285 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 1: a role in which he would serve as ruler because 286 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 1: the monarch was unable to do so. If you ever 287 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: wondered why that period is called the regency. This is 288 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 1: why the prince was the regent. All of this is 289 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: to say that by eighteen seventeen, when Princess Charlotte died, 290 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 1: the thirteen living children of King George the Third and 291 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:58,680 Speaker 1: Queen Charlotte had weathered unhappy childhood's, illicit relationships, family drama, 292 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: and unsuccessful marriages. They were almost all immature, impetuous, sheltered, 293 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:11,199 Speaker 1: scandal ridden, and altogether uniquely unsuited for the responsibility of 294 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: carrying on the family line. Unfortunately, their family and their 295 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 1: country now desperately needed them to produce an air. As 296 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: we enter into the frenzied royal marriage market of eighteen eighteen, 297 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: let's review our not so eligible bachelors. As all of 298 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: the princesses were past childbearing age, the focus was exclusively 299 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: on the princes. Of the seven living sons, four were 300 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: already married but with no living or legitimate issue. That 301 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 1: left us with three middle aged dukes on the hunt 302 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: for princesses, William, Duke of Clarence, Edward, Duke of Kent, 303 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: and Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. One other brother, Ernst Duke 304 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: of Cumberland, had recently married Frederica of Mecklenburg Strelitz, a 305 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: German princess who had previously broken the heart of one 306 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:13,679 Speaker 1: of Ernest's younger brothers. Queen Charlotte hated Frederica because of 307 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: this rejection and refused to accept her into court. Ernest 308 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: himself was a deeply controversial figure, accused at various times 309 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: of murder, incest, and election interference, all of which I 310 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: discussed on this podcast. Seems like ages ago, truly in 311 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: the episode the Butler in the Bedroom with a Saber. 312 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: If you're wondering why I've covered so many HANNOVERI intangents 313 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: on this podcast, it is because there are just so 314 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,919 Speaker 1: many scandals. But the Cumberlands were not thought of often 315 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 1: during the succession crisis due to their unpopularity, and though 316 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: they would eventually have children, they were low in the 317 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: line of succession. They would later become the rulers of Hannover. 318 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,399 Speaker 1: But back to our bachelor's Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge was 319 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,960 Speaker 1: the youngest of the bunch at forty three. He had 320 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:10,920 Speaker 1: had no serious romantic attachments, suffered no notable scandals, and 321 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:16,119 Speaker 1: was lively musical and energetic relative to his brother's quite 322 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: a catch. His older brother William, had asked Adolphus to 323 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 1: find him a bride shortly after Charlotte's death, and when 324 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 1: Adolphus wrote to William about a young Princess Augusta of 325 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: hes Cassell, his description was so glowing that William declared 326 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,439 Speaker 1: Adolphus ought to marry Augusta himself. Adolphus happily took his 327 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,119 Speaker 1: brother up on the offer, and the couple was married 328 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: in May eighteen eighteen. They returned to England three weeks later, 329 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: where the twenty year old bride, who spoke almost no English, 330 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: was overwhelmed to be greeted by throngs of cheering crowds 331 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: at Dover. William, Duke of Clarence, turned his attention to 332 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 1: Princess Adelaide of Sacksmen, again twenty seven years younger than 333 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:06,639 Speaker 1: he was. Adelaide was said to be plain and sax 334 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 1: Mine again was a poor principality, but she was practical 335 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: and kind hearted, even willing to take the Duke's ten 336 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:19,440 Speaker 1: illegitimate children under her wing. William, if you recall it, 337 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: was the former navy man, and he had spent much 338 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: of his life frittering away his privileges. But he seemed 339 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,960 Speaker 1: to come into a new sense of responsibility in the 340 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,199 Speaker 1: presence of his young bride. Quote I cannot, I will not, 341 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 1: I must not ill use her, he wrote to his 342 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:41,199 Speaker 1: eldest illegitimate son, George FitzClarence. In March eighteen eighteen. He 343 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: considered calling off the marriage entirely, but the promise of 344 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: an increased allowance from Parliament, as well as the prospect 345 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: of a stepmother for his many children, whose mother, the 346 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,400 Speaker 1: actress Dorothea Jordan, had died in eighteen sixteen, was too 347 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:01,680 Speaker 1: tempting to resist. In July, Adelaide and her mother traveled 348 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: to England and prepared for the wedding ceremony, which would 349 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: be a double They were all in such a rush 350 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 1: to get married and have legitimate children that William was 351 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: married alongside his younger brother, Edward, Duke of Kent. Edward, 352 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: now nearing fifty, was the most straight laced of the brothers. 353 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:26,120 Speaker 1: He did not drink or gamble, though he still regularly 354 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 1: exceeded his income, spending extravagantly on renovations to his estates 355 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: and ealing in Knightsbridge. He had spent time in the military, 356 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: but his career ended in humiliation after the soldiers under 357 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: his command in Gibraltar mutinied over his decision to close 358 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:48,400 Speaker 1: the city's wine shops. At the time of Princess Charlotte's death, 359 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: he was living in Brussels with his longtime mistress Julie St. Laurent, 360 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 1: but marriage had been on his mind for some time 361 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: and it was likely the only way to settle his debts. 362 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: He even traveled to Russia in eighteen sixteen to meet 363 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 1: one perspective bride, but he deemed her too old, even 364 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: though she was eight years younger than he was. After 365 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:14,160 Speaker 1: Charlotte's death, Edward renewed his hunt for a bride, this 366 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: time with an unlikely wingman, Prince Leopold, Princess Charlotte's widower. 367 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,560 Speaker 1: Leopold thought he knew just the right woman for Edward 368 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: his own sister, Victoire, Dowager, Princess of line Engen. Victoire 369 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,120 Speaker 1: had married the Crown Prince of line Engen, twenty three 370 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: years her senior, when she was seventeen, and she had 371 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: had two children with him before she was widowed eleven 372 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:46,400 Speaker 1: years later. Like her brother Leopold, Victoire had glossy, dark hair, 373 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 1: fine features, and a tall frame. Edward went to visit 374 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,159 Speaker 1: her in line Engen, a German principality where Victoire was 375 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: serving as regent for her ten year old son Carl, 376 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 1: and he proposed only days leader. At first, Victoire was resistant. 377 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,679 Speaker 1: She had a good life in Germany, and she spoke 378 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,880 Speaker 1: no English, and she felt no strong connection to the 379 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: English duke nearly two decades older than her, who I 380 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: guess was her brother's ex uncle in law. More than 381 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: any of that, she worried that marriage to Edward might 382 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: mean losing custody of her children in Germany. But Leopold, 383 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: the widower, hoping to retain his place in the English 384 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: royal family after his wife's death, worked hard to encourage 385 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: his sister. Eventually, after Edward pledged that Victoire would not 386 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: lose her children, she accepted his proposal. In January eighteen eighteen, 387 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: She wrote to him, quote, I am leaving an agreeable, 388 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,239 Speaker 1: independent physician in the hope that your affection will be 389 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:57,200 Speaker 1: my reward unquote. Edward delightedly replied that he would do 390 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: everything he could to make her happy, and also assured 391 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,880 Speaker 1: her that his relationship with his mistress, Julie Sant Laurent 392 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: was over. As indeed it was He had given his 393 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: partner of twenty plus years a modest pension and set 394 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: her off to Paris, where she quietly mourned her lost love. 395 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 1: Edward and Victoire, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, were 396 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: married in Germany, and then they traveled in England for 397 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: the double wedding with William and Adelaide, the Duke and 398 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,720 Speaker 1: Duchess of Clarence. Now with four royal couples able to 399 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 1: have children, the Clarences, the Kent's, the Cumberland's and the 400 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: Cambridges in order of succession, the public eagerly awaited news 401 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: of incoming airs. They didn't have to wait long. By 402 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: late eighteen eighteen, all four duchesses were visibly pregnant. On 403 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: March eighteen, nineteen augusta Duke of Cambridge gave birth to 404 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: a son. The baby was an enormous relief and delight 405 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: to the royal family and public alike. Though the Duke 406 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,240 Speaker 1: of Cambridge was the youngest brother of these four, meaning 407 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: that any children his elder brothers might have would now 408 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 1: supplant his son in the line of succession, and Air 409 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: was an heir and the handover line was now secured. 410 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: The very next day, Adelaide, Duchess of Clarence, went into 411 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: premature labor. The Clarences were at the top of the 412 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: line of succession, at least among the couples who could 413 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: have children at this point. Unfortunately, though their baby, a 414 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: girl they named Charlotte, lived only a few hours following 415 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: her premature birth. The Kents received the news of the 416 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: Cambridge's joy and the Clarence's sorrow while en route to England. 417 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 1: Edward strongly believed that his child would inherit the throne, 418 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: and he wanted the baby to be born in England, 419 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 1: as he felt this would strengthen the English people's support 420 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 1: for his child's claim, and so in late March, Edward 421 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 1: and the eight months pregnant Victoire embarked on an arduous, 422 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: month long journey from their home where they were living 423 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: in Germany, to England. They had so little money that 424 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 1: the Duke himself drove their carriage to save costs. The 425 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 1: rest of the trip was paid for by various supporters. 426 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: The Prince Regent, Edward's brother, refused to help, until fearing 427 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,479 Speaker 1: bad press, he offered the couple the use of the 428 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: Royal yacht to cross the English Channel. The Kents arrived 429 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 1: at Kensington Palace in late April to find the palace 430 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,520 Speaker 1: in disarray. Their apartments had not been used in five 431 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: years because they were living in Germany. The walls were 432 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:50,000 Speaker 1: dripping with damp and rot. Edward immediately began a program 433 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: of refurbishment, spending more than two thousand pounds to kid 434 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,479 Speaker 1: out the place, while Victoire prepared for the birth with 435 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: her German ladies in waiting and a j a Men 436 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: physician Charlotte von Seybold, a female physician. On May twenty second, 437 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: Edward completed his renovation projects. The very next evening, Victoire 438 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: went into labor at four am. On May twenty four, 439 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen, the Duchess gave birth to a healthy baby girl. 440 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 1: Over the next few years, other children would be born 441 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 1: to the Cambridges and the Cumberlands, but none would surpass 442 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: the Kent's daughter in the order of succession. Adelaide, Duchess 443 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: of Clarence, suffered a number of miscarriages. In late eighteen twenty, 444 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: she gave birth six weeks early to an apparently healthy baby, 445 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: but the girl, named Elizabeth, lived only five months. The 446 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: Clarences would never have another surviving child together. Fortunately, their 447 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 1: marriage was a happy one. Adelaide proved a calming influence 448 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,880 Speaker 1: on William, and she enjoyed warm relationships with his ten 449 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,560 Speaker 1: illegitimate children, as well as relationships with her nieces and nephews. 450 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: She was particularly close to the Kent's daughter, once writing 451 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,560 Speaker 1: to Victoire, quote, my children are dead, but your child lives, 452 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 1: and she is mine too unquote. So who was this 453 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,160 Speaker 1: beloved little Kent girl? On June twenty four, two months 454 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:27,120 Speaker 1: after her birth, the Prince Regent hosted a christening ceremony 455 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,120 Speaker 1: for her at Kensington Palace. Though the Prince Regent was 456 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,360 Speaker 1: glad to see the family line renewed, the site of 457 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,840 Speaker 1: the healthy baby girl brought to mind his lost daughter 458 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: Charlotte and her stillborn child, and he couldn't help but 459 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 1: resent the Kents their happiness. His pain bubbled over at 460 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,960 Speaker 1: the christening, where he told the shock parents that he 461 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: would be choosing the baby's name. As the Archbishop of 462 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,880 Speaker 1: Canterbury held the infant over the baptismal font, the Regent 463 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:03,960 Speaker 1: wavered back and forth before choosing Alexandrina. After the infant sponsor, 464 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:09,520 Speaker 1: Czar Alexander of Russia, Victori, the baby's mother, burst into 465 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,600 Speaker 1: tears at this. She had given up her homeland and 466 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: her native tongue to become an English duchess, and in 467 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 1: return she was being denied the chance to name her 468 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 1: own daughter. The Prince Regent relented lively, declaring give her 469 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:26,840 Speaker 1: the mother's name also then, but it cannot proceed that 470 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:32,200 Speaker 1: of the Emperor. The baby was thus christened Alexandrina Victoria, 471 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:38,120 Speaker 1: though today we of course know her best as Queen Victoria. 472 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:46,360 Speaker 1: The path to the throne would not be a smooth 473 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: one for the young Victoria. Her family had little money 474 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 1: to begin with, relatively speaking, and they were put in 475 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 1: an even more precarious position after her father unexpectedly died 476 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: of pneumonia in January eight teen twenty, when she was 477 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 1: still an infant. But the Kent's persevered, and eventually, after 478 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:10,600 Speaker 1: the deaths of Victoria's grandfather, George the Third, her eldest 479 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:13,879 Speaker 1: uncle George the Fourth, and then another uncle, the Duke 480 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:17,799 Speaker 1: of Clarence a k a. King William the Fourth, Victoria 481 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:24,240 Speaker 1: would become Queen of England, and Queen Victoria, perhaps intrinsically 482 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,879 Speaker 1: understanding the need to play the odds when it came 483 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 1: to royal children, would go on to have nine children 484 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:36,439 Speaker 1: of her own. The Hanover line had lived to rule 485 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:49,880 Speaker 1: another day. That's the story of the succession crisis of 486 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,400 Speaker 1: eighteen seventeen. But keep listening after a brief sponsor break 487 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,359 Speaker 1: to hear a little bit more about the journey of 488 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:09,680 Speaker 1: pregnant Victory to deliver her baby on English soil. To 489 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: keep her baby safe while on the dangerous journey to England. 490 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 1: In April eighteen nineteen, the heavily pregnant Duchess of Kent, 491 00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 1: Victoire had enlisted the help of a well regarded physician, 492 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,920 Speaker 1: Charlotte von Seybold. Sebald was a prominent figure in the 493 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:29,399 Speaker 1: German medical community, the daughter of two physicians, her mother, 494 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:32,799 Speaker 1: Regina von Seybold, was the first woman to receive a 495 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:39,040 Speaker 1: university degree in Germany. Like Regina, Charlotte attended university, receiving 496 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:43,560 Speaker 1: her degree in obstetrics from Geeseing University in eighteen seventeen. 497 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,319 Speaker 1: Though Victoire was required to have British doctors at her 498 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,920 Speaker 1: side during the birth, she also insisted on having von 499 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 1: Siebold present, perhaps in part because she was well aware 500 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:59,200 Speaker 1: of the way that British male physicians had so grossly 501 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:05,279 Speaker 1: mismannered Princess Charlotte's tragic fatal childbirth. It would be Von 502 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,200 Speaker 1: Siebold who helped Victoire labor and Von Siebald who would 503 00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:13,319 Speaker 1: announce the birth of the healthy baby girl on May 504 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:17,400 Speaker 1: twenty four, eighteen nineteen. After the birth, Von Siebald stayed 505 00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:20,920 Speaker 1: in England for several more months before returning to Germany 506 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:25,440 Speaker 1: to deliver another royal infant. This baby was born on 507 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:30,840 Speaker 1: August six, eighteen nineteen, in Schlas Rosenau to Earnest the 508 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 1: third Duke of Saxe Coburg Softfield and Louise of Saxe 509 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,840 Speaker 1: Coburg Altenburg. The delighted parents named their baby boy Francis 510 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 1: Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, but he went simply by Albert. 511 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 1: This baby would grow up to be Albert of Saxe 512 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:56,319 Speaker 1: Coburg and Gotha, the kindly patient prince, who would on 513 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:21,880 Speaker 1: February eighteen forty Mary Queen Victoria. Noble Blood is a 514 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:25,000 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from 515 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:29,960 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danishwartz. Additional 516 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:34,640 Speaker 1: writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, Hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, 517 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:38,440 Speaker 1: Courtney Sunder and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by 518 00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:43,520 Speaker 1: rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive 519 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:47,799 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more 520 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,600 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 521 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,960 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.