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Malmesbury took the first opportunity of talking to Mrs. Harcourt and telling

her of his fears. Mrs. Harcourt had, of course, been aware of Caroline’s failing

and she told the Earl that she was doing all in her power to lure the Princess to cleaner habits.

‘Pray do so,’ begged the Earl, ‘or I fear for the results.’

‘My lord Earl,’ replied Mrs. Harcourt, ‘I think your anxiety over these matters

has made you a little blind to our Princess’s virtues. I am sure the Prince will love her. She is so affectionate and good-natured. And you will agree that her desire to please everyone is most engaging.’

‘I recognize these virtues and I hope they will make up for the defects.’

‘Oh, but she is so lovable. And have you noticed a slight resemblance to

Maria Fitzherbert— when Maria was young, I mean? I am sure it is there. That in

itself would endear her to His Highness.’

‘I had not noticed,’ replied Malmesbury. ‘And certainly there is a great

difference in the characters of these two ladies. If Her Highness possessed one

half the dignity, the regality of Mrs. Fitzherbert—’

‘Ah, but she is so sweet-tempered and affable. I am sure she will please

everyone.’

There was one person who would be very pleased, Mrs. Harcourt was sure,

and that was Lady Jersey. But it was impossible to be with the Princess without

feeling sympathy for her and Mrs. Harcourt genuinely did find her affable and

affectionate.

She was well aware that these qualities would not carry her far with His Royal

Highness the Prince of Wales. But the more she saw of the Princess, the more

Mrs. Harcourt liked her and by the time they set sail for England she shared a

little of Malmesbury’s desire to launch the Princess happily.

————————

The Duchess clasped her daughter in her arms.

‘Goodbye, my daughter. May happiness be yours. Tell the King of England

that I think of him often and I remember the happy days when we were children

together. Tell him how happy I am to see my daughter heir to the throne—

Princess of Wales— Queen of England.’

‘It would be scarcely kind to mention that, Mamma, because he has to die

before I can be, hasn’t he?’

‘Don’t be so frivolous, Caroline. The King won’t like it. Remember he said he

hoped you had not too much vivacity, and would be prepared for a quiet life.’

Caroline pouted. ‘I shall be myself and His Majesty will have to put up with

me.’

‘Ob, my dear child, when will you learn? Well, you are married now and

nothing can alter that and you are going to my dear— dear England. How I wish I

were going with you! Oh no, I don’t. I’m sure I should soon be quarrelling with

Charlotte. You will have to beware of Charlotte. I never liked her. She is sly and cunning and she will naturally hate you.’

Lord Malmesbury interrupted with apologies. It was time they left.

Caroline was not sorry to say goodbye to her mother, and she felt her spirits

lifted a little. It was a relief that the waiting was over. Very soon now she would see her husband and since she had heard so much about him she was beginning to

feel eager to start her married life. He was obviously a very fascinating

personality; and she was determined to do everything that would please him, even

endure a thorough bathing and changing her underclothes every day. They all

seemed to insist on that and though it seemed rather foolish to her, to please him she would do it. Often she looked at the picture which had been brought over for

her. He is undoubtedly very handsome, she thought. It will be pleasant to be

Princess of Wales and we shall have children.

Yes, she was beginning to look forward with pleasure to the prospect.

The cavalcade arrived at Stade and there they spent the night. Next morning,

at dawn, they sailed down the river to Cuxhaven where the English fleet lay in

residence. Caroline was touched to realize that these magnificent ships had come

from England to carry her to her new home.

As she boarded the
Jupiter
a royal salute was fired.

The journey to England had truly begun.

AFTER three days at sea the
Jupiter
arrived off the coast of Yarmouth.

Caroline, who was a good sailor, and had not suffered from seasickness as some

of the company had, was on deck to get the first glimpse of her new country but

all she saw was mist and the Captain told her that they could not land in such a

fog but must wait a few hours before proceeding to Harwich. She had chatted

familiarly with him throughout the voyage and he, like all the other officers on

board, found her charming.

‘There’s nothing haughty about the new Princess of Wales,’ was their

comment.

Lord Malmesbury looked on and saw much of his training dispensed with.

Often he heard her shrill laughter, noticed her coquettish glances at the men,

deplored her habit of making what he called ‘missish friendships’ with her

attendants and the habit into which she had slipped once more of calling her

maids, ‘my dear’, ‘my heart’, ‘my love’. It pleased them perhaps— but it was not

royal. And he heard too that Lady Jersey had been appointed as one of the ladies

of her bed-chamber. This was a cruel action on the part of the Prince, but he

supposed His Highness had been cajoled into it; and knowing something of that

lady, Malmesbury saw great trouble ahead for his Princess.

The Prince, however, was almost certain to be a little interested in his bride.

His love of women would surely arouse in him a certain curiosity and if he found

Caroline just a little to his taste he would be ready to be her lover, if only for a brief time,

The fog lifted and the
Jupiter
was soon sailing past Harwich; they anchored at the Nore and then next day sailed on to Gravesend.

There Caroline said goodbye to the captain and officers of the
Jupiter
in a most affectionate manner and boarded the royal yacht
Augusta
for the journey up the Thames to Greenwich.

Malmesbury was beside her as they came up the river eager to see the effect

the country had on her. The sight of those green fields touched him deeply.

Nowhere on Earth, he believed, was the grass so green. Caroline thought it

beautiful and for once seemed to find nothing to say as she gazed at those fields, shut in by their hedges, and the graceful houses with their gardens coming down

to the river’s edge; and as they came to Greenwich she could see the city’s

buildings on the skyline dominated by the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Now, thought the Earl, there should be members of the Prince’s household

waiting to greet his bride. He looked for them in vain.

So the Princess of Wales stepped ashore at Greenwich and found no one to

welcome her.

————————

As she sat in her carriage on the way to Greenwich, Lady Jersey was

contemplacently smiling.
We shall be at least an hour late,
she thought,
and that
is exactly as I would wish it to be.

She had in fact arranged that it should be so. Madam Princess would have to

learn quickly that the lady who ruled the Prince’s household was his mistress and there was going to be no change in that arrangement now that he had a wife.

She was sure there was nothing to fear from Caroline— if her information

was correct. The young woman was gauche, without grace and not particularly

clean. How that had amused her! To think of Malmesbury— that most urbane of

diplomats— finding it his duty to warn the Princess that she should take more

baths!

One day she would amuse the Prince with an imaginary account of the scene.

But not yet. She must tread carefully for a while. Let him learn that the creature disgusted him without— as he thought— her help.

She had whispered all sorts of information to him, gradually damning

Caroline, just as she had when she had had Maria Fitzherbert to deal with. Maria, aloof at Marble Hill, gave her greater cause for anxiety than the Princess of

Wales, for she knew that the Prince thought often of Maria.

However, she herself could still enthrall the Prince and she was going to keep

a tight hold of the leading reins by which at the moment she held him.

With her she had brought a change of costume for the Princess which she

herself had had made. She had had many descriptions of the Princess’s physical

appearance and had decided to dress her in white which would, Lady Jersey felt,

be the most unbecoming; she had brought with her a tightly fitting hat which

would hide Caroline’s hair because by all accounts it was beautiful. Lady Jersey

had it all cleverly planned.

She was amused now to see the discomfiture of her companions, Lord

Claremont and Colonel Greville, both of whom had been commissioned by the

Prince to meet the Princess and, with an escort of the Prince’s Own Light

Dragoons, escort her to St. James’s.

How they fidgeted; and they knew in their hearts that Lady Jersey had

deliberately delayed them so that the Princess might have the humiliation of being kept waiting.

———————

The Governor of the Hospital at Greenwich, Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser,

received Caroline and the company with the utmost grace, but he could not hide

the fact that he was uneasy because the escort had not arrived.

Malmesbury was deeply conscious of the reason for the delay and thought it

augured no good for Caroline’s future.

He was glad that he had warned her to be on her guard against women such

as Lady Jersey.

He was not displeased with the Princess who, since she had stepped ashore,

had behaved with some decorum This aught have been due to the fact that she

was nervous, but it was still admirable. She had been far too noisy on the
Jupiter
but it was true that she had endeared herself to the officers; and if she could win the approval of the people through her free manners perhaps they had some

virtue.

She looked charming, too. In fact he had rarely seen her look so well. The

clothes which she put on for this occasion had been chosen by Madame de

Hertzfeldt and Malmesbury was thankful for the good taste of that lady. Madame

de Hertzfeldt had made Caroline promise that she would wear these clothes for

her entry into England and although Caroline had thought them too quiet, she had

promised.

Madame de Hertzfeldt had chosen well. The muslin dress over the blue-

quilted satin petticoat was the most becoming color she could have chosen; it

gave a touch of blue to Caroline’s rather protruding pale green eyes which was

attractive; but it was the hat which did more for her than anything else. It was

black beaver trimmed with blue and black feathers; it shaded her face; it subdued the rather too high colouring; and it showed her pretty hair to advantage.

Presentable, thought the Earl.
I wonder whether she thought to change her

linen.

She stood at the window with the Earl beside her.

How much longer!
he wondered.
This is disgraceful. They should have been
an hour early to make sure of being here. I am sure the Prince would be most

displeased.

Sir Hugh was doing his best to entertain the Princess and she was already

becoming friendly towards him. She was quite comfortable, she said. She liked

looking around. And seeing some of the crippled pensioners in the courtyard

below the window, many of them having lost a limb, she said with a little laugh:

‘Tell me, do all the English lack a leg or an arm?’

Malmesbury saw Sir Hugh flinch and his lips tightened as he said with the

utmost severity: ‘Do not joke on such a matter, Madam, I beg of you.’

And Caroline was silent for a few moments and then to his relief he saw that

the first carriage had arrived. Lady Jersey alighted and came into the Hospital to greet the Princess on behalf of the Prince of Wales.

Caroline was all eagerness to see this woman of whom she had heard so

much. She was astonished. She had imagined some monster and there curtseying

before her, with the utmost display of homage, was the daintiest creature she had ever seen.

How pretty she is!
thought Caroline.

Lady Jersey was raising the most beautiful eyes Caroline had ever seen,

smiling charmingly. Could it be possible that she was a grandmother? How did

she remain so slender, so beautiful?

‘Your Highness, I have come to serve you.’