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Queen had insisted that she and Pergami travel in a coach and that he. was riding beside the coach in attendance when he saw an act of misconduct. There were

other witnesses to prove that the Countess Oldi had travelled in the coach with

them and that Sacchi had also ridden in a coach and not on horseback.

Rastelli, another bribed witness, had further stories to tell. These Brougham

was not able to refute at the time but he had hopes of doing so.

He called on the Countess Oldi who had come to England with Caroline and

knowing her devotion to the Queen— and moreover she was the sister of Pergami

— he thought she would be a good witness.

She was distressed because of the cruel things which were being said about

the Queen.

‘So untrue,’ she cried. ‘So untrue.’

It was clear that she had a great affection for Caroline.

Should he call her? She was a foreigner, and it would be good to have an

Italian who had a good word to say for the Queen. But she was Pergami’s sister—

what effect would that have?

‘Of course,’ said Brougham, ‘people did go in and out of the Queen’s

bedroom.’

‘Never at any time,’ declared the Countess.

‘I thought the manners of the country might make this permissible.’

‘Never on any occasion.’

‘But it has been proved that people did wander in and out of Her Majesty’s

bedroom rather freely.’

‘Never at any time.’

She had learned her phrase, he realized; and she was going to stick to it,

having decided that only by denying everything could she serve the Queen.

Brougham imagined her in the hands of the Crown.

She would do as much harm to his cause as Majocchi had done to the other

side.

He decided not to call her.

His great opportunity came when he proposed to recall the man Rastelli and

heard that the Crown had sent him back to Italy.

What a sensation when the cry went up ‘Call Rastelli’ and the Crown had to

admit that he had returned to Italy.

Brougham was a man to make the most of his opportunities. He wondered

why the man had been sent back. He had questions to ask him which he very

much doubted the fellow would be able to answer to the satisfaction of the court.

Was it not strange that he should have been sent away at such a time?

It was indeed strange, Lord Liverpool admitted. It was highly culpable; it was

iniquitous.

From that moment Brougham knew he had won his case.

————————

Denman summed up the case for the Queen brilliantly until he came to the

end of his speech.

‘I know that rumours are abroad of the most vague but at the same time of the

most injurious character. I have heard them even as we are defending Her Majesty

against charges which compared with these rumours are clear, comprehensible

and tangible— There are persons and these not of the lowest condition, nor

confined to individuals connected with the public press— not even excluded from

this august assembly— who are industriously circulating the most odious and

atrocious calumnies against Her Majesty— To a man who could even be

suspected of so base a practice as whispering calumnies to judges— distilling

leprous venom into the cars of jurors— the Queen might well exclaim:
Come

forward, thou slanderer and let me see thy face. If thou wouldst equate the

respectability of an Italian witness come forth and depose in open court

—’
Denman gazed contemptuously at the King’s supporters. ‘
As thou art, thou art
worse than an Italian assassin.
’

He went on declaiming the injuries the Queen had suffered and he had the

sympathy of the court for he spoke with touching eloquence; but unfortunately as

he neared the end of his speech he gave his listeners the opportunity to ridicule and this they seized eagerly.

He who the sword of Heaven will bear

Should be as holy as severe.

‘And if your lordships have been furnished with powers which I might almost

say scarcely omniscience itself possesses, to arrive at the secrets of this female, you will think that it is your duty to imitate the justice, beneficence and wisdom of that benignant Being who, not in a case like this when innocence is manifest

but when guilt was detected and vice revealed said:
If no accuser can come forward to condemn thee, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more
.’

It was a brilliant speech; no case had been proved against Caroline but

Denman could not have chosen a peroratio which would have so delighted the

people.

There was a new song now to replace that of
Non mi ricordo
. It was:

Gracious Queen, we thee implore,

Go away and sin no more.

But if that effort be too great,

Go away— at any rate.

Poor Denman was furious with himself. But Brougham was not displeased.

He knew that they had won.

————————

There was still the Bill of Pains and Penalties. It passed through the House of

Lords with a majority of twenty-eight.

If, reasoned Brougham, that Bill was passed in spite of the fact that the Queen

could not be proved guilty of adultery, the first part of the Bill to exclude the Queen from her rights might still be put into force.

He called on Lord Liverpool.

‘If this Bill is passed,’ he said, ‘this will not be the end. We have had an

enquiry into the Queen’s private life, what if there is an enquiry into the King’s?’

‘He has had his mistresses as most Kings have,’ began Liverpool.

‘This is not so much a matter of mistresses as of wives. There is a strong

suspicion that as Heir Apparent, the King went through a form of marriage with

Maria Fitzherbert, and in the Act of Succession since the lady is a Catholic, this could mean losing the Crown.’

Liverpool understood. The Bill must not be passed.

On its next reading, it received only a majority of nine in the Lords

‘This is the end of the Bill,’ said Brougham to Denman. ‘We’ve won, man.

They’ll never attempt to pass it through the Commons.’

He was right. Lord Liverpool withdrew his Bill. The Queen was acquitted.

Through the cheering crowds, she drove to Brandenburg House.

CAROLINE called Lady Anne Hamilton to her. ‘You see me— triumphant—’

she said, and she smiled wryly.

‘Is it the pain, Your Majesty?’

She nodded. ‘Give me the magnesia.’

Lady Anne brought the drug and Caroline mixed it with water herself.

‘And I’ll add a little laudanum,’ she said.

‘Your Majesty— is it wise to take so much?’

‘Well, my dear,’ she laughed. ‘When have I ever been wise?’

————————

The King was humiliated by the findings of the court. The Bill had been

thrown out. And he was still tied to that woman. Even Lady Conyngham found it

hard to console him. He was not feeling well; he was far too fat; he had the

Crown but life had lost its savour.

He stayed at Windsor. He wanted to shut himself away. He had no desire to

ride through the streets of London and suffer the further humiliation of having

mud thrown at his carriage and overhear the remarks he guessed the people would

make at his expense.

How different, he thought, from what he had dreamed in his youth. Then he

had been Prince Charming and everywhere he went the people applauded him.

They had preferred him to his old dull father. What a King he will make! they

said. And here he was— the King— skulking at Windsor, afraid to enter his

capital, thinking sadly of the trail of scandal which marked his progress from

Prince Charming to Prince Regent and King George IV.

It was dear Lady Conyngham who brought him comfort as usual.

She had changed the furniture in his bedroom a little and confessed to him

that she had been very bold.

‘Change what you will,’ he said fondly. ‘What pleases you pleases me.’

She sat beside him and they played a game of patience.

She said: ‘I have heard that the people are not so much for the Queen as they

were. They all believe she
was
guilty, of course.’

‘They cheer here wherever she goes.’

‘They are singing:
Go away and sin no more.’

‘Then they have changed.’

‘They always knew she was guilty only it wasn’t possible to prove it. I think

they would like to see their King.’

‘You imagine them all to be as fond of him as you are,’ he told her

indulgently.

But as they retired to bed, he thought: The public is fickle. Perhaps they are

changing towards her. The enthusiasm was due to the impression that had been

given by her supporters that she was a persecuted woman.

Surely they must see that she was not the woman they would want for their

Queen. Whereas he was, in spite of his corpulence— until the doctors had

persuaded him to abandon his corsets which he knew for the best while he

regretted the result— a magnificent figure.

It was time he had a coronation. Perhaps he would go to the theatre and see

how he was received.

‘Your Majesty is thoughtful,’ said Lady Conygham.

He patted her shoulder. ‘As usual, my dear,’ he said, ‘you have succeeded in

comforting me.’

————————

The people were pleased to see him and because they now began to believe

that Caroline was guilty of infidelity and that he had come rather badly out of the trial they felt a little more affectionate towards him. He was a splendid figure and always would be; and he did look grand and imposing with the great diamond star

flashing on his chest.

It was time he gave them a coronation and coronations were great occasions

when there was feasting and revelry and everyone enjoyed life.

So cheers for the King and let him be crowned soon, and they would all turn

out to sing: ‘God save the King’.

He was deeply moved. He smiled and waved and showed his pleasure— and

the more he showed his pleasure the more they cheered.

He stood in his box at Drury Lane and received the ovation. Bowing, his band

on his heart, the tears of emotion visible on his cheeks, he loved his people. And, temporarily, they were prepared to love him.

————————

Preparations for the Coronation had begun and London was in a state of

excitement.

‘And what of the Queen?’ they asked each other. ‘She is not going to be

crowned. More trouble!’

When the King rode out they called after him: ‘Where’s your, wife, George?’

But it was asked with bantering affection and no mud was thrown at the royal

carriage.

But Caroline in Brandenburg House was determined to attend the Coronation.

She wrote to Lord Liverpool to tell him so.

Her Majesty feels under the necessity to establish herself in England and communicates to
Lord Liverpool that the Queen intends to be present at the Coronation and request him to present
the enclosed letter to His Majesty,

The letter to which she referred was addressed to the King and in it she asked

him to command which ladies he desired should attend her on Coronation Day

and in what dress he wished her to appear.

Lord Liverpool replied that it was the King’s determination to receive no

communication from her and she was to form no part of the ceremonial of the

coronation.

Caroline’s reply was curt and to the point.

The Queen is much surprised— and assures the Earl that Her Majesty is determined to attend
the Coronation; the Queen considers it one of her rights and privileges which she is determined to
maintain.

This was the state of affairs as Coronation Day grew nearer. The Queen was

determined to attend; and the King determined that she should not.

————————

July 19 1821! The day when His Majesty King George IV was to be crowned.

The previous day he had left Carlton House in a closed carriage to spend the night at the Speaker’s House and next morning the procession assembled in

Westminster Hall for the walk to the Abbey.

When the King appeared, there was a gasp of admiration. One observer

remarked that he was ‘a being buried in satin, feathers and diamonds’. He could

always be relied upon to give a good performance on occasions such as this and

the people who had waited in the streets since the early morning were not going to be disappointed.

The procession was led by the King’s herb woman and six of her assistants.