Charles & Maria

The following contains not just one but two Royal Romances. Both romances were affected by religion and money. At least one of them surely qualifies as the most romantic "marriage" of all time.

The sums mentioned have all been updated to modern equivalents.

BACKGROUND.

Those who like the film 'The Madness of King George' may recall the scene where the (now sane) monarch forces Prince Charles, his son, to put aside his wife, Maria Fitzherbert.

In the film the Prince had wanted to become Regent (a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor or is absent or incapacitated). The Whigs also wanted this.

The scene relates to 2 Acts of Parliament.

The first is the Act of Settlement 1701 barred the spouse of a Catholic from succeeding to the British throne.

The 2nd was the Royal Marriages Act 1772. This act required the prior approval of King and the Privy Council for all royal marriages.

PRINCE FREDERICK

But Prince George wasn't the only of King George III's sons to ignore these statutes.

On 4 April 1793 - In Rome, Prince Augustus Frederick secretly married Lady Augusta Murray without the King's knowledge or consent.

The King sent his Minister of Hanover Affairs to Italy to escort the Prince back to London.

On 5 Dec 1793 the couple married again at St George's, Westminster. This marriage also took place without the knowledge or consent, of the King.

In Aug 1794, the Court of Arches pronounced the Prince's first marriage null and void as it had not been approved by the King.

The Prince continued to live with Lady Augusta. They even had 2 children together.

In 1801, the Prince received a parliamentary grant of £50,000 and the couple separated.

Lady Augusta retained custody of their children and received maintenance of £12,000 a year.

On 24 Nov 1801 the King created Prince Frederick as Duke of Sussex (Duke is the highest rank of the British nobility).

That however wasn't as dramatic as the true history of Prince Charles (not the same Prince Charles who became our present monarch).

PRINCE GEORGE MEETS MARIA FITZHERBERT.

Maria was twice widowed.

In July 1775, the French convent educated Maria (18) had married Edward Weld, the 34 year old owner of Lulworth Castle.

In Oct 1775 Weld died after a fall from his horse. He failed to sign his new will. His estate therefore went to his younger brother, Thomas. Edward Weld's brother had fathered 15 children, including the future Cardinal Weld.

Maria was effectively destitute. She had little financial support from the Weld family. She needed to remarry as soon as she was able.

In 1778, Mary married Thomas Fitzherbert. He was ten years her senior. They had a son who died young.

On 7 May 1781 Maria was widowed again. Thomas Fitzherbert left her an annuity of £158,000 and a town house in Park Street, Mayfair.

Maria soon entered London high society ans was introduced to the

21 year Prince Charles. He became infatuated with 27 year old Maria Fitzherbert.

She had 2 major disadvantages. Firstly, unlike Lady Augusta Murray, Maria was a commoner. Being a commoner to the status obsessed British people was bad. At the time this Protestant nation was constantly afraid of the Pope. What made things worse was that Maria was a devout Roman Catholic.

SECRET MARRIAGE

On 15 Dec 1785 the Prince and Maria were married at Maria's Mayfair house. As before, legally, the union was void, as the King's consent was not granted (and had never even requested).

But Maria believed that she was the Prince's canonical and true wife. She believed that the law of the Church was superior to the law of the State.

Maria had powerful support for her belief in Church over State. Her nephew from her first marriage, Cardinal Weld, persuaded Pope Pius VII to declare the marriage 'sacramentally valid'.

However Maria promised not to reveal that she and the Prince were married.

SCANDAL.

In Spring 1786, covert allusions to the marriage appeared in the press. Several satirical prints also depicted the clandestine marriage.

The revelation of the illegal marriage to a Catholic would have scandalised the nation. Using Prince George's authority, the Whig leader Charles Fox declared that the story was 'a calumny' (a false, slanderous and defamatory statement made in order to damage someone's reputation)

Maria was not pleased with this public denial of the marriage in such vehement terms. She contemplated severing her ties to Prince George. He appeased her by getting another Whig to restate Fox's forceful declaration in more careful words.

On account of the Whig leader's falsehood, Parliament granted the Prince £26,000,000 to pay his debts and £10,000,000 for improvements to Carlton House.

THE TRUTH

The 'Madness' film tells only a fraction of the truth. For Maria was a longtime companion of George. She was with him while he was Prince of Wales, she was with him when he became Regent. Indeed some thought she was bearing his child at that time.

The film suggests that King George III recovered from his illness / madness. In fact he became a danger to himself and his eldest son did become Regent.

When Prince George became King George IV, Maria still supported (the man who she considered to be) her husband.

THE TIMELINE

In 1784, Maria was introduced to George, then only the Prince of Wales. He was six years younger than Maria. The Prince became infatuated with her. He pursued her endlessly. Eventually she agreed to marry him.

On 15 Dec 1785 - Secretly, they married in the drawing room of her house by the prince's Chaplains in Ordinary. George had previously paid off the Chaplain's £80,000 debts to release him from Fleet Prison.

Had consent been given and the marriage been legal, the Prince of Wales would have been automatically removed from the succession to the British throne. His brother, the Duke of York, would become the heir-apparent. So it was best not to ask for permission.

On 23 June 1794, the Prince informed Maria (by a letter) that their relationship was over. The letter also told her of his intention to marry Duchess Caroline of Brunswick.

George told the Duke of York that Maria and he had "parted, but parted amicably".

There was a financial element to this break up. Prince George had debts of £87 million. They would be paid off on the day he wed. It was the only way out of a hole.

On 8 Apr 1795 the Prince married Duchess Caroline.

On 7 Jan 1796, Caroline gave birth to their daughter.

On 10 Jan 1796 George wrote his last will and testament.

He bequeathed all his worldly property to "my Maria, my wife, the wife of my heart and soul, (who) could not avail herself publicly of that name. In the eyes of Heaven, she was, is, and ever will be such".

In Summer 1798 (separated from Caroline for good and bored with his mistress) the Prince sought a reconciliation with his "second self"

In 1811 as Regent, George invited Maria to the Carlton House Fête. She refused to attend because she would be seated at a lower table.

GEORGE BECOMES KING

For the first few years of his reign, whenever George mentioned Maria it was "with feelings of disgust and horror". He claimed that their union "was an artificial marriage... for there could be none without a licence or some written document."

MY SUPPOSITION

The King may have bad-mouthed Maria to pacify people who feared that he would rekindle his romance with a Catholic. It was also possible that he resented Maria's veiled threats to go public about his love documents. These threats often accompanied Maria's demands for annuity payments.

GEORGE'S LOVE LASTED UNTO DEATH

In June 1830 the King was dying. He eagerly seized her "get well soon" letter. After reading it, he placed it under his pillow. The world (including Maria) had no idea just how ill he was. Not realising why George hadn't responded, Maria was deeply hurt.

The King asked to be buried with Maria's eye miniature around his neck, This was done.

On 26 June 1830, it was discovered that George had kept all of Maria's letters. They were destroyed.

King William IV begged Maria to accept the title of Duchess. She refused, asking only permission to wear widow's weeds and to dress her servants in royal livery.

TODAY

Members of the Wyatt family claim to being descendants of George IV by her.

The memorial sculpture in the nave of St John the Baptist's Church, Brighton (which she mainly funded) shows her wearing three wedding rings.

In my opinion this is a clear sign of her matrimonial love for George.