error. Walpole had a great respect for him and used
to say he was the only man in Parliament whose
•price he did not know. Shippen on his part de-
clared : " Robin and I are two honest men, he is
for King George and I am for King James, but
these men in long cravats only desire place under
King George or King James ". Parliament, having
duly passed the Civil List, was dissolved by the
King in person, who had one great advantage over
his father in that he was able to read his speeches
in English, albeit with a broad German accent.
Walpole now had it all his own way. All the old
King's Ministers were kept in office, even the Duke
of Newcastle whom the King had especially hated —
all, that is, except Lord Berkeley, who was forced
to resign in consequence of the Queen having found
in the late King's cabinet a paper (of which mention
has already been made) containing a plan to kidnap
the Prince of Wales and send him off to America.
Berkeley, who had drawn up the document, found
VOL. II. 2
i8 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
it convenient to withdraw to the Continent. No
other changes of importance were made. Malpas
was reinstated ; Yonge had to remain out of office
for a little time longer, but was eventually given
a small post.
The Jacobites had always expected that the
death of George the First would, in some way,
benefit the Stuart cause — in what way it is not
clear, for George the Second when Prince of
Wales was less unpopular than his father. But
the Jacobites hugged the hope that the death of
the first Hanoverian king would plunge the country
into confusion, and so it might have done, if
George the First had not been so inconsiderate
as to die at a moment when the Jacobites were
in great confusion themselves. For the last two or
three years James's little court had been distracted
by internal jealousies and intrigues. Lord Mar,
who superseded Bolingbroke. had, notwithstanding
all his services, been superseded by Hay, whom
James appointed his Secretary of State and created
Earl of Inverness. Hay had a wife, who shared in
these barren honours, which, it was said, she had done
much to win. Her brother, Murray, James created
Earl of Dunbar. This trio, of whom the lady was
the most arrogant, entirely governed James, who,
like a true Stuart, was swayed by favourites. They
created great dissatisfaction at his court. It was
not long before his consort, Clementina, who was
a princess of great beauty and virtue, but extremely
high-spirited, had cause to complain of the insolence
THE NEW REIGN 19
of Inverness and his wife. It was said that Lady-
Inverness was James's mistress, and colour was lent
to the rumour by the fact that Clementina insisted
upon her dismissal from her court. James refused,
and she withdrew from her husband's palace and
retired to the convent of St. Cecilia at Rome. A
long correspondence ensued between James and
Clementina, but she declined to return unless Lady
Inverness was dismissed, and so brought about a
virtual separation. This domestic scandal did great
harm to the Stuart cause amongr the Roman Catholic
princes of Europe, all of whom warmly espoused
Clementina's side. The Emperor, who was her
kinsman, was highly displeased, the Queen of Spain,
who was her friend, was indignant, the Jacobites
in England were divided amongst themselves, and
in Scotland James's followers fell off everywhere in
numbers and in zeal. The strongest representations
were made to James from every side, but for a long
time he turned a deaf ear to them all. At last, after
protracted negotiations, he accepted Inverness's
resignation and Lady Inverness went with her hus-
band. Clementina agreed to leave her convent and
rejoin her husband who was then at Bologna. She
was actually on the road when the news arrived of
George the First's death. Immediately all domestic
considerations were swallowed up in the political
necessities of the moment.
Seeing the advisability of being nearer England
at this crisis, James set out from Bologna on the
pretext of meeting his consort, but turning back
20 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
half-way, he posted with all speed to Lorraine. As
soon as he arrived at Nancy in Lorraine he sent a
messenger to Atterbury, who was acting as his
agent in Paris, another to Lord Orrery, his agent
in London, and a third to Lockhart at Liege, who
was acting as his agent for Scotland. James had
no lack of courage, and was anxious to set out
for the Highlands at once, thouo-h he had neither
a settled scheme nor promise of foreign aid. But
the news he received from the north of the Tweed
was discouraging, and the despatches from Eng-
land were worse. Lord Strafford wrote to him ^
saying that the tide in favour of the *' Prince and
Princess of Hanover," as he called them, was too
strong at present for the Jacobites to resist, and it
would be better to wait until dissatisfaction broke
out again, which he anticipated would not be long.
" I am convinced," he wrote, "that the same violent
and corrupt measures taken by the father will be
pursued by the son, who is passionate, proud, and
peevish, and though he talks of ruling by himself,
he will just be governed as his father was. But his
declarations that he will make no distinction of
parties, and his turning off the Germans make him
popular at present." Strafford, like many others,
made the mistake of leaving Queen Caroline out of
his calculations.
It was impossible for James to stay in Lorraine,
for the French Government, at the instigation of
Walpole, ordered the Duke of Lorraine to expel the
1 The Earl of Strafford to James, 21st June, 1727.
THE NEW REIGN 21
" Pretender " from his territory. The duke, who was
only a vassal of France, was forced to obey, and urged
his unwelcome ^uest to leave Lorraine within three
days. So James withdrew under protest. " In my
present situation," he wrote to Atterbury, " I cannot
pretend to do anything essential for my interest, and
all that remains is that the world should see that
I have done my part."^ It must be admitted that
he was ready to do it bravely.
James first sought refuge in the Papal State of
Avignon, but here again the relentless English
Government, acting through the French, managed to
hunt him out, and the following year the heir of our
Stuart Kings was forced to return a fugitive to Italy.
He was joined by Clementina and afterwards lived
harmoniously with her. Unfortunate in all else,
James was at least fortunate in his consort, for all
authorities unite in praising her grace and goodness,
her talents and charity.
The immediate danger of a Jacobite rising was
thus warded off, but so long as James and his two
sons lived the House of Hanover could not enjoy
undisputed title to the throne of England. In
these early days, as Caroline knew well, it behoved
the princes of the new dynasty to walk warily and
court the popular goodwill, for there was always
an alternative king in James, who by a turn of
Fortune's wheel might find himself upon the throne
of his fathers. Though the official world and most
of those in high places were all for the Hanoverian
^ James to Atterbury, gth August, 1727.
22 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
succession, and though Walpole had the means to
corrupt members of Parliament and buy constituen-
cies as he would, yet the heart of the people remained
very tender towards the exiled royal family and felt
a profound compassion for their misfortunes.
The excitement consequent on the new reign
continued for some months, and the King, not
having had time to make himself enemies, was,
to outward semblance, popular. A good deal was
due to interested motives. The court was crowded
with personages struggling for place. Lord Orrery
wrote to James inveighing bitterly against "the
civility, ignorance and poor spirit of our nobility
and gentry, striving who shall sell themselves at the
best price to the court, but resolved to sell them-
selves at any ". Yet he is constrained to add :
" There do not appear to be many discontented
people ".^ Pope, too, who was now quite out of favour
at court, wrote to a friend that the new reign " has
put the whole world into a new state ; but," he adds
enviously, "the only use I have, shall, or wish to
make of it, is to observe the disparity of men from
themselves in a week's time ; desultory leaping and
catching of new modes, new manners and that
strong spirit of life with which men, broken and dis-
appointed, resume their hopes, their solicitations,
their ambitions". The political Jeremiahs of the
time bewailed the wholesale trafficking in places,
and the universal corruption. The King hijnself
did not set a high example of public or private
' Lord Orrery to James, August, 1727.
THE NEW REIGN 23
honesty ; he had wrung the highest sum he could
from ParHament for his Civil List, and at one of his
early Councils he distinguished himself by an act
which can only be described as dishonest. The
timid and time-serving Archbishop of Canterbury,
old Dr. Wake, produced the late King's will,
which had been entrusted to him, and handed it to
George, fully expecting him to open it and read
it to the Council. The King took it without a
word, put it into his pocket, and walked out of the
room. The Archbishop was so taken aback at
this proceeding, that neither he nor the other
privy councillors present raised a word in protest.
George probably burnt the will after reading it,
in any case it was never seen again. But the old
King, who probably feared that some such fate
would befall his testament, had taken the precaution
to make a second copy, which he entrusted to the
safe keeping of his cousin, the Duke of Wolfenbiittel.
The duke soon intimated this fact to the new King
of England, and at the same time hinted that he
had no wish to make matters disagreeable (which
he could easily do if he wished, for the King and
Queen of Prussia were furious), if his silence
were made worth his while. George took the
hint, and despatched a messenger to Wolfenbiittel
promising the duke a subsidy. In return the
messenger brought back the duplicate of the will,
and this too was destroyed.
The only excuse that can be urged for the King's
conduct, which probably defrauded among others his
24 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
sister, the Queen of Prussia, and his son Prince
Frederick, was that George the First had treated the
will of his consort, Sophie Dorothea of Celle, in the
same way, to the detriment, it was suspected, of both
his son and his daughter. George the Second also,
when Electoral Prince of Hanover, had reason to be-
lieve that his father had unjustly deprived him of a
substantial inheritance which had been left him by
his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Celle. The
burning of wills seems to have been a peculiarity
of the Hanoverian family at this time, for a year
or two later, Frederick, Prince of Wales, accused
his father of destroying the will of his uncle
Ernest Augustus Duke of York and Bishop of
Osnabriick. He died a year after his brother,
Georofe the First, and both Prince Frederick and
the Queen of Prussia declared that they would have
largely benefited by his death had it not been for the
chicanery of George the Second. Queen Caroline
always stoutly denied this Imputation, and main-
tained that the Duke of York had nothing to leave,
except ^50,000 which he left to his nephew King
George, and his jewels which he bequeathed to
his niece the Queen of Prussia, to whom they were
immediately sent. But neither the King nor the
Queen of Prussia were satisfied with this explana-
tion, and they also had a further dispute with
George about the French possessions of his mother,
Sophie Dorothea, which she had inherited through
her mother, Eleonore d'Olbreuse, who was de-
scended from an ancient Huguenot family of Poitou.
THE NEW REIGN 25
The person who probably lost most by the de-
struction of George the First's will was the Duchess
of Kendal, but she did not venture to lift her voice in
protest. George the Second no doubt felt that she
had amassed more than she deserved during the late
King's lifetime, and if he allowed her to remain in
peaceable possession of her plunder it was as much
as she had any right to expect. The duchess
seems to have thought so too, but her daughter,
Lady Walsingham, who was also the late King's
daughter, was not so complaisant. When a few
years later Lord Chesterfield married her in the
belief that she was a great heiress (in which hope he
was disappointed), she confided to him that George
the First had left her ^40,000 in his will, which
had never been paid. Lord Chesterfield, who was
then out of favour at court and had no hope of
regaining it, instituted, or threatened to institute,
legal proceedings to recover the legacy. The case
never came into court, for half the sum, ^20,000, was
offered, and accepted, as a compromise.
The aged Duchess of Kendal was the only
person in the world who really mourned the late
King. Within a week of his death George the First
was as completely forgotten as though he had never
been ; the only reminder of his reign was the official
mourning. The Duchess of Kendal had accom-
panied him on his last journey, but, being indisposed
by the sea voyage, she had tarried at the Hague a day
to recover, and, like Lord Townshend, was follow-
ing the King on the road to Hanover, when a
26 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
messenger rode up to her coach with the tidings of
his death. The duchess was overwhelmed with
grief ; she beat her breast, tore her hair, and rent
the air with her cries. But her sorrow did not get
the better of her prudence, for, not being sure of the
reception that awaited her from the new King, she
resolved to remove herself from his Hanoverian
dominions, and repaired to the neighbouring territory
of Wolfenbiittel. Her fears proved to be ground-
less, for Queen Caroline harboured towards the
ex-mistress no feelings of ill-will, and it followed
that the King did not either. On the contrary,
Caroline had liked the duchess, who, unlike Lady
Darlington, was no mischief-maker, and had person-
ally interceded with George the First, though un-
successfully, to restore her children to the Princess.
Moreover she was such an old-established institution
that Caroline had come to look upon her almost in
the light of the late King's wife. The Queen
wrote the following letter to her within a fortnight
of George the First's death : —
" Kensington, June 25th, 1727.
" My first thought, my dear Duchess, has been
of you in the misfortune that has befallen us ; I
know well your devotion and love for the late King,
and I fear for your health ; only the resignation which
you have always shown to the divine will can
sustain you under such a loss. I wish I could con-
vey to you how much I feel for you, and how
anxious I am about your health, but it is impossible
for me to do so adequately. I cannot tell you how
THE NEW REIGN 27
greatly this trouble has affected me. I had the honour
of knowing the late King, you know that to know
him was sufficient to make one love him also. I
know that you always tried to render good service
to the King (George II.) ; he knows it too, and will
remember it himself to you by letter. I hope you
realise that I am your friend, it is my pleasure and
my duty to rem.ind you of the fact and to tell you
that I and the King will always be glad to do all we
can to help you. Write to me, I pray you, and give
me an opportunity to show how much I love you. —
Caroline."
It is impossible to accept literally these expres-
sions of affection. Allowing for exaggeration they
do credit to Caroline's heart, but the letter was
probably dictated as much by prudence as by
sympathy, for the Duchess of Kendal was then at
Wolfenbiittel, and the Duke of Wolfenbiittel had
the duplicate of the late King's will. Caroline was
anxious to avoid a family scandal, for she knew by
experience how bad these things were for the
dynasty, and in the negotiations which passed
between George the Second and the duke it is
probable that the Duchess of Kendal played a
part, though it is improbable that she received any
portion of the subsidy. That matters were amicably
arranged is shown by the fact that a few months
later the duchess returned to England, and took up
her abode at Kendal House, Twickenham, where
she lived in comfortable retirement until the end of
28 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
her days. She no longer appeared at court, but
the King and Queen would never permit her to be
molested in any way — so she may be said to have
enjoyed their protection. She made a cult of her
George's memory, dressing always as a widow and
wearing the deepest weeds. She was of a pious, not
to say superstitious, turn of mind, and declared that
George the First had told her that his devotion was
so great that he would return to her even after death.
So one day when a raven hopped in at the window
the bereaved duchess took it into her head that this
was the reincarnation of the dead King. She captured
the bird, put it into a golden cage, kept it always
by her, and provided for it in her will. Her death
took place in 1743, at the advanced age of eighty-
five years. Her wealth was divided among her
German relations, and Kendal House was converted
into a tea garden and afterwards pulled down.
29
CHAPTER 11.
THE QUEEN AND WALPOLE.
George the First was burled at Herrenhausen in
accordance with his expressed wish. His funeral
did not take place until some three months after
his death, and the new King was represented at
it by his uncle the Duke of York. His decision
not to go to Hanover for his father's obsequies
gave rise to much satisfaction in England, and this
combined with his summary dismissal of the Han-
overian favourites was quoted as a proof of his
English predilections.
The court mourning came to an end soon after
the funeral, and preparations were pushed forward
with all speed for the coronation. George the
Second determined that it should be a pageant
from which no splendid detail was missing. The
King and Queen ordered robes of extraordinary rich-
ness, but Caroline was badly off for jewels. Queen
Anne had possessed a great number of beautiful
gems, but Schulemburg, Kielmansegge, and the other
German favourites had so despoiled Anne's jewel-
chest, that nothing was left for the new Queen but
a solitary pearl necklace. Caroline, however, rose
to the occasion and gathered together for the coro-
30 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
nation not only all her personal jewels which went
to make her crown, but many more. When the
great dav arrived she appeared, we are told, wearing
"on her head and shoulders all the pearls she could
borrow from ladies of quality from one end of the
town, and on her petticoat all the diamonds she
could hire of the Jews and jewellers at the other".
The coronation of King George the Second
and Queen Caroline took place on October nth,
1727, with all the solemnity suitable for the occasion,
and more than the usual magnificence. The day
was gloriously fine, and multitudes of people lined
the gaily decorated streets. Caroline was the first
Queen Consort to be crowned at Westminster
Abbey since Anne of Denmark, consort of James
the First, from whose daughter Elizabeth the
House of Hanover derived its title to the British
Crown. The coincidence was hailed as a propitious
omen. The Queens-Consort subsequent to Anne
of Denmark had been Roman Catholics, and Anne
and Mary the Second were Queens-Regnant. Caro-
line was determined that she would not be relegated
to the background, and, so far as circumstances
permitted, the ceremonial at this coronation followed
more closely that of William and Mary than
of James the First and Anne of Denmark. Yet
Mary was a Queen-Regnant who placed all her
power in her husband's hands ; Caroline was a
Queen-Consort who took all her power from her
husband's hands. No two women could be more
unlike.
THE QUEEN AND WALPOLE 31
On the day of the coronation the King and
Queen set out from St, James's Palace before nine
o'clock in the morning. The King went to West-
minster Hall direct. The Queen, who put on
everything new for the occasion "even to her shift,"
was carried down through St, James's Park in her
chair to Black Rod's Room in the House of Lords.
There she was vested in her state robes, and waited
until the officials came to escort her to Westminster
Hall. She took her place there by the King's side at
the upper end of the hall, seated like him in a chair
of state under a golden canopy ; the Queen's chair
was to the left of the King's. The ceremony of pre-
senting the sword and spurs was then gone through,
and the Dean and Canons of Westminster arrived
from the Abbey bearing the Bible and part of the re-
galia. The King's regalia was St. Edward's crown,
borne upon a cushion of cloth of gold, the orb with
the cross, the sceptre with the dove, the sceptre with
the cross, and St. Edward's staff. The Queen's
regalia consisted of her crown, her sceptre with the
cross, and the ivory rod with the dove. All these
were severally presented to their Majesties, and
then delivered to the lords who were commissioned
to bear them.
At noon a procession on foot was formed
from Westminster Hall to the Abbey. A way had
been raised for the purpose, floored with boards,
covered with blue cloth, and railed on either side.
The procession was headed by a military band,
and began with the King's herb woman and her
32 CAROLINE THE ILLUSTRIOUS
maids who strewed flowers and sweet herbs. It was
composed in order of precedence from the smallest
officials (even the organ blower was not forgotten)
up to the great officers of state. The peers and
peeresses wearing their robes of state and carry-
ing their coronets in their hands walked in this
procession in order mete, from the barons and
baronesses up to the dukes and duchesses. The
Lord Privy Seal, the Archbishop of York and the
Lord High Chancellor followed. Then, after an
interval of a few paces came the Queen, preceded
by her crown which was borne by the Duke of St.
Albans. The Queen was supported on either side
by the Bishops of Winchester and London, and she
majestically walked alone " in her royal robes of
purple velvet, richly furred with ermine, having a
circle of gold set with large jewels upon her Ma-
jesty's head, going under a canopy borne by the
Barons of the Cinque Ports, forty gentlemen pen-
sioners going on the outsides of the canopy, and the
Serjeants of arms attending ".^ The Queen's train
was borne by the Princess Royal and the Princesses
Amelia and Caroline, who were vested in purple
robes of state, with circles on their heads ; their
coronets were borne behind them by three peers.
The princesses were followed by the four ladies of
the Queen's Household, the Duchess of Dorset, the
' "A particular account of the solemnities used at the Corona-
tion of His Sacred Majesty King George II. and of his Royal Consort
Queen Caroline on Wednesday the nth October, 1727," London,
1760. From the pamphlet the other particulars of the coronation
are taken.
THE QUEEN AND WALPOLE 33
Countess of Sussex, Mrs. Herbert and Mrs. Howard.
Immediately after the Queen's procession came the
Bishop of Coventry bearing the Holy Bible on a
velvet cushion. Then, under a canopy of cloth of
gold, walked "His Sacred Majesty, King George
n., in his royal robes of crimson velvet, furred with
ermine and bordered with gold lace, wearing on his
head a cap of estate of crimson velvet, adorned with
large jewels, and turned up with ermine ". The
King was supported on either side by bishops, and
his train was borne by four eldest sons of noblemen
and the Master of the Robes, and he was followed by
a numerous and splendid company of officials. At
the great west door of the Abbey the procession
was met by the Archb shop of Canterbury, the Dean
of Westminster and other ecclesiastical dignitaries.
It moved slowly up the nave to the singing of an
anthem.
The King and Queen seated themselves on
chairs of state, facing the altar, and the coronation
service, which is really an interpolation in the office
of Holy Communion, began. The Archbishop pro-
ceeded with the Communion service until the Nicene
Creed, after which a special sermon was preached by
the Bishop of Oxford. The sermon over, the King
subscribed the Declaration against Transubstantia-
tion and took the Coronation Oath.
The King then approached the altar, and knelt
to be crowned. He was anointed by the Archbishop
of Canterbury upon his head, his breast, and the