The Royal Birth of 1817

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, 1817 


Last week’s birth of George Alexander Louis to Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, made headlines around the globe. Though the future can be anyone’s guess, baby Prince George seems destined to become the King of England one day. He is the third in the line of succession to the current monarch Queen Elizabeth II, following his grandfather Prince Charles and his father Prince William.

There was also a royal birth during the Regency era. But that birth, which occurred almost 200 years ago, was a cause for mourning instead of celebration. It also also concerned the birth of an heir, and what happened had far-reaching consequences.

Before we get to the birth, though, we have to start with a royal wedding. In May of 1816, Princess Charlotte, daughter and only child of the Prince Regent, cajoled her father into allowing her to marry the man of her own choosing, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. It was a happy occasion that led to what was by all accounts a happy marriage, though it was all too brief. 

Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold
attending the opera 


By the fall of 1817 Charlotte and Leopold were expecting a baby. Charlotte went into labor on November 5. The baby, a boy, was stillborn. And several hours later, at 2:30 a.m. on November 6, Charlotte herself died. She was only 21 years old.  

This event shocked not only the Prince Regent but the nation as well, and plunged everyone into mourning. Ordinary folk grieved for the young princess; linen drapers sold out of their stock of black cloth and even the poor wore black armbands. The Lord Chamberlain ordered widespread mourning attire for the court, decreeing that ladies were to wear black bombazine and muslin, with black crepe accessories. Gentlemen had to wear black clothes and plain cravats, with black accessories all the way down to their shoe buckles.

Two months of deepest mourning were observed before ladies of the court were permitted to transition to half-mourning, which included black silk garments with white accessories and grey dresses and men’s coats. It took several more months before mourning was lifted and bright colors and luxurious fabrics could be worn once again.

An engraving of Princess Charlotte,
supposedly based on a portrait of her by
Sir Thomas Lawrence. She is believed to have
posed for this in the last days of her life


But the deaths of Princess Charlotte and her royal baby were more than a tragedy for those who loved her; it meant that the line of succession was broken. The Prince Regent was 55 when his daughter died and he had no other legitimate heirs. He was unhappily married to Caroline of Brunswick and could barely tolerate the sight of her. The chances of their union producing another royal heir were nil.

To make matters worse, none of his equally middle-aged brothers had legitimate heirs, though some of them had sired plenty of illegitimate children. This situation propelled a royal race to produce a legitimate heir, preferably male. 

The Prince Regent had fourteen brothers and sisters; the ones most involved in the race to beget an heir were the Prince’s eldest brothers: Frederick, William and Edward. Frederick, who’d been married since 1791, had no children. The other two men did their best to answer the royal call of duty and secure the succession. In 1818 William and Edward dismissed their respective mistresses and got married. Only Edward's marriage produced a child, but the baby born in 1819 was a girl. 


A portrait of King William IV,  1833 


When the Prince Regent became King George IV in 1820 and later died in 1830, he was succeeded by his brother William, the former Duke of Clarence, who was 64 years old. (The next in line to the throne, Frederick, had died three years earlier in 1827.)

And since William IV had no legal heirs (though he had 10 illegitimate children with his mistress, the actress Dorothea Jordan) when he died in 1837 the only legitimate heir that could be scrounged up was an 18-year-old girl, Edward's daughter who'd been born back in 1819. Edward himself had died in 1820.

You may have heard of this girl. Her name was Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, and as Queen Victoria she went on to reign longer than any other British monarch in history or indeed any female monarch ever. Victoria’s reign lasted 63 years; Queen Elizabeth II only has to add a few more years to her reign to beat Victoria’s record.

A postcard photo of Queen Victoria,
around the time of her Golden Jubilee
in 1887 


Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children, and their line has been blessed with many descendants. One of those descendants is little Prince George, who is Queen Victoria’s fifth great-grandson. The fact that this royal baby may one day be another King George, just like his ancestor the Prince Regent, gives this modern-day royal birth another echo of the Regency.


A photo of Prince George Alexander Louis
 in the arms of his mother, Catherine,
the Duchess of Cambridge, July 2013


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Sources:
  • Laudermilk, Sharon and Hamlin, Teresa L. The Regency Companion, Garland Publishing Inc., New York & London, 1989.
  • Priestley, J.B. The Prince of Pleasure and his Regency 1811-20, Harper & Row, New York and Evanston, 1969.

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Pistols for Two, Breakfast for One – Part 2

"Eugene Onegin and Vladimir Lensky's duel", illustration by Ilya Repin 

 
No discussion of early 19th century duels would be complete without a mention of the Burr-Hamilton duel, even though it took place across the pond in the newly-liberated American colonies. Alexander Hamilton was a close friend of George Washington and a leader among the Federalist party; Aaron Burr was the Vice President of the United States and leader of the Democrats.

The enmity between the two men went back many years, but the immediate cause of the quarrel was a letter Hamilton wrote in which he described Burr as a “dangerous man” who “ought not to be trusted with the reins of government.” Burr demanded a retraction, and when that didn't happen he challenged Hamilton to a duel. They met at Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11, 1804.

According to contemporary accounts, Hamilton took the first shot and fired into the air above Burr’s head. Burr fired back at Hamilton, hitting him in the stomach.  Mortally wounded, Hamilton died the next day. Though Burr was charged with murder in both New Jersey and New York he was never brought to trial. However, the duel effectively killed his political career, though he did serve out his term as vice president.

 
The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr

Though duelists were typically male, more than one pair of women picked up pistols or swords to settle an argument. In 1792 Lady Almeria Braddock challenged Mrs. Elphinstone to a duel in Hyde Park. The cause of their quarrel hinged on the question of Lady Almeria’s age. In true mean girl fashion, Mrs. Elphinstone complimented Lady Almeria on how well she looked - given how old she was.

According to the account in Robert Baldick’s fine book, The Duel, a History, Mrs. Elphinstone began her taunts by using the past tense to describe her friend’s beauty. “You have a very good autumnal face even now,” she added, “but you must acknowledge the lilies and roses are somewhat faded. Forty years ago, I am told, a young fellow could hardly gaze on you with impunity.”

Lady Almeria protested that she was not yet 30, which was overdoing it a bit. Mrs. Elphinstone cited Collins, a source similar to Burke’s Peerage, for proof that Lady Almeria was born in 1732, which would have pegged her age at about 60. What else could Lady Almeria do but challenge Mrs. Elphinstone to a duel?

In what came to be known as the “petticoat duel,” the two women started by firing pistols, and Lady Almeria’s hat was the first casualty. They fought on with swords, and the duel continued until Lady Almeria nicked Mrs. Elphinstone in her arm. At the sight of her own blood Mrs. Elphinstone agreed to write an apology to Lady Almeria, and the duel ended.

The moral here is that some “facts” should be accepted without too close a scrutiny, especially when it comes to a woman’s age.

"The Duel of Women" by artist Jusepe de Ribera, 1636


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Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Pistols for Two, Breakfast for One – Part 1



If you read Regency romances chances are you will sooner or later be drawn into a duel, or at least an account of one. Though it was illegal, dueling was a popular way for Regency males to display their athletic prowess, respond to an insult or settle a debt of honor.

In the 18th century, duels were often fought in London’s Hyde Park. But as the city grew, Primrose Hill (and nearby Chalk Farm) to the north of London became a popular spot for these sometimes deadly encounters. Primrose Hill was a wooded area, remote from the city but still easy to reach by carriage. According to the Camden History Society, at least seven duelists died on or in the vicinity of Primrose Hill from 1790 to 1837, with 25 exchanges of gunfire recorded.

Duels were fought for the slimmest of reasons. In 1803 one man died and another was severely wounded in a duel that was apparently the result of a disagreement between two dogs. Apparently Lieutenant-Colonel Montgomery and Captain Macnamara were walking their dogs in Hyde Park when one of the canines “snarled and growled” at the other. The two officers, who’d never even met previously, went to Chalk Farm to settle the matter. 

I don’t know what happened to the dogs, but the colonel was killed in the ensuing duel and the captain was seriously injured. Captain Macnamara was later tried for murder at the old Bailey but was acquitted.

Portrait of Thomas Moore by an unknown artist. 


In 1806 the poet Thomas Moore took umbrage at some bad reviews of his work and challenged the editor of the Edinburgh Review, Francis Jeffrey, to a duel. The two men were arrested before the duel could take place. It may not have mattered if the duel had proceeded; contemporary accounts suggest that the dueling pistols were loaded with blank cartridges.

Moore also wanted to fight Lord Byron for Byron’s criticism of his work, but Byron went abroad and by the time he came back to England Moore’s emotions had cooled. The two poets eventually became friends.

Even the Duke of Wellington fought a duel, when he was 59 years old and the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Wellington had voted in favor of the Catholic Relief Bill, which allowed Catholics to hold seats in Parliament. The Earl of Winchilsea, a staunch Protestant, accused Wellington of an “insidious design” to infringe on the liberties of British citizens, and also slammed Wellington for the “introduction of Popery into every department of the state.”

Wellington couldn't let this attack on his integrity go unanswered, and so he challenged Winchilsea to a duel at Battersea Fields in the south of London on March 23, 1829. Wellington deloped (fired his pistol into the air) and Winchilsea did the same when it was his turn. No one was hurt and honor was satisfied. 

Come back next week for Part 2 of Pistols for Two, Breakfast for One. 


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Sources for this article include: 

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Fascinated by Fascinators

 Caricature by Isaac Cruikshank, satirizing the
fashions of high-society Parisiennes, 1799

Have you ever worn a fascinator? It’s similar to a hat, minus the traditional crown or brim. It's usually worn at a rakish angle, and it can feature a small attached veil and/or feathers, ribbons, jewels or other types of trim. I think of it as a hat's less-inhibited, cheeky cousin - lighter and more fun. 

Although currently popular, fascinators in some form have existed for centuries. During the Regency and even earlier, women often wore jeweled headbands in their coiffures and added ornaments such as ostrich plumes or flowers.  

Similar hat-alternatives are worn today, and they are nowhere more in evidence than at the annual Royal Ascot races in Berkshire, England. In fact, hats for women are part of the dress code for this event, which dates back to 1711. The tradition of wearing flamboyant hats to the Ascot races was highlighted in the Ascot Gavotte scene in the 1964 movie My Fair Lady. The hats designed by Cecil Beaton were so large it was hard to see who was under them!

Today's attendees at the races wear similar outrageous headgear, both as fascinators or as oversize hats:
 
A race watcher in the Royal Enclosure
at the 2009 Ascot races.

The younger British royals favor fascinators, too. Here's a photo of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, wearing a fascinator to the 2011 Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa:

Photo by Pat Pilon

Likewise, Princess Beatrice of York has several fascinators in her closet, including this one that she wore in April of 2012 to a Maundy Thursday service:



Princess Beatrice is also famous for wearing this fascinator, designed by Philip Treacy, to the royal wedding of her cousin Prince William to Kate Middleton: 




To me, Princess Beatrice's fascinator and the others on this page look like direct descendants of the type of headgear Marie Antoinette perched on her head.


A portrait of Marie Antoinette,
circa 1779 by Charles Emmanuel Patas 


What do you think? Are fascinators silly or high fashion? Let me know in the comments.

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Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Regency Superhero: Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, 1758–1805,
by Lemuel Francis Abbott., dated 1800.
Note the empty sleeve pinned to his chest.
 


You may not think that a one-armed, one-eyed man born the son of a poor country parson could be a hero, but to the English populace in 1805 Admiral Lord Nelson was nothing less than a superhero.

From the last years of the 18th century well into the 19th, England was locked in a titanic struggle with Napoleon. During these war years, especially 1803 to 1805, the French Emperor planned to invade England. All of Britain was on high alert, especially those who lived in the coastal areas.  


Cartoon satirizing Napoleon's plans to invade Britain,
from the early 19th century.


In the autumn of 1805 Napoleon teamed his French Navy with the Spanish Navy, with the goal of clearing the English Channel of any Royal Navy ships so an invasion could take place. In what came to be known as the Battle of Trafalgar, a Franco-Spanish flotilla of 33 ships sailed north around Cape Trafalgar, at the southwest tip of Spain, on October 21. They were met and soundly defeated by 27 British vessels under Nelson's command. While 23 ships in the French and Spanish fleets were lost in the battle, not a single British ship was sunk. It was a decisive victory, establishing Great Britain's mastery of the seas around its islands and extinguishing any threat of a French invasion.

However, there was a heart-breaking loss for the British forces that day – a French sniper mortally wounded Nelson, who was standing on-board the H.M.S. Victory in full regalia. Legend has it that the French sniper was able to spot his target because of the medals on Nelson’s chest.

The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard
Shrouds of the Victory
, by J.M.W. Turner, c. 1806


It took weeks for news of the victory and Nelson’s death to reach England. His grieving crew returned Nelson’s body (preserved in a brandy-filled cask tied to the mainmast of the Victory) to England in November, and in January of 1806 a massive state funeral was held for the fallen hero. His funeral was held in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Rites included his coffin being transported in a barge on the River Thames and a huge procession through London, with 32 admirals, over a hundred captains and 10,000 soldiers among the participants.

6 Fun Facts about Nelson
  1. He suffered from seasickness all his life.
  2. Nelson was tough, part 1: In May 1794 in Corsica he was hit in the face with rocks and other debris caused by a shell exploding near him. It almost killed him, and in fact he was blinded in his right eye. His journal entry for the day was “I got a little hurt this morning.”
  3. Nelson was tough, part 2: His right arm was hit by a musket ball while coming ashore on the Spanish island of Tenerife in July 1797. Doctors had to amputate his arm, but according to contemporary accounts in naval journals he was giving orders again only 30 minutes after the surgery.
  4. Although was married, he had a widely-known adulterous affair with Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British envoy to the King and Queen of Naples. Among Nelson’s last words, which he uttered upon realizing he’d been mortally wounded during the Battle of Trafalgar, were “Take care of poor Lady Hamilton.” 
  5. His defeat of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in August of 1798 inspired a craze for ancient Egyptian decorations in England. This fad peaked in 1810. Furnishings that typified the style included tables that were supported by sphinxes and sarcophagus-shaped cellarets (a cabinet used to cool wine bottles). Motifs featuring crocodiles, lions, sphinx heads and serpents were used liberally as well.  
  6. Famous phrase attributed to Nelson (it was actually transmitted to the fleet by signal flags from the deck of the H.M.S. Victory prior to Battle of Trafalgar): “England Expects Every Man To Do His Duty.”


Monument to Nelson in London's
Trafalgar Square, completed in 1843. 


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Sources
  • The Regency Companion, by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa Hamlin, Garland Publishing Inc. , New York & London, 1989
  • “Lord Nelson returned to work half an hour after losing arm“,  by Alastair Jamieson, The TelegraphOctober 28, 2009
  • The Wars of Napoleon, West Point Military History Series, written by Albert Sidney Britt II, series edited by Thomas E. Griess, Avery Publishing Group Inc., Wayne New Jersey, 1985
  • “Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson”, Wikipedia

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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