Ex Libris 
 K. OGDEN
 
 Cije Genuine 3Soofu 
 
 AN 
 
 INQUIRY, 
 
 OR 
 
 DELICATE INVESTIGATION 
 
 INTO 
 
 THE CONDUCT 
 
 OF 
 
 HER ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 
 THE PRINCESS OF WALES; 
 
 BEFORE 
 
 LORDS ERSKINE, SPENCER, GRENVILLE, AND 
 ELLENBOROUGH, 
 
 The Four Special Commissioners of Inquiry, 
 APPOINTED BY HIS MAJESTY IN THE YEAR 1806. 
 
 REPRINTED FROM AN AUTHENTIC COPY, SUPERINTENDED 
 THROUGH THE PRESS 
 
 By the Right Hon. SPENCER PERCEVAL. 
 
 OEUition. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY R. EDWARDS, CRANE COURT, FLEET STREET ; 
 
 And published by W. Lindsell, Wigmore Street ; 
 
 REPRINTED AND SOLD BY M. JONES, 
 
 5, NEWGATE-STREET. 
 
 * 4k 
 
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 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 many and so various have been the 
 impositions practised on public credulity 
 with regard to " The Book/' that it has 
 been deemed advisable to resort to an infal- 
 lible proof of the authenticity of the fol- 
 lowing pages, and place beyond a ques- 
 tion the fact of the whole being a correct 
 copy of the original suppressed " Book" 
 prepared for publication by the late Mr, 
 Perceval. 
 
 Thus the present Volume has been 
 printed line for line in correspondence with 
 the celebrated Edition of Mr. Edwards, 
 with its errors, as errataed by Mr. Perceval, 
 and its original imprint. 
 
 2000100
 

 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Pag* 
 
 XVEPORT of the Commissioners .......... 3 
 
 Letter from the Princess of Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 August 12, 1806 10 
 
 Note from the Princess of Wales to the Ix>rd Chancellor, 
 
 dated August 17, 1806 13 
 
 Letter from the Princess of Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 August 17, 1806 13 
 
 Note from the Lord Chancellor to the Princess of Wales, 
 
 dated August 20, 1806 . . ., 19 
 
 Note from the Lord Chancellor to the Princess of Wales, 
 
 dated August 24, 1800 20 
 
 Note from the Lord Chancellor ro the Princess of Wales, 
 
 dated August 29, 1806 21 
 
 Note from the Princess of Wales to the Lord Chancellor, 
 dated August 31, 1806 22 
 
 Note from the Lord Chancellor to the Princess of Wales, 
 datod September 2, 1806 24 
 
 Letter from the Princess of Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 October 2, 1806 25 
 
 Deposition of Thomas Manby, Esq. dated the 22d of 
 September, 1806 jgj 
 
 Deposition of Thomas Lawrence, Esq. dated the 24th of 
 September, 1806 182 
 
 Deposition of Thomas Edmeades, dated September 26, 
 1806 184 
 
 Memorandums of the Heads of Conversation between Lord 
 Moira, Mr. Lowten, and Mr. Edmeades, on the 14th of 
 May, 1806 187 
 
 Peposition of Jonathan Partridge, sworn on the 25th of 
 September, 1806 .191
 
 IV CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Deposition of Philip Krackeler and Robert Eagletone, 
 
 sworn on the 27th of September, 1806 1 92 
 
 Letter from the Princess of Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 the 8th of December, 1806 194 
 
 Note from the Lord Chancellor to the Princess of Wales, 
 
 dated January 28, 1807 199 
 
 Note from His Majesty to the Princess of Wales 199 
 
 Letter from the Princess *>f Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 January 29, 1307 r 202 
 
 Note from His Majesty to the Princess of Wales, dated 
 
 January 29, 1807 203 
 
 Note from His Majesty to the Princess of Wales, dated 
 
 February 10, 1807.. , 20* 
 
 Letter from the Princess of Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 February 12, 1807 ". 205 
 
 Letter from the Princess of \Vales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 February 16, 1807 206 
 
 Letter from the Princess of Wales to His Majesty, dated 
 
 March 5, 1807 .244
 
 CONTENTS. V 
 
 APPENDIX (A). 
 
 Page 
 Warrant, or Commission, authorising the Inquiry, dated 
 
 May 29, 1806 1 
 
 Deposition, of Charlotte Lady Douglas, s.w.orn June 1, 
 
 1806 2 
 
 Deposition of^ir John Douglas, sworn on the 6th of June, 
 
 1806 8 
 
 Deposition of Robert Bidgood, sworn on the 1st of June, 
 
 1806 9 
 
 Deposition of William Cole, sworn on the 6th of June, 
 
 1806 11 
 
 Deposition of Francis Lloyd, sworn on the 7th of June, 
 
 1806 13 
 
 Deposition of Mary Ann Wilson, sworn June?, 1806 .... 15 
 Deposition of Samuel Roberts, sworn on the 7th of June, 
 
 1806 -. 16 
 
 Deposition of Thomas Stikeman, sworn on the 7th of 
 
 June, 1806 17 
 
 Deposition of John Sicard, sworn on the 7th of June, 1806 . 20 
 Deposition of Charlotte Sander, sworn on the 7th of June, 
 
 1806 21 
 
 Deposition of Sophia Austin, sworn on the 7th of June, 
 
 1806 24 
 
 Letter from Earl Spencer to Lord Gwydir, dated June 20, 
 1806 25 
 
 Letter from Lord Gwydir to Earl Spencer, dated the 21st 
 of June, 1806 25 
 
 Letter from Lady Willoughby to Earl Spencer, dated the 
 21stof June, 1806 27 
 
 Extract from the Register of Births and Baptisms of 
 Children, born in Brownlow-street Lying-in Hospital, 
 dated the 23d of June, 1806 27
 
 vi CONTENTS, 
 
 Page 
 Deposition of Elizabeth Gosden, sworn the 23d of June, 
 
 1806 28 
 
 Deposition of Betty Townley, sworn the 23d of June . 29 
 
 . .. Thomas Edmeades, sworn the 25th day of 
 
 June, 1806 30 
 
 Deposition of Samuel Gillam Mills, sworn the 25th of 
 
 June, 1806 32 
 
 Deposition of Harriet Fitzgerald, sworn the 27th of June, 
 
 1806 38 
 
 Letter from Earl Spencer to Lord Gwydir, dated the 1st 
 
 of July, 1806 36 
 
 Letter from Lord Gwydir to Earl Spencer, dated the 3d of 
 
 July, 1806 37 
 
 Queries and Answers of Lord Gwydir .... 37 
 
 Robert Bidgood's further Deposition, sworn the 3d of 
 
 July, 1806 30 
 
 Deposition of Sir Francis Millman, sworn the 3d of July, 
 
 1806 41 
 
 Deposition of Mrs. Lisle, sworn on the 3d of July, 1806.- 42 
 Letter from Sir Francis Millman, dated the 4th of July, 
 
 1806 M 
 
 Deposition of Lord Cholmondeley, sworn on the 16th of 
 
 July, 1806 47
 
 CONTENTS. TU 
 
 APPENDIX (B.) 
 
 Page 
 
 Statement of Lady Douglas, signed on the 3d of Decem- 
 ber, 1805 49 
 
 Narrative of the Duke of Kent, signed on the 27th of 
 December, 1805 ... - 92 
 
 Examinations of Sarah Lampert and William Lampert 97 
 
 First Examination of William Cole, dated the llth of 
 January, 1806 .... 9$ 
 
 Second Examination of William Cole, dated the 14th of 
 January, 1806 ... - 100 
 
 Third Examination of William Cole, dated the 30th of 
 January, 1806 .... 102 
 
 Fourth Examination of William Cole, dated the 28d of 
 February, 1806 - - - 102 
 
 Examination of Robert Bidgood, dated the 4th of April, 
 1806 ... 103 
 
 Examination of Sarah Bidgood - - 106 
 
 Frances Lloyd, dated the 12th of May, 
 
 1806 107 
 
 B
 

 
 THE REPORT, 
 
 May it please your Majesty , 
 
 I OUR Majesty having been graciously pleased, 
 by an instrument under your Majesty's Royal 
 Sign Manual, a copy of which is annexed to this 
 Report, to " authorize, empower, and direct us 
 " to inquire into the truth of certain written 
 " declarations, touching the conduct of her 
 " Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, an 
 " abstract of which had been laid before your 
 " Majesty, and to examine upon oath such per- 
 " sons as we should see fit, touching and con-
 
 " earning the same, and to report to your 
 " Majesty the result of such examinations," We 
 have, in dutiful obedience to your Majesty's com- 
 mands, proceeded to examine the several witnesses, 
 the copies of whose depositions we have hereunto 
 annexed ; and, in further execution of the said 
 commands we now most respectfully submit to 
 your Majesty the report of these examinations 
 as it has appeared to us : But we beg leave at 
 the same lime humbly to refer your Majesty, 
 for more complete information,to the examinations 
 themselves, in order to correct any error of judg- 
 ment, into which we may have unintentionally 
 fallen, with respect to any part of this business. 
 On a reference to the above mentioned declara- 
 tions, as the necessary foundation of all our pro- 
 ceedings, we found that they consisted in certain 
 statements, which had been laid before his Royal 
 Highness the Prince of Wales, respecting the 
 conduct of her Royal Highness the Princess. 
 That these statements, not only, imputed to her 
 Royal Highness great impropriety and indecency 
 of behaviour, but expressly asserted, partly on 
 the ground of certain alledged declarations from 
 the Princess's own . mouth, and partly on the 
 personal observation of the informants, the fol- 
 lowing most important facts ; viz. That her 
 Royal Highness had been pregnant in the year 
 1802, in consequence of an illicit intercourse, 
 and that she had in the same year been secretly 
 delivered of a male child, which child had ever
 
 since that period been brought up by her Royal 
 Highness, in her own house, and under her imme- 
 diate inspection. 
 
 These allegations thus made, had, as we found 
 been followed by declarations from other persons, 
 who had not indeed spoken to the important 
 facts of the pregnancy or delivery of her Royal 
 Highness, but had related other particulars, in 
 themselves extremely suspicious, and still more 
 so when connected with the assertions already 
 mentioned. 
 
 In the painful situation, in which his Royal 
 Highness was placed, by these communications, 
 we learnt that his Royal Highness had adopted 
 the only course which could, in our judgment, 
 with propriety be followed. When informations 
 such as these, had been thus confidently alledged, 
 and particularly detailed, and had been in some 
 degree supported by collateral evidence, applying 
 to other points of the same nature (though going 
 to a far less extent.) one line only could be 
 pursued. 
 
 Every sentiment of duty to your Majesty, and 
 of concern for the public welfare, required that 
 these particulars should not be withheld from 
 your Majesty, to whom more particularly be- 
 longed the cognizance of a matter of State, so 
 nearly touching the honour of your Majesty's 
 Royal Family, and, by possibility, affecting the 
 Succession of your Majesty's crown.
 
 Your Majesty had been pleased, on your part, 
 to view the subject in the same light. Consider- 
 ing it as a matter which, on every account, de- 
 manded the most immediate investigation, your 
 Majesty had thought fit to commit into our hands 
 the duty of ascertaining, in the first instance, what 
 degree of credit was due to the informations, and 
 thereby enabling your Majesty to decide what 
 further conduct to adopt concerning them. 
 
 On this review therefore of the matters thus 
 alledged, and of the course hitherto pursued upon 
 them, we deemed it proper, in the first place, to 
 examine those persons in whose declarations the 
 occasion for this Inquiry had originated. Because 
 if they, on being examined upon oath, had retrac- 
 ted or varied their assertions, all necessity for 
 further investigation might possibly have been 
 precluded. 
 
 We accordingly first examined on oath the 
 principal informants, Sir John Douglas, and Char- 
 lotte his wife ; who both positively swore, the 
 former to his having observed the fact of the 
 pregnancy of her Royal Highness, and the latter 
 to all the important particulars contained in her 
 former declaration, and above referred to. Their 
 examinations are annexed to this Report, and are 
 circumstantial and positive. 
 
 The most material of those allegations, into the 
 truth of which we had been directed to inquire, 
 being thus far supported by the oath of the parties 
 from whom they had proceeded, we then felt it
 
 our duty to follow up the Inquiry by the examina- 
 tion of such other persons as we judged best able 
 to afford us information, as to the facts in ques- 
 tion. 
 
 We thought it beyond all doubt that, in this 
 course of inquiry, many particulars must be learnt 
 which would be necessarily conclusive on the 
 truth or falsehood of these declarations. So many 
 persons must have been witnesses to the appear- 
 ances of an actually existing pregnancy ; so many 
 circumstances must have been attendant upon a 
 real delivery ; and difficulties so numerous and 
 insurmountable must have been involved in any 
 attempt to account for the infant in question, as 
 the child of another woman, if it had been in 
 fact the child of the Princess; that we entertained 
 a full and confident expectation of arriving at 
 complete proof, either in the affirmative or nega- 
 tive, .on this part of the subject. 
 
 This expectation was not disappointed* We 
 are happy to declare to your Majesty our perfect 
 conviction that there is no foundation whatever 
 for believing that the child now with the Princeas 
 is the child of her Royal Highness, or that she 
 was delivered of any child in the year 1802; nor 
 has any thing appeared to us which would warrant 
 the belief that she was pregnant in that year, or 
 at any other period within the com pass of our 
 inquiries. 
 
 The identity of the child, now with the 
 Princess, its parentage, the place and the date of
 
 8 
 
 its birth, the time and the circumstances of itf 
 eing first taken under her Royal Highness's 
 protection, are all established by such a concur- 
 rence both of positive and circumstantial evidence, 
 as can, in our judgment, leave no question on 
 this part of the subject. That child was, beyond 
 all doubt, born in the Brownlow-Street Hospital, 
 on the llth day of July, 1802, of the body of Sophia 
 Austin, and was first brought to the Princess's 
 house in the month of November following. 
 Neither should we be more warranted in express- 
 ing any doubt respecting the alledged pregnancy 
 of the Princesses stated in the original declarations 
 a fact so fully contradicted, and by so many 
 witnesses,to whom, if truest must,in various ways 
 have been known, that we cannot think it entitled 
 to the smallest credit. The testimonies on these 
 two points are contained in the annexed deposi- 
 tions and letters. We have not partially abstract- 
 ed them in this Report, lest, by any unintentional 
 omission, we might weaken their effect; but we 
 humbly offer to your Majesty this our clear and 
 unanimous judgment upon them, formed on full 
 deliberation, and pronounced without hesitation 
 on the result of the whole Inquiry. 
 
 We do not however feel ourselves at liberty, 
 much as we should wish it, to close our Report 
 here. Besides the allegations of the pregnancy 
 and delivery of the Princess those declarations, on 
 the whole of which your Majesty has been pleas- 
 ed to command us to inquire, and report, contain.
 
 9 
 
 93 we have already remarked, other particulars 
 respecting the conduct of her Royal Highness, 
 such as must, especially considering her exalte 
 rank and station, necessarily give occasion to very 
 unfavourable interpretations. 
 
 From the various depositions and proofs an.- 
 nexed to this Report, particularly from the exami- 
 nations of Robert Bidgood, William Cole, 
 Frances Lloyd, and Mrs. Lisle, Your Majesty 
 will perceive that several strong circumstances of 
 this description have been positively sworn to by 
 witnesses, who cannot, in our judgment, be suspec- 
 ted of any unfavourable bias, and whose veracity, 
 in this respect, we have seen no ground to ques- 
 tion. 
 
 On the precise bearing and effect of the facts 
 thus appearing, it is not for us to decide; these 
 we submit to Your Majesty's wisdom: But we 
 conceive it to be our duty to report on this part 
 of the Inquiry, as distinctly as on the former facts : 
 that, as pn the one hand, the facts of pregnancy 
 and delivery are to our minds satisfactorily dis- 
 proved, so on the other hand we think, that the 
 circumstances to which we now refer, particularly 
 those stated to have passed between her Royal 
 Highness and Captain Manby, must be credited 
 until they shall receive some decisive contradic- 
 tion ; and, if true, are justly entitled to the most 
 serious consideration.
 
 
 
 We cannot close this Report, without humbly 
 
 assuring Your Majesty, that it was, on every 
 account, our anxious wish, to have executed this 
 delicate trust, with as little publicity as the nature 
 of the case would possibly allow ; and we entreat 
 Your Majesty's permission to express our full 
 persuasion, that if this wish has been disappointed, 
 the failure is not irnputable to any thing unneces- 
 sarily said or done by us. 
 
 AH which is most humbly submitted to Your 
 Majesty, 
 
 (Signed) ERSKINE, 
 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE, 
 July Hth, 1806, ELLENBO ROUGH, 
 
 A true Copy, 
 
 J. Becket. 
 
 The depositions which accompanied this Report 
 
 be found in ^Appendix (d.) 'numbered 
 1 to 29. 
 
 Blackheath, Aug. 12, 1806, 
 SIRE, 
 
 WITH the deepest feelings of gratitude to your 
 Majesty, I take the first opportunity to acknow-* 
 ledge having received, as yesterday only, the Re* 
 port from the Lords Commissioners, which w&s
 
 11 
 
 dated from the 14th of July. It was brought by 
 Lord Erskine's Footman, directed to the Princess 
 of Wales ; besides a note enclosed, the contents of 
 which were, that Lord Erskine sent the Evidences 
 and Report by commands of his Majesty. I had 
 reason to flatter myself that the .Lords Commis- 
 sioners would not have given in the Report, be- 
 fore they had been properly informed of various 
 circumstances, which must for a feeling, and deli- 
 cate-minded woman, be very unpleasant to have 
 spread, without having the means to exculpate 
 herself. But I can in the face of the Almighty- 
 assure your Majesty that your Daughter-in-law is 
 innocent, and her conduct unquestionable ; free 
 from all the indecorums, and improprieties, which 
 are imputed to her at present by the Lords Com- 
 missioners, upon the evidence of persons, who 
 speak as falsely as Sir John and Lady Douglas 
 themselves." Your Majesty can be sure that I 
 shall be anxious to give the most solemn denial in 
 my power to all the scandalous stories of Bidgood, 
 and Cole ; to make my conduct be cleared in the 
 most satisfactory way for the tranquillrty of your 
 majesty, for the honour of your illustrious family, 
 and the gratification of your afflicted daughter-in- 
 law. In the mean time I can safely trust your 
 Majesty's gracious justice to recollect, that the 
 whole of the evidence on which the Commissioners 
 have given credit to the infamous stories charged 
 against me, was taken behind my back, without 
 my having any opportunity to contradict or ex- 
 
 1
 
 12 
 
 plain any thing, or even to point out those per- 
 ions who might have been called, to prove the 
 little credit wh'ch was due to some of the wit- 
 nesses, from their connection with Sir John and 
 Lady Douglas ; and the absolute falsehood of 
 parts of the- evidence, which could have been 
 completely contradicted. Oh ! gracious King, 
 I now look for that happy moment, when I may 
 be allowed to appear again before your Majesty's 
 eyes, and receive once more the assurance from 
 yourMajesty'sown mouth that I have yourgracious 
 protection ; and that you will not discard me from 
 your friendship, of which your Majesty has been 
 so condescending to give me so many marks of 
 kindness ; and which must be my only support, 
 and my only consolation, in this country. I re- 
 main with sentiments of the highest esteem, 
 veneration and unfeigned attachment, 
 
 Sire, 
 
 Your Majesty's most dutiful, submissive, 
 and humble Daughter-in-law and Subject, 
 
 (Signed) CAROLINE. 
 
 To the King.
 
 1-3 
 
 Montague House*, Aug. 17th, 1806. 
 
 The Princess of Wales desires the Lord Chan- 
 cellor to present her humble duty to the King, 
 and to lay before His Majesty the accompanying; 
 letter and papers. The Princess makes this com- 
 munication by his Lordship's hands, because it 
 relates to the papers with which she has been 
 furnished through his Lordship by His Majesty's 
 commands. 
 
 Aug. 17th, 1806. 
 SIRE, 
 
 UPON receiving the copy of the Report, made 
 to your Majesty, by the Commissioners, appointed 
 to inquire into certain charges against my conduct, 
 I lost no time, in returning to your Majesty, my 
 heartfelt thanks, for your Majesty's goodness in 
 commanding that copy to be communicated to 
 ine. 
 
 I wanted no adviser, but my own heart, to 
 express my gratitude for the kindness, and protec- 
 tion which I have uniformly received from your 
 Majesty. I needed no caution or reserve, ift 
 expressing my confident reliance, that that kind- 
 ness and protection would not be withdrawn from
 
 x me, on this trying occasion ; and that your Majes- 
 ty's justice would not suffer your mind to be 
 affected, to my disadvantage, by any part of a 
 Report, founded upon partial evidence, taken in, 
 my absence, upon charges, not yet communicated 
 to me, until your Majesty had heard, what might 
 be alledged in my behalf, in answer to it. But 
 your Majesty, will not be surprised, nor displeased, 
 that, I, a woman, a stranger to the laws, and 
 usages of your Majesty's kingdom, under charges, 
 aimed, originally, at my life and honour, should 
 hesitate to determine, in what manner I ought to 
 act, even under the present circumstances, with 
 respect to such accusations, without the assistance 
 of advice in which I could confide. And I have 
 had submitted to me the following observations, 
 respecting the copies of the papers with which I 
 have been furnished. And I humbly solicit from 
 your Majesty's gracious condescension and justice 
 a compliance with the requests, which arise out of 
 them. 
 
 In. the first place, it has been observed to me, 
 that these copies of the Report, and of the accom- 
 panying papers, have come tmauthenticated by 
 the signature of any person, high, or low, whose 
 veracity, or even accuracy, is pledged for their 
 correctness, or to whom resort might be had, if it 
 should be necessary, hereafter, to establish, that 
 these papers are correct copies of the original*. 
 I am far from insinuating that the want of such 
 attestations \v as in tcntiuiT.il. Nodoubt it was omit-
 
 15 
 
 ted through inadvertence ; but its importance ig 
 particularly confirmed by the state, in which, the 
 copy of Mrs. Lisle's examination has been trans- 
 mitted to me. For in the third page of that exam- 
 ination there have been two erasures ; on one of 
 which, some words have been, subsequently in- 
 troduced, apparently in a different hand-writing 
 from the body of the examination ; and the passage 
 as it stands, is probably incorrect, because the 
 phrase is unintelligible. And this occurs in an 
 important part of her examination. 
 
 The humble, but earnest request, which I have 
 to make to your Majesty, which is suggested by 
 this observation, is, that your Majesty would be 
 graciously pleased to direct, that the Report, and 
 the papers which accompany it, and which, for 
 that purpose, I venture to transmit to your Majes- 
 ty with this letter, may be examined, and then 
 returned to me, authenticated as correct, under 
 the signature of some person, who, having attes- 
 ted their accuracy, may be able to prove it. 
 
 In the second place, it has been observed to 
 me, that the Report proceeds, by reference to 
 certain written declarations, which theCommission- 
 ers describe as the necessary foundation of all their 
 proceedings, and which contain, as I presume, the 
 charge or information against my conduct. Yet 
 copies of these written declarations have not been 
 given to me. They are described indeed, in the 
 Report, as consisting in cei tain statements, respec- 
 ting my -conduct, imputing not only, gross impro-
 
 16 
 
 pnety of behaviour, but expressly asserting facts of 
 the most confirmed, and abandoned criminality for 
 which, if true, my life might be forfeited. These 
 are stated to have been followed by declarations 
 from other persons, who, though not speaking to 
 the same facts, had related other particulars, in 
 themselves extremely suspicious, and still more so, 
 as connected with the assertions already mentioned. 
 On this, it is observed to me, that it is most im- 
 portant that I should know the extent, and the 
 particulars of the charges or informations against 
 me, and by what accusers they have been made ; 
 whether 1 am answering the charges of one set of 
 accusers, or more. Whether the authors of the 
 original declarations, who may be collected from 
 the Report to be Sir John and Lady Douglas, are 
 iny only accusers ; and the declarations which are 
 said to have followed, are the declarations of per- 
 sons adduced as witnesses by Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas to confirm their accusation ; or whether 
 such declarations are the charges of persons, who 
 have made themselves also, the authors of distinct 
 accusations against me. 
 
 The requests, which, I humbly hope, your Ma- 
 jesty will think reasonable, and just to grant, and 
 which are suggested by these further observations 
 are, 
 
 First. That your Majesty would be graciously 
 pleased to direct, that 1 should be furnished with 
 copies of these declarations : and, if they are rightly " 
 described, in the Report, as the necessary founda-
 
 17 
 
 tionofall the proceedings o f the Commissio- 
 ners, your Majesty could not, I am persuaded 
 but have graciously intended, in'directing that 
 I should be furnished with a copy of the Re- 
 port, that I should also see this essential part of 
 the proceeding, the foundation on which it rests. 
 
 Secondly > That I may be informed whether I 
 have one or more, and how many accusers ; 
 and who they are ; as the weight and credit of 
 the accusation cannot but be much affected by 
 the quarter from whence it originates. 
 
 Thirdly, That I may be informed of the time 
 when the declarations were made. For the 
 weight and credit of the accusation must, also, 
 be much affected by the length of time, which 
 my accusers may have been contented to have 
 been the silent depositories of those heavy 
 matters of guilt, and charge, and 
 
 Lastly, That your Majesty's goodness will se- 
 cure to me a speedy return of these papers, ac- 
 companied, Itrust, with the further information 
 which I have solicited; but at all events a spee- 
 dy return of them. And your Majestv will see, 
 that it is not without reason, that I make this 
 last request, when your Majesty ie informed, 
 that though the Report appears to have been 
 made upon the 14th of July, yet it w-is not sent 
 to me, till the llth of the present month. A 
 similar delay, I should, of, all things, deplore. 
 For it is with reluctance, "that I yuld to those 
 suggestiohs, which have induced me to lay, 
 
 D
 
 18 
 
 these my bumble requests,, before your Majes- 
 ty, sinre they must, at all events, in some de- 
 gree, delay the arrival of that moment, to which, 
 1 look forward with so earnest, and eager an im- 
 patience; when I confidently feel. I shall com- 
 pletely satisfy you r, Majesty, that the whole of 
 these charges are alike unfounded ; and are all 
 parts of the same conspiracy against me. Your 
 Majesty, so satisfied, will, "I can have no doubt, 
 be as anxious as myself, to secure to me that 
 redress, which, the laws of your kingdom (ad- 
 ministering, under your Majesty's just dispen- 
 sation, equal protectton and justice, to every 
 .description of your Majesty's subjects,) are 
 .prepared to afford to those, who are so deeply 
 inj r ;d as I have been. That I have in this 
 case, ihs strongest claim to your Majesty's jus- 
 tice, I am coufid' nt I shall prove : but I can- 
 not, as I am advised, so satisfactorily establish 
 that claim, till your Majeaty's goodness shall 
 have directed me, to be furnished with an au- 
 thentic statement of the actual charges against 
 me, and that additional information, which it is 
 the object of this letter most humbly, yet ear- 
 nestly, to implore, 
 
 I am, 
 
 SIRE, 
 Your Majesty's most dutiful, submissive, 
 
 and Humble Daughter- in-lavv. 
 Montague House. (Signed) C. P. 
 
 To the King.
 
 19 
 
 v Aug. 20th, 1806. 
 
 T si E Lord Chancellor has the honour to re- 
 turn to her Royal Highness the Princess' of 
 Wales, the box as he received it this morning 
 from his Majesty. It contains the papers he 
 formerly sent to her Royal Highness, and which 
 he sends as they are, thinking that it may be ia 
 the mean time most agreeable to her Royal 
 Highness. 
 
 The reason of their not having been authen- 
 ticated by the Lord Chancellor, was, that he re- 
 ceived them as copies, from Earl Spencer, who 
 was in possession of the originals ; and he could 
 not therefore, with propriety, do so, nothaving 
 himself compared them ; but her Royal High- 
 ness may depend upon having other copies sent 
 to her, which have been duly examined and 
 certified to be so. 
 
 The box will be delivered to one of her Royal 
 Highnesses Pages, in waiting, by the principal 
 officer, attendant upon the Lord Chancellor, and 
 he trusts he shall find full credit,with her Royal 
 Highness, that in sending a servant formerly 
 with the papers, the moment he received them 
 (no messenger being in waiting, and the offi- 
 cers who attend him, being detained by their 
 duties in court,) he could not be supposed to 
 have intended any possible disrespect, which he 
 is incapable of shewing to any lady, bat mostes- 
 pe.cially to any member of His Majest'ys 
 Royal family. 
 
 To Her Royal Hi 'ghness the Princess of Wales.
 
 Lincoln* s Inn Fields, Aug. 24th, 1806. 
 
 His Majesty has been pleased to transmit to 
 me the letter which he has received from your 
 Royal Highness, dated the 17th instant ; and to 
 direct that I should communicate the same to 
 the Lords Commissioners, who had been com- 
 manded by His Majesty to report to His Ma- 
 jesty on the matters therein referred to ; and I 
 have now received His Majesty's further com- 
 mands, in consequence of thatletter, to acquaint 
 your Royal Highness, that when I transmitted 
 to your Royal Highness, by the King's com- 
 mands, and under my signature, the copies of 
 official papers, which had been laid before his 
 Majesty, those papers were judged thereby duly 
 authenticated, according to the usual course and 
 forms of office ; and sufficiently so, for the pur- 
 poses, for which, his Majesty had been graci- 
 ously pleased to direct them to be communica- 
 ted to your Royal Highness. 
 
 That, nevertheless, there does not appear to 
 be any reason for his Majesty's declining a com- 
 pliance with the request which your Royal 
 Highness- has been advised to make, that those 
 copies should, after being examined with the 
 originals, be attested by some person to be nam- 
 ed for that purpose: and that, if your Royal 
 Highness will do me the honour to transmit 
 them to-me, they shall be examined and attest-
 
 21 
 
 d accordingly, after correcting any errors, tliat 
 may have occurred in the copying. 
 
 His Majesty has further authorized me to ac- 
 quaint your Royal Highness, that he is graci- 
 ously pleased, on yourRoyalHighness's request, 
 to consent. that copies of the writtendeclarations 
 referred to in the Report of the Lords Commis- 
 sioners, should be transmitted to your Royal 
 Highness, and that the same will be transmitted, 
 accordingly so soon as they can be transcribed. 
 (Signed) ERSKINEC- 
 
 The Lord Chancellor has the honour to add 
 to the above official communication that his 
 Purse-bearer respectfully waits herRoyallligh- 
 ness's commands, in case it should be herRoyai 
 Highness's pleasure to return the papers by 
 hirru 
 
 Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. 
 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields Aug. 29th, 1806. 
 
 THE Lord Chancellor has the honour to 
 
 transmit, to her Royal Highness the Princess 
 
 of Wales, the papers, *desired by her Royal 
 
 Highness, just as he received them a few 
 
 minutes ago from Earl Spencer, with the note 
 
 " 4-u *** 
 
 accompanying them. 
 
 *N.B. These papers, being tne original decla- 
 rations *on which the Inquiry proceeded will be 
 Jo and in Appendix (A.) 
 
 '
 
 Aug. 3 1st, 1806. 
 
 HER Royal Highness the Princess of Wales 
 acquaints the Lord Chancellor, that the gentle- 
 man, with whom her itoyal Highness advises, 
 and who had possession of the copies of the offi- 
 cial papers, communicated to Her Royal High- 
 ness, by the Lord Chancellor, returned from the 
 country late yesterday even ing, Upon the suh- 
 
 V * V 
 
 ject of transmitting these papers to the Lord 
 Chancellor, foi the purpose of their being exa- 
 mined, and authenticated, and then returned to 
 Her Royal Highness, he states, that in conse- 
 quence of the Lord Chancellor's assurance, con- 
 tained in his note of the 20th instaot, that Her 
 Royal Highness might depend upon having 
 other copies sent to her, which had been duly 
 examined and certified to be so; he has relied 
 upon being able to refer to those already sent, 
 and therefore it would be inconvenient to part 
 with them at present : and ];Ier Royal Highness 
 therefore hopes, that the Lord Chancellor will 
 procure for her the other authenticated copies, 
 which his Lordship promised in his note of the 
 20th inst. 
 
 With respect to the copies already sent, being 
 as the Lord Chancellorexpresses it, in his letter 
 pf the 24th inst, " judged to be duly authenti- 
 " cated according to the usual course anil forms 
 !l cf office, and sufficiently so for the purpose 
 " fpr which His Majesty bad been graciously
 
 23 
 
 " pleased to direct the.a to be communicated 
 " to His Royal Highness, because they were 
 ** transmitted to Her, bv the King's commands, 
 " and under his Lordship's signature," Her 
 Royal Highness could never have wished for 
 a more authentic attestation, if she had conceiv- 
 ed, that thev were authenticated under such 
 signature. But she could not think "that the 
 
 o 
 
 mere signature of his Lordship, on the outside 
 of the envelope, which contained them, could 
 afford an authenticity to the thirty papers, 
 which that envelope contained ; r could, in 
 any manner, identify any of those papers, as 
 have been contained in that envelope. And 
 she had felt herself confirmed in that opinion, by 
 his Lordship's saying- in his note of, the 20th 
 inst. " that the reason of their not having been 
 ". authenticated, by the Lord Chancellor, was 
 " that he received them as copies from Earl 
 " Spencer, who was in possession of the origi- 
 tf nals, and he coyldnoi therefore iih propriety 
 ir do so, not having himself compared them. 
 
 Her Royal Highness. takes thi^ pp ortunity 
 of acknowledging the receipt of the declarations 
 referred to in the Commissioners' Report. 
 
 To the Lord Chancellor.
 
 24 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields, Sept. 2nd, 1806. 
 
 THE Lord Chancellor has taken the earliest 
 opportunity in h:s power, of complying with 
 the wishes of Her Foyal Highness the Princess 
 of Wale?. He i; ade the promise of other co- 
 pies, M it} out any communication, with the 
 other Commissioners, wholly from a desire, to 
 shew every kind of respect and accommodation 
 to Her Poyal Highness, in any thing consist- 
 ent with his duty, and, not at all, from any idea 
 that the papers, as originally sent, (though 
 there mi^ht be errors in the copying) were not 
 Butficiently authenticated. An opinion which 
 he is obliged to S-jy he is not removed from : 
 nevertheless the Lord Chancellor has a plea- 
 sure in conforming to Her Royal Highnesses 
 wishes, and his the honour to inclose the attest- 
 ed copies of the Depositions, as he has receiv- 
 ed them from Earl Spencer. 
 
 To Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. 
 
 To the King. 
 SIRE, 
 
 IMPRESSED, with the deep- 
 est sentiments of gratitude, for the counte- 
 nance and protection, which I have hither- 
 to uniformly received from your Majettv, I 
 approach you, with a heart undismayed, upop
 
 this occasion, so awful and momentous to my cha- 
 racter, my honour, and my happiness. I should 
 indeed, (under charges such as have now been 
 brought against me,) prove myself undeserving of 
 the continuance of that countenance and protection, 
 and altogether unworthy of the high station, which 
 I hold in your Majesty's illustrious family, if I 
 sought foi^ any partiality, for any indulgence, for 
 any thing more than what is due to me in justice. 
 My entire confidence in your Majesty's virtues as- 
 sures me that I cannot meet with less. 
 
 The situation, which I have been so happy as 1 to 
 hold in your Majesty's good opinion and esteem j 
 my station in your Majesty's august family ; my 
 life, my honour, and, through mine, the honour of 
 your Majesty's family have been attacked. Sir 
 John and Lady Douglas have attempted to support 
 a direct and precise charge, by which they have dared 
 to impute to me, the enormous guilt of High 
 Treason, committed in the foul crime of Adultery. 
 In this charge, the extravagance of their malice has 
 defeated itself. The Report of the Lords Com- 
 missioners, acting under your Majesty's warrant, 
 has most fully cleared me of that charge. But there 
 remain imputations, strangely sanctioned, and coun- 
 tenanced by that Report, on which I cannot remain 
 silent, without incurring the most fatal consequen- 
 ces to my honour and character. For it states tc 
 your Majesty, that " The circumstances detailed 
 
 E
 
 against me must be credited, till they are deci- 
 sively contradicted." 
 
 To contradict, with as much decision as the 
 contradiction of an accused can convey; to expose 
 the injustice and malice of my enemies ; to shew 
 the utter impossibility of giving credit to their tes- 
 timony ; and to vindicate my own innocence, will 
 "be the objects, Sire, of this letter. In the course 
 of my pursuing these objects, I shall have much to 
 complain of, in the substance of the Proceeding 
 itself, and much in the manner of conducting it. 
 That any of these charges should, ever, have been 
 entertained, upon testimony so little worthy of 
 belief, which betrayed, in every sentence, the 
 malice in which it originated ; that, even if they 
 were entertained at all, your Majesty should have 
 been advised to pass by the ordinary legal modes 
 of Inquiry into such high crimes, and to refer them 
 to a Commission, open to all the objection, which I 
 shall have to state to such a mode of Inquiry ; that 
 the Commissioners, after having negatived the 
 principal charge of substantive crime, should have 
 entertained considerations of matters that amount- 
 ed to no legal offence, and which were adduced, 
 not as substantive charges in themselves, but as 
 matters in support of the principal accusation ; 
 That through the pressure and weight of their offi- 
 cial occupations, they did not, perhaps, could not, 
 bestow that attention on the case, which, if given to 
 it, must have enabled them to detect the villany 
 and falsehood of my accusers, and their foul con
 
 spiracy against me; and must have preserved ray 
 character from the weighty imputation which the 
 authority of the Commissioners, has, for a time', 
 cast upon it; but, above all, that they should, upon 
 tli is exparte examination, without hearing one word 
 that I could urge, have reported to your Majesty 
 an opinion on these matters, so prejudicial to my 
 honour, and from which I can have no appeal, to 
 the laws of the country, (because the charges, con- 
 stituting no legal offence, cannot be made the 
 ground of a judicial inquiry;) These and many 
 other circumstances, connected with the length of 
 the Proceeding, which have cruelly aggravated, to 
 my feelings, the pain necessarily attendant upon 
 this Inquiry, I shall not be able to refrain from 
 stating, and urging, as matters of serious lamenta- 
 tion at least, if not of well-grounded complaint. 
 
 In commenting upon any part of the circumstan- 
 ces, which have occurred in the course of this 
 Inquiry, whatever observations I may be com- 
 pelled to make upon any of them, I trust, I never 
 shall forget what is due to officers in high station, 
 and employment, under your Majesty. No apolo- 
 gy, therefore, can be required for any reserve in my 
 expressions towards them. But if, in vindicating 
 my innocence against the injustice and malice of my 
 enemies, I should appear to your Majesty not to 
 express myself, with all the warmth and indigna- 
 tion, which innocence, so foully calumniated, must 
 feel, your Majesty will, I trust, not attribute my 
 forbearance to any insensibility to the grievous in-
 
 juries, . I have sustained ; but will graciously be 
 pleased to ascribe it to the restraint I have impos- 
 ed upon myself, lest in endeavouring to describe 
 in just terms the motives, the conduct, the perju- 
 ry, and all the foul circumstances, which charac- 
 terise and establish the malice of my accusers, I 
 might use language, which, though not unjustly ap- 
 plied to them, might be improper to be used, by 
 me, to any body, or unfit to be employed, by any 
 body, humbly, respectfully, and dutifully addres- 
 sing your Majesty. 
 
 That a fit opportunity has occurred for laying 
 open my heart to your Majesty, perhaps, -I shall, 
 hereafter, have no reason to lament. For more 
 than two years, I had been informed, that, upon 
 the presumption of some misconduct in me, my 
 behaviour had been made the subject of investiga- 
 tion, and my neighbours and servants had been exa- 
 mined concerning it. And for some time I had 
 received mysterious and indistinct intimations, 
 that some great mischief was meditated towards 
 me. And, in all the circumstances of my very pe^ 
 culiar situation, it will.not bethought strange, that 
 however conscious I was, that I had no just cause 
 of fear, I should yet feel some uneasiness on this 
 account. With surprise certainly (because the 
 first tidings were of a kind to excite surprise,) but 
 without alarm, I received the intelligence, that, for 
 some reason, a formal investigation of some parts 
 of my conduct had been advised, and had actually 
 taken place. His Royal Highness the Duke of
 
 jni, on the 7th of Ju-ne, announced it" to me. 
 He announced to me, the Princess of Wales, in the 
 first communication made to me, with respect to 
 this proceeding, the near approach of two attornies 
 (one of them, I, since find, the solicitor employed 
 by Sir John Douglas), claiming to enter my dwel- 
 ling, with -a warrant, to take away one half of my 
 household, for immediate examination upon a 
 charge against myself. Of the nature of that charge, 
 I was then uninformed. It now appears, it was 
 the charge of High Treason, committed in the in- 
 famous crime of adultery. His Royal Highness, 
 I am sure, will do me the justice to represent to 
 your Majesty, that I betrayed no fear, that I ma- 
 nifested no symptoms of conscious guilt, that I 
 sought no excuses to prepare, or to tutor, my ser- 
 vants for the examination which they were to under- 
 go. The only retries t which I made to His Roy- 
 al Highness was, that hewould-have the goodness 
 to remain with me till my servants were gone; that 
 he might hear witness, that I had no conversation 
 with them before they went. In truth, Sire, my 
 anxieties, under a knowledge, that some serious 
 mischief was planning against me, and while i was 
 ignorant of its quality and extent, hadheen so great 
 that I could not but rejoice at an event, which 
 seemed to promise me an early opportunity of as- 
 ^-certaining what the malice of my enemies intended 
 against me. 
 
 It has not been, indeed,. without impatience the 
 anest painful, that I have passed the interval, -which
 
 30 
 
 lias shice elapsed. When once it was not only 
 known to me, but to the world (for it was known 
 to the world) that Inquiry of the gravest nature 
 had been instituted into my conduct, I looked to 
 the conclusion, with all the eagerness that could 
 belong to an absolute conviction, that my inno- 
 cence, and my honour, to the disgrace and con- 
 fusion of my accusers, would be established ; and 
 that the groundless malice, and injustice of the 
 whole charge would be manifested to the world, 
 as widely as the calumny had been circulated. I 
 knew that the result of an ex part e inquiry, from 
 its very nature, could not, unless it fully asserted 
 my entire innocence, be in any degree just. And 
 I had taught myself most firmly to believe, that 
 it was utterly impossible, that any opinion, which 
 could, in the smallest degree, work a prejudice 
 to my honour and character, could ever be ex- 
 pressed in any terms, by any persons, in a Report 
 upon a solemn formal Inquiry, and more especially 
 to your Majesty, without my having some notice, 
 and some opportunity of being heard. And I 
 was convinced, that, if the Proceeding allowed me, 
 before an opinion was expressed, the ordinary 
 means, which accused persons have, of vindicating 
 their honour and their innocence, my honour and 
 my innocence must, in any opinion, which could 
 then be expressed, be fully vindicated, and effec- 
 tually established. What then, Sire, must have 
 been my astonishment, and my dismay, when I 
 saw, that notwithstanding the principal accusation
 
 31 
 
 was found to be utterly false, yet some of the wit- 
 nesses to those charges which were brought in 
 support of the principal accusation, witnesses, 
 whom, any person, interested to have protected 
 my character, would easily have shewn, out of 
 their own mouths, to be utterly unworthy of 
 credit, and confederates in foul conspiracy with 
 my false accusers, are reported to be "free from 
 tc all suspicion of unfavourable bias ;" their vera- 
 city, " in the judgment of the Commissioners, 
 " not to be questioned ;" and their infamous 
 stories, and insinuations against me, to be " such 
 " as deserve the most serious consideration, and as 
 *' must be credited till decisively contradicted." 
 
 The Inquiry, after I thus had notice of it, con- 
 tinued for above* two months. I venture not to 
 complain, as if it had been unnecessarily protract- 
 ed. The important duties, and official avoca- 
 tions of the Noble Lords, appointed to carry it 
 on, may naturally account for, and excuse, some 
 delay. But however excusable it may have been, 
 your Majesty will easily conceive the pain and 
 anxiety, which this interval of suspence has occa- 
 sioned ; and your Majesty will not be surprised, 
 if I further represent, that I have found a great 
 aggravation of my painful sufferings, in the delay 
 which occurred in communicating the Report to 
 me. For though it is dated on the 14th July, 
 
 * The time that the Inquiry was pending, after this notice 
 of it, is here confounded with the time which elapsed before the 
 Report was communicated to Her Royal Highness. The In- 
 quiry itself only lasted to the 14th or l6'th of July, which is but 
 between tive and six \veVs from the 7th of Juue.
 
 I did not receive it, notwithstanding V5rrr Majes- 
 ty's gracious commands, till the llth of August. 
 It was due unquestionably to your Majesty, that 
 the result of an Inquiry, commanded by your 
 Majesty, upon advice, which had been offered, 
 touching matters of the highest import, should be 
 first, and immediately, communicated to you. 
 The respect and honour, due to the Prince of 
 Wales, the interest which he must necessarily 
 have taken in this Inquiry, combined to make it 
 indisputably fit, that the result should be forthwith 
 also stated to His Royal Highness. I complain 
 not therefore that it >vas, too early, communicat- 
 ed to any one : I complain only, (and I complain - 
 most seriously, for I felt it most severely) of the 
 delay in its communication t6 me. 
 
 Humour had informed the world, that the Re- 
 port had been early communicated to youY 
 Majesty, and to His Royal Highness. I did not 
 receive the benefit, intended for me by your 
 Majesty's gracious command, till a month aft<?r 
 the Report was signed. But the same rumour 
 .had represented me, to my infinite prejudice, as 
 in possession of the Report, 'during that month'; 
 and the malice of those, who wished to stain my 
 honour, has not failed to suggest all that malicfe 
 could infer, from its remaining'in that possession, 
 ao long unnoticed. May I be permitted to &iy s 
 that, if the Report acquits me, my innocence en- 
 titled me to receive from those, to whom you,r 
 Majesty's commands had been given, an immediate 
 "notification of the fact that it did acquit, me?
 
 33 
 
 That, if it condemned me, the weight of such a 
 sentence should not have been left to settle, in 
 any mind, much less upon your Majesty's, for a 
 month, before I could even begin to prepare an 
 answer, Avhich, when begun, could not speedily 
 be concluded ; and that, if the Report could be 
 represented as both acquitting and condemning 
 me, the reasons, which suggested the propriety of 
 an early communication in each of the former 
 cases, combined to make it proper and necessary 
 in the latter. 
 
 And why all consideration of my feelings was 
 thus cruelly neglected ; why was I kept upon the 
 rack, during all this time, ignorant of the result 
 of a charge, which affected my honour and my 
 life; and why, especially in a case, where such 
 grave matters were to continue to be rt credited, 
 to the prejudice of my honour/* till they were 
 " decidedly contradicted," the means of knowing, 
 what it waSj that I must, at least, endeavour to 
 contradict, were withholden from me, a single un- 
 necessary hour, I know not, and I wil} not trust 
 myself, in the attempt, to conjecture. 
 
 On the llth of August, however, I at length 
 received from the Lord Chancellor, a packet con- 
 taining copies of the Warrant or Commission au- 
 thorizing the Inquiry ; of the Report; and of the 
 Examinations on which the Report was founded. 
 And your Majesty will be graciously pleased to 
 recollect, that ou the 13th I returned my grateful 
 
 F
 
 3* 
 
 thanks to your Majesty, for haying ordered these 
 papers to be sent to me. 
 
 Your Majesty will readily imagine that, upon a 
 subject of such importance, I could not venture to 
 trust only to my own advice ; and those with whom 
 I advised, suggested, that the written Declarations 
 or Charges, upon which the Inquiry had proceed- 
 ed, and which the Commissioners refer to in their 
 Report, and represent to be the essential founda- 
 tion of the whole proceeding, did not accompany 
 the Examinations and Report ; and also that the 
 papers themselves were not authenticated. I there- 
 fore, ventured to address your Majesty, upon 
 these supposed defects in the communication, and 
 humbly requested that the copies of the papers, 
 which I then returned, might, after being exa- 
 mined, .and authenticated, be again transmitted to 
 ine ; and that I might also be furnished with copies 
 of the written Declarations, so referred to, in the 
 Report. And my humble thanks are due for your 
 Majesty's gracious compliance, with my request. 
 , On the 29th of August, I received, in consequence, 
 the attested copies of tho s e Declarations, and of a 
 Narrative of his Royal Highness the Duke of 
 JCent ; and a few days after, on the 3rd of Sep- 
 tember, the attested copies of the Examinations 
 "Which were taken before the Commissioners. 
 The Papers which I have received are as follow: 
 *The Narrative of his Royal Highness the 
 Duke of Keut, dated 27th of December, 1805. 
 
 # S Appendix (B).
 
 35 
 
 t 
 
 A Copy of the written Declaration of Sir Johm 
 and Lady Douglas, dated December 3, 1805. 
 
 A Paper containing the written Declarations, or 
 Examinations,of the persons hereafter enumerated; 
 The title to these Papers is, 
 
 " For the purpose of confirming the Statement 
 " made by Lady Douglas, of the circumstances 
 ff mentioned in her Narrative, The following Ex- 
 fc animations have been taken, and which have 
 ec been signed by the several persons who have 
 '* been examined." 
 
 Two of Sarah Lampert ; - one, dated Chelten- 
 ham, 8th January, 1806, and the other, 29th 
 March, 1806. 
 
 One of William Lampert, baker, 1 14, Chelten- 
 ham, apparently of the same date with the last of 
 Sarah Lamport's. 
 
 Four of William Cole, dated respectively, llth 
 January, 14th January, 30th January, and 23d 
 February, 1806. 
 
 One of Robert Bidgood, dated Temple, 4th 
 April, 1806. 
 
 One of Sarah Bidgood, dated Temple, 83d 
 April, 1806; and 
 
 One of Frances Lloyd, dated Temple, 18th 
 May, 1806. 
 
 The other Papers and Documents which accom- 
 panied the Report, are,* 
 
 * See Appendix (AJ.
 
 36 
 
 1806. No. 
 
 29 May, 1. The King's Warrant or Commis- 
 sion. 
 
 1 June, 2. Deposition of Lady Douglas. 
 
 1 3. of Sir John Douglas. 
 
 6 ' 4. of Robert Bidgood. ' 
 
 6 4. of W. Cole. 
 
 7 6. of Frances Lloyd. 
 7 7. of Mary Wilson. 
 
 7 8. of Samuel Roberts, 
 
 7. 9. of Thomas Stikeman. 
 
 7 10. ofJ. Sicard. 
 
 7 11. of Charlotte Sander. 
 
 7 12. of Sophia Austin. 
 
 20 13. Letter from Lord Spencer to Lord 
 
 Gwj'dir. 
 
 21 14. from Lord Gwydir to Lord 
 
 Spencer. 
 21 15. from Lady Willoughby to 
 
 Lord Spencer. 
 
 S3. 16. Extract from Register of Brown- 
 
 low Street Hospital. 
 Deposition of Elizabeth Gosden. 
 of Betty Townley. 
 of Thomas Edmeades. 
 of Samuel G. Mills, 
 of Harriet Fitzgerald. 
 Letter from Lord Spencer to Lord 
 
 Gwydir. 
 
 3. from Lord Gwydir to Lord 
 
 Spencer.
 
 37 
 
 3 July, 24-.. Queries of Lady Willoughby and 
 
 Answers. 
 
 25. Further Deposition of R.Bidgood, 
 
 3 26. Deposition of Sir Francis Lisle, 
 
 3 27 of Mrs. Lisle, 
 
 4 28. Letter from Sir Francis Milman 
 
 to the Lord Chancellor. 
 
 16 29. Deposition of LordCholmondeley. 
 
 14; SO. The Report. 
 
 By the Copy, which I have received, of the 
 Commission, or Warrant, under which the Inquiry 
 has heen prosecuted, it appears to be an instrument 
 under your Majesty's Sign Manual, not counter- 
 signed, not under any Seal. It recites, that an 
 Abstract of certain written Declarations, touching 
 my conduct, (without specifying by whom those 
 Declarations were made, ortlie nature of the mat- 
 ters, touching which they had been made, or even 
 by whom the Abstract had been prepared,) had 
 been laid before your Majesty ; into the truth of 
 which it purports to authorize the four noble 
 Peers, who are named in it, to inquire and to ex- 
 amine upon oath, such persons as they think fit : 
 and to report to your Majesty the result of their 
 Examination. By referring to the written Decla- 
 rations, it appears that they contain allegations 
 against me, amounting to the charge of High Trea- 
 son, and also other matters, which, if understood 
 to be, as they seem to have been acted and report- 
 ed upon, by the Comjuissioners, not as evidence
 
 38 
 
 confirmatory (as they arc expressed to be in their 
 title) of the principal charge, but as distinct and 
 substantive subjects of examination, cannot, as I 
 am advised, be represented as in law, amounting 
 to crimes. How most of the Declarations referred 
 to were collected, by whom, at whose solicitation, 
 under what sanction, and before what persons, 
 magistrates or others, they were made, does not 
 appear. By the title, indeed, which all the writ- 
 ten Declarations, except Sir John and Lady Doug* 
 las's bear; viz. " That they had been taken for 
 the purpose of confirming Lady Douglas's State- 
 ment," it may be collected that they had been 
 made by her, or at least by Sir John Douglas's 
 procurement. And the concluding passage of one 
 of them, I mean the fourth declaration of W. Cole, 
 strengthens this opinion, as it represents Sir John 
 Douglas, accompanied by his Solicitor Mr. Low- 
 ten, to have gone down as far as Cheltenham for 
 the examination of two of the witnesses whose de-- 
 clarations are there stated, I am, however, at a 
 loss to know, at this moment, whom I am to 
 consider, or whom I could legally fix, as my false 
 accuser. From the circumstance last mentioned, 
 it might be inferred, that Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas, or one of them, is that accuser. But 
 Lady Douglas, in her written Declaration, so far 
 from representing the information which she then 
 gives, as moving voluntarily from herself, ex- 
 pressly states that she gives it under the direct
 
 command of His Royal Highness the Prince of 
 Wales, and the papers leave me without informa- 
 tion, from whom any communication to the Prince 
 originated, which induced him to give such com- 
 mands. 
 
 Upon the question, how far the advice is agree* 
 able to law, under which it was recommended to 
 your Majesty, to issue this Warrant or Commis- 
 sion, not countersigned, nor under Seal, and with- 
 out any of your Majesty's advisers, therefore, 
 being, on the face of it, responsible for its issuing, I 
 am not competent to determine. And undoubtedly, 
 considering thatthetwo high legal authorities, the 
 Lord Chancellor, and the Lord Chief Justice of 
 the King's Bench, consented to act under it, it is 
 with the greatest doubt and diffidence, that I can 
 bringmy self to ex press any suspicion of its illegality. 
 But if it be, as I am given to understand it is, open 
 to question, whether, consistently with law, your 
 Majesty should have been advised, to command, by 
 this warrant or commission, persons, (not to act in 
 any known character,asSecretariesof State,as Privy^ 
 Counsellors, as Magistrates other wise era powered; 
 but to act, as Commissioners, and under the sole 
 authority of such warrant, to inquire (without any 
 authority to hear and determine any thing upon the 
 subject of those Inquiries, ) into the known crime 
 of High Treason, under the sanction of oaths, to 
 be administered by them, as such Commissioners, 
 and to report the result thereof to your Majesty. 
 If, I say, there can be any question upon the le-
 
 40 
 
 gality of such a Warrant or Commission, the 
 extreme hardship, with which, it has operated 
 upon me, the extreme prejudice, which it has 
 done to my character, and to which., such a pro- 
 ceeding must ever expose the person who is the 
 object of it, obliges me, till I am fully convinced 
 of its legality, to forbear from acknowledging its 
 authority; arid., with all humility and deference 
 to your Majesty, to protest against it, and against 
 all the proceedings under it. 
 
 If this, indeed, were matter of mere form, 
 I should be ashamed to urge it. But the ac- 
 tual hardships and prejudice, which I have suf- 
 fered, by this proceeding, are most obvious. 
 For, upon the principal charge against me, 
 the Commissioners have most satisfactorily, and 
 tc without the least hesitation," for such is their 
 expression, reported their opinion of its false- 
 hood. Sir John and Lady Douglas therefore, 
 who have sworn to its truth, have been guilty of 
 the plainest falsehood ; yet upon the supposition 
 of the illegality of this Commission their falsehood 
 must, as I am informed, go unpunished.- Upon 
 that supposition, the want of legal authority in the 
 Commissioners to inquire and to administer an 
 ath, will render it impossible to give to this false- 
 hood the character of Perjtiry. But this is by no 
 means the circumstance which I feel the most 
 severely. Beyond the vindicating of my own 
 character, and the consideration of providing for 
 'my future security, I can assure your Majesty, 
 that the punishment of Sir Johu and Lady Doug-
 
 41 
 
 las would afford me no satisfaction. It is not 
 therefore with regard to that part of the charge, 
 which is negatived, but with respect to those, 
 which are sanctioned by the Report, those, which, 
 not aiming at my life, exhaust themselves upon 
 my character, and which the Commissioners 
 have, in some measure, sanctioned by their Re- 
 port, that I have the greatest reason to complain. 
 Had the Report sanctioned the principal charge, 
 constituting a known legal crime, my innocence 
 would have emboldened me, at all risques, (and 
 to more, no person has ever been exposed from 
 the malice and falsehood of accusers) to have 
 demanded that trial, which could legally deter- 
 mine upon the truth or falsehood of such charge. 
 Though I should even then indeed have had some 
 cause to complain, because I should have gone 
 to that trial, under the prejudice, necessarily 
 raised against me, by that Report ; yet in a 
 proceeding before the just, open, and known 
 tribunals of your Majesty's kingdom, I should 
 have had a safe appeal from the result of an ex 
 parte investigation. An investigation which 
 has exposed me to all the hardships of a secret 
 Inquiry, without giving me the benefit of secrecy ; 
 and to all the severe consequences of a public in- 
 vestigation, in point of injury to my character, 
 without affording me any of its substantial benefits 
 in point of security. But the charges, which the 
 Commissioners do sanction by their Report, de- 
 scribing them, with a mysterious obscurity aod
 
 42 
 
 indefinite generality, constitute, as I am told, no 
 legal crime. They are described as " instances 
 " of great impropriety and indecency of beha- 
 " viour" which must " occasion the most unfa- 
 " vourable interpretations/' and they are reported 
 to your Majesty, and they are stated to be, " cir- 
 " cumstances which must be credited till they are 
 ce decisively contradicted." 
 
 From this opinion, this judgment of the Com- 
 missioners, bearing so hard upon my character ; 
 (and that a female character, how delicate, and 
 how easily to be affected by the breath of calumny 
 your Majesty well knows) I tan have no appeal. 
 For, as the charges constitute no legal crimes, they 
 cannot be the subjects of any legal trial. I can 
 call for no trial. I can therefore have no appeal; 
 I can look for no acquittal. Yet this opinion, or 
 this judgment, from which I can have no appeal, 
 has been pronounced against me upon mere expar- 
 te investigation. 
 
 This hardship, Sire, I am told to ascribe to 
 the nature of the proceeding under this Warrant or 
 Commission ; For had the Inquiry been entered 
 into before your Majesty's Privy Council, or 
 before any magistrates, authorised by Jaw as such, 
 to inquire into the existence of treason, the known 
 course of proceeding before that council, or such 
 magistrates, the known extent of their jurisdiction 
 over crimes, and not over the proprieties of beha- 
 viour^ would have preserved me from the possibi- 
 lity of having matters made the subjects of in- 
 quiry which had in law no substantive criminal
 
 43 
 
 character, and from the extreme hardship of hav- 
 ing my reputation injured by calumny altogether 
 unfounded, but rendered at once more safe to my 
 enemies, and more injurious to me, by being ut- 
 tered, in the course of a proceeding, assuming the 
 grave semblance of legal form. And it is by the 
 nature of this proceeding, (which could alone have 
 countenanced or admitted of this licentious lati- 
 tude of inquiry, into the proprieties of behaviour 
 in private life, with which no court, no magistrate, 
 no public law has any authority to interfere,) that 
 I have been deprived of the benefit of that entire 
 and unqualified acquittal and discharge from this 
 accusation, to which the utter and proved false- 
 hood of the accusation itself so justly entitled me. 
 
 I trust therefore that your Majesty will see that 
 if this proceeding is not one to which, by the 
 known laws of your Majesty's kingdom, 1 ought 
 to be subject, that it is no cold formal objection 
 which leads me to protest against it. 
 
 I am ready to acknowledge, Sire, from the 
 consequences which might arise to the public, 
 from such misconduct as have been falsely imput- 
 ed to me, that my honour and virtue are of more 
 importance to the state than those of other women. 
 That my conduct therefore may be fitly subjected, 
 when necessary, to a severer scrutiny. But it 
 cannot follow, because my character, is of more 
 importance, that it may therefore be attacked with 
 more impunity. And as I know, that this mis- 
 chief has been pending over my head for more
 
 44 
 
 than two years, that private examinations of my 
 neighbours' servants, and of my own,, have, at 
 tiroes, during that interval, been taken, for the 
 purpose of establishing charges against me, not 
 indeed by the instrumentality of Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas alone, but by the sanction, and in the 
 presence of The Earl of Moira (as your Majesty 
 will perceive bj the deposition of Jonathan Par- 
 tridge which I subjoin;*) and as I know also, and 
 make appear to your Majesty likewise by the 
 same means, that declarations of persons of un- 
 questionable credit, respecting my conduct, attest- 
 ing my innocence, and directly falsifying a most 
 important circumstance respecting my supposed 
 pregnancy, mentioned in the declarations, on 
 which the Inquiry was instituted ; as I know, 
 I say, that those declarations, so favourable to me, 
 appear to my infinite prejudice, not to have been 
 communicated to your Majesty, when that Inquiry 
 was commanded ; and as I know not how soon 
 nor how often proceedings against me may be 
 meditated by my enemies, I take leave to express 
 my humble trust, that, before any other proceed- 
 ings may be had against me, (desirable as it may 
 have been thought, that the Inquiry should have 
 been of the nature, which has, in this instance, 
 obtained,) your Majesty would be graciously pleas- 
 ed to require to be advised, whether my guilt, 
 if I were guilty, could not be as effectually dis- 
 
 * See the depositions at the end of this letter.
 
 covered and punished, and my honour and inno- 
 cence,, if innocent, be more effectually secured and 
 established by other more known and regular 
 modes of proceeding. 
 
 Having therefore, Sire, upon these grave rea- 
 sons, ventured to submit, I trust without offence, 
 these considerations upon the nature of the Com- 
 mission and the proceedings under it, I will now 
 proceed to observe upon the Report, and the Ex- 
 aminations; and, with your Majesty's permission, 
 I will go through the whole matter, in that course 
 which has been observed by the Report itself, and 
 which an examination of the important matters 
 that it contains, in the order in which it states 
 them, will naturally suggest. 
 
 The Report, after referring to the Commission 
 or Warrant under which their Lordships were act- 
 ing, after staling that they had proceeded to exa- 
 mine the several witnesses, whose depositions they 
 annexed to their Report, proceeds to state the ef- 
 fect of the written declarations, which the Com- 
 missioners considered as the essential foundation of 
 the whole proceeding. " That they were state- 
 ments which had been laid before his Royal High- 
 ness the Prince of Wales, respecting the conduct 
 of her Royal Highness the Princess; that these 
 statements not only imputed to her Royal High- 
 ness, great impropriety and indecency of behavi- 
 our, but expressly asserted, partly on the ground 
 of certain alledged declarations from the Princess's 
 own mouth, and partly on the personal observation
 
 46 
 
 of the informants, the following most important 
 facts ; viz. that her Royal Highness had been 
 pregnant in the year 1802, in consequence of an 
 illicit intercourse; and that she had in the same 
 year, been secretly delivered of a male child ; 
 which child had ever since that period been brought 
 up by her Royal Highness in her own bouse., and 
 under her immediate inspection. These allega- 
 tions thus made, had, as the Commissioners found, 
 been followed by declarations from other persons, 
 who had not indeed spoken to the important facts 
 of the pregnancy or delivery of her Royal High- 
 ness, but had related other particulars, in them- 
 selves extremely suspicious, and still more so, when 
 connected with the assertions already mentioned. 
 The Report then states, that, in the painful situa- 
 tion, in which his Royal Highness was placed by 
 these declarations, they learnt that he had adopted 
 the only course which ceuld, in their judgment, 
 with propriety be followed, when informations such 
 as these had been thus confidently alledged and 
 particularly detailed, and had in some degree been 
 supported by collateral evidence, applying to other 
 points of the same nature (though goingtoafarless 
 extent,) one line could only be pursued." 
 
 " Every sentiment of duty to your Majesty, 
 and of concern for the public welfare required that 
 tljese particulars should not be withheld from your 
 Majesty, to whom more particularly belonged the 
 cognizance of a matter of state, so nearly touching 
 the honour of your Majesty's Royal Family, and
 
 47 
 
 by possibility affecting the succession to your Ma- 
 jesty's crown." 
 
 The Commissioners, therefore, your Majesty 
 observes, going 1 ,, they must permit me to say, a lit- 
 tle out of their way, begin their Report, by ex pres- 
 sing a clear and decided opinion, that his Royal 
 Highness was properly advised (for your Majesty 
 will undoubtedly conclude, that, upon a subject of 
 this importance, his Royal Highness could not but 
 have acted by the advice of others), in referring 
 this complaint to your Majesty, for the purpose of 
 its undergoingthe investigation which has followed. 
 -,And unquestionably, if the charge, referred to, in 
 this Report, as made by Sir John and Lady Doug- 
 las, had been presented under circumstances, in 
 which any reasonable degree of credit could be 
 given to them, or even if they had not been pre- 
 sented in such a manner, as to impeach the credit 
 of the informers, and to bear internal evidence of 
 their own incredibility, I should be the last person, 
 who would be disposed to dispute the wisdom of 
 the advice which led to make them the subject of 
 the gravest and most anxious Inquiry. And your 
 Majesty, acting upon a mere abstract of the de- 
 clarations, which was all, that, by the recital of the 
 warrant, appears to have been laid before your Ma- 
 jesty, undoubtedly could not but direct an Inquiry 
 concerning my conduct. For though I have not 
 been furnished with that abstract, yet I must pre- 
 sume that it described the criminatory contents of 
 these declarations, much in the same manner, as
 
 48 
 
 they are stated in the Report. And the crimina- 
 tory parts of these declarations, if viewed without 
 reference to those traces of malice and resentment, 
 with which the declarations* of Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas abound ; if abstracted from all these cir- 
 cumstances, which shew the extreme improbabi- 
 lity of the story, the length of time, which my ac- 
 cuser had kept my alledged guilt concealed, the 
 contradictions observable in the declarations of the 
 other witnesses, all which, I submit to your Majes- 
 ty, are to an extent to cast the greatest discredit 
 upon the truth ofthesedeclarations ; abstracted, I 
 say, from these circumstances, the criminatory 
 parts of them were unquestionably such, as to have 
 placed your Majesty under thenecessity of directing 
 some Inquiry concerning them. But that those, 
 who had the opportunity of reading the long and 
 malevolent narration of Sir John and Lady Doug- 
 las, should not have hesitated before they gave any 
 credit to it, is matter of the greatest astonishment 
 to me. 
 
 The improbability of the story, would of itself, 
 I should have imagined ( unless they believed me 
 to be as insane as Lady Douglas insinuates), have 
 been sufficient to have staggered the belief of any 
 unprejudiced mind. For to believe that story, they 
 were to begin with believing that a person guilty of 
 so foul a crime, so highly penal, so fatal to her ho- 
 nour, her station, and her life, should gratuitously, 
 and uselessly, have confessed it. Such a person 
 under the necessity of concealing her pregnancy, 
 * See Appendix (B.)
 
 might have been indispensably obliged to confide 
 her secret with those, to whom she was to look for 
 assistance in concealing its consequences. But 
 Lady Douglas, by her own account, was informed 
 by me of this fact, for no purpose whatever. She 
 makes me, as those who read her declarations can- 
 not fail to have observed, state to her, that she 
 should, on no account, be entrusted with any part 
 of the management by which the birth was to be 
 concealed.* They were to believe also, that, anx- 
 ious as I must have been to haveconcealed the birth 
 of any such child, I had determined to bring it up 
 in my own house; and what would exceed, as I 
 should imagine, the extent of all human credulity, 
 that I had determined to suckle it myself :f that I 
 had laid my plan, if discovered, to have imposed it 
 upon his Royal Highness as 1m child* Nay, they 
 were to believe, that I had stated, and that Lady 
 Douglas had believed the statement to be true,that 
 I had in fact attempted to suckle it, and only gave 
 up thai part of my play, because it made me ner- 
 vous, and was too much for my health. And, after 
 all this, they were then to believe, that having 
 made Lady Douglas, thus unnecessarily, the confi- 
 dant, of this most important and dangerous secret; 
 having thus put my character and my life in her 
 hands, I sought an occasion, wantonly, and with* 
 out provocation, from the mere fickleness, and wil- 
 f illness of my own mind, to quarrel with her, to in- 
 sult her openly and violently in my own house, to 
 
 See Appendix (B.) p, 61. + Ibid. p. 61. * Ibid. p. 70, 
 
 H
 
 50 
 
 endeavour to ruin her reputation; to ex pose her in 
 infamous and indecent drawings enclosed in letters 
 to her husband. The letters indeed are represen- 
 ted to have been anonymous, but., though anony- 
 mous, they are stated to have been written with 
 my own hand, so undisguised in penmanship and 
 style, that every one who had the least acquaint- 
 ance with either, could not fail to discover them, 
 and (as if it were through fear,lest it should not be 
 sufficiently plain from whom they came) that e had 
 sealed them with a seal, which I had shortly be- 
 fore used on an occasion of writing to her husband. 
 All this they were to believe upon the declaration 
 of a person, who, with all that loyalty and attach- 
 ment which she expresses to your Majesty, and his 
 Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, with all her 
 obligation to the whole Royal Family, ( to whom 
 she expresses herself to be bound by ties of res- 
 pectful regard and attachment which nothing can 
 ever break ;) with all her dread of the mischievous 
 consequences to the country, which might arise, 
 from the disputed succession to the Crown, on the 
 pretensions of an illegitimate child of mine, never- 
 theless continued, after this supposed avowal of 
 my infamy, and my crime, after my supposed ac- 
 knowledgment of the birth of this child, which was 
 to occasion all this mischief, to preserve, for near a 
 twelvemonth her intimacy and apparent friendship 
 with me. ft ay for two years more, after that inti- 
 macy had ceased, after that friendship had been 
 driven off, by my alledged misbehaviour to her,
 
 51 
 
 continued still faithful to my secret, and never dis- 
 closed it till (as her declaration states it) <e The 
 " Princess* of Wales recommenced a fresh torrent 
 tc of outrage against Sir John; and Sir John dis- 
 " covered that she was attempting to undermine 
 " his and Lady Douglas's character." 
 
 Those, then, who had the opportunity of seeing 
 the whole of this Narrative, having had their jea- 
 lousy awakened by these circumstances to the im- 
 probability of the story, and to the discredit of the 
 informer, when they came to observe, how mali- 
 ciously every circumstance that imagination could 
 suggest, as most calculated to make a woman 
 contemptible and odious, was scraped and heaped 
 up together in this Narrative, must surely have had 
 their eyes opened to the motives of my accusers, 
 and their minds cautioned against giving too easy 
 a credit to their accusation, when they found my 
 conversation to be represented as most loose, and 
 infamous ; my mind uninstructed and unwilling to 
 learn ; my language, with regard to your Majesty 
 and the whole of your Royal Family, foully dis- 
 respectful and offensive ; and all my manners and 
 habits of life most disgusting, I should have flat- 
 tered myself, that I could not have been, in cha- 
 racter, so wholly unknown to them, but that they 
 must have observed a spirit, and a colouring at 
 least in this representation, which must have 
 proved much more against the disposition 
 and character of the informers, and the quality of 
 
 * See Appendix, p* 90.
 
 53 
 
 their information, than against the person who was 
 the object of their charge. But when, in addition 
 to all this, the Declaration states,,* that 1 had, with 
 respect to my unfortunate and calamitous separa- 
 tion from his Royal Highness, stated that I had 
 acknowledged myself to have been the aggressor, 
 from the beginning, and myself alone ; and when 
 it further states, that if any other woman had so 
 played and sported with her husband's comfort and 
 popularity, she would have been turned out of his 
 house, or left alone in it, and have deservedly for- 
 feited her place in society ; and further still, when, 
 alledgingthat I had once been desirous of procuring 
 a separation from his Royal Highness, and had 
 pressed former Chancellors to accomplish this pur- 
 pose, it flippantly adds, that f f The Chancellor 
 may now perhaps be able to grant her request/' 
 The malicious object of the whole must surely 
 have been most obvious. 
 
 For supposing these facts to have been all true; 
 supposing this infamous and libellous description 
 of my character had been nothing but a correct and 
 faithful representation of my vices and my infamy, 
 would it not have been natural to have asked why 
 they were introduced into this Declaration? What 
 effect could they have had upon the charge of 
 crime, and of Adultery, which it was intended to 
 establish ? If it was only, in execution of a pain- 
 ful duty, which a sense of loyalty to your Majesty, 
 
 * S*e Appendix {B.) p. 65. f Appendix (B.) p, 59, the nott t
 
 and obedience to the commands of the Prince of 
 Wales at length reluctantly drew from them, why 
 aH tiiis malicious accompaniment?* " His Royal 
 Highne?s"indeed they say/'desired that theywould 
 communicate the whole circumstances of their ac- 
 quaintance with me, from the day they first spoke 
 with me till the present time ; a full detail of all 
 that passed during our acquaintance/' and ff how 
 they became known to me, it appearing to his 
 Royal Highness, from the representation of his 
 Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, that his 
 Majesty's dearest interests, and those of this 
 country, were very deeply interested in the ques- 
 tion," a id " that he particularly commanded 
 them to be very circumstantial in their detail 
 respecting all they might know relative to the 
 child that I affected to adopt/' 
 
 But from the whole of this it is sufficiently 
 apparent, that the particularity of this detail 
 was required, by his Royal Highness, in respect 
 of matters connected with that question, in which 
 the dearest interests of your Majesty and this 
 country were involved : and not of circumstances 
 which could have no bearing on those interests. 
 If it had been therefore true, as I most solemnly 
 protest it is not, that I had in the confidence of 
 private conversation, so far forgot all sense of 
 decency, loyalty, and gratitude, as to have ex- 
 pressed myself with that disrespect of your Ma- 
 jesty which is imputed to me; If I had been 
 
 * See Appendix, p. 00.
 
 what I trust those who have lived with me, or 
 ever have partaken of ray society, would not 
 confirm, of a mind so uninformed and unculti- 
 vated, without education or talents, or without 
 any desire of improving myself, incapable of 
 employment, of a temper so furious and violent, 
 as altogether to form a character, which no one 
 could bear to live with, who had the means of liv- 
 ing elsewhere ; What possible progress would all 
 this make towards proving that I was guilty of 
 adultery ? These, and such like insinuations, as 
 false as they are malicious, could never have proved 
 crime in me, however manifestly they might dis- 
 play the malice of my accusers. 
 
 Must it not, then, have occurred to any one, 
 who had seen the whole of this Narrative, if the mo- 
 tive of my accusers was, as they represent it, mere- 
 ly that of good patriots,of attached and loyal sub- 
 jects, bound, in execution of a painful duty, impos- 
 ed upon them by his Royal Highness the Prince of 
 Wales,todisclose,in detail, all the facts which could 
 establish my guilt, that these circumstances never 
 would have made a part of their detail ? But on 
 the other hand, if their object was to traduce me; 
 if, falsely attributing to his Royal Highness, senti- 
 ments which could belong to no generous bosom, 
 but measuring bis nature by their own, they 
 thought, vainly and wickedly, to ingratiate them- 
 selves with him, by being the instruments of ac- 
 complishing my ruin ; if aiming at depriving me 
 of my rank ajad station, or of driving me from this
 
 55 
 
 eountry,they determined to bring forward a charge 
 of Treason against me, which, though they knew 
 in their consciences it was false, yet they might 
 hope would serve at least as a cover, and a pre- 
 tence, for such an imputation upon my character, 
 as, rendering my life intolerable in this country, 
 might drive me to seek a refuge in another; if, 
 the better to effectuate this purpose, they had re- 
 presented all my misfortunes as my faults, and my 
 faults alone,drawn an odious and disgusting picture 
 of me, to extinguish every sentiment of pity and 
 compassion, which, in the generosity, not only 
 of your Majesty's royal bosom, and of the mem- 
 bers of your Royal Family, but of all the inhabi- 
 tants of your kingdom, might arise to commise- 
 rate the unfortunate situation of a stranger, perse- 
 cuted under a charge originating in their malice; 
 if, for this, they flung out, that I had justly for* 
 feited my station in society, and that a separation 
 from my husband was, what I myself had once 
 wished, and what the Chancellor might now per- 
 haps procure for me ; or, if, in short, their object 
 was to obtain my condemnation by prejudice, in- 
 flamed by falsehood, which never could be ob- 
 tained by justice informed by truth, then the 
 whole texture of the declaration is consistent, and 
 it is well contrived and executed for its purpose. 
 But it is strange, that its purpose should have 
 escaped the detection of intelligent and impartial 
 minds. There was enough at least to have made 
 them pause before they gave such a degree of
 
 56 
 
 credit to informations of this description^ to have 
 made them the foundations of so important and 
 decisive a step, as that of advising them to he laid 
 hefore your Majesty. 
 
 And, indeed, such seems to have been the effect 
 which this declaration at first produced. Because 
 if it had been believed, the only thing to have been 
 done (according to the judgment of the Commis- 
 sioners,) would have been to have laid it imme- 
 diately before your Majesty, to whom, upon every 
 principle of duty,the communication was due. But 
 the declaration was made on the 3rd of December, 
 in the last year, and the communication was not 
 made to your Majesty till the very end of May. 
 And that interval appears to have been employed 
 in collecting those other additional declarations, 
 which are referred to in the Re port, and which your 
 Majesty has likewise been pleased, by your gra- 
 cious commands, to have communicated tome. 
 
 These additional declarations do not, I submit, 
 appear to furnish much additional reason for be- 
 lieving the incredible story. They were taken 
 indeed* " for the purpose," (for they are so des- 
 cribed, this is the title which is prefixed to them 
 in the authentic copies, with which 1 have been 
 furnished,) " for the purpose of confirming the 
 " statement made by Lady Douglas of the cir- 
 " cumstanccs mentioned in her narrative," and 
 they are the examinations of two persons, who ap- 
 pear to have formerly lived in the family of Sir 
 John and Lady Douglas, and of several servants of 
 
 * See Appendix (B) No. 3.
 
 57 
 
 my own ; they are filled with the hearsay details of 
 other servants' declarations. And one of them, W. 
 Cole, seems to have been examined over and over 
 again. No less than four of his examinations are 
 given, and some of these evidently refer to 
 other examinations of his, which are not given at 
 all. 
 
 These, I submit to your Majesty, are rendered, 
 from this marked circumstance, particularly unde- 
 serving of credit ; because, in the only instance in 
 which the hearsay statement, related to one ser- 
 vant, was followed by the examination of the other, 
 who was stated to have made it, (I mean an instance 
 in which Cole relates what he had heard said by 
 F. Lloyd)* F. Lloyd does not appear to have said 
 any such thing, or even to have heard what she is 
 by him related to have said, and she relates the 
 fact that she really did hear, stripped of all the 
 particulars with which Cole had coloured it, and 
 which alone made it in any degree deserving to be 
 mentioned. Besides this, the parents of the child 
 which is ascribed to me by Lady Douglas, are 
 plainly pointed out, and a clue is afforded, by which 
 if followed, it would have been as easy to have 
 ascertained, that that child was no child of mine, 
 (if indeed it ever had been seriously believed to be 
 so) and to have proved whose child it was, before 
 e appointment of the Commissioners, as it had 
 been found to be afterwards. 
 
 * Appejidix (B.) No, 3, 
 I
 
 58 
 
 So far, therefore, from concurring; with the 
 Commissioners in approving the advice, under 
 which his Royal Highness had acted, I conceive, 
 it to have been at least cruel and inconsiderate, to 
 have advised the transmission of such a charge to 
 your Majesty, till they had exhausted all the means 
 which private inquiry could have afforded, to as- 
 certain its falsehood or its truth. 
 
 And when it appears that it was not thought ne- 
 cessary, upon the first statement of it, as the Com- 
 missioners seem to have imagined, forthwith to 
 transmit to your Majesty ; but it was retained 
 for near six months, from the beginning of De- 
 cember till near the errd of May; what is due to 
 myself obliges me tostate,that if there had but been 
 in that interval, half the industry employed, to re- 
 move suspicions, which was exerted to raise them, 
 there would never have existed a necessitv for 
 
 IF 
 
 troubling your Majesty with this charge at all. I 
 beg to be understood as imputing this solely to the 
 ad vice given to his Royal Highness. He must, of 
 necessity,haveleft the detail and the determination 
 upon this business to others. And it is evident to 
 me, from what I now know, that his Royal High- 
 ness was not fairly dealt with ; that material infor- 
 mation was obtained, to disprove part of the case 
 against me, which, not appearing in the declara- 
 tions that were transmitted to your Majesty, I con- 
 clude was never communicated to his Royal High- 
 ness.
 
 Feeling, Sire, strongly, that I have much tp 
 complain of, that this foul charge should have been 
 so readily credited to my great prejudice, as to 
 have occasioned that advice to be given which re- 
 commended the transmission of it to your Majesty, 
 (who, once formally in possession of it, could' not 
 fail to subject it to some inquiry.) I have dwelt 
 perhaps, at a tedious length, in disputing the pro- 
 priety of the Commissioners' judgment, in thus 
 approving the course which was pursued. And, 
 looking to the event, and all the circumstances 
 connected with it, perhaps 1 have reason to rejoice 
 that the Inquiry has taken place. For if three 
 years concealment of my supposed crime) could 
 not impeach the credit of my accusers, three times 
 that period might perhaps be thought to have left 
 that credit, still unimpaired. And, had the false 
 charge been delayed till death had taken away the 
 real parents of the child, which Lady Doug a 
 charges to be mine ; if time had deprived me of 
 those servants and attendants who have been able 
 so fully to disprove the fact of my alledged preg- 
 nancy, 1 know not where I could have found the 
 means or disproving facts and charges, so falsely, 
 so confidently, and positively, sworn to, as those 
 to which Lady Douglas has attested. 
 
 Following, as I proposed, the course taken in 
 the Report, T next come to that part of it, to which 
 unquestionably I must recur with the greatest sa- 
 tisfaction ; because it is thatpart, which so com
 
 60 
 
 pletely absolves me of every possible suspicion^ 
 upon the two material charges, of pregnancy and 
 child-birth. 
 
 The Commissioners state in their Report,,* that 
 they began by examining e< on oath the two prin- 
 " cipal informants. Sir John and Lady Don glas,who 
 te both positively swore, the former to his having 
 ee observed the fact of pregnancy, and the latter to 
 f( all the important particulars contained in her 
 ee former declaration, and above referred to.* 
 " Their examinations are annexed to the Report, 
 '* and are circumstantial and positive." The most 
 material of "the allegations into the truth of which 
 " they had been directed to inquire, being thus far 
 '" supported by the oath of the parties from whom 
 et they had proceeded/' they state, " that they 
 te felt it their duty to follow up the Inquiry by the 
 te examination of such other persons, as they 
 te judged best able to afford them information, as 
 " to the facts in question." '' We thought it," 
 they say, ee beyond all doubt, that in this course 
 tc of Inquiry many particulars must belearnt which 
 <c would be necessarily conclusive on the truth or 
 " falsehood of these declarations. So many per- 
 " sons must have been witnesses to the appear- 
 ff ances of an actual existing pregnancy, so many 
 " circumstances must have been attendant upon 
 " a real delivery, g,nd difficulties so numerous arid 
 (( insurmountable must have been involved in any 
 
 * Report, p. 6. ante, f See Appendix (A.) p. 49.
 
 61 
 
 ** attempt to account for the infant in question,ai 
 
 " the child of another woman, if it had been in 
 
 " fact the child of the Princess ; that we entertain- 
 
 * e ed a full and confidentexpectation of arriving; at 
 
 " complete proof, either in the affirmative, or 
 
 <s negative on this part of the subject." fc This 
 
 {f expectation/* they proceeded to state, "was not 
 
 ' t disappointed. We are happy to declare -io 
 
 '* your Majesty, our perfect conviction that there 
 
 ft is no foundation whatever for believing that the 
 
 f< child now with the Princess is the child of her 
 
 " Royal Highness, or that she was delivered of 
 
 " any child in the year 1802 ; nor has any thing- 
 
 <f appeared to us which would warrant the belief 
 
 '* that she Was pregnant in that year, or at any 
 
 * f other period within the compass of our in- 
 
 <c quiries." They then proceed t > refer to the 
 
 circumstantial evidence, by which they state that 
 
 it was proved that the child was, beyond all doubt, 
 
 born in Brownlow-street Hospital, on lith July, 
 
 1802j of the body of Sophia Austin, and brought 
 
 to my house in the month of November following. 
 
 <f Neither should we," they add, (t be more 
 
 te warranted in expressing any doubt respecting 
 
 " the alledged pregnancy of the Princess, as stated 
 
 et in th original declarations ; a fact so fully con- 
 
 t{ tradicted, and by so many witnesses, to whom 
 
 (t if true, it must, in various ways, have been 
 
 " known, that we cannot think it entitled to the 
 
 ft smallest credit." Then, after stating that they 
 
 fcave annexed the depositions from which they have
 
 62 
 
 collected these opinions, they add " We hum- 
 " bly offer to your Majesty our clear and unani- 
 " inous judgment upon them, formed on full de 
 " liberation, and pronounced without hesitation, 
 " on the result of the whole Inquiry." 
 
 These two most important facts, therefore, 
 which are charged against me, being so fully, and 
 satisfactorily, disposed of, by the unanimous and 
 clear judgment of the Commissioners; being so 
 fully and completely disproved by the evidence 
 which the Commissioners collected, I might, per- 
 haps, in your Majesty's judgment appear well jus- 
 tified, in passing them by without any observation 
 of mine. But though the observations which I 
 shall make shall be very few, yet 1 cannot forbear 
 just dwelling upon this part of the case, for a few 
 minutes ; because, if 1 do not much deceive myself, 
 upon every principle which can govern the human 
 mind, in the investigation of the truth of any 
 charge, the fate of this part of the accusation must 
 have decisive weight upon the determination of 
 the remainder. I therefore must beg to remark, 
 that Sir John Douglas* swears to my having ap- 
 peared, some time after our acquaintance had com- 
 menced, to be with child, and that one day I 
 leaned on the sofa, and put my hand upon my sto- 
 mach, and said, " Sir John, I shall never be Queen 
 " of England ;" and he said, " not if you don't 
 " deserve/' and I seemed angry at first. 
 
 * See Appendix (A) p, 6.
 
 6) 
 
 This conversation, I apprehend, if it has the 
 least relation to the subject on which Sir John was 
 examined, must be given for the purpose of insi- 
 nuating that 1 made an allusion to my pregnancy, 
 as if there was a sort of understanding between him 
 and me upon the subject, and that he made me 
 angry, by an expression which implied, that what 
 I alluded to would forfeit my right to be Queen of 
 England. If this is not the meaning which Sir 
 John intends to be annexed to this conversation, I 
 am perfectly at a loss to conceive what he can in- 
 tend to convey. Whether at any time, when 
 I may have felt myself unwell, I may have used the 
 expression, which he here imputes to me, my me- 
 mory will not enable me, with the least degree of 
 certainty to state. The words themselves seem 
 to me to be perfectly innocent ; and the action of 
 laying my hand upon my breast, if occasioned by 
 any sense of internal pain at the moment, neither 
 unnatural, nor, as it appears to me, in any way 
 censurable. But that I could have used these 
 words, intending to convey to Sir John Douglas 
 the meaning, which I suppose him to insinuate, 
 surpasses all human credulity to believe, I could 
 not, however, forbear to notice this passage in Sir 
 John's examination, because it must serve to de- 
 monstrate to your Majesty how words, in them- 
 selves most innocent, are endeavoured to be tor- 
 tured, by being brought into the context with his 
 opinion of my pregnancy, to convey a meaning 
 most contrary to that, which I could by possibility
 
 64 
 
 have intended to convey, but which it was neces- 
 ar\ that he should impute to me, to give the bet- 
 ter colour to this false accusation. 
 
 As to Sir John Douglas, however, when he 
 swears to the appearances of my pregnancy, he 
 possibly might be only mistaken. Not that mis- 
 take will excuse or diminish the guilt of so scanda- 
 lous a falsehood upon oath. But for Lady Douglas 
 there cannot beeven such an excuse. Independent of 
 all those extravagant confessions which she falsely 
 represents me to have made, she states, upon her 
 own observation and knowledge, that I was preg- 
 nant in the year 1802. Now, in the habits of in- 
 tercourse and intimacy, with which I certainly did 
 live uith her, at that time, she could not be mis- 
 taken as to that fact. It is impossible, therefore, 
 that in swearing positively to that fact, which is so 
 positively disproved, she can fail to appear to your 
 Majesty to be wilfully and deliberately forsworn. 
 As to the conversations which she asserts to have 
 passed between us, 1 am well aware, that those, 
 who prefer her word to mine, will not be satisfied 
 to disbelieve her upon my bare denial; nor, per- 
 haps, upon the improbability and extravagance of 
 the supposed conversations themselves. 'But as to 
 the facts of pregnancy and delivery, which are 
 proved to be false, in the words of the Report, 
 " by so many witnesses, to whom, if true, they 
 " must in various ways have been known/' no 
 person living can doubt that the crime of adultery 
 and treason, as proved by those facts, has been at-
 
 tempted to be fixed upon me, by the deliberate 
 and wilful falsehood of this my most forward accu- 
 ser. And when it is once established, as it is, that 
 my pregnancy and delivery are all Sir John and 
 Lady Douglas's invention, I should imagine that 
 my confessions of a pregnancy which never exist- 
 ed ; my confession of a delivery which never took 
 place; my confession of having suckled a child 
 which I never bore, will hardly be believed upon 
 the credit of her testimony. The credit of Lady 
 Douglas, therefore, being thus destroyed, I trust 
 Your Majesty will think that I ought to scorn to 
 answer to any thing which her examination may 
 contain, except so far as there may appear to be 
 any additional and concurrent evidence to sup- 
 port it. 
 
 This brings me to the remaining part of the Re- 
 port, which I read, I do assure your Majesty, with 
 a degree of astonishment and surprise, that I know 
 not how to express. How the Commissioners 
 could, upon such evidence, from such witnesses, 
 upon such an information, and in such an exports 
 proceeding, before I had had the possibility of be- 
 ing heard, not only suffer themselves to form such 
 an opinion, but to report it to Your Majesty, with 
 all the weight and authority of their greatnames,! 
 am perfectly at a loss to conceive. Their great 
 official and judicial occupations, no doubt, pre- 
 vented thatfull attention to the subject which it re- 
 quired. But I ain not surely without just ground* 
 
 K
 
 of complaint, if they proceeded to pronounce an 
 opinion upon my character, \vithout all that consi- 
 deration and attention, \vbich the importance of 
 it to the peace of Your Majesty's mind, to the 
 honour of your Royal Family, and the reputation 
 of the Princess of Wales, seenr, indispensably, to 
 have demanded. 
 
 In the part of the Report already referred to, the 
 particulars of the charge, exclusive of those two 
 important facts, which have been so satisfactorily 
 disposed of, are, as I have already observed, vari- 
 ously described by the Commissioners; as, " mat- 
 tf ters of great impropriety and indecency of beha- 
 '' viour;" as " other particulars in themselves ex- 
 tf tremely suspicious, and still more so, when con- 
 " nected with the assertions already mentioned ;'* 
 and as ef points of the same nature, though going 
 " to a much less extent." But they do not be- 
 come the subject of particular attention in the 
 Report, till after the Commissioners had concl tided 
 that part of it, in which they give so decisive an 
 opinion against the truth of the charge upon the 
 two material facts. They then proceed to state 
 
 " That they cannot close their Report there,'* 
 much as they could wish it ; that besides the alle- 
 gations of the pregnancy and delivery of the Prin- 
 cess, those declarations onthe whole of which your 
 Majesty had required their Inquiry and Report, 
 contain other particulars respecting the conduct of 
 Her Royal Highness, such as must, especially considering 
 her exalted rank and station t necessarily give occasion fa
 
 67 
 
 very unfavourable interpretations. That from va- 
 rious depositions and proofs annexed to their 
 Report, particularly from the examination of Ro* 
 leri Bidgood, W. Cole, F. Lloyd, and Mrs. Lisle* 
 several strong circumstances of this description, 
 have been positively sworn to, by witnesses, who 
 cannot in the judgment of the Commissioners, be 
 suspected of any unfavourable bias, and whose 
 veracity in THIS RESPECT, they hadsmi no ground 
 to question." They then state that <e on the pre- 
 cise bearing and effect of the facts, thus appear- 
 ing, it is not for them to decide, these they sub- 
 mit to your Majesty's wisdom. But they conceive 
 it to be their duty to report on this part of the 
 Inquiry, as distinctly as on the former facts ; 
 that as, on the one hand, the facts of pregnancy and 
 delivery are, in their minds, satisfactorily dispro- 
 ved, so on the other hand they think, that the cir- 
 cumstances to which they now refer, particularly those stated 
 to have passed beticeen Her Royal Highness and Captain 
 Slauby, must be credited until they shall receive some deci- 
 sive contradiction, audiftrue, are justly entitled to the mosi_ 
 serious consideration" 
 
 Your Majesty will not fail to observe that the 
 Commissioners have entered into the examination 
 of this part of the case, and have reported upon it, 
 not merely as evidence in confirmation of the 
 charges of pregnancy and delivery which they have 
 Completely negatived and disposed of, but as con- 
 taining substantive matters of charge, in itself. 
 That they consider it indeed as relating to points 
 5* of the same nature, but going to a much less
 
 68 
 
 " extent/' not therefore as constituting actual 
 crime, but as amounting to cc improprieties and 
 " indecencies of behaviour, aggravated by the ex- 
 ff alted rank which I hold," as <f occasioning unfa- 
 " vourable interpretations/' and as " entitled to 
 " the most serious consideration." And when 
 they also state that it is not for them to decide on 
 their precise bearing and effect, I think I am justi- 
 fied in concluding that they could not class them 
 under any known head of crime; as,inthat case,upon 
 their bearing and effect they would have been fully 
 competent to have pronounced. 
 
 I have, to a degree, already stated to Your 
 Majesty, the unprecedented hardship to which 
 I conceive myself to have been exposed, by this ex 
 parte Inquiry into the decorum of my private 
 conduct. I have already stated the prejudice done 
 to my character, by this recorded censure, from 
 which I can have no appeal ; and I press these 
 considerations no further upon Your Majesty, at 
 present, than to point out, in passing this part of 
 the Report, the just foundations which it affords 
 me for making the complaint. 
 
 Your Majesty will also, I am persuaded, not fail 
 to remark the strange obscurity and reserve, the 
 mysterious darkness, with which the Report here 
 expresses itself; and every one must feel how this 
 aggravates the severity and cruelty of the censure, 
 by rendering it impossible distinctly and specifi- 
 cally to meet it. The Commissioners state indeed 
 that some things are proved against me, which.
 
 Miust be credited till they shall receive a decisive 
 contradiction,, but what those things are they do 
 not state. They are ' r particulars and circum- 
 te stances which, especially considering my exalted 
 fe rank, must give occasion to the most unfavou- 
 <e rable interpretations. They are several strong 
 <e circumstances of this description/' " they are, 
 *' if true, j ustly deserving of most serious consider- 
 " ation," and they ff must be credited till decid- 
 f< edly contradicted." But what are these cir- 
 cumstances ? What are these deeds without a 
 name ? Was there ever a charge so framed ? 
 Was ever any one put to answer any charge, and 
 decidedly to contradict it., or submit to have it 
 credited against him, which was conceived in such 
 terms, without the means of ascertaining what these 
 things are., except as conjecture may enable me to 
 surmise, to what parts of the examinations of the 
 four witnesses on whom they particularly rely, they 
 attach the importance and the weight which seem 
 to them to justify these dark and ambiguous cen- 
 sures on my conduct ? But such as they are, and 
 whatever they may be, they must, your Majesty is 
 told, be credited unless they are decidedly contra- 
 dicted. 
 
 Circumstances, respecting Captain Manby, 
 indeed are particularized ; but referring to the 
 depositions which apply to him, they contain 
 much matter of opinion, of hearsay, of suspicion. 
 Are these hearsays, are these opinions, are these 
 suspicions, and conjectures of these witnesses, to 
 be believed against me, unless decidedly contra-
 
 70 
 
 dieted ? How can I decidedly contradict another 
 person's opinion ? 1 may reason against its justice, 
 but how can I contradict it ? Or how can I de- 
 cidedly contradict any thing whicii is not pre- 
 cisely specified, nor distinctly known to me ? 
 
 Your Majesty will also observe that the Report 
 states that it is not for the Commissioners to de- 
 cide upon the bearing and effect of these facts; 
 these are left for your Majesty's decision. But 
 they add that if true, they are justly entitled to 
 the most serious consideration. I cannot, Sire, 
 but collect from these passages, an intimation that 
 some further proceedings may be meditated. And 
 perhaps, if I acted with perfect prudence, seeing 
 bow much resaon I have to fear, from the fabri- 
 cations of falsehood, I ought to have waited till I 
 knew what course, civil, or criminal, your Ma- 
 jesty might be advised to pursue before I offered 
 any observations or answer. To this alternative 
 however I am driven. I must either remain si- 
 lent, and reserve my defence, leaving the imputa- 
 tion to operate mest injuriously and fatally to my 
 character ; or I must, by entering into a defence 
 against so extended a charge, expose myself with 
 much greater hazard to any future attacks. But 
 the fear of possible danger, to arise from the per- 
 verted interpretation of rny answer, cannot in- 
 duce me to acquiesce under the certain mischief 
 of the unjust censure and judgment which stands 
 against me, as it were, recorded in this Report. 
 I shall therefore, at whatever hazard, proceed to 
 submit to your Majesty, in whose justice I have
 
 71 
 
 (he most satisfactory reliance, my answer and my 
 observations upon this part of the case. 
 
 And here, Sire, I cannot forbear again presuming 
 to state to your Majesty, that it is not a little 
 hard, that the Commissioners (who state in the 
 beginning of their Report, that certain particulars, 
 in themselves, extremely suspicious, were, in the 
 judgment which they had formed upon them, be- 
 fore they entered into the particulars of the In- 
 quiry, rendered still more suspicious from being 
 connected with the assertion of pregnancy and de- 
 livery, should have made no observation upon the 
 degree, in which that suspicion must be propor- 
 tionably abated, when those assertions of pregnancy 
 and delivery, have been completely falsified and 
 disproved ; that they should make no remark upon 
 the fact, that all the witnesses, (with the exception 
 of Mrs. Lisle,)on whom they specifically rely,were 
 every one of them,, brought forward by the prin- 
 cipal informers, for the purpose of supporting the 
 false statement of Lady Douglas ; that they are the 
 witnesses therefore of persons, whom, after the 
 complete falsification of their charge, I am justi- 
 fied in describing as conspirators who have been 
 detected, in supporting their conspiracy by their 
 own perjury. And surely where a conspiracy, to 
 fix a charge upon an individual, has been plainly 
 detected, the witnesses of those who have been so 
 detected in that conspiracy, witnesses that are 
 brought forward to support this false charge, 
 eaunot stand otherwise than. considerably affected
 
 tt 
 
 in their credit, by tbeir connection with thtose who 
 are detected in that conspiracy. But instead of 
 pointing out this circumstance, as calling, at least 
 for some degree of caution and reserve, in consi- 
 dering the testimony of these witnesses, the Report 
 on the contrary, holds them up as worthy of par- 
 ticular credit, as witnesses, who, in the judgment of 
 the Commissioners, cannot be suspected of unfa- 
 vourable bias; whose veracity, in that respect* they 
 have seen no ground to question ; and who must be 
 credited till theyreceive some decided contradiction. 
 Now, Sire, I feel the fullest confidence that I 
 shall prove to your Majesty's most perfect satis- 
 faction, that all of these witnesses (of course I still 
 exclude Mrs. Lisle) are under the influence, and 
 exhibit the symptoms of the most unfavourable 
 bias ; that their veracity is in every respect to 
 be doubted ; and that they cannot, by any can- 
 did and attentive mind, be deemed worthy of the 
 least degree of credit, upon this charge, your 
 Majesty will easily conceive, how great my sur- 
 prise and astonishment must have been at this 
 part of the Report. I am indeed a little at a loss 
 to know, whether I understand the passage, which 
 1 have cited from the Report, " The witnesses 
 fe in the judgment of the Commissioners are not 
 ft to be suspected of unfavourable bias, and their 
 " veracity in that respect they have seen no reason 
 tc to question." What is meant by their having 
 seen no reason to suspect their veracity in that 
 respect ? Do they mean, what the qualification
 
 73 
 
 srems to imply, that they have seen reason to 
 question it i;i other respects ? Is it meant to be 
 insinuated that they saw reason to question their 
 veracity, not in respect of an unfavourable bias, 
 but of a bias in my favour? I cannot impute to 
 them such an insinuation, because I am satisfied 
 that the Commissioners would never have intended 
 to insinuate any thing so directly contrary to the 
 truth. 
 
 The witnesses specifically pointed out, as thus 
 particularly deserving- of credit, are *W Cole, 
 ||R. Bidgood, fF. Lloyd, and J Virs L sle With 
 respect to Mrs. Lisle, I trust your M j -sty w 11 
 permit me to mike my observations upon her 
 examination, as distinctly an.1 separately, as I 
 possibly can, from the others. Because, as \ ever 
 had, and have now, as much as ever, the most 
 perfect respect for Mrs. Lisle, I would avoid the 
 possibility of having it imagined that such obser- 
 vations, as I shall be under the absolute necessity 
 of making, upon the other witnesses, could be 
 intended, in any degree, to be applied to her. 
 
 With respect to Cole, Bidgood, and Lloyd, 
 they have all lived in their places, for a long time ; 
 they had lived with His Royal Highness the 
 Prince of Wales before he married, and were 
 
 * Appendix (A) No. 5. 
 j| Appendix (A.) No. 4. 
 f Appendix (A.) N.6. 
 
 * Apprndix (A.) No. 27, 
 
 L
 
 74 
 
 Appointed by him to situations about me ; Cole 
 and Lloyd immediately upon my marriage, and 
 Bidgood very shortly afterwards. I know not 
 whether from this circumstance they may consider 
 themselves as not owing that undivided duty and 
 regard to me, which servants of my own appoint- 
 ment, might possibly have felt ; but if I knew 
 nothing more of them than that they had consented 
 to be voluntarily examined, for the purpose of 
 supporting the statement of Lady Douglas on a 
 charge so deeply affecting my honour, without 
 communicating to me thefact of such examination, 
 your Majesty would not, I am sure, be surprized, to 
 find, that I saw, in that circumstance alone, suffi- 
 cient to raise some suspicions of an unfavourable 
 bias. But* when I find Cole, particularly, sub- 
 mitting to this secret and voluntary examination 
 against me, no less than four times, and when I 
 found, during the pendency of this Inquiry before 
 the Commissioners, that one of them, R. Bidgood, 
 was so far connected, and in league, with Sir John 
 and Lady Douglas, as to have communication 
 with the latter, I thought I saw the proof of such 
 decided hostility and confederacy against me, that 
 J felt obliged to order the discontinuance of his 
 attendance at my house till further orders. Of 
 the real bias of their minds, however, with respect 
 to rne, your Majesty will be better able to judge 
 from the consideration of their evidence. 
 
 The imputations which I collect tobeconsidered 
 a? cast upon me, by these several witnesses., are top
 
 VI 
 
 great familiarity and intimacy with several gen- 
 tlemen, Sir Sidney Smith, Mr. Lawrence, Cap- 
 tain Manby, and I know not whether the same 
 are not meant to be extended to Lord Hdod, Mr. 
 Chester, and Captain Moore. 
 
 With your Majesty's permission, therefore, I 
 \villexaminetbedeposttionsofthe witnesses, as 
 they respect these several gentlemen, in their 
 order, keeping the evidence, which is applicable 
 to each case, as distinct from the others as I can. 
 
 And I will begin with those which respect Sir 
 Sidney Smith, as he is the person first mentioned 
 in the deposition of W. Cole. 
 
 W. Cole says,* "that Sir Sidney Smith first 
 visited at Montague House in 1802; that he 
 observed that the Princess was too familiar with 
 Sir Sidney Smith. One day, he thinks in Febru- 
 ary, he (Cole) carried into tile Blue Room to 
 the Princess some sandwiches which she had order- 
 ed, and was surprised to see that Sir Sidney was 
 there. He must have come in from the Park. If 
 he had been let in from Blackheath he must have 
 passed through the room in which he (Cole) was 
 waiting. When he had left the sandwiches, he 
 returned, after some time, into the room, and 
 Sir Sidney Smith was sitting very close to the 
 Princess on the sofa ; He ( Cole) looked at her 
 Royal Highness, she caught his eye, and gaw that 
 
 * Appeodjx (A.) So, 5,
 
 76 
 
 he noticed the manner in which they were sitting 
 together, they appeared both a little confused." 
 
 R. Bidgood says also, in his deposition* on the 
 6th of June, (for he was examined twice) " that it 
 was early in 1802 that he first observed Sir Sid- 
 ney Smith come to Montague House. He used 
 to stay very late at night ; he had seen him early 
 in the morning there ; about ten or eleven o'clock. 
 He was at Sir John Douglas's and was in the habit 
 as well as Sir John and Lady Douglas of dining or 
 having luncheon, or supping there every day. 
 He saw Sir Sidney Smith one day in 1802 in the 
 Blue Room, about 11 o'clock in the morning, 
 which was full two hours before they expected 
 ever to see company. He asked the servants why 
 they did not let him know Sir Sidney Smith was 
 there ; the footman told him that they had let no 
 person in. There was a private door to the Park, 
 by which he might have come in if he had a key- 
 to it, and have got into the Blue Room without 
 any of the servants perceiving him. And in his 
 second deposition, taken on the 3d of July, he 
 says he lived at Montague House when Sir Sidney 
 came. Her (the Princess's) manner with him ap- 
 peared very familiar ; she appeared very attentive 
 to him, but he did not suspect any thing further. 
 Mrs. Lisle says that the Princess at one time 
 appeared to like Sir John and Lady Douglas. 
 te I have seen Sir Sidney Smith there very late- in 
 the evening, but not alone with the Princess. I 
 
 * Appendix (A.) No. 4.
 
 have no reason to suspect he had a kov of the Park 
 gate ; I never heard of any bady being found wan- 
 dering about at Blackheath." 
 
 Fanny Loyd does not mention Sir Sidney Smith 
 in her deposition. 
 
 Upon the whole of this evidence then, w r hich 
 is the whole that respects Sir Sidney Smith, in 
 any of these depositions (except some particular 
 passage in Cole's evidence which are so impor- 
 tant as to require very particular and distinct state- 
 ment) I would request your Majesty to understand 
 that, with respect to the fact of Sir Sidney Smith's 
 visiting frequently at Montague House, both with 
 Sir John and Lady Douglas, and without them ; 
 with respect to his being frequently there, at lun- 
 cheon, dinner, and supper; and staying with the 
 rest of the company till twelve, one o'clock, or 
 even sometimes later, if these are some of the facts 
 " which must give occasion to unfavourable inter- 
 *' pretations, and must be credited till they are 
 " contradicted ; they are facts, which I never can 
 contradict, for they are perfectly true. And I 
 trust it will imply the confession of no guilt, to 
 admit that Sir Sidney Smith's conversation, his 
 account of the various and extraordinary events, 
 and heroic achievements in which he had been 
 concerned, amused and interested me ; and the 
 circumstance of his livinsr so much with his 
 
 O 
 
 friends, Sir John and Lady Douglas, in my neigh- 
 bourhood on Blackheath, gave the opportunity of 
 bis increasing his acquaintance witb me.
 
 78 
 
 It happened also that about this time I fitted up,- 
 as your Majesty may have observed, one of the 
 rooms in my house after the fashion of a Turkish 
 Tent. Sir Sidney furnished me with a pattern for 
 it, in a drawing of the Tent of Murat Bey, which 
 he had brought over with him from Egypt. And 
 he taught me how to draw Egyptian Arabesques, 
 which were necessary for the ornaments of the 
 cieling ; this may have occasioned, while that 
 room was fitting up, several visits, and possibly 
 some, though I do not recollect them, as early in 
 the morning as Mr Bidgood mentions. I believe 
 also that it has happened more than once, that, 
 walking with my ladies in the Park, we have met 
 Sir Sidney Smith, and that he has come in, with 
 us, through the gate from the Park. My ladies 
 may have gone up to take off their cloaks, or to 
 dress, and have left me alone with him: and, at 
 some one of these times, it may very possibly 
 have happened that Mr. Cole, and Mr. Bidgood 
 may have seen him, when he has not come through 
 the waiting-room, nor been let it by any of the 
 footmen. But I solemnly declare to your Majesty 
 that I have not the least idea or belief that he ever 
 had a key of the gate into the Park, or that he 
 ever entered in or passed out, at that gate, except 
 in company with myself arid my ladies. As for 
 the circumstance of my permitting him to be in 
 the room alone with me ; if suffering a man to be 
 so alone is evidence ofguilt,from whence the om- 
 jnissionerscan draw any unfavourable inference, I
 
 79 
 
 tnust leave them to draw it. For I cannot deny 
 that it has happened, and happened frequently; 
 not only with Sir Sidney Smith, but with many, 
 many others; gentlemen who have visited me; 
 tradesmen who have corne to receive my orders ; 
 masters whom I have had to instruct me, in paint- 
 ing, in music, in English, &c. that I have re- 
 ceived them without any one v beirig by. In short r 
 I trust I am not confessing a crime, for unques- 
 tionably it is a truth, that i never had an idea that 
 there was any thing wrong, or objectionable, in 
 thus seeing men, in the morning, and I confidently 
 believe your Majesty will see nothing in it, from 
 which any guilt can be inferred. I feel certain 
 that there is nothing immoral in the thing itself; 
 and I have always understood, that it was perfectly 
 customary and usual for ladies of the first rank, and 
 the first character, in the country, to receive the 
 visits of gentlemen in a morning, though they might 
 be themselves alone at the time. But, if, in the 
 opinions and fashions of this country, there should 
 be more impropriety ascribed to it, than what it 
 ever entered into my mind to conceive, 1 hope your 
 Majesty, and every candid mind, will make allow- 
 ance for the different notions which my foreign 
 education and foreign habits may have given me. 
 But whatever character may belong to this prac- 
 tice, it is not a practice which commenced after my 
 leaving Carltou House. While there, and from 
 my first arrival in this country, I was accustomed, 
 with the knowledge of His .Royal Highness the 
 Prince of Wales, and without his ever
 
 80 
 
 hinted to me the slightest disapprobation, to re- 
 ceive lessons from various masters, for my amuse- 
 ment, and improvement ; I was attended by them 
 frequently, from twelve o'cloek till five in the af- 
 ternoon ; -Mr. Atwoodfor music, Mr. Geftadiere 
 for English, Mr. Tourfronelli for painting, Mr* 
 Tutoye for imitating marble, Mr. Elvves for the 
 Larp. I saw them all alone; and indeed, if I were 
 to see them at all, I could do no otherwise than see 
 them alone. Miss Garth, who was then sub-gover- 
 ness to my daughter, lived, certainly, under the 
 same roof with me, but she could not be spared 
 from her duty and attendance on my daughter. I 
 desired her sometimes to come down stairs, and 
 read to me, during the time when I drew or paint- 
 ed, but my Lord Cholmondely informed me this 
 could not be. I then requested that I might have 
 one of my bed-chamber women to live constantly 
 at Carlton House, that I might have her at call 
 whenever I wanted her ; but 1 was answered that 
 it was not customary, that the attendants of the 
 Royal Family should live with them in town ; so 
 that request could not be complied with. But, 
 independent of this, I never conceived that it was 
 offensive to the fashions and mannersof the country 
 to receive gentlemen who might call upon me in a 
 morning, whether I had or had not any one with 
 me ; and it never occurred to me to think that there 
 was either impropriety or indecorum in it, at that 
 time, nor in continuing the practice at Montague 
 
 House. But this has been confined to morning 
 
 '
 
 visits, in no private apartments in my house, but 
 in my drawing-room, where my ladies have at all 
 times free access, and as they usually take their 
 luncheon with me, except when they are engaged 
 with visitors or pursuits of their own, it could but 
 rarely occur that I could be left with any gentleman 
 alone for any length of time,unlesstherewere some- 
 thing, in the known and avowed business, which 
 might occasion his waiting upon me, that would 
 fully account for the circumstance. 
 
 I trust your Majesty will excuse the length at 
 which 1 have dwelt upon this topic* I perceived, 
 from the examinations, that it had been much in- 
 quired after, and 1 felt it necessary to represent it 
 in its true light. And the candour of your Majes- 
 ty's mind will, I am confident, suggest that those 
 .who are the least conscious of intending guilt, A*C 
 .the least suspicious of having it imputed to them ; 
 and therefore that they do not think it riecessarj to 
 guard themselves at every turn, with witnesses 
 to prove their innocence, fancying their character 
 to be safe, as long as their conduct is innocent, and 
 that guilt will not be imputed to them from actions 
 cjuite indifferent. 
 
 The deposition however of Mr. Cole is not con- 
 fined to my being' alone with Sir Sidney Smith. 
 ^The circumstances in which he observed us toge 
 ther he particularizes, and states his opinion. He 
 introduces, indeed, the whole of the evidence by 
 saying thatl was too familiar with SirSidneySmith; 
 
 M
 
 82 
 
 but as 1 trust I am not yet so far degraded as to 
 have my character decided by the opiuion of Mr* 
 Cole, I shall not comment upon that observation. 
 He then proceeds to describe the scene which he 
 observed on the day when he brought in the sand- 
 wiches, which I trust your Majesty did not fail to 
 notice, / had myself ordered to be brought in. 
 For there is an obvious insinuation that Sir Sidney 
 must have come in through the Park, and that 
 there was great impropriety in his being alone with 
 me. And at least the witness's own story proves, 
 whatever impropriety there might be, in this cir- 
 cumstance,that c was not conscious of it,normeant 
 to take advantage of his clandestine entry, from the 
 Park, to conceal the fact from my servant's obser- 
 vation. For if [had had such consciousness, or 
 such meaning, e never could have ordered sand- 
 wiches to have been brought in, or any other act to 
 have been done, which must have brought myself 
 under the notice of my servants, while I continued 
 in a situation, which I thought improper,and wished 
 to conceal. Any of the circumstances of this visit, 
 to which this part of the deposition refers, my me- 
 mory does not enable me in the least degree to pa/- 
 ticularize and recal. Mr. Cole may have seen 
 me sitting on the same sofa with Sir Sidney Smith. 
 Nay, 1 have no doubt he must have seen me, over 
 and over again, not only with Sir Sidney Smith, but 
 with other gentlemen, sitting upon the same sofa ; 
 and I trust your Majesty will feel it the hardest 
 thing imaginable, that I should be called upon to
 
 83 
 
 account what corner of a sofa] sat upon four yean 
 ago, and how close SirSidney Smith was sitting to 
 me. 1 can only solemnly aver to your Majesty, 
 that my conscience supplies me with the fullest 
 means of confidently assuring you, that I never 
 permitted Sir Sidney Smith to sit on any sofa with 
 me in any manner,which, in my own judgment was 
 in the slightest degree offensive to the strictest 
 propriety and decorum. In thejudgment of many 
 persons, perhaps, a Princess of Wales should at no 
 time forget the elevation of her rank, or descend in 
 any degree to the familiarities and intimacies of 
 private life. Under any circumstances, this would 
 be a hard condition to be annexed to her situation. 
 Urdei the circumstances, in which it has been my 
 misfortune to have lost the necessary support to 
 the dignity and station of a Princess of Wales, to 
 have assumed and maintained an unbending dig- 
 nity would have been impossible, and if possible, 
 could hardly have been expected from me. 
 
 After these observations, Sire, I must now re- 
 quest your Majesty's attention to those written 
 declarations which are mentioned in the Report, 
 and which I shall never be able sufficiently to thank 
 yourMajesty for having condescended, in compli- 
 ance with my earnest request, to order to be trans- 
 mitted to me From observations upon those de- 
 clarations themselves, as well as upon comparing 
 them with the depositions made before the Com- 
 missioners, your Majesty will see the strongest 
 reason for discrediting the testimony of W. Cole,
 
 84 
 
 as well as others of these witnesses whose credit 
 stands in the opinion of the Commissioners so un- 
 impeachable. They supply important observa- 
 tions, even with respect to that part of Mr. Cole's 
 evidence which I am now considering, though in 
 no degree equal in importance to those which I 
 shall afterwards have occasion to notice. 
 
 Your Majesty will please to observe, that there 
 are no less than four different examinations, or de- 
 clarations, of Mr. Cole. They are dated on the 
 Hth, 14th, and 30th of January, and on 23rd of 
 February. In these four different declarations he 
 twice mentions thecircumstance offmdingSir Sid- 
 ney Smith and myself on the sofa, and he mentions 
 it not only in a different manner, at each of those 
 times, but at both of them in a manner, which ma- 
 terially differs from his deposition before the Com- 
 missioners. In his declaration on tliel 1th oKIanuary* 
 he says, that he found us in so familiar a posture, 
 astoa/arm him very much, which he expressed 
 by a start back and a look at the gentleman. 
 
 In that dated on 22d of February, f however 
 (being asked, I suppose as to that which he had 
 dated to assert, of the familiar posture which had 
 akrmed him somuch,)hesays, "there was nothing' 
 particular in our dress, position t>f legs, or arms, 
 that was extraordinary ; he thought it improper 
 that a single gentleman should be sitting quite close 
 to a married lady on the sofa, and from that 
 
 *See Appendix (B.) p. 4?8. 
 fr Sec Appendix (B) p. 10*2-
 
 tion, and/onnr observations he thought the thing- 
 improper. In this second account,therefore,your 
 ]V1 ajesty perceives he was obliged to bring in his 
 former observation to help out the statement, in 
 order to account for his having been so shocked 
 with what he saw, as to express his alarm by 
 " starting back.'* But unfortunately he accounts 
 for it, as it seems to me at least, by the very cir- 
 cumstance which would have induced him to have 
 been less surprised, and consequently loss startled 
 by what he saw ; for had his former observations 
 been such as he insinuates, he would have been 
 prepared the more to expect, and the less to be 
 surprised at, what he pretends to have seen. 
 
 But your Majesty will observe, that in his depo- 
 sition before the Commissioners* (recollecting 
 perhaps how awkwardly he had accounted for bis 
 starting in his former declaration.) he drops his 
 starting altogether. Instead of looking at the gen- 
 tleman only, he looked at us both, that I caught his 
 eye,and saw that he noticed the manner in which we 
 vveresitting,and instead of his own starting, or any 
 description of the manner in which he exhibited 
 his own feelings, we are represented as both sp- 
 peuring a little confused. Our confusion is a cir- 
 cumstance, which during his four declarations, 
 which he made before the appointment of the 
 Commissioners, it never once occurred to him to 
 recollect. And now he does recollect it, we ap- 
 peared, he says, " a little confused.'*- -A little con- 
 fused!" The Princess of Wales detected in a situa- 
 * Appendix (A } p- II.
 
 86 
 
 ation such as to shock and glarm her servant,and so 
 detected as to be sensible other detection, and so 
 conscious of the impropriety of the situation as to 
 exhibit symptoms of confusion ; would not her 
 confusion have been extreme ? would it have been 
 so little as to have slipped the memory of the wit- 
 ness who observed it, during his first four decla- 
 rations, and at last to be recalled to his recollection 
 jn such a manner as to be represented in the faint 
 and feeble way, in which he here describes it. 
 
 What weight your Majesty will ascribe to these 
 differences in the accounts given by this witness, I 
 cannot pretend to say. But I am ready to confess 
 that, probably, if there was nothing stronger of 
 the same kind to be observed, in other parts of his 
 testimony, the inference which would be drawn 
 from them, would depend very much upon the 
 opinion previously entertained of the witness. To 
 ine, who know many parts of his testimony to be 
 absolutely false, and all the colouring given to it to 
 
 be whollv from his own wicked and malicious in- 
 
 / 
 
 vention, it appears plain, that these differences in 
 his representations, are the unsteady, awkward, 
 shuffles and prevarications of falsehood. To those, 
 if there are any such, who from\ preconceived pre- 
 judices in his favour,or from any other circumstan- 
 ces, think that his veracity is free from all suspi- 
 cion, satisfactory means of reconciling- them may 
 possibly occur. But before I have left Mr. Cole's 
 examinations, your Majesty v\ill find that they 
 will have much more, to account for, and much 
 more to reconcile.
 
 37 
 
 * A, 
 
 Mr. Cole's examination before the Commission- 
 ers goes on thus : " *A short time before this, 
 *' one night about twelve o'clock, I saw a man go 
 " into the house from the Park, wrapt up in a 
 " great coat. I did not give any alarm, for the 
 *' impression on my mind was, that it was not 
 " a thief.'* When I read this passage, Sire, I 
 could hardly believe my eyes ; when I found such a 
 fact left in this d.irk state, without any further ex- 
 planation, or without a trace in the examination of 
 any attempt to get it further explained. How he 
 got this impression on his mind, that this was not 
 a thief? Whom he believed it to be? What part 
 of the house he saw him enter? If the drawing- 
 room, or any part which I usually occupy, who 
 was there at the time? Whether I was there? 
 Whether alone, or with my Ladies ? or with other 
 company ? Whether he told any body of the cir- 
 cumstance at the time ? or how long after ? Whom 
 he told ? Whether any inquiries were made in 
 consequence ? These, and a thousand other ques- 
 tions, with a view to have penetrated into the mys- 
 tery of this strange story, and to have tried the 
 credit of this witness,would, I should have thought, 
 have occurred to any one ; but certainly must have 
 occurred to persons so experienced, and so able 
 in the examination of facts, and the trying of the 
 credit of witnesses, as the two learned Lords un- 
 questionably are, whom Your Majesty took care 
 
 * Appendix (A,) No. 5.
 
 to have introduced into this Commission. They 
 ttever could ha.ve permitted these unexplained, and 
 unsifted^ hints and insinuations to have had the 
 weight and effect of proof. But, unfortunately for 
 me, the duties, probably, of their respective situf 
 atious prevented their attendance on the examina- 
 tion of this, and on the first examination of another 
 most important witness, Mr. Robert Eidgo^.i 
 and.su rely your Majesty will permit me here, with- 
 out offence, to complain, that it is not a little hard, 
 that, when your Majesty had shewn your anxiety 
 to have legal accuracy, and legal experience assist 
 on this examination, the two most important wit- 
 nesses, in whose examinations there is more mat- 
 ter for unfavourable interpretation, than in all the 
 rest put together, should have been examined vv ith- 
 outthebcnefitof this accuracy, arid this experience. 
 And I am the better justified in making this obser- 
 vation, .if what has been suggested to me is conect ; 
 that, if it shall not be allowed that tb-e power of ad- 
 ministering an oath under this warrantor commis- 
 sion is questionable, yet it can hardly be doubted, 
 <that it is most questionable whether, according to 
 rhe terms or meaning of the warrant or commission, 
 as it constitutes no quorum, Lord Spencer and 
 Lord Grenville could administer,anoath, oract in 
 the absence of the other Lords ; and if they could 
 fiot, Mr. Cole's falsehood must be out of the reach 
 of puyishment. 
 
 Returning then from this digression, will Your 
 Majesty permit m.e to ask, whether I arh to under-
 
 stand this fact, respecting the man in a great coat, 
 to be one of those which must necessarily give oc- 
 casion to the most unfavourable interpretations? 
 which must be credited till decidedly contradicted ? 
 and which if true, deserve the most serious consi- 
 deration ? The unfavourable interpretations which 
 this fact may occasion, doubtless are, that this 
 man was either Sir Sidney Smith, or some other 
 paramour^ who was admitted by me into my house 
 in disguise at midnight, for the accomplishment of 
 my wicked and adulterous purposes. And is it 
 possible that your Majesty, is it possible that any 
 candid mind can believe this fact, with the un- 
 favourable interpretations which it occasions, on 
 the relation of a servant, who for all that appears, 
 mentions it for the first time, four years after the 
 43 vent took place ; and who gives, himself, this 
 picture of his honesty and fidelity to a master, 
 whom he has served so long, that he, whose nerves 
 are of so moral a frame, that he starts at seeing a 
 single man sitting at mid-day, in an open drawing- 
 room, on the same sofa, with a married woman, 
 permitted this disguised midnight adulterer, to ap- 
 proach his master's bed, without taking any notice, 
 without making any alarm, without offering any 
 interruption. And why? because (as he expressly 
 states) he did not believe him to be a thief; and 
 because (as he plainly insinuates) he did believe 
 him to be an adulterer. 
 
 But what makes the manner in which the Com* 
 x N
 
 90 
 
 missibners suffered this fact to remain so unex- 
 plained, the more extraordinary is this ; Mr. Cole 
 had in his original declaration of the* llth of Ja- 
 nuary, which was before the Commissioners, stated 
 " that one night, about twelve o'clock, he saw a 
 person wrapped up in a great coat, go across the 
 Park into the gate at the Green House, and he 
 verily believes it was Sir Sidney Smith." In his de- 
 claration then, (when he was not upon oath) he 
 ventures to state, " that he verily believes it was 
 Sir Sidney Smith." When he is upon his oath, in 
 his depositions before the Commissioners, all that 
 he ventures to swear is, " that he gave no alarm, 
 because the impression upon his mind was, that it 
 was not a thief! !" And the difference is most im- 
 portant. " The impression upon his mind was, 
 that it was not a thief! I" I believe him, and the 
 impression upon my mind too is, that he knew it 
 was not a thief That he kneiv who it was and 
 that he knew it was no other than my watchman. 
 What incident it is that he alludes to, I cannot pre- 
 tend to know. But this I know, that if it refers to 
 any man with whose proceedings I have the least 
 acquaintance or privity, it must have been my 
 Watchman ; who, if he executes my orders, nightly, 
 and often in the night goes his rounds, both inside 
 and outside of my house. And this circumstance, 
 which I should think would rather afford, to most 
 rninds, an inference that I was not preparing tha 
 
 * Appendix, (B.) p. 98.
 
 91 
 
 way of planning facilities for secret midnight assig> 
 nations, has, in my conscience, I believe, (if there 
 is one word of truth in any part of this story, and 
 the whole of it is not pure invention) afforded the 
 handle, and suggested the idea, to this honest,trusty 
 man, this witness, " who cannot be suspected of 
 any unfavourable bias," " whose veracity in that 
 respect the Commissioners saw no ground to ques- 
 tion," and " who must be credited till he received 
 decided contradiction," suggested, I say, the idea 
 of the dark and vile insinuation contained in this 
 part of his testimony. 
 
 Whether I am right or wrong, however, in this 
 conjecture, this appears to be evident, that his ex- 
 ami nation is so left, that supposing an indictment 
 for perj-ury or false swearing, would lie against any 
 witness, examined by the Commissioners, and sup- 
 posing this examination had been taken before the 
 whole four.- If Mr. Cole was indicted for perjury, 
 in respect to this part of his deposition, the proof 
 that he did see the watchman, would necessarily 
 acquit him ; would establish the truth of what he 
 said, and rescue him from the punishment of per- 
 jury, though it would at the same time prove the 
 falsehood and injustice of the inference, and the 
 insinuation, for the establishment of which alone, 
 the fact itself was sworn. 
 
 Mr. Cole chooses further to state, that he as- 
 cribes his removal from Montague House to Lon- 
 don, to the discovery he had made, and the notice 
 he had taken of the improper situation of Sir Sid-
 
 ney Smith w>th me upon the sofa. To this I ca 
 oppose little more than my own assertions, as my 
 motives can only be known to myself. But Mr. 
 Cole was a very disagreeable servant to me ; he 
 was a man, who, as I always conceived, had been 
 educated above his station. He talked French, 
 and was a musician, playing well on the violin. 
 By these qualifications he had got admitted occasi- 
 onally, into better company, and this probably led 
 to that forward and obtrusive conduct, which I 
 thought extremely offensive and impertinent in a 
 servant. I had long been extremely displeased with 
 him ; I had discovered, that when I went out he 
 would come into my drawing-room, and play on 
 jby harpsichord, or sit there reading my books ; 
 and, in short, there was a forwardness which would 
 have led to my absolutely discharging him a long 
 time before, if I had not made a sort of rule to my- 
 self, to forbear, as long as, possible, from removing 
 ' ^f 5 ^? 
 &- any servant who had been placed about me by his 
 
 Royal Highness. -^Before Mr. Cole lived with the 
 Prince, he had lived with the Duke of Devon- 
 shire, and I had reason to believe that he carried to 
 Devonshire House all the observations he could 
 make at mine. For these various reasons, just 
 before the Duke of Kent was about to go out of 
 the kingdom, 1 requested his Royal Highness the 
 Duke of Kent, who had been good enough to take 
 the trouble of arranging many particulars in my 
 establishment, to ma.ke the arrangements with re- 
 spect to Mr. Cole ; which was.to leave him in town
 
 to wait upon me only when I went to Carlton 
 House, and not to come to Montague House ex- 
 cept when specially required. This arrangement, 
 it seems, offended him. It certainly deprived him 
 of some perquisites which he had when living at 
 Blackheath; but upon the whole, as it left him so 
 much more of his time at his own disposal, I should 
 not have thought it had been much to his preju- 
 dice. It seems however, that he di3 not like it; 
 and I must leave this part of the case with this one 
 observation more That Your Majesty, I trust, 
 will hardly believe, that, if Mr. Cole had, by any 
 accident, discovered any improper conduct of 
 mine, towards Sir Sidney Smith, or any one else, 
 the way which I should have taken to suppress his 
 information, to close his mouth, would have been 
 by immediately adopting an arrangement in my 
 family, with regard to him, which was either pre- 
 judicial or disagreeable to him : or that the way to 
 remove him from the opportunity and the tempta- 
 tion of betraying my secret, whether through 
 levity or design, in the quarter where it would bs 
 most fatal to me that it should be known, was by 
 making an arrangement which, while all his re-- 
 sentment and anger were fresh and warm about 
 him, would place him frequently, nay, almost 
 daily, at Carlton House ; would place him pre- 
 cisely at that place, from whence, unquestionably, 
 it must have been my interest to have kept him 
 as far removed as possible. 
 
 There is little or nothing in the examinations of
 
 theother witnesses which is material for me to ob- 
 serve upon, as far as respects this part of the case. 
 It appears from them indeed, what I have had no 
 difficulty i admitting, and have observed upon 
 before, that Sir Sidney Smith was frequently at 
 Montague House -that they have known him to 
 be alone with me in the morning, but that they 
 never knew him alone with me in an evening, or 
 staying later tiian my company or the Ladies for 
 what Mr. Stikeman says, with respect to his being 
 alone with me in an evening, can only mean, and 
 is only reconcileable with all the rest of the evi- 
 dence on this part of the case, by its being under- 
 stood to mean alone, in respect of other company, 
 but not alone, in the absence of my Ladies. The 
 deposition indeed of my servant, S. Roberts* 
 is thus far material upon that pcint, that it exhibits 
 Mr. Cole, not less than three years ago, endea- 
 vouring tocollectevidence upon these points to my 
 prejudice. For Your Majesty will find that he 
 says, *' I recollect Mr. Cole* once asking me, I 
 " think three years ago, whether there were any 
 * f favourites in the family. I remember saying 
 <( that Captain Manby and Sir Sidney Smith were 
 " frequently at Blackheath, and dined there 
 " often er than other persons/' He then pro- 
 ceeds-" J never knew Sir Sidney Smith stay 
 " later than the Ladies ; I cannot exactly say at 
 " what time he went, but I never remember his 
 '* staying alone with the Princess." 
 
 As to what is contained in the written decora- 
 * See Appendix (A) No. 8,
 
 tions of Mr. and Mrs. Lampert, the old servants 
 of Sir John and Lady Douglas (as from some cir- 
 cumstance or other respecting, I conceive, either 
 their credit or their supposed importance), the 
 Commissioners have not thought proper to exa- 
 mine them upon their oaths,* I do not imagine 
 Your Majesty would expect that I should take anv 
 notice of them. And as to what is deposed by my 
 Lady Douglas, if your Majesty will observe the 
 gross and horrid indecencies with which she ushers 
 in, and states my confessions to her, of my assert- 
 ed criminal intercourse with Sir Sidney Smith, 
 Your Majesty, I am confident, will not be sur- 
 prised that I do not descend to my particular ob- 
 servations on her deposition. One, and one only 
 observation, will I make, which, however, could 
 not have escaped Your Majesty, if I had omitted 
 it, That your Majesty will have an excellent por- 
 traiture of the true female delicacy and purity of 
 my Lady Douglas's mind and character, when you 
 will observe that she seems wholly insensible to 
 what a sink of infamy she degrades herself by her 
 testimony against me. It is not only that it ap- 
 pears, from her statement, that she was contented 
 to live, in familiarity and apparent friendship with 
 me, after the confession which I made of my adul- 
 tery (for by the indulgence and liberality, as it is 
 called, of modern manners, the company of adul- 
 tresses has ceased to reflect that discredit upon the 
 
 * Tor the same reason they are not printed in Appendix B
 
 96 
 
 characters of other women who admit to their sd fc 
 ciety.which the best interests of female virtue may 
 perhaps require.) But she was contented to live in 
 familiarity with a woman, who, if Lady Douglas's 
 evidence of me is true, was a most low, vulgar, 
 and profligate disgrace to her sex. The grossness 
 of whose ideas and conversation, would add in- 
 famy to the lowest, most vulgar, and most infa- 
 mous prostitute. It is not, however, upon this 
 circumstance, that I rest assured no reliance can 
 be placed on Lady Douglas's testimony ; but after 
 what is proved, with regard to her evidence re- 
 specting my pregnancy and delivery in 1802,1 am 
 certain that any observations upon her testimony, 
 or her veracity must be flung away. 
 
 Your Majesty has therefore now before you the 
 state of the charge against me, as far as it respects 
 Sir Sidney Smith. And this is, as I understand 
 the Report, one of the charges which , with Us un- 
 favourable interpretations, must, in the opinion of 
 the Commissioners, be credited till decidedly con- 
 tradicted. 
 
 As to the facts of frequent visiting on terms of 
 great intimacy, as I have said before, they cannot 
 be contradicted at all. How inferences and un- 
 iavourable interpretations are to be decidedly con- 
 tradicted, 1 wish the Commissioners had been so 
 good as to explain. I know of no possible way 
 but by the declarations of myself and Sir Sidney 
 Smith. Yet we being the supposed guilty parties, 
 our denial, probably, will bethought of no great
 
 97 
 
 weight. As to my own, however, I tender it to 
 your Majesty, in the most solemn manner, and if 
 I knew what fact it was that I ought to contradict, 
 to clear my innocence, I would precisely address 
 myself to that fact, as I am confident, my con- 
 science would enahle me to do, to any, from which 
 a criminal or an unbecomin inference could he 
 drawn. I am sure, however, your Majesty will 
 feel for the humiliated and degraded situation, to 
 which this report has reduced your Daughter-in- 
 law, the Princess of Wales ; when you see her 
 reduced to the necessity of either risking the dan- 
 ger, that the most unfavourable interpretations 
 should be credited ; or else of stating, as I am now 
 degraded to the necessity of stating, that not only 
 no adulterous, or criminal, but no indecent or im- 
 proper intercourse whatever, ever subsisted be- 
 tween Sir Sidney Smith and myself, or any thing 
 which I should have objected that all the world 
 should have seen. 1 say degraded to the necessity 
 of stating it ; for your Majesty must feel that a 
 weman's character is degraded when it is put upon 
 her to make such statement, at the peril of the 
 contrary being credited unless she decidedly con- 
 tradicts it. Sir Sidney Smith's absence from the 
 country prevents my calling upon him to attest 
 the same truth. But I trust when your Majesty 
 shall find, as you will find, that my declaration to 
 a similar effect, with respect to the other gentle- 
 
 O
 
 98 
 
 men referred to in this Report, is confirmed br 
 their denial, that your Majesty will think that in 
 a case, where nothing but my own word, can be 
 adduced, my own word alone may be opposed to 
 whatever little remains of credit or weight may, 
 after all the above observations, be supposed yet to 
 belong to Mr. Cole, to his inferences, his insinua- 
 tions, or his facts. Not indeed that have yet 
 finished my observations on Mr. Cole's credit; but 
 I must reserve the remainder, till I consider his 
 evidence with respect to Mr. Lawrence ; and till 
 I have occasion to comment upon the testimony of 
 Fanny Lloyd. Then, indeed I shall be under the 
 necessity of exhibiting to your Majesty these 
 witnesses, Fanny Lloyd and Mr. Cole, (both of 
 whom are represented as so unbiassed, and so 
 credible) in flat, decisive, and irreconcileable, con- 
 tradiction to each other. 
 
 The next person, with whom ray improper in^ 
 timacy is insinuated, is Mr. Lawrence the painter. 
 
 The principal witness on this charge is also Mr. 
 Cole, Mr. R. Bidgood says nothing about him, 
 Fanny Lloyd says nothing about him ; and all that 
 Mrs. Lisle says is perfectly true, and I am neither 
 able, nor feel interested, to contradict it. " That 
 she remembers my sitting to Mr. Lawrence for 
 my picture at BlaekHeath ; and in London ; that 
 she has left me at his house in town with him, but 
 she thinks Mrs. Fitzgerald was with us ; and that 
 she thinks I sat alone with him atBlackheath "But 
 Mr.Cole speaks of Mr. Lawrence in a manuer that
 
 99 
 
 calls for particular observation. He says <f Mr. 
 Lawrence the painter used to go to Montague 
 House about the latter end of 1801, when he was 
 painting the Princess, andhe has slept in the house 
 two or three nights together. I have often seen 
 him alone with the Princess at 1 1 or 12 o'clock at 
 night. He has been there as late as one and two 
 o'clock in the morning. One night I saw him 
 with the Princess in the Blue Room, after the 
 ladies had retired. Some time afterwards, txihen 
 I supposed lie had gone to his room t I went to see 
 that all was safe, and I found the Blue Room 
 door locked, and heard a whispering in it ; and I 
 went away." Here, again, jour Majesty ob- 
 serves, that Mr. Cole deals his deadliest blows 
 against my character by insinuation. And here, 
 again, his insinuation is left unsifted and unex- 
 plained. I here understand him to insinuate that, 
 though he supposed Mr. Lawrence to have gone 
 to his room, he was still where he had said he 
 last left him ; and that the locked door prevent- 
 ed him from seeing me and Mr. Lawrence alone 
 together, whose whispering, however, he not- 
 withstanding overheard. 
 
 Before, Sire, I come to my own explanation of 
 the fact of Mr, Lawrence's sleeping at Montague 
 House, I must again refer to Mr. Cole's original 
 declarations. I must again examine Mr. Cole, 
 against Mr. Cole : which I cannot help lamenting 
 
 * Appendix A. No.G,
 
 100 
 
 it docs not seem to have occurred to others to 
 have done ; as I am persuaded if it had, his pre 
 variations, and his falsehood, could never have 
 escaped them. They would then have been able to 
 have traced, as your Majesty will now do,through 
 my observations, by what degrees he hardened 
 himself up to the infamy (for I can use no other 
 expression) of stating this fact, by which he 
 means to insinuate that he heard me and Mr. 
 Lawrence, locked up in this Blue Room, whis- 
 pering together, and alone. I am sorry to be 
 obliged to drag your Majesty through so long a 
 detail ; but I am confident your Majesty's good- 
 ness, and love of justice, will excuse it, as it is 
 essential to the vindication of my character, as 
 well as to the illustration of Mr. Cole's. 
 
 Mr. Cole's examination, as contained in his first 
 written declaration of the llth of January, has no- 
 thing of this. I mean not to say that it has nothing 
 oncerningMr. Lawrence, for it has much, which is 
 calculated to occasion unfavourableinterpretutions, 
 and given with a view to that object. But that 
 circumstance, as I submit to your Majesty, increa- 
 ses the weight of my observation. Had there been 
 nothing in his first declaration about Mr. Lawrence 
 at all, it might have been imagined that perhaps 
 Mr. Lawrenceescapedhis recollectionaltogether ; 
 or that his declaration had been solely directed to 
 other persons ; but as it does contain observations 
 respecting Mr. Lawrence., but nothing of a locked 
 door,or the whispering withinit;-how hehappened 
 at that time not to recollect, or if he recollected
 
 101 
 
 not to mention, so very striking and remarkable a 
 circumstance is not, I should imagine, very satisfac- 
 torily to be explained. His statement in that* 
 first declaration stands thus, " In 1801, Lawrence 
 <f the painter was at Montague House, for four 
 " t or five days at a time, painting the Princess's 
 <f picture. That he was frequently alone late in 
 ** the night with the Princess, and much suspicion 
 e< was entertained of him." Mr. Cole's next f de- 
 claration, at least the next which appears among the 
 written declarations, was taken on the 14th of Ja- 
 nuary; it does not mention Mr. Lawrence's name, 
 hut it has this passage. " When Mr. Cole found 
 the drawing-room, which led to the staircase to the 
 Princess's apartments, locked ( which your Majesty 
 knows is the same which the witnesses call the 
 Blue Room) he does not know whether any person 
 was with her; but it appeared odd to him, as he 
 had formed some suspicions. The striking mid 
 important observation on this passage is, that when 
 he first talks of the door of the drawing-room being 
 locked, so far from his mentioning any thing of 
 whispering being overheard, he expressly says, that 
 he did not know that any body was with me. The 
 passage is likewise deserving your Majesty's most 
 serious consideration on another ground. For it is 
 one of those which shews that Mr. Cole, though we 
 have four separate declarations made by him, has 
 certainly made other statements which have not 
 
 * See Appendix (B.) p. 100. t Appendix (B.) p. 100.
 
 102 
 
 been transmitted to your Majesty ; for it evidently 
 refers to something-, "which he had said before, of 
 having found the drawing-room door locked, and 
 no trace of such a statement, is discoverable in the 
 previous examination of Mr. Cole, as 1 have receiv- 
 ed it, and I have no doubt that, in obedience to 
 your Majesty's commands, I have at length been 
 furnished with the whole. I don't know, indeed, 
 that it should he matter of complaint from me, that 
 your Majesty has not been furnished with all the 
 statements of Mr. Cole, because from the sample I 
 see of them, 1 cannot suppose that any of them 
 could have furnished any thing favourable to me, 
 except indeed that they might have furnished me 
 with fresh means of contradicting him by himself. 
 
 But your Majesty will see that there have been 
 other statementsnot communicated; a circumstance 
 of which both your Majesty and 1, have reason to 
 complain. But it may be out of its place further 
 to notice that fact at present. 
 
 To return therefore to Mr. Cole; in his third* 
 declaration dated the 30th of January, there is not 
 a word about Mr. Lawrence. In his fourth and 
 last, which is dated on the '^3d of February he 
 says " the person who was alone with the lady at 
 " late hours of the night (twelve and one o'clock,) 
 tt and whom he left sitting up after he went to bed, 
 cf was Mr. Lawrence, which happened two differ- 
 " ent nights." Here is likewise another trace of 
 
 * Appendix (B.) 102. $ Appendix (B.) p. 102.
 
 103 
 
 a former statement which is not given ; for no such 
 person is mentioned before in any that 1 have been 
 furnished with. 
 
 Your Majesty then here observes that, afterhav- 
 ing given evidence in two of his declarations, re- 
 specting Mr. Lawr ence by name, in which he men- 
 tions nothing of locked doors, and after having, in 
 another declaration, given an account of a locked 
 door, but expressly stated that he knew not whether 
 any one was with me within it, and said nothing 
 about whispering being overheard, but, impliedly, 
 at least, negatived it ; in the deposition before the 
 Commissioners, he puts all these things together, 
 and has thehardihood to add to thorn that remarka- 
 ble circumstance,which could nothave escaped his 
 recollection, at the first, if it had been true, tf of his 
 " having on the same night in which he found me 
 tc and Mr. Lawrence alone, after the ladies were 
 f< gone to bed, come again to the room when he 
 " thought Mr. Lawrence must have been retired, 
 " and found the door locked and heard the whis- 
 ft pering;" and then again he gives another in- 
 stance of his honesty, and upon the same principle 
 on which he took no notice of the man in the g eat 
 coat, he finds the door locked, hears the whisper- 
 ing, and then he silently and contentedly retires. 
 
 And this witness, who thus not only varies in his 
 testimony, but contradicts himself in such impor- 
 tant particulars, is one of those who cannot be sus- 
 pected of unfavourable bias, and whose veracity is
 
 10* 
 
 not to be questioned, and whose evidence must be 
 credited till decidedly contradicted. 
 
 These observations might probably be deemed 
 sufficient, upon Mr. Cole's deposition, as far as it 
 respects Mr. Lawrence ; but I cannot be satisfied 
 without explaining to your Majesty, all the truth, 
 and the particulars, respecting Mr. Lawrence, 
 which 1 recollect. 
 
 What 1 recollect then is as follows. He began a 
 large picture of me, and of my daughter, towards 
 the latter end of the year 1800, or the beginning 
 of 1801. Miss Garth and Miss Hayman wereinthe 
 house with me at the time. The picture was paint- 
 ed at Montague House. Mr. Lawrence mentioned 
 to Miss Hayman his wish to be permitted to re- 
 main some few nights in the house, that by rising 
 early he might begin painting on the picture, be- 
 fore Princess Charlotte (whose residence being at 
 that time at Shooter's Hill was enabled to come 
 early,) or myself, came to sit. It was a similar re- 
 quest to that which had been made by Sir William 
 Beech y, when he painted my picture. And I was 
 sensible of no impropriety when I granted the re- 
 quest to either of them. Mr. Lawrence occupied 
 the same room which had been occupied by Sir 
 William Beechy; it was at the other end of the 
 house from my apartment. 
 
 At that time Mr. Lawrence did not dine with 
 me; his dinner was served in his own room. After 
 dinner he came down to the room where I and my 
 Ladies generally sat in an evening sometimes
 
 there was music, in which he joined, and some- 
 times he read poetry. Parts of Shakespeare's 
 plays I particularly remember, from his reading 
 them very well ; and sometimes he played chess 
 with me. It frequently may have happened that 
 it was one or two o'clock before I dismissed Mr. 
 Lawrence and my Ladies. They, together with 
 Mr. Lawrence, went out of the same door, up 
 the same stair-case, and at the same time. Ac- 
 cording to my own recollection I should have said 
 that in no one instance, they had left Mr. Law- 
 rence behind them, alone with me. But I suppose 
 it did happen once for a short time, since Mr, 
 Lawrence so recollects it, as your Majesty will 
 perceive from his deposition, which I annex. He 
 staid in my house two or three nights together ; 
 but how many nights in the whole, I do not re- 
 collect. The picture left my house by April, 1801, 
 and Mr. Lawrence never slept in my house after- 
 wards. That picture now belongs to Lady Towns- 
 end. He has since completed another picture of 
 me ; and about a year and a half ago, he began 
 another, which remains at present unfinished. I 
 believe it is near a twelve month since I last sat to 
 him. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence lives upon a footing of the great- 
 est intimacy with the neighbouring families of Mr. 
 Lock and Mr. Angerstein ; and I have asked him 
 sometimes to dine with me to meet them. While 
 I was sitting to him at my own house, I have no 
 
 doubt I must often have sat to him alone ; as the 
 
 P
 
 106 
 
 necessity for the precaution of having an attendant 
 as a witness to protect my honour from suspicion, 
 certainly never occurred to rne. And upon the 
 same principle, I do not doubt that I may have 
 sometimes continued in conversation with him 
 after he had finished painting. But when sitting 
 in his own house, I have always been attended 
 with one of my ladies. And indeed notbrng in the 
 examinations state the contrary. One part of 
 Mrs. Lisle' s examination seems as if she had a 
 question put to her, upon the supposition that 
 I had been left alone with Mr.Lawrence at his own 
 house ; to which she answers, that she indeed had 
 left me there, but that she thinks she left Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald with me. 
 
 If an inference of an unfavourable nature could 
 have been drawn from my having been left there 
 alone:- was it, Sire, taking all that care which 
 might be wished, to guard against, such an infer- 
 ence on the part of the Commissioners, when they 
 omitted to send for Mrs. Fitzgerald to ascertain 
 what Mrs. Lisle may have left in doubt. The Com- 
 missioners, I give them the fullest credit were sa- 
 tisfied, that Mrs. Lisle thought correctly upon this 
 fact, and that Mrs. Fitzgerald, if she had been sent 
 for again, would so have proved it, and therefore 
 that it would have been troubling her to no pur- 
 pose. But this it is, of which I conceive myself to 
 have most reason to complain; that the examina- 
 tions in several instances have not been followed 
 up so as to remove unfavourable impressions.
 
 107 
 
 I cannot but feel satisfied that the commissioners 
 would have been glad to have been warranted in 
 negativing all criminality, and all suspicion on his 
 part of the charge, as completely and honourably 
 as they have done on the principal charges of preg- 
 nancy and delivery. They traced that part ot the 
 charge with ability, sagacity, diligence, and per- 
 severance ; and the result was complete satisfaction 
 of my innocence ; complete detection of the false- 
 hood of my accusers. Encouraged by their success 
 in that part of their inquiry, I lament that they did 
 not, (as they thought proper to enter into the other 
 part of it at all,) with similar industry pursue it. If 
 they had, I am confident they would have pursued 
 it with the same success; but though they had con- 
 victed Sir John and Lady Douglas of falsehood, 
 they seem to have thought it impossible to suspect 
 of the same falsehood, any other of the witnesses, 
 though produced by Sir John an.d Lady Douglas. 
 The most obvious means therefore of trying their 
 credit, by comparing their evidence with what. they 
 had said before, seems to me to have been omitted. 
 Many facts are left upon surmise only and insinua- 
 tion ; obvious means of getting further information 
 on doubtful and suspicious circumstances are not 
 resorted to ; and, as if the important matter of the 
 inquiry (on which a satisfactory conclusion had 
 been formed) was all that required any very atten- 
 tive or accurate consideration ; the remainder of it 
 was pursued in a manner which, as it seems to me, 
 can only be accounted for by the pressure of what
 
 Htt 
 
 may have been deemed more important duties 
 and of this I should have made but little com- 
 plaint, if this inquiry, where it is imperfect had 
 not been followed by a Report, which the most 
 accurate only could have justified, and which 
 such an accurate inquiry, I am confident, never 
 could have produced. 
 
 If any credit was given to Mr. Cole's story of 
 the locked door, and the whispering ; and to Mr. 
 Lawrence having been left with me so frequently 
 of a night when my Ladies had left us, why were 
 not all my ladies examined ? why were not all my 
 servants examined as to their knowledge of that 
 fact ? And if they had been so examined, and had 
 contradicted the fact so sworn to by Mr. Cole, as 
 they must have done, had they been examined to it; 
 that alone would have been sufficient to have re- 
 moved his name from the list of unsuspected and 
 unquestionable witnesses, and relieved me from 
 much of the suspicion, which his evidence, till it 
 was examined, was calculated to have raised in your 
 Majesty's mind. And to close this statement, and 
 these observations and in addition to them, I most 
 solemnly assert to your Majesty, that Mr. Law- 
 rence, neither at his own house, nor at mine, nor 
 any where else, ever was for one moment by night 
 or by day, in the same room with me when tke 
 door of it was locked ; that he never was in my com- 
 pany of an evening alone, except the momentary 
 conversation which Mr. Lawrence speaks to, may 
 be thought an exception ; and that nothing err
 
 109 
 
 passed between him and me which all the world 
 might not have witnessed. And, Sire, I have 
 subjoined a deposition to the same effectfrom Mr. 
 Lawrence, 
 
 To satisfy myself, therefore, and your Majesty, 
 I have shewn, I trust, by unanswerable observa- 
 tions and arguments, that there is no colour for 
 crediting Mr. Cole, or, consequently, any part of 
 this charge, which rests solely on his evidence. 
 But to satisfy therequisition of the Commissioners, 
 I have brought my pride to submit, (though not 
 without great pain, I can assure your Majesty) to 
 add the only contradictions which I conceive can 
 be given, those of Mr. Lawrence and myself. 
 
 The next person with whom these examinations 
 charge my improper familiarity, and with regard to 
 which the Report represents the evidence as parti- 
 cularly strong, is Captain Manby. With respect 
 to him; Mr. Cole's examination is silent. But the 
 evidence, on which the Commissioners rely on this 
 part of the case, is Mr. Bidgood's, Miss Fanny 
 Lloyd's, and Mrs. Lisle's. It respects my conduct 
 at three different places ; at Montague House, 
 Southend, and at Ramsgate. I shall preserve the 
 facts and my observations more distinct, if I consi- 
 derlhe evidence, as applicable to these three places^ 
 separately, and in its order; and I prefer this mode 
 of treating it, as it will enable me to consider the 
 evidence of Mrs. Lisle in the first place, and con- 
 sequently put it out of the reach of the harsher ob- 
 servations, which I may be under the necessity of
 
 no 
 
 making, upon the testimony of the other two. 
 For though Mrs. Lisle, indeed, speaks to having 
 seen Captain Manby at East Cliff, in August, 1803, 
 to the best of her remembrance it was only once ; 
 She speaks to his meeting her at Deal, in the same 
 season ; that he landed there with some boys whom 
 1 took on charity, and who were under his care ; 
 yet she speaks of nothing there that can require a 
 single observation from me. * The material parts 
 of her evidence respect her seeing him at Black- 
 heath, the Christmas before she had seen him at 
 East Cliff. She says, it was the Christmas after 
 Mr. Austin's child came, consequently the Christ- 
 mas 1802-3. He used to come to dine there, she 
 says he always went away in her presence, and she 
 had no reason to think he staid after the Ladies re- 
 tired. He lodged on the Heath at that time ; his 
 ship was fitting up at Deptford; became to din- 
 ner three or four times a. week or more. She sup- 
 poses he might be alone with the Princess, but 
 that she was in the habit of seeing Gentlemen and 
 Tradesmen without her being present. She (Mrs; 
 Lisle) has seen him at luncheon and dinner both. 
 The boys (two boys) came with him two or three 
 times, but not to dinner. Captain Manby always 
 sat next the Princess at dinner. The constant 
 company were Mrs. and Miss Fitzgerald, and her- 
 selfall retired with the Princess, and sat in the 
 same room. Captain Manby generally retired 
 
 * Appendix (A.) No. 27.
 
 Ill 
 
 about eleven ; and sat with us all till then. Cap- 
 tain Manby and the Princess used, when we were 
 together, to be speaking together separately con- 
 Tersing separately, but not in a room alone. He 
 was a person with whom the Princess appeared to 
 have greater pleasure in talking than with her La- 
 dies. Her Royal Highness behaved to him ONLY 
 as any woman would who likes flirting. She (Mrs. 
 Lisle} would not have thought any married woman 
 would have behaved properly, who behaved as Her 
 Royal Highness did to Captain Manby. She 
 cant say whether the Princess was attached to 
 Captdin Manby, only that it was a flirting con- 
 duct. She never saw any gallantries, as kissing 
 her hand, or the like." 
 
 I have cautiously stated the whole of Mrs. Lisle's 
 evidence upon this part of the case ; and I am sure 
 Your Majesty in reading it, will not fail to keep 
 the facts, which Mrs. Lisle speaks to, separate 
 from the opinion, or judgment, which she forms 
 upon them. 1 mean not to speak disrespectfully 
 or slightingly, of Mrs. Lisle's opinion ; or express 
 myself as in any degree indifferent to it. But 
 whatever there was, which she observed in my 
 conduct, that did not become a married woman, 
 that " was ONLY like a woman who liked flirting/' 
 and " ONLY a flirting conduct/' I am convinced 
 your Majesty must be satisfied that it must have 
 been far distant from affording any evidence of 
 crime, of vice, or of indecency, as it passed openly
 
 112 . 
 
 in the company of my Ladies, of whom Mrs. 
 Lisle herself was one. 
 
 The facts she states are, that Captain Manby 
 came very frequently to my house ; that he dined 
 there three or four times a week in the latter end 
 of the year 1802 ; that he sat next to me at dinner ; 
 and that my conversation after dinner, in the even- 
 ing, used to be with Captain Manby, separate 
 from my Ladies. These are the facts : and is it 
 upon them that my character, I will not say, is 
 to be taken away, but is to be affected? 
 
 Captain Manby had, in the autumn of the same 
 year, been introduced to me by Lady Townsend, 
 when I was upon a visit to. her at Rainham. I 
 think he came there only the day before I left it. 
 lie was a naval officer, as I understood, and as I 
 still believe, ofgreat merit. What little expence, 
 in the way of charity, I am able to afford, I am 
 best pleased to dedicate to the education of the 
 children of poor, but honest persons ; and 1 most 
 generally bring them up to the service of the Navy. 
 I had at that time two boys at school, whom I 
 thought of an age fit to be put to sea. I desired 
 Lady Townshend to prevail upon Captain Manby 
 to take them. He consented to it, and of course 
 I was obliged to him. 
 
 About this time, or shortly afterwards, he was 
 appointed to the Africaine, a ship which was fitting 
 up at Deptford. To be near his ship, as I under- 
 stood and believe, he took lodgings at Blackheath ; 
 and as to the mere fact of his being so frequently
 
 113 
 
 at my house. -his intimacy and friendship with 
 Lord and Lady Townshend, which of itself was 
 assurance to me of his respectability and charac- 
 termy pleasure in shewing my respect to them, 
 by notice and attention to a friend of theirs, 1m 
 undertaking the care of my charity boys, and his 
 accidental residence at Bl ickheath, will, I should 
 trust, not unreasonably account for it. I have a 
 similar account likewise to give of paying for the 
 liuenfurniture, with whichhis cabin was furnished. 
 Wishing to make him. some return for his trouble 
 with the boys, I desired that I might choose the' 
 pattern of his furniture. I not only chose it but 
 had it sent to him, and paid the bill ; finding, how- 
 ever, that it did not come to more than about 
 twenty pounds, I thought it a shabby present, and 
 therefore added some trifling present of plate. So 
 I have frequently done, and I hope withoutoffence 
 may be permitted to do again to any Captain, on 
 whom I impose such trouble. Sir Samuel Hood 
 has now two of my charity boys with him ; and 
 I have presented him with a silver Epergne. f 
 should be ashamed to notice such things, but 
 your Majesty perceives, that they are made the 
 subject of Inquiry from Mrs. Fitzgerald, and Mr. 
 Stikeman, and I was desirous that they should not 
 appear to be particular in the case of Captain 
 Manby. 
 
 But to return to Mrs. Lisle's examination. 
 Mrs. Lisle says that Captain Manby, when he 
 
 'Q
 
 dined with me, sat next to me at dinner. Be- 
 fore any inference is drawn from that fact, I am 
 sure your Majesty will observe that, in the next 
 line of Mrs. Lisle's examination, she says" that the 
 constant company was Mrs. and Miss Fitzgerald, 
 and herself, Mrs. Lisle." The only gentleman, the 
 only person of the whole party who was not of my 
 own family, was Captain Manby ; and his sitting 
 next tome, under such circumstances, I should ap- 
 prehend could not possibly afford any inference of 
 any kind. 1 n the evening we were never alone. The 
 whole companysat together; nay even as tohisbeing 
 with rnealoneofamorning,Mrs. Lisle seemstoknow 
 nothing of the fact, but from a conjecture founded 
 upon her knowledge of my known usual habit, with 
 respect toseeinggentlemen who mightcallupon me. 
 And the very foundation of her conjecture demon- 
 strates that this circumstance can be no evidence of 
 any thing particular with regard to Captain Manby. 
 As to my conversing with Captain Manby 
 separately, 1 do not understand Mrs. Lisle 
 as meaning to speak to the state of the con- 
 versation uninterruptedly, during the whole of 
 any of the several evenings when Captain 
 Manby was with me; if I did so understand her, 
 1 should certainly most confidently .assert, that 
 she was not correct. That in the course of the 
 evening, as the ladies were working, reading, or 
 otherwise amusing themselves, the conversation 
 was sometimes more and sometimes less general ; 
 and that they sometimes took more, sometime*
 
 less part in it : that frequently it was between 
 Captain Manby and myself alone ; and that, when 
 we were all together, we two might frequently be 
 the only persons not otherwise engaged, and there- 
 fore be justly said to be speaking together sepa- 
 rately. Besides Captain Manby has been round 
 the world with Captain Vancovre.. I have looked 
 over prints in books of voyages with him ; he has 
 explained them to me ; the ladies may or may not 
 have been looking over them at the same time ; 
 they may have been engaged with their own amuse- 
 ments. Here again, we may be said to have been 
 conversing separately, and consequently that Mrs. 
 Lisle, in this sense, is perfectly justified in saying 
 that " I used to converse separately with Captain 
 Manby," I have not the least difficulty in admit- 
 ting. But have 1 not again reason to complain 
 that this expression of Mrs. Lisle's was not more 
 sifted, but left in a manner calculated to raise an 
 impression that this separate conversation wa^* 
 studiously sought for, was constant, uniform, and 
 uninterrupted, though it by no means asserts any 
 such thing? But whether I used always so to 
 converse with him ; or generally, or only sometimes, 
 or for what proportion of the evening I used to 
 be so engaged, is left unasked and unexplained. 
 Have 1 not likewise just reason to complain, that 
 thousrh Mrs. Lisle states, that Mrs. Fitzgerald 
 
 O ' O 
 
 and Miss Fitzgerald were always of the party, they 
 are not both examined to these circumstances ? 
 But Miss Fitzgerald is not examined at all; and
 
 116 
 
 Mrs. Fitzgerald, though examined, and cxamied 
 too with respect to Captain IVIanby, does not 
 appear to have had a single question put to her with 
 respect to any thing which passed concerning him 
 at Montague House. May I not therefore complain 
 that the examination, leaving the generality of Mrs. 
 Lisle's expression unexplained by herself; and 
 the scenes to which it relates unexamined into, by 
 calling the other persons who were present, is lea- 
 ving it precisely in that state, which is better calcu- 
 lated to raiseasusprcion,than to ascertainthe truth* 
 But I am persuaded that the unfavourable 
 impression which is- most likely to be made by 
 Mrs. Lisle*s examination, is not by her evidence 
 to the facts, but by her opinion upo 
 them. " 1 appeared,*' she says, " to like the 
 conversation of Captain Man by better than that 
 of my ladies, I behaved to him only as a woman 
 who likes flirting ; my conduct was unbecoming 
 a married woman ; she cannot say whether I w r as- 
 attached to Captain Manby or not ; it was only 
 a flirting conduct.'* Now, Sire r l musthereagaia 
 most seriously complain that the Commissioners 
 should have called for, or received, and much 
 more reported, in this manner, the opinion and 
 judgment of Mrs. Lisle upon my conduct. Your 
 Majesty's Warrant purports to authorize them to 
 collect the evidence, and not the opinion of others; 
 and to report it, with their own judgment surely,, 
 and not Mrs. Lisle's. Mrs. Lisle's judgment was 
 formed upon those facts which she stated to the *
 
 117 
 
 Commissioners, or upon other facts. If upon 
 those she stated, the Commissioners, and your 
 Majesty, are as well able to form the judgment 
 upon them as she was. If upon other facts, the 
 Commissioners should have heard what those 
 other facts were, and upon them have formed 
 and reported their judgment. 
 
 I am aware, indeed, that 'if I were to argue that 
 the facts which Mrs. Lisle states, afford the ex- 
 planation of what she means by " only flirting 
 " conduct," and by " behaviour unbecoming a 
 married woman," namely, that it consisted in 
 having the same gentlemen to dine with me 
 
 o c* 
 
 three or four times a week ; letting him sit next 
 me at dinner, when there were no other strangers 
 in company; conversing with him separately,and 
 appearing to prefer his conversation to that of the 
 ladies, it would be observed probably, that thts 
 was not all ; that there was always a certain inde- 
 scribable something in manner, which gave the 
 character to conduct, and must have entered 
 mainly into such a judgment as Mrs. Lisle has 
 here pronounced. 
 
 To a certain extent 1 should be obliged to agree 
 to this ; but if I am to have any prejudice from 
 this observation : if it is to give a weight and 
 authority to Mrs, Lisle's judgment, let me have 
 tho. advantage of it also. If it justifies the con- 
 clusion that Mrs. Lisle's censure upon my conduct 
 is right, it requires also that equal credit should be 
 -. given to the qualification, the limit, and the re-
 
 us 
 
 striction, which she herself puts upon that cen- 
 sure. 
 
 Mrs. Lisle, seeing all the facts which she re- 
 lates, and observing much of manner, which, per- 
 haps she could not describe, limits the expression 
 " flirting conduct'* by calling it " only flirting/' 
 and says (upon having the question asked to her* 
 no doubt, whether from the whole she could col- 
 lect that 1 was attached to Captain Manby) says 
 " she could not say whether I was attached to 
 him, my conduct was not of a nature that proved 
 any attachment to him, it was only a flirting con- 
 duct.'* Unjust therefore, as I think it, that any 
 such question should have been put to Mrs. Lisle, 
 or that her judgment should have been taken at 
 all ; yet what I fear from it, as pressing with 
 peculiar hardship upon me, is, that though it is 
 Mrs. Lisle's final, and ultimate, judgment upon the 
 whole of my conduct, yet, when delivered to the 
 Commissioners and your Majesty, it becomes evi- 
 dence, which, connectedwithall the factson which 
 Mrs. Lisle had formed it, may lead to still further 
 and more unfavorable conclusions, in the minds of 
 those who are afterwards to judge upon it; that 
 her judgment will be the foundation of other judg- 
 mentsagainst me, much severer than her own ; and 
 that though she evidently limits her opinion, and 
 by saying " ONLY flirting*' impliedly negatives it 
 as affording *ny indication of any thing more im- 
 proper, while she proceeds expressly to negative 
 it 03 affording any proof of attachment ; yet it
 
 119 
 
 may be thought by others, to justify their consi- 
 dering it as a species of conduct, which shewed an 
 attachment to the rrran to whom it was addressed ; 
 which in a married woman was criminal and 
 
 wrong. 
 
 What Mrs. Lisle exactly means by only JHrtin<r 
 conduct what degree of impropriety of conduct 
 she would describe by it, it is extremely difficult, 
 with any precision, to ascertain. How many 
 women are there, most virtuous, most truly 
 modest, incapable of any thing impure, vicious, or 
 immoral, in deed or thought, who, from greater 
 vivacity of spirits, from less natural reserve, from 
 that want of caution, which the very conscious- 
 ness of innocence betrays them into, conduct 
 themselves in a manner, which a woman of a gra- 
 ver character, of more reserved disposition, but 
 not with one particle of superior virtue, thinks too 
 incautious, too unreserved, too familiar ; and 
 which, if forced upon her o th to give her opinion 
 upon it, she might feel herself, as an honest wo- 
 man, bound to say in that opinion, was flirting? 
 
 But whatever sense Mrs. Lisle annexes to the 
 word " flirting" it is evident, as I said before, 
 that she cannot mean any thing criminal, vicious, 
 *or indecent, or any thing with the least shade of 
 deeper impropriety than what is necessarily expres- 
 sed in the word " flirting/' She never would have 
 added, as she does in both instances, that it was 
 ONLY flirting ; if she had thought it of a quality to 
 in a formal Report, amongst circum.
 
 120 
 
 stances which mtist occasion the most unfavourable 
 in terpretations,and which deserved themost serious 
 consideration of your Majesty. To use it so, I am 
 sure your Majesty mustsee is to press it far beyond 
 the meaning which she would assign to it herself. 
 And as I have admitted that there may be 
 much indescribable in the manner of doing any 
 thing, so it must be admitted to me that there is* 
 rnuch indescribable, and most material also in the 
 manner of saying any thing, and in the accent with 
 which it is said. The whole context serves much 
 to explain it; and if it is in answer to a question, 
 the words of that question, the manner and the 
 accent in which it is asked, are also most material 
 to understand the precise meaning, which the ex- 
 pressions are intended to convey ; and I must la- 
 ment therefore extremely, if mv character is to 
 
 V * +/ 
 
 be affected by the opinion of any witness, that the 
 question by which that opinion was drawn from 
 her, were not given too, as well as her answers., 
 and if this inquiry had been prosecuted before 
 your Majesty's Privy Council, the more solemn 
 and usual course of proceeding there would, as I 
 am informed, have furnished, or enabled me to 
 furnish, your Majesty with the questions a well 
 as the answers. 
 
 Mrs, Lisle, it should also be observed, was at 
 the time of her examination, under the severe op- 
 pression of having, but a few days before, heard of 
 the death of her daughter ; a daughter, who had 
 been happily married, and who had lived happily
 
 121 
 
 with her husband, in mutual attachment till her 
 death. The very circumstance of her then situa- 
 tion would naturally give a graver and severer cast 
 to her opinions. When the question was proposed 
 to her, as a general question, (and I presume it 
 must have been so put to her) whether my con- 
 duct was such as would become a married woman, 
 possibly her own daughter's conduct, and what 
 she would have expected of her, might present 
 itself to her mind. And I confidently submit to 
 your Majesty's better judgment, that such a gene- 
 ral question ought not, in a fair and candid consi- 
 deration of my case, to have been put to Mrs. 
 Lisle, or any other woman. For, as to my con- 
 duct being, or not being, becoming a married wo- 
 man ; the same conduct, or any think like it, which 
 may occur in my case, could not occur in the case 
 of a married woman, who was not living in my un- 
 fortunate situation ; or, if it did occur,it must occur 
 under circumstances which must give it, and most 
 deservedly, a very different character. A married 
 woman, living well and happily with her husband, 
 could not be frequently having one gentleman at 
 her table, with no other company but ladies of her 
 family ; she could not be spending her evenings 
 frequently in the same society, and separately con- 
 versing with that gentleman, unless either with 
 the privity and consent of her husband, or by tak- 
 ing advantage, with some management, of his igno- 
 
 R
 
 122 
 
 jance and his absence ^ if it was with his privftr 
 and consent, that very circumstance alone would 
 unquestionablyalter the character of such conduct, 
 if with management she avoided his knowledge, 
 that very management would 1 betray a fyad motive. 
 The cases therefore are not parallel ; the illustra- 
 tion is notjust; and the question, which called for 
 such an answer from Mrs. Lisle, ought not, in can- 
 dor and fairness, to have been put. 
 
 I entreat your Majesty, however, not to misun- 
 derstand me; I should be ashamed indeed tobesus- 
 pected of pleading any peculiar or unfortunate cir- 
 cumstance, in my situation, as an excuse for any 
 criminal or indecent act. With respect to such 
 acts, most unquestionably such circumstances can 
 make no difference ; and afford no excuse. They 
 must bear their own character of disgrace and infa- 
 my, under all circumstances* But there are acts, 
 which are unbecoming a married woman, which 
 ought to be avoided by her, from an apprehension 
 lest theyshould render her husband uneasy, not be- 
 cause they might give him any reason todrstrust her 
 chastity, her virtue or her morals, but because they 
 might wound his feelings, by indicating a prefe- 
 rence to the society of another man, over his, in a 
 case, where she had the option of both. But sure- 
 ly, as to such acts, they must necessarily bear a very 
 different character, and receive a very different 
 construction, in a case, where, unhappily, there can 
 "be no such apprehension, and where there is no 
 such option. I must therefore be excused for
 
 Dwelling so much upon this part of the case ; and I 
 am sure, your Majesty will feel me warranted in 
 saying, what I say with a confidence, exactly pro- 
 portioned to the respectability of Mrs. Lisle's cha- 
 racter, that, whatever she meant, by any of these 
 expressions, she could not, by possibility, have 
 meant to describe conduct, which to her mind af- 
 forded evidence of crime, vice, or indecency. If 
 she had, her regard to her own character, her own 
 delicacy, herown honourable and virtuous feelings, 
 would in less than the two years, which have since 
 elapsed,have found some excuse for separating her- 
 self from that intimate connection, which, by her 
 situation in my household, subsists between us. She 
 
 */ ~ 
 
 would not have remained exposed to the repetition 
 of so grossan offence, and insult, to a modest^ virtu * 
 ous,and delicatewoman,as that of being made, night 
 by night, witness to scenes, openly acted in her 
 presence, offensive to virtue and decorum. 
 
 If your Majesty thinks 1 have dwelt too long, 
 end tediously, on this part of the case, I entreat 
 your Majesty to think what I must feel upon it. 
 1 feel it a great hardship, as I have frequently stated, 
 that under the cover of a grave charge of High 
 Treason, the proprieties, and decencies, of my pri- 
 vate conduct and behaviour, have been made the 
 subject, as I believe so unprecedently, of a formal 
 investigation upon oath. And that, in consequence 
 of it, I may, at this moment, be exposed to the dan- 
 ger of forfeiting your Majesty's good opinion, and 
 being degraded and disgraced,in reputation through
 
 124 
 the country, because what Mrs. Lisle has said of mr 
 
 */ * / 
 
 conduct, that it was " only that of a woman who 
 liked flirting," has become recorded in the Report 
 on this formal inquiry, made into matters of grave 
 crimes, and of essential importance to the state. 
 
 Let me conjure your Majesty, over and over 
 again, before you suffer this circumstance to pre- 
 judice me in your opinion, not only to weigh all 
 the circumstances I have stated, but to look round 
 the first ranks of female virtue, in this country, and 
 see how many women there areof most unimpeach- 
 ed reputation, of most unsullied and unsuspected 
 honour, character and virtue, whose conduct, 
 though living happily with their husbands, if sub- 
 mitted to the judgment of persons of a severer 
 cast of mind, especially if saddened, at the mo- 
 ment, by calamity, might be stiled to be " flirting." 
 I would not however be understood as intending to 
 represent Mrs. Lisle's judgment, as being likely to 
 be marked with any improper austerity, and there- 
 fore I am certain she must either have had no idea 
 that the expressions she has used, in the manner 
 which she used them, were capable of being under- 
 stood, in so serious a light as to be referred to, 
 amongst circumstances deserving the most serious 
 consideration, and which must occasion most unfa- 
 vourable interpretations ; or she must by the impo- 
 sing novelty of her situation, in private examination 
 before four such graye characters,have been surpri- 
 sed into the use of expressions, which, withabetter 
 "opportunity cf weighing them,she would either not
 
 have used at all, or have accompanied with still 
 more of qualification than that, which she has, 
 however, in some degree, as it is, annexed to them. 
 
 But rny great complaint is the having, not, par- 
 ticularly, Mrs. Lisle's opinion, but any person's 
 opinion, set up, as it were, in judgment against the 
 propriety of my private conduct. How would it. 
 be endured, that the judgment of one man should 
 be asked, and recorded in a solemn Report, against 
 the conduct of another, either with respect to his 
 behaviour to his children, or to his wife, or to any 
 Other relative ? How would it be endured, in ge- 
 neral, and I trust, that my case ought not, in this 
 respect, to form an exception, that one woman 
 should in a similar manner be placed in judgment, 
 upon the conduct of another? And that judgment 
 be reported, where her character was of most im- 
 portance to her, as amongst things which must be 
 credited till decidedly contradicted ? Let every 
 one put these questions home to their own breasts, 
 and before they impute blame to me, for protest- 
 ing against the fairness and justice of this proce-. 
 dure, ask how they would feel upon it, if it were 
 their own case ? 
 
 But perhaps they cannot bring their imagina- 
 tions to conceive that it could ever become their 
 own case. A few months ago I could not have 
 believed that it would have been mine. 
 
 But the just ground of my complaint may per- 
 baps be more easily appreciated and felt, by suppo- 
 sing a more familiar, but an analogous case. The
 
 126 
 
 High Treason, with which I was charged, was sup* 
 posed to becommitted in the foul crime of adultery. 
 What would be the impression of your Majesty* 
 what would be the impression upon the mind of 
 anyone, acquainted with the excellent laws of 
 your Majesty's kingdom, and the admirable admi- 
 nistration of them, if upon a Commission of this 
 kind, secretly to inquire into the conduct of any 
 man, upon a charge of High Treason, against the 
 state, the Commissioners should not only proceed 
 to inquire, whether in the judgment of thewitness, 
 the conduct of the accused was such as became a 
 loyal subject ; but, when the result of their Inquiry 
 obliged them to report directly against the charge 
 of Treason, they, nevertheless, should record anim- 
 putation, or libel, against his character for loyalty, 
 and reporting, as part of the evidence, the opinion 
 of the witness, that the conduct of the accused was 
 such as did not become a loyal subject, should fur- 
 ther report, that the evidence of that witness, with- 
 out specifying any part of it, must be credited till 
 decidedly contradicted, and deserved the most se- 
 rious consideration? How could he appeal from 
 that Report? How could he decidedly contradict 
 the opinion of the witness? Sire, there is no dif- 
 ference between this supposed case and mine, but 
 this. That in the case of the man, a character for 
 loyalty, however injured, ecu Id not "be destroyed by 
 such an insinuation. His future life might give 
 him abundantopportunitiesof falsify ing the justice,
 
 127 
 
 of it. But a female character, once so blasted, what 
 hope or chance has it of recovery ? 
 
 Your Majesty will not fail to perceive, that I have 
 pressed this part of the case, with an earnestness 
 which shews that I have felt it. I have no wish to 
 disguise from your Majesty, that I have felt it, and 
 felt it strongly. It is the only part of the case, 
 which I conceive to be in the least degree asrainst 
 
 O O 
 
 me, that rests upon a witness who is at all worthy 
 of your Majesty's credit. How unfair it is, that 
 any thing she has said should be pressed against 
 me, I trust I have sufficiently shewn. In canvas- 
 sing, however, Mrs-. Lisle's evidence, I hope I 
 have never forgot what was due to Mrs. Lisle. I 
 have been as anxious not to do her injustice, as to 
 do justice to myself. I retain the same respect and 
 regard for Mrs. Lisle now, as I ever had. If the 
 unfavourable impressions, which the Commissio- 
 ners seem to suppose, fairly arise out of the ex- 
 pressions she has used, I am confident they will be- 
 understood; in a sense, which was never intended 
 by her. And I should scorn to purchase any ad- 
 vantage to myself, at the expence of the slightest 
 imputation, unjustly cast upon Mrs. Lisle, or any 
 one else. 
 
 Leaving therefore, with these observations, Mrs. 
 Lisle's evidence, I must proceed to the evidence of 
 Mr. Bidgood. The parts of it which apply to this 
 part of the case, I mean my conduct to Captain 
 Manby at Montague House, I shall detail. They 
 are as follows,* " I first observed Captain Manby 
 * Appendix (A.) p. 9.
 
 came to Montague House either the end of 1803, 
 or the beginning of 1804. I was waiting one day in 
 the anti-room ; Captain Manby had his hat in his 
 hand, and appeared to be going away ; he was a 
 long time with the Princess, and, as 1 stood on the 
 steps waiting, I looked into the room in which they 
 were, and in the reflection on the looking-glass I 
 saw them salute each other. I mean that they kis- 
 sed each other's lips. Captain Manby then went 
 away. I then observed the Princess have her 
 handkerchief in her hands, and wipe her eyes, as if 
 she was crying, and went into the drawing-room." 
 In his second deposition,* on the .'3d .1 LI ly, talking of 
 his suspicions of what passedat Southend, he says, 
 they arose from seeing them kiss each other, as I 
 mentioned before, like people fond of each other ;- 
 a very close kiss." 
 
 In these extracts from his depositions, there can 
 undoubtedly be no complaint of any thing being 
 left to inference. Here is a fact, which must un- 
 questionably occasion almost as unfavourable in- 
 terpretations, as any fact of the greatest impropri- 
 ety and indecorum, short of the proof of actual 
 crime. And this fact is positively and affirmative- 
 ly sworn to. And if this witness is truly represen. 
 ted, as one who must be credited till he is decidedly 
 contradicted ; and the decided contradiction of the 
 parties accused, should be considered as unavailing, 
 it constitutes a charge which cannot possiblybe an- 
 swered. For the scene is so laid, that there is no 
 eye to witness it, but his own : and therefore there 
 
 * See Appendix (A.} p. 40.
 
 129 
 
 can be no one who can possibly contradict him, 
 however false his story may be, but the persons 
 whom he accused. As for me, Sire, there is 
 no mode, the most solemn that can be devised, 
 in which I shall not be anxious and happy to con- 
 tradict it. And I do here most solemnly, in the 
 face of Heaven, most directly and positively 
 affirm, that it is as foul, malicious, and wicked 
 a falsehood, as ever was invented by the malice 
 of man. Captain Manby, to whom I have been 
 under the necessity of applying, for that pur- 
 pose, in the deposition which I annex, most ex- 
 pressly and positively denies it also. Beyond 
 these our two denials, there is nothing which 
 can by possibility be directly opposed to Mr. 
 Bidgood's evidence. All that remains to be 
 done is to examine Mr. Bidgood's credit, and to 
 see how far he deserres the character which 
 the Commissioners give to him. How unfound- 
 edly they gave such a character to Mr.^Cole, 
 your Majesty, I am satisfied, must be fully con- 
 vinced. 
 
 I suppose there must be some mistake, I will 
 not call it by any harsher name, for i think it can 
 be no more than a mistake, in Mr. Bidgood's say- 
 ing, that the first time he knew Captain Manby 
 come to Montague House, was at the end of 1803, 
 or beginning of 1804 ; for he first came at the end 
 of the former year ;* a-nd the fact is that Mr. Bid- 
 good must have seen him then. But, however, 
 
 *Before 1S03. 
 
 s
 
 130 
 
 the date is comparatively immaterial, the fact it is, 
 that is important. 
 
 And here, Sire, surely I have the same com- 
 plaint which I have so often urged. I would ask 
 your Majesty, whether I, not as a Princess of 
 Wales, but as a party accused, had not a right to 
 be thought, and to he presumed, innocent, till I 
 was proved to be guilty? Let me ask, if there 
 ever could exist a case, in which the credit of the 
 witness ought to have been more severely shifted 
 and tried ? The fact rested solely upon his single 
 assertion. However false, it could not possibly 
 receive contradiction, but from the parties. The 
 story itself surely is not very probable. My cha- 
 racter cannot be considered as under inquiry ; it rs 
 already gone, and decided upon, by those, if there 
 are any such, who think such a story probable. 
 That in a room, with the door open, and a servant 
 known to be waiting just by, we should have acted 
 such a scene of gross indecency. The indiscretion 
 at least might have rendered it improbable, even 
 to those, whose prejudices against me, might be 
 prepared to conceive nothing improbable in the in- 
 decency of it. Yet this seems to have been recei- 
 ved as a fact that there was no reason to question. 
 The witness is assumed, without hesitation, to be 
 the witness of truth, of unquestionable veracity. 
 Not the faintest trace is there to be found ofasin- 
 gle question put to him, to try and sift the credit 
 which was due to him, or to his story. 
 
 Is he asked, as I suggested before should have
 
 131 
 
 been done with regard to Mr. Cole To whom he 
 told this fact before ? When he told it ? what was 
 ever done in consequence of this information ? If 
 he never told it, till for the purpose of supporting 
 Lady Douglas's statement, how could he in his si- 
 tuation,as an old servant of the Prince, with whom 
 as he swears, he had lived twenty-three years, cre- 
 ditably to himself, account for having concealed it 
 so long ? And how came Lady Douglas and Sir 
 John to find out that he knew it, if he never had 
 communicated it before ? If he had communica- 
 ted it, it would then have been useful to have 
 heard how far his present story was consistent with 
 his former ; and if it should have happened that 
 this and other matters, which he may have stated, 
 were, at that time, made the subject of any in- 
 quiry ; then how far that inquiry had tended to 
 confirm or shake his credit. His first examina- 
 tion was^ it is true, taken by Lord Grenville, and 
 Lord Spencer alone, without the aid of the experi- 
 ence of the Lord Chancellor, and Lord Chief Jus- 
 tice ; this undoubtedly may account to* the omis- 
 sion ; but the noble Lords will forgive me if I say, 
 it does not excuse it,especially as Mr. Bidgood was 
 examined again on the 3d of July, by all the Com- 
 missioners, and this fact is again referred to then, 
 as the foundation of the suspicion which he after- 
 wards entertained of Captain Manby at Southend 
 Nay, that last deposition affords on my part, ano- 
 ther ground of similar complaint of the strongest 
 kind. It opens thus : " The Princess used to go
 
 132 
 
 " out in her phaeton with coachman and helper, 
 " towards Long Reach, eight or ten times, carry- 
 *' ing luncheon and wine with her, when Captain 
 " Manby'sship was at Long Reach, always Mrs. 
 " Fitzgerald with her. She would go out at one, 
 " and return about five or six, sometimes sooner 
 " or later." 
 
 The date when CaptainManby's ship was lying 
 at Long Reach, is not given ; and therefore whe- 
 ther this was before, or after, the scene of the sup- 
 posed salute, does not appear. But for what was 
 this statement of Mr. Bidgood's made? Why was 
 it introduced ? Why were these drives towards 
 Long Reach with luncheon, connected with Cap- 
 tain Manby's ship lying there at the time,examin- 
 ed toby the Commissioners ? The first point, the 
 matter foremost in their minds, when they call 
 back this witness for his re-examination, appears 
 to have been these drives towards Long Reach. 
 Can it have been for any purpose but to have the 
 benefit of the insinuation, to leave it open to be 
 inferred, that those drives were for the purpose of 
 meeting CaptainlVIanby? If this fact was material, 
 wliy in the name of justice was it so left ? Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald was mentioned by name, as accompany- 
 ing me in them all : Why was not she called? She 
 perhaps was my confidante ; no truth could have 
 been hoped for from her; -still there were my 
 coacLinan and helper, who likewise accompanied 
 me ; Why were they not called ? the y are not 
 surely confidants too. But it is, for what reason I
 
 133 
 
 cannot pretend to say, thought sufficient to .leave 
 this feet, or rather this insinuation, upon the evi- 
 dence of Mr. Bidgood, who only saw, or could see 
 the way I went when I set out upon my jdrive, in- 
 stead of having the fact from the persons who could 
 speak to the whole of it ; to the places 1 went to ; 
 to the persons whom i met with. 
 
 Your Majesty will think me justified in dwelling 
 uponthis,the more from this circumstance,because 
 I know, and w ill shew to your Majesty,on the tes- 
 timony of Jonathan Partridge, which I annex, that 
 these drives, or at least one of them, have been 
 already the object of previous, and, I believe, 
 nearly cotemporary investigation. The truth is, 
 that it did happen upon two of these drives that I 
 met with Captain Manby ; IN ONE of them that he 
 joined me, and went with me to Lord Eardley's, at 
 Belvidere, and that he partook of something which 
 we had to eat ; that some of Lord Eardley's ser- 
 vants were examined as to my conduct upon this 
 occasion ;-and am con fidently informed that the 
 servants gave a most satisfactory account of all that 
 passed ; nay, that they felt, and have expressed, 
 somehonest indignation at the foul suspicion which 
 the examination implied. On the other occa- 
 sion, having the boys to goon board the Africaine, 
 I went with one of myLadies to see them on board, 
 and Captain Manby joined us in our walk round 
 Mr. Calcraft's Grounds at Ingress Park, opposite 
 to Long Reach ; where we walked, while my 
 horses were baiting. We went into no house, and 
 on that occasion had nothing to eat.
 
 134- 
 
 Perfectly unable to account why these faots were 
 not more fuly inquired into, if thought proper to 
 be inquired into at all, I return sgain to Mr. Bid- 
 good's evidence. As far as it respects my conduct 
 at Montague House, it is confined to the circum- 
 stances which I have already mentioned. And, 
 upon those circumstances, I have no further obser- 
 vation, which may tend to illustrate Mr. Bidgood's 
 credit to offer, But 1 trust if, from other parts of 
 his evidence, your Majesty sees traces of the stron- 
 gest prejudices against me, and the most scanda- 
 lous inferences, drawn from circumstances, which 
 can in no degree support them, your Majesty will 
 then be able justly to appreciate the credit due to 
 every part of Mr. Bidgood's evidence. 
 
 Under the other head, into which I have divided 
 this part of the case, I mean my conduct at South- 
 end, as relative to Captain Manby, Mr. Bidgood 
 is more substantial and particular.* His statement 
 on this head begins by shewing that I was at South- 
 end about six weeks before the Africaine, Captain 
 Manby 's ship, arrived. That Mr. Sicard was 
 looking out for its arrival, as if she was expected. 
 And as itis my practice to require as constant a cor- 
 respondence to be kept up with my charity boys, 
 when on board of ship, as the nature of their situa- 
 tion will admit of, and as Mr. Sicard is the person 
 who manages all matters concerning them, and en- 
 ters into their interests with the most friendly anx- 
 
 * See Appendix (A.) p- 10.
 
 135 
 I 
 
 iety, he certainly was apprised of the probability 
 of the ship's arrival offSouthend, before she came, 
 And here I may as well, perhaps, by the way, re- 
 mark, that as this correspondence with the boys is 
 always under cover to the Captain ; this circum- 
 stance may account to your Majesty for the fact, 
 which is stated by some of the witnesses, of several 
 letters being put into the post by Sicard, some of 
 which he may have received from me, which were 
 directed to Captain Manby. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of the Africaine, however, 
 Bidgood says, the Captain put off in his boat. 
 Sicard went to meet him, and immediately brought 
 him up to me and my Ladies; -he dined there 
 then, and came frequently to see me. It would 
 have been as candid, if Mr. Bidgood had represented 
 the fact as it really was, though perhaps the cir- 
 cumstance is not very material : that the Captain 
 brought the two boys on shore with him to see me, 
 and this as well as many other circumstances con- 
 nected with these boys, the existence of whom, as 
 accounting in any degree for the intercourse be- 
 tween me and Captain Manby, could never have 
 been collected from out of Bidgood's depositions, 
 Sicard would have stated, if the Commissioners had 
 examined him to it. But though he is thus referred 
 to, though his name is mentioned about the letters 
 sent to Captain Manby, he does not appear to have 
 been examined to any of them, and all that he ap- 
 pears to have been asked is, as to his remembering 
 Captain Manby visiting at Montague House, and 
 to my paying theexpense of the linen furniture for
 
 his cabin. But Mr. Sicard was, I suppose, repre- 
 sented by my enemies to be a confident, from whom 
 no trutk could be extracted, and therefore that it 
 was idle waste of time to examine him to such 
 points ; and so unquestionably he, and every other 
 honest servant in my family, who could be suppo- 
 sed to know any thing upon the subject, were sure 
 to be rep esented by those, whose conspiracy and 
 falsehood, their honesty and truth were the best 
 means of detecting. The conspirators, however, 
 had the first word, and unfortunately their veracity 
 was not questioned, nor their unfavourable bias 
 suspected. 
 
 Mr. Bidgood then proceeds to state the situation 
 of the houses, two of which, with a part of a 
 third I had at Southend. He describes No. 9. as 
 the house in which I slept ; No. 8, as that in which 
 we dined ; and No. 7, as containing a drawing- 
 room, to which we retired after dinner . And he 
 says, " I have several times seen the Princess, after 
 " having gone to No./, with Captain Manby and 
 " the rest of the company, retire with Captain 
 " Manby from No. 7, through No. 8, to No. 9, 
 " which was the house where the Princess slept. 
 " I suspect that Captain Manby slept very fre- 
 " quently in the house. Hints were given by the 
 " servants, and I believe that others suspected it as 
 " well as myself." What those hints were* by 
 what servants given, are things which do not seem 
 to have been thought necessary matters of inquiry. 
 At least there is no trace in Mr. Bidgood's, or any
 
 137 
 
 other witness's examination, of any such inquiry 
 having been made. 
 
 In his second deposition, which applies to the 
 same fact, after say ing that we went away the day 
 after the Africaine sailed from Southern!, he says, 
 44 Captain Manby was there three times a week at 
 * 4 the least, whilst his ship lay for six weeks off 
 ** Southendatthe Nore ; became as tide served 
 " in a morning, and to dine, and drink tea. I have 
 44 seen him next morning by ten o'clock I sus- 
 44 pected he slept at No. 9, the Princess's. She 
 " always put out the candles herself in the drawing- 
 "j'ooin at No; 9, and bid me not wait to put them 
 " up. She gave me the orders as soon as she went 
 44 to Southend. I used to see water jugs, basons, 
 44 and towels, set out opposite the Princess's door 
 41 in the passage. Never saw them so left in th 
 44 passage at any other time, and [suspected he wa* 
 44 there at that time ; there was a general suspicion 
 4 ' through the house. Mrs. and Miss Fitzgerald 
 44 there, and Miss Hammond (now Mrs. Hood) 
 44 there. My suspicion arose from seeing them 
 " in the glass,'* &c. as mentioned before. " Her 
 44 behaviour like that of a woman attached to a man ; 
 " used to be by themselves at luncheon, at South- 
 44 end, when the ladies were not sent for ; a num- 
 ** ber of times. There was a poney which Captain 
 44 Manby used to ride ; it stood in the stable ready 
 * 4 for him, and which Sicard ^ised to ride.'* Then 
 he says, the servants used to talk and laugh about 
 
 T
 
 1.53 
 
 Captain Manby, and that it was matter of discourse 
 amongst them * and this, with what has been allud- 
 ed to before, respecting Sicard's putting letters for 
 him into the post, which he had received from me, 
 contains the whole of his deposition as far as re- 
 spects Captain Manby. And, Sire, as to the fact of 
 retiring through No. 8, from No. 7, to No. 9, alone 
 .with Captain Manby, I have no recollection of ever 
 having gone with Captain Manby, though but for 
 a moment, from the one room in which the com. 
 pany was sitting, through the dining-room to the 
 other drawing-room. It is, however, now above 
 two years ago, and to be confident that such a cir- 
 cumstancemight not have happened, is more than 
 I will undertake to be. But in the only sense in 
 "which he uses the expression, as retiring alone, 
 coupled with the immediate context that follows, 
 it is most false and scandalous. I know nomean^ 
 of absolutely proving a negative. If the fact was 
 true, there must have been other witnesses who 
 could have proved it as wellas Mr. Bidgood. Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald is the only person of the party, who was 
 examined, and her evidence proves the negative 
 so far as the negative can be proved ; for she says, 
 " he dined there, but never staid late. She was 
 " at Southend all the time I was there, and cannot 
 " recollect to have seen Captain Manby there, or 
 " known him to be there, later than nine, or half 
 " past nine/' Miss Fitzgerald and Miss Ham- 
 mond, (now Mrs. Hood) are not called to this fact ; 
 although a fact so extremely important, as it must
 
 139 
 
 appear to your Majesty; nor indeed are they ex- 
 amined at all. 
 
 As to the putting out of the candles, it seems 
 he says, I have the orders as soon as I went to 
 Southend, which was six weeks before the Afri- 
 cainearrived ; so this plan of excluding him from 
 the opportunity of knowing what was going on at 
 No. 9, was part of a long meditated scheme, as 
 he would represent it, planned and thought of six 
 weeks before it could be executed ; and which 
 when it was executed, your Majesty will recollect, 
 according to Mr, Bidgood's evidence, there was so 
 little contrivance to conceal, that the basons and 
 towels, which the Captain is insinuated to have 
 used, were exposed to sight, as if to declare that 
 
 he was there. It is tedious and disgusting, Sire, 
 
 I am well aware, to trouble your Majesty with, 
 such particulars ; but it doubtless, is true, that I 
 bid him not to take the candles away from No. 9. 
 The candles which are used in my drawing-room, 
 are considered as his perquisites. Those on the 
 contrary which are used in my private apartment 
 are the perquisites of my maid. I thought that 
 upon the whole it was a fairer arrangement, when 
 I was at Southend, to give my maid the perqui- 
 sites of the candles used at No. 9 ; and I made the 
 arrangement accordingly, and ordered Mr. Bid- 
 good to leave them. This, Sire, is the true account 
 of the fact respecting the candles; an arrange- 
 ment which very possibly Mr. Bidgood did not like. 
 But the putting out the candles myself, was
 
 140 
 
 not the only thing, from which the inference is 
 drawn, that Captain Manby slept at my house, at 
 No. 9, and as is evidently insinuated, if not stated, 
 in my bed-room. There were water-jugs, and 
 basons, and towels left in the passage, which Mr. 
 Bidgood never saw at other times. At what other 
 times does he mean ? At other times than those at 
 which he suspected, from seeing them there, that 
 Captain Manby slept in my house? If every 
 time he saw the basons and towels, &c. in the 
 passage, he suspected Captain Manby slept there, 
 it certainly would follow that he never saw them 
 at times when he did not suspect that fact. But 
 Sire, upon this important fact, important to the 
 extent of convicting me, if it were true, of High 
 Treason, if it were not for the indignation which 
 such scandalous, licentious wickedness and malice 
 excite, it would hardly be possible to treat it with 
 any gravity. Whether there were or were not 
 basons and towels sometimes left in a passage at 
 Southend, which were not there generally, an4 
 ought to have been never there, I really cannot in- 
 
 w */ 
 
 orm your Majesty. It certainly is possible, but 
 the utmost it can prove, I should trust, might be 
 some slovenliness in my servant, who did not put 
 them in their proper places ; but surely it must be 
 left to Mr. Bidgood alone to trace any evidence 
 from such a circumstance, of the crime of adultery 
 in, me. But 1 cannot thus leave this fact, for I 
 trust I shall here again have the same advantage 
 from the excess and extravagance of this man's
 
 141 
 
 malice, as I have already had on the other part of 
 the charge, from the excess and extravagance of 
 his confederate Lady Douglas. 
 
 What is the charge that he would insinuate ? 
 That I meditated and effected a stolen, secret, clan- 
 destine intercourse with an adulterer? No. 
 Captain Manby, it seems according to his insinu- 
 ation, slept with me in my own house, under cir- 
 cumstances,ofsuch notoriety that it was impossible 
 that any of my female attendants at least should not 
 have known it. Their duties were varied on the 
 occasion ; they had to supply basons and towels in 
 places where they never were supplied, except 
 when prepared for him ; and they were not only 
 purposely so prepared, but prepared in an open 
 passage, exposed to view, in a manner to excite the 
 suspicion of those who were not admitted into the 
 secret. And what a secret was it, that was thus 
 to be hazarded ! No less than what, if discovered, 
 would fix Captain Manby and myself with High 
 Treason ! Not only therefore must I have been 
 thus careless of reputation, and eager for infamy ; 
 but I must have been careless of my life, as of 
 my honour. Lost to all sense of shame, surely I 
 must have still retained some regard for life. 
 Captain Manby too with a folly and madness 
 equal to his supposed iniquity, must then have 
 put his life in the hands of my servants and de- 
 pended for his safety upon their fidelity to me, 
 and their perfidy to the Prince their master. If 
 the excess of vice and crime in all this is believedj
 
 143 
 
 could its indiscretion, its madness find credulity to 
 adopt it almost upon an evidence? But what 
 must be the state of that man's mind, as to preju- 
 dice, who could come to the conclusion of believ- 
 ing it, from the fact of some water-jugs and tow- 
 els being found in an unusual place, in a passage 
 near my bed-room ? For as to his suspicion being 
 raised by what he says he saw in the looking-glass, 
 if it was as true as it is false, that could not occa- 
 sion, his believing, on any particular night, that 
 Captain Manby slept in rny house ; thesituation of 
 these towels and basons is what leads tothat belief. 
 But, Sire, may I ask, did the Commissioners be- 
 lieve this man's suspicions ? If they did, what do 
 they mean by saying that these facts of great in- 
 decency, &c. went to a much less extent than the 
 principal charges? And that it was riot for them 
 to state their bearing and effect,? The bearing of 
 this fact unquestionably, if believed, is the same 
 as that of the principal charge: namely, to prove 
 me guilty of High Treason. They therefore could 
 not believe it. But if they did not believe it and 
 as it seems to me, Sire, no men of common judg- 
 ment could, on such a statement how could they 
 bring themselves to name Mr. Bidgood as one of 
 those witnesseson whose unbiassed tessimonythey 
 could so rely? or how could they, (it) pointing 
 him out with the other three as speakha; to facts, 
 particularly with respect to Captain Manbij, which 
 roust be credited till decidedly contradicted, 
 omit to specify the facts which he spoke to that
 
 143 
 
 they thus thought worthy of belief, but leave the 
 whole, including this incredible part of it, recom- 
 mended to belief by their general and unqualified 
 sanction and approbation. 
 
 But the falsehood of this charge does not rest 
 on its incredibility alone. My servant Mrs. Sander, 
 who attended constantly on my person, and whose 
 bed room was close to mine, was examined by the 
 Commissioners ; she must have known this fact 
 if it had been true ; she positively swears, " that 
 she did not know or believe, that Captain Manby 
 staid till Very late hours with me ; that she never 
 suspected there was any improper familiarity be- 
 tween us. M. Wilson, who made my bed, swears, 
 that she had been in the habit of making it ever 
 since she lived with me, that another maid, whose 
 name was Ann Bye, assisted with her in making 
 it, and swears from what she observed, that she 
 never had any reason to believe that two persons 
 had slept in it. Referring thus by name to her 
 fellow-servant, who made the bed with her, ij^it 
 that servant, why I know not, is not examined. 
 
 As your Majesty then finds the inference drawn 
 by Bidgood to amount to a fact so openly and un- 
 disguisedly profligate, as to outrage all credibility, 
 as your Majesty finds it negatived by the evidence 
 of three witnesses, one of whom, in particular, if 
 such a fact were true, must have known it; as 
 your Majesty finds one witness appealing to ano- 
 ther, who is pointed out as a person who must 
 have been able, with equal means of knowledge, 
 to have confirmed her if she spoke true, and to
 
 have contradicted her if she spoke false. And, 
 Sire, when added to all this, your Majesty is gra- 
 ciously pleased to recollect that Mr. Bidgood was 
 one o(thosewho, though in my service, submit- 
 ted themselves voluntarily to be examined pre- 
 vious to the appointment of the Commissioners, 
 in confirmation of Lady Douglas's statement, 
 without informing me of the fact ; and when I 
 state to your Majesty, upon the evidence of 
 Philip Krackeler and Robert Eagjestone, whose 
 deposition I annex, that this unbiassed witness, 
 during the pendency of these examinations before 
 the Commissioners, was seen to be in conference 
 and communication with Lady Douglas, my 
 most ostensible accuser, do I raise my expec- 
 tations too high, when I confidently trust that 
 his malice, and his falsehood, as well as his con- 
 nection in this conspiracy against my honour, my 
 station in this kingdom, and my life, will ap- 
 pear to your Majesty too plainly for him to receive 
 any credit, either in this or any other part of his 
 testimony ? 
 
 The other circumstances, to which he speaks, 
 are comparatively too trifling, for me to trouble 
 your Majesty with any more observations upon 
 his evidence. 
 
 The remaining part of the case, which respects 
 Captain Manby relates to my conduct at East 
 Cliff. 
 
 How little Mrs. Lisle's examination affords for 
 observations upon this part of the case, except 
 as shewing how very seldom Captain Manby cal-
 
 145 
 
 led upon me while I was there, I have already 
 observed. Air. Cole says nothing upon this part 
 of the case ; nor Mr. Bidgood. The only witness 
 amongst the four whose testimonies are distin- 
 guished by the Commissioners as most material, 
 and as those on which they particularly rely, who 
 says any thing upon this part of the case is Fanny 
 Lloyd. Her deposition is as follows ' 
 
 " I was at Rainsgate with the Princess in 1803. 
 " One morning when we were in the house at 
 '" East Cliff, somebody, I don't recollect who, 
 tf knocked at my door, and desired me to prepare 
 " breakfast for the Princess. This was about six 
 " o'clock; I was asleep. During the whole time I 
 " was in the Princes's service, 1 had never been 
 se called up before to make the Princess's breakfast. 
 " 1 sleptjn the house-keeper's room, on the ground 
 *' floor. I opened the shutters of the window for 
 t( light, Ikqewatthat time that Captain Manby's 
 " ship was in the Downs. When I opened the 
 tf shutters, I saw the Princess, walking down the 
 f* Gravel-Walk towards the sea. No orders had 
 <c been given me over-night to prepare breakfast 
 fc early. The gentleman the Princess was with 
 " was a tall man. I was surprised to see the 
 " Princess walking with a gentleman at that time 
 " in the morning. I am sure it was the'Princess." 
 
 What this evidence of Fanny Lloyd applies, 
 I do not feel certain that I recollect. The circum- 
 stances which she mentions might, I think, have 
 occurred twice while I was there, and which time 
 Appendix. (A.) p. 13. 
 
 u
 
 146 
 
 she atludes to, I cannot pretend to say. I mean on 
 occasion of two water parties, which 1 intended; 
 one of which did not take place at all, ahd the 
 other not so early in the dav as was intended, nor 
 was its object effected. Once I intended to pay 
 Admiral Montague a visit to .Deal. But, wind and 
 tide not serving, we sailed much later than we in- 
 tended;and instead of landing at Deal, the Admiral 
 came on board our vessel, and we returned to East 
 ClttF in the evening, on which occasion Captain 
 Maiuy was not of the party, nor was ho in the 
 Downs but it is very possible, that having 
 prepared to set off early, I might have walked 
 down towards the sea, and been seen by Fanny 
 Lloyd. On the other occasion, Captain Manby 
 was to have been of the party, and it was to have 
 been on board his ship. I desired him to be early 
 at my house in the morning, and if the day suited 
 me, we would go. He came ; I walked with him 
 towards the sea, to look at the morning; I did 
 not like the appearance of the weather, and did 
 not go to sea. Upon either of these occasions 
 Fanny Lloyd might have been called up to n.ake 
 breakfast,, and might have seen me walking. As 
 to the orders not having been given her over night, 
 to that I can say nothing. 
 
 But upon this statement, what inference can be 
 intended to he drawn from this fact ? It is the 
 only one in which F. Lloyd's evidence can in any 
 degree be applied to Captain Manhy, and she is 
 one of the important witnesses referred to, as
 
 147 
 
 proving something which must, particularly as 
 with regard to Captain Manby j be credited till 
 contradicted, and as deserving the most serious con- 
 sideration. From the examination of Mrs. Fitzjje- 
 
 (V 
 
 raid I collect, that she was asked whether Captain 
 Manby ever slept in the house at East Cliff, to 
 which she, to the best of her knowledge, answers 
 in the negative. Is this evidence then of Fanny 
 Lloyd's relied upon to afford an inference that 
 Captain Manby slept in my house; or was there at 
 an improper hour ? or in a manner, and under cir- 
 cumstances, which afforded reason for unfavour- 
 able interpretations ? If this were so, can it be 
 believed that I would, under such circumstances, 
 have taken a step, such as calling for breakfast, 
 at an unusual hour, which must have m.ide the 
 fact more notorious and remarkable, and brought 
 the attention of the servants, who must have 
 waited at the breakfast, more particularly and 
 pointedly to it ? 
 
 But if there is any thing which rests, or is 
 supposed to rest, upon the credit of this witness-- 
 though she is one of the four, whose credit Your 
 Majesty will recollect it has been stated that there 
 was no reason to question, yet she stands in a 
 predicament in which, in general, at least, I had 
 understood it to be supposed, that the credit of a 
 witness was not only questionable, but materially 
 shaken. For, towards the beginning of her exami- 
 nation, she states,* that Mr. Mills attended her for 
 a cold ; he asked her if the Prince came to Black. 
 * Appendix (A.)p. 13. t
 
 lieath backwards and forwards; or something to 
 that effect : for the Princess was with child ; or 
 looked as if she was with child. This must have 
 been three or four vears ac,o. She thought it must 
 
 > O W? 
 
 be sometime before the child (W. Austin) was 
 brought to the Princess. To this fact she posi- 
 tively swears, and in this she is as positively con- 
 tradicted by Mr. Mills ;* for he swears, in his de- 
 position before the Commissioners, that he never 
 did say to lief, or any one, that the Princess was 
 with child, or looked as if she was with child; 
 that he never thought so nor surmissed anything of 
 the kind. Mr. Mills has a partner, Mr. Edmeads. 
 The Commissioners therefore, conceiving thatFan- 
 ny Lloyd might have mistaken one of the partners 
 for the other, examine Mr. Edmeads also. Mr. 
 Edmeads,! in his deposition, is equally positive, 
 that he never said any such thing; so the matter 
 rests upon these depositions ; and upon that state 
 of it, what pretence is theie for saying, that a 
 witness who swears to a conversation with a medi- 
 caJ person, who attended me, of so extremely 
 important a nature; and is so expressly and de- 
 cidedly contradicted in the important fact which 
 hc speaks to, is a witness whose credit there 
 appears no reason to question? This important 
 circumstance must surely have been overlooked 
 when that statement was made. 
 But this fact of Mr; Mills andMr. Edmeads'scon- 
 tradictionof FannyLloyd,appears toYourMajeVty, 
 for the first time, from the examination before the 
 
 * Appendix, (A.) p. 32. f Appendix. (A.)p.30.
 
 HO 
 
 Commissioners. Btitthisisthe fact which Icharge 
 as having been known to those, who are concerned 
 in bringing forward this information, and which, 
 nevertheless, was not communicated to Your Ma- 
 jesty. The fact that Fanny Lloyd declared, that 
 Mr. Mills told her the Princess was with child, is 
 stated in the declarations which were delivered to 
 His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and by 
 him forwarded to Your Majesty. The fact that 
 Mr. Mills denied ever having so said, though 
 known at the same time, is not stated. 
 
 That I may not appear to have represented so 
 strange a fact, without sufficient authority, I 
 subjoin the Declaration of Mr. Mills, and the 
 Deposition of Mr. Edmeades, which prove it. 
 Fanny Lloyd's original Declaration which was 
 delivered to His Royal Highness, is dated on the 
 12th of February. It appears to have been taken 
 at the Tern pie ; I conclude therefore at the cham- 
 bers of Mr. Lowten, Sir John Douglas's solicitor, 
 who,* according to Mr. Cole, accompanied him. 
 to Cheltenham to procure some of these Decla- 
 rations. On the 13th of February, the next day 
 after Fanny Lloyd's Declaration, the Earl of 
 Moira sends for Mr. Mills upon pressing business. 
 Mr. Mills attends him on the 14th ; he is asked by 
 his Lordship upon the subject of this conversa- 
 tion; he is told he may rely upon his Lordship's 
 honour, that what passed should be in perfect 
 confidence; (a confidence which Mr. Mills, 
 feeling it to be on a subject too important to his 
 character, at the moment disclaims; ) that it was 
 
 * Appendix (B.) No. 103,
 
 1,50 
 
 his (the Earl of Moira's) duty to his Prince, as 
 his counsellor, to inquire into the subject, which 
 he had known for some time.- Fanny Lloyd's 
 statement being then related to Mr. Mills, Mr. 
 Mills, with great warmth, declared that it waa 
 an infamous falsehood. Mr. Lowten, who ap- 
 pears also to have been there by appointment, 
 was called into the room, and he furnished Mr. 
 Mills wiih the date to which Fanny Lloyd's 
 declaration applied. The meeting ends in 
 Lord Moira's desiring 1 to see Mr. Mills's part* 
 ner, Mr. Edmeades, who, not being at home 
 cannot attend him for a few days. He does, how- 
 ever, upon his r. turn, attend him on the 2'Jth of 
 May : on his attendance, instead of Mr, Lo\vten, 
 he finds Mr. Conant, the magistrate, with Lord 
 Moira. He denies the conversation with Fanny 
 Lloyd, as positively and peremptorily as Mr. Mills. 
 Notwithstanding however all this, the Declaration 
 of Fanny Lloyd isdelivered to His Royal Highness, 
 and accompanied by these contradictions, and for- 
 warded to Your Majesty on the 29th. That Mr. 
 Lowten was the Solicitor of Sir John Douglas in 
 this business, cannot be doubted, that he took 
 some of those Declarations, which werelaid before 
 Your Majesty, is clear ; ai;d that he took this De- 
 claration of Fanny Lloyd's, seems not to be ques- 
 tionable. That the Inquiry by Earl Moira, two 
 days after her Declaration was taken, must have 
 heen in consequence of an early communication of 
 it to him, seems necessarily to follow from what is 
 above stated ; that it was known, on the 1-lth of
 
 151 
 
 "May, that Mr. Mills contradicted this assertion; 
 and, on the 20th, that Mr. Edmeadesdid, is per* 
 fcctlyclear ; and yet, notwithstanding all tbis, the 
 fuc:, thatMr. Edmeades and Mr. Mills contra- 
 dicted it, seems to have been not communicated to 
 His Roval Highness the Prince of Wales., for he, 
 as it appears from the Report, forwarded the De- 
 clarations which hid been delivered to His Royal 
 Highness, through the Chancellor, to Your Ma- 
 jesty ; and the Declaration of Fanny Lloyd, which 
 had been so falsified, to the knowledge of the Earl 
 Moira and of Mr. Lowten, the Solicitor for Sir 
 John Douglas, is sent in to Your Majesty as one 
 of the documents, on which you were to ground 
 your Inquiry, unaccompanied by its falsification by 
 Mills and Edmeades ; at least, no declarations by 
 them are amongst those, which are transmitted to 
 me, as copies of the original Declarations which 
 were laid before Your Majesty. I know not whe- 
 ther it was Lord Moira, or Air. Lowten, who 
 should have communicated (hiscircumstancetoHis 
 Ro\al Highness ; but that, in all fairness, it ought 
 unquestionably to have been communicated by 
 some one. 
 
 I dare not trust myself with any inferences 
 from this proceeding ; I content myself with re. 
 marking, that it must now be felt, that 1 wasjusti- 
 fied in saying, that neither His Royal Highness, 
 nor Your Majesty, any more than rmsclf, had 
 been fairly dealt with, in not being fully informed 
 upon this important fact; and Your Majesty will 
 forgive a weak, unprotected woman, like myself.
 
 who, under such circumstances, should appre- 
 hend that, however Sir John and Lady Douglas 
 may appear my ostensihle accusers, I have other 
 enemies, \vhoseill-will I may have occasion to 
 fear, without feeling myself assured, that it will 
 be strictly regulated, in its proceeding against 
 me, by the principles of fairness and of jus- 
 tice. 
 
 I have now, Sire, gone through all the evidence 
 which respects Captain IManby ; whether at Mon- 
 tague l,Iouse, Southend, or East Cliff, and 1 do 
 trust, that Your Majesty will see, upon the whole 
 of it, how mistaken a view the Commisstonera 
 have taken of it. The pressure of other duties en- 
 grossing their time and their attention, has made 
 them leave the important duties of this investiga- 
 tion, in many particulars, imperfectly discharged 
 a more thorough attention to it'must have given 
 them a better and truer insight into the characters 
 of those witnesses, upon whose credit, as lam 
 convinced, Your Majesty will now see, they have 
 without sufficient reason relied. There remains 
 nothing for me, on this part of the charge to per- 
 form ; but, adverting to the circumstance which 
 is falsely sworn against me by Mr. Bidgood, of the 
 salute, and the false inference and insinuation, from 
 other facts, that Captain Manby slept in my house, 
 cither at Southend, or East Cliff, on my own part 
 most solemnly to declare, that they are both utterly 
 false ; that Bidgood 's assertion as to the salute, is a 
 malicious slanderous invention, without the slightest 
 shadow of truth to support it ; that his suspicions
 
 N 
 
 153 
 
 and insinuations, as to Captain Manby's having 
 slept in my house, are also the false suggestions of 
 liis o^n malicious mind ; and that Captain Manby 
 never did, to my knowledge or belief, sleep in my 
 house at Souttnend, East Ciifi", or any o(her house 
 of mine whatever; and> however often he may 
 have been in my company, I solemnly protest to 
 Your Majestyj as I have done in the former case a, 
 that nothing ever passed between him and me, 
 that I should be ashamed, or unwilling that all 
 the world should have seen* And I have also, with 
 great pain, and with a deep sense of wounded 
 delicacy, applied to Captain Manby to attest to 
 the same truths, and I subjoin to this letter hit 
 Deposition to that effect* 
 
 I stated to Your Majesty, that I should beobliged 
 to return to other parts of Fanny Lloyd's testi- 
 mony ; At thend of it she says, *" I never told 
 Cole tha M. Wilson, when she supposed the 
 Princess to be tn the library* had gone into the 
 Princess's bed-room, and had found a man there at 
 breakfast with the Princess; or that there was a 
 great to do about it, and that M, Wilson was 
 sworn to sec recy> and threatened to be turned away, 
 if she divnlged what she had seen." This part of 
 her examination, your Majesty will perceive, must 
 have been called from her, by some precise ques- 
 tion, addressed to her, with respect to a supposed 
 communication from her to Mr. Cole. In Mr, 
 Cole's examination, there is not one word upon the 
 subject of it In his original declaration, 
 
 * Appendix (A.) p, 14; 
 
 X
 
 154 
 
 ever there is ; and there *your Majesty will per- 
 ceive, that he affirms the fact of her having re- 
 ported to him Mary Wilson's declaration in the 
 Tery same words in which Fanny Lloyd denies it, 
 and it is therefore evident thattheCommissioners, 
 in putting this question to Fanny Lloyd, must 
 have put it to her from Cole's declaration. She 
 positively denies the fact ; there is then a flat and 
 precise contradiction, between the examination of 
 Fanny Lloyd and the original statement of Mr, 
 Cole. It is therefore impossible that they both 
 can have spoken true. The Commissioners, for 
 some reason, don't examine Cole to this point at 
 all; don't endeavour to trace out this story ; if 
 they had, they must have discovered which of 
 these witnesses spoke the truth, but they leave 
 this contradiction, not only unexplained, but un- 
 inquired after, and in that state, report bojh these 
 witnesses, Cole and Fanny Lloyd, who thus speak 
 to the two sides, of a contradiction, and who 
 therefore cannot by possibility both speak 
 truth, as witnesses who cannot be suspected of 
 partiality, whose credit they see no reason to 
 question, and whose story must be believed till 
 contradicted. 
 
 But what is, if possible, still more extraordinary, 
 this supposed communication from F. Lloyd to 
 Cole, as your Majesty observes, relates to some- 
 thing which M. Wilson in supposed to have seen 
 and to have said ; yet though M. W'ilson appears 
 herself to have been examined by the Commis- 
 sioners on the same day with Fanny Lloyd, in the 
 
 * Appendix (B.) p. 99.
 
 155 
 
 copy of her examination, as delivered to me, 
 there is no trace of any question relating to this 
 declaration having been put to her. 
 
 And 1 have not less reason to lament, than to be 
 surprised, that it did not occur to the Commis- 
 sioners to see the necessity of followirigthis Inquiry 
 still further. For, if properly pursued, it would 
 have demonstrated two things, both very important 
 tobekept in mind in the wholeofthisconsideration. 
 First, how hearsay representations of this kind, 
 arising out of little or nothing, become magnified 
 and exaggerated by the circulation of prejudiced, 
 or malicious, Reporters; and, Secondly, it would 
 have shewn the industry of Mr. and Mrs. Bidgood, 
 as well as Mr. Cole, in collecting information in 
 support of Lady Douglas's statement, and in im- 
 proving what they collected by their false colour- 
 ings, and malicious additions to it. They would 
 have found a story in Mrs. Bidgood's* declaration, 
 aswell as in her husband'sf (who relates it as hav- 
 ing heard it from his wife,) which is evidently the 
 same as that which W. Cole's declaration contains. 
 For the Bidgood's declarations state, that Fanny 
 Lloyd told Mrs. Bidgood that Mary Wilson had 
 gone into the Princess's bed room, and had found 
 her Royal Highness and Sir Sidney in the most 
 criminal situation; that she had left the room, 
 and was so shocked, that she fainted away at the 
 door. Here then are Mrs Bidgood, and Mr. 
 Cole, both declaring what they had heard Fanny 
 Lloyd say, and Fanny Lloyd denying it. How ex- 
 traordinary is it that they were not all confronted ! 
 
 Appendix (B.) 106, t Appendix (B.) p. 103.
 
 156 
 
 and your Majesty will see presently how much it 
 is fo be lamented that they were not. For, from 
 Fanny Lloyd's original declaration, it appear* 
 that the truth would have come out. As she 
 there states that,* " To the best of her knowledge 
 Mary Wilson said, that she had seen the Prin- 
 cess and Sir Sidney in the Slue Room, but never 
 heard Mary Wilson say she was so alarmed as to 
 be in a fit." If then, on confronting Fanny 
 Lloyd with Mrs. Bidgood and Mr. Cole, the 
 Commissioners had found Fanny Lloyd's story to 
 be what she related before, and had then put the 
 question to Mary Wilson, and had heard from 
 her what it really was which she had seen and 
 jrelated to Fanny Lloyd, they could not have 
 been at a loss to have discovered which of these 
 witnesses told .. the truth, Tlxcy would have 
 found, I am perfectly confident, that all that 
 Mary Wilson ever could have told Fanny Lloyd, 
 was that she had seen Sir Sidney and myself in tho 
 Blue Room, and they would then have had to 
 refer to the malicious, and confederated inventions; 
 of the Bidgoods and Mr. Cole, for the conversion 
 of the blue-room, into the bed-room ; for the vile 
 slander of \vhatM. W T ilson was supposed to have 
 seen, and for the violent effect which this scene 
 had upon her. I say their confederated inventions,. 
 as it is impossible to suppose that they could have 
 been concerned in inventing the same additions to 
 Fanny Lloyd'sstory,unlessthey had communicated 
 together upon it. And when they had once found 
 Mrs. Bidgood and Mr. Cole, thus conspiring to- 
 
 * Appendix (B.) p. 107,
 
 157 
 
 gether, they would have had no difficulty in con- 
 necting them both in the same conspiracy with Sir 
 John Douglas, hy shewing how connected Cole 
 was with Sir John Douglas, and-how acquainted 
 with his proceedings, in collecting the evidence 
 which was to support Lady Douglas's declaration. 
 For, hy referringto Mr. Cole'sdeclaration, made 
 on the 23d of February,* they would have seen that 
 Mr. Cole, in explaining some observation about 
 Sir Sidney's supposed possession of a key to the 
 garden door, says that it was what "Mr. Lain pert, 
 " the servant of Sir John D luglas, mentioned at 
 ct Cheltenham to Sir John Douglas and Mr. Low- 
 " ten." How should Mr. Cole know that Sir 
 John Douglas and Mr. Lowten had been down to 
 Cheltenham, to collect evidence from this old ser- 
 vant of Sir John Douglas's? How should h 
 have known what that evidence was? unless he 
 had either accompanied them himself, or at least 
 had had such a communication either with Sir John 
 Douglas, or Mr. Lowten, as it never could have 
 occurred to any of them to have made to Mr. Cole, 
 unless, instead of being a mere witness, he were a 
 party to thi accusation ? But whether they had 
 convinced themselves, that Fanny Lloyd spoke 
 true, and Cole and Mrs. Bidgood falsely ; or whe- 
 ther they had convinced themselves of the reverse, 
 it could not have been possible, t ! at they both 
 could have spoken thetruth ; and, consequently, the 
 Commissioners could never have reported the ve- 
 
 Appendix (B.) p. 103.
 
 158 
 
 racity of both to be free from suspicion, and de- 
 serving of credit. 
 
 There only remains that I should make a few 
 observations on what appears in the examinations 
 relative to Mr. Hood, (now Lord Hood,) Mr. 
 Chester, and Captain Moore. And I really should 
 not have thought a single observation necessary 
 upon either of them, except that what refers to 
 them is stated in the examinations of Mrs. Lisle. 
 With respect to Lord Hood it is as follows : 
 * " I was at Catherington with the Princess;- 
 ." remember Mr. (now Lord Hood) there, and the 
 '* Princess going out airing with him, alone in 
 *' Mr. Hood's little whiskey ; and his servant was 
 " with them ; Mr. Hood drove, and staid out two 
 " or three times ; more than once, three or four 
 "times. Mr. Hood dined with us several times; 
 et once or twice he slept in a house in the garden ; 
 " she appeared to pay no attention to him, but 
 " that of common civility to an intimate acquain- 
 " tance." Now, Sire, it is undoubtedly true that 
 I drove out several times with Lord Hood in his 
 one horse chaise, and some few times, twice 1 
 believe at most, without any of my servants attend- 
 ing us ; and considering the time of life, and the 
 respectable character of my Lord flood, I never 
 should have conceived that I incurred the least 
 danger to my reputation in so doing. If indeed it 
 was the duty of the Commissioners to inquire into 
 instances of my conduct, in which they may conceive 
 it to have been less reserved and dignified, than 
 
 Appendix (A.) No. 27.
 
 159 
 
 \vhat would properly become the exalted station 
 which 1 hold in your Majesty's Royal Family, it is 
 possible that, in the opinions of some, these 
 drives with my Lord Hood were not consistent 
 with that station ; and that they were particularly 
 improper in those instances in which we were not 
 attended by more servants, or any servants of my 
 own. Upon this I have only to observe, that these 
 instances occurred after I had received the news 
 of the lamented death of your Majesty's brother, 
 the Duke of Gloucester. I was at that time down 
 by the sea side for my health. I did not like to 
 forego the advantage of air and exercise for the 
 short remainder of the time which I had to star 
 
 j 
 
 there ; and I purposely chose to go out, not in my 
 own carriage, and unattended, that I might not be 
 seen> and known to be driving about (myself and 
 my attendants out of mourning) while his Royal 
 Highness was known to have been so recently dead. 
 This statement, however, is all that I have to make 
 upon my part of the case, and whatever indecorum 
 or impropriety of behaviour the Commissioners 
 have fixed upon me by this circumstance, it must 
 remain ; for 1 cannot deny the truth of the fact, 
 and have only the above explanation to offer of it. 
 As to what Mrs. Lisle's examination contains with 
 respect to Mr. Chester and Captain Moore, it is 
 socononected, that I must trouble your Majesty 
 with the statement of it altogether. 
 
 * " 1 was with Her Royal Highness at Lady 
 Sheffield'sat Christmas inSussex; I inquired what 
 
 * Appendix (A.)[ p. 44.
 
 160 
 
 company was there when 1 came, she said, only 
 Mr. John Chester, who was there by her Royal 
 Highnesses orders ; that she could get no other 
 company to meet her, on account of the roads, and 
 the season of the year. He dined and slept there 
 that night ; the next day other company came, Mr. 
 Chester remained. I heard Her Royal Highness 
 say she had been ill in the night, and came out for 
 a light, and lighted her candle in her servant's 
 room. 1 returned from Sheffield- place to Black- 
 heath with the Princess ; Captain Moore dined 
 there; I left him and the Princess twice alotie, for 
 a short time ; he might be alone half an hour with 
 her in the room below, in which we had been 
 sitting. I went to look for a book to com pleat a 
 set her Royal Highness was lending Captain 
 Moore* She made him a present of an inkstand, 
 to the best of my recollection. He was there one 
 morning in January last, on the Princess's Char- 
 lotte's birth-day ; he went away before the rest of 
 the company, I might be about, twenty miriutos 
 the second time 1 was away, tbe night Captain 
 Moore was there. At Lady Sheffield's her Royal 
 Highness paid more attention to Mr. Chester 
 than to tbe rest of tbe company. I know of her 
 Royal Highness walking out alone, twice, with 
 Mr. Chester in the morning alone; once, a short 
 time it ruined, the oilier not an hour, not long. 
 Mr. Chester is a pretty young man ; her atten- 
 tions to him were not uncommon; not the same as 
 to Captain Manby.'"
 
 151 
 
 And first, Sire, as to what relates to Mr. Ches- 
 ter. If there is any imputation to be cast upon 
 my character by what passed at Sheffield-place 
 with Mr. Chester, (and by the Commissioners 
 returning to examine Mrs. Lisle upon my atten- 
 tion to Mr. Chester, my walking out with him, and 
 above all, " as to his being a pretty^young man,' 1 I 
 conceive it to be so intended) I am sure your Ma- 
 jesty will see that it is the hardest thing imaginable 
 upon me, that, upon an occurrence which passed in 
 Lady Sheffield's house, on a visit to her, Lady Shef- 
 field herself was never examined; for if she hadbeen, 
 I am convinced that these Noble Lords, the Com- 
 missioners, never could have put me to the painful 
 degradation of stating any thing upon this subject. 
 
 The statement begins by Mrs. Lisle's inquiring, 
 what company was there ? and Lady Sheffield say- 
 ing, "only Mr. John Chester, who was there by 
 her Royal Highness's orders; that she could get no 
 other company on account of the roads/' Is not 
 this, Sire, left open to the inference that Mr. John 
 Chester was the only person who had been invited 
 by my orders ? If Lady Sheffield had been exam- 
 ined, she. would have been able to have produced 
 the very letter in which, in answer to her Lady- 
 ship's request, that I would let her know what 
 company it would be agreeable for me to meet, I 
 said, " every thing of the name of North, all the 
 Legges, and Chesters, William and John, &c. &c. 
 and Mr. Elliott." Instead of singing out, therefore, 
 
 Mr. John Chester, J included him in the euume- 
 
 Y
 
 162 
 
 ration which I made of the near relations of Lady 
 Sheffield; and your Majesty from this alone can- 
 not fail to see how false a colour, even a true 
 fact can assume, if it be not sufficiently inquired 
 into and explained. 
 
 As to the circumstances of my having been 
 taken ill in the night, being obliged to get up, 
 and light my candle ; why this fact should be 
 recorded, I am wholly at a loss to conceive. All 
 the circumstances however respecting it, con- 
 nected very much as they are with the particu- 
 cular disposition of Lady Sheffield's house, would 
 have been fully explained, if thought material to 
 have been inquired after, by Lady Sheffield her- 
 self ; and I should have been relieved from the 
 painful degradation of alluding at all to a circum- 
 stance which I could not further detail, without a 
 great degree of indelicacy; and as I cannot possibly 
 suppose such a detail can be necessary for my de- 
 fence, it would, especially in addressing your Ma- 
 jesty, be wholly inexcusable. With respect to the 
 attention which I paid to Mr. Chester, and my 
 walking out twice alone with him fora short time, 
 I know not how to notice it. At this distance of 
 time I am not certain that I can, with perfect ac- 
 : curacy, account for the circumstance. It ap- 
 pears to have been a rainy morning ; it was on 
 the 27th or 2th of December ; and whether, 
 wishing to take a walk, I did not desire Lady 
 Sheffield or Mrs. Lisle or any Lady to accom* 
 pany me in doing what, in such a morning, I
 
 163 
 
 might think might be disagreeable to them, I 
 really cannot precisely state to your Majesty. 
 
 But here again, perhaps, in the judgment of 
 some persons, may be an instance of familiarity 
 which was not consistent with the dignity of the 
 Princess of Wales; but surely prejudice against me 
 and my character must exceed all natural bounds 
 *n those minds in which any inference of crime, or 
 moral depravity can be drawn from such a fact. 
 As to Captain Moore, it seems he was left alone 
 with me, and twice in one afternoon by Mrs. 
 Lisle ; he was alone with me half an hour. The 
 first time Mrs. Lisle left us, her examination says, 
 it was to look for a book which I wished to lend to 
 Captain Moore. How long she was absent on that 
 occasion she is not asked, but it could have been 
 but ten minutes, as she appears]to have been absent 
 twenty minutes the second time. The Commis- 
 sioners, though they particularly return to the in* 
 quiry with respect to the length of time of her se- 
 cond absence, did not require her to tell them the 
 occasion of it: if they had, she would have told 
 them, that it was in search of the same book ; tha t 
 having on the first occasion looked for it in the 
 drawing room, she went afterward's to aee for it iu 
 Mrs. Fitzgerald's room. But I made him a present 
 of an inkstand. I hope your Majesty will not 
 think I am trifling with your patience when I take 
 notice of such trifles. But it is of such trifles as 
 these, thatthe evidence consists, when it is the evi 
 dence of respectable witnesses speaking to factf
 
 164 
 
 and consequently speaking only the truth. Cap- 
 tain Moore had conferred on me what I felt as a 
 considerable obligation. My mother is very par- 
 tial to the late Doctor Moore's writings, Captain 
 Moore, as your Majesty knows, is his son, and he 
 promised to lend me, for the purpose of sending it 
 to my mother, a manuscript of an unpublished 
 work of theDoctor's. In return for this civility I 
 begged his acceptance of a trifling present. 
 
 There is one circumstance alluded to in these 
 examinations, which I know not how to notice, 
 and yet feel it impossible to omit 1 mean what 
 respects certain anonymous papers, or letters, 
 marked A. B. and C. to which Lord Chohnonde- 
 ley appears to have been examined, upon the sup. 
 position of their being my hand-writing. A let- 
 ter marked A. appears, by the examination of 
 Lady Douglas, to have been produced by her ; and 
 the two papers, marked B. and a cover, marked 
 C. appear to have been produced by Sir John. 
 These papers I have never seen; but I collect them 
 to be the same as are alluded to in Lady Douglas's 
 original Declaration, and, from her representation 
 of them, they are most infamous productions. 
 From the stile and language of the letter, she says, 
 Sir John Douglas, Sir Sidney Smith,and herself, 
 would have no manner of hesitation in swearing 
 point blank, (for that is her phrase) to their being 
 ! n my hand-writing ; and it seems, from the state- 
 ment of His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, 
 that Sir Sidney Smith had been imposed upon to 
 believe, that these letters and papers were really
 
 165 
 
 written and sent to Sir John and Lady Douglas by 
 me. I cannot help, however, remarking to your 
 Majesty, that, though Sir John n/nd Lady Douglas 
 produce these papers, and mark them, yet neither 
 the one nor the other swears to their belief of my 
 hand writing; it does not, indeed, appear, that 
 they were asked the question-; and when it once 
 occurred to the Commissioners to be material 
 to inquire whose hand-writing these papers were, 
 I should have been much surprised at their not 
 applying to Sir John and Lady Douglas to swear 
 it, as in their original Declaration they offer to do, 
 if it had not been that, by that time, I suppose, 
 the Commissioners had satisfied themselves of the 
 true value of Sir John and Lady Douglas's oaths, 
 and therefore did not think it worth while to ask 
 them any further questions. 
 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, as 
 appears by his narrative,* was convinced, by Sir 
 Sidney Smith, that these letters came from 
 me. His Royal Highness had been applied to by 
 me, in consequence of my having received a for- 
 mal note from Sir John, Lady Douglas, and 
 Sir Sidney Smith, requesting an audience im 
 mediately ; this was soon after my having desi- 
 red to see no more of Lady Douglas. I conceived, 
 therefore, the audience was required for the pur- 
 pose of remonstrance, and explanation upon this 
 circumstance, and as I was determined not to alter 
 my resolution, nor admit of any discussion upoa 
 
 * Appendix (B.) No. 2.
 
 166 
 
 it, I requested His Royal Highness, who happened 
 to be acquainted with Sir Sidney Smith, to try to 
 prevent my havirtg any further trouble upon the 
 j^ubject. His Royal Highness saw Sir Sidney 
 Smith, and being impressed by him with the be- 
 lief of Lady Douglas's story, that I was the author 
 oi r these anonymous letters, he did that which na- 
 turally became him, under such belief; he endea- 
 voured, for the peace of Your Majesty, and the 
 honour of the Royal Family, to keep from the 
 knowledge of the world, what, if it had been true, 
 would have justly reflected such infinite disgrace 
 upon me ; and, it seems, from the narrative that 
 he procured, through Sir Sidney Smith, Sir John 
 Douglas's assurance that he would, under existing 
 circumstances, remain quiet, if left unmolested. 
 *' This result (His Royal Highness says) he com- 
 municated to me the following day, and I seemed 
 satisfied with it." And Undoubtedly as he only 
 communicated the result to me, I could not be 
 otherwise than satisfied : for as all that I wanted 
 was, not to be obliged to see Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas, and not to be troubled by them any more, 
 the result of his Royal Highness's interference, 
 through Sir Sidney Smith, was to procure me all 
 that I wanted. I do not wonder that his Royal 
 Highness did not mention to me the particulars of 
 these infamous letters and drawings, which were 
 ascribed to me ; for, as long as he believed they 
 were mine, undoubtedly it was a subject which he 
 must have wished to avoid ; but I lament, as it 
 happens, that he did not, as I should have satisfied
 
 167 
 
 him, as far, at least, as any assertions of mine 
 could have satisfied him, by declaring to him, as I 
 do now most solemnly, that the letter is not mine, 
 and that I know nothing whatever of the contents 
 of it, prof the other papers ; and, I trust, that Hi* 
 Royal Highness, and every one else who may have 
 taken up any false impression concerning them to 
 m 3 r prejudice, from the assertion of Sir John and 
 Lady Douglas, will, upon my assertion, and the 
 evidence of Lord Cholmondeley, remove from 
 their minds this calumnious falsehood, which, 
 with many others, the malice of Sir John and 
 Lady Douglas has endeavoured to fasten upon me. 
 To all tnese papers Lady Douglas states, in her 
 Declaration, that, not only herself and Sir John 
 Douglas, but Sir Sidney Smith, would have no he- 
 sitation in swearing to be in my hand-writing. 
 What says Lord Cholmondeley ?* . " that he is 
 perfectly acquainted with my manner of writing. 
 Letter A. is not of my hand-writing ; that the two 
 papers marked B. appear to be wrote in a disguised 
 hand; that some of the letters in them remarkably 
 resemble mine, but, because of the disguise, he 
 cannot say whether they are 'or not ; as to the 
 cover marked C. he did not see the same resem- 
 blance." Of these four papers (all of which arestated 
 by Lady Douglas to be so clearly and plainly mine, 
 that there can be no hesitation upon the subject) 
 two bear no resemblance to it, and although the 
 other two, written in a disguised hand, have some 
 letters remarkably resembling mine, yet, I trust, I 
 * Appendix (A.) p. 47,
 
 168 
 
 shall not upon such evidence, be subjected to so 
 fease an imputation ; and really, Sire, I know hot 
 how to account for the Commissioners examining 
 and reporting upon this subject in this manner. 
 For I understand from Mrs. Fitzgerald, that these 
 drawings were produced by the Commissioners 
 to her ; and that she was examined as to her 
 knowledge of them, and as to the hand-writing 
 upon them ; that she was satisfied, and swore that 
 they were not my hand- writing, and that she knew 
 nothing of them, and did not believe they could 
 possibly come from any lady in my house. She 
 was shewn theseal also, which Lady Douglas, in 
 her Declaration, savs, was the " identical one with 
 
 * %/ * 
 
 *' which I had summoned Sir John Douglas to 
 " luncheon/' To this seal, though it so much re- 
 sembled one that belonged to herself, as to make 
 her hesitate till she hati particularly observed it, 
 she was at last as positive as to the hand- writing, 
 and having expressed herself with some feeling and 
 indignation at the supposition, that either I, her- 
 self, or any of my ladies, could be guilty of so foul 
 a transaction, the Commissioners tell her, they 
 were satisfied, and believed her ; and there is not 
 one word of all this related in her examination.-r- 
 Now, if their Lordships were satisfied from this, or 
 any other circumstance, that these letters were 
 not my writing; and did not come from me, I can 
 accountfor their not preserving any trace of Mis. 
 Fitzgerald's evidence on this point, and leaving 
 it out of their inquiry altogether ; but, if they
 
 169 
 
 thought proper to preserve any evidence upon it, 
 to make it the subject of any examination ; surely 
 they should not have left it on Lord Cholmonde- 
 ley's alone ; hut I oughtto have had the benefit of 
 Mrs. Fitzgerald's evidence also. But, as I said be- 
 fore, they take no notice of her evidence ; nay, they 
 finish their Report, theyexecute it according to the 
 date it bears, upon the 14th of July, and it is not 
 until two days afterwards, namely, on the 16th, 
 that they examine Lord Cholmondeley <;o the 
 hand-writing with what view, and for what pur- 
 pose, I cannot even surmise ; but with whatever 
 view, and for whatever purpose, if these letters are 
 at all to be alluded to in their Report, or the exa- 
 minations accompanying it, surely I ought to have 
 had the benefit of the other evidence, which dis- 
 proved my connection with them. 
 
 I have now, Sire, gone through all the matters 
 contained in the examination^ on which I think it, 
 in any degree, necessary, te trouble your Majesty 
 with any observations, For as to the examination 
 of Mrs. Townley the washerwoman, if it applies at 
 all, it must have been intended to have afforded 
 evidence of my pregnancy and miscarriage. And 
 whether the circumstance she speaks to was occasi- 
 oned by my having been bled with leeches, or 
 whether an actual miscarriage did take place in my 
 family, and by some means linen belonging to me 
 was procured and used upon the occasion ; or tc 
 whatever other circumstance it is to be ascribed 
 
 Z
 
 170 
 
 after the manner in which the Commissioners have 
 expressed their opinion, on the part of the case re- 
 specting my supposed pregnancy, and after the 
 evidence on which they formed their opinion, 1 do 
 not conceive myself called upon to say any thing 
 upon it ; or that any thing I could say could be 
 more satisfactory than repeating the opinion of the 
 Commissioners, as stated in their Report, viz. 
 " That nothing had appeared to them which would 
 warrant the belief that I was pregnant in that year, 
 (1802,) or at any other period within the compass 
 of their Inquiriesthat they would not be warran- 
 ted in expressing any doubt respecting the alleged 
 pregnancy of the Princess, as stated in the original 
 declarations, a fact so fully contradicted, and by so 
 many witnesses, to whom, if true, it must in vari- 
 ous ways have been known, that we cannot think 
 it entitled to the smallest credit." 
 
 There are indeed some other matters mentioned 
 in the original declarations, which I might have 
 found it necessary to observe upon; but as the 
 Commissioners do not appear to have entered into 
 any examination with respect to them, I content 
 myself with thinking that they had found the means 
 of satisfying themselves of the utter falsehood of 
 those particulars, and therefore that they can re- 
 quire no contradiction or observation from me. 
 
 On the declaration, therefore, and the evidence, 
 I have nothing further to remark. A.ud, consci- 
 ous of the length at which I have trespassed on 
 your Majesty's patience, I will forbear to waste
 
 171 
 
 jour time by any endeavour to recapitulate what I 
 have said. Some few observations, however, be- 
 fore I conclude, I must hope to be permitted to 
 subjoin. 
 
 In many of the observations which I have made, 
 your Majestywill observe that i have noticed, what 
 have appeared to me to be great omissions on the 
 part of the Commissioners, in the manner of taking 
 their examinations ; in forbearing to put any ques- 
 tions to the witnesses, in the nature of a cross-ex- 
 amination of them ;--to confront them with each 
 other ; and to call other witnesses, whose testimony 
 must either have confirmed or falsified, in import- 
 ant particulars, the examination? as they have ta- 
 ken them. It may perhaps occur, in consequence 
 of such observations, that 1 am desirous that this 
 inquiry should be opened again ; that the Commis- 
 sioners should recommence their labours, and that 
 they should proceed to supply the defects in their 
 previous examinations, by a fuller execution of 
 their duty. 1 therefore think it necessary, most 
 distinctly and emphatically to state, that 1 have no 
 such meaning ; and whatever may be the risk that 
 1 may incur of being charg;edwith betraying a con- 
 sciousness of guilt, by .thus flying from an exten- 
 sion or repetition of this Inquiry, 1 must distinctly 
 state, that so far from requesting the revival of it, 
 1 humbly request your Majesty would be gracious- 
 ly pleased to understand me as remonstrating, and 
 protesting against it, in the strongest and most so- 
 lemn manner in my power. 
 
 lam yet to learn the legality of such a Commission
 
 172 
 
 to inquire, even in the case of High Treason, or 
 any other crime known to the laws of the country. 
 If it is lawful in the case of High Treason,supposed 
 to be committed by me, surely it must be lawful 
 also in the case of High Treason supposed to be 
 committed by other subjects of your Majesty. 
 
 That there is much objection to it, in reason and 
 principle, my understanding assures me. That such 
 Inquiries, carried on upon ex parte examination, 
 and a Report of the result by persons of high au- 
 thority, may, nay must, have a tendency to pre- 
 judice the character of the parties who are expos- 
 ed to them, and thereby influence the further pro- 
 ceedings in their case ; that are calculated to 
 keep back from notice, and in security, the per- 
 son of a false accuser, and to leave the accused in 
 the predicament of neither being able to look for- 
 ward for protection to an acquittal of himself 
 nor for redress to the conviction of his accuser. -- 
 That these and many other objections occur to 
 such a mode of proceeding, in the case of a crime 
 known to the laws of this country, appears to be 
 quite obvious. --But if Commissioners acting un- 
 der such a power, or your Majesty's Privy Coun- 
 cil, or any regular Magistiates, when they have 
 satisfied themselves of the falsehood of the princi- 
 pal charge, and the absence of all legal and sub- 
 stantive offence, are to be considered as empow- 
 ered to proceed in the examination of the parti- 
 culars of private life ; to report upon the pro- 
 prieties of domestic conduct; and the decorums 
 of private behaviour, and to pronounce their 
 opinion against the party, upon the evidence of
 
 173 
 
 dissatisfied servauts, whose veracity they are te 
 hold up as unimpeachable, and to do this with- 
 out permitting the persons whose conduct is in- 
 quired into, to suggest one word in explanation, 
 or contradiction of the matter with which they 
 are charged : it would, I submit to your Majes- 
 ty, prove such an attack upon the security and 
 confidence of domestic life, such a means of re- 
 cording, under the sanction of great names and 
 high authority, the ' most malicious, and foulest 
 imputations, that no character could possibly be 
 secure ; and would do more to break i:i upon and 
 undetermine the happiness and comfort of life, 
 than any proceeding which could be imagined. 
 
 The public in general perhaps mny feel not 
 much interest in the establishment of such a pre- 
 cedent in my case. They may think it to be a 
 course of proceeding scarcely applicable to any 
 private subject ; yet, if once such a court of ho- 
 nour, of decency, and of manners, was established, 
 many subjects might occur to which it might be 
 thought advisable to extend its jurisdiction, be- 
 yond the instance of a Princess of Wales. But 
 should it be intended to be confined to me, your 
 Majesty, 1 trust, will not be surprised to find 
 that it does not reconcile me the better to if, 
 should I learn myself to be the single instance in 
 your kingdom, who is exposed to the scrutiny of 
 so severe and formidable a tribunal. So far there- 
 fore from giving that sanction or consent to any 
 fresh Inquiry, upon similar principles, which I 
 should seem to do, by requiring the renewal of
 
 m 
 
 these examinations, I must protest against it; 
 protest against the nature of the proceeding, be- 
 cause its result cannot be fair, I must protest, 
 as long at least as it remains doubtful, against 
 the legality of what has already passed, as well as 
 the legality of its repetition. If the course be 
 legal, I must submit to the laws, however severe 
 they may be. But I trust new law is not to be 
 found out, and applied to my case. --If I am 
 guilty of crime, I know I am amenable, I am 
 roost contented to continue so, to the impartial 
 laws of your Majesty's kingdom; and I fear no 
 charge brought against me, in open day, under 
 the public eye, before the known tribunals of the 
 country, administering justice under those im- 
 partial and enlightened laws. But secret tribu- 
 nals, created for the first time for me, to form 
 and pronounce opinions upon my conduct, without 
 hearing me; to record, in the evidence of the 
 witnesses which they report, imputations against 
 my character upon ex parte examinations, till 
 I am better reconciled to the justice of their pro- 
 ceedings, 1 cannot fail to fear. And till 1 am 
 better informed as to their legality, I cannot fail 
 in duty to my dearest interests, most solemnly to 
 remonstrate and to protest against them. 
 
 If such tribunals as these are called into action 
 againstmebythe false charges offriends turned ene- 
 mies, of servants turned traitors,and acting as spies 
 by the foul conspiracy of such social and domestic 
 treason; 1 can look to no security to my honour 
 in the most spotless and most cautious innocence.
 
 175 
 
 By the contradiction and denial which in this case 
 I have been enabled to procure, of the most im- 
 portant facts which have been sworn against me b^ 
 Mr. Cole and Mr.Bidgood ;--by the observations, 
 and the reasonings, which I have addressed to your 
 Majesty, I am confident, that to those whose sense 
 of justice will lead them to wade through this 
 long detail, I shall have removed the impressions 
 which have been raised against me. But how 
 am I to insure a patient attention to all this state- 
 ment ? How many will hear that the Lord Chan- 
 cellor, the Lord Chief Justice of the King's 
 Bench, the First Lord of the Treasury, and one 
 of your Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, 
 have reported against me, upon evidence which 
 they have declared to be unbiassed and unques- 
 tionable ; who will never have the opportunity, or 
 if they had the opportunity, might not have the 
 inclination, to correct the error of that Report, 
 by the examination of my statement. 
 
 I feel, therefore, that by this proceeding, my 
 character has received essential injury. For a 
 Princess of Wales to have been placed in a situ- 
 ation, in which it was essential to her honour to 
 request one gentleman to swear, that he was not 
 locked up at midnight in a room with her alone: 
 and another, that he did not give her a lascivious 
 salute, and never slept in her house, is to have been 
 actually degraded and disgraced. I have been, 
 Sire, placed in this situation, I have been cruelly., 
 your Majesty will permit me to say so, cruelly 
 degraded into the necessity of making such re
 
 176 
 
 quests. A necessity which I never could have 
 been exposed to, even under this Inquiry, if more 
 attention had been given to the examination of 
 these malicious charges, and of the evidence on 
 which they rest. 
 
 Much solicitude is felt, and justly so, as connected 
 with this Inquiry, for the honour of yourMajesty's 
 illustrious Family. But surely a true regard to 
 that honour should have restrained thosewho really 
 felt for it, from casting such severe reflections on 
 the character and virtue of the Princess of Wales. 
 If, indeed, after the most diligent and anxious 
 Inquiry, penetrating into every circumstance con- 
 nected with the charge, searching every source 
 from which information could be derived, and 
 scrutinizing with all that acuteness, into the cre- 
 dit and character of the witnesses, which great ex- 
 perience, talent, and intelligence could bring to 
 such a subject ; and above all, if, after giving me 
 some opportunity of being heard, the forceof truth 
 had, at length, compelled any persons to form, as 
 reluctantly, and as unwillingly as they would, 
 against their own daughters, the opinion that has 
 been pronounced ; no regard, unquestionably, to 
 my honour and character, nor to that of your 
 Majesty's Family, as, in some degree, involved in 
 mine, could have justified the suppression of that 
 opinion, if legally called for, in the course of 
 official and public duty. Whether such caution 
 and reluctance are really manifest in these pro- 
 ceedings, I must leave to less partial judgments 
 than my own to determine.
 
 177 
 
 In the full examination of these proceedings, 
 which justice to my own character has requir- 
 ed of me, I have been compelled to make many 
 observations, which, I fear, may prove offen- 
 sive to persons in high power Your Majesty 
 will easily believe, when I solemnly assure 
 you, that 1 have been deeply sorry to yield to 
 the necessity of so doing. This proceeding mani- 
 fests that I have enemies enough; I could not 
 wish unnecessarily to increase their number, 
 or their weight. I trust, however, I have 
 done it, know I it has been my purpose to do 
 it, in a manner as little offensive as the justice 
 due to myself would allow of; but I have felt 
 that I have been deeply injured; that I have 
 had much to complain of: and that my silence 
 now would not be taken for forbearance, but 
 would be ascribed to me as a confession of 
 guilt. The Report itself announced to me. 
 that these things, which had been spoken t6 
 by the witnesses, " great improprieties and 
 indecencies of conduct," " necessarily occa- 
 sioning most unfavourable interpretations, and 
 serving the most serious consideration/' " must 
 be credited till decidedly contradicted." The 
 most satisfactory disproof of thesecircumstances 
 (as the contradiction of the accused is always 
 received with caution and distrust) rested in 
 the proof of the foul malice and falsehood of 
 my accusers and their witnesses. The Report 
 announced to Your Majesty that those witnes- 
 
 Aa "
 
 178 
 
 ses, whom I felt to be foul confederates in abase 
 conspiracy against me, were not to be suspected 
 of unfavourable bias, and their veracity, in the 
 judgment of the Commissioners, not to be 
 questioned. 
 
 Under these circumstances, Sire, -what could 
 I do ? Could I forbear, injustice to myself, to 
 announce to Your Majesty the existence of a 
 conspiracyagainst my honour,and my station in 
 this country at least, if not against my life ? 
 Could I forbear to point out to Your Majesty, 
 how long this intended mischief had been 
 medftated against me ? Could I forbear to 
 point out my doubts, at least, of the legality 
 of the Commission under which the proceed- 
 ing had been had ? or to point out the errors 
 and inaccuracies, into which the great and 
 able men who were named in this commission, 
 under the hurry and pressure of their great offi- 
 cial occupations, had fallen, in the execution 
 of this duty ? Could I forbear to state, and to 
 wrge, the great injustice and injury that had 
 been done to my character and my honour, 
 by opinions pronounced against me without 
 hearing me ? And if, in the execution of this 
 great task, so essential to my honour, I have 
 let drop any expressions which a colder, and 
 more cautious prudence, would have checked, 
 I appeal to Your Majesty's warm heart, and 
 generous feelings, to suggest my excuse, an<4 
 to afford my pardon. 
 
 What I have said, 1 have said tinder the
 
 179 
 
 pressure of much misfortune, under the provo- 
 cation of great and accumulated injustice. Oh ! 
 Sire, to be unfortunate, and scarce to feel at 
 liberty to lament; to be cruelly used, and to 
 feel it almost an offence and a duty to be silent 
 is a hard lot ; but use had, in some degree 
 inured me to it : But to find my misfortunes 
 and my injuries imputed to me as faults ; to be 
 called to account upon a charge, made against 
 me by Lady Douglas, who was thought at 
 first worthy of credit, although she had 
 pledged her veracity to the fact, of my having 
 admitted that I was myself the aggressor in 
 every thing, of which I had to complain, has sub- 
 dued all power of patient bearing, and when I 
 was called upon by the Commissioners, either 
 to admit, by my silence, the guilt which they 
 imputed to me, or to enter into my defence, in 
 contradiction to it no longer at liberty to re- 
 main silent, I, perhaps, have not known how, 
 with exact propriety, to limit my expressions. 
 In happier days of my life, before my spirit 
 had been yet at all lowered by my misfortunes, 
 I should have been disposed to have met such a 
 charge with the contempt which, I trust, by this 
 time, your Majesty thinks due to it ; I should 
 have been disposed to have defied my enemies 
 to the utmost, and to have scorned to answer to 
 any thing but a legal charge, before a competent 
 tribunal : but in my present misfortunes, such 
 force of mind is gone. I ought perhaps, so far 
 to be thankful to them for their wholesome les-
 
 sons of humility. I have, therefore entered into* 
 this long detail, to endeavour to remove, at the 
 first possible opportunity, any unfavourable im- 
 pressions ; to rescue myself from the dangers 
 which the continuance of these suspicionsmight 
 occasion, and to preserve to me your Majesty's 
 good opinion, in whose kindness, hitherto, I 
 have found infinite consolation, and to whoso 
 justice, under all circumstances, I can confi- 
 dently appeal. 
 
 Under the impression of these sentiments I 
 throw myself at your Majesty's feet. I know, 
 that whatever sentiments of resentment ; what- 
 ever wish for redress, by the punishment of my 
 false accusers, I ought to feel, your Majesty, 
 as the Father of a Stranger, smarting under false 
 accusation, as the Head of your illustrious 
 House dishonoured in me, and as the great 
 Guardian of the Laws of your Kingdom, thus 
 foully attempted to have been applied to the pur- 
 poses of injustice, will not fail to feel for me. At 
 all events, I trust your Majesty will restore me 
 to the blessing of your Gracious Presence, and 
 confirm to me, by your own Gracious Words, 
 your satisfactory conviction of my innocence. 
 1 am, 
 SIRE, 
 
 With every sentiment of Gratitude and Loyalty, 
 Your Majesty's most affectionate 
 and dutiful Daughter-in-Law, 
 
 Subject and Servant, 
 
 C. P, 
 
 Montague House* 3d October, 1806.
 
 181 
 
 The Deposition of Thomas Manby t Esquire, & 
 
 Captain in the Royal Navy. 
 Having had read to me the following passage, from 
 the Copy of a Deposition of Robert Bidgood, sworn 
 the 6th of June last, before Lords Spencer and Gren- 
 ville, viz. 
 
 " I was waiting one day in the anti-room ; Captain 
 " Manby had his hat in his hand, and appeared to 
 " be going away.; he wasa long time with the, 
 " Princess, and, as I stood on the steps, waiting, I 
 " looked into the room in which they were, and, 
 " in the reflection on the looking-glass,! saw them 
 " salute each other I mean, that they kissed each 
 " other's lip?. Captain Manby then went away, 
 " I then observed the Princess have her handker- 
 " chief in her hands, and wipe her eyes, as if she 
 " was crying, and went into the drawing-room." 
 I do solemnly, and upon my oath, declare, that the 
 said passage is a vile and wicked invention ; that it is 
 ^wholly and absolutely false; that it is impossible he ever 
 could have seen, in the reflection of any gla;-s, any such 
 thing, as I never, upon any occasion, or in any situation, 
 ever had the presumption to salute lierRoyal Highness 
 in any such manner,or to take any such liberty ,or offer 
 any such insult to her person. And having had read to 
 me another passage, from the same Copy of the same 
 Deposition, in which the said Robert Bidgood says 
 " I suspected that CaptainManby slept frequently in 
 " the house; it was a subject of conversation in the 
 " house. Hints were given by the servants; and I 
 " believe that others suspectedit as well a myself." 
 I solemnly swear, that such suspicion is wholly un- 
 founded, and that I never djd, at Montague House, 
 Southend,Ramsgate, East Cliff, or any where else, ever 
 sleep in any house occupied by or belonging to, Her
 
 182 
 
 Royal Highness the Princess of Wales and that there 
 never did any thing pass between Her Royal Highness 
 the Princess of Wales and myself, that I should he in 
 any degree unwilling thatall the world should haveseen. 
 (Signed) THO.MANBY. 
 
 Sworn at the Public Office, 
 Hatton Garden, London, 
 the 2*2d day of Septem- 
 ber, 1 80G, before me, 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LEACH- 
 
 The Deposition of Thomas Lawrence, of Greek- 
 street Soho, in the County of Middlesex, Por- 
 trait Painter. 
 
 Ha vin had read to me the following Extract from a 
 Copy of a Deposition of William Cole, purporting to 
 have been sworn before Lords Spencer and Grenville 
 the 10th day of June, 1806, viz. 
 
 " Mr. Lawrence, the painter, used logo to Montague 
 " House about the latter end of 1801, when lie 
 "was painting the Princess, and he hns slept in 
 " the house two or three nights together. I have 
 
 "oftenseen him alone with the Princess sat eleven or 
 / 
 
 " twelve o'clock at night ; he has been there as 
 " late as one or two o'clock in the morning. One 
 " niglit I saw him with the Princess in the blue 
 " room, after the ladies had retired ; sometime 
 " afterwards, when I supposed he was gone to 
 " his bed-room, I went to see that all was safe, 
 " and found the blue room door locked, and 
 " heard a whispering in it, and then went away.*' 
 I do solemnly, and upon my oath, depose that having 
 received the commands of^Her Royal Highness the
 
 183 
 
 Princess of Wales to paint her Royal Highness's Por- 
 trait, and that of the Princess Charlotte; I attended for 
 that purpose at Montague House, Blackjyath, several 
 times about the beginning of the year 1801, and having 
 been informed that Sir William Beechey,upon a similar 
 occasion, had slept in the house, for the greater con- 
 venience of executing his painting; and it having been 
 intimated to me, that I might probably be allowed the 
 same advantage, I-eignified my wish to avail myself of 
 it; and accordingly I did sleep at Montague House 
 several nights: that frequently, when employed upon 
 this painting, and occasionally, between the close of a 
 day's sit ting and the time of Her Royal Highness dress- 
 ing for dinner, I have been alone in Her Royal High- 
 ness's presence ; I have likewise been graciously 
 admitted to Her Royal Highness's presence in the 
 evenings, and remained there till twelve, one, and 
 two o'clock ; but, I do solemnly swear, I was never 
 alone in the presence of Her Royal Highness in ah 
 evening, to the best of my recollection and belief, 
 except in one single instance, and that for a short 
 time, when I remained with Her Royal Highness in 
 the blue-room, or drawing-room, as I remember, to 
 answer some question which had been put to me, at 
 the moment I was about to retire together with the 
 ladies in waiting, who had been previously present as 
 well as myself; and, though I cannot recollect the 
 particulars of the conversation which then took place, 
 I do solemnly swear, that nothing passed between Her 
 Royal Highness and myself, which I could have had the 
 least objection for all the world to have seen and heard. 
 And I do further, upon my oath, solemnly declare, tlia^ 
 I never was alone in the presence of Her Royal High- 
 ness in any other place, or in any other way, than as 
 above described ; and that neither, upon the occa-ion 
 last mentioned, nor upon any other, was I ever in
 
 184 
 
 the presence of Her Royal Highness, in any room what- 
 ever, with the door locked, bolted, or fastened, other- 
 wise than i^the common and usual manner, which 
 leaves it in the power of any person on the outside of 
 the door to open it. 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LAWRENCE. 
 Sworn at the Public Office, 
 
 Hatton Garden, this 24th 
 
 day of September, ISOti, 
 
 before me, 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LEACH. 
 
 The Deposition of Thomas Edmeades, of Green- 
 wich, in the County of Kent, Surgeon. 
 
 On Tuesday, May 20th, 1806, I waited upon Earl 
 Moira, by his appointment, who, having introduced 
 me to Mr. Conriant, a Magistrate for Westminster, 
 proceeded to mention a charge preferred against me, 
 by one- of the female servants of her Royal Highness 
 the Princess of Wales, of my having said, that her 
 Royal Highness had been pregnant. His Lordship 
 then asked me, if JL had not bled her Royal Highness; 
 and whether, at that time, I did not mention to a 
 servant, that I thought her R9yal Highness in the 
 family way ; and whether I did not also ask, at the same 
 time, if the Prince had been down to Montague House. 
 I answered, that it had never entered my mind that her 
 Royal Highness <vas in such a situation, and that, 
 therefore, certainly, I never made the remark to any 
 one ; nor had I asked whether his Royal Highness had 
 visited the house : I said, that, at that time, a report, 
 of the nature alluded to, was prevalent ; but that I 
 treated it as the infamous lie of the day. His Lordship
 
 185 
 
 adverted to the circumstance of Her Royal Highness's 
 having taken a child into her house; and observed, how 
 dreadful mistakes about succession to the throne were, 
 and what confusion might be caused by any claim of this 
 child : I observed, that I was aware of it; but repeated 
 the assertion, that I had never thought of sucl? a thing as 
 was suggested, and therefore considered it impossible, in 
 a manner, that I could have given it utterance. I ob 
 served, that I believed, in the first instance, Mr. Stike- 
 man, the page, had mentioned this child to Her Royal 
 Highness, and that it came from Deptford, where I went, 
 when Her Royal Highness first took it, to see if any ill- 
 ness prevailed in the family. Mr. Connant observed, that 
 he believed it was not an unusual thing for a medical man, 
 when he imagined that a Lady was pregnant, to mention 
 his suspicion to .some confidential domestic in the family : 
 I admitted the bare possibility, if such had been my 
 opinion; but remarked, that the if must have been re- 
 moved, before I could have committed myself in so ab- 
 surd a manner. 
 
 Lord Moira, in a very significant manner, with his 
 hands behind him, his head over one shoulder, his eyes 
 directed towards me, with a sort of smile, observed, " that 
 he could not help thinking that there must be something 
 in the servant's deposition ;" as if he did not give perfect 
 credit to what I had said. He observed that the matter 
 was theu confined to the knowledge of a few ; and that 
 he had hoped, if there had been any foundation for the 
 affidavit, I might have acknowledged it, that the affair 
 might have been hushed. With respect to the minor 
 question, I observed, that it was not probable that I 
 should condescend to ask any such question, as that im- 
 puted to me, of a menial servant; and that I was no*: in 
 the habits of conferring confidentially with servant Mr. 
 Connant cautioned me to be on my guard; as, that if it 
 appeared, on further investigation, I had made such in- 
 
 B b
 
 186 
 
 quiry, it might be very unpleasant to me, should it corns- 
 under the consideration of the Privy Council. I said that 
 I considered the report as a malicious one; and was ready 
 to make oatli, before any Magistrate, that I had not, at 
 any time, asserted, or even thought, that Her Royal 
 Highness had ever been in a state of pregnancy since I 
 had had the honour of attending the household. Mr. 
 Connant asked me, whether, whilst I was bleeding Her 
 Royal Highness or after I had performed the operation,. I 
 did not make some comment on the situation of Her 
 Royal Highness, from the state of the blood ; and whether 
 I recommended the operation ; I answered in the nega- 
 tive to both questions. I said, that Her Royal Highness 
 had sent for me to bleed her, and that I did not then re- 
 collect on what account. I said that I had bled Her 
 Royal Highness twice ; but did not remember the dates. 
 I asked Lord Moira, whether he intended to proceed in 
 the business, or whether I might consider it as at rest,, 
 that I might have an opportunity, if I thought necessary, 
 of consulting my friends relative to the mode of conduct 
 I ought to adopt ; he said, that if the subject was moved, 
 any further, I should be apprized-f it ; and that, at pre- 
 sent, it was in the hands of a few. I left them, and, in- 
 about an hour, on further consideration, wrote the note r 
 of which the following is a copy, to which I never re- 
 ceived any reply : 
 
 " Mr, Edmeades presents his respectful compliments to 
 " Lord Moira, and, on mature deliberation, after leaving 
 " his Lordship, upon the conversation which passed at 
 " Lord Moira's this morning, he feels it necessary to ad- 
 " vise with some friend, on the propriety of making the 
 " particulars of that conversation known to Her Royal 
 "Highness the Princess of Wales; as Mr. Edmeades 
 f would be very sorry that her Royal Highness should 
 " consider him capable of such infamous conduct as that
 
 187 
 
 ** imputed to him on the deposition of a servant, by Lord 
 *' Moira, this morning. 
 
 " London, May 20, 1S06." 
 
 I have been enabled to state the substance of my inter* 
 view with Lord Moira and Mr. Connant with the more 
 particularity, as I made memorandums fit, within a day 
 or two afterwards. And I do further depose, that the 
 Papers hereunto annexed, marked A. and B* are in the 
 hand-writing of Samuel Gillam Mills, of Greenwich 
 aforesaid, my Partner; and that he is at present, as I 
 verily believe, upon his road from Wales, through Glou- 
 cester, to Bath. 
 
 (Signed) THOS. EDMEADES. 
 
 Sworn at the Public Office, 
 
 llatton Garden, this 26th 
 
 day of September, 1806, 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LEACH. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 Memorandums of the Heads of Conversation between 
 Lord Moira, Mr. JLowten, and himself* 
 
 Mvy 14, 1806. 
 
 May 13, 1806. I received a letter from Lord Moira, 
 of which the following is an exact copy : 
 
 St. James's-place, "May 13, 1806. 
 SIR, 
 
 A particular circumstance makes me desire to have the 
 pleasure of seeing you, and, indeed, renders it indispen- 
 sable that you should take the trouble of calling on me. 
 As the trial in Westminster Hall occupies the latter hours 
 of.the day, I must beg you to be with me as early as nine 
 'clock, to-morrow morning ; in ths mean time, it will
 
 18S 
 
 be better that you should not apprize any one of my hav- 
 ing requested you to converse with me. 
 
 I have the honour, Sir, to be 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) iMOIRA. 
 
 To Mr. Mills. 
 
 This ts the Paper A. referred 
 to by the Affidavit of Tho- 
 mas Edmeades, sworn be- 
 fore me this 2b'th Septem- 
 ber, 1SOJ. 
 
 THOMAS LEACH. 
 
 \ 
 
 (B.) 
 
 In consequence of the above letter I waited on his 
 Lordship, exactly at nine o'clock. In less than five mi- 
 nutes I was admitted into his room, and by him received 
 very politely. He began the conversation by stating, he 
 wished to converse with me on a very delicate, subject ; 
 that I might rely on his honour, thatwbnt passed was to 
 be in perfect confidence ; it was his duty to his Prince, as 
 his Counsellor, to inquire into the subject, which he had 
 known for some time ; and the inquiry was due also to my 
 character. He then stated, that a deposition had been 
 inade by a domestic of Her Royal Highness the Princess 
 of Wales, deposing, as a declaration made by me, that 
 Her Royal Highness was pregnant, and that I made in- 
 quiries when interviews might have taken place with the 
 Prince, I answered, that I never had declared the Prin- 
 cess to be with child, nor ever made the inquiries stated ; 
 that the declaration was an infamous falsehood. This 
 being expressed with some warmth, his Lordship observed 
 th.at I might have made the inquiries very innocently,
 
 189 
 
 conceiving, that Her Royal Highness could not be in 
 that situation but by the Prince. I repeated my assertion 
 of the falsehood of the declaration, adding, that though 
 the conversation was intended to be confidential, I felt 
 niy character strongly attacked by the declaration, there- 
 fore it was necessary that the declaration should be inves- 
 tigated ; I had no doubt but the character I had so many 
 years maintained, would make, my assertion believed be- 
 fore the deposition of a domestic. I then requested to 
 know, what date the declaration bore? His Lordship 
 said, he did not remember; but he had desired the Soli- 
 citor to meet me, who would shew it me. I then ob- 
 served, that I should in confidence communicate to his 
 Lordship, why 1 was desirous to know the date; I then 
 stated to his Lordship, that soon after Her Royal High- 
 ness came to Blackheath, I attended her in an illness, 
 with Sir Francis Millman, in which I bled her twice. 
 Soon after her recovery, she thought proper to form a re* 
 gular medical appointment, and appointed myself and 
 Mr. Edmeades to be Surgeons and Apothecaries to Her 
 Royal Highness; on receiving my warrant for such ap- 
 pointment, I declined accepting the honour of being ap- 
 pointed Apothecary, being inconsistent with my character, 
 being educated as Surgeon, and having had an honorary 
 degree of Physic conferred on me; Her Royal Highness 
 condescended to appoint me her Surgeon only. His 
 Lordship rang to know if Mr. Lowten was come; he was 
 in tne next room. His Lordship left me for a few 
 minutes, returned, and introduced me to Mr. Lowten with 
 much politeness as Dr. Mills; repeating the assurance 
 of what passed being confidential. I asked Mr. Lowten 
 the date of the declaration, that had been asserted to he 
 made by me? He said, in the year 1S02. I then, with 
 permission of his Lordship, gave the history of my ap- 
 pointment, adding, since then I had never seen the Prin-
 
 190 
 
 Ccs* as a patient. Once she sent for me to bleed her ; I 
 was from home; Mr. Edmeades went; nor had I visited 
 any one in the house, except oae Mary, and that was in a 
 very bad case of surgery; I was not sure whether it was 
 before or after my appointment. Mr. Low ten asked me 
 the date of it; I told him 1 did not recollect. He ob- 
 served, from the warmth of my expressing my contradic- 
 tion to the deposition, that I saw it in a wrong light; that 
 I might suppose, and very innocently, Her Royal High- 
 ness to be pregnant, and then the enquiries were as inno- 
 cently made. I answered, that the idea of pregnancy 
 never entered my head ; that I never attended Her Royal 
 Highness in any sexual complaint; whether she ever had 
 any I never knew. Mr. Lowten said, I might think so, 
 from her increase of size ; I answered, no ; I never did 
 think her pregnant, therefore never could say it, and that 
 the deposition was an infamous falsehood. His Lord- 
 ship then observed, that he perceived there must be a 
 mistake, and that Mr. Edmeades was the person meant, 
 whom be wished to see ; I said, he was then at Oxford, 
 and did not return before Saturday ; his Lordship asked, 
 if he came through London; I said, I could not tell. 
 
 Finding nothing now arising from conversation, I asked 
 to retire ; his Lordship attended me out of the room with 
 great politeness. 
 
 When I came home, I sent his Lordship a letter, with 
 the date of my warrant, April 10, 1801 ; he answered my 
 letter, with thanks for my immediate attention, and wished 
 to see Mr. Edmeades on Sunday morning. This letter 
 came on the Saturday; early on the Sunday I sent Ti- 
 mothy, to let his Lordship know Mr. Edmeades would 
 not return till Monday ; on Tuesday I promised he should 
 attend, which he did.
 
 191 
 
 The preceding Memorandum is an exnct copy of what 
 I made the day after I had seen Lord Moira. 
 
 (Signed) SAM. GILLAM MILLS. 
 
 Croome Hi/I, Gren&ich, 
 
 Aug. SO, 1806. 
 This is the Paper marked B. 
 referred to by the A (Tula* 
 vit of Thoiras Edmeades, 
 sworn before me this 26th 
 September, 1806, 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LEACH. 
 
 The Deposition of Jonathan Partridge, Porter 
 to Lord Eardly, at Belvidcre* 
 
 I remember being informed by Mr. Kenny, Lord 
 Eardley's late Steward, now dead, that I was wanted by 
 Lord Moira, in town; accordingly I went with Mr. 
 Kenny to Lord Moira's in Saint James's,-place, on tfoe 
 King's BirtlvDay of 1804. His Lordship asked me, if i 
 remembered the Princess coming to Belvidere sometime 
 before? I said, yes, and told him that there were two or 
 three ladies, I think three, with Her Royal Highness, and 
 a gentleman with them, who come on horseback; that 
 they looked at the pictures in the house, had their lun- 
 cheon there, and that Her Royal Highness's servants 
 waited upon them, as I was in a dishabille. His Lordship 
 asked me, whether they^went up stairs? nnd I told them 
 that they did not. He asked me, how long they staid ? 
 and I said, as farasl recollected, they did not stay above 
 an hour, or an hour and quarter; that they waited some 
 little time for the carriage, which had gone to the public- 
 house, aud, till it came, they walked up and down alto-
 
 ETetber in the portico before the house. His Lordship, in 
 the course of what he said to me, said, it was a subject of 
 importance, and might be of consequence. His Lordship, 
 finding that I had nothing more to say, told me I 
 might go. 
 
 Sometimes afterwards, his Lordship sent for me again, 
 and asked me, if I was sure of what I slid, being all that I 
 could say respecting the Princess ? I said, it was ; and that 
 I was ready to take my oath of it, if his Lordship thought 
 proper. He said, it was very satisfactory; said, I might 
 go, and he should not want me any more. 
 
 (Signed) -JONATHAN PARTRIDGE. 
 
 Sworn at the County Court of 
 Middlesex, in Fullwood's 
 Rents, the 25th day of Sep- 
 tember, 18(X>, before me, 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LEACH. 
 
 The Deposition of Philip Krackeler, one of the 
 Footmen of Her Royal Highness the Prin- 
 cess of Wales, and Robert J&aglestone, Park- 
 Keeper to Her Royal Highness the Princess 
 of Wales. 
 
 These Deponents say, that on, or about the 28th day 
 of June last, as they were walking together across Gree^j- 
 wich Park, they saw Robert Bidgood, one of the Pages 
 of her Royal Highness, walking in a direction, as if he 
 were going from the town of Greenwich, towards the 
 house of Sir John Douglas, and which is a different road 
 from that which leads to Montague House, and they at the 
 same time perceived Lady Douglas walking in a direction to
 
 193 
 
 meet him. And this Deponent, Philip Krackeler, then 
 desired the other Deponent to take notice, whether Lady 
 Douglas and Mr. Bidgood would speak to each other; 
 and both of these Deponents observed, that when Lady 
 Douglas and Mr. Bidgood met, they stopped, and con- 
 versed together for the space of about two or three mi- 
 nutes, whilst in view of these Deponents; but how much 
 longer their conversation lasted these Deponents cannot 
 say, as they, these Deponents, proceeded on their road 
 which took them out of sight of Lady Douglas and Mr. 
 Bidgood. 
 
 (Signed) , PHILIP KRACKELER. 
 ROBT. EAGLESTONE. 
 
 Sworn at the Public Office, 
 Hatton Garden, this 27 th 
 day of September, 1806, 
 before me, 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS LEACH. 

 
 194 
 
 To the King. 
 
 SIRE, 
 
 I TRUST your Majesty who knows my constant 
 affection, loyalty, and duty, and the sure confi- 
 dence with which I readily repose my honour, 
 my character, my happiness in your Majesty's 
 hands, will -not think me guilty of any disrespect- 
 ful or unduteous impatience, W 7 hen I thus again 
 address myself to your Royal grace and justice. 
 
 It is, Sire, nine weeks today, since my counsel 
 presented to the Lord High Chancellor, my letter 
 to your Majesty, containing my observations, in 
 vindication of my honour and innocence upon the 
 Report, presented to your Majesty by the Com- 
 missioners, who had been appointed to examine 
 into my^ conduct. The Lord Chancellor informed 
 my counsel, that the letter should be conveyed to 
 your Majesty on that very day : and further, was 
 pleased, in about a week or ten days afterwards, 
 to communicate to my Solicitor, that your Majesty 
 had read my letter, and that it had been trans- 
 mitted to his Lordship with directions that it 
 should be copied for the Commissioners, and that 
 when such copy had been taken, the original 
 should be returned to your Majesty. 
 
 Your Majesty's own gracious and royal mind 
 will easily conceive what must have been my state 
 *f anxiety and suspence, whilst I have been fondly
 
 196 
 
 indulging in the hope, that every day, as it passed, 
 iwould bring me the happy tidings,that your Majes- 
 ty was satisfied of my innocence ; and Convinced 
 of the unfounded malice of my enemies, in every 
 part of their charge. ISffine long weeks of daily 
 expectation, andsuspence, have now elapsed ; and 
 they have brought me nothing but disappointment. 
 I have remained in total ignorance of what has been 
 done, what is doing, or what is intended upon this 
 subject. Your Majesty's goodness will therefore 
 pardon me, if in the step which I n#w take, I act 
 upon a mistaken conjecture with respect to the fact. 
 But from the Lord Chancellor's communication to 
 my Solicitor, and from the time which has elapsed, 
 I am led to conclude, that your Majesty had direct- 
 ed the copy of my letter to be laid before the Com- 
 missioners, requiring their advice upon the subject; 
 and, possibly, their official occupations, and their 
 other duties to the state, may not have, as yet, al- 
 lowed them the opportunity of attending to it. 
 But your Majesty will permit me to observe that, 
 however excusable this delay may be on their parts, 
 yet it operates most injuriously upon me; my 
 feelings are severely tortured by thesuspence, while 
 my character is sinking in theopinion of the public. 
 It is known, that a Report, though acquit- 
 ting me of crime, yet imputing matters highly 
 disreputable to my honour, has been made to your 
 Majesty; that that Report has been communicated 
 to me ; that I have endeavoured to answer it ; and 
 that I still remain, at the end of nine weeks from.
 
 196 
 
 the delivery of my answer, unacquainted with the 
 judgment which is formed upon it. May I be 
 permitted to observe upon the extreme prejudice 
 which this delay, however to be accounted for by 
 the numerous important occupations of the Com- 
 missioners, produces to my honour ? The world, 
 in total ignorance of the real state of the facts,begin 
 to infer my guilt from it. I feel myself already 
 sinking,inthe estimationof your Majesty's subjects, 
 as well as of what remains to me of my own family, 
 into (a state intolerable to a mind conscious of its 
 purity and innocence) a state in which my honour 
 appears at last equivocal, and my virtue is suspect- 
 ed. From this state I humbly entreat your Majes- 
 ty to perceive, that I can have no hope of being 
 restored, until either your Majesty's favourable 
 opinion shall be graciously notified to the world, 
 by receiving me again into the Royal Presence, or 
 until the full disclosure of the facts shall expose the 
 malice of my accusers, and do away every possible 
 ground for unfavourable inference and conjecture. 
 The various calamities with which it has pleased 
 God of late to afflict me, I have endeavoured to 
 bear, and trust I have borne with humble resigna- 
 tion to the Divine will. But the effect of this in- 
 famous charge, and the delay which has suspended 
 its final termination by depriving me of the con- 
 solation which I should have received from your 
 Majesty's presence and kindness, have given a 
 heavy addition to them all ; and surely my bitterest 
 enemies could hardly wish that they should be in-
 
 197 
 
 creased. But on this topic, as possibly not much 
 affecting the justice, though it does the hardship, 
 of my case, I forbear to dwell. 
 
 Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to re- 
 collect, that an occasion of assembling the Royal 
 Family and your subjects, in dutiful and happy 
 commemoration of her Majesty's Birth-day, is 
 now near at hand. If the increased occupations 
 which the approach of Parliament may occasion, 
 or any other cause, should prevent the Commis- 
 sioners from enabling your Majesty to communi- 
 cate your pleasure to me before that time; the 
 world will infallibly conclude(in their present state 
 of ignorance,) that my answer must have proved 
 unsatisfactory, and that the infamous charges have 
 been thought but too true. 
 
 These considerations, Sire, will, I trust, in your 
 Majesty's gracious opinion, rescue this address 
 from all imputation of impatience. For, your Ma- 
 jesty's sense of honourable feeling will naturally 
 suggest, how utterly impossible it is that I, consci- 
 ous of my own innocence, and believing that the 
 malice ofmy enemies hasbeen completely detected, 
 can, without abandoning all regard to my interests, 
 my happiness, and my honour, possibly be conten- 
 ted to perceive the approach of such utter ruin to 
 my character, and yet wait, with patience, and in 
 silence till it overwhelms me. I therefore take 
 this liberty of throwing myself again at your Ma- 
 jesty's feet, and intreating and imploring of your 
 Majesty's goodness and justice, in pity for my mi-
 
 198 
 
 series which this delay so severely aggravates, and 
 injustice to my innocence and character, to urge 
 the Commissioners to an early communication of 
 their advice. 
 
 To save your Majesty and the Commissioners 
 all unnecessary trouble, as well as to obviate all 
 probability of further delay, I have directed a du- 
 plicate of this letter to be prepared, and have >nt 
 one copy of it through the Lord Chancellor, and 
 another through Colonel Taylor to you/ Majesty. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Sire, 
 
 With every sentiment of gratitude and loyalty, 
 Your Majesty^ most affectionate, 
 and dutiful Daughter-in-law, 
 Servant and Subject. 
 C.P. 
 
 Montague House, 
 December 8th, 1806
 
 199 
 
 THE Lord Chancellor has the honour to present 
 his most humble duty to the Princess of Wales, 
 and to transmit to Her Royal Highness, the ac- 
 companying Message from the King; which Her 
 Royal Highness will observe, he has His Majes- 
 .ty's commands to communicate to Her Royal 
 Highness. 
 
 The Lord Chancellor would have done himself 
 the honour to have waited personally upon Her 
 Royal Highness, and have delivered it himself; 
 but he considered the sending it sealed ; as more 
 respectful and acceptable to Her Royal Highness. 
 The Lord Chancellor received the original paper 
 from the King yesterday, and made the copy 
 now sent in his own hand, 
 
 January Twenty-eighth, 1807. 
 
 To Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. 
 
 THE King having referred to his confiden- 
 tial Servants the proceedings and papers relative 
 to the written declarations, which had been before 
 His Majesty, respecting the conduct of the Prin- 
 ces of Wales, has been apprised by them, that 
 sifter the fullest consideration of the examinations
 
 200 
 
 taken on that subject, and of the observations and 
 affidavits brought forward by the Princess of 
 Wales's legal advisers, they agree in the opinions, 
 submitted to His Majesty in the original Report 
 of the four Lords, by whom His Majesty directed 
 that the matter should in the first instance be in- 
 quired into ; and that, in the present stage of the 
 business, upon a mature and deliberate view of this 
 most important subject in all its parts, and bear- 
 ings, it is their opinion, that the facts of this case 
 do not warrant their advising that any further 
 step should be taken in the business by His Ma- 
 jesty's Government or any other proceedings 
 instituted upon it, except such only as His Ma- 
 jesty's Law Servants may, on reference to them, 
 think fit to recommend for the prosecution of 
 Lady Douglas, on those parts of her depositions 
 which may appear to them to be justly liable 
 thereto. 
 
 In this situation, His Majesty is advised, that 
 it is no longer necessary for him to decline re- 
 ceiving the Princess into His Royal Presence. 
 
 The King sees, with great satisfaction, the agree- 
 ment of his confidential servants, in the decided 
 opinion expressed by the four Lords upon the 
 falsehood of the accusations of pregnancy and 
 delivery, brought forward against the Princess by 
 Lady Douglas. 
 
 On the other matters produced in the course of 
 the Inquiry, the king is advised that none of 
 the facts or allegations stated in preliminary ex-
 
 201 
 
 animations, carried on in the absence of the 
 parties interested, Can be considered as legally, 
 or conclusively, established. But in those 
 examinations, and even in the answer drawn 
 in the name of the Princess by her legal ad- 
 visers, there have appeared circumstances of 
 conduct on the part of the Princess, which his 
 Majesty never could regard but with serious 
 concern. The elevated rank which the Prin- 
 cess holds in this country, and the relation in 
 which she stands to His Majesty and the 
 Royal Family, must always deeply involve 
 both the interests of the State, and the per- 
 sonal feelings of His Majesty, in the propriety 
 and correctness of her conduct. And His 
 Majesty cannot therefore forbear to express, in 
 the conclusion of the business, his desire and 
 expectation, that such a conduct may in future 
 be observed by the Princess, as may fully jus- 
 tify those marks of paternal regard and affec- 
 tion, which the King always wishes to shew &o 
 every part of His Royal Family. 
 
 His Majesty has directed that this message 
 should be transmitted to the Princess of Wales, 
 by his Lord Chancellor, and that copies of the 
 proceedings, which had taken place on the sub- 
 ject, should also be communicated to his dearly 
 beloved Son, The Prince of Wales. 
 
 Dd
 
 202 
 
 Montague House* 
 January 29th, 1807. 
 SIRE, 
 
 I HASTEN to acknowledge the receipt of the 
 paper, which, by your Majesty's direction, was 
 yesterday transmitted to me, by the Lord Chan- 
 cellor, and to express the unfeigned happiness, 
 which I have derived from one part of it. I 
 mean that, which informs me that your Majes- 
 ty's confidential servants have, at length, 
 thought proper to communicate to your Majes- 
 ty, their advice, " that it is no longer neces- 
 4C sary for your Majesty to decline receiving 
 " me into your Royal presence." And I, 
 therefore, humbly hope, that your Majesty will 
 be graciously pleased to receive,with favour, the 
 communication of my intention to avail myself, 
 with your Majesty's permission, of that advice, 
 for the purpose of waiting upon your Majesty 
 on Monday next, if that day should not be in- 
 convenient ; when I hope again to have the 
 happiness of throwing myself, in filial duty and 
 affection, at your Majesty's feet. 
 
 Your Majesty will easily conceive, that I 
 reluctantly name so distant a day as Monday, 
 but I do not feel myself sufficiently recovered 
 from the measles, to venture upon so long a 
 drive at an earlier day. Feeling, however, very 
 anxious, to receive again as soon as possible, 
 that blessing, of which I have beensojkmg de-
 
 203 
 
 prived, if that day should happen to be, in any 
 degree, inconvenient, I humbly entreat, and 
 implore, your Majesty's most gracious and pa- 
 ternal goodness, to name some other day, as 
 early as possible, for that purpose. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 (SignedJ C. P. 
 
 To the King. 
 
 Windsor Castle, 
 January 29th, 1807. 
 
 THE King has this moment received the 
 Princess of Wales's letter, in which she inti- 
 mates her intention of coming to Windsor on 
 Monday next ; and his Majesty, wishing not 
 to put the Princess to the inconyenience of 
 coming to this place, so immmediately after 
 her illness, hastens to acquaint her, that he 
 shall prefer to receive her in London, upon a 
 day subsequent to the ensuing week, which 
 will also better suit his Majesty, and of which 
 he will not fail to apprize the Princess. 
 
 (Signed) GEORGE. R. 
 To the Princess of Wales.
 
 204 
 
 Windsor Castle, 
 February 10, 1807. 
 
 As the Princess of Wales may have been led 
 to expect, from the King's letter to her, that 
 he would fix an early day for seeing her, his 
 Majesty thinks it right to acquaint her, that 
 the Prince of Wales, upon receiving the seve- 
 ral documents, which the King directed his 
 Cabinet to transmit to him, made a formal 
 communication to him, of his intention to put 
 them into the hands of his lawyers ; accom- 
 panied by a request, that his Majesty would 
 suspend any further steps in the business, until 
 the Prince of Wales should be enabled to sub- 
 mit to him, the statement which he proposed 
 to make. The King therefore considers it in- 
 cumbent upon him to defer naming a day ta 
 the Princess of Wales, until the further result 
 of the Prince's intention shall have been made 
 known to him. 
 
 (Signed) GEORGE. R. 
 To the Princess of Wales.
 
 20.5 
 
 Montague House, 
 February 12th, 1807. 
 SIRE, 
 
 I RECEIVED yesterday, and with inexpressble- 
 pain, your Majesty's last communication. The 
 duty of stating, in a representation to your Ma- 
 jesty, the various grounds, upon which I feel the 
 hardship of my case, and upon which I confi- 
 dently think that,nponareviewof it,yourMajes- 
 ty will be disposed to recal your last determi- 
 nation, is a duty I owe to myself: and I cannot 
 forbear, at themoment when I acknowledge your 
 Majesty 's letter, to announce to your Majesty, 
 thatl propose toexecute that duty without delay. 
 
 After having suffered the punishment of ba- 
 nishment from your Majesty's presence, for 
 seven months, pending an Inquiry, which your 
 Majesty had directed, into my conduct,affecting 
 both my life and my honour ; after that Inqui- 
 ry had, at length terminated in the advice of 
 your Majesty's confidential and sworn servants, 
 that there was no longer any reason for your Ma- 
 jesty'sdeclining to receive me ; after your Ma- 
 jesty's gracious communication, which led me to 
 rest assured that your Majesty would appoint 
 an early day to receive me ; if after all this, by 
 a renewed application on the part of The Prince 
 of Wales, upon whose communi cation the first 
 Inquiry had been directed, I now find that that 
 punishment, which had been inflicted, pend- 
 ing a seven month's Inquiry before the determi-
 
 206 
 
 nation, should, contrary to the opinion of your 
 Majesty's servants, be continued after that de- 
 termination, to await the result of some new 
 proceeding,to be suggested by the lawyers of the 
 Prince of Wales; it is impossible that I can 
 fail to assert to your Majesty, wth the effect 
 due to truth, that I am, in the consciousness 
 of my innocence, and with a strong sense of 
 my unmerited sufferings, 
 
 Your Majesty's most dutiful, and most 
 affectionate, but much injured Subject, 
 and Daughter-in-law, 
 (Signed) C. P. 
 
 To the King. 
 
 SIRE, 
 
 By my short letter to Your Majesty of the 
 12th instant, in answer to Your Majesty's com- 
 munication of the 10th, I notified my intention 
 of representing to Your Majesty the various 
 grounds, on which I felt the hardship of my 
 case ; and, a review of which, 1 confidently 
 hoped, would dispose your Majesty to recal 
 your determination to adjourn, to an indefinite 
 period, my reception into your royal Presence ; 
 a determination, which, in addition to all the 
 other pain which it brought along with it, affect- 
 ed me with the disappointment of hopes, which 
 I had fondly cherished, with the most perfect 
 confidence, because they rested on your Ma- 
 jesty's gracious assurance. 
 
 Independently, however, of that communica-
 
 207 
 
 tion fromydur Majesty, I should have felt my- 
 self bound to have troubled your Majesty with 
 much of the contents of the present letter. 
 
 Upon the receipt of the paper, which by your 
 Majesty's commands, was transmitted to me by 
 the Lord Chancellor, on the 28th of last month, 
 and which communicated to me the joyful intel- 
 ligence, that your Majesty was " advised, that 
 " it was no longer necessary for you to decline 
 ** receiving me into your royal Presence,'* I 
 conceived myself necessarily called upon to 
 send an immediate answer to so much of it as 
 respected that intelligence. I could not wait the 
 time, which it would have required, to state 
 those observations, which it was impossible for 
 me to refrain from making, at some period, upon 
 the other important particulars which that paper 
 contained. Accordingly, I answered it immedi- 
 ately : and, as your Majesty's gracious and in- 
 stant reply of last Thursday fortnight,announced 
 to me your pleasure, that I should be received 
 by your Majesty, on a day subsequent to the 
 then ensuing week, I was led most confidently 
 to assure myself, that the last week would not 
 have passed, without my having received that 
 satisfaction. I therefore determined to wait in 
 patience, without further intrusion upon your 
 Majesty, till I might have the opportunity of 
 guarding in\ self from the possibility of being 
 misunderstood, by personally explaining to your 
 Majesty, that whatever observations I had to
 
 208 
 
 make upon the paper so communicated to me> 
 on the 28th ultimo, and whatever complaints re- 
 specting the delay, and the many cruel circum- 
 stances which had attended the whole of the 
 proceedings against me, and the unsatisfactory 
 state, in which they were at length left by that 
 last communication, they were observations and 
 complaints which affected those only, under 
 whose advice your Majesty had acted, and were 
 not, in any degree, intended to intimate even 
 the most distant insinuation against your Ma- 
 jesty's justice, or kindness. 
 
 That paper established the opinion, which I, 
 certainly, had ever confidently entertained, but 
 the justness of which I had not before any do- 
 cument to establish, that your Majesty had, 
 from the first, deemed this proceeding a high 
 and important matter of state, in the considera- 
 tion of which your Majesty had not felt }our- 
 self at liberty to trust to your own generous feel- 
 ings, and to \ourown Royal, and gracious judg- 
 ment. I neverdid believe, that the cruel state of 
 anxiety,in whichl had been kept, ever since the 
 delivery of my Answer,(forat least sixteen weeks( 
 could be at all attributable to your Majesty ; it 
 was most unlike every thing which I had ever 
 experienced from yourMajesty's condescension, 
 feeling,and justice ; and I found, from that paper, 
 that it was to ) our confidential servants I was to 
 ascribe the length of banishment from your 
 presence, which they, at last, advised your Ma-
 
 209 
 
 jesty, it was no longer necessary should be conti- 
 nued. I perceive, therefore, what I always be- 
 lieved, that it was to them, and to them only, that I 
 owed the protracted continuance of my sufferings, 
 and of my disgrace; and that Your Majesty, consi- 
 dering the whole of this proceeding to have been 
 instituted and conducted, under the grave respon- 
 sibility of Your Majesty's servants, had not thought 
 proper to take any step, or express any opinion, 
 upon any part of it, but such as was recommended 
 by their advice. Influenced by these sentiments, 
 and anxious to have the opportunity of conveying 
 them, with the overflowings of a grateful heart, to 
 Your Majesty, what were my sensations of sur- 
 prise, mortification, and disappointment, on the 
 receipt of Your Majesty's letter of the 10th 
 instant, Your Majesty may conceive, though I am 
 utterly unable to express. 
 
 That Letter announces to me, that his Royal 
 H ighness the Prince of Wales, u pon receiving the se- 
 veral documents which your Majesty directed your 
 Cabinet to transmit to him, made a personal com- 
 munication to your Majesty of his intention to put 
 them into the hands of his Lawyers, accompanied 
 by a request, that Your Majesty would suspend any 
 further steps in the business, until the Prince o* 
 Wales should be enabled to submit to your'Ma. 
 jesty the statement which he proposed to make; 
 and it also announces to me that your Majesty 
 therefore considered it incumbent on you, to defer 
 
 Ee
 
 210 
 
 naming a day to me, until the further result of 
 the Princeof Wales's intention should have been 
 made known to your Majesty. 
 
 This determination of your Majesty, on this re- 
 quest, made by His Royal Highness, I humbly 
 trust your Majesty will permit me to entreat you, 
 in your most gracious justice, to reconsider. Your 
 Majesty, I am convinced, must have been surpris- 
 ed at the} time, and prevailed upon by the impor- 
 tunity of the Prince of Wales, to think this deter- 
 mination necessary, or your Majesty's generosity 
 and justice would never have adopted it. And if I 
 can satisfy your Majesty of the unparalleled injus- 
 tice, and cruelty, of this interposition of the Prince 
 of Wales, at such a time, and under such circum- 
 stances, I feel the most perfect confidence that your 
 Majesty will hasten to recal it. 
 
 I should basely be wanting to my own interest 
 and feelings, if I did not plainly state my sense of 
 that injustice, and cruelty ; and if I did not most 
 loudly complain of it. Your Majesty will better 
 perceive the just grounds of my complaint when I 
 retrace the course of these proceedings from their 
 commencement. 
 
 The four noble Lords, appointed by your Majesty 
 to inquire into the charges brought against me, in 
 their Reportofthel4thof Julylasr,afterhavingsta- 
 ted that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales 
 had laid before him, the charge which was made 
 against me, by Lady Douglas, and the declarations 
 in support of it, proceed in the following manner.
 
 *" In the painful situation in which His Royal 
 rr Highness was placed by these communications' 
 " we learnt that His Royal Highness had adopted 
 *' the only course which could, in our judgment, 
 " with propriety, he followed. When inform- 
 '' ationssuch as these, had been thus confidently 
 (f alleged, and particularly detailed, and had been 
 " in some degree supported by collateral evidence, 
 " applying to other facts of the same nature* 
 " (though going to a far less extent,) one line only 
 f< could be pursued. 
 
 " Every sentiment of duty to your Majesty, and 
 " of concern for the public welfare, {required that 
 < ( these particulars should not be withheld from 
 " your Majesty, to whom more particularly be- 
 " longed the cognizance of a matter of State, so 
 " nearly touching the honour of your Majesty's 
 " Royal Family, and, by possibility, affecting the 
 te succession of your Majesty's Crown. 
 
 " Your Majesty had been pleased, on your part 
 " to view the subject in the same light. Consi- 
 ef dering it as a matter which, on every account 
 ic demanded the most immediate investigation, 
 " your Majesty had thought fit to commit into our 
 < ( hands the duty of ascertaining, in the first in- 
 " stance what degree of credit was due to the in- 
 " formation, and thereby enabling your Majesty 
 " to decide what further conduct to adopt respect- 
 " ing them. 9 ' 
 
 * Report, p. 6. ante.
 
 212 
 
 His Royal Highness then, pursuing, as the four 
 Lords say, the only course, which could in their 
 judgment, with propriety, be pursued, submitted 
 the matter to YourMajesty. Your Majesty direct- 
 ed the Inquiry by the four noble Lords. The 
 four Lords in their Report upon the case, justly 
 acquitted meofallcrime, and expressed (I will not 
 \vait now to say how unjustly) the credit which 
 they gave, and the consequence they ascribed to 
 other matters, which they did not, however, cha- 
 racterize as amounting to any crime. To this Re- 
 port I made my answer. That answer, together 
 with the whole proceedings, was referred by your 
 Majesty, to the same four noble Lords, and others 
 of your Majesty's confidential servants. They ad- 
 vised your Majesty, amongst much other matter, 
 (which must be the subject of further.observations) 
 that there was no longer any reason why you 
 should decline receiving me. 
 
 Your Majesty will necessarily conceive that 1 
 have always looked upon my banishment from 
 your Royal Presence, as, in fact, a punishment, 
 arid a severe one too. I thought it sufficiently 
 hard, that I should have been sufferingthat punish- 
 ment, during the time that this Inquiry has been 
 pending, while I was yet only under accusation, and 
 upon the principles of the just laws of your Ma- 
 jesty's kingdom, entitled to be presumed to be 
 innocent, till I was proved to be guilty. But I 
 find this does not appear to be enough, in the opi- 
 nion of the Prince of Wales. For now, when
 
 313 
 
 after thislong Inquiry, into matters which required 
 immediate investigation, I have been acquitted of 
 every thing which could call for iny banishment 
 from your Royal Presence. After your Majesty's 
 confidential servants have thus expressly advised 
 your Majesty thatthey see no reason ^hyyou should 
 any longer decline to receive me into your pre- 
 sence : after your Majesty had graciously notified 
 to me, your determination to receive me at an early 
 day, His Royal Highness interposes the demand 
 of a new delay; desires your Majesty not to take 
 any step; desires you not to act upon the advice 
 which your own confidential servants have given 
 you, that you need no longer decline seeing me ; 
 not to execute your intention, and assurance, that 
 you will receive me at an early day; because 
 he has laid the documents before his Lawyers, and 
 intends to prepare a further statement. And the 
 judgment of your Majesty's confidential servants, 
 is, as it were, appealed from by the Prince of 
 Wales, (whom, from this time, at least, I must be 
 permitted to consider as assuming the character of 
 rny accuser) ; the justice due to me is to be sus- 
 pended, while the judgment of your Majesty's 
 sworn servants, is to be submitted to the revision 
 of my accuser's Counsel ; ai>d I, though acquitted 
 in the opinion of your Majesty's confidential ser- 
 vants, of all that should induce your Majesty to 
 decline seeing me, am to have that punishment, 
 which had been inflicted upon me, during the in- 
 quiry, continued after that acquittal, till a fresh
 
 214 
 
 statement is prepared, to be again submitted 3 for 
 aught I know, to another Inquiry, of as extended 
 a continuance as that which has just terminated. 
 
 Can it be said that the proceedings of the four 
 noble Lords, or of jour Majesty's confidential ser- 
 vants, have been so lenient, and considerate to- 
 wards me and my feelings,as to induce a suspicion 
 thatlhave been too favourably dealt with by them ? 
 and that the advice which has been given to your 
 Majesty,that your Majesty need no longer decline 
 to receive me, was hastily and partially delivered ? 
 I am confident, that your Majesty must see the 
 very reverse of this to be the case that I have 
 every reason to complain of the inexplicable delay 
 which so long withheld that advice. And the 
 whole character of the observations with which 
 they accompanied it, marks the reluctance with 
 which they yielded to the necessity of giving it 1 
 
 For your Majesty's confidential servants advise 
 your Majesty, " that it is no longer necessary for 
 ff you to decline receiving me into your Royal 
 " Presence." If this is their opinion and their ad- 
 vice now, why was it not their opinion and their 
 advice four months ago, from the date of my an- 
 swer ? Nay, why was it not their opinion and 
 advice from the date even of the original Report 
 itself? For not only had they been in possession 
 of my answer for above sixteen weeks, which at 
 least furnishedthem with all the materials onwhich 
 this advice was at length given, but further, your 
 Majesty's confidential servants areforward to state
 
 215 
 
 that after having read my observations, and the 
 affidavits which were annexed to them, they agree 
 in the opinions (not in any single opinion upon any 
 particular branch of the case, but in the opinions 
 generally] which were submitted to your Majesty, 
 in the original Report of the four Lords. If there- 
 fore, (notwithstanding their concurrence in all the 
 opinions contained in the Report) they have never- 
 theless given to your Majesty their advice, "that 
 " it is no longer necessary for you to decline re- 
 " ceiving me," What could have prevented their 
 offering that advice, even from the 14th of July, 
 the date of the original Report itself? Or what 
 could have warranted the withholding of it, even 
 for a single moment ? instead, therefore, of any 
 trace being observable, of hasty, precipitate, and 
 partial determination in my favour, it is impossible 
 to interpret their conduct and their reasons toge- 
 ther in any other sense, than as amounting to an 
 admission of your Majesty's confidential servants 
 themselves, that I have, in consequence of their 
 withholdingl that advice, been, unnecessarily and 
 cruelly banished, from your Royal Presence, from 
 that 14th of July, to the 28th of January, includ- 
 ing a space of above six months ; and the effect of 
 the interposition of the Prince, is to prolong my 
 sufferings, and my disgrace, under the same ba- 
 nishment, to a period perfectly indefinite. 
 
 The principle which will admit the effect of 
 such interposition now, may be acted upon again ; 
 and the Prince may require a further prolongation
 
 216 
 
 upon fresh statements, and fresh charges, kept 
 back possibly for the purpose of being, from time 
 to time, couve iently interposed, to prevent for 
 ever, the arrival of that hour, which, displaying 
 to the world the acknowledgment of my unmerited 
 suffering sand disgrace, may, at the same time, 
 expose the true malicious and unjust quality of 
 the proceedings which have been so long carried 
 on against me. 
 
 This unreasonable, unjust, and cruel interposi- 
 tion of His Royal Highness, as I must eves; deem 
 it, has prevailed upon your Majesty to recal , to 
 my prejudice, your gracious purpose of receiving 
 me, in pursuance of the advice of your servants. 
 Do I then flatter myself too much, when I feel as- 
 sured, that my just entreaty, founded upon the 
 reasons which I urge, and directed to counteract 
 only the effect of that unjust .interposition, will 
 induce your Majesty to return to your original 
 determination ? 
 
 Restored however, as I should feel myself, to a 
 state of comparative security, as well as credit, by 
 being, at length, permitted,, upon your Majesty's 
 gracious reconsideration ofyour last determination, 
 to have access to your Majesty ; yet, under all the 
 circumstancesunder whichl should now receive that 
 mark and confirmation ofyour Majesty's opinion 
 of my innocence, my character would not, I fear, 
 stand cleared in the public opinion, by the mere 
 fact ofyour Majesty's reception of me. This re- 
 vocation of your Majesty's gracigus purpose has
 
 217 
 
 flung an additional cloud about the whole proct, 
 ing, and the inferences drawn in tlie public uiincl; 
 from this circumstance, so mysterious and so per- 
 fectly inexplicable, upon any grounds which are 
 open to their knowledge, has made, and will leave 
 so deep an impression to rny prejudice, as scarce 
 any thing, short of a public exposure of all that 
 has passed, can possibly efface. 
 
 Tne publication of all these proceedings to the 
 world, then, seems to me, under the present cir- 
 cumstances, (whatever reluctance I feel against 
 such a measure, and however I regret the hard 
 necessity which drives me to it) to be almost the 
 only remaining resource, for (he vindication of my 
 honour and character. The falsehood of the ac- 
 cusation is, by no means, all that will, by such 
 publication, appear to the credit and clearance of 
 my character ; but the course in which the whole 
 proceedings have been carried on, or rather de- 
 layed, by those, to whom your Majesty referred 
 the consideration of them, will shew, that, what- 
 ever measure of justice I -may have ultimately re- 
 ceived at their hands, it is not to be suspected as 
 arising from any merciful and indulgent considera- 
 tion of me, of my feelings, or of my case. 
 
 It will be seen how my feelings had been har- 
 rasscd, and my character and honour exposed, by 
 the delays which have taken place in these proceed- 
 ings .' it will be seen, that the existence of the 
 charge against me had avowedly been known to the 
 
 Ff
 
 218 
 
 public, from the 7th of June in the last year. -I 
 say known to the public, because it was on that 
 day that the Commissioners, acting, as 1 am to 
 suppose, (for so they state in their report) under 
 the anxious wish,that their trust should be executed 
 with as little publicity as possible, authorized that 
 unnecessary insuU arid outrage upon me, as I must 
 always consider it, which, however intended, gave 
 the utmost publicity and exposure to theexistence 
 of these charges ! mean, the sending two Attor- 
 nies, armed with their Lordships' warrant to my 
 house, to bring before them, at once, about one 
 half of my household for examination, The idea 
 of privacy, after an act so much calculated, from 
 the extraordinary nature of it, to excite the great- 
 est attention and surprize, your Majesty must feel 
 to have been impossible and absurd ; for an at- 
 tempt at secrecy, mystery, and concealment, on 
 my part, could, under such circumstances, only 
 have been construed into the fearfulness of guilt. 
 It will appear also that, from that time, I heard 
 nothing authentically upon the subject till the llth 
 of August,when 1 was furnished, by your Majesty's 
 commands, with the Report. The several papers 
 necessary to my understanding the whole of these 
 charges, in the authentic state in which your Ma- 
 jesty thought it proper, graciously to direct, that 
 1 should have them, were not delivered to me till 
 the beginning of September. My answer to these 
 various charges, though the whole subject of them 
 was new to those whose advice 1 had recourse to,
 
 219 
 
 ong as that answer was necessarily obliged to be, 
 was delivered to the Lord Chancellor, to be for- 
 warded to your Majesty, by the sixth of October; 
 and, from the 6th of October to the 28th of Ja- 
 nuary, 1 \vas kept in total ignorance of the effect 
 of that answer. Not only will all this delay be ap- 
 parent, but it will be generally shewn to the world 
 how your Majesty's servants had in this important 
 business, treated your daughter-in-law, the Prin- 
 cess of Wales; and what measure of justice she, 
 a female, and a stranger in your land, hai expe~ 
 rienced at their hands. 
 
 ' Undoubtedly against such a proceeding 1 have 
 ever felt, and still feel, an almost invincible repug- 
 nance. Every sentiment of delicacy, with which a 
 female mind must shrink from the act of bringing 
 before the public such charges, however conscious 
 of their scandal and falsity, and however clearly 
 that scandal and falsity may be manifested by the 
 anssver to those charges; therespect still due from 
 me, to persons employed in authority under your 
 Majesty, i owever little respect I may have re- 
 ceived from them : Mv duty to his Roval Hi<>h- 
 
 v / 4/ 
 
 ness the Princ v e of Wales ; my regard for all the 
 members of your august Family ; my esteem, my 
 duty, my gratitude to your Majesty, my affec- 
 tionate gratitude for all the paternal kindness 
 which I have ever experienced from you; 
 my anxiety, not only to avoid the risk of giving any 
 offence or displeasure to your Majesty, but also to 
 fly from, every occasion of creating the slightest
 
 220 
 
 sentiment of uneasiness in tne mind of your Ma- 
 jesty, whose happiness it would be the pride and 
 pleasure of my life to consult, and to promote ; all 
 these various sentiments have compelled me to sub- 
 mit as long as human forbearauce could endure, 
 to all the unfavourable inferences which were 
 through this delay daily increasing in the public 
 mind. What the strength and efficacy ofthesemo- 
 tives have been, your Majesty -'ill dome justice 
 to feel, when you are pleased, graciously to con- 
 sider how long I have been contented to suffer 
 those .suspicions to exist against my innocence, 
 which the biii^iog before the public of ujy ac- 
 cusation, and u. y defence to it, would so indispu- 
 tably and immediately have dispelled. 
 
 The measure, however, of making these pro- 
 ceedings public, whatever model can adopt (con- 
 sidering especially the absoluteim possibility of suf- 
 fering any partial production of them, and the ne- 
 cessity that, if for any purpose any part of them 
 should be produced, the whole must be brought 
 before the public) remains surrounded with all the 
 objections which I ha\e enumerated; and nothing 
 could ever have prevailed upon me, or can now 
 even prevail upon me to have recourse to it, but an 
 imperious cense of indispensable duty to my future 
 safe , to my present character and honour, and <o 
 the feelings, -the cbaracter, and the interests of iny 
 child. I had flattered myself, when once this long 
 proceeding should have terminated in my recep- 
 tion into your Majesty's presence, that that circum-
 
 221 
 
 stance alone would haveso strongly implied ray in- 
 nocence ofall that bad been brougbt against me, as 
 to have been perfectly sufficient for my honour and 
 my security ; but accompanied, as it now must be 
 with the knowledge of the fact, that your Majesty 
 has been brougbt to hesitate upon its propriety, and 
 accompanied also with the very unjustifiable obser- 
 vations, as they ap pear to me, on which I shall pre- 
 sently proceed to remark ; and which were made 
 by your Majesty's servants, at the time when they 
 gave you their advice to receive me; I feel myself 
 in a situation, in which I deeply regret that I cannot 
 rest, in silence, without an immediate reception 
 into your Majesty's presence ; nor, indeed, with 
 that reception, unless it be attended by other cir- 
 cumstances, which may mark my satisfactory ac- 
 quittal of the charges which have been brought 
 against me. 
 
 It shall atno time be said, with truth, that I 
 shrunk back from these infamous charges ; that I 
 crouched l.efore my enemies: 'and courted them, by 
 my submission into moderation ! No, I have ever 
 boldly defied them. I have ever felt and still feel, 
 that, if they should think, either of pu suing these 
 accusations, or of bringing forward any other which 
 the wickedness of individuals may devise, to affect 
 my honour ; (since my conscience tells me, that 
 thej' must be, as base and groundless as those 
 broughtby Lady Douglas,) while the witnesses to 
 the innocence of my conduct, are all living,! should 
 be able to dispiovc them all ; and, whoever may
 
 toe my accusers, to triumph over their wickedness 
 and malice. But should these accusations be re- 
 Hewed ; or any other be brought forward, in any 
 future timCj death may, I know not how soon, re- 
 move from my innocence its best security, and de- 
 prive me of the means of my justification, and my 
 defence. 
 
 There are therefore other measures, which I trust 
 your Majesty will think indispensable to betaken, 
 for my honour, and for my security. Amongst 
 these, I most humbly submit to your Majesty my 
 most earnest entreaties that the proceedings, inclu- 
 ding not only n:y first answer, and my letter of the 
 8th of December, but this letter also, may be direc- 
 ted by your Majesty to be so preserved and depo- 
 sited, as that they may, all ofthem, securely remain 
 ]emai:ent authentic documents and memorials, of 
 this accusation ai.d of the manner in which I met 
 it ; of my defence, as well as of the charge. That 
 they may remain capable at any time of being re- 
 sorted to, if the malice wnich produced the charge 
 v originally, shall ever venture to renew it. 
 
 Beyond this, I am sure your Majesty will think 
 it hut proper and j ust, that I should be restored, in 
 every respect, to the same situation, from whence 
 the proceedings, under these false charges, have 
 removed me. That, besides being graciously re- 
 ceived, again, into the bosom of your Majesty's 
 Royal Family, restored to my former respect and 
 station amongst them, your Majesty will be graci- 
 ously pleased, either to exert your influence, with
 
 His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, that I 
 may be restored to the use of ray apartment in 
 Carlton House, which was reserved for me, except 
 while tlie apartments were undergoing repair, till 
 the date of these proceedings ; or to assign to me 
 some apartment in one of your Royal Palaces,, 
 Some apartment in or near to London is indispen- 
 sably necessary for my convenient attendance at the 
 Drawing-room. And if I am not icstored to that 
 at Carlton House, I trust your Majesty will graci- 
 ous perceive, how reasonable it is, that I should 
 request, that some apartment should be assigned 
 to me, suited to my dignity and situation, which 
 may mark my reception and acknowledgment, 
 as one of your Majesty's family, and from which 
 my attendance at the drawing-room may be easy 
 and convenient. 
 
 If these measures are-taken, 1 should hope that 
 they would prove satisfactory to the public mind, 
 and that 1 may feel myself fully restored in public 
 estimation, to my former character. And should 
 they prove so satisfactory, 1 shall indeed be delight- 
 ed to think, that no further step may, even now, 
 appear to be necessary to my peace of mind, mjr 
 security, and my honour. 
 
 But your Majesty will permit me to say, that if 
 the next week, which will make more than a 
 month from the time of your Majesty's informing 
 me that you would receive me, should pass without 
 my being received into your presence, and without 
 having the assurance that these other request of
 
 224? 
 
 mine shall be complied with ; 1 shall be under the 
 painful necessity of considering- them as refused. 
 In which case, 1 shalf feel myself compelled, how- 
 ever reluctantly, to give the whole of these pro- 
 ceedings to the world. Unless your Majesty can 
 suggest other adequate means of securing my 
 honour and my life., from the effect of the continu- 
 ance or renewal of these proceedings, for the future 
 as well as the present. For 1 entreat your Majesty 
 to believe, that it is only in the absence of all other 
 adequate means, that 1 can have resort to that 
 measure. That I consider it with deep regret ; 
 ihat 1 regard it with serious apprehension, by no 
 means so much on account of the effect it may 
 have upon myself ; as on account of th& pain which 
 it may give to your Majesty, your august Family, 
 and your loyal subjects. 
 
 As far as myself am concerned, t am aware ofthe 
 observations to which this publication will expose 
 me.Biit 1 am placed in a situaion in which I have 
 the choice only of two most unpleasant alternatives. 
 And 1 am perfectly confident that the imputations 
 and the loss of character which must, under these 
 circumstances, follow from my silence, are most 
 injurious and unavoidable ; that my silence, under 
 such circumstances, must lead inevitably to my 
 litter infamy and ruin. The publication, on the 
 other hand, will ex pose to the world nothing, which 
 is spoken to by any witness (whose infamy and 
 discredit isuot unanswerably exposed and establish-
 
 225 
 
 ed) which can, in the slightest degree, affect my 
 character, for honour, virtue, and delicacy. 
 
 There may be circumstances disclosed, ma- 
 nifesting a degree of condescension and famili- 
 arity in my behaviour and conduct, which in the 
 opinions of many, may be considered as not 
 sufficiently guarded, dignified, and reserved,. 
 Circumstances however which my foreign edu- 
 cation, and foreign habits, misled me to think, 
 in the humble and retired situation in which 
 it was my fate to live, and where I had no rela- 
 tion, no equal, no friend to advise me, were 
 wholly free from offrncc. But when they have 
 been dragged forward, from the scenes of private 
 life, in a grave proceeding on a charge of High 
 Treason, and Adultery, they seem to derive a 
 colour and character, from the nature of the 
 charge, which they are brought forward to sup- 
 port. And I cannot but believe, that they have 
 been used for no other purpose than to afford a 
 cover, to screen from view the injustice of that 
 charge; that they have been taken ad vantage of, 
 to let down my accusers more gently ; and to 
 deprive me of that full acquittal on the Report 
 of the four Lords, which my innocence of all 
 offence most justly entitled me to receive. 
 
 Whatever opinion however may be formed, 
 upon any part of my conduct, it must in justice 
 be formed, with reference to the situation in 
 
 which I was placed; if I am judged of as Prjn- 
 
 Ci 
 T CT 
 -* *
 
 226 
 ' 
 
 cess of Wales, \vith reference to the high rank 
 of that station, I must be judged as Princess of 
 Wales, banished from the Prince, unprotected 
 by the support and the countenance, which 
 belong to that station ; and if I am judged of in 
 my private character, as a married woman, I 
 must be judged of as a wife banished from her 
 husband, and living in a widowed seclusion from 
 hiqa, and retirement from the world. This last 
 consideration leads me to recur to an expression 
 in Mrs, Lisle's examination, which describes 
 my conduct, in the frequency and the manner 
 of my receiving the visits of Captain Manby, 
 though always in the presence of my ladies, as 
 unbecoming a married woman. Upon the ex- 
 treme injustice of setting up the opinion of one 
 woman, as it were, in judgment upon the con- 
 duct of another ; as well as of estimating the 
 conductof a person in my unfortunate situation, 
 by reference to that, which might in general be 
 expected from a married woman, living hap- 
 pily with her husband, I have before generally 
 remarked. But beyond these general remarks 
 in forming any estimate of my conduct, your 
 Majesty will never forget the very peculiar cir- 
 cumstances and misfortunes of my situation. 
 Your Majesty will remember that I had not 
 been much above a year in this country, when 
 I received the following letter from hi;s Royal 
 Highness the Prince of Wales.
 
 227 
 
 " Windsor Castle, 
 April 30, 1796. 
 " MADAM, 
 
 * As Lord Cholmondely informs me that you 
 ** wish I would define, in writing,* the terms 
 " upon which we are to live, I shall endea- 
 " vour to explain myself upon that head, with 
 " as much clearness, and with as much pro- 
 " priety, as the nature of the subject will admit. 
 " Our inclinations are not in our power, nor 
 " should either of us be held answerable to the 
 " other, because nature has not made us suit- 
 " able to each other. Tranquil and comfortable 
 44 society is however in our power; let our 
 " intercourse therefore be restricted to that, and 
 " 1 will distinctly subscribe to the condition^ 
 " which you required, through Lady Cholmon- 
 " deley, that even in the event of any accident 
 " happening to my daughter, which I trust 
 " Providence in its mercy will avert, I shall 
 " not infringe the terms of the restriction by 
 
 * The substance of this letter had been previously conveyed in a mes- 
 sage through Lord Cholinondeley to her Koyal Highness. But it was 
 thought by her Royal Highness, to be infinitely too impoitant to rest 
 merely upon a verbal communication, and therefore she desired that his 
 Koyal Highness's pleasure upon it should be communicated to her in 
 writing. 
 
 f Upon the receipt r.f the message alluded to, in the foregoing note, 
 her Royal Highness, though she had nothing to do but to submit to the 
 arrangement which his Royal Highness might determine upon, desired 
 it might be undeis oo:l, that she should insist that any such arrangement, 
 if once made, should be considered as final. And that his Royal High- 
 nets should not retain the rght, fivm tjice to time, at bis pleasure, 
 U(;der any circumstances, to alter it.
 
 28 
 
 " proposing at any period, a Connection of a 
 " more particular nature. 1 shall now finally 
 " close this disagreeable correspondence, trust* 
 " ing that, as we have completely explained 
 " ourselves to each other, the rest of our lives 
 " will be passed in uninterrupted tranquillity. 
 " I am, Madam, 
 " With great truth, 
 
 " Very sincerely yo~urs, 
 (Signed) " GEORGE P." 
 
 And thattothisletterl sent thefollowing answer: 
 " I/aveu de -votre conversation avec Lord 
 *' Cholmondely, ne m'etonne, ni ne m 'offense. 
 " C'etoit me confirmer ce que vous m'avez* 
 *' tacitement insinue depuis vine annee. Alaisil 
 " y aurout apres cela, un manque de delicatesse 
 " on, pour mieux dire, une bassesse indigne de 
 " me plaindre des conditions, que vbus vous 
 14 imposez a vous meme. 
 
 ** Je ne v. u ; aurois point fait de reponse, si 
 
 " votre lettre n'ctoit concue de maniere a fa ire 
 
 . 
 
 " douter, si cet arrangement vient de vous, on de 
 " moi ; et vous s^avez que vous m'annoncez 
 " 1'honneur. La lettre que vous m'annonce? 
 ** commela derniere, m'oblige de communiquer 
 *' au Koy, comme a mon Souverain, et a mon 
 <c Pere, votre aveu et ma reponse. Vous trouve- 
 * : rez ci incluse la copie de celle quej*ecris au 
 " Roy. Je vous en previens pour nc pas m'atti- 
 k * rer de votre part la moindre reproche de dupli-
 
 229 
 
 " cite. Comme je n'ai dans ce moment, d'autre 
 " protecteur que Sa Majeste, je m'en rapporte 
 " uniquement a lui. Et si ma conduite merite 
 " son approbation, je'serai, du moins en partie, 
 t<r consolee. 
 
 * c Du reste, je conserve toutelareconnoissance 
 c ' possible de ce qne je me trouve par votre 
 " moyen, comme Princesse de Galles, dans une 
 " situation a pouvoirme livrersanscontrainte, a 
 " une vertu cherea mon coeur, je vieux dire la 
 " bienfaisance. Ce sera pour moi un devoir d'agir 
 " de plus par un autre motifs9avoir celui de don- 
 " ner I'exemple dela patience, et dela resignation 
 " dans toutes sortes d'epreuves. Rendez moi la 
 " justicedeme croire, que je ne cesserai jamais- 
 " de faire des vceux pour votre bonheur, et 
 " d'etre votre bien devouee''* 
 
 (Signed) " CAROLINE." 
 
 w Ce 6de May, 1796.'* 
 
 * TRANSLATION". 
 
 The r\vo val of your conversation with Lord Cholirondely, neither 
 surprises, nor offends me. It merely confirmed what you have tacitly 
 insjnuattil for tHs twelve month. But aftrthis, it would be a want of 
 delicacy, or rather sn unworthy meamx ss in uie, were I to complain of 
 those con-iitions which you impose up:,u yourself. 
 
 IshouiJ have returm d no answer to your Utter, if it had not been ccn- 
 ceivftdin terms to make it doubtful, whether tni-s arrangement proceeds 
 from you or from me, and you are aware that the credit of it belongs to 
 you alone. 
 
 The letter which you announce to m as the last, obliges me to cornmu- 
 cioate to the King, as to my Sovereign and my Father, both jour avowal 
 and my answer. You will find enclosed the copy <.f my letter to the King. 
 1 apprise you of it. that I may not incur the slightest rrproacn of dupli- 
 city Irouj you, A; 1 have al this moment, no piolecvjr huVH'S .
 
 230 
 
 The date of his Royal Highnesses letter is the 
 30th of April, 1796. The date of op r marriage, 
 your Majesty will recollect, is the 8th day of 
 April, in the year 1795, and that of the birth of 
 our only child the 7th January, 1796. 
 
 On the letter of his Royal Highness 1 offer no 
 comment. I only entreat your Majesty not to 
 understand me to introduce it, as affording any 
 supposed justification or excuse, for the least 
 departure from the strictest line of virtue, or 
 the slightest deviation from the most refined 
 delicacy. The crime, which has been insinuated 
 against me, would be equally criminal and de- 
 Ivs table ; the indelicacy imputed tome would 
 be equally odious and abominable, whatever 
 renunciation of conjugal authority and affection, 
 the above letter of his Royal Highness might 
 in any construction, of it be supposed to have 
 conveyed. Such crimes, and faults, derive Dot 
 their guilt from the consideration of the conju- 
 gal virtues of the individual, who may be the 
 most injured by them, however much such 
 
 r refer mys If s-jlely fo him upon this subject, and if my conduct meets 
 hia apprubarion, I shall be in some degree at least consoled. I retain 
 every sentiment of gratitude tor the situation in which I fuid myself, a* 
 Princess of Wales, enabled by your means, to iudu'ge in the free exercise 
 of a virtue dear to my h."art, I mean charity. 
 
 It will be my duty likewise to act upon another motive, that of giving 
 an example of patience and resignation under every trial. 
 
 Do me the justice to believe that I shall never cease to pray for your 
 happiness, and to be, 
 
 Your much devoted 
 
 CAROLINE, 
 6 of May. 17P6.
 
 231 
 
 virtues may aggravate their enormity. No 
 such letter, therefore, in any construction of it, 
 no renunciation of conjugal affection or duties, 
 could ever palliate them. But whether con- 
 duct free from all crime, free from all indelicacy, 
 (which I maintain to be the character of tho 
 conduct to which Mrs. Lisle's observations 
 apply,) yet possibly not so measured, as a cau- 
 tious wife, careful to avoid the slightest appear- 
 ance, of not preferring her husband to all the 
 world, might be studious to observe. Whether 
 conductofsuch description, and possibly,in such 
 sense, not becoming a married woman, could be 
 justly deemed, in my situation, an offence in 
 me, 1 must leave to your Majesty to determine. 
 In making thatdetermination, however, it will 
 not escape your Majesty to consider, that the 
 conduct which does or does not become a mar- 
 ried woman materially depends upon what is, 
 or is not known by herto be agreeable to her hus- 
 band. His pleasure and happiness ought unques- 
 tionably to be her law ; and his approbation the 
 most favourite object of her pursuit. Different 
 characters of men, require different modes of 
 conduct in their wives, but when a wife can 
 no longer be capable of perceiving from time to 
 time, what is agreeable or offensive to her 
 husband, when her conduct can no longer con- 
 tribute to his happiness, no. longer hope to be 
 rewarded by his approbation, surely to examine 
 that conduct by the standard of what ought in
 
 532 
 
 general, to be the conduct ofa married woman, 
 is altogether unreasonable and unjust. 
 
 What then is my case ? Your Majesty will do 
 me the justice to remark, that, in the above 
 letter of the Prince of Wales, there is not the 
 most distant surmise, that crime, that vice, 
 that indelicacy of any description, gave occa- 
 sion to his determination ; and all the tales of 
 infamy and discredit, which the inventive malice 
 of mv enemies', has brought forward on these 
 
 */ O 
 
 charges, have their date, years, and years, after 
 the period to which I am now alluding. What 
 then, let me repeat the question, is my case? 
 After the receipt of the above letter, and in 
 about two years from my arrival in this country, 
 I had the misfortune entirely to lose the 
 support, the countenance, the protection of 
 my husband I was banished, as it were, into 
 a sort of humble retirement, at a distance from 
 him, arid almost estranged from the whole of 
 the Royal Family. I had no means of having 
 recourse, either for society or advice, to those, 
 from whom my inexperience could have best 
 received the advantages of the one, and with 
 whom I could, most becomingly, have enjoyed 
 the comforts of the other ; and if in this retired, 
 unassisted, unprotected state, without the 
 check of a husband's authority, without the 
 benefit of his advice, without the comfort and 
 support of the society of his family, a stranger to 
 the habits and fashions of this country, I should.
 
 233 
 
 iji any instance, under the influence of foreign ha- 
 bits, and foreign education, have observed a con- 
 duct, in any degree deviating from the reserve and 
 severity of British manners, and partaking of a 
 condescension and familiarity which that reserve 
 and severity would, perhaps, deem beneath the 
 dignity of my exalted rank, I feel confident, 
 (since such deviation will be seen to have been 
 ever consistent with perfect innocence), that not 
 only your Majesty's candour and indulgence, but 
 the candour and indulgence, which, notwithstand- 
 ing the reserve and severity of British manners, 
 always belong to the British Public, will nevJer* 
 visit it with seventy or censure. 
 
 It remains for me now to make some remarks 
 upon the further contents of the paper, which was 
 transmitted to me by the Lord Chancellor on the 
 28th ult. And I cannot in passing, omit to remark, 
 that that paper has neither title, date, signature, 
 nor attestation ; and unless the Lord Chancellor 
 had accompanied it with a note, stating that it 
 was copied in his own hand from the original, 
 which his Lordship had received from your Ma- 
 jesty, I should have been at a loss to have per- 
 ceived any single mark of authenticity belonging 
 to it, and as it is, I am wholly unable to discover 
 what is the true character which does belong 
 to it. It contains, indeed, the advice which your 
 Majesty's servants have offered to your Majesty, 
 and the message which, according to that advice, 
 yoar Majesty directed to be delivered to me.. 
 
 H h
 
 Considering it therefore, wholly as their act, 
 your Majesty will excuse and pardon me, if, 
 deeply injured as I feel myself to have been by 
 them, I express myself with freedom upon their 
 conduct. I may speak perhaps with warmth, be- 
 cause I am provoked by a sense of gross injus- 
 tice, I shall speak certainly with firmness and 
 with courage, because I am emboldened by a 
 sense of conscious innocence. 
 
 Your Majesty's confidential servants say, 
 *' they agree in the opinions of the four Lords," 
 and they say this, " after the fullest considera- 
 " tion of my observations, and of the affidavits 
 " which were annexed to them.'* Some of these 
 opinions, your Majesty will recollect, are, that 
 " William Cole, Fanny Lloyd, Robert Bidgood, 
 " and Mrs. Lisle are witnesses who cannot," in 
 the judgment of the four Lords, *' be suspected 
 " of any unfavourable bias ;" and " whose veracity 
 " in this respect they had seen no ground to ques- 
 tion ;' J and *' that the circumstances to which they 
 " speak, particularly as relating to Captain Man- 
 " by, must be credited until they are decisively 
 " contradicted. " Am I then to understand your 
 Majesty's confidential servants to: mean, that 
 they agree with the four Noble Lords in these 
 opinions ? Am I to understand, that, after hav- 
 ing read with the fullest consideration, the ob- 
 servations, which I/Jiave offered to your Majesty ; 
 after having seen William Cole there proved 
 to have submitted himself, five times, at least, to
 
 private, unauthorised, voluntary examination by 
 Sir John Douglas's Solicitor, for the express pur- 
 pose of confirming the statement of Lady Douglas, 
 (of that Lady Douglas, whose statement and depo- 
 sition they are convinced to be so malicious and 
 false, that they propose to institute such prosecu* 
 tion against her, as your Majesty's Law Officers 
 may advise, upon a reference, now at length, after 
 six months from the detection of that malice and 
 falsehood, intended to be made) after having 
 seen thisWilliam Cole, submitting to such repeated 
 voluntary examinations for such a purpose, and 
 although he was all that time a servant on my esta- 
 blishment, and eating my bread, yet never onee 
 communicating to me, that such examinations 
 were going on am I to understand, that your 
 Majesty's confidential servants agree with the four 
 Lords in thinking, that he cannot, under such 
 circumstances, be suspected of unfavourable bias ? 
 That after having had pointed out to them the 
 direct, fhit contradiction between the same Wil- 
 liam Cole and Fanny Lloyd, they nevertheless 
 agree to think them both (though in direct con- 
 tradiction to each other, yet both) witnesses, 
 whose veracity they see no ground to question ? 
 After having seen Fanny Lloyd directly and posi- 
 tively contradicted, in an assertio i, most inju- 
 rious to my honour, by Mr. Alills and Mr. 
 Edmeades, do they agree in opinion with the 
 four Noble Lords, that tb r < see no ground to 
 question their veracity?*- **;ter having read t ha
 
 236 
 
 observations on Mr. Bidgood's evidence : after 
 having seen, that he had the hardihood to swear, 
 that he believed Captain Manby slept in my 
 house, at Southend, and to insinuate that he 
 slept in my bed-room ; after having seen that he 
 founded himself on this most false fact, and most 
 fouland wickedinsinuation,upon the circumstance 
 of observing a bason and some bowels where he 
 thought they ought not to be placed ; after having 
 seen that this fact, and this insinuation were dis- 
 proved before the four noble Lords themselves, 
 by two maid-servants, who, at that time, lived 
 with me at Southend, and whose duties about my 
 person and my apartments, must have made them 
 acquainted with this fact, as asserted, or as insi- 
 nuated, if it had happened ; after having observed 
 too, in confirmation of their testimony,that one of 
 them mentionedthe name of another female servant 
 (who was not examined), who had, from her situa- 
 tion, equal means of knowledge with themselves - 
 1 ask whether, after all this decisive weight of con- 
 tradiction to Robert Bidgood's testimony, I am to 
 understand yourMajesry's confidential servants to 
 agree with the four Noble Lords in thinking, that 
 Mr. Bidgood is a witness, \vhocannot be suspected 
 of unfavourable bias, and that there is no ground 
 to question his veracity? If, Sire, I were to go 
 through all the remarks of this description, which 
 occur to me to make, I should be obliged to re- 
 peat nearly all my former observations, and to 
 makethis letter as long as rny original answer : bu
 
 237 
 
 to that answer I confidently appeal, andl willvefc 
 ture to challenge your Majesty's confidential ser- 
 vants to find a single impartial, and honourable 
 man, unconnected in feeling and interest with the 
 parties, and unconnected in Council, with those 
 who have already pledged themselves to an opinion 
 upon this subject, who will lay his hand upon his 
 heart, and say that these three witnesses, on whom 
 that Report so mainly relies, are not to be sus- 
 pected of the grossest partiality, and that their ve- 
 racity is not most fundamentally impeached. 
 
 Was it then noble, was it generous, was it manly, 
 was it just, in your Majesty's confidential servants, 
 instead of fairly admitting the injustice, which had 
 been, inadvertently, and unintentionally, no doubt, 
 done tome, by thefour Noble Lords in their Re- 
 port, upon the evidence of these witnesses, to state 
 to your Majesty, that they agree with these Noble 
 Lords in their opinion, though they rannot, it 
 seems, go the length of agreeing any longer to 
 withhold the advice, which restores me to your 
 Majesty's presence ? And with respect to the par- 
 ticulars to my prejudice, remarked upon in the 
 Report as those " which justly deserve the most 
 " serious consideration, and which tnustbe credited 
 " till decisively contradicted," instead of fairly 
 avowing, either that there was originally no pre- 
 tence for such a remark, or that, if there had been 
 originally, yet that my answer had given that de- 
 cisive contradiction which was sufiicient to discre- 
 dit them ; instead, I sav, of acting this just, honest,
 
 238 
 
 and open, part, to take no notice whatsoever of 
 those contradictions, and content themselves with 
 saying, that " none of the facts or allegations 
 " stated in preliminary examinations, carried on 
 " in the absence of the parties interested, could 
 44 be considered as legally or conclusively esta- 
 Wished ?" 
 
 They agree in the opinion that the facts or alle- 
 gations, though stated in preliminary examination, 
 carried on in the absence of the parties interested, 
 must be credited till decisively contradicted ', and 
 deserve the most serious consideration. They read, 
 with the fullest consideration, the contradiction 
 which I havetendereclto them ; they must have 
 known, that no other sort of contradiction could, 
 by possibility, from the nature of things, have been 
 offered upon such subjects : They do not question 
 the truth, they do not point out the insufficiency of 
 the contradiction, but, in loose, general, indefinite, 
 terms, referring to my answer, consisting, as it 
 does, of above two hundred written pages, and 
 coupling it with those examinations (which they 
 admit establish nothing against an absent party) 
 they advise your Majesty, that " there appear 
 " many circumstancesof conduct, which could not 
 " be regarded by your Majesty without serious 
 44 concern ;" and that, as to all the other facts and 
 allegations, except those relative to my pregnancy 
 and delivery, they arc not to be considered as 
 " legally and conclusively established" because 
 spoken to in preliminary examinations, not carried
 
 23-9 
 
 on in the presence of the parties concerned. They 
 do not, indeed, expressly assert, that my contra- 
 diction was not decisive or satisfactory ; they do 
 not expressly state, that they think the facts and 
 allegations want nothing towards their legal and 
 conclusive establishment, but a re-examination in 
 the presence of the parties interested, but they go 
 far to imply such opinions. That those opinions are 
 utterly untenable, against the observations I have 
 made, upon the credit and character of those wit- 
 nesses, I shall ever most confidently maintain ; but 
 that those 'observations leave their credit wholly 
 unaffected, and did not deserve the least notice 
 from your Majesty's servants, it is impossible 
 that any honourable man can assert, or any fair 
 and unprejudiced mind believe. 
 
 I now proceed, Sire, to observe, very shortly,, 
 upon the advice further given to your Majesty as 
 contained in the remaining part ofthe paper; which 
 has represented that, both in the examinations, and 
 even in my answer there have appeared many cir- 
 cumstances of conduct which could not be regard- 
 ed but with serious concern, and which have sug- 
 gested the expression of a desire and expectation, 
 that such a conduct may in future, be observed 
 by me, as may fully justify these marks of pater- 
 nal regard and affection, which your Majesty 
 wishes to shew to all your Royal Family. 
 
 And here, Sire, your Majesty will graciously per- 
 mit me to notice the hardship ofthe advice, which 
 has suggested to your Majesty, to convey to me
 
 2 tO 
 
 this reproof, t complain sot so much for what 
 it does, as for what it does not contain ; I mean 
 the absence of all particular mention of what it is, 
 that is the object of their blame. The circum- 
 stances of conduct which appear in these exami- 
 nations, and in my answer to which they allude 
 as those which may be supposed to justify the 
 advice, which has led to this reproof, since your 
 Majesty's servants have not particularly mention- 
 ed them, I cannot be certain -that 1 know. But 
 I will venture confidently to repeat the assertion, 
 which I have already made, that there are no 
 circumstances of conduct spoken to by any wit- 
 ness, (whose infamy and discredit are .not unan- 
 swerably exposed, and established,) nor any where 
 apparent in my answer which have the remotest 
 approach, either to crime or to indelicacy. 
 
 For my future conduct, Sire, impressed with 
 every sense of gratitude for all former kindness, I 
 shall be bound unquestionably, by sentiment as 
 well as duty, to study your Majesty's pleasure. 
 Any advice which your Majesty may wish to give 
 to me in respect of any particulars in my conduct, 
 I shall be bound, and be anxious to obey as my 
 law. But I must trust that your Majesty will 
 point out to me the particulars, which may happen 
 to displease you, and which you may wish to have 
 altered. I shall be as happy, in thus feeling myself 
 safe from blame under the benefit of your Majes- 
 ty's advice, as I am now in finding myself secured 
 from danger, under the protection of your justice
 
 Your Majesty will permit me to add one 
 word more. 
 
 Your Majesty lias seen what detriment my 
 character has, for a time, sustained, by the false 
 and malicious statement of Lady Douglas, and 
 by the depositions of the witnesses who were ex- 
 amined in support of her statement. Your Ma- 
 jesty has seen how many enemies I have, and how 
 little their malice has been restrained by any re- 
 gard to truth in the pursuit of my ruin. Few, 
 as it may be hoped, may be the instances of 
 such determined, and unprovoked, malignity, 
 yet, I cannot flatter myself, that the world does 
 not produce other persons, who may be swayed 
 by similar motives to similar wickedness. Whe- 
 ther the statement to be prepared by the Prince 
 of Wales, is to be confined to the old charges, 
 or is intended to bring forward new circum- 
 stances, I cannot tell ; but if any fresh attempts 
 of the same nature shall be made by my accusers, 
 instructed as they will have been, by their 
 carriage in this instance, I can hardly hope that 
 they will not renew their charge, with an im- 
 proved artifice, more skilfully directed, and 
 with a malice, inflamed rather than abated, by 
 their previous disappointment. I therefore 
 can only appeal to your Majesty's justice, in 
 which I confidently trust, that whether these 
 charges are to be renewed against me either on 
 the old or on fresh evidence ; or whether new 
 accusations, as well as new witnesses, are to be 
 
 brought forward, your Majesty, after the experi- 
 
 I i
 
 242 
 
 ence, of these proceedings, will not suffer your 
 Royal mind to be prejudiced by ex parte, secret 
 examinations, nor my character to be whispered 
 away by insinuations, or suggestions which I 
 have no opportunity of meeting. If any charge, 
 which the law will recognize, should be brought 
 against me in an open and legal manner, I 
 should have no right to complain, nor any ap- 
 prehension to meet it. But till I may have a full 
 opportunity of so meeting it, I trust your Ma- 
 jesty will not suffer it to excite even a suspicion 
 to my prejudice. I must claim the benefit of 
 the presumption of innocence till I am proved to 
 be guilty, for, without that presumption, against 
 the effects of secret insinuation and ex parte ex- 
 aminations, the purest innocence can make no de- 
 fence, and can have no security. 
 
 Surrouuded, as it is now proved, that I have 
 been, for years, by domestic spies, your Majesty 
 must, I trust, feel convinced, that if I had been 
 guilty there could not have been wanting evi- 
 dence to have proved my guilt. And that 
 these spies have beeu obliged to have resort 
 to their own invention, for the support of the 
 charge, is the strongest demonstration that the 
 truth', undisguised, and correctly represented, 
 could furnish them with no handle against 
 me. And when I consider the nature and ma- 
 lignity of that conspiracy, which, I feel confi- 
 dent I have completely detected and exposed, 
 I cannot but think of that detection, with the 
 liveliest gratitude, as the special blessingof Pro-
 
 vidence, who, by confounding; the machinations 
 oftny enemies, has enabled me to find, in the very 
 excess and extravagance of their malice, in the 
 Tery weapons, which they fabricated and 
 sharpened for my destruction, the sufficient 
 guard to my innocence, and the effectual means 
 of my justification and defence. 
 
 I trust therefore, Sirr, that I may now close 
 this long letter, in confidence that many, days 
 will not elapse before I shall receive from your 
 Majesty, that assurance that my just requests 
 may be so completely granted, as may render it 
 possible for me (which nothing else can) to 
 avoid the painful disclosure to the world of 
 ad the circumstances of that injustice, and of 
 those unmerited sufferings, which these pro- 
 ceedings, inf the manner in which they have been 
 conducted, have brought upon me. 
 I remain, 
 
 Sire, 
 
 With everv sentiment of gratitude. 
 Your Majesty's most dutiful, 
 most submissive Daughler-in-la\y> 
 
 Subject and Servant, 
 (Signed) C. P. 
 
 Montague Honse> 
 February 16, 1807, 
 
 As these observations apply not onlj r to tbe 
 communication through the Lord Chap-
 
 244 
 
 eellor, of the 28th ult. ; but also to the private 
 letterof your Majesty, of the 12th instant, I have 
 thought it most respectful to your Majesty and 
 your Majesty's servants, to send this letter in 
 duplicate, one part through Colonel Taylor, 
 and the other through the Lord Chancellor, to 
 your Majesty. 
 
 (Signed) C. P 
 
 To the King. 
 iuo f .-n oil *jvi- 
 
 i "* 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 SlUE, 
 
 When I lasttroubledyour Majesty upon my 
 unfortunate business, I had raised my mind to 
 hope, that I should have the happiness of hear- 
 ing from your Majesty, and receiving your gra- 
 cious commands, to pay my duty in your Royal 
 presence, before the expiration of the last 
 week. And when that hone was disappointed, 
 (eagerly clinging to any idea, which offered me 
 j> prospect of being saved from the neces- 
 sity of having recourse, for the vindication of 
 my character, to t!te publication of the proceed- 
 ings upon the Inquiry into my Conduct,) I 
 thought it just possible, that the reason for n;y 
 not having received your Majesty's commands ta 
 that effect, might have been occasioned by the 
 circumstance of your Majesty's staying at Wind- 
 ^or through the whole of the week, f, therefore,
 
 24.1 
 
 determined to wait a few days longer, before 1 
 took a step, which, when once taken, could not 
 be recalled. Having, however, now assured 
 myself, that your Majesty was in town yester- 
 day as I have received no command to wait 
 upon your Majesty, and no intimation of your 
 pleasure I am reduced to the necessity of 
 abandoning all hope, that your Majesty will 
 comply with my humble, my earnest, and 
 anxious requests. 
 
 Your Majesty therefore, will not be surprised 
 to find, that the publication of the Proceedings 
 alluded to, will not be withheld beyond Mon- 
 day next. 
 
 As to any consequences which may arise 
 from such publication, unpleasant or hurtful to 
 my own feelings and interests, 1 may, perhaps, 
 be properly responsible ; and, in any event, 
 have no one to complain of but myself, and 
 those with whose advice I have acted ; and 
 whatever those consequences may be, I am 
 fully and unalterably convinced, that they must 
 be incalculably less than those, which I should 
 be exposed to from my silence : But as to any 
 other consequences, unpleasant or hurtful to 
 the feelings and interests of others, or of the 
 public, my conscience will certainly acquit me 
 of them ; I am confident that I have not act- 
 ed impatiently, or precipitately. To avoid 
 coining to this painful extremity I have taken 
 every step in my power, except that which
 
 246 
 
 Would be abandoning my character to utter in- 
 famy, and my station and life to no uncertain 
 danger, and possibly, to no very distant de- 
 struction. 
 
 With every prayer, for the lengthened conti- 
 nuance of your Majesty's health and happiness ; 
 for every possible blessing, which a Gracious 
 God can bestow upon the beloved Monarch of 
 a loyal People; and for the continued pros- 
 perity of your dominions, under your Majesty's 
 propitious reign, 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Your Majesty's 
 
 Most dutiful, loyal, and affectionate, 
 but most unhappy, and most injured 
 Daughtcr-in-Law, Subject, and Servant. 
 
 C. P. 
 Montague House^ March o, 1 807. 
 
 To the Kin<r.
 
 APPENDIXES
 
 APPENDIX (A). 
 
 (No. 1.) 
 
 GEORGE R. 
 
 \VHEREAS Our right trusty and well-beloved Coun- 
 cillor Thomas Lord fyskine, Our Chancellor, has this 
 day laid before Us an Abstract of certain written Decla- 
 rations touching the Conduct of Her Royal Highness the 
 Princess of Wales: We do hereby authorize, empower, 
 and direct, the said Thomas Lord Erskine, Our Chan- 
 cellor; Our right trusty and right well beloved Cousin 
 and Councillor George John Earl Spencer, one of Our 
 Principal Secretaries of State; Our right trusty and well- 
 beloved Councillor William Wyndham Lord Grenville, 
 First Commissioner of Our Treasury ; and Our right 
 trusty and well-beloved Councillor Edward Lord Ellen- 
 borough, Our Chief Justice to hold Pleas before Ourself, 
 to inquire into the truth of the same, and to examine 
 upon oath such Persons as they shall see fit, touching 
 and concerning the same, and to report to Us the result 
 /such Examinations. 
 
 Given at Our Castle of Windsor, on the twenty- 
 ninth day of May, in the forty-sixth year of 
 Our Reign. 
 
 G. R. 
 
 A true Copy, 
 /.
 
 1 APPENDIX (A), 
 
 (No. 2.) 
 The Deposition of Charlotte Lady Douglas* 
 
 I THINK I first became acquainted with the Princes* 
 of Wales in 1801. Sir John Douglas had a house at 
 Blackheath. One day in November, 1801, the snow was 
 lying on the ground \ the Princess and a Lady, who I be- 
 lieve was Miss Hey man, came on foot and walked se- 
 veral times before the door. Lady Stewart was with me, 
 and said she thought the Princess* wanted something, and 
 that I ought to go to her. I went to her; she said she did 
 not want any thing, but she would walk in; that I had a 
 very pretty little girl. She came in, and staid some time. 
 About a fortnight after, Sir John Douglas and I received 
 ,an invitation to go to Montague House. After that I 
 was very frequently at Montague House, and dined 
 there; the Princess dined frequently with us. About 
 May or June, 1802, the Princess first talked with me 
 about her own conduct. Sir Sidney Smith, who had beeo 
 Sir John's friend 1 for more than twenty years, came to 
 England about November, 1801, and carne to live in our 
 house. I understood that the Princess knew Sir Sidney 
 Smith before she was Princess of Wales. The Princes 
 saw Sir Sidney Smith as frequently as ourselves. We 
 were usually kept at Montague House later than the rest 
 of the party; often till three or four o'clock in the mom- 
 ing. I never observed any impropriety of conduct be- 
 tween Sir Sidney Smith and the Princess. I made the 
 Princess a visit to Meutcigue House in March, 1802, fop 
 about a fortnight. She dt sired me to come there because 
 Miss Garth was ill. In May or June following, the Prin- 
 cess oame to my house alone; she said she came to tell 
 me something that had happened to her, and desired me 
 to guess. I guessed several things, and at last I said I
 
 1 
 
 I APPENDIX (A). 3 
 
 could not guess any thing more. She then said that she 
 was pregnant, and that the child had come to life. I 
 don't know whether she said on that day, or a few days 
 before, that she was at breakfast at Lady Willoughby's, 
 that the milk flowed up to her breast, and came through 
 her gown ; that she threw a napkin over herself, and went 
 with Lady Wilknighby into her room and adjusted her- 
 elf, to present its being observed. She never told me 
 who was the father of the child. She said she hoped it 
 would be a boy. She sajd, that if it was d.scovered, she 
 would give the Prince of Wales the credit of being the 
 father, for she had slept two nights at Carlton House 
 within the year. I said that I should go abroad to my 
 Mother. The Princess said that she should manage it 
 very well; and if things came to the worst, she would 
 give the Prince the credit of it. While I was at Montague 
 House in March, I was with child, and one day I said 
 that I was very sick, and the Princess desired Mrs. Sander 
 to get me a saline draught. She then said tnat she was 
 rery sick herself, and that she would take a saline draught 
 too. I observed that she could not want one, and I looked 
 at her. The Princess said, Yes, I do; what do you look 
 at me for, with your wicked eyes? you are always finding 
 me out. Mrs. Sander looked very much distressed; she 
 gave us a saline draughteach. This was the first time that 
 I had any suspicion of her being with child. The Princess 
 never said who was the father. When she first told me 
 she was with child, I rather suspected that Sir Sidney 
 was the father, but only because the Princess was very 
 partial to him. I never knew that he was with her alone. 
 We had constant intercourse with the Princess, from the 
 time when I was at Montague House till the end of Oc- 
 tober. After that she had first communicated to me 
 that she was with child, she frequently spoke upon the 
 subject. She was bled twice during the time. She re- 
 commended to me to be bled too, and said that it made
 
 4 ATFF.ND1X (A). 
 
 you have a better time. Mr. Edmeadcs bled her. Sh 
 $nid one of the days that Mr. Edmeades bled her, that 
 she had a violent heat in her blood, and that Mr. Ed- 
 meades should bleed her. I told the Princess I was very 
 anxious how she would manage to be brought to bed 
 without its being known; that [ hoped she had a safe 
 person. She said yes, she should have a person from 
 abroad ; that she had a great horror of having any man 
 about her on such an occasion. She said, " I am confident 
 in my own plans, and I wish you would not speak with 
 me on that subject again." She said, " I shall tell every 
 thing to Sander." I think this was on the day on which 
 she told me of what had happened at Lady Witloughby's. 
 That Sander was a very good woman, and might be 
 trusted, and that she must be with her at the labour; that 
 she would send Miss Gouch to Brunswick ; and Miss 
 Millfield was too young to be trusted, nnd must be sent 
 cut of the way. I was brought to bed on the 23d of 
 July, 1802; the Princess insisted on being present; I de- 
 termined that she should not, but 1 meant to avoid it 
 without offending her. On the day on which I was 
 brought to bed, she came to my house, and insisted on 
 coming in; Dr. Mackie, who attended me, locked the 
 door, and said she should not come in ; but there was ano- 
 ther door on the opposite side of the room, which was 
 not locked, and she came in that door, and was present 
 during the time of the labour, and took the child as soon 
 as it was born, and said that she was very glad that she 
 had seen the whole, of it. The Princess's pregnancy ap- 
 peared to me to be very visible; she wore a cushion be- 
 hind, and she made Miss Sander make one for me. Dur- 
 ing my lying-in, the Princess came one day with Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald ; she sent Mrs. Fitzgerald away, and took a 
 chair and sat by my bedside. She said, " You will hear 
 of my taking children In baskets, but you wont take any 
 notice of it; I shall have them brought by a poor woman
 
 APPENDIX (A). 5 
 
 in a basket; I shall do it as a cover to have my own 
 brought to me in that way," or, " that is the way in which 
 I must have my own brought when I have it." Very soon 
 after this, two children, who were twins, were brought 
 by a poor woman, in a basket. The Princess took them 
 and had them carried up into her room, and the Princess 
 washed them herself. The Princess told me this herself. 
 The father, a few days afterwards, came and insisted upon 
 having the children, and they were given to him. The 
 Princess afterwards said to me, You see I took the chil* 
 dren, and it answered very well; the father had got them 
 back, and she could not blame him ; that she should take 
 other children, and should have quite a nursery. I saw 
 the Princess on a Sunday, either the 30th or 3 1st of Octo- 
 ber, 180-2, walking before her door. She was dressed so 
 as to conceal her pregnancy ; she had a long cloak and a 
 tery great muff. She had just returned from Greenwich 
 Church; she 'ooked very ill, and I thought must be very 
 near her time. About a week, or nine or ten days after 
 this, I received a note from the Princess, to desire that I 
 would not come to Montague House, for they were ap* 
 prehensive that the children she had taken had had the 
 measles in their clothes, and that she was afraid my child 
 might take it. When the Princess came to see rne during 
 my lying in, she told me, that when she should be brought 
 to bed, she wished I would not come to her for some 
 time, for she might be confused in seeing me. About 
 the end of December I went to Gloucestershire, and 
 stayed there about a month. When I returned, which 
 was in January, I went to Montague House, and was let 
 in. The Princess was packing up something in a black 
 box. Upon the sofa a child was lying, covered with a 
 piece of red cloth. The Princess got up and took me by 
 the hand; she then led me to the sofa, and said, '* There 
 is the child, I had him only two days after I saw you." 
 The words were, either, " I had him," or, " I wai brought
 
 6 APPENDIX (A). 
 
 to bed." The words were such as clearly imported that 
 it was her own child. She said she got very well through 
 it. She shewed me a mark on the child's hand; it is a 
 pink mark. The Princess said, " she has a mark like 
 your little girl." I saw the child afterwards frequently 
 with the Princess, quite till Christmas, 1803, w en I left 
 Blackheath. I saw the mark upon the child's hand, and I 
 am sure that it was the same child. I never saw any other 
 child there. Princess Charlotte used to see the child, 
 and play with him. The child used to call the Princes* 
 of Wales Mamma. I saw the child looking at the win- 
 dow of the Princess's house about a month ago, before the 
 Princess went into Devonshire, and I am sure that it was 
 the same child. Not long after I had first seen the child, 
 the Princess said that she had the child at first to sleep 
 with her for a few nights, but it made her nervous, and 
 now they had got a regular nurse for her. She said, <: We 
 gave it a little milk at first, but it was too much for me, 
 and now we breed it by hand, and it does very well." I 
 can swear positively that the child I saw at the window is 
 the same child as the Princess told me she had two days 
 after she parted with me. The child was called William. 
 I never heard that it had any other name. When the 
 child was in long clothes, we breakfasted one day with 
 the Princess, and she said to Sir John Douglas, " This is 
 the Deptford boy." Independently of the Princess's con- 
 fessions to me, I can swear that she was pregnant in 1802. 
 In October, 1804, when we returned from Devonshire, I 
 left my card at Montague House, and on the 4th of Octo- 
 ber I received a letter from Mrs. Vernon, desiring me not 
 to come any more to Montague House. I had never at 
 this time mentioned the Princess's being with child, or 
 being delivered of a child, to any person, not even to Sir 
 John Douglas. After receiving Mrs. Vernon's letter, I 
 wrote to the Princess on the subject. The letter was sent 
 back unopened. I then wrote to Mrs. Fitzgerald, saying
 
 APPENDIX (A). 7 
 
 that I thought myself extremely ill-used. In two or three 
 days after this I received an anonymous letter, which I 
 produce, and have marked with the letter A,* and sign- 
 ed with my name both on the letter and the envelope. 
 The Princess of Wales has told me that she got a bed- 
 fellow whenever she could; that nothing was more whole- 
 some. She said that nothing AVBS more convenient than 
 her room ; it stands at the head of the staircase which 
 leads into the Park, and I have bolts in the inside, and 
 have a bedfellow whenever I like. I wonder you can be 
 satisfied only with Sir John." She has said this more 
 than once. She has told me that Sir Sidney Smith had 
 lain with her; that she believed all men liked a bedfel- 
 low, but Sir Sidney better than any body else; that the 
 Prince was the most complaisant man in the world ; that 
 he did what she liked, went where she liked, and 
 had what bedfellows she liked, and the Prince paid for 
 all. 
 
 CHARLOTTE DOUGLASL 
 June 1, 1805. 
 
 Sworn before us, June 1, 1806, at Lord Greuville'a, 
 in Downing-street, Westminster. 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 A true Copy, SPENCER, 
 
 J. Bcket. GRENVILLE, 
 
 ELLENBOROUGH. 
 
 * No copy of this letter bas be scat te her Roy ai Highness the Prince* 
 f Wales.
 
 $ APPENDIX (A). 
 
 (No. S.) 
 The Deposition of Sir John Douglas, Knt. 
 
 I HAD a house at Blackheath in 1801. Sir Sidney used 
 to come to my house. I had a bed for him. The Prin- 
 cess of Wales formed an acquaintance with Lady Dou- 
 glas, and came frequently to our house. I thought she 
 came more for Sir Sidney Smith than for us. After she had 
 been some time acquainted with us, she appeared to me 
 to be with child. One day she leaned on the sofa, and 
 put her hand upon her stomach, and said, " Sir John, I 
 shall never be queen of England." I said, " Not if you 
 don't deserve it." She seemed angry at first. In 1804, 
 on the 27th of October, I received two letters by the two- 
 penny post, one addressed to me, which I now produce, 
 and have marked with the letter (B)* both on the enve- 
 lope and the inclosure, and the other letter addressed to 
 Lady Douglas, arid which I now produce, and have 
 marked with the letter (C)* both on the envelope and the 
 inclosure. 
 
 (Signed) JOHN DOUGLAS. 
 
 June 1st. 
 
 Sworn before us, at Lord Grenville's house, in Down- 
 ing-street, Westminster, June 1st, 1806. 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 A. true Copy, SPENCER, 
 
 J. Becket. GREN VILL E, 
 
 ELLENBOROUGH, 
 
 * No copy of these letters, or either of them, kas bn seat to her Roy< 
 Highness the Princess of Wales.
 
 (No. 4.) 
 The Deposition of Robert Bidgood, 
 
 I HAVE lived with the Prince twenty-three years in next 
 September. I went to the Princess in March, 1798, and 
 liave lived with her Royal Highness ever since. A bout the 
 year 1802, early in that year, I first observed Sir Sidney 
 Smith come to Montague House. He used to stay very 
 late at night. I have seen him early in the morning there, 
 about ten or eleven o'clock. He was at Sir John Doug- 
 las's, and was in the habit, as well as Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas, of dining or having luncheon, or supping there 
 almost every day. I saw Sir Sidney Smith one day in 
 1802, in the blue room, about eleven o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, which is full two hours before we expected ever to see 
 company. I asked the servants why they did not let me 
 know that he was there. The footmen informed me that 
 they had let no person in. There was a private door to 
 the Park by which he might have come in if he had a key 
 to it, and have got into the blue room without any of the 
 servants perceiving him. I never observed any appear- 
 ance of the Princess, which could lead me to suppose she 
 was with child. I first observed Captain Manby come to 
 Montague House, either the end of 1803, or beginning 
 of 1804. I was waiting one day in the anti-room, Cap- 
 tain Manby had his hat in his hand and appeared to be 
 going away. He was a long time with the Princess, an4 
 as I stood on the steps waiting, I looked into the room in 
 which they were, and in the reflection in the looking- 
 glass I saw them salute each other. I mean that they kis- 
 sed each other's lips. Captain Manby then went away. I 
 then observed the Princess have her handkerchief in her 
 hands and wipe her eyes as if she was crying, and wer. 
 
 *C 

 
 10 
 
 into the drawing-room. The Princess went to Southend 
 in May 1804. I went with her. We were there I believe 
 about six weeks before the Africaine came in. Sicarcl was 
 very often watching with a glass to see when the ship would 
 arrive. One day he said he saw the Africaine, and soon 
 after the Captain put off in a boat from the ship. Sicard 
 went down the shrubbery to meet him. When the Cap- 
 tain came on shore, Sicard conducted him to the Princess's 
 House, and he dined there, with the Princess and her La- 
 dies. After this became very frequently to see the Prin- 
 cess. The Princess had two houses on the Cliff, Nos. 8 
 and 9. She afterwards took the drawing room of No. 7, 
 which communicated by the balcony with No. 8. The 
 three houses being adjoining, the Princess used to dine in 
 No. S, and after dinner to remove with the company into 
 No. 7, and I have several times seen the Princess, after 
 having gone into No. 7 with Captain Manby and the rest 
 of the company, retire alone with Captain Manby from 
 No. 7, through No 8, into No. 9, which was the house in 
 which the Princess slept. I suspected that CaptainManby 
 slept frequently in the hovse. It was a subject of conver- 
 sation in the house. Hints were given by the servants, and 
 I believe that others suspected it as well as myself. Tb 
 Princess took a child which I understood was brought 
 into the house by Stikeman. I waited only one week in 
 three, and I was not thereat the time the child was brought, 
 but I saw it there early in 1803. The child who is now 
 with the Princess is the same as I saw there early in 1803. 
 It has a mark in its left hand. Austin is the name of the 
 man who was said to be the father. Austin's wife is I 
 believe still alive. She has had another child, and has 
 brought it sometimes to Montague House. It is very like 
 the child who lives with the Princess. Mrs. Gosden was 
 employed as a nurse to the child, and she used to bring 
 the dhild to the Princess as soon as the Princess woke, 
 and the child used to stay with her Royal Highness the
 
 11 
 
 whole morninsr. The Princess appeared to be extremely 
 fond of the child, and still appears so. 
 
 R. BIDGOCm. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Downing-street, 
 the sixth day of June, 180G. 
 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE. 
 
 (No. 5.) 
 The Deposition of William Cole. 
 
 1 HAVE lived with the Princess of Wales ever since hei 
 marriage. Sir Sidney Smith first visited at Montague 
 House about 1802. I have observed the Princess too fa- 
 miliar with Sir Sidney Smith. One day, I think about Fe- 
 bruary in that year, the Princess ordered some sandwiches. 
 I carried them in the Blue Room to her. Sir Sidney 
 Smith was there. I was surprised to see him there he 
 must have come in from the Park. If he had been let in 
 from Blackheath he must have passed through the room 
 in which I was waiting. When I had left the sandwiches, 
 I returned after some time into the room, and Sir Sidney 
 Smith was sitting very close to the Princess on the sofa, 
 I looked at him, and at her Royal Highness. She caught 
 my eye, and saw that I noticed the manner in which they 
 were sitting together. They appeared both a little confu- 
 sed when I came into the room. A short time before this, 
 one night about twelve o'clock, I saw a man go into the 
 house from the Park, wrapt up in a great coat. I did not
 
 12 
 
 give any alarm, for the impression on my mind was, that 
 it was not a thief. Soon after I had s; j en the Princess and 
 Sir Sidney Smith sitting together on the sofa. The Duke 
 of Kent sentf6r me, and told me that the Princess would 
 he very glad if I would do the duty in town, because she 
 had business to do in town, which she would rather trust 
 to me than any body else The Duke said that the Princess 
 had thought it would be more agreeable to me to be told 
 this by him than through Sicard. After this I never at- 
 tended at Montague house, but occasionally when the 
 Princess sent for me. About July, 1802,1 observed that 
 the Princess ,had grown very large ; and in the latter end 
 of the same year she appeared to be grown thin, and I 
 observed it to Miss Sander, who said that the Princess was 
 much thinner than she had been. I had not any idea of 
 the Princess being with child. Mr. Lawrence, the painter, 
 used to go to Montague House about the latter end of 
 1801, when he was pa'inting the Princess, and he has slept 
 in the house two or three nights together, I have often 
 seen him alone with the Princess at eleven and twelve 
 o'clock at night. He has been there as late as one and 
 two o'clock in the morning. One night I saw him with 
 the Princess in the Blue Room, after the ladies had re- 
 tired. Some time afterwards when I supposed that he 
 had gone to his room, I went to see that all was safe, and 
 J found the Blue Room door locked, and heard a whisper- 
 ing in it, and I went away. 
 
 WM. COLE. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Downing-street, 
 the sixth day of June, 180S, before us, 
 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE.
 
 13 
 
 (No. 6.) 
 The Deposition of Frances Lloyd. 
 
 I HAVE lived twelve years with the Princess of Wales 
 next October. I am in the Coffee-room. My situation ia 
 the Coffee-room does not give me opportunities of seeing 
 the Princess. I don't see her sometimes for months. Mr. 
 Mills attended me for a cold. He asked me ii the Prince 
 came to Blackheath, backwards and forwards, or some- 
 thing to that effect, for the Princess was with child, or 
 looked as if she was with child. This must have been three 
 or four years ago. It may have been five years ago. I 
 think it must have been some time before the child was 
 brought to the Princess. I remember the child being 
 brought. It was brought into my room. I had orders 
 sent to me to give the mother arrow root, with directions 
 how to make it, to wean the child, and I gave it to the 
 mother, and she took the child away. Afterwards the 
 mother brought the child back again. Whether tt was a 
 week, ten days, or a fortnight, I cannot say, but it might 
 be about that time. The second time the mother brought 
 the child, she brought it into my room. I asked her, how 
 a mother could part with her child. I am not sure which 
 time I asked this. The mother cried, and said she could 
 not afford to keep it. The child was said to be about 
 four months old when it was brought. I did not parti- 
 cularly observe it myself. 
 
 FRANCES LLOYD. ! 
 
 I was at Ramsgate with the Princess in 1503. One 
 morning, when we were in the house at East Cliff, >ome 
 body, I dpn't recollect who, knocked at my door, and de- 
 sired me to get up to prepare breakfast for the Princess. 
 Tbii was about six. o'clock. I was asleep. During the
 
 whole time I was in the Princess's service, I had never 
 been called up before to make breakfast for the Princess. 
 I slept in the housekeeper's room on the ground-floor. I 
 opened the shutters of the window for light. . I knew at 
 that time that Captain Manby's ship was in the Downs. 
 When I opened the shutters I saw the Princess walking 
 down the garden with a gentleman. She was walking down 
 the gravel walk towards the sea. No orders had been 
 given me over night to prepare breakfast early. The 
 gentleman the Princess was walking with was a tall man. 
 I was surprised to see the Princess walking with agentle- 
 rnan, at that time in the morning. I ani sure it was the 
 Princess. While we were at Blackheath, a woman at 
 Charlton, of the name of Townly, told me that she had 
 some linen to wash from the Princess's house. That the 
 linen was marked with the appearance of a miscarriage or 
 delivery. The woman has since left Charlton, but she has 
 friends there. I think it must have been before the child 
 was brought to the Princess, that the woman told us this. 
 I know all the women in the Princess's house. I don't 
 think that any of them were in a state of pregnancy, and if 
 any had, I think I must have known it. I never told Cole 
 that Mary Wilson, when she supposed the Princess to 
 be in the library, had gone into the Princess's bedroom, 
 and had found a man there at breakfast with the Prin- 
 cess ; or that there was a great to do about it, and that 
 Mary Wilson was sworn to secresy and threatened to be 
 turned away if she divulged what she had seen. 
 
 FRANCES LLOYD. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Downtng-strect, 
 the seventh day of June, 1806, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER. 
 GREN\aLLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH,
 
 15 
 
 (No. 7.) 
 
 The Deposition of Mary Ann Wilson. 
 
 * 
 
 I BELIEVE it will be ten years next quarter, that I hare 
 lived with the Princess of Wales, as housemaid. I wait oa 
 the ladies who attend the Princess. I remember when the 
 child who is now with the Princess, was brought there. 
 Before it came I heard say that it was to come. The mo- 
 ther brought the child. It appeared to be about four 
 months old when it was brought. I remember twins being 
 brought to the Princess, before this child was brought. I 
 never noticed the Princess's shape to be different in that 
 year from what it was before. I never had thought that 
 the Princess was with child. I have heard it reported. It 
 is a good while ago. I never myself suspected her being 
 with child. I think she could not have been with child, and 
 have gone on to her time without my knowing it I was at 
 Southend with the Princess. Captain Manby used to visit 
 the Princess there. I make the Princess's bed, and have 
 been in the habit of making it ever since I lived with Her. 
 Royal Highness. Another maid, whose name is Ann Bye, 
 assisted with me in making the bed. From what I ob- 
 served I never had any reason to believe that two persons 
 had slept in the bed. I never saw any particular appear- 
 ance in it. The linen was washed by Stikeman's wife. 
 
 MARY WILSON. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Downing-street, 
 the seventh of June, 1806, before us 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH-
 
 16 
 
 (No. 8.) 
 The Deposition of Samuel Roberts. 
 
 I A M a footman to the Princess of Wales. I remember 
 the child being taken by the Princess. I never observed 
 any particular appearance of the Princess in that year 
 nothing that led me to believe that she was with child. Sir 
 Sidney Smith used to visit the Princess at Blackheath. I 
 never saw him alone with the Princess. He never stayed 
 after eleven o'clock. I recollect Mr. Coleonce asking me, 
 I think three years ago, whether there were any favourites 
 in th^- family. I remember saying, that Captain Manby 
 and Sir Sidney Smith were frequently at Blackheath, and 
 dined there oftener than other persons. I never knew Sir 
 Sidney Smith stny later than the ladies. I cannot say ex- 
 actly at what hour he went, but I never remember his 
 Staying alone with the Princess. 
 
 SAMUEL ROBERTS. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Down ing-street, 
 the seventh day of June, 1806, before us. 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE. 
 ELLENBOROUGH, 

 
 17 
 
 (No. 9.) 
 
 % 
 
 The Deposition of Thomas Stikeman. 
 
 I HAVE been Page to the Princess of Wales ever since 
 (she has been in England. When I first saw the Child 
 who is with the Princess, it is about four years ago. Her 
 Royal Highness had a strong desire to have an infant, 
 which I and all the house knew. I heard there was a wo- 
 man who had twins, one of which the Princess was de- 
 sirous to have, but. the parents would not part with it. A 
 woman came to the door with a petition to get her hus- 
 band replaced in the Dock Yard, who had been removed. 
 She had a child with her. I took the child, I believe, 
 and shewed it to Mrs. Sander. I then returned the child 
 to the woman, and made inquiries after the father, and 
 afterwards desired the woman to bring the child again to 
 the house, which she did. The child was taken to the 
 Princess. After the Princess had seen it, she desired the 
 woman to take it again and bring it back in a few days, and 
 Mrs. Sander was desired to provide linen for it. Within 
 a few days the child was brought again by the mother, 
 and was left, and has been with the Princess ever since. 
 I don't recollect the child had any mark; but upon reflec- 
 tion I do recollect that the mother said he was marked 
 with elder wine on the hand. The father of the child, 
 whose name is Austin, lives with me at Pimlico. My 
 wife is a laundress, and washed the linen of the Prince. 
 Austin is employed to turn a mangle for me. The child 
 was born in Brownlow-street, and it was baptized there ; 
 but I only know this from the mother. The mother has 
 since lain-in a second time in Brownlow-street. I never 
 saw the woman to my knowledge before she came with, 
 the petition to the door. I had no particular directioni 
 
 * D
 
 18 
 
 by the Princess to procure a child. I thought it better to 
 take the child of persons of good character, than the 
 child of a pauper. Nothing led me, from the appear- 
 ance of the Princess, to suppose that she was with child, 
 but from hershape it is difficult to judge when she is with 
 child. When she was with child of the Princess Char- 
 lotte, I should not have known it when she was far ad- 
 vanced in her time, if I had not been told it. Sir Sidney 
 Smith at one time visited very frequently at Montague 
 House, two or three times a week. At the time the 
 Princess was altering her rooms in the Turkish style, Sir 
 Sidney Smith's visits were very frequent. The Princess 
 consulted him upon them. Mr. Morell was the uphol- 
 sterer. Sir Sidney Smith came frequently alone. He 
 stayed alone with the Princess sometimes till eleven 
 o'clock at night. He has been there till twelve o'clock, 
 and after, I believe alone with the Princess. The Prin- 
 cess is of that lively vivacity, that she makes herself fa- 
 Tniliar with gentlemen, which prevented my being struck 
 with his staying so late. I do not believe that at that 
 time any other gentleman visited the Princess so fre- 
 quently, or stayed so late. I have seen the Princess 
 when they were alone sitting with Sir Sidney Smith on 
 the same sofa in the Blue Room. I had access to the 
 Blue Room at all times. There was an inner room which 
 opened into the Blue Room. When that room was not 
 lighted up, I did not go into it, and did not consider that 
 I had a right to go into it. I had no idea on what ac- 
 count I was brought here. I did not know that the Prin- 
 cess's conduct was questioned or questionable. I was 
 with the Princess at Ramsgate. When she was at East 
 Cliff, Captain Manby was very frequently there ; went 
 away as late at night as eleven o'clock. I don't remember 
 Fanny Lloyd being called up any morning to make break- 
 fast for the Princess. I did not like Captain Manby com- 
 ing so oiten, ai.d staying so late, and I was uneasy at it.
 
 19 
 
 I remember a piece of plate, a silver lamp, being sent to 
 Captain Manby. I saw it in Sicard's possession. He 
 told me it was for Captain Manby, and he had a letter to 
 send with it. I have never seen Captain Manby at N e 
 Princess's at Ramsgate before nine o'clock in the m rn- 
 ing, but I have heard he has been there earlier. I had 
 never any suspicions of there being any thing im roper, 
 either from the frequent visits of Captain Manby, o r 
 
 from his conduct. I was at CatheringtOn with the Prin- 
 
 
 
 cess. She used to go out generally in her own chaise. I 
 think I have once or twice seen her go with Mr. H -od in 
 his one-horse chaise. They have been out for two hours, 
 or two hours and a half, together. I believe only a day 
 or two elapsed between the time of the child being first 
 brought, and being then brought back again, ai.d left 
 \vith the Princess. I am sure the child was not weaned 
 after it had been first brought. I don't recollect any 
 gentleman ever sleeping in the house, I don't remember 
 Lawrence the painter ever sleeping there. The Princess 
 seems very fond of the child. It is always called William 
 Austin. 
 
 THOS. STIKEMAN. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's house in Downing-street, 
 the seventh day of June, 1806, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVlLLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH
 
 (No. 10.) 
 
 The Deposition of John Sicard* 
 
 I HAVE lived seven years with the Princess of Wales, 
 am house-steward, and have been in that situation from 
 the end of six months after I first lived with Her Royal 
 Highness. I remember the child who is now with the 
 Princess of Wales being brought there. It was about five 
 months old when it was brought It is about four year* 
 ago, just before we went to Ramsgate. I had not the 
 least suspicion of the object of my being brought here. 
 I had opportunity of seeing the Princess frequently. I 
 waited on her at dinner and supper. I never observed 
 that the Princess had the appearance of being with child. 
 I think it was hardly possible that she should have been 
 with child without my perceiving it. Sir Sidney Smith 
 used to visit very frequently at 'Montague House in 1S02, 
 with Sir John and Lady Douglas. He was very often, I 
 believe, alone with the Princess, and so was Mr. ( 'arming, 
 and other gentlemen. I cannot say that I ever suspected 
 Sir Sidney Smith of any improper conduct with the Prin- 
 cess. I never had any suspicion of the Princess acting 
 improperly with Sir Sidney Smith or any other gentleman. 
 I remember Captain Manby visiting at Montague' House* 
 The Princess of Wales did not pay for the expence of 
 fitting up his cabin, but the linen furniture was ordered 
 by me, by direction of the Princess, of Newberry and 
 Jones. It was put by Newberry and Jones in the Prin- 
 cess's bill, and was paid for with the rest of the bill by 
 Miss Heyman. 
 
 JOHN SICARD, 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's house in Downing-street, 
 the seven'h day of June, 1SO<>, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH.
 
 st 
 (No. 11.) 
 
 The Deposition of Charlotte Sander. 
 
 I HAVE lived with the Princess of Wales eleven years, 
 I am a native of Brunswick, and came with the Princes* 
 from Brunswick. The Princess has a little boy living with 
 her under her protection. He had a mark on his hand, 
 but it is worn off. I first saw him four years ago, in the 
 autumn. The father and mother of the child are still 
 nlive. I have seen them both. The father worked in the 
 Dock Yarcl at Deptibrd, but has now lost the use of his 
 limbs. The father's name is Austin. The mother brought 
 the child to.the Princess when he was four months old. 
 I was present when the child was brought to the Princess. 
 She was in her own room up stairs when the child was 
 brought. She came out and took the child herself. I 
 understood that the child was expected before it was 
 brought. I am^sure that I never saw the child in the 
 house before it appeared to be four months old. The 
 Princess was not ill or indisposed iiVthe autumn of 1802. 
 I was dresser to Her Royal Highness. She could not be 
 ill or indisposed without my knowing it. I am sure that 
 she was not confined to her room or to her bed in that 
 autumn. There was not to my knowledge any other child 
 in the house. It was hardly possible there could have 
 been a child there without my knowing it. I have no re- 
 collection that the Princess had grown bigger in the year 
 1802 than usual. I am sure the Princess was not preg- 
 nant. Being her dresser, I must have seen it if she was. 
 I solemnly and positively swear I have no reason to know 
 or believe that the Princess of Wales has been at any 
 time pregnant during the lime I have lived with Her 
 Royal Highness at Montague House. I may have said 
 to Cole that the Princess was grown much thinner, bull
 
 22 
 
 don't recollect that I did. I never heard any body lay 
 any thing about the Princess being pregnant till I came 
 hereto-day. I did not expect to be asked any question 
 to-day respecting the Princess being pregnant. Nobody 
 came over to the Princess from Germany in the autumn 
 ef 1SC2 to my knowledge. Her Royal Highness was 
 generally blooded twice in a year, but not lately. I never 
 toad any reason to suppose that the Princess received 
 the visits of any gentleman at improper hours. Sir Sid- 
 ney Smith visited her frequently, and almost daily. He 
 was there very late, sometimes till two o'clock in the 
 morning. I never saw Sir Sidney Smith in a room alone 
 with the Princess late at night. I never saw any thing 
 which led me to suppose that Sir Sidney Smith \vas on a 
 very familiar footing with the Princess ofWalee. I at- 
 tended the Princess of Wales to Southend. She had 
 two houses, No. 9 and No. 8. I knew Captain Manby. 
 He commanded the Africaine. He visited the Princess. 
 While his ship was there, he -was frequently with the 
 Princess. I don't know or believe, and I have no reason 
 to believe, that Captain Manby staid till very late hours 
 with the Princess, I never suspected that there was any 
 improper familiarity between them. I never expressed to 
 any body a wish that Captain Manby's visits were not so 
 frequent. If the Princess had company, I was never 
 present. The Princess was at Ramsgate in 1803. I have 
 seen Captain Manby there frequently. He came to the 
 Princess's House to dinner. He never stayed till late at 
 night at the Princess's house. I was in Devonshire with 
 the Princess lately. There was no one officer that she 
 saw when she was in Devonshire more than the rest. I 
 never heard from the Princess that she apprehended her 
 conduct was questioned. When I was brought here I 
 thought I might be questioned respecting the Princess's 
 conduct, and I was sorry to come. I don't know why I 
 thought so. I oever saw any thing in the conduct of the
 
 Princess while I lived with her, which would have made 
 me uneasy if I had been her husband. When I was at 
 Southend I dined in the Steward's room. I can't say 
 whether I ever heard any body in the Steward's room say 
 any thing about the Captain, meaning Captain Manby. 
 It is so long ago I may have forgot it. I have seen Cap- 
 tain Manby alone with the Princess at No. 9, in the draw- 
 ing-room at Southend. I have seen it only once or twice. 
 It was at two or three o'clock in the afternoon, and never 
 later. I slept in a room next to the Princess in the 
 house, No. 9. at Southend. I never saw Captain Manby 
 in any part of that house but the drawing room. I have 
 no reason to believe he was in any other room in the 
 house. I was at Catheriugion with the Princess. She 
 was at Mr. Hood's house. I never saw any familiarity 
 between her and Mr. Hood. I have seen her drive out: 
 in Mr. Hood'i carriage with him alone. It was a gig. 
 They used to be absent for several hours. A servant of 
 the Princess attended them. I have delivered packets by 
 the order of the Princess, which she gave me sealed up, 
 to Sicard, to be by him forwarded to Captain Manby. 
 The birth-day of the child who lis'es with the Princess is 
 the llth of July, as his mother told me. She says that 
 he was christened at Deptford. The child had a mark on 
 the hand. The mother told me that it was from red wine. 
 I believe the child came to the Princess in November. 
 
 C. SANDER. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's house in Downing-street, 
 the seventh day of June, 1SOG. 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH.
 
 (No. 12.) 
 Deposition of Sophia Austin. 
 
 I know the child which is now with the Princess of 
 'Wales. 1 am the mother of it. I was delivered of it 
 four years ago, the llth of July next, at Brownlow-street 
 Hospital. I have lain in there three times. William, 
 who is with the Princess, is the second child I laid in of 
 there. It was marked in the right hand with ,red wine. 
 My husband was a labourer in the Dock-yard at Dept- 
 ford. When peace was proclaimed, a number of the 
 workmen were discharged, and my husband was one who 
 was discharged. I went to the Princess with a petition 
 on a Saturday, to try to get my husband restored. I 
 lived at that time at Deptford New-row, No. 7, with a 
 person of the name of Bearblock. He was a milkman, 
 The day I went to the Princess with the petition was a 
 fortnight, before the (5th of November. Mr. Benneta 
 baker in New-street was our dealer, and I took the child 
 to Mr. Bennet's when I went to receive my husband's 
 wages every week from the time I left the Hospital till 
 I carried the child to the Princess. I knew Mr. Stike- 
 man only by having seen him once before, when I went 
 to apply for a letter to Brownlow-street Hospital. When 
 Twent to Montague House, I desired Mr. Stikeman to 
 present my petition. He said they were denied to do 
 'such things, but seeing me with a baby he could do no 
 less. He then took the child from me, and was a long 
 time gone. He then brought me back the child, and 
 brought Half-a-guinea which the ladies sent me. He 
 s'lid if the child had been younger he could have got it 
 taken care of for me, but desired that I would come up 
 .again, I went up again on the Monday following, and
 
 I saw Mr. Stikerrian. Mr. Stikeman afterwards came 
 several times to us, and appointed me to take the child to 
 Montague House on the 5th of November, but it rained 
 all day, and I did not take it. Mr. Stikeman came down 
 tome on the Saturday the 6th of November, and I took 
 the child on that day to the Princess's house. The Prin- 
 cess was out. I waited till she returned. She saw the 
 child and asked it's age. I went down into the coffee- 
 roonl, and they gave me some arrow-root to wean the 
 child ; for I was suckling the child at this time, and when 
 I had weaned the child I was to bring it and leave' it 
 with the Princess. I did wean the child, and brought 
 it to the Princess's house on the loth of November, arid 
 left it there, and it has been with the Princess ever since 
 I saw the child last Whit-Monday, and I Swear that it is 
 my child. 
 
 SOPHIA AtJSTIN. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's house in Downing-street^ 
 the seventh day of June, 1806, before us, 
 
 -ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH. 
 
 (No. 13.) 
 
 20th June, 1806. 
 MY LORD, 
 
 IN consequence of certain inquiries directed by his 
 Majesty, Lady Douglas, wife of Sir John Douglas of the 
 Marines, has deposed upon oath that she was told by her 
 
 *E
 
 26 
 
 Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, that at a break, 
 fast at Lady Willoughby's house in May or June, 1802. 
 
 &c. 
 
 [Extract from Lady Douglas's Deposition**] 
 
 It being material to ascertain as far as possible the 
 truth of this fact, I am to request, that your Lordship 
 will have the goodness to desire Lady Willoughby to put 
 down in writing every circumstance in any manner rela- 
 tive thereto (if any such there be) of which her Ladyship 
 has any recollection ; and also to apprize me, for his 
 Majesty's information, whether at any time, during the 
 course of the above-mentioned year, Lady Willoughby 
 observed any such alteration in the Princess's shape, or 
 any other circumstances, as might induce her Ladyship 
 to believe that Her Royal Highness was then pregnant. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 SPENCER. 
 
 (No. 14.) 
 
 y 21st June, 1306. 
 
 Mv DEAR LORD, 
 
 In obedience to your commands I lost no time in com- 
 municating to Lady Willoughby the important subject of 
 your private letter, dated the 20th instant, and I have the 
 honourof enclosing a letter to your Lordship from Lady 
 
 Willoughby. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 GWYDIR.
 
 27 
 (No. 15.) 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 IN obedience to the command contained in your Lord- 
 ship's letter communicated to me by Lord Gwydir, I 
 have the honour to inform you, that I have no recollec- 
 tion whatever of the fact stated to have taken place, du- 
 ring a breakfast at Whitehall in May or June 1802; 
 nor do I bear in mind any particular circumstances rela- 
 tive to her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales at the 
 period to which you allude. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 WILLOUGHBY. 
 June 21, 1806. 
 EARL SPENCER. 
 
 (No. 16) 
 
 Extract from the Register of the Births and Bap 
 tisms of Children born in the Brownlow-street 
 Lying-in Hospital. 
 
 Born 1802, Baptized, 
 
 May, 
 8, Thomas, of Richard and Elizabeth Austin, 20 
 
 July, 
 
 11, William, of Samuel and Sophia Austin, 15 
 
 The above are the only two entries under the name of 
 Austin, about the period in question, and were extracted 
 by me. No description of the children is preserved. 
 
 CHARLES WATKIN WILLIAMS WYNN, 
 June 23, 180<3,
 
 38 
 (No. 170 
 
 The Deposition of Elizabeth Gosden. 
 
 I AM the wife of Francis Gosden, who is a servant of 
 -the Princess of Wales, and has lived with her Roya,l 
 Highness eleven years. In November, 1802, I was sent 
 -for to the Princess's house to look after a little child ; I 
 understood that he had been then nine days in the house. 
 I was nurse to the child. One of the ladies, I think 
 Miss Sander, delivered the child tome, and told me her 
 Royal Highness wished me to take care of him. The 
 child never slept with the Princess. I sometimes used 
 to take him to the Princess before she was up, and leave 
 him with her on her bed. The child had a mark on 
 the hand, it appeared to be a stain of wine, but is now 
 worn out. I was about a year and three quarters with the 
 child. The mother used to come often to see him. I 
 never saw the Princess dress the child, or take off its 
 things herself; but she has seen me do it. The child is 
 not so much with the Princess pqw as he was. 
 
 ELIZ. GOSDEN. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's house in Downing street, 
 tfie 23d day of June, 1806, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRENVILLE, 
 ELJLENBOROUGH,
 
 (No. 18.) 
 
 Deposition of Betty Townley. 
 
 I LIVED at Charlton sixteen years, and till within the 
 last two years, I was a laundress, and used to wash 
 linen for the Princess of Wales' s family. After the Prin- 
 cess left Charlton and went to Blackheath, I used to go 
 over to Blackheath to fetch the linen to wash. I have 
 had linen from the Princess's house the same as other 
 ladies: I mean that there were such appearances on it as 
 might arise from natural causes to which women are sub- 
 ject. I never washed the Princess's own bed-linen, but 
 once or twice occasionally. I recollect one bundle of 
 linen once coining which I thought rather more marked 
 than usual. They told me that the Princess had been 
 bled with leeches, and it dirtied the linen more : the ser- 
 vants told me so, but I dont remember who the servants 
 were that told me so. I recollect once, I came to town 
 and left the linen with my daughter to wash ; 1 looked 
 at the clothes slowly before I went, and counted them, 
 and my daughter, and a woman she employed with her 
 washed them while I was in town. I thought when I 
 looked them over, that there might be something more 
 than usual. My opinion was, that it was from a miscar- 
 riage. The linen had the appearance of a miscarriage, I 
 believed it at the time. They were fine damask napkins, 
 and some of them marked with a little red crown in the 
 corner, and some without marks. I might mention it to 
 Fanny Lloyd. I don't ' recollect when this was, but it 
 must be more than two years and a half ago ; for I did 
 not wash for the Princess's family but very little for the 
 last six months. Mary Wilson used to give me the 
 linen, and I bejieve it was she who told me that the 
 Princess was bled with leeches ; but the appearance of 
 the Unea wUich I have spoken of before, was different
 
 30 
 
 i'rom that which it was said was stained by bleeding with 
 leeches. I remember the child coining. 1 used to wash 
 the linen for the child, and Mrs. Gosden who nursed the 
 child, used to pay me tor it. I kept a book, in which I 
 entered the linen I washed. I am not sure whether I have 
 it still ; but, if I have, it is in a chest at my daughters, at 
 Charlton, and I will produce it if J can hud it. 
 
 B. TOWNLEY. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Downing-street, 
 the '23d day of June, 1SOO', before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER. 
 GRENVILLE, 
 ELLEN BOROUGH, 
 
 (No. 10.) 
 
 Deposition of Thomas Edmeades^ of Greenwich^ 
 Surgeon and Apothecary. 
 
 J AM a surgeon and apothecary at Greenwich, and was 
 appointed the surgeon and apothecary of the Princess of 
 Wales, in 1801. From that time I have attended her 
 Royal Highness and her household. I knew Fanny Lloyd 
 who attended in the coffee-room, at the Princess's. I have 
 frequently attended her for colds. I do not recollect that I 
 ever said any thing toher respectiug the Princess of Wales. 
 It never once entered my thoughts while I attended 
 the Princess, that she was pregnant. 1 never said that she 
 was so to Ffcany Lloyd. I have bled the Princess twice;
 
 the second bleeding was in 1802, and it was in the June 
 quarter, as appears by the book I kept. I don't know 
 what she was bled for it was at her own desire it was 
 not by any medical advice. I was unwilling to do it, but 
 she wished it. If I recollect, she complained of a pain in 
 her chest, but I don't remember that she had any illness. 
 I did not use to bleed her twice a year. I certainly saw 
 Her Royal Highness in Nov. 1802, 1 saw her on the 16th 
 of November, but 1 had not any idea of her being then with 
 child. I did not attend her on the 16th November, but I 
 saw her then ; I was visiting a child (a male child,) from 
 Deptford. I have no recollection of having seen the Prin- 
 cess in October, 1802. The child must have been from 
 three to five months old when I first ?aw it. I have no 
 recollection of the Princess having been ill about the end 
 of October, 1802. I have visited the child very often 
 since, and i have always understood it to be the same- 
 child. The Princess used sometimes to send for leeches, 
 and had them from me. I don't think that I attended the 
 Princess, or saw her often, in the summer and autumn of 
 1802. I had not the sole care of the Princess's health dur- 
 ing the time I have spoken of. Sir Francis Millinan afc* 
 tended her occasionally. 
 
 THOMAS EDMEADES. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Downing-street, 
 the 25th day of June, 18Q6, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 GRFNVILLE, 
 ELLENBOROUGH.
 
 (No. 20.) 
 
 Deposition of Samuel Gillani Mills, ofGreenwich t 
 Surgeon. 
 
 I AM a surgeon at Greenwich ; have been in partnership 
 with Mr. Edmeades since 1SOO. Before he was my part- 
 ner 1 attended the Princess of Wales's Family from the 
 time of her coming to Blackheath from Charlton, I was 
 appointed by the Princess her surgeon, in April, 1801, by 
 a written appointment, arid from that time I never at- 
 tended Her Royal Highness, or any of the servants, in my 
 medical capacity, except that I once attended Miss Gouch, 
 and once MissMillfield. There was a child brought to the 
 Princess while I attended her. I was called upon to exa- 
 mine the child. It was a girl. It must have been in 1801, 
 or thereabouts. The child afterwards had the measles, 
 and 1 attended her. When first I saw the child, 1 think it 
 must have been about ten months old. It must have been 
 prior to April, 1801. 1 understood that the child was taken 
 through charity. I remember that there was a female ser- 
 vant who attended in the coffee-room. I never said to that 
 woman, or to any other person, that the Princess was with 
 child, or looked as if she was with child, and I never 
 thought so, or surmised any thing of the kind. 1 was 
 once sent for by her Royal Highness to bleed her. I was 
 not at home, and Mr. Edmeades bled her. I had bled her 
 two or three times before ; it was by direction of Sir Fran- 
 cis Millman. It was for an inflammation she had on the 
 lungs. As much as I knew it was not usual for the Prin- 
 cess to be bled twice a year. I don't know that any other 
 medical person attended her at the time that I did, nor do 
 I believe that there did; I don't know that Sir Francis 
 Millman had advised that she should be blooded at the 
 time that I was sent for and was not at home, nor what 
 was the cause of her being then blooded. I do recollect
 
 S3 
 
 something of having attended the servant who was in the 
 coffee-room, for a cold, but I am sure I never said to her 
 that the Princess was with child, or looked as if she was so. 
 I have known that the Princess has frequently sent to Mr. 
 Edmeades for leeches. When I saw the female child, Mrs. 
 Sander was in the room, and some other servants, but I 
 don't recollect who. I was sent for to see whether there 
 was any disease about the child to see whether it was a 
 healthy child, as her Royal Highness meant to take it 
 under her patronage. The child could just walk alone. 
 I saw the child frequently afterwards. It was at one time 
 with Bidgood, and another time with Gosden and his 
 wife. I don't recollect that the Princess was by at any 
 time when I saw the qjiild. I never saw the child in Mon- 
 tague House when I attended it as a patient, but when I 
 was first sent for to see if the child had any disease, it was 
 in Montague House. 
 
 SAMUEL GILLAM MILLS. 
 
 Sworn at Lord Grenville's House in Down ing-street, 
 the 25th day of June, 1806, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 A true Copy, GRENVILLE, 
 
 J. Becket. ELLENBOROUGH. 
 
 (No. 21.) 
 Deposition of Harriet Fitzgerald. 
 
 I CAME first to live with the Princess of Wales in 1801, 
 merely as^a friend and companion, and have continued to 
 live with her Royal Highness to this time. I know Lady 
 
 * F
 
 34 
 
 Douglas. I remember her lying in. It happened by ac- 
 cident that her Royal Highness was in the house at the 
 time of Lady Douglas's delivery. I think it wis in July, 
 1802. I was there myself. The Princess wa:s riot in the 
 room at the time Lady Douglas was delivered. There was 
 certainly no appearance of the Princess being pregnant at 
 that time. I saw the Princess at that time every day, and 
 at all hours. I believe it to be quite impossible that the 
 Princess should have been with chi Id without my observing 
 it. I never was at a breakfast with the Princess at Lady 
 Wil lough by 's. The Princess took a little girl into the 
 house about nine years ago. I was not in the house at the 
 time. I was in the house when the boy, who is now there, 
 was brought there. She had said before openly that she 
 should like to have a child, and she had asked the servant 
 who brought the child, if he knew of any persons who 
 would part with a child. I was at Southend with the Prin- 
 ces--. I remember Captain Man by being there sometimes. 
 lie was not there very often. He used to comeat different 
 hours, as the tide served. He dined there, but never 
 stayed late. I was at Southend all the time the Princess 
 was there. I cannot recollect that I have seen Captain 
 Manby there, or known him to be there, later than nine, 
 or half after nine. I never knew of any correspondence by 
 letter with him when he was abroad. I don't recollect to 
 have seen him ever early in the morning at the Princess's. 
 I was at Ramsgate with the Princess. Captain Manby 
 may have dined there once. He never slept there to my 
 knowledge, nor do I believe he did. The Princess rises at 
 diifeient hours, seldom before ten or eleven. I never knew 
 her up at six o'clock in the morning. If she had been up 
 so early I should not hav.e known it, not being up so early 
 luyss-.lf. I remember the Princess giving Captain Manby 
 an ink-stand. He had. the care of two boys whom she 
 protected. I can't say irhaV Captain Manby did not sleep 
 at SqjUhend. He may have slept iu the village, but I be-
 
 35 
 
 lieve he never slept in the Princess's house. I was at Ca- 
 therington with the Princess. I remember her Royal 
 Highness goine out in an open carriage with the present 
 Lord Hood. I believe Lord Hood's servant attended 
 them. There was only one servant, and no other carriage 
 with them. I was at Dawlish this summer with the Prin- 
 cess, and afterwards at Mount Edgcombe. The Princess 
 sa\v a great deal of company there. Sir Richard Strachan 
 used to come there. I don't know what was the cause of 
 his discontinui-ng his visits there. I remember Sir Sidney 
 Smith being frequently at Montague House. He was 
 sometimes there as late as twelve and one o'clock in the 
 morning, but never alone that I know of. The Princess 
 was not in the room when Lady Douglas was brought to 
 bed. I know she was not, because I was in the room my- 
 self when Lady Douglas was delivered. Dr. Mackie of 
 Lewisham, was the accoucheur. I don't recollect Sir 
 Sidney Smith ever being alone with the Princess in the 
 evening. It may have happened, but I don't know that 
 it did. I used to sit with the Princess always in the even- 
 ing, but not in the morning. I was with the Princess in 
 the Isle of Wight. Mr. Hood and Lord Amelius Beau- 
 clerc were there with her. She went there from Ports- 
 mouth. 
 
 HARRIET FITZGERALD. 
 
 Sworn before us at Lord Grenville's House in Down- 
 ing-street, the 27th day of June, 1806, before us, 
 
 ERSKINE, 
 SPENCER, 
 A true Copy, GRENVILLE, 
 
 J. Becket. ELLENBOR0UGH.
 
 (No. 22.) 
 
 Whitehall, July 1, 1806. 
 MY LORD, 
 
 THE extreme importance of the business on which I 
 have before troubled your Lordship and Lady Wil- 
 loughby, makes it the indispensable duty of the persons 
 to whom his Majesty has entrusted the Enquiry, fur- 
 ther to request that her Ladyship will have the goodness 
 to return in writing, distinct and separate answers to the 
 exclosed Queries. They beg leave to add, that in the 
 discharge of the trust committed to them, they have been 
 obliged to examine upon oath the several persons to whose 
 testimony they have thought it right to have recourse ou 
 this occasion. They have been unwilling to give Lady 
 Willoughby the trouble of so long a journey for that pur- 
 pose, well knowing the full reliance which may be placed 
 on every thing which shall be stated by her Ladyship in 
 this form. But on her return to tovyn it may probably be 
 judged necessary, for the sake of uniformity in this most 
 important proceeding, that she sho,uld be so good as to 
 confirm on oath, the truth of the written answers re- 
 quested from her Ladyship. 
 
 (No Signature in the original}
 
 37 
 
 (No. 23,) 
 
 
 
 Sidmouth^uty 3, 180S. 
 
 MY LOUD, 
 
 I IMMEDIATELY communicated to Lady Willoughby 
 the Queries transmitted to me in the envelope of a letter 
 dated July the first, which I had the honour to receive 
 this day from your Lordship. I return the Queries with 
 Lady Willoughby's Answers in her own hand-writing. 
 
 We are both truly sensible of your Lordship's kind at- 
 tention in not requiring Lady Willoughby's personal at- 
 tendance. She will most readily obey the Order of the 
 Council, should her presence become necessary. 
 
 1 have the honour, &c. 
 
 GWYDIR. 
 
 f o Earl Spencer, $c. fyc. fyc. 
 
 true Copy, 
 /. Beckct. 
 
 (No. 24.) 
 
 Queries. Answers. 
 
 1. Does Lady Willough- 1. In the eourseof the 
 
 by remember seeing the last ten years the Princess 
 
 Princess of Wales at break- of Wales has frequently 
 
 fast or dinner at her house, done me the honour to 
 
 either at Whitehall or Bee- breakfastand dine at White-
 
 ketrriam, en or about the 
 months of May or June, 
 1802? 
 
 hall, and Langley, in Kent. 
 Her Royal Highness may 
 have been at my house in 
 the months of May or June, 
 1802, but of the periods at 
 which I had the hoaour of 
 receiving her, I have no 
 precise recollection. 
 
 2. Has- her Ladyship any 
 leeo-llection of the circum- 
 stance of her Royal High- 
 ness having retired from the 
 company at such breakfast 
 or dinner, on account, or 
 imder the pretence, of hav- 
 ing spilt any thing over her 
 handkerchief? And if so, 
 did Lady Willoughbyattend 
 her Royal Highness on that 
 occasion? and what then 
 passed between them rela- 
 tive to that circumstance? 
 
 2. I do not remember 
 her Royal Highness hav- 
 ing at any time retired 
 from the company either at 
 Whitehall, or a-t Langley, 
 under the pretence of hav- 
 ing spilt any thing over her 
 handkerchief. 
 
 3. Had Lady Willoughby 
 frequent opportunities in 
 the course of that year, to 
 gee her Royal Highness 
 the Princess of Wales, and 
 at what periods? And did 
 she at any time during the 
 year, observe any appear- 
 ance, which led her to sus- 
 pect that the Princess of 
 Wales was pregnant ? 
 
 3. To the best of 1113^ re- 
 membrance I had few op- 
 portunities of seeing the 
 Princess of Wales in the 
 year 1802, and I do not re- 
 collect having observed any 
 particularcircumstances re- 
 lative to her Royal High- 
 ness's appearance.
 
 A. Is Lady Willoughby 
 acquainted with any other 
 circumstances leadingto the 
 *ame conclusion, or tending 
 to establish the fact of a 
 criminal intercourse, or im- 
 proper familiarity between 
 her Royal Highness and 
 any other person whatever? 
 and if so, what are they ? 
 
 4. During the ten years 
 I have had the honour of 
 knowing the Princess of 
 Wales, I do not bear in 
 mind a singlte instance of 
 her Royal Highftess's con- 
 duct in society towards any 
 individual, tending to esta- 
 blish the fact of a criminal 
 intercourse, or improper 
 familiarity. 
 
 WILLOUGHBV. 
 
 (No. 2.5.) 
 
 Robert Bid good- further Deposition. 
 
 THE Princess used to go out in her phaeton with coach- 
 man and helper, towards Long Reach, e ; ght or ten 
 time?, carrying luncheon and wine with her, when Cap- 
 tain Manby'.s ship was at Long Reach always Mrs. Fitz- 
 gerald with her She would go out at one, and return 
 about five or six sometimes sooner or later. The day 
 the Ai'ricaine sailed from Southend the Princess ordered 
 us to pack up for Blackheath next morning. Captain 
 Man by there three times a week at the least, whilst his 
 ship lay for six weeks off Southend at the Nore he came 
 as tide served used to come in a morning, and dine and 
 drink tea. I have seen him next morning by ten o'clock. 
 I suspected he slept at Xo. 9, the Princess's she always 
 put. out the candles herself in the drawing-room at No. 9, 
 and bid me not wait to put them up ; she gave me the or-
 
 40 
 
 ders as soon as she went to SouthencU I used to see 
 water-jugs, basons, and towels, set out opposite the 
 Princess's door, in the p .sage, never saw them so left 
 in the passage at any other time ; and I suspected he was 
 there at those times. There was a general suspicion 
 throughout the house. Mrs. and Miss Fitzgerald there, 
 and Miss Hammond (now Lady Hood) there. My sus- 
 picions arose from seeing them in the glasses kiss each 
 other, as I mentioned before, like people fond of each 
 other a very close kiss. Her behaviour like that of a 
 woman attached to a man ; used to be by themselves at 
 luncheon at Southend when ladies not sent for a num- 
 ber of times. There was a poney which Captain Manby 
 used to ride ; it stood in the stable ready for him, and 
 which Sicard used to ride. 
 
 The servants used to talk and laugh about Captain 
 Mnnby, it was matter of discourse amongst them, I lived 
 there when Sir Sidney Smith came, her manner with him 
 appeared very familiar. She appeared very attentive to 
 him, but I did not suspect any thing farther. All the up- 
 per servants had keys of the doors to the Park to let her 
 Royal Highness in and out. I used to see Sicard receive 
 letters from Mrs. Sander to put in the post instead of the 
 bag. This was after Captain Manby was gone to sea, 
 I suspected this to be for Captain Manby, and others in 
 the house suspected the same. 
 
 (Signed) R. BIDGOOD. 
 
 Sworn before us in Downing-street, this third day 
 of July. 
 
 (Signed) ERSKINE, 
 
 SPENCER, 
 A true Copy, GRENVILLE, 
 
 J. Eeckei. ELL EN BOROUGH.
 
 41 
 
 (No. 26.) 
 Sir Francis Miltman's Deposition 
 
 I ATTENDED the Princess of Wales in the spring and 
 latter end of the year 1802, i. e. in March, knd towards 
 the autumn. Mr. Mills of Greenwich attended then as 
 her Royal Highness's apothecary, and Mr. Mills and his 
 partner Mr. Edmeades have attended since. I do not 
 know that any other medical person attended at that time 
 cither as apothecary or physician. In March, 1802, I 
 attended her for a sore throat and fever. In 1803, in 
 April, I attended her Royal Highness again, with Sir 
 Walter Farquhar. I dont know whether she was blooded 
 in 1802. She was with difficulty persuaded to be blooded 
 in 1803 for a pain in her chest, saying she had not been 
 blooded before ; that they could not find a vein in her 
 arm. I saw no mark on her arm of her having been 
 blooded before. I observed her Royal Highness's person 
 at the end of that year 1802. Never observed then, or 
 at any other time, any thing which induced me to think 
 her Royal Highness was in a pregnant situation. I think 
 it is impossible she should in that year have been deli- 
 vered of a child without my observing it. She during 
 that year, and at all times,' was in the habit of receiving 
 ;he visits of the Duke of Gloucester. 
 
 I never attended her Royal Highness but on extraor- 
 dinary illnesses. Her Royal Highness has, for the last 
 year and half, had her prescriptions mude up at Walker 
 and Youug's, St. Jaraes's-street. 
 
 *G
 
 42 
 
 If she had been a pregnant woman in June, 1*302, 1 
 could not have helped observing it. 
 
 FR. MILMAX. 
 
 Sworn before us in Downing-street, July 3d, 180S, by 
 the said Sir Francis Mil man. 
 
 ERSKIXE, 
 SPEXCKR, 
 A true Copy, GREXVILLE, 
 
 J. Becktt* ELLEXBOROUGH. 
 
 CNo. 27.) 
 
 The Deposition of Mrs. Lisle. 
 
 1 (HESTER LISLE) am in the Princess of Wales's fa- 
 mily ; have been so ever since her Royal Highness's mar- 
 fiage. I was not at Southend w ; th the Princess was at 
 Blackheath with her in 1802, but am not perfectly sure 
 as to date. I am generally a month at a time (three months 
 in the year) with her Royal Highness; in April, August, 
 and December ; was so in August, 1802. I did not ob- 
 serve any alteration in her Royal Highness's shape which 
 gave me any idea that she was pregnant. I had no reason 
 to know or believe that she was pregnant. During my 
 attendance, hardly a day passes without my seeing her. 
 She could not have been far advanced in pregnancy 
 without my knowing it. I was at East Cliff with her 
 Royal Highness in August, 1S03. I saw Captain Manby 
 only once at East Cliff, iu August, 1803, to the best of my
 
 43 
 
 recollection. He might have been oftener: and once again 
 at Deal Castle. Captain Manby landed there with some 
 boys the Princess takes on charity. I saw Captain Man- 
 by at East Cliff' one morning, not particularly early. I 
 don't know of any presents which the Princess made Cap- 
 tain Manby have seen Captain Manby at Blackheath 
 one Christmas. He used to come to dine the Christmas 
 before we were at llamsgate it was the Christmas after 
 Mrs. Austin's child came. He always went away in my 
 presence ; I had no reason to think he staid after we, the 
 ladies, retired. He lodged on the Heath at that time I 
 believe his ship was fitting up at Deptford. He was 
 there frequently, I think not every day he generally 
 came to dinner three or four times a week or more I 
 suppose he might be alone with her, but the Princess is 
 in the habit of seeing gentlemen and tradesmen without 
 my being present. I have sten him at luncheon and din- 
 ner both. The boys came with him, not to dinner, and 
 not generally : not above two or three times two boys ; 
 I think Sir Sidney Smith came also frequently the 
 Christmas before that, to the best of my recollection. At 
 dinner, when Captain Manby dined, he always sat next 
 her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. The constant 
 company \vere, Mrs. and Miss Fitzgerald and myself, 
 we all retired with the Princess and sat in the same room. 
 He generally retired about eleven o'clock : he sat with us 
 till then. This occurred three or four times a week, or 
 more. Her Royal Highness, the Lady in waiting, and her 
 Page, have each a key of the door from the Greenhouse 
 to the Park. Captain Manby and the Princess used, 
 when we were together, to be speaking together separately 
 conversing separately, but not in a room alone together, 
 to my knowledge. He was a person with whom she ap- 
 peared to have greater pleasure in talking than to her la- 
 dies. She behaved to him only as any woman v/ould
 
 44 
 
 who likes flirting. I should not have thought any mnri 
 ried woman would have behaved properly who should 
 have behaved as her Royal Highness did to Captain 
 Manby. 1 can't say whether she was attached to Captain 
 Man by, only that it was a flirting conduct. Never saw 
 any gallantries, as kissing her hand, or the like. 
 
 I was with her Royal Highness at Lady Sheffield's last 
 Christmas, in Sussex. I inquired what company was there 
 when I came. She said only Mr. John Chester, who was 
 there by her Royal Highness's orders ; that she could get 
 no other company to meet her, on account of the roads 
 and season of the year. He dined and slept there that 
 night. The next day other company came ; Mr. Chester 
 remained. I heard her Royal Highness s;y she had been ill 
 in the night, and came and lighted her candle in her ser- 
 vant's room. I returned from ShetField-place to Black* 
 heath with the Princess Captain Moore dined there I 
 left him and the Princess twice alone, fora short time 
 hettiight be alone half an hour with her, in the room be- 
 low, in which we had been sitting I went to look for a 
 book, to complete a set her Royal Highness was lending 
 Captain Moore. She made him a present of an inkstand, 
 to the best of my recollection, He was there one morn- 
 ing in January last, on the Princess Charlotte's birth-day; 
 he went away before the rest of the company; I might 
 be absent about twenty minutes the second time I was 
 away, the night Captaih Moore was there. At Lady 
 Sheffield's her Royal Highness paid more attention to 
 Mr. Chester than to the rest of the company. I knew of 
 her Royal Highness walking out alone twice with Mr. 
 Chester, in the morning, alone, once a short time; it rained; 
 the other, not an hour ; not long. Mr. Chester is a pretty 
 young man. Her attentions to him were not uncommon ; 
 not the same as to Captain Manby. I arn not certain 
 whether the Princess answered any letters of Lady Dou^
 
 45 
 
 las. I was atCatherington with the Princess. Remember 
 Mr. now Lord Hood, there, and the Princess going 
 out airing with him alone in Mr. Hood's little whis- 
 key, and his servant was with them. Mr. Hood drove, 
 and staid out two or three hours more than once. Three 
 or four times. Mr. Hood dined with us several times. 
 Once or twice he slept in an house in the garden. She 
 appeared to pay no attention to him but that of com- 
 mon civility to an intimate acquaintance. Remember 
 the Princess sitting to Mr. Lawrence for her picture at 
 Blackheath,and in London. I have left her at his house 
 in town with him, but I think Mrs. Fitzgerald was with 
 her; and she sat alone with him I think at Blackheath. 
 I was never in her Royal Highness' s confidence, but 
 she has always been kind and good-natured to me. She 
 never mentioned Captain Manby particularly to me. I 
 remember her being blooded the day Lady Sheffield's 
 child was christened. Not several times, that I recollect; 
 nor any other time ; nor believe she was in the habit of 
 being blooded twice a year. The Princess at one time 
 appeared to like Lady Douglas. Sir John came frequent- 
 ly. Sir Sidney Smith visited about the same time with 
 the Dougla ses. I have seen Sir Sidney there very late in 
 the evening, but not alone with the Princess. I have no 
 reason to suspect he had a key of the Park-gate. 1 never 
 heard of any T>ody being found wandering about at Black- 
 heath. I have heard of somebody being found wander- 
 ing about late at night at Mount Edgcuuibe, when the 
 Princess was there. I heard that two women and a man 
 were seen crossing the hall. The Princess saw a great deal 
 of company at Mount Edgcumbe. Sir Richard Strachan 
 was reported to have spoken freely of the Princess. I 
 did not hear that he .had otfered a rudeness to her person, 
 She told m.e she had heard he had spoken disrespectfully
 
 45 
 
 of her, and therefore I believe wrote to Him by Sir Sa- 
 niuel Hood. 
 
 
 (Signed) HESTER LISLE. 
 
 Signed before us, in Downing-street, this third day 
 of July, 130(5, 
 
 ERSKINE. 
 SPENCER. 
 A true Copy, GRENVILLE. 
 
 J* BcekeL ELLENBOROUGH, 
 
 (No 28.) 
 Lower Brovk-strcet, July 4, 150(5. 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 Before your arrival in Downing-street last night, 1 be- 
 spoke the indulgence of the Lords of his Majesty's Coun- 
 cil for inaccuracy as to dates, respecting any attendance 
 at Blackhead), before 1803. Having only notice in the 
 forenoon of an examination, I could not prepare myself 
 for it to any period previous to that year, and I now 
 hasten, as far as the examination of my paper? will per- 
 mit, to correct an error into which I fell, in stating to 
 their Lordships, that I attended her Royal Highness the 
 Princess of Wales in the spring of 1802, and that 1 then 
 met his lloyal Highness the late Duke of Gloucester at 
 Black heath. It was in the spring of 1801, and not of 
 1802, that, after attending her Royal Highness the Prin- 
 cess of Wales for ten or twelve days, I had the honour 
 of seeing the Duke of Gloucester at lu.-r house. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 A true Copy, FR. MILMAN* 
 
 J. Becket.
 
 47 
 Earl Cholmondeley, sworn July 1 6/7*, 1806. 
 
 I HAVE seen the Princess of Wales write frequently, 
 and I think I am perfectly acquainted with her manner 
 of writing. 
 
 A letter produced to his Lordship marked (A). 
 
 This letter is not of the Princess's hand-writing. 
 
 A paper produced to his Lordship, (marked (B) with a 
 kind of drawing with the names of Sir Sidney Smith and 
 Lady Douglas. 
 
 This puper appears to me to be written in a disguised 
 hand. Some of the letters remarkably resemble the Prin- 
 cess's writing ; but because of the disguise I cannot say 
 whether it be or be not. her Royal Highness's writing. 
 
 On the cover being shewn to his Lordship also marked 
 (B.) he gave the same answer. 
 
 His Lordship was also shewn the cover marked (C.) t* 
 which his Lordship answered, I do not see the same re- 
 semblance to the Princess's writing in this paper. 
 
 CHOLMONDELEY. 
 
 Sworn before us, July 16th, 1806. 
 
 ERSKINE. 
 A trueCopy, SPENCER, 
 
 John Becktt. GRENVILLE.
 
 APPENDIX (B). 
 
 Statement of Lady Douglas. 
 
 rllS Royal Highness the Prince of Wales having judged 
 proper to order me to detail to him, as Heir Apparent, 
 the whole circumstances of my acquaintance with her 
 Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, from the day I 
 first spoke with her to the present time, I felt it my 
 duty, as a subject, to comply without hesitation with his 
 Royal Highness' s commands ; and I did so, because I con- 
 ceived, even putting aside the rights of an Heir Apparent, 
 his Royal Highness was justified in informing himself as to 
 the actions of his wife, who, from all the information he 
 had collected, seemed so likely to disturb the tran- 
 quillity of the country; and it appeared to me that, in so 
 doing, his Royal Highness evinced his earnest regard for 
 the real interest of the country, in endeavouring to pre- 
 vent such a person from, perhaps, one day, placing a 
 spurious Heir upon the English Throne, and which his 1 
 Royal Highness has indeed a right to fear, and commu- 
 nicate to the Sovereign, as the Princess of Wales told me, 
 " If she were discovered in bringing her son into the world 
 " she would give the Prince of Wales the credit of it, for 
 " that she had slept two nights in the year she was preg- 
 " nant in Carlton House." 
 
 As an Englishwoman, educated in the highest respect- 
 *H
 
 , 60 
 
 ful attachment to the Royal Family; as the daughter of 
 an English Officer, who has all his life received the most 
 gracious marks of approbation and protection from his 
 Majesty, and from his Royal Highness the Prince of 
 Wales ; and as the wife of an Officer, whom our beloved 
 King has honoured with a public mark of his approbation, 
 and who is bound to the Royal Family by ties of respect- 
 ful regard and attachment, which nothing can ever break, 
 I feel it my duty to make known the Princess of Wales's 
 sentiments and conduct, now, and whensoever I may be 
 called upon. 
 
 For the information, therefore, of his Majesty and of 
 the Heir Apparent, and by the desire of the Heir 
 Apparent, I beg leave to state, that Sir John took a 
 house upon Blackheath in the year 1801, because 
 the air was better for him, after his Egyptian services, 
 than London, and it was somewhat nearer Chatham, where 
 his military duties occasionally called him. I had a 
 daughter, born upon the 17th of February, and we took 
 up our residence there in April, living very happily and 
 quietly ; but in the month of November, when the ground 
 was covered with snow, as I was sitting in my parlour, 
 which commanded a view of the Heath, I saw, to my sur- 
 prise, the Princess of Wales, elegantly dressed in a lilac 
 satin pelisse, primrose-coloured half boots, and a small 
 *ilac satin travelling cap, faced with sable, and a Lady, 
 pacing up and down before the house, and sometimes 
 stopping, as if desirous of opening the gate in the iron- 
 railing to come in. At first I had no conception her Royal 
 High ness really wished to come in, but must have mistaken 
 the house for another person's, for I had never been made 
 known to her, and I did not know that she knew where 
 I lived. I stood at the window looking at her, and, as she 
 looked very much, from respect, courtesied (as I under- 
 stood was customary) ; to my astonishment she returned 
 my courtesy by a familiar nod, and stopped. Old Lady
 
 1 
 
 Stuart, -a West Indian Lady, who lived in my immediate 
 neighbourhood, and who was in the habit of coming in to 
 see me, was in the room, and said, *' You should go out, 
 her Royal Highness wants to come in out of the snow." 
 Upon this I went out, and she came immediately to me 
 and said, " I believe you are Lady Douglas, and you 
 have a very beautiful child ; I should like to see it." I 
 answered that I was Lady Douglas. Her Royal High- 
 ness then said, " I should like of all things to see your 
 little child." I answered, that I was very sorry I could 
 not have the honour of presenting my little girl to her, as 
 I and my family were spending the cold weather in town, 
 and I was only come to pass an hour or two upon the 
 Heath. I held open the gate, and the Princess of Wales 
 and her Lady, Miss Heyman (I believe) walked in and 
 sat down, and stayed above an hour, laughing very much 
 at Lady Stuart, who, being a singular character, talked 
 all kind of nonsense. After -her Royal Highness had 
 amused herself as long as she pleased, she inquired where 
 Sir John Douglas and Sir Sidney Smith were, and went 
 away, having shook hands with me, and expressed her 
 pleasure at having found me out and made herself known : 
 I concluded that Sir Sidney Smith had acquainted her 
 Royal Highness that we resided upon the Heath, as he 
 was just arrived in England, and having been in long 
 habits of friendship with Sir John, was often with us, and 
 told us how kind he should think it if we could let him 
 come to and fro without ceremony, and let him have an 
 airy room appropriated to himself, as he was always ill 
 in town, and from being asthmatic, suffered extremely 
 when the weather was foggy in town. Sir John gave him 
 that hospitable reception he was in the habit of doing by 
 all his old friends, (for I understand they have been known 
 to each other more than twenty years), and he introduced 
 him to me as a person, to whom he wished my friendly 
 attention to be paid; aa I had never seen Sir Sidney
 
 Smith in my life, until this period, when he became, as it 
 were, a part of the family. When I returned to town, I 
 told Sir John Douglas the circumstance of the Princess 
 having visited me, and a few days after this, we received 
 a note from Mrs. Lisle (who was in waiting) commanding 
 us to dine at Montague House. We went, and there were 
 several persons at the dinner. I remember Lord and Lady 
 Dartmouth, and I think Mr. and Mrs. Arbuthnot, &c. &c. 
 From this time the Princess made me frequent visits, al- 
 ways attended by her Ladies, or Mrs. Sander (her maid). 
 When Sander came, she was sent back, or put in another 
 room ; but when any of her Ladies were with her, we al- 
 ways sat together. Her Royal Highness was never at-, 
 tended by any livery servants, but she always walked 
 about Biackheath and the neighbourhood only with her 
 female attendants. In a short time, the Princess became 
 so extravagantly fond of me, that, however flattering it 
 might be, it certainly was very troublesome. Leaving her 
 attendants below, she would push past my servant, and 
 run up stairs into my bed-chamber, kiss me, take me in 
 her arms, and tell me I was beautiful, saying she had never 
 loved any woman so much; that she would regulate my 
 dress, for she delighted in setting off a pretty woman ; 
 and such high-flown compliments that women are never 
 used to pay to each other. I used to beg her Royal High- 
 ness not to feed my self-love, as we had all enough of that, 
 without encouraging one another. She would then stop 
 me, and enumerate all my good points I had, saying she 
 was determined to teach me to set them off. She would 
 exclaim, Oh ! believe me, you are quite beautiful, different 
 frioro almost any English woman ; your arms are line be- 
 yond' imagination, your bust is very good, and your eyes, 
 Oh, I never saw such eyes all other women who have 
 dark eyes look fierce, but yours (my dear Lady Douglas) 
 are nothing but softness and sweetness, and yet quite 
 dark. In this manner she went on perpetually, even be-
 
 63 
 
 fore strangers. I remember when I was one morning at 
 her house, with her Royal Highness, Mrs. Harcourt, and 
 her ladies, the Duke of Kent came to take leave before 
 his Royal Highness went to Gibraltar. When we were 
 sitting at table, the Princess introduced me, and said 
 Your Royal Highness must look at her eyes ; but now she 
 has disguised herself in a large hat, you cannot see how 
 handsome she is. The Duke of Kent was very polite and 
 obliging, for he continued to talk with Mrs. Harcourt, 
 and took little notice, for which I felt much obliged ; but 
 she persisted, and said Take off your hat. I did not do 
 it, and she took it off; but his Royal Highness, t suppose, 
 conceiving it could not be very pleasant to me, took little 
 notice, and talked of something else. 
 
 Whenever the Princess visited us, either Sir John, or I, 
 returned home with her and her party quite to the door ; 
 and if he were out, I went with her Royal Highness, and 
 took my footman ; for we soon saw that her Royal High- 
 ness was a very singular and a very indiscreet woman, and 
 we resolved to be always very careful and guarded with 
 her; and when she visited us, if any visitor whosoever 
 came to our house, they were put into another room, and 
 they could not see the Princess, or be in her society, unless 
 she positively desired it. However, her Royal Highness 
 forgot her high station (and she was always forgetting it) ; 
 we trust, and hope, and feel satisfied, we never fora mo- 
 ment lost sight of her being the wife of the Heir Apparent. 
 
 We passed our time as Her Royal Highness chose when 
 together, and the usual amusements were playing French 
 Proverbs, in which the Princess always cast the parts,and 
 played ; Musical Magic, forfeits of all kinds ; sometimes 
 dancing ; and in this manner, either the Princess and her 
 Ladies with me, or we at Montague House, we passed 
 our time. Twice, after spending the morning with me, 
 she remained without giving me any previous notice, and 
 would dine with us, and thus ended the year 1801.
 
 In the month of February, before Miss Garth was to 
 come into waiting in March 1802, the Princess, in one of 
 her morning visits, after she had sent Sander home, said, 
 " My dear Lady Douglas, I am come to see you this 
 " morning to ask a great favour of you, which I hope you 
 " will grant me." I told her, " I was sure she could not 
 " make any unworthy request, and that I uould only say, 
 " I should have great pleasure in doing any thing to oblige 
 " her, but I was really at a loss to guess how I possibly 
 " could have it in my power to grant her a favour." Her 
 Royal Highness replied "what I have to ask is for you to 
 come and spend a fortnight with me; you shall not be se- 
 parated from Sir John, for he may be with you whenever 
 he pleases, and bring your little girl and maid. I mean 
 you to come to the Round Tower, where there are a com- 
 plete suite of rooms for a Lady and her servant. When 
 Mrs. Lisle was in waiting, and hurt her foot, she resided 
 there; Miss Heyman always was there, and Lord and 
 Lady Lavington have slept there. When I have any 
 married people visiting me, it is better than their being in 
 the house, and we are only separated by a small garden. 
 I dislike Miss Garth, and she hates to be with me, more 
 than what her duty demands, and I don't wish to trouble 
 any of my ladies out of their turn. I shall require you, 
 as lady in waiting, to attend me in my walks; and when 
 I drive out ; write my notes and letters for me, and be in 
 the way to speak to any one who may come on business. 
 I seldom appear until about three o'clock, and you may 
 go home before I want you after breakfast every day." I 
 replied, that being a married woman, I could not promise 
 for myself, and, as Sir John was much out of health, I 
 should not like to leave him ; but he was always so kind 
 and good-natured to me, that I dared venture to say he 
 would allow me if he qould; and when he came home I 
 asked him if I should go. Sir John agreed to the Prin- 
 cess's desire, and I took the waiting. During my stay I
 
 55 
 
 attended Her Royal Highness to the play and the opera I 
 think^twice, and also to dine at Lord Dartmouth's and Mr. 
 Windham's. At Mr. Windham's, in the evening, while 
 one of the ladies was at the harpsichord, the Princess com- 
 plained of being very warm, and called out for ale, which, 
 by a mistake in the language, she always calls oil. Mrs. 
 Wind ham was perfectly at a loss to comprehend her 
 wishes, and came to me for an explanation. I told her 
 I believed she meant ale. Mrs. Windham said she had 
 none in the house; was it any particular kind she required? 
 I told her I believed not ; that when the Princess thought 
 proper to visit me, she always wanted it, and I gave her 
 what 1 had, or could procure for her upon Blackheath. 
 We could not always suddenly obtain what was wished. 
 Mrs. Windham then proposed to have some sent for, and 
 did so; it was brought, and the Princess drank it all. 
 When at Lord Dartmouth's, his Lordship asked me if I 
 was the only lady in waiting, being, I supposed, surprised 
 at my appearing in that situation, when, to his know- 
 ledge, I had not known the Princess more than four 
 months. I answered, I was at Montague House, acting 
 as lady in waiting, until Miss Garth was well, as the Prin- 
 cess told me she was ill. Lord Dartmouth look'd sur- 
 prised, and said he had not heard of Miss Garth being ill, 
 and was surprised. I was struck with Lord Dartmouth's 
 seeming doubt of Miss Garth's illness, and after, thought 
 upon it. From the dinner we went at an early hour to 
 the opera, and then returned to Blackheath. During this 
 visit I was greatly surprised at the whole stile of the Prin- 
 cess of Wales's conversation, which was constantly very 
 loose, and such as I had not been accustomed to hear; 
 such as, in many instances, 1 have not been able to repeat, 
 even to Sir John, and such as made me hope I should 
 cease to know her, before my daughter might be old 
 enough to be corrupted by her. 1 confess 1 went home 
 hoping and believing she was at times a good deal disor-
 
 56 
 
 dered in her senses, or she never would have gone on as 
 she did. When she came to sup with me in the Tower 
 (which she often did) she would arrive in a long red cloak, 
 a silk handkerchief tied over her head under her chin, 
 and a pair of slippers down at the heels. 
 
 After supper I attended her to the house. I found her 
 a person without education or talents, and without any 
 desire of improving herself. Amongst other things which 
 surprised me while there, was a plan she told me she had 
 in hand ; that Prince William of Gloucester liked me, 
 and that she had- written to him, to tell him a fair lady was 
 in herTower, that she left it to his own heart to find out 
 who it was, but if he was the gallant Prince she thought 
 him, he would fly and see. I was amazed at such a con- 
 trivance, and said, Good God ! how could your Royal 
 Highness do so ? I really like Sir John better than any 
 body, and am quite satisfied and j?appy. I waited nine 
 years for him, and never would marry any other person. 
 The Princess ridiculed this, and said Nonsense, non- 
 sense, my dear friend. In consequence of the Princess's 
 note, Prince William actually rode the next morning to 
 theTower,but by good fortune Sir Sidney Smith had pre- 
 viously called and been admit ted, and as we were walking 
 by the house, her Royal Highness saw the Prince com- 
 ing, went immediately out of sight,, and ran and told a 
 servant to say she and I were gone walking, and we im- 
 mediately walked away to Charlton, having first, unper- 
 ceived, seen Prince William ride back again, (of course 
 not very well pleased, and possibly believing I had a hand 
 in his ridiculous adventure.) It seems he was angry; for 
 soon after his Royal Highness, the late Duke of Glouces- 
 ter, came and desired to see the Princess, and told her, 
 that b.is son William had represented to him how very 
 free she permitted Sir Sidney Smith to be, and how con- 
 stantly he was visiting at Montague House ; that it rested 
 with herself to keep her acquaintance at a proper distance,
 
 57 
 
 and as Sir Sidney was a lively, thoughtless man, and had 
 not been accustomed to the society of ladies of her rank, 
 he might forget 'himself, and she would then have herself 
 to blame that as a father, and an earnest friend, he 
 came to her, very sorry indeed to trouble her, but he 
 conjured and begged her to recollect how very peculiar her 
 situation was, and how doubly requisite it was she should 
 he more cautious than other people. To end this lecture 
 (as she called it) sbe rang the bell, and desired Mrs*. 
 Cole to fetch me. I went into the drawing-room, where 
 the Duke and Her Royal Highness were sitting, and 
 she introduced me as an old friend of Prince William's. 
 His Royal Highness got up, and looked at me very 
 much, and then said, "The Princess has been talking 
 a great deal about you, and tells me you have made 
 one of the most delightful children in the world, and in- 
 deed it might well be so, when the mother was so hand- 
 some and good-natured-looking." By this time I was so 
 used to these fine speeches, either from the Princess, or 
 from her through others, that I was ready to laugh, and 
 I only said, " We did not talk about much beauty, but 
 my little girl was in good health, and Her Royal Highness 
 was very obliging." As soon as His Royal Highness 
 was gone, the Princess sent again for me, told me every 
 word he had said, and said> " He is a good man, and 
 therefore I took it as it was meant ; but if Prince William, 
 had ventured to talk to me himself, I would certainly 
 have boxed his ears : however, as he is so inquisitive, 
 and watches me, I will cheat him, and throw the dust in 
 his eyes, and make him believe Sir Sidney comes here to 
 see you, and that you and he are the greatest possible 
 friends. I delight of all things in cheating those clever 
 people." Her speech and intentions made me serious, 
 and my mind was forcibly struck with the great danger 
 there would follow to myself, if she were this kind of per- 
 
 * Query, Mr. Cole. 
 ftf
 
 58 
 
 son. I begged her not to think of doing such a thing, 
 saying, Your Royal Highness knows it is not so, and 
 although I wotild do much to oblige you, yet, when my 
 own character is at stake, I must stop. Good God, 
 Ma'am, His Royal Highness would naturally repeat it, 
 and what should I do ? Reputation will not bear being 
 sported with. The Princess took me by the hand, and 
 said, Certainly, my dear Lady Douglas, I know very well 
 it is not so, and therefore it does not signify. I am sure 
 it is not so, that I am sure of. I have much too good an 
 opinion of you, and too good an opinion of Sir Sidney 
 Smith. It would be very bad in him, after Sir John's 
 hospitality to him. I know him incapable of such a 
 thing, for I have known him a long time ; but still I won- 
 der too in the same house it does not happen. By this 
 time I was rather vexed, and said, Your Royal Highness 
 and I think quite differently Sir Sidney Smith comes and 
 goes as he pleases to his room in our house. I really see 
 little of him | He seems a very good-humoured, pleasant 
 man, and I always think one may be upon very friendly 
 terms with men who are friends of one's husbands, with- 
 out being their humble servants. The Princess argued 
 upon this for an hour, said, This is Miss Garth's argu- 
 ment, but she was mistaken, and it was ridiculous. If 
 ever a woman was upon friendly terms with any man, 
 they were sure to become lovers. 1 said, I shall continue 
 to think as Miss Garth did, and that it depended very 
 much upon the lady. Upon the 29th of March, I left 
 Montague House, and the Princess commanded me to 
 be sent up to her bed-chamber. I went and found her in 
 bed, aod I took Mrs. Vansittart's note in my hand, an- 
 nouncing the news of Peace. She desired me to sit down 
 close to the bed, and then, taking my hand, she said, 
 sf You see, my dear friend, I have the most complaisant 
 " husband in the world I have no one to controul me 
 *' I see whom I like, I go where I like, I spend what I
 
 59 
 
 <r please, and His Royal Highness pays for all Other 
 t{ English husbands plague their wives, but he never 
 " plagues me at all, which is certainly being very polite 
 " and complaisant, and I am better off than my sister, 
 " who was heartily beat every day. How much happier 
 " am T than the Duchess of York ! She and the Duke 
 " hate each other, and yet they will be two hypocrites, 
 " and live together that I would never do. Now I'll 
 " shew you a letter wherein the Prince of Wales gives 
 " me full leave to follow my own plans." She then put 
 the letter into my hands, the particulars of which I have 
 mentioned. When I had finished, I appeared affected, 
 and she said, " You seem to think that a fine thing; now 
 " I see nothing in it ; but I dare to say that when my be- 
 " loved had finished it, he fancied it one of the finest 
 " pieces of penmanship in the world. I should have 
 " been the man, and he the woman. I am a real 
 " Brunswick, and do not know what the sensation Fear 
 " is ; but as lo him, he lives in eternal warm water, and 
 " delights in it, if he can but have his slippers under 
 " any old Dowager's table, and sit there scribbling notes ; 
 te that's his whole delight." She then told me every cir* 
 cumstance relative to her marriage, and that she would 
 be separated, and that she had invited the Chancellor 
 very often lately, to try and accomplish it, but they were 
 stupid, and told her it could not be done. It appeared 
 to me that at this time Her Royal Highness's mind wag 
 bent upon the accomplishment of this purpose ; and it 
 would be found, I think, from Lord Eldon and the 
 others, that she pressed this subject close upon them, 
 whenever they were at Montague House ; for she told me 
 more than once she had*. Her Royal Highness^ 
 before she put the letter by, said, " I always keep this, 
 " for it is ever necessary. 1 will go into the House of 
 
 * The Chancellor may now, perhaps, be able to grant her request^. 
 N. B. The passage contained in this Note is, in the authenticated Copy 
 transmitted to the Princess of Wale$ } placed m the margin.
 
 60 
 
 ee Lords with it myself. The Prince of Wales desires me 
 " in that letter, to choose my own plan of life, and 
 " amuse myself as I like ; and also, when I lived in Carl 
 <f ton House, he often asked me why I did not select 
 " some particular gentleman for my friend, and was sQr- 
 " prised I did not." She then added, " I am not treated 
 (t at all as a Princess of Wales ought to be. As to the 
 " friendship of the Duke of Gloucester's Family, 
 <f I understand that Prince William would like to 
 "" marry either my daughter or me, if he could. I 
 " now therefore am desirous of forming a society of 
 (f my own choosing, and I beg you always to re- 
 " member, all your life, that I shall always be happy to see 
 " you. I think you very discreet, and the best woman 
 te in the world, and 1 beg you to consider the Tower 
 " always as your own ; there are offices, and you might 
 " almost live there; and if Sir John is ever called away, 
 " do not go home to your family ; it is not pleasant after 
 t{ people have children, therefore always come to my 
 <s Tower. I hope to see you there very soon again. The 
 " Prince has offered me sixty thousand if I'll go and live 
 " at Hanover, but I never will ; this is the only country 
 *' in the world to live in." She then kissed me, and I 
 took my leave. 
 
 While I had been in the Round Tower in Montague 
 House, which only consists of two rooms and a closet on 
 a floor, I had always my maid and child slept within my 
 room, and Sir John was generally with me ; he and all 
 my friends having free permission to visit. Mrs*. Cole 
 (the Page) slept over my room, and a watchman went 
 round the Tower all night. Upon my return "home, the 
 same apparent friendship continued, and in one of Her 
 Royal Highness's evening visits she told me, she was come 
 to have a long conversation with me, that she had been 
 in a great agitation, and I must guess what had happened 
 to her, I guessed a great many things, but she said No, 
 * Query, Mr. Cole.
 
 61 
 
 to ihem all, and then said I gave it up, for I had no idea 
 what she could mean, and therefore might guess my whole 
 life without success. "Well then, I must tell you," said 
 Her Royal Highness, "but I aoi sure you know all the 
 * f while. I thought you had completely found me out, 
 " and therefore I came to you, for you looked droll when 
 " I called for ale and fried onions and potatoes, and 
 " when I said I eat tongue and chickens at my break- 
 " fasts; that I would sure as my life you suspected me ; 
 " tell me honestly, did you not ?" 1 affected not to un- 
 derstand the Princess at all, and did not really compre- 
 hend her. She then said, " Well, I'll tell ; , I am with 
 " child, and the child came to life when I was breakfast- 
 " ing with Lady Willoughby. The milk flowed up into 
 " my breast so fast, that it came through my muslin 
 " gown, and I was obliged to pretend that I had spilt 
 " something, and go up-stairs to wipe my gown with 
 " a napkin, and got up-stairs into Lady Willoughby's 
 <e room, and did very well, but it was an unlucky adven- 
 (C ture. I was, indeed, most sincerely concerned for her, 
 conceiving it impossible but she must be ruined, and I 
 expressed my sorrow in the strongest terms, saying, what 
 \vould she do ? she could never carry such an affair 
 through, and I then said, I hoped she was mistaken. She 
 said No, she was sure of it, and these sort of things only 
 required a good courage, that she should manage very 
 well ; but though she told me she would not employ me 
 in the business, foi I was like all the English women, so 
 very nervous, and she had observed me so frightened a 
 few days past, when a horse galloped near me, that she 
 would not let me have any thing to do for the world. 
 The Princess added, " You will be surprised to see how 
 te well [ manage it, and I am determined to suckle the 
 " child myself." I expressed my great apprehensions > 
 and asked her what she would do if the Prince of Wales 
 seized her person, when she was a wet-nurse ? She said 
 she would never suffer any one to touch her person. She 
 laughed at my fearsj and added, " You know nothing
 
 62 
 
 " about these things ; if you had read Les Avantures 
 ff du Chevalier de Grammont, you would know better 
 " what famous tricks Princesses and their Ladies played 
 " then, and you shall and must read the story of Cathe- 
 " rine Parr and a Lady Douglas of those times ; have 
 " you never heard of it ?" She then related it, but as I ne- 
 ver had heard of it, I looked upon it as her own invention 
 to reconcile my uiind to these kind of things. After this we 
 often met, and the Princess often alluded to her situation 
 and to mine, and one day as we were sitting together upon 
 the sofa, she put her hand upon her stomach, and said, 
 laughing, " Well, here we sit like Mary and Elizabeth, 
 " in the Bible." When she was bled, she used to press 
 ine always to be, and used to be quite angry that I would 
 not, and whatever she thought good for herself, always 
 recommended to me. Her Royal Highness now took 
 every occasion to estrange me from Sir John, by laughing 
 at him, and wondering how I could be content with him ; 
 urged me constantly to keep my own room, and not to 
 continue to sleep with him, and said, if I had any more 
 children, she would have nothing more to say to me. 
 Her design was evident, and easily seen through, and 
 consequently averted. She naturally wished to keep us 
 apart, lest, in a moment of confidence, I should repeat 
 what she had divulged, and if she estranged me from my 
 husband, she kept me to herself. I took especial care, 
 therefore, that my regard for him should not be under- 
 mined. I never told him her situation, and, contrary to 
 her wishes, Sir John and I remained upon the same happy 
 terms we always had. 
 
 It will scarcely be credited, (nevertheless it is strictly 
 true, and those who were present must avow it, or per- 
 jure themselves) what liberty the Princess gave both to' 
 her thoughts and her tongue, in respect to every part of 
 the Royal Family. It was disgusting to us, beyond the 
 power of language to describe, and upon such occasions 
 we always believed and hoped she could not be aware of
 
 \vhat she was talking about, otherwise common family 
 affection, common sense, and common policy, would 
 have kept her silent. She said before the two Fitzgeralds, 
 Sir Sidney Smith, and ourselves, that when Mr. Adding- 
 ton had his house given him, His Majesty did not know 
 what he was about, and waved her hand round and round 
 her head, laughing, and saying, " Certainly he did not; 
 " but the Queen got twenty thousand, so that was all 
 " very well." We were all at a loss, and no one said 
 any thing. This was at my house one morning ; the rest 
 of the morning passed in abusing Mr. Addington (now 
 Lord Sidmouth), and her critiques upon him closed by 
 saying, " It was not much wonder a Peace was not last- 
 "ing, when it was made by the son of a quack doctor." 
 Before Miss Hamond, one evening at my house, she said, 
 t( Prince William is going to Russia, and there is to be 
 " a grand alliance with a Russian Princess, but it is not 
 " very likely a Russian Princess will marry the grandson 
 " of a washerwoman." Sir Sidney Smith, who was pre- 
 sent, begged her pardon, asserted it was not so, and 
 wished to stop her, but she contradicted him, and en- 
 .tered into all she knew of the private history of the Du- 
 chess's mother, saying, " she was literally a common 
 " washerwoman, and the Duchess need not to take so 
 " much pains and not to expose her skin to the open air, 
 " when her mother had been in it all day long." When 
 she was gone, Sir John was very much disgusted, and 
 said, Her conversation, had been so low and ill-judged, 
 and so much below her, that he was perfectly ashamed of 
 her, and she disgraced her station. Sir Sidney Smith 
 agreed, and confessed he was astonished, for it must be 
 confessed she was not deserving of her station. After the 
 Duke of Kent had been so kind as to come and take leave 
 of her, before he last left England, upon the day I men- 
 tioned, she delivered her critique upon His Royal High- 
 ness, saying, " He had the manners of a Prince, but was
 
 64 
 
 " a disagreeable man, and not to be trusted, and that His 
 " Majesty had told him, ( Now, Sir, when you go to 
 " Gibraltar, do not make such a trade of it as you did 
 " when you went to Halifax.' The Princess repeated, 
 " Upon my honour it is true ; the King said, ' Do not 
 " make such a trade of it.' She went on to say, " the 
 " Prince at first ordered them all to keep away, but they 
 " came now sometimes : however they were no loss, for 
 " there is not a man among them all whom any one can 
 t( make their friend." As [ was with the Princess one 
 morning in her garden house, His Royal Highness the 
 Duke of Cumberland waited upon her. As soon as he 
 was gone she said, " He was a foolish boy, and had been 
 " asking her a' thousand foolish questions." She then, 
 told me every word of his secrets, which he had been tell- 
 ing her ; in particular, a long story of Miss Keppel, and 
 that he said, the old woman left them together, and 
 wanted to take him in,, and therefore he had cut the con- 
 nection. She said, she liked his countenance best, but 
 she could trace a little family likeness to herself; -but for 
 all the rest they were very ill made, and had plum-pud- 
 ding faces, which she could not bear. His Royal High- 
 ness the Duke of Cambridge was next ridiculed. She said, 
 "he looked exactly like a sergeant, and so vulgar with 
 " his ears full of powder." This was her Royal High- 
 ness's usual and favorite mode of amusing herself and her 
 company. The conversation was always about men, 
 praising the English men, reviling all English women, as 
 being the ugliest creatures in the world, and the worst, 
 and always engaged in some project or another, as the 
 impulse of the moment might prompt, without regard to 
 consequences or appearances. Whether she amused 
 other people in the same way, T know not, but she chose 
 to relate to me every private circumstance she knew rela- 
 tive to every part of the Royal Family, and also every- 
 thing relative to her own, with such strange anecdote?,
 
 65 
 
 an'd circumstantial accounts of things that never are talked 
 of, that I again repeat^ I hope I shall never hear again ; 
 and I remember once in my lying-in-room, she gave such 
 an account of Lady Anne Wyndham's marriage, and all 
 her husband said on the occasion, that Mrs. Fitzgerald 
 Sent her daughter out of the room, while her Royal High- 
 ness finished her story. Such was the person we 
 found her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, and 
 as we continued to see her character and faults, Sir John 
 and myself more and more, daily and hourly, regretted 
 that the world could not see her as we did, and that his 
 Royal Highness the Prince of Wales should have lost any 
 popularity, when, from her own account (the only ac- 
 count we eVer had) the was the aggressor from the begin- 
 ning, herself alone, and I, as an humble individual, de- 
 clare, that from the most heartfelt and unfeigried convic- 
 tion, that I believe, if any other married woman had acted 
 as her Royal Highness has done, I never yet have known 
 a man who could have endured it ; and her temper is so 
 tyrannical, capricious, and furious, that no man on earth 
 will ever bear it; and, in private life, any woman who 
 had thus played and Sported with her husband's comfort 
 and her husband's popularity, would have been turned 
 out of her house, or left by herself in it, and would de- 
 servedly have forfeited her place in society; I therefore 
 again beg leave to repeat, from the conviction of my own 
 unb'assed understanding, and the conviction of my own 
 eyes, no human being could live with her, excepting her 
 servants for their wages ; and any poor unfortunate woman 
 like the Fitzgeralds, for their dinner ; and I trust and hope 
 her real character will sometime or another be displayed, 
 that the people of this country may not be imposed upon. 
 The Princess was now sometimes kind and at others 
 churlish, especially if I would not fall into her plans of 
 ridiculing Sir John. About this time, one dav at table
 
 with her, she began abusing Lady Rumbold (whom she 
 had invited to see her a few days before, to give her letters 
 of recommendation if she went to Brunswick), and as the 
 abuse was in the usual violent vulgar stile, and I had never 
 seen Lady Rumbold but that one morning when she was 
 her Royal Highnesses guest, and cared nothing about 
 her, I did not join in reviling her and Miss Jlumbcld. 
 Sir Sidney Smith was present, and as there appeared a 
 great friendship between the llumbolds and him, I 
 thought it not civil to him to say any thing, and one al- 
 ways conceives, in being quite silent, one must be safe 
 from offending any party. I was, however, mistaken ; 
 for, observing me silent, she looked at me in a dreadful 
 passion, and sard," Why don't yon speak, Lady Douglas, 
 I know you think her ugly as.weli as u- a vulgarcommow 
 milliner ; Lord Heavens I that she was; and her daughter 
 looks just like a girl that walk up the street." I suppose 
 she expected,- by this thundering appeal, to force me to 
 join in the abuse ; but it had a contrary effect upon me. 
 I chose to judge entirely for myself, and I was determined 
 I would not; therefore, when she had raved until she 
 could go on no longer, I said I did not think her ugly ; 
 it was a harsh term. I thought her manner very bad, and 
 that she was very ill-dressed ; but, when young, I thought 
 she must have been a pretty woman. This was past her 
 power of enduring, which I really did not know, or I 
 would have remained silent. She fixed her eyes furiously 
 upon me, and bawled out, " Then yoif re a liar, you're a 
 liar, and the little child you're going to have will be a liar." 
 I pushed my plate from me, eat no more, and remained 
 silent, and my first impulse was to push back my chair 
 and quit the house, but the idea that I should break up 
 the party from table, and make a confusion, and also my 
 not being able to walk home, and my carriage not being 
 ordered until night, ler't,me in my chair. The conversa- 
 tion was changed; at last,Sir Sidney said again, " Well,
 
 67 
 
 these Ladies have hud a severe trimming, they had better 
 not have come to Blackheath, and there sits poor Lady 
 Douglas, lookingas if she were going to be executed." As 
 I was very far advanced in my pregnancy, it agitated me 
 greatly, and I remained aloof arid very shy all the even- 
 ing. When' I afterwards wrote to Sir'Sidney Smith for 
 Sir John, upon some common occurrence, 1 said, I do 
 not like the Princess of Wales's mode of treating her 
 guests: he~ ailing me a liar was an unpardonable thing, 
 and if she ever speaks upon the subject to you, pray tell 
 her I did not like it, and that if I had been a man, I would 
 have rather died than endured it ; that it is a thing which 
 never, by any chance, occurs to a Lady ; on a repetition, 
 of it I will give up her acquaintance. It seems Sir Sidney 
 Smith spoke to the Princess upon the subject ; for two 
 days before I was confined, she made me a morning visit 
 with the two Fitzgeralds, and, after having sat a short 
 time, said, " I find you were very much aifronted the 
 other day at my house, when I called you a liar; I de- 
 clare I did not mean it as an affront ; Lord Heavens ! in 
 any other language it is considered a joke ; is it not Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald ?" meaning, that in Germany it is a very good 
 joke to call people liars (for Mrs. Fitzgerald does not 
 know any language but German and English) ; Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald absolutely said, Yes. They made me very ner- 
 vous, and I burst into tears, and told the Princess I only 
 wished her. to understand such a thing was never done, 
 and was far from desiring her to apologize to me ; that I 
 had now forgiven and forgotten it, though I confess, at 
 the time, I was very much hurt, and very much wounded; 
 that as I never heard of its being thought a joke in any 
 country, I was not in the least prepared to receive it in that 
 liglit ; for that, in this country, ladies never used the ex- 
 pression, and men only to shew their greatest contempt; 
 that I never bore malice twelve hours in my life, and 
 there was an end of the matter. The Fitzgeralds sat by
 
 sometimes as audience, approving by looks ; sometimes a 
 orators, begging me not to cry, (after they had all made 
 Trie), and praising her Royal Highness as the most mag-, 
 nanimous, amiable, good, beautiful, and gracious Prin- 
 cess in the world. In short, they tormented me till they 
 made me quite hysterical ; and the Princess began then to 
 be frightened, and they all got up to look about the room 
 for hartshorn, or something of that kind, to give me 
 the Princess crying, " Give her something, give her some- 
 thing; she is very much shook, and her nerves agitated ; 
 she will be taken ill." They gave me some water, I be- 
 lieve,and I did all I could to recover my spirits ; but I felt 
 in pain, and Sir John came in, soon after, and as I knew 
 it would hurry him if hesawme ill, I appeared as cheerful 
 as I could, and they all went away, the Princess taking 
 no notice to him. Her Royal Highness had alwayssaid, 
 she would be at my lying-in from the beginning to the 
 end, and commanded me constantly to let her know, say- 
 ing, " I have no fear about me, and I would as soon come 
 over the Heath in the middle of the night as in the day ; 
 I shall have a bottle of port wine on a table to keep up 
 your spirits, a tambourine, and I'll make you sing." I was 
 unwell all the night after her Royal Highness had been 
 with me, and remained so all next day ; and next morn- 
 ing, by six o'clock, was so ill, that Dr. Mackie, of 
 Lewisham, who was to attend me, was sent for. In the 
 forenoon I begged Sir John to write a note to Montague 
 House, where it so happened I was to have dined with the 
 party. He wrote that I had a head-ache, and begged 
 leave to remain at home, and the Princess believed it, and 
 went to town ; but upon her return, at five o'clock in the 
 afternoon, she called before she went home to dress, to ask 
 after me,jand finding how it was,wanted torun up into the 
 room, but Dr. Mackie said positively she should not 
 fipnie, and locked the. door nearest him to keep her out. 
 Miss CholmoncU ley and Miss Fitzgerald were drove hoixie.
 
 and her Royal Highness and Mrs. Fitzgerald stopped. 
 Upon my giving a loud shriek she flew in at the other 
 door, and came to me, doing every thing she possihly 
 could to assist me, and held my eyes and head. The mo- 
 ment she heard the child's voice she left me, flew round 
 to Dr. Mackie, pushed the nurse away, and received the 
 child from Doctor Mackie, kissed it, and said no one 
 should touch it until she had shewn it to me. Doctor 
 Mackie was so confused and astonished, that, although, 
 an old practitioner he left the room, without giving me 
 any thing to recruit my strength and avert fainting, as is 
 the custom, and the nurse gave me what she thought best; 
 by which omission, however, I was not subject to faint 
 away, but it was certainly a new mode of proceeding 
 where life is at stake, and shewed more curiosity than ten- 
 derness for me. Before my little girl was brought to me, 
 I observed, as her Royal Highness stood holding it, that 
 Mrs. Fitzgerald, the Nurse, and herself, were all intent, 
 and speaking together, as if there was something peculiar 
 in its appearance; the circumstance alarmed me, fearing 
 it was born with some defect, and I asked eagerly to see 
 it, and if all was right. The Princess upon this brought 
 it to me, and said it was a remarkable large fine child, 
 and they were only looking at a mark it had upon its left 
 breast, certainly a. very large one, and a little on its eyes, 
 but it would go off. I recollected that, although I never, 
 when in a pregnant state, was subject to whims, longing, 
 as thinking it very troublesome and foolish, yet I felt 
 obliged, in this instance, to believe the old-received opi- 
 nion to be correct ; for it happened, that during my visit 
 at Montague House in March, I was one Sunday morn- 
 ing very much incommoded by pains in rny chest and sto- 
 mach, and Her R,oyal Highness made Mrs. Sander give 
 me some warm peppermint-water; there was raspberry- 
 ice in the desert the same day, and I had just began to eat 
 wine, when the Princess looked at me, and said, My dear
 
 70 
 
 Lady Dougla?, you have forgotten the pain you were' in 
 this morning; and, turning to her page, ordered him to 
 take away my plate. 
 
 ' (Signed) CH A IILOTTE DOUGLAS, 
 
 JOHN DOUGLAS. 
 In the presence of me, 
 
 (Signed) 
 AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, 
 
 Dec. 3, 1S05. 
 A true Copy, 
 
 (Signed) B. Bloomfield. 
 
 Mr. Cole, the page, removed, and I can never 
 
 describe my disappointment, I was almost inclined to re- 
 monstrate, although there was a large party of strangers, 
 and I did express a desire to retain it, but the Princess 
 would not allow of it : and as she had appointed herself to 
 the sole management of me, I was obliged to be quiet : 
 My uneasiness, however, became extreme, and forgetting 
 every thing but the ice in question, I asked a Mr. Hamer 
 who sat next to me, to be so good as to ask for some ice, 
 and, by dint of asking him to do so, I at length induced 
 him, and at last he asked Lady Townshend for some more 
 ice. I immediately took my spoon, and stooping a little, 
 so that the flowers upon the plateau concealed me in part 
 from the Princess, eat al! Mr. Earner's ice, while he 
 looked on laughing, and put his plate a little nearer to 
 me that it might not look so odd. The following day I 
 eat eight glasses of raspberry-ice at once,, and was very 
 well after it: and from that time sought it every where,and 
 cat of it voraciously; and I cannot help attributing the 
 marks of my little girl to the circumstance. Her Royal 
 Highness then kissed me, begged me to send for her 
 whenever I liked, and she would come; desired I might 
 have plenty of flannel about rne, of which she had sent
 
 71 
 
 me some by Mrs. Fitzgerald, and then went home, to 
 dinner. I know not what she said or did among her party 
 at home, but Miss Cholmondeley often said she should 
 never forget the Princess on that day. All -the month of 
 August the Princess visited me daily; in one of these 
 visits, after she had sent Mrs. Fitzgerald away, she drew 
 her chair clo>e to the bed, and said, " I am delighted to see 
 how well and easily you have got through this affair; I, 
 -who am not the least nervous, shall make nothing at all 
 of it. When you hear of my having taken children in 
 baskets from poor people, take no notice; that is the way 
 I mean to manage : I shall take any that offer, and the 
 one I have will be presented in the same way, which, as T 
 have taken others, wilt nrver be thoui:hr::i-y ti;;ug ;ii 
 I asked her, how she would ever get it out of the house ? 
 but she said, Oh, very easily. I said it was a perilous bu- 
 siness ; I would go abroad if I were her ; but she laughed 
 at my fears, and said she had no doubt but of managing 
 it all very well. I was very glad she did not ask me to 
 assist her, for I was determined in my own mind never to 
 do so, and she never did make any request of me, for 
 which I was very thankful. I put the question to her, 
 Who she would get to deliver her? but she did not answer 
 for a minute, and then said, I shall get a person over ; I'll 
 manage it, but never ask me about it; Sander was a good 
 creature, and being immediately about her person and 
 sleeping near her room, must be told; bu6 Miss Ghaunt 
 must be sent to Germany, and the third maid, a young 
 girl, kept out of the way as well as they could. I sug- 
 gested, I was afraid her appearance at St. James's could 
 not fail to be observed, and she would have to encounter 
 all the .Royal Family. Her reply was, That she knew 
 how to manage her dress, and by continually increasing 
 large cushions behind, no one would observe, and fortu- 
 nately the Birth-days were over, until she should have got 
 rid of her appearance. In this manner passed all ^he time
 
 of my confinement, at the end of which she sent Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald to attend me to Church, and when I went to 
 pay my duty to Her Royal Highness, after I went abroad 
 again, she told me, whenever I was quite stout, she would 
 have the child christened, that she meant to stand in per- 
 son, and I must find another godmother; Sir Sidney 
 Smith would be the godfather. I named the Duchess of 
 Athol, as a very amiable woman, of suitable rank, and 
 said, that as there had been a long friendship betwixt Sir 
 John's family and the Athol family, I knew it would be 
 very agreeable to him. Finding they were gone to Scot- 
 land, we wrote to ask her Grace; and she wrote word she 
 would stand godmother with great pleasure, and enclosed 
 ten guineas for the nurse. The Princess invited Sir Sidney 
 Smith, and Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Smith, and Baron Her- 
 bert, and Sir John Douglas, to dine with her. Miss 
 Cholmondeley and the two Fitzgeralds were with her 
 Royal Highness, and in the evening they all came ; I 
 staid at home to receive her. The Clergyman from 
 Lewisham christened the child'; the Princess named it 
 Caroline Sidney. As soon as he was gone (which was 
 shortly after the ceremony was over), the Princess sat 
 down upon the carpet a thing she was very fond of 
 doing, in preference to sitting upon the chairs, saying, it 
 was the pleasantest lively affair altogether she had ever 
 known. She chose to sit upon the carpet the whole 
 evening, while we all sat upon the chairs. Her Royal 
 Highness was dressed in the lace dress which, I think, she 
 wore at Frogmore fete pearl necklace, bracelets, and 
 armbands, a pearl bandeau round her head, and a long 
 lace veil. When supper was announced, her Royal High- 
 ness went in and tocfc the head of the table, and eat an 
 amazing supper of chicken and potted lamprey, which 
 she would have served to her on the same plate, and eat 
 them together. After the supper she called the attention 
 of the party to my good looks, and saying 1 was as lively
 
 73 
 
 and espiegk as ever ; said, that I had such sharp eyes, I 
 found her out in everything, adding, Oh! she found me 
 out one day in such a thing when I was at luncheon, and 
 gave me a look which was soexpressive.thatlwassureshe 
 knew. This speech, which she, between herself and 
 me, was algebra to the party. I did not know what to 
 do, hut I saw the secret cost her dear to keep, and she was 
 ready to betray it to any one she met, by the strange things 
 she said and did; 1 laughed and said, if my eyes have 
 been too observing I am sorry, I never intended them to 
 be; I cannot be quite so polite as to say, " if my sight 
 offends I will put it out," because! think with Sheridan, 
 that the prejudice is strongly in favour of two; but depend 
 upon it, at all future luncheons I will do nothing but eat. 
 She was in great spirits, staid until two o'clock in the 
 morning, and then, attended by Miss Cholmondeley and 
 the Fitzgeralds, went home. Her Royal Highness's civi- 
 lities continued ; she desired me constantly to bring my 
 children to Montague House, and also the infant ; and 
 when I would have retired to suckle it, she would not 
 suffer me, but commanded me to do it in the drawing-room 
 where she was; and she came with her ladies visiting me 
 both mornings and evenings, and nursing little Caroline 
 for hours together. I saw now the Princess had told Mrs. 
 Sander, who, I believe, was a very quiet good kind of wo- 
 man, and her countenance was full of concern and anxiety. 
 She appeared desirous of speaking to me, and was un- 
 usually obsequious : but the Princess always watched 
 us both close; if Sander came into a room, and I went to- 
 wards her, the Princess came close, or sent one or another 
 away, so that T could never speak to her. The Princess 
 had now quarrelled with Sir Sidney Smith, to whom she 
 had been so partial, and to every part of whose family she 
 had been so kind, telling us constantly that she liked 
 them all, because old Mr. Smith had saved the Duke of 
 
 *L
 
 Brunswick's life. As Sir John was Sir Sidney's friend, 
 she therefore was shy of us all, and we saw little of her 
 but on the 30th of October I went to call upon her before 
 I left Blackheath, and met her Royal Highness just re- 
 turned from church, walking before her own house with 
 Mrs. Fitzgerald and her daughter, dressed in a long Spa- 
 nish velvet cloak and an enormous muff, but which toge- 
 ther could not conceal the state she was in, for I saw di- 
 rectly she was very near her time, and think I must have 
 seen it if I had not known her situation. She appeared 
 morose, and talked a little, but did not ask to go in, and 
 after taking a few turns returned home. In about a fort- 
 night we received a note, the Princess requesting neither 
 Sir John or I to go to Montague House, as her servants 
 were afraid some of the children she had taken had the 
 measles, and if any infection remained about the house, 
 we might carry it to our child. . We wrote a note expres- 
 sive of our thanks for her obliging precautions, and that 
 we would not go to Montague House, until we had the 
 honor of receiving her Royal Highness's commands. The 
 Princess never sent for us, and when I left my card before 
 I went to pass Christmas in Gloucestershire, I was not 
 admitted ; so that / never saw her after the 13th* of Octo- 
 ber; but I heard the report of her having adopted an in- 
 fant, and Miss Fitzgerald told it me as she rode past my 
 house, but would not corne in, for fear she should bring ike 
 measles. Upon my return to Blackheath in January, 
 I called to pay my duty. I found her packing a small 
 black box, and an infant sleeping on a sofa, with a 
 piece of scarlet cloth thrown over it. She appeared con- 
 fused, and hesitated whether she should be rude or kind, 
 but recovering herself, cho'se to be the latter; said, she 
 was happy to see me, and then taking me by the hand led 
 me to the sofa, and uncovering the child, said, Here is 
 the little boy, I had him two days after I saw you last; is 
 not it a nice little child ? the upper part of his face is very 
 
 * 30tb.
 
 75 
 
 fine. She was going to have said more, when Mrs. Fitz- 
 gerald opened the door and came in. The Princess con- 
 sulted what I had better have, what would be good for 
 me i declined ary thing, but she insisted upon it I 
 should have some .oup, and said, my dear Fitzgerald, 
 pray go out and order some nice brownsoup to be brought 
 here for Lady Douglas. I saw from this the Princess 
 wished to have spoken to me more fully, and Mrs. Fitz- 
 gerald saw it likewise, for instead of obeying, she rung 
 the bell for the soup, and then sat down to tell me the 
 whole fable of the child having been brought by a poor 
 woman from Depiford, whose husband had left her, that 
 Mr. Stikeman ihe Page, had the honour of bringing it in, 
 that itwas a poor little ill-looking thing when first brought, 
 but now, with such great care, was growing very pretty, 
 and that as Her Royal Highness was so good, and had 
 taken the twins (whose father would not let them remain) 
 and taken this, all the poor people would be bringing 
 children. The Princess now took the child up, and I 
 was entertained the whole morning by seeing it fed, and 
 every service of every kind performed fur it by Her Royal 
 Highness the Princess of Wales. Mrs. Fitzgerald aired the 
 napkins, and the Princess put them on; and from this 
 time the drawing-rooms at Montague House, were lite- 
 rally in the stile of a common nursery. The tables were 
 covered with spoons, plates, feeding-boats, and clothes, 
 round the fire ; napkins were hung to air, and the marble 
 healths were strewed with napkins uhich were taken from 
 the child ; for, very extraordinary to relate, this was a 
 part of the ceremony Her Royal Highness was particu- 
 larly tenacious of always performing herself, let the com- 
 pany be who they might. At first the child slept with 
 her she told me, but it made her nervous, and therefore 
 a nurse was hired to assist in taking charge of it, and for 
 him to sleep with. The Princess said one day to me as 
 she was nursing him, he had a little milk for two or three
 
 76 
 
 days, but it did not do, so we bring him up by hand with 
 all kind of nourishing things, and you see how well he 
 thrives ; so that I really always supposed she had attempt- 
 ed to suckle it. Another time she shewed me his hand, 
 which has a pink mark upon it, and said, it was very sin- 
 gular both our children should be marked, and she 
 thought her child's came from her having some wine 
 thrown on her hand, for she did not look much at little 
 Caroline's mark. The Princess now adopted a new mode 
 of inviting us to see her. She would invite either Sir 
 John or I, but never both together as formerly. I conclu- 
 ded from this, that as she found it so difficult to keep 
 even her ozcn secret, she could ill imagine I had been able 
 to keep hers, and therefore under the impression that by 
 that time I must have told Sir John, did not like to meet 
 both our eyes; and if she saw Sir John without me, could 
 better judge by his looks and manner whether I had di- 
 vulged or not. I conclude she was at length satisfied 
 I had not: for we were one morning both invited again 
 in the former manner, to a breakfast, and as it was a very 
 curiously arranged party, I will put down the names, for 
 to the person who is to peruse this detail, it will confirm 
 the idea that Her Royal Highness cannot always know 
 correctly what she is about. When we entered, the Prin- 
 cess was sitting upon the sofa, elegantly dressed in a white 
 and silver drapery, which covered her head and fell all 
 over her person, and she had her little boy upon her 
 knee elegantly dressed likewise. The guests were, Her 
 Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Wales, with Miss 
 Hunt, her Governess, Captain Manby, of the Navy, Mr. 
 Spencer Sfnith, the Fitzgeralds, and ourselves. She got 
 up and nursed the child, and carry ing it to Sir John, said, 
 " Here, fcir John, this is the Deptford boy, I supnose 
 (< you have leard I have taken a little child." Sir John 
 only said, Yes, he had, and it seemed a line baby. She 
 seemed pleased and satisfied that I had not told jiim, and
 
 then sat down to table, putting a chair for Princess 
 Charlotte on her right hand, taking me by the hand and 
 putting me on her left hand, told Captain Manby to sit at 
 the top, and Mr. Spencer Smith at the bottom, and Sir 
 John and the Fitzgeralds faced us. Princess Charlotte 
 had a plain dinner prepared for her in another room, ac- 
 cording to custom, and came in when our desert was 
 placed, when we all sat down again as we were sitting, 
 except Miss Hunt, who was never ordered to sit, but 
 stood a few yards from Princess Charlotte. About five 
 o'clock Her Royal Highness rose from table, the little 
 boy was brought in again, Princess Charlotte played with 
 it, and the Princess of Wales wished all of us a good 
 morning, and we broke up, totally at a loss to conceive 
 what amusement it could be to collect us together. This 
 breakfast was a kind 0*1 finale. We had very little inter- 
 course. Her Royal Highness would walk past our house, 
 for the express purpose of shewing she did not mean to 
 come in, and when we did see her she always abused Sir 
 Sidney Smith. Often said, she wondered I liked to live 
 at such a dull place as Blackheath, and in short, gave us 
 hints we could not misunderstand, that she wanted us 
 away. At this time Sir John received a letter from his 
 division, expressive of the General's wish that he would 
 go to Plymouth, and therefore (without an Admiralty 
 Order) he determined to go to emancipate ourselves from 
 the Princess of Wales, and as soon as we could dispose of 
 the furniture, I followed him, leaving the house empty, 
 which was ours three months after I quitted it. The day 
 Sir John was to set off, the Princess walked to our house, 
 and though his trunks were in the room, and he was oc- 
 cupied, would have him sit down and talk to her, over- 
 powering him and myself note with kindness, and said, 
 she could eat something. She did so, staid four hours in 
 the house, and at parting, took Sir John by both hands, 
 wished him every good wish, and begged him always to
 
 73 
 
 recollect how happy she should be to see him again, and 
 that she would be very kind to me in hi<> absence ; however, 
 after he was gone, she never came nnar me, or offered 
 me any kind of civility whatsoever. When I was upon 
 the eve of departure, called upon her and took her god- 
 daughter and my other little girl with me. She was al- 
 most uncivil, and paid little or no attention if I spoke. I 
 said the children were with me, but she did not answer, 
 and after speaking four or five hours very unpleasantly, 
 suffering all the unpleasant feeling of being where I had 
 been courted and idolized, I begged permission at last to 
 go away. When I went out, to my surprise, 1 found the 
 children had been kept in the passage near the frontdoor, 
 with the door open to Blackheath, in a December day, 
 with four opposite doors opened and shut upon ihem, in- 
 stead of being taken to the housekeeper's room, as they 
 always had been. My maid had at length begged the 
 footman to go to afire, as the children cried dreadfully, 
 and were very cold. I understand the man was a foot- 
 man, of the name of Gaskin, I think, and his answer was, 
 if the children are cold, you can put them back into the 
 carriage, and warm them. I took them home immedi- 
 ately, and was inclined to return and ask why they had 
 been thus all of a sudden treated with this brutality and 
 impertinence, and which was doubly cruel in Sir John's 
 absence; but I deferred going until I meant to take my 
 final leave, which I did on the following Sunday. Doctor 
 Burriaby was standing in the hall with every thing pre- 
 pared for the Princess to receive the sacrament. I was 
 ushered through notwithstanding, and the footmen 
 seemed to go to and fro as much at their ease, as if no 
 such thing was preparing. She was standing in the draw- 
 ing room, and received me \vith Mrs. Lisle and Mrs. 
 Fitzgerald. I said I should have been gone before, had 
 it been in my power, and in compliance with her com- 
 mands, had come to take my leave. She did not ask me
 
 79 
 
 to s sit down, but said God bless you ; good bye. I then 
 said, I was much concerned I had brought my little girls 
 a few days past, and that I should never have done so, 
 but from her Royal Highness's repeated desire. She said, 
 she was sorry ; and r.sked, who used them so. I told her, 
 one of her livery servants, and Sir John would not like to 
 hear of it. Her Royal Highness said, stop a moment; 
 flew past me through the hall where Doctor Burnaby 
 stood waiting for her, up to her own room, and returned 
 with a' white-paper box, pushing it into my hand 
 God bless you, my dear Lady Douglas. I said, I wished 
 to decline taking anything, that my object in coming 
 there was to offer her my duty, and tell her how ill my 
 children had been used. I could not conceive how any 
 footman could use the freedom of treating Sir John's ' 
 children so, unless he had been desired. She only 
 answered, " Oh! no, indeed: goodbye." I attempted 
 to put the box into her hands, saying I had rather not 
 have it; but she dropt her hands and turned away. I 
 therefore wished Mrs. Lisle and Miss Fitzgerald good 
 morning, and went away. Doctor Burnaby spoke to me 
 as I passed him, and, looking back, I saw her Royal 
 Highness's head ; she was looking o^it after me, to see if 
 she had fairly got rid of me, and laughing immoderately 
 at Dr. Burnaby in his gown, I quitted her house, re- 
 solved never to re-enter it but for forms-sake, and wrote 
 her word, that as I had long been treated rudely, and my 
 children, whom she courted to her house, were now in- 
 sulted there, I felt a dislike to accepting a present thrown 
 at me, as it were, unMer such unpleasant circumstances ; 
 that I had not untied the box, and requested she would 
 permit me to return it; and that as I was an English Gen- 
 tlewoman, and defied her to say she had ever seen a single 
 impropriety, in my conduct, I would never suffer myself 
 to be ill used without a clear explanation. The Princess 
 wrote back a most haughty imperious reply, desiring me to
 
 80 
 
 keep the box, stiled herself Princess of Wales in almost 
 every line, and insulted me to such a degree, that I re- 
 turned an answer insisting upon her explaining herself. 
 This she returned me unopened, saying, she would not 
 open my second letter, and had therefore sent it to me to 
 put in the fire, and that she was ready to put the matter 
 in oblivion, as she desired me to do, wished me and my 
 dear little children well, and should at all times be glad to 
 see her former neighbour. I did as she desired, and went 
 away at Christmas without ever seeing or hearing more of 
 Her Royal Highness, and found in the paper box a gold 
 necklace, with a medallion suspended from it of a mock. 
 Thus ended my intercourse, for the present, with the 
 Princess of Wales, and the year 1803. 
 
 When we resided in Devonshire, seeing by the papers 
 that Her Royal Highness was ill, we sent a note 'of en- 
 quiry to the lady in waiting, which was answered very po- 
 litely, and even in a friendly manner by Her Royal High- 
 ness's orders. Upon the arrival of the Duke of Sussex 
 from abroad, Sir John returned to town to attend him, and 
 when we drove to Blackheath to see our friends, I left my 
 card for Her Royal Highness, who was visiting Mr. Can- 
 ning; the moment she returned home she commanded 
 Mrs. Vernon to send me word never to repeat my visits 
 to Blackheath. I gave Sir John the note, and must con- 
 fess, accustomed as I had been to her haughty overbearing 
 caprice, yet this exceeded my belief of what she was ca- 
 pable of, being so inconsistent with her two last letters ; 
 but the fact was, she thought we were gone above 200 
 miles from her, and should be there for many years, and 
 she never calculated upon the return of His Royal High- 
 ness the Duke of Sussex, having very often told me His 
 Royal Highness would never live in England, in His Ma- 
 jesty's life-time ; that she was certain of that, and had 
 leasons for knowing it; and Sir John would never have 
 him heie. I suppose she had taken this intoher head, be-
 
 81 
 
 cause she wished it; and, therefore, the return of His Royal 
 Highness was a mortal death-blow to all her hopes on 
 this score ; and when she found that His Royal Highness 
 was not only returned, but that Sir John was in at- 
 tendance, and that His Royal Highness was in Carlton 
 House, where Sir John might see, and have the honour 
 of being made known to the Prince of Wales, her fear and 
 rage got the better of every prudent consideration, and she 
 commanded Mrs. Vernon to dismiss me as I have men- 
 tioned. Had the Princess of Wales written to me herself, 
 and told me, m a civil manner, that she would thank me 
 to keep away, 1 should have acquainted her, that I wished 
 and desired to do so, and had only called for the sake of 
 appearances, and there the matter would have ended; un- 
 less I had ever been called upon (as I am HOW) by His Ma- 
 jesty, or the Heir Apparent. In that case, as in this, I 
 should have made it my sacred duty to have answered, as 
 upon my oath ; but the circumstance of being driven out 
 of her house by the hands of the lady in waiting, as if I 
 had deserved it, and as if I were a culprit, was wounding 
 one with a poisoned arrow, which left the wound to fester 
 after it had torn and stabbed me; it was a refinement in 
 insult, for the Princess had always been in the^ habit of 
 writing to me herself, and had commanded me never to 
 hold intercourse with her through her ladies, but always 
 directly to herself; and so particular were her directions 
 and permission upon this head, that she told me never to 
 put my letters undercover, but always direct them to her- 
 self. I felt so miserable, that Mrs. Vernon, to whom I 
 was known, and for whom Sir John and myself had an 
 esteem, should think ill of me, and I therefore wrote to 
 the Princess, saying, " From the moment she judged 
 proper to come into rny family, I had always conducted 
 myself towards Her Royal Highness with the respect her 
 station demanded ; and that when she forced her
 
 jecrets upon me, I had (whatsoever my sentiments were) 
 kept them most honourably tor her, never yet having even 
 told Sir John, although I gave him my full confidence in 
 all ottyer things ; nor had I even, under my present aggra- 
 vation, imparted it, or meant; that after such generous 
 conduct on my part, I was at a loss to conceive what she 
 proposed to hent/fby persecuting me ; that I was afflicted 
 at being so placed in the opinion ot a good woman, like 
 Mrs. Vernon, and who was free to say what she pleased 
 upon the subject every where ; that it was half as bad to be 
 thought ill of as to deserve it ; and that I would wait upon 
 Mrs. Vernon, and detail to her a circumstantial account of 
 every thing which had occurred since I had known her 
 Royal Highness ; and I would acquaint my husband and 
 family with the same, and leave them, and the circle of 
 my friends, to judge betwixt her Royal Highness and 
 myself; that I would not lie under an imputation of hav- 
 ing done wrong ; and I took my leave of Her Royal 
 Highness/br ever, only first regretting I had ever known 
 her, and thankful to be emancipated from Montague 
 House, and that she owed it to me to have, at least, dis- 
 missed me in a civil manner, by her own hands." This 
 letter her Royal Highness returned unopened ; but, from 
 its appearance, I had strong reason to believe she had 
 read it. I was resolved, however, if she had not, she 
 should be taught better, as she might not treat any other 
 person so ill as she had me, and my mind was bent upon 
 speaking to Mrs. Vernon; I was nearly certain, if I wrote 
 to Mrs. Vernon, the Princess would make her send my 
 letter back, and therefore I wrote Mrs. Fitzgerald nearly 
 a copy of what I sent her Royal Highness, and called 
 upon her > as she had been always present, to say, if she 
 ever saw any thing in my behaviour to justify any rude- 
 ness towards me ; that I was precisely what the Princess 
 found me, when the Princess walked up to her knees in 
 to seek my acquaintance, and precisely Me same in-
 
 83 
 
 dividual whom she had thought worthy of the strongest 
 proofs of her friendship, and whose lying-in she had at- 
 tended in so particular a manner, and had thought worthy 
 of shedding tears over; that Her Royal Highness had 
 thought proper to confide in me a secret, of very serious 
 importance tu herself; and 1 would not, after acting in 
 the mo>t honourable manner to her, be dismissed by a 
 lady in waiting; and I meant to be at Montague House, 
 and have a satisfactory conversation with Mrs. Vernon; 
 and therefore she would be so good as acquaint Her Roy- 
 al Highness with thecontentsof my letter, or lay it before 
 Her Royal Highness- Mrs. Fitzgerald sent back a con- 
 fused note, saying, she could not shew the Princess my 
 letter, unless she v^as called upon; and when she opened 
 it her disappointment was great, for she expected to have 
 found respectful inquiries after Her Royal Highness's 
 finger (which was hurt when she went to see Mr. Can- 
 ning), and that I might make my mind easy, as ladies in 
 waiting never repeated any thing ; and she was astonished 
 I had thrown out such a hint. A day or two after a note 
 \vassentto Sir John, as if nothing had happened, request- 
 ing him to go to Montague House. The servant who 
 brought it drove Mrs. Vernon from Blackheath home to her 
 own house in town, and I have no doubt it will be found 
 (if inquiry is made) that Mrs. Vernon was put prematurely 
 out of her waiting, lest I should explain with her. Sir 
 John obeyed Her Royal Highness's summons, and she 
 received him in the most gracious pleasant mannef, tak- 
 ing as much pains to please and flatter him now as she had 
 formerly done by me, and began a conversation with him 
 relating to a General Innes, of the Marines, whom the 
 Admiralty thought proper, with many others, to put upon 
 the retired list ; she exprest an ardent desire to get that 
 officer reinstated, and consulted Sir John, as belonging to 
 the same corps, how she could accomplish such an under- 
 taking. Sir John listened to her attentively, and made
 
 84 
 
 short and very polite answers, acquainting her no 
 such thing was ever clone. She then said she must speak 
 to Lord Melville about it, as it was a hard case. The lun- 
 pheon was then announced, and she ordered Sir John to 
 attend herself and the ladies. Sir John found Mrs. Ver- 
 n on was sent off, and a lady was there whom he did not 
 know, but thought was Lady Carnarvon. When they 
 were all seated Sir John remained on his legs, and she 
 looked anxiously at him, and said, " My dear Sir John, 
 sit down and eat." He bowed, with distant respect, and 
 said, he could not eat; that he was desirous of returning 
 to town ; and if Her Royal Highness had no further busi- 
 ness with him, he would beg leave to go. The Princess 
 looked quite disconcerted, and said, What not eat any thing, 
 not sit down ; pray take a glass of wine then, He bowed 
 again as before, and repeated that he could neither eat 
 jior drink. Well then, she said, " Come again soon, my 
 dear Sir John ; always glad to see you." Sir John made 
 no reply, bowed and left the room. I now received, by 
 the twopenny post, a long anonymous letter, written, by 
 this restless mischievous person, the Princess of Wales, in 
 which, in language which any one who had ever heard 
 her speak, would have known to be hers, she called me all 
 kind of names, impudent, si/ly, wretched, ungrateful, and 
 illiteral (meaning illiterate), she tells me to take that, and 
 it will mend rr>y ill temper, &c. &c. c. and says, she is a 
 person high in this government, and has often an oppor- 
 tunity of * freely with His Majesty, and she thinks my 
 conduct authorizes her to tell him off, and that she is my 
 only true and integer friend. Such is the spirit of this fo- 
 reigner, which would have disgraced a house-maid to have 
 written, and it encloses a fabricated anonymous letter, 
 which she pretends to have received, and upon which she 
 built her doubts and disapprobation of me, as it advises her 
 not to trust me, for that I, am indiscreet, and tell every 
 frody that the child she took from Deptford, was her own. 
 
 So in tie authenticated copy ; soipe wgrds grt} omitted.
 
 85 
 
 The whole construction of both these epistles, from be- 
 ginning to end, are evidently that of a foreigner, and a 
 very ignorant one, and the vulgarity of it is altogether 
 quite shocking. In one part she exclaims that she did 
 not think 1 should have had the impudence to come on her 
 door again, and tells me 'tis for ray being indiscreet and 
 not having allowed her to call me a liar, that she treats me 
 thus, and that I would do well to remember the story of 
 Henri/ the Eighth's Queen, and Lady Douglas. I was in- 
 stantly satisfied it was from her Royal Highness the Prin- 
 cess of Wals, and that Mrs. Fitzgerald had shewn her 
 my letter, and this was her answer to it. I immediately 
 carried it to Sir John Douglas, who said he was sure it 
 came from the Princess, and he shewed it to Sir Sidney 
 Smith, who said, e\ f ery word and expression in it were 
 those which the Princess of Wales constantly used. Sir 
 John desired me now to give him a full explanation of 
 what her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales had con- 
 fided to me, and whether I had ever mentioned it. I 
 gave him my solemn word of honour it had never passed 
 my lipS; and I was only now going to utter it at his posi- 
 tive desire. That Her Royal Highness the Princess of 
 Wales told me she was with child, and that it came to 
 life at Lady Willoughby's, that if she was discovered she 
 would give the Prince of Wales the credit, for she slept 
 at Carlton House twice the year she was pregnant; that 
 she often spoke of her situation, compared herself and 
 me to Mary and Elizabeth, and told me when she shewed 
 me the child, that it was the little boy she had two days 
 after I last saw her, that was the 30th of October ; there- 
 fore her son was born upon the 1st of November, and I 
 take a retrospect view of things after I knew the day of 
 his birth, and found Her Royal Highness must have gone 
 down stairs and dined with all the Chancellors about the 
 .fourth day after she was delivered, with the intention if 
 discovered of having them all to say they dined with her
 
 86 
 
 in perfect health so early in November, that it could not 
 be. Sir John recollected all her whims, and went over 
 her whole conduct, and he firmly believes her to be the 
 mother of the reputed Deptford child- I then acquainted 
 him of the pains she had taken to estrange n;y miud and 
 affections from him, and he saw her pn suit of now chang- 
 ing sides, and endeavouring to estrange him from me, 
 lest if we lived in a happy state of confidence, I might 
 make known her situation to him ; and we agreed, that as 
 we had no means of communicating at present with His 
 Majesty, or the Heir Apparent, we must wait patiently 
 until called upon to bring forward her conduct, as there 
 seemed little doubt we should one day be. Finding that 
 Sir John Douglas did not choose to visit where his wife 
 was discarded and hurt in the estimation of her acquain- 
 tance, her fury became so unbounded, that she sought 
 what she could do most atrocious, wicked, and inhuman, 
 she reached her* it would seem, and the result 
 
 was, she made two drawings with a pen and ink, and 
 sent them to us by the twopenny post, representing me 
 as having disgraced myself with his old friend Sir Sidney 
 Smith. They are of the most indecent nature, drawn 
 with her own hand, and words upon them in her own 
 Land-writing. Sir John, Sir Sidney, and myself, can all 
 swear point blank without a moment's hesitation ; and if 
 Her Royal Highness is a subject and amenable to the laws 
 of this country (and I conceive her to be so) she ought to 
 be tried and judged by those laws for doing thus, to throw 
 firebrands into the bosom of a quiet family. My hus- 
 band, with that cool good sense which has ever marked 
 his character, and with a belief in my innocence, which, 
 nothing hut facts can stagger (tor it is founded upon my 
 having been faithful to him nine years before we were 
 married, and seven years since), as well as his long ac- 
 quaintance with Sir Sidney Smith's character and disposi- 
 tion, and having seen the Princess of Waltz's loose and 
 
 * A blank in the authenticated copy.
 
 87 
 
 ticious character, put the letters in his pocket, and went 
 instantly to Sir Sidney Smith. Sir Sidney was as much 
 astonished as we had been. Sir John then told him, he 
 put the question to him, and expected an answer sucti as 
 an officer and gentleman ought to give to his friend: Sir 
 Sidney Smith gave Sir John his hand, as his old friend 
 and companion, and assured him, in the most solemn 
 manner, as an officer and gentleman, that the whole was 
 the most audacious and wicked calumny ; and he would 
 swear to its being the hand-writing of the Princess of 
 Wales ; and that he believed Lady Douglas to be the same 
 virtuous domestic woman he thought her, when Sir John, 
 first made him known to her. Sir Sidney added,"! 
 never said a word to your wife, but what you might have 
 heard ; and had I been so base %s to attempt any thing of 
 the kind under your roof, I should deserve for you to shoot 
 me like a mad dog. I am ready to go with Lady Douglas 
 and youself, and let us ask her what sac means by it; 
 confront her." Accordingly Sir John u rote a note to the 
 lady in waiting, which was to this ehYct : " Sir John 
 and Lady Douglas, and Sir Sidney Sm th, present 
 their compliments to the lady in waiting, and n quest she 
 will have the goodness to say to Her Royal Highness the 
 Princess of Wales, that they are desiious of having an au- 
 dience of Her Royal Highness immediately." We re- 
 ceived no answer to this note; but, in a few dnys, an 
 answer was sent to Sir Sidney Smith, stating, that Her 
 Royal Highness the Princess of Wales was much indis* 
 posed and could not see any one at present. This was di- 
 rected to Sir Sidney Smith, at our house, although he 
 did not live there. This was an acknowledgment of her 
 guilt: she could not face us ; it was satisfactory to us all, 
 for it said I am the author, let me off; but to make 
 one's satisfaction upon this the more perfect, and to warn 
 heroi the danger she runsof discovery, when she did such
 
 8S 
 
 flagrant things, I wrote the under-written note and put 
 it into the Post Ofiice, directed to herself. 
 
 ** MADAM, 
 
 "I received your former anonymous letter safe ; also 
 "your two last, with drawings. 
 
 *' I am, Madam, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed} CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS," 
 
 It appears evident that Her Royal Highness received 
 tins- safe, ami felt ho-w she had committed herself, for, in- 
 stead of returning it ya the.old style, she sent for his Royal 
 Highness- the Duke of Kent, and requested him- to send 
 for Sir Sidney, and by theoost Sir Sidney received an ano- 
 nymous letter, say ing.the vv riter of that w ished for no chil 
 tfisseHlimis, and that there seldom, was a difference where, 
 if the parties wished it, they could not arrange matters, 
 SirSidney Smith brought this curious letter to shew Sir 
 John, and we were all satisfied it was from Her Royal 
 Highness, who, thinking Sir Sidney and Sir John might, 
 l>y this time, be cutting-each other's throats, sent very gra- 
 ciously to stop them; in short, she called them civil dis- 
 *PW/*OBS. His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, being 
 employed to negotiate, sent for Sir Sidney Smith, and ac- 
 quainted him, that he was desired by Her Royal High- 
 ness to say, that she would see Sir Sidney Smith in the 
 course of a few days, provided, when he came to her, he 
 avoided ail disagreable discussionsjwhatsoever. His Royal 
 Highness tlie Duke of Kent then sought from Sir Sidney 
 an explanation of the matter; Sir Sidney Smith, then 
 gave the Duke of Kent a full detail of circumstances, 
 and ended by saying, " We all could, and would, swear 
 the drawings and words contained in those covers were 
 by the Princess of Wales ; for, as if she were fully
 
 89 
 
 to convict herself, she had sealed one of the covers with 
 the identical seal she had used upon the cover, when she 
 summoned Sir John to luncheon at Montague House." 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, finding what a 
 scrape she had entangled herself in, exclaimed, *' Abomi- 
 nable! foolish, to be sure ; but Sir Sidney Smith, as this 
 matter, if it makes a noise, may distress his Majesty, and 
 be injurious to his health, I wish Sir John and Lady 
 Douglas would (at least for the present) try to forget it; 
 and if my making them a visit would be agreeable, and 
 soothe their minds, I will go with all my heart, though I 
 am not yet acquainted with them, and I will speak fully 
 to the Princess of Wales, and point out to her the danger 
 of doing such things ; but, at all events, it would be very 
 injurious to His Majesty's health, if it came to his ears 
 just now." Sir Sidney Smitlf came from His Royal High- 
 ness the Duke of Kent to us, and delivered His Royal 
 Highness's message. Sir John declined all negotiation; but 
 told Sir Sidney Smith, that he was empowered to say to 
 the Duke of Kent from him, that of whatsoever extent he 
 might * his injuries, and however anxious he 
 
 might be to seek justice, yet when he received such an 
 intimation from one of the Royal Family, he would cer- 
 tainly pause before he took any of those measures he meant 
 to take; and if that was the case, and His Royal High- 
 ness the Duke of Kent was desirous of his being quiet, 
 lest His Majesty's health or peace might be disturbed by 
 it, his duty, and his attachment to his Sovereign were so 
 sincere, that he would bury (for the present) his private 
 calamity, for the sake of His Majesty's repose and the pub- 
 lic good ; but he begged to be clearly understood, that he 
 did not mean to bind himself hereafter, but reserve to him- 
 self a full right of exposing the Princess of Wales, when 
 he judged it might be done with greatest effect, and when 
 it was not likely to disturb the repose of this country. 
 
 * So in the authenticated copy. 
 
 * N
 
 Sir Sidney Smith told us that he had delivered Sir 
 John's message, verbatim, to the Duke of Kent ; and, a 
 short time afterwards, his Royal Highness commanded Sir 
 John and Sir Sidney to dine with him at Kensington Pa- 
 lace ; but the Duke of Kent did not speak to Sir John 
 upon the subject, and the matter rested there, and would 
 have slept for a time, had not the Princess of Wales re- 
 comnjenced a fresh torrent of outrage against Sir John ; 
 find had he not discovered, that she was attempting to 
 undermine his and Lady Douglas's character. Sir John, 
 therefore, was compelled to communicate his situation to 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, in order that 
 he might acquaint the Royal Family of the manner the 
 Princess of Wales was proceeding in, and to claim His 
 Majesty's and the Heir Appa/ent's protection. His Royal 
 Highness the Duke of Sussex, with that goodness and con- 
 sideration Sir John expected from him, has informed His 
 Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who sent Sir John. 
 word, that " He desired to have a full detail of all that 
 passed during their acquaintance with Her Royal High- 
 ness the Princess of Wales, and how they became known 
 to her, it appearing to the Heir Apparent, from the re- 
 presentation of His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, 
 that His Majesty's dearest interests, and those of this 
 country, were very deeply involved in the question ; His 
 Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has commanded 
 them to be very circumstantial in their detail respecting 
 all they may know relative to the child the Princess of 
 Wales affected to adopt. Sir John and Lady Douglas re- 
 peat, that, being so called upon, they feel it their duty to 
 detail what they know, for the information of His Majesty 
 and the Prince of Wales, and they have so done, as upon 
 oath, after having very seriously considered the matter, 
 and are ready to authenticate whatever they have said, if 
 it should be required, for His Majesty's further informa- 
 tion. I have drawn up this detail iu the best manner I
 
 91 
 
 could ; and fear, from my never having before attempted 
 a thing of the kind, it will be full of errors, and being 
 much fatigued from writing of it, from the original, in 
 eight and forty hours, of the facts contained therein, I 
 believe they are correct; I am ready to assert, in the most 
 solernnonanner, that I kfiowthem all to be true. 
 
 (Signed) CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS, 
 JOHN DOUGLAS. 
 
 In the presence of 
 AUGUSTUS FREDERICK. 
 Greenwich Park, Dec. 3, 1805. 
 
 Copies of all the Papers alluded to in this Detail are in 
 the Hands of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. 
 
 (Signed) JOHN DOUGLAS. 
 
 In the presence of 
 AUGUSTUS FREDERICK. * 
 
 A true Copy, 
 
 B. Bloomfield, 
 
 A true Copy, 
 
 J. Becket. 
 
 Whitehall) 29th August > 1806,
 
 (No. 2.) 
 
 Narrative of the Duke of Kent. 
 
 TO introduce the following relation, it is necessary for 
 me to premise that, on entering the Prince of Wales' s bed- 
 room, where our interview took place, my Brother, after 
 dismissing his attendants, said to me, that some circum- 
 stances had come to his knowledge, with respect to a 
 transaction with the Princess of Wales, in which he found 
 that / had been a party concerned ; that if he had not 
 placed the most entire reliance on my attachment to him, 
 and, he was pleased to add, on the well-known upright- 
 ness of my character and principles, he should certainly 
 have felt himself in no small degree offended, at having 
 learnt the facts alluded to from others, and not, in the 
 first instance, from me, which he conceived himself every 
 way entitled to expect, but more especially from that foot- 
 ing of confidence on which he had ever treated me through 
 life; but, that being fully satisfied my explanation of the 
 matter would prove, that he was not wrong in the opinion 
 he had formed of the honourable motives that had actu- 
 ated me in observing a silence with regard to him upon 
 the subject ; he then was anxiously waiting for me to pro- 
 ceed with a narrative, his wish to hear which, he was sure 
 he had only to express, to ensure my immediate acquies- 
 cence with it. The Prince then gave me his hand, as- 
 suring me he did not feel th,e smallest degree of displea- 
 sure towards me, and proceeded to introduce the subject 
 upon which he required information; when, feeling it a 
 duty I owed him, to withhold from his knowledge no 
 part of the circumstances connected with it that I could 
 bring back to my recollection, I related the facts to him, 
 as nearly as I can remember, in the following words : 
 
 " About a twelvemonth since, or thereabouts, (for I 
 <( cannot speak positively to the exact date), I received a 
 ^ note from the Princess of Wales, by which she requested
 
 95 
 
 '* me to come over to Blackheath, in order to assist he* 
 
 * in arranging a disagreeable matter between her, Sir 
 Sidney Smith, Sir John and Lady Douglas, the particu- 
 
 ' lars of which she would relate to me when I should call. 
 I, in consequence, waited upon her, agreeable to her 
 desire, a day or two after, when she commenced the 
 
 ' conversation by telling me, that she supposed I knew 
 
 * she had, at one time, liv'd with Lady Douglas on a 
 
 * fooling of intimacy, but that she had had reason after- 
 ' wards to repent having made her acquaintance, and was 
 
 " therefore rejoiced when she left Blackheath for Ply- 
 " mouth, as she conceived that circumstance would break 
 " off all further communication between her and that 
 :c Lady; that, however, contrary to her expectation, upon 
 " the return of Sir John and her from Plymouth to Lon- 
 " don, Lady Douglas had called and left her name twice 
 " or three times, notwithstanding she must have seen 
 '-' that admission was refused her ; that having beencon- 
 " firmed in the opinion she had before had occasion to 
 " form of her Ladyship, by an anonymous letter she had 
 " received, in which she was very strongly cautioned 
 " against renewing her acquaintance with her, both as 
 " being unworthy of her confidence, from the liberties she 
 " had allowed herself to take with the Princess's name, 
 " and the lightness of her character, she had felt herself 
 " obliged, as Lady Douglas would not take the hint that 
 " her visits were not wished for, to order Miss Vernon to 
 " write her a note, specifically telling her, that they 
 " would in future be dispensed with ; that the conse- 
 " quence of this had been an application, through one of 
 " her ladies, in the joint names of Sir Sidney Smith, Sir 
 " John and Lady Douglas, for an audience, to require an 
 " explanation of this, which they considered as an af- 
 " front ; and that being determined not to grant it, or to 
 (l suffer any unpleasant discussion upon the subject, she 
 * c entreated me to take whatever steps I might judge best
 
 94 
 
 st to put an end to the matter, and rid her of all further 
 " trouble about it. I stated, in reply, that I had no 
 " knowledge of either Sir John or Lady Douglas, and 
 " therefore could not, in the^Ysf instance, address myself 
 " to them ; but that I had some acquaintance with Sir 
 *' Sidney Smith, and if the Princess was not averse to 
 " that channel, I would try what I could in that way 
 " effect. This being assented to by the Princess, I took 
 " my leave, and, immediately on my return home, wrote 
 *' a note to Sir Sidney, requesting him to call upon me as 
 " soon as he conveniently could, as I had some business 
 " to speak to him upon. Sir Sidney, in consequence, 
 " called on me (I think) the next day, when I related to 
 " him the conversation, as above stated, that I had had 
 " with the Princess. After hearing all I had to say, he 
 " observed, that the Princess, in stating to me, that her 
 " prohibition to Lady Douglas to repeat her visits at 
 " Blackheath, had led to the application for an audience 
 " of Her Royal Highness, had kept from me the real 
 " cause why he, as well as Sir John and Lady Douglas 
 ** had made it, as it originated in a most scandalous ano- 
 " nymous letter, of a nature calculated to set on Sir John 
 " and. him to cut each other's throats, which, from the 
 '* hand-writing and stile, they were both fully convinced 
 ** was the production of the Princess herself. I naturally 
 " expressed my sentiments upon such conduct, on the 
 " part of the Princess, in terms of the strongest animad- 
 " version; but, nevertheless, anxious to avoid the shame- 
 " ful eclat which the publication of such a fact to the 
 < world must produce; the effect, which its coming to 
 " the King's knowledge would probably have on his 
 *' health, from the delicate state of his nerves, and all the 
 *' additional misunderstandings between His Majesty and 
 " the Prince, whioh, I foresaw, would inevitably follow, 
 " were this fact, which would give the Prince so powerful 
 " a handle to express his feelings upon the countenance
 
 95 
 
 shewn by the King to the Princess, at a time when t 
 knew him to be severely wounded by His Majesty's 
 visits to Blackheath, on the one hand, and the reports 
 he had received of the Princess's conduct on the other, 
 to be brought to light ; I felt it my bounden duty, as an 
 honest man, to urge all these arguments with Sir Sidney 
 Smith, in the most forcible manner I was master of ; 
 adding also, as a further object, worthy of the most se- 
 rious consideration, the danger of any appearance of 
 ill-blood in the Family at such an eventful crisis, and 
 to press upon his mind the necessity of his using his 
 best endeavours with Sir John Douglas, notwithstand- 
 ing all the provocation that had been given them, to 
 induce him to let the matter drop, and pursue it no 
 further. Sir Sidney observed to me, that Sir John 
 Douglas was a man, whom, when once he had taken a 
 line, from a principle of honour, it was very difficult 
 to persuade to depart from it; however, as he thought, 
 that if any man could prevail upon him, he might flat- 
 ter himself with being the most likely to persuade him, 
 from the weight he had with him; he would immedi- 
 ately try how far he could gain upon him, by making 
 use of those arguments I had brought forward to induce 
 him to drop the matter altogether. About four or five 
 days after this, Sir Sidney called upon mft again, and 
 informed me, that upon making use with Sir John of 
 those reasons, which I had authorized Ris stating to be 
 those, by which I was actuated in making the request, 
 that he would not press the business further, he had not 
 been able to resist their force; but that the whole ex- 
 tent of promise he had been able to obtain of him, 
 amounted to no more, than that he would, 'under exist- 
 ing circumstances remain quiet, if left unmolested ; for 
 that he would not pledge himself not to bring the sub- 
 ject forward hereafter, when the same motive might no 
 longer operate to keep him silent. This result I com-
 
 ss 
 
 " municated, to the best of my recollection, the follow- 
 *' ing day to the Princess, who seemed satisfied with it; 
 " and from that day to the present one, (Nov. 10, 1S05), 
 " I never have heard the subject named again in any 
 " shape, until called" upon by the Prince to make known 
 *' to him the circumstances of this transaction, as far as I 
 " could bring them to my recollection." 
 
 And now, having fulfilled what the Prince wished me 
 to do, to the best of my abilities, in case hereafter any 
 one, by whom a narrative of all the circumstances, as re- 
 lated by Sir John and Lady Douglas, of whom I was in- 
 formed by my Brother, subsequent to our conversation, 
 should imagine, that I knew more of them than I have 
 herein stated, I hereby spontaneously declare, that what I 
 have written, is the whole extent of what I was apprized 
 of; and had the Princess thought proper to inform me of 
 what, in the narrative of the information given by Sir 
 John and Lady Douglas, is alluded to, I should have felt 
 myself obliged to decline all interference in the business ; 
 and to have, at the same time, stated to her, that it would 
 be impossible for me to keep a matter of such importance 
 from the knowledge of the Prince. 
 
 (Signed) EDWARD. 
 
 December 27, 1805. ' 
 
 ^ 
 
 A true Copy, 
 
 B. Bloomfidd. 
 
 A true Copy, 
 
 J. Becket. 
 
 Whitehall, 29th August, 1800.
 
 (No. 3.) 
 
 For the Purpose of confirming the 'Statement, 
 made by Lady Douglas, of the Circum- 
 stances mentioned in her Narrative, the 
 following Examinations have been taken, 
 and which have been signed by the several 
 Persons who have been examined. 
 
 SARAH LAMPERT. 
 
 N. B. This witness was not examined by the Com- 
 missioners; at least, no Copy of any Examination of 
 hers was transmitted with the other Papers ; and no ob- 
 servation is made in the Report of the Commissioners, or 
 in the answer of her Royal Highness upon her Exami- 
 nations. It has, therefore, been thought that there was 
 no necessity for publishing them. 
 
 There are two of them- one dated at Cheltenham, 8th 
 January, 1806; the other with no date of place, but 
 dated 20f h March, 1806. 
 
 MR. WILLIAM LAMPERT. 
 
 N. B. The same observations apply to Mr. Willieufo 
 Lamperfs Examination, as to those of his Wife, with 
 this additional circumstance, that the whole of his Exa- 
 mination is mere hearsay. 
 
 *O
 
 llth January, 1806, 
 WILLIAM COLE. 
 
 Has been with the Prince for 21 years in that 
 month ; he went with the Princess on her marriage, 
 and remained till April, 1802. 
 
 In 1801, he says', he had reason to be dissatisfied 
 with the Princess's conduct. During the latter part 
 of that year he has seen Mr. Canning several times 
 alone with the Princess, in a room adjoining to the 
 drawing-room, for an hour or two, of which the com- 
 pany took notice. 
 
 In January, 1802, Sir Sidney frequently came to 
 dine with the Princess, and their intimacy became 
 familiar; he has frequently dined and supped at the 
 house, and when the Ladies have retired, about eleven 
 o'clock, he has known Sir Sidney remain alone with 
 the Princess an hour or two 'afterwards ; hfs suspicions 
 increased very much ; and one night, about twelve 
 o'clock, he saw a person wrapped up in a great coat, 
 go across the park, into the gate to the green house, 
 and heveriJy believes it was Sir Sidney. 
 
 In the month of March, 1802, the Princess ordered 
 gome sandwiches, which Cole took into the drawing- 
 room, where, he found Sir Sidney talking to the Prin- 
 cess; he sat down the sandwiches, and retired. In a 
 short time he went again into the room, where he found 
 the Gentleman and Lady sitting close together, in so 
 familiar a posture as to alarm him very much, which 
 he expressed by a start back, and a look attheGentle- 
 man. He dates his dismissal from this circumstance ; 
 for, about a fortnight afterwards, he was sent for by 
 the Duke of Kent, who told him he had seen the Prin- 
 cess at court the day before: that she had expressed 
 the greatest regard for him, and that she intended to 
 do something for him, by employing him, as a confi- 
 dential person, to do her little matters in, town ; and
 
 his attendance at Montague House would not be re- 
 quired. He received this intimation with much con- 
 cern; but said, Uer Royal Highness'* pleasure must 
 govern him. 
 
 He says, that the cordiality between the Princess 
 and Lady D, was very soon brought about; and, he 
 supposes, on Sir Sidney's account ; that the Princess 
 frequently went across the Heath to Lady D. where 
 she staid till late in the evening, and that, sometimes, 
 Lady D. and Sir Sidney have come with the Princess 
 to Montague House late in the evening, when they 
 have supped. 
 
 Sometime after he had left Montague House, he 
 went down, when he spoke to Fanny Lloyd, and asked 
 her how things went on amongst them ; she said, she 
 wished she had remained amongst them ; there was 
 strange goings on ; that Sir Sidney was frequently 
 there; and that one day, when Mary Wilson supposed 
 the Princess to be gone into the library, she went into 
 the bed-room, where she found a man at breakfast 
 with the Princess ; that there was a great to do about 
 it ; and that Mary Wilson was sworn to secrecy, and 
 threatened to be turned away if she divulged what she 
 had seen, 
 
 He does not know much of what passecl at Margate 
 in 1803. 
 
 In 1804, the Princess was at Southern!, where Fanny 
 Uoyd also was ; when Cole saw her after her return, 
 he asked how they had gone on; she said, " Delight- 
 ful doings, always on ship-board, or the Captain at 
 our house." 
 
 She told him, that one evening, when all were sup- 
 posed to be in bed, Mrs. Lisle met -a man in the pas- 
 sage; but no alarm was made this was Captain 
 Manby; he was constantly in the house. Mr. Cote 
 says, that Mrs. Sander knows every thing ; that she 
 has appeared in great distress on many occasions, and
 
 100 
 
 has said to him, the Princess is an altered woman ; he 
 believes Sander to be a very respectable woman. 
 
 He says, that he believes Roberts to be an honest 
 man ; that Roberts has said to him -As Roberts him- 
 self was examined by the Commissioners, and his deposition 
 is given in Appendix A. No. 8, what Cole says he heard 
 him say is omitted here.) 
 
 That Arthur, the gardener, is a decent man, but 
 does not know if he is privy to any thing. 
 
 That Bidgood is a deaf quiet man, but thinks he 
 has not been confidentially trusted. 
 
 That Mrs. Gosden was nurse to the child, and was 
 always up-stairs with it ; she is a respectable woman ; 
 but after some time, took upon herself much conse- 
 quence, and refused to dine in the servant's hall. 
 
 In 1801, Lawrence, the painter, was at Montague 
 House, for four or five days at a time, painting the 
 Princess's picture; that he was frequently alone, late 
 in the night, with the Princess, and much suspicion 
 was entertained of him. 
 
 WM. COLE. 
 
 14th January, 1S06*. 
 WILLIAM COLE. 
 
 Says, that the Princess was at Mr Hood's, at Sather- 
 ington, near Portsmouth, for near a month in the laet 
 summer, where she took her footman and servants. 
 
 That the house in which Mr. Hood lived was given 
 up to the Princess, and he, and his family, went to re- 
 side in a small house adjoining. 
 
 That the Princess and Mr. Hood very frequently 
 went out in the forenoon, and remained out for four 
 or five hours at a time. 
 
 That they rode in a gig, attended by a boy, (a coun-
 
 101 
 
 try lad) servant to Mr. Hood, and took with them 
 cold meat ; that they used to get out of the gig, and 
 walk into the wood, leaving the boy to attend the 
 horse and gig till their return. This happened very 
 frequently; that the Duke of Kent called one day, 
 and seeing the Princess's attendants at the window, 
 came into the house, and after waiting some time, 
 went away without seeing the Princess, who was out 
 with Mr. Hood. 
 
 This information Mr. Cole had from Fanny Lloyd. 
 
 When Mr.Cole found the drawing-room, which led 
 to the staircase to the Princess's apartments, locked, 
 he does not know whether any person was with her, 
 but it appeared odd to him, as he had formed some 
 suspicions. 
 
 Mr. Cole says, that he saw the Princess at Black- 
 heath about fourtimes in the year 1802, after he left 
 her in April, and five or six times in London; that 
 he had heard a story of the Princess's being with 
 child, but cannot say that he formed an opinion that 
 she was so ; that she grew lusty, and appeared large 
 behind ; and that at the latter end of the year he 
 made the observation, that the Princess was grown 
 thinner. 
 
 That he cannot form an opinion about the child; 
 that he has seen an old man and woman (about 50 
 years of age) at Montague House on a Sunday, and 
 has inquired who they were, when he was answered 
 by the servants in the hall, " That is little Billy's 
 mother," (meaning the child the Princess had taken, 
 and which was found by Stikeman.) 
 
 WM. COLE.
 
 10S 
 
 Temple, 30th January, 1806. 
 
 WILLIAM COLE 
 
 Says, that on the 17th of January instant, he walked 
 from Blackheath to London with Mr. Stikeman, and, 
 in the conversation on the road, Cole mentioned the 
 circumstance of the little child, saying, that he was 
 grown a fine interesting boy ; to which Stikeman re- 
 plied, What, do you mean Billy Austin? Cole said 
 Yes. Pray do the old man and woman come to see 
 the child as usual ? Stikeman said, " Old man and 
 woman! they are not old ; we have not seen them 
 much lately ; they live at Deptford ;" but he appeared 
 to avoid any, conversation on the subject. Cole says, 
 that the account of the correspondence between the 
 Princess nnd Captain Manby was communicated to 
 iohim by Fanny Lloyd, but she never mentioned any 
 such correspondence having taken place through 
 Sicard, since Captain Manby went abroad. 
 
 Cole says, that he has not been in the company, or 
 presence, of the Prince alone, or had any conversation 
 with him on this, or any other subject, since the Prin- 
 cess went to live at Charlton, which is near nine years 
 ago- 
 
 WM. COLE. 
 
 23 d February, 1 80 6\ 
 
 WILLIAM COLE 
 
 Says, that a Gentleman and Lady were sitting close 
 together on the sofa ; but there was nothing particular 
 in their dress, position of legs or arms, that was ex- 
 traordinary ; he thought ii improper that a single Gen- 
 eman should be sitting quite close to a married Lady 

 
 103 
 
 on the sofa ; and from that situation, and former 
 observation^ he thought the thing improper. 
 
 The person who was alone with the Lady at late 
 hours of the night (twelve and one o'clock), and whom 
 he left sitting up after he went to bed, was Mr. Law- 
 rence the painter, which happened two different 
 nights at least. 
 
 As to the observation made about Sir Sidney having 
 a key of every door about the gardens, it was a garden- 
 er, who was complaining of the door of the green-house 
 being left open, and the plants damaged, and who 
 aiade the same to Mr. Lam pert, the servant of Sir John 
 Douglas, and which he mentioned at Cheltenham to 
 Sir John and Mr. Lowten. 
 
 Lam pert said he should know the gardener again. 
 
 Temple, 4th April, 1SO& 
 ROBERT BIDGOOD. 
 
 Have lived with the Prince 23 years on the 18th of 
 September next, and have been with the Princess since 
 21st March, 1798. In 1 80'2 we were at Blackheath, 
 and did not go to any other place: in 1801 Sir Sidney 
 Smith left his card at Montague House, and he was 
 afterwards iuvited to dinner; and, in the Spring of 
 1802, Lady Douglas came to reside at the Tower, 
 where she stayed about three week's. During this time 
 Sir Sidney was frequently at the House, both morning 
 and evening, and remained till three or four o'clock in 
 the morning. He has seen Sir Sidney in the blue par- 
 lour early (by ten o'clock) in the morning : and, on in- 
 quiring from the footmen how he came there without 
 his knowledge, they said, they had not let him in, and 
 knew nothing of his being there. He does not know 
 of Sir Sidney being alone till three or four o'clock in 
 the morning, as there were other Ladies in the house,
 
 During the year 1802 the Princess used to ride out in 
 her phaeton, attended by Mrs. Fitzgerald, and took 
 out cold meat, and went towards Dartford, where she 
 spent the day, and returned about six or seven in the 
 evening, Williams, the coachman, always attended 
 the Princess. 
 
 Lady Douglas, during the year 1802, was constantly 
 at Montague House, and was admitted at all times. 
 The Princess was used frequently logo to Lady Doug- 
 las's house, where Sir Sidney resided ; at the end of 
 that year there was a misunderstanding between Lady 
 Douglas and the Princess ; and one day he saw Lady 
 Douglas leave the house in tears, and afterwards she 
 has not visited the Princess. Mr. Bidgood's wife has 
 lately told him, that Fanny Lloyd told her, that Mary 
 Wilson had told Lloyd, that one day, when she went 
 into the Princess's room, she found the Princess and Sir 
 Sidney in the fact; that she (Wilson) immediately 
 left the room, and fainted at the door. 
 
 In the Winter of 1802, and the Spring of 1803, Cap- 
 tain Manby became a visitor at Montague House ; his 
 frigate was fitting out at Deptford, and Bidgood has 
 reason to believe, that the Princess fitted up his cabin, 
 for he has seen the cotton furniture brought to the 
 Princess to chuse the pattern, which was sent to Blake, 
 her upholsterer, in London-street, Greenwich. When 
 Captaia Manby was about to sail, he was walking in 
 the anti-room, to let Captain Manby out: and, as he 
 stayed some time, Bidgood looked into the room, and 
 from a mirror on the opposite side of the room to 
 vfhere Captain Manby and the Princess stood, he saw 
 Captain Manby kissing the Princess's lips; and soon 
 afterwards he went away. He saw the Princess, with 
 her handkerchief to her face, and go into the drawing- 
 room, apparently iu tears. 
 
 In 1803, was not with the Princess at Margate. 
 
 In 1S04, was with the Princess at Southend. We
 
 105 
 
 went there the 2d of May ; Sicard was constantly on 
 the look-out forthe Africaine, Captain Manby's ship; 
 and about a month afterwards, Sicard descried the 
 ship, before she c % ame to the Nore. The instant the 
 ship cast anchor, the Captain came on shore in his 
 boat to the Princess. The Princess had two houses, 
 Nos. 8 and 9. She lived at No. 9 ; and on Sicard 
 seeing Captain Man by come on shore, he ran down 
 the shrubbery to meet, and shewed him into the 
 house, No. 9 ; Captain Manby was constantly at No. 
 9; and used to go in the evening on board his ship, 
 for some weeks ; but afterwards he did not return on 
 board the ship in the evening, and Bidgood had seen 
 him in the morning, by ten o'clock, in the house, No. 
 9; and, from the circumstance of towels, water, and 
 glasses, being placed in the passage, he had reason to 
 believe that Manby had slept there all night. 
 
 In 1805, Bidgood was not with the Princess in 
 Hampshire. 
 
 After the Princess returned from Hampshire, Cap- 
 tain Hood used to visit the Princess at Blackheath 
 alone, without his wife. Captain Hood used to come 
 about twelve o'clock, and was shewn into the blue 
 room, where luncheon was ordered ; and the Princess 
 and the Captain were alone together, without a lady 
 or other attendant. He used to stay dinner, and 
 sometimes in boots ; about an hour afterwards coffee 
 \vas ordered ; after which the Pr;ncess retired, and 
 Captain Hood had also left the room, aud had iot 
 been let out of the house by any of the servants. 
 Bidgood has not seen Captain Hood since about Christ- 
 mas last. 
 
 Bidgood has strong suspicions that Mrs. Sander 
 used to deliver letters to Sicard, which he conceived 
 to be from the Princess to Captain Manby, as Sicard
 
 106 
 
 used to put the letters into his pocket, and not into 
 the common bag for letters. 
 
 Mrs. Sander must be fully informed of all the cir- 
 cumstances above alluded to. Mary Wilson and Miss 
 Mielfield must also know all the circumstances. 
 
 Bidgood has seen the mother (as she is called) of the 
 little boy frequently at Montague House ; the child 
 was about three weeks old when he first saw it. The 
 mother was at Montague House on Monday last. 
 The husband worked at Deptford Yard ; but was dis- 
 charged, and Stikeman has since employed him at his 
 house in town. The mother appears to be better dres- 
 sed than usual. 
 
 (Signed) R. BIDGOOD, 
 
 SARAH BIDGOOD, 
 
 About six months ago, in a conversation with Fanny 
 Lloyd, respecting the general conduct of the Princess, 
 .she said, that whilst Sir Sidney visited the Princess, 
 that Mary Wilson had gone into the bed-room to make 
 up the lire, and found the Princess and Sir Sidney in 
 such an indecent situation, that she immediately left 
 the room, and was so shocked that she fainted away 
 at the door. 
 
 ( This witness was not examined before the Commissi- 
 oners ; at least, no Copy of such Examination, if there 
 was any, was transmitted with the other Papers. The 
 jirst paragraph in her examination is, however, stated 
 above, as it is observed upon in the Princess's Answer ; 
 but the remainder, not being adverted to, either by the 
 Commissioner's Report, or by the Answer, and being all 
 /learsay, is omitted,
 
 107 
 
 Temple, IZth May, 1800, 
 FRANCES LLOYD, 
 
 FROM RIPLEY IN SURREY. 
 
 To the best of 1 my knowledge, Mary Wilson said 
 that she had seen the Princess and Sir Sidney in the 
 blue room ; but she is so close a woman, that she 
 never opens her mouth on any occasion ; never heard 
 Mary Wilson say she was so alarmed as to be in a fit. 
 
 Heard the gardener at Ramsgate say one day, at 
 dinner, that he had seen Mr. Sicard and Captain Man- 
 by go across the lawn towards a subterraneous pas- 
 sage leading to the sea. 
 
 When her Royal Highness was going to the launch, 
 Sir Andrew Hammond and his son came the day be- 
 fore, and dined with her, and in the next morning, 
 about four o'clock, after the doors of the house were 
 open, she saw Captain Manby sitting in the drawing-- 
 room of the adjoining house to her Royal Highness, 
 which room belonged to her. 
 
 One morning, about six o'clock, she was called ta 
 get breakfast for her Royal Highness, when she saw 
 Captain Manby, and her walking in the garden, at 
 Ramsgate. 
 
 Heard from Mrs. Lisle's maid, that the Princess, 
 when at Lady Sheffield's, went out of her bed-room^ 
 and could not find her way back; but nothing more.
 
 108 
 
 About four years ago, as I think, Mr. Mills attended 
 me for a cold, and, in conversation he asked me if the 
 Prince visited at our house? I said, not to my know- 
 ledge. He said the Princess certainly was with child. 
 
 FRANCES LLOYD. 
 
 A true Copy, 
 
 (Signed) J. Ztecket* 
 
 
 
 Whitehall, 29th August, 1806. 
 
 FINIS. 1
 
 STATED IN THE 
 
 APPENDIXES. 
 
 APPENDIX (A). 
 
 No. 1806, Page 
 
 1. The King's Warrant, dated 29 May. 
 
 2. Deposition of Lady Douglas, 1 June. 
 
 3. ... Sir John Douglas, 1 
 
 4. ....... Robert Bidgood, 6 
 
 5. William Cole, 10 
 
 6. . . - - Frances Lloyd, 7 
 
 7. .-...,- Mary Wilson, 7 
 
 5. ---.-' Samuel Roberts, 7 
 9. ....... Thomas Stikeman, 7 
 
 10. ..----- John Sicard, 7 
 
 11.- Charlotte Sander, 7 
 
 12. ----- - - Sophia Austin, 7 
 
 13. Letter from Lord Spencer to Lord 
 
 Gwydir, 20 25 
 
 '14. ...... Lord Gwydir to Lord 
 
 Spencer, 2| 26 
 
 15. ...... Lady Willoughby to 
 
 Lord Spencer, 31 27 
 
 16. Extract from Register of Brown- 
 
 low-street Hospital, 23 27 
 
 17. Deposition of Eliz.Gosden, 23 23
 
 LIST OF DOCUMENTS. 
 
 No. 180^ Page 
 
 IS. Depos n of Betty Townley, 23 June. -29 
 
 19. - - Thomas Edmeades, 25 3O 
 
 20. Samuel G. Mills, 25 32 
 
 21. Harriet Fitzgerald, 27 33 
 
 22. Letter from Lord Spencer to Lord 
 
 .Gwydir, - - 1 July. 36 
 
 23. - - -Lord Gwydir to Lord 
 
 Spencer, 3 37 
 24 Queries lu Lady Willoughby,und 
 
 Answers, - 3 ib. 
 
 25. Further Deposition of Robert Bid- 
 
 good, - 3 39 
 
 26. Deposition of Sir Francis Millman, 3 4i 
 27. of Mrs. Lisle, 3 42 
 
 28. Letter from Sir Francis Millman to 
 
 the Lord Chancellor, 4 46 
 
 29. Deposition of Lord Cholmondeley, 16 41 
 
 APPENDIX (B); 
 
 1. Lady Douglas's Statement, 49 
 
 2. Narrative of His Royal Highness the 92 
 
 Duke of Kent, 
 
 3 Examination for the purpose of 
 Confirming Lady Douglas's 
 Statement, 97
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 198, for December 8th, 1807, read December 8th, 18i6. 
 
 At the foot of each of the Documents, stated in the Appendix, from 
 Jfos. 1 to 19, both inclusive, read 
 ** A true Copy, 
 
 " J. Socket."
 
 R. EDWARDS, PRINTER, CRANE-COURT, FLEET-STREET. 
 
 Reprinted by M. Jones, No, 5, Newgate-street, London.
 
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