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ROYAL AFFAIR
by
TILLYARD, S.K.
The young George III was a poignant figure, humdrum on the surface, yet turbulent beneath: hiding his own passions, he tried hard to be a father to his siblings and his nation. This intimate book tells the intertwined stories.
Stock: In Stock, Delivery: Standard 2-3 Days (inc BFPO), £2.65
Format: Hardback
Published: 02/02/2006
Publisher: VINTAGE
ISBN: 0701173068
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Reviewed By: |
History Today |
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Date: |
24/05/2006 |
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Reader Rating: |
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Review:
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This accomplished, well-grounded account of the eighteenth-century British royal family focuses on George III’s sister Caroline Mathilde (1751-75). Married in 1766 at the age of fifteen to her cousin Christian VII of Denmark (1749-1808), in order to assist British and Hanoverian diplomatic interests, Caroline Mathilde was the only one of George’s four sisters to marry into a royal family but she had a life very different from that of her sister-in-law, George’s wife, Charlotte. Her youth and isolation, and the mental instability and unfaithfulness of her schizophrenic husband, Christian, help extenuate her affair with the court doctor and leading favourite, Johann Friedrich Struensee, by whom she had a child.
When Struensee was overthrown in a Court coup on January 17th, 1772, the queen was left in a very exposed position. Struensee’s execution, with the full cruelties of due legal process for such a crime, led to concern about her fate: Caroline Mathilde’s adultery was a very serious offence. It was indeed intended that she be imprisoned, although there was anxiety in Britain that she might be tried, exposing the British royal family to embarrassment. The unsympathetic Danish envoy thought George too keen to insist that his views be followed and his concern for his sister ensured that, in this episode, he certainly directed British foreign policy to an unprecedented extent for his reign. The threat of naval action against the much weaker Denmark was used in order to ensure her release into exile in the Electorate of Hanover.
George then treated her with kindness, as well as care, ensuring she had books and musicians, but there was no doubt that the scandal affected the reputation of the family. He made it clear that she was not welcome in Britain, and she was obliged to remain in the Electorate at Göhrde, where she did not have the opportunity to act as a public figure. Her position resembled that of George’s great-grandmother, George I’s wife Sophia Dorothea, similarly detained for adultery. George’s concern to act in an appropriate fashion was shown when he responded cautiously to suggestions that a coup be launched to return Caroline Mathilde to power, a somewhat quixotic scheme. The King insisted that, if successful, there be no killing of the new ministers. Before matters could proceed, Caroline Mathilde died in 1775. As an interesting indication of the difficulty of establishing the character of illness in the royal family, her death has been variously attributed to porphyria, scarlet fever and smallpox.
Tillyard has made very good use of the available material, and has ranged widely in her search for sources. This is not easy as Caroline Mathilde’s surviving papers were burnt after she died, and it is also possible that George destroyed relevant material. George himself was dominated by a strong, religiously-grounded sense of duty, but the contrast between him and his brothers serves as a reminder of the play of personality and contingency, and this offers a comment on the tendency to discuss the American Revolution in terms of rebellious children and/or harsh parenting. The difficulties he encountered with his siblings made George more acutely concerned about his children, but did not lead to a happier outcome. Rather than emphasizing clashes between generations, as is frequently done when discussing George’s problems with his children, it is instructive to note the degree to which his brother Edward, Duke of York was more similar to their father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, than to his royal brother, while George’s eldest son, later George IV, had much in common with his uncle, Edward. Another of George III’s brothers, Henry, Duke of Cumberland, was also very different to the King, and in turn influenced the future George IV, introducing him to gambling and encouraging him in drinking and womanizing. Tillyard’s book is well-paced, interesting and based on a commendably wide-ranging grasp of relevant archival sources.
Jeremy Black is the author of the forthcoming George III: Americas Last King (Yale, 2006).
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Reviewed By: |
From the Publisher |
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Date: |
26/04/2006 |
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Reader Rating: |
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Review:
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The acclaimed, bestselling author of Aristocats returns with a stunning, major new book about a scandal-ridden family trapped between duty, desire and the protocols of royalty - the dramatic story of a king trying to hold family and state together, as both his siblings and his American colonies rebel... A sweeping picture of 18th-century royalty, politics and family affairs, impeccably researched, with glamorous settings, driving narrative, dazzling characters and provocative ideas. |
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