A ROYAL ROMANCE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 567, 14 May 1913, Page 3

A ROYAL ROMANCE.

George IV. and Wirs. Fitzherbert. In "Love Intrigues of Royal Courts";, (published' "by Mi. Vvernei Laurie),'Mr. Thornton Hall gives a collection of more than a score of stories, every one of which is a ro: mance, and not the least interesting (according to the "Mail") that o! George IV. and Mrs. Fitzherbert. Suddenly in the summer o*f 1784, there appeared in London a lady oi remarkable beauty, "her hair was ol a. pale gold, her complexion that of the wild rose and hawthorn, her features exquisitely chiselled, her figure full of grace." She was at this time a widow for the second time, at the age of 25, with an income of £ 2,000 a year. Prince George, one of the handsomest men in England, immediately fell under the spell of her beauty.

A PRINCE'S WOOING. "Painful pre-eminence !" he writes to her. "Would that I could lay it aside, or that I might be permitte.l to introduce as a daughter to Her Majesty virtues congenial to her own; to my subjects so amiable a lady. Vain delusion ! I know—l regret the impossibility. Deprive me not oi your friendship, but try to give comfort to the heart which is all your own." "Meet you ?" writes Mrs. Fitzherbert to the Prince, who asked her to see him when leaving the ball. "What you ? The Prince of Wales, whose character in the annals of gallantry is too well known for me to suppose that after such a meeting I should have any character at all." In vain the Prince tried to brea!\ down the barriers of the lady's modesty, and, in desperation, he threatened several times to commit suicide, at length making an actual attempt, which resulted in their marriage. Lord Sturton tells the story : "One day Keith, the surgeon Lords Onslow and Southampton, and Mr. Edward Bouverie arrived at the house in the' utmost consternation, informed her that the life of the Prince was iu imminent danger, he had stabbed himself, and that only her immediate presence would save dim. She resisted all their importunities, saying that nothing would induce her to enter Carlton House." STORY OF THE MARRIAGE.

At length, yielding, on the condition that the Duchess of Devonshire would accompany her, "she found the Prince pale and covered with blood. The sight so overpowered her faculties that she was deprived almost of all consciousness. ! The Prince told her that nothing'•■ would: induce him to live unless she promised to become his wife and permitted him to put a ring round her finger. I believe a ring from the hand of the Duchess of Devonshire was used on the occasion." Of course, this was not a real marriage, and, realising the trick, the lady fled to the Continent the following day. But some months later, on the King's consent to valid marriage, she returned, and the ceremony was performed in Park Street, Park Lane, on December 15, IV". Although George married Princess Caroline later on, he never lost his love for his first wife.