Pains and Penalties Bill 1820
Encyclopedia
The Pains and Penalties Bill 1820 was a bill introduced to the British Parliament in 1820, at the request of King George IV
, which aimed to dissolve his marriage to Caroline of Brunswick
, and deprive her of the title of Queen of the United Kingdom.
George and Caroline had married in 1795, when George was still Prince of Wales
. After the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, they separated. Caroline eventually went to live abroad, where she appointed Bartolomeo Pergami to her household as a courier. He eventually rose to become the head servant of her household, and it was widely rumoured that they were lovers.
In 1820, George became King, and Caroline travelled to Britain to assert her rights as queen consort of the United Kingdom. George despised her, and was adamant that he wanted a divorce. Under English law, however, divorce was illegal unless one of the parties was guilty of adultery. As neither he nor Caroline would admit adultery, George had a bill introduced to Parliament, which if passed would declare Caroline to have committed adultery, and grant the King a divorce. In essence, the reading of the bill was a public trial
of the Queen, with the members of the House of Lords
and the House of Commons
acting as both jury and judges.
After a sensational trial, which was heavily reported in the press in salacious detail, the bill was narrowly passed by the House of Lords. However, because the margin was so slim and public unrest over the bill was significant, the government withdrew the bill before it was debated by the House of Commons as the likelihood of it ever passing was remote.
, the eldest son of King George III of the United Kingdom
, married Duchess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The marriage, however, was disastrous; each party was unsuited to the other. They separated after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, the following year. Caroline was soon banished from court, and eventually departed England for the European mainland. On the death of George III on 29 January 1820, George became King as George IV, and Caroline became queen consort
. However, the King refused to recognise Caroline as Queen, and commanded British ambassadors to ensure that monarchs in foreign courts did the same. Her name was omitted from the liturgy
of the Church of England
, and George acted to exclude her at every opportunity. In June, Caroline returned to London
to assert her rights as queen consort of the United Kingdom
.
George despised her, and over the preceding few years had collated evidence to support his contention that Caroline had committed adultery while abroad with Bartolomeo Pergami, the head servant of her household. The day after her return to England, George submitted the evidence to the Houses of Parliament in two green bags. The contents of the bags were identical; one copy was presented to the House of Lords
by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Lord Liverpool, and the other was presented to the British House of Commons
by the Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh
. Each requested that the Houses set up a confidential enquiry to examine the contents of the bags. Replying to Castlereagh in the Commons, Caroline's Attorney General
, Henry Brougham
, demanded that the papers be disclosed to the public. Brougham was in the opposition Whig
party, and knew that public sympathy rested with Caroline, rather than her husband or the government, which was weak and unpopular. Disclosure of George's own adulterous affairs, or even his scandalous and illegal previous marriage to Maria Fitzherbert, could destabilise the Tory government led by Lord Liverpool.
In an attempt to construct a compromise, Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington
met with Brougham and Caroline's solicitor
Thomas Denman
. William Wilberforce
secured time for negotiation by persuading the Commons to adjourn the debate on the bags. However, the negotiations were fruitless; the government offered Caroline £50,000 a year to live abroad as a Duchess, but Caroline insisted on her right to be Queen and dismissed the money as a bribe. Wilberforce moved a motion in the House requesting that Caroline not insist on all her claims, which was passed by a wide margin of 394–124. However, the public was still solidly behind Caroline, and she rejected Wilberforce's request. George Canning
, who may have been a former lover of Caroline, threatened to resign from the government in protest at the proceedings against her. If Canning resigned, the government would almost certainly fall. In the end, either he was persuaded not to resign or his resignation was refused. His eldest son had recently died and, rather than be involved in the debate, Canning left Britain on a tour of Europe to recover from his grief.
On 27 June, the Lords rejected a motion made by the Whig leader Lord Grey
to abandon the investigation, and the bags were opened and examined by a committee of 15 peers. A week later, the chair of the committee, Lord Harrowby
, reported back to the House. The committee decided that the evidence was of such a grave and serious nature that it should be the subject of a "legislative proceeding". In reply, Lord Liverpool announced that a bill would be introduced the following day.
The bill was effectively a public trial of the Queen, whereby the government could call witnesses against Caroline, who would be cross-examined by her legal advisors. By voting on the bill, members of the Houses of Parliament would be both jury and judges. Caroline would not receive basic rights accorded to other defendants; for example, she would not be informed of who the witnesses were before they were called. It was, said the Times
newspaper, "a violation of the law of God". The British public seemed to be on Caroline's side, and gave her strong support.
George lived a hugely extravagant life on the taxes collected by Parliament, whereas Caroline appeared to live modestly. Satirists and cartoonists published prints in support of Caroline, and depicted George as debauched and licentious. She received messages of support from all over the country. Caroline was a figurehead for the growing radical movement that demanded political reform and opposed the unpopular George. By August, Caroline had allied with radical campaigners such as William Cobbett
, and it was probably Cobbett who wrote these words of Caroline's:
The day before the trial was due to start an open letter from Caroline to George, again probably written by Cobbett, was published widely. In it, she decried the injustices against her, claimed she was the victim of conspiracy and intrigue, accused him of heartlessness and cruelty, and demanded a fair trial. The letter was seen as a challenge, not only to George but to the government and the forces resisting reform.
Lord Eldon
, acting as the Speaker of the House
, noted the absence of several Lords, notably Lords Byron
and Erskine
, because they were either abroad or too elderly to attend. Caroline's brother-in-law, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, asked to be excused from participating on the grounds of consanguinity. His request was granted, though his brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, announced that he would continue to attend.
The first motion was put by the Duke of Leinster
, who moved that the bill be dismissed. It was an initial test of the government's strength, that would gauge support for the King. The motion was dismissed 206–41. During the first day and the next, opening speeches by Caroline's defence team, Henry Brougham and Thomas Denman, were well-received. In their speeches, Brougham and Denman hinted but did not state explicitly, referring only to "recrimination", that George could come off worse because of the bill if his own infidelities (such as his secret marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert) were revealed in the course of the debate. In private, the Queen also turned the tables on the King by saying, "[I] never committed adultery but once, and that was with Mrs Fitzherbert's husband."
The prosecution case, led by the Attorney General for England and Wales
Sir Robert Gifford
, began on Saturday 19 August. The Queen did not attend. Gifford claimed that Caroline and Pergami had lived as lovers for five years from November 1814. He asserted that they shared a bedroom, were seen in each other's presence arm-in-arm, and were heard kissing. The Queen, he stated, changed clothes in front of Pergami, and ate her meals with him. He said that Pergami was a married man, but although his child, sister, mother and brother lived in the Queen's household, his wife did not. The Sunday papers the following morning were filled with the salacious details of Gifford's speech. Gifford resumed his attack on Monday 21 August by recounting further outrageous revelations: Pergami and Caroline had been seen together on a bed in a state of undress; she had sat on Pergami's knee in public; she had taken baths, accompanied only by Pergami. High society did not receive the speech well. They were appalled at Caroline's behaviour but they were more appalled at George's. By forcing the details of Caroline's life into the public arena, George had damaged the monarchy and endangered the political status quo. Leigh Hunt wrote to Percy Bysshe Shelley
, "The whole thing will be one of the greatest pushes given to the declining royalty that the age has seen."
The first witness for the prosecution was an Italian servant, Theodore Majocchi. The prosecution's reliance on Italian witnesses of low birth led to anti-Italian prejudice in Britain. The witnesses had to be protected from angry mobs, and were depicted in popular prints and pamphlets as venal, corrupt and criminal. Street-sellers sold prints alleging that the Italians had accepted bribes to commit perjury. After Gifford's speech on 21 August, Caroline entered the chamber of the House of Lords. Shortly afterward, Majocchi was called. As he was led in, Caroline rose and advanced towards him, flinging back her veil. She apparently recognised him, exclaimed "Theodore!", and rushed out of the House. Her sudden sensational departure was seen as "burst of agony" by The Times
, but others thought it the mark of a guilty conscience. It led her defence team to advise her against attending in future unless specifically requested. Indeed, the evidence was so demeaning that the Queen did usually absent herself from the chamber, though she went to the House of Lords. According to Princess Lieven
, she passed the time by playing backgammon in a side-chamber.
John Singleton Copley
, Majocchi testified that Caroline and Pergami ate breakfast together, had adjoining bedrooms, and had kissed each other on the lips. He said Pergami's bed was not always slept in, and he had seen Pergami visit the Queen wearing only underwear and a dressing gown. He said that they had slept in the same tent during a trip around the Mediterranean, and that Pergami had attended the Queen, alone, while she was having a bath. The following day, his astonishing testimony continued with the revelation that when Caroline and Pergami were travelling together in a carriage, Pergami kept a bottle with him so he could relieve himself without having to step down from the coach. The situation in the House became more absurd, as the Solicitor General asked Majocchi about a male exotic dancer employed by Caroline, after which Majocchi demonstrated a dance by pulling up his trousers, extending his arms, clicking his fingers, and shouting "vima dima!", while moving his body up and down in a suggestive fashion. The Times newspaper was disgusted, and informed its readers that it regretted being "obliged" to report "filth of this kind". During Brougham's cross-examination, Majocchi replied "Non mi ricordo (I don't recall)" more than 200 times. The phrase was repeated so often, it became a national joke, and featured in cartoons and parodies. Majocchi's credibility as a witness was destroyed.
The next witness was ship's mate Gaetano Paturzo, who claimed that he had seen Caroline sitting on Pergami's lap, but nothing more, while on a Mediterranean cruise. Ship's master Vincenzo Garguilo testified that Caroline and Pergami had shared a tent on deck, and had kissed. Under cross-examination, he admitted that he had been paid to give evidence, but said that the payment was lower in value than the business he had lost through coming to England. Captain Thomas Briggs of the Leviathan
, another ship used by Caroline and Pergami during their trip, was also called as a prosecution witness. He said that they had adjoining cabins on board, and had seen them arm-in-arm. Unlike the Italian witnesses, as an Englishman of some substance, the Lords considered Captain Briggs to be a more credible witness
. After the conclusion of the cross-examination, however, the Lord Ellenborough
rose and asked Briggs directly, "Did the witness see any improper familiarity between the Princess and Pergami? Had you any reason to suspect any improper freedom or familiarity between them?" "No", replied Briggs.
A further witness, Pietro Cuchi, an innkeeper in Trieste
told the Lords that he had spied on the couple through a keyhole, during which he thought he saw Pergami leave the Queen's bedroom wearing stockings, pantaloons and a dressing gown. However, he couldn't be sure because his view, through the keyhole, was restricted. He did say that Pergami's bed was not slept in, and that both chamber pot
s in Caroline's room were used.
As Princess Lieven observed, the trial was a "solemn farce". On 25 August, a chambermaid from Karlsruhe
, Barbara Kress, was sworn in. She was asked about the sheets on the Queen's bed: "Did you at any time see anything on the sheets?", asked the Attorney General. Her response was quietly spoken. Two interpreters, one for the King and one for the Queen, formed a huddle around the witness. The Queen's interpreter claimed the response wuste was not translatable; the King's interpreter was asked to press the witness for a further explanation. The witness broke down, and the proceedings were paused to allow her to regain composure. An eventual translation of "stains" was agreed. Tory grande dame Harriet Arbuthnot
wrote in her journal, "if the Whig Lords do not consider the disgusting details they have heard proof, the Whig ladies may in future consider themselves very secure against divorces."
Caroline's former maid, Louise Demont, testified she had seen Caroline leave Pergami's bedroom wearing only a nightdress, and corroborated previous evidence that Caroline and Pergami has shared a tent and a bath during the cruise. She was also asked about stains on the bed-sheets, but refused to be drawn into details because it was "not decent". Under cross-examination, she was accused of living in England for more than a year under the assumed name of "Countess Colombier". Demont's flustered reply mimicked those of Majocchi, as she claimed she could not recall being called by that name. The defence said she had been sacked for lying, and produced a letter written by Demont in which she admitted coming to England on a "false pretence". Demont's sister, Mariette Brun, had remained in Caroline's service as a maid, and had passed information on her sister to Caroline's defence team.
The procession of witnesses continued; a mason Luigi Galdini claimed he had stumbled across Pergami holding Caroline's bare breast in their Italian villa. Coachman Giuseppe Sacchi, who was Demont's lover, claimed that he had found the couple asleep in a carriage in each other's arms, with Caroline's hand on Pergami's undone breeches. Sacchi's testimony was ridiculed in the British press, as "the parties being asleep, such a position in a carriage, where the bodies are themselves upright, or nearly so, is beyond all question absolutely and physically impossible."
After the presentation of the prosecution case, the trial was adjourned for three weeks, and the Queen's solicitor, Denman, visited Cheltenham Spa for a break. Once his identity was discovered, a supportive crowd gathered outside his lodgings. Meanwhile, Caroline's defence team assembled their evidence. Letters exchanged between them and Italian correspondents show that Colonel Carlo Vassalli, Caroline's equerry, said there was nothing improper between Caroline and Pergami. Caroline shared a room with Victorine, Pergami's daughter, and Caroline's behaviour with Pergami was no different than with other men. Pergami wrote from Pesaro
in Italy that he would swear that his bed was not slept in because he was sleeping with Demont, and that he never had intercourse with the Queen.
The defence opened on 3 October with a speech from Brougham. His speech was considered the "most magnificent display of argument and oratory that has been heard in years", "one of the most powerful orations that ever proceeded from human lips", and "one of the most magnificent speeches ever made in this or any other country". According to Thomas Creevey
, it astonished and shook the aristocracy. In it, Brougham threatened to reveal facts about George's own life, even if they damaged the country, if it was the only way to ensure justice for his client. He attacked the character of the prosecution witnesses, and claimed that Italian witnesses could be purchased like a commodity. He read from a letter from an Italian correspondent, "There is nothing at Naples
so notorious as the free and public sale of false evidence. Their ordinary tariff is three or four ducats." He reminded the Lords that Majocchi was forgetful, that Demont was a liar, and that Cuchi was a lecherous wretch who spied on his female guests through a keyhole. He produced a letter from George to Caroline written in 1796, which became known as the "letter of licence". It appeared to forgive any transgressions on either Caroline or his part, and allow them to lead separate lives. "Our inclinations are not in our power," George had written, "nor should either of us be held accountable to the other."
The defence witnesses included Lord Guilford
, Lord Glenbervie
, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, Lord Landaff
, The Hon. Keppel Craven
, Sir William Gell
, Dr Henry Holland
, Colonel Alessandro Olivieri, and Carlo Vassalli, all of whom swore that there was nothing unusual about Caroline's behaviour. The King was incensed; "I never thought that I should have lived to witness so much prevarication, so much lying, and so much wilful and convenient forgetfulness", he wrote. Under cross-examination, Lord Guilford was unable to recall leaving a handsome Greek servant alone with Caroline for three-quarters of an hour, and Lady Charlotte had on occasion said "I do not recollect", but without the same disdain that had met Majocchi's constant refrain of non mi ricordo. British servants who had been in Caroline's household, including Keppel's valet John Whitcomb, also testified in Caroline's favour. Whitcomb admitted that he had slept with Demont, who was already known to have slept with the coachman Sacchi, thus further ruining Demont's tarnished reputation. A French milliner, Fanchette Martigner, further testified that Demont had told her that Caroline was innocent, and the charges against her "were nothing but calumnies invented by her enemies in order to ruin her".
The trial seemed to be going Caroline's way, especially after Sacchi's testimony was refuted by the nephew of the Duchess of Torlonia, Carlo Forti. Forti claimed that the Countess Oldi (Pergami's sister) sat between Caroline and Pergami in the carriage, which was also shared with Victorine (Pergami's daughter), and so there could have been no intimacy between them. However, the cross-examination of two of the witnesses damaged Caroline's case. Lieutenant John Flynn and Joseph Hownam had both been on the same Mediterranean cruise with Caroline and Pergami. Flynn said nothing incriminating but during the course of the cross-examination, he fainted, which left a bad impression. Pressed by Gifford, Hownam admitted that Caroline and Pergami had both slept in the same tent on deck because, he claimed, Caroline was afraid of pirates, and wanted a guard in the tent with her. In an attempt to regain ground, Brougham produced two Italian witnesses, Giuseppe Giroline and Filippo Pomi, who revealed that the prosecution witnesses had been paid 40 francs each, and given free food and board. The Whigs now claimed that the trial was tainted as there was prima facie evidence of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by paying witnesses for their testimony. Lord Liverpool countered Whig demands to abandon the bill by saying that there was other evidence, from non-Italian witnesses, that could be relied upon.
Brougham attempted to investigate the claim of conspiracy further in the hope that it would discover the man behind the conspiracy, who paid for the witnesses and hired the prosecution team. Disingenuously referring to "this mysterious being, this retiring phantom, this uncertain shape", Brougham knew full well that "this uncertain shape" was the King. The King knew it too, and took Brougham's words to be a direct reference to his massive size, as the King was vastly overweight. The Tories challenged Brougham's line of questioning, as they claimed it implicated persons who could not be called as witnesses, and widened the investigation beyond the relevance of the bill.
. He said Nero had banished his wife, Claudia Octavia
, and taken a mistress in her place. He'd then concocted a conspiracy to dethrone, degrade and divorce her, before she was ultimately condemned and killed. A second member of the defence team, Stephen Lushington
, then spoke for a shorter time to highlight the main points of the defence case. In concluding the prosecution, Gifford reiterated the claims of Demont and Majocchi, and claimed that they were "undeniable proof of her Majesty's guilt".
The Lords proceeded to debate the bill. The Whig leader Lord Grey
complained that the bill was far removed from ordinary legal practice, and pointed out that, if the Lords passed the bill, the entire process would have to be repeated in the Commons, leading to more public strife. Furthermore, the evidence was insufficient, tainted or contradicted. Even if Caroline had shown Pergami favour, it was within the power of royalty to elevate anyone from a low rank to a high one, and it was a strength of society that any person could rise from the lowest of births to the highest of offices. Indeed, Caroline and Pergami had lived at Naples
, where the King himself (Joachim Murat
) had risen from humble origins. They had travelled through countries that through the influence of the French revolution
had seen the reversal of traditional power structures, with the once-wealthy laid low, and the obscure propelled to distinction.
The vote was held on 6 November 1820, three years to the day since Caroline's only daughter, Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
, had died. Each peer rose and said either "content", indicating support for the bill, or "not content", to oppose it. The vote was 123–95 in favour. Though the majority was 28, it was considered a narrow victory. Eleven of the votes in favour were from the bishops who sat in the House of Lords
, while many of the votes against were from the richest and most powerful peers. As seats in the House of Commons were often controlled by rich and powerful landowners, it meant that the Commons were almost certain to reject the bill. Consequently, over the next few days the Lords debated dropping the divorce clause, but the Whigs had spotted a tactical opportunity. Lord Grey now spoke in favour of retaining the divorce clause, since by doing so it made the bill more likely to fail in the Commons. On 10 November, a final reading of the bill took place, and a further vote was held. The bill passed by 108–99, with a majority of 9.
In a highly emotional state, the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool rose to address the House. He declared that since the vote was so close, and public tensions so high, the government was withdrawing the bill.
with the Lord Mayor of London
, much to the dismay of the Dean of St Paul's
. Vast crowds turned out to see her; estimates of the number in the crowd vary between 50,000 and 500,000. Nevertheless, she was still barred from George's coronation
at Westminster Abbey
on 19 July 1821. She fell ill and died three weeks later. Her husband did not attend her funeral, and her body was returned to Brunswick for burial.
With the failure of the bill, the radicals largely lost Caroline as a figurehead of the reform movement, since they were stripped of a cause and Caroline had no further need of them as allies. Once the scandal had died down, the loyalist pro-King party had a resurgence, and became more vocal. It took over a decade and the death of King George IV, for the reform movement to gain sufficient ground to force through Parliament the Reform Act 1832
, which regulated the franchise throughout the United Kingdom.
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, which aimed to dissolve his marriage to Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
, and deprive her of the title of Queen of the United Kingdom.
George and Caroline had married in 1795, when George was still Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
. After the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, they separated. Caroline eventually went to live abroad, where she appointed Bartolomeo Pergami to her household as a courier. He eventually rose to become the head servant of her household, and it was widely rumoured that they were lovers.
In 1820, George became King, and Caroline travelled to Britain to assert her rights as queen consort of the United Kingdom. George despised her, and was adamant that he wanted a divorce. Under English law, however, divorce was illegal unless one of the parties was guilty of adultery. As neither he nor Caroline would admit adultery, George had a bill introduced to Parliament, which if passed would declare Caroline to have committed adultery, and grant the King a divorce. In essence, the reading of the bill was a public trial
Public trial
Public trial or open trial is a trial open to public, as opposed to the secret trial. The term should not be confused with show trial.-United States:...
of the Queen, with the members of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
acting as both jury and judges.
After a sensational trial, which was heavily reported in the press in salacious detail, the bill was narrowly passed by the House of Lords. However, because the margin was so slim and public unrest over the bill was significant, the government withdrew the bill before it was debated by the House of Commons as the likelihood of it ever passing was remote.
Background
In 1795, George, Prince of WalesGeorge IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, the eldest son of King George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, married Duchess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The marriage, however, was disastrous; each party was unsuited to the other. They separated after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales, the following year. Caroline was soon banished from court, and eventually departed England for the European mainland. On the death of George III on 29 January 1820, George became King as George IV, and Caroline became queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
. However, the King refused to recognise Caroline as Queen, and commanded British ambassadors to ensure that monarchs in foreign courts did the same. Her name was omitted from the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, and George acted to exclude her at every opportunity. In June, Caroline returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to assert her rights as queen consort of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
.
George despised her, and over the preceding few years had collated evidence to support his contention that Caroline had committed adultery while abroad with Bartolomeo Pergami, the head servant of her household. The day after her return to England, George submitted the evidence to the Houses of Parliament in two green bags. The contents of the bags were identical; one copy was presented to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Lord Liverpool, and the other was presented to the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
by the Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC , usually known as Lord CastlereaghThe name Castlereagh derives from the baronies of Castlereagh and Ards, in which the manors of Newtownards and Comber were located...
. Each requested that the Houses set up a confidential enquiry to examine the contents of the bags. Replying to Castlereagh in the Commons, Caroline's Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, Henry Brougham
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux
Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.As a young lawyer in Scotland Brougham helped to found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, and was called to the English bar in...
, demanded that the papers be disclosed to the public. Brougham was in the opposition Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
party, and knew that public sympathy rested with Caroline, rather than her husband or the government, which was weak and unpopular. Disclosure of George's own adulterous affairs, or even his scandalous and illegal previous marriage to Maria Fitzherbert, could destabilise the Tory government led by Lord Liverpool.
In an attempt to construct a compromise, Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
met with Brougham and Caroline's solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
Thomas Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.-Background and education:Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Denman...
. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
secured time for negotiation by persuading the Commons to adjourn the debate on the bags. However, the negotiations were fruitless; the government offered Caroline £50,000 a year to live abroad as a Duchess, but Caroline insisted on her right to be Queen and dismissed the money as a bribe. Wilberforce moved a motion in the House requesting that Caroline not insist on all her claims, which was passed by a wide margin of 394–124. However, the public was still solidly behind Caroline, and she rejected Wilberforce's request. George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, who may have been a former lover of Caroline, threatened to resign from the government in protest at the proceedings against her. If Canning resigned, the government would almost certainly fall. In the end, either he was persuaded not to resign or his resignation was refused. His eldest son had recently died and, rather than be involved in the debate, Canning left Britain on a tour of Europe to recover from his grief.
On 27 June, the Lords rejected a motion made by the Whig leader Lord Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
to abandon the investigation, and the bags were opened and examined by a committee of 15 peers. A week later, the chair of the committee, Lord Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, PC, FSA was a prominent British politician of the Pittite faction and the Tory party.-Background and education:...
, reported back to the House. The committee decided that the evidence was of such a grave and serious nature that it should be the subject of a "legislative proceeding". In reply, Lord Liverpool announced that a bill would be introduced the following day.
Bill
On 5 July, a bill was introduced into Parliament "to deprive Her Majesty Queen Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of the Title, Prerogatives, Rights, Privileges, and Exemptions of Queen Consort of this Realm; and to dissolve the Marriage between His Majesty and the said Caroline Amelia Elizabeth." The bill charged that Caroline had committed adultery with Bartolomeo Pergami, "a foreigner of low station", and that consequently she had forfeited her rights to be queen consort.The bill was effectively a public trial of the Queen, whereby the government could call witnesses against Caroline, who would be cross-examined by her legal advisors. By voting on the bill, members of the Houses of Parliament would be both jury and judges. Caroline would not receive basic rights accorded to other defendants; for example, she would not be informed of who the witnesses were before they were called. It was, said the Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper, "a violation of the law of God". The British public seemed to be on Caroline's side, and gave her strong support.
George lived a hugely extravagant life on the taxes collected by Parliament, whereas Caroline appeared to live modestly. Satirists and cartoonists published prints in support of Caroline, and depicted George as debauched and licentious. She received messages of support from all over the country. Caroline was a figurehead for the growing radical movement that demanded political reform and opposed the unpopular George. By August, Caroline had allied with radical campaigners such as William Cobbett
William Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
, and it was probably Cobbett who wrote these words of Caroline's:
The day before the trial was due to start an open letter from Caroline to George, again probably written by Cobbett, was published widely. In it, she decried the injustices against her, claimed she was the victim of conspiracy and intrigue, accused him of heartlessness and cruelty, and demanded a fair trial. The letter was seen as a challenge, not only to George but to the government and the forces resisting reform.
Trial
On 17 August 1820, the trial opened. Amid a large troop presence, crowds gathered to watch the peers and the Queen attend Parliament. Once in the chamber, the Lords began the bill's second reading (the first reading was a formality). The Lord ChancellorLord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
Lord Eldon
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon PC KC FRS FSA was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827.- Background and education :...
, acting as the Speaker of the House
Lord Speaker
The Lord Speaker is the speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.Until July 2006, the role of...
, noted the absence of several Lords, notably Lords Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
and Erskine
Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine
Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine KT PC KC was a British lawyer and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom between 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background and childhood:...
, because they were either abroad or too elderly to attend. Caroline's brother-in-law, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, asked to be excused from participating on the grounds of consanguinity. His request was granted, though his brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, announced that he would continue to attend.
The first motion was put by the Duke of Leinster
Augustus FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster
Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster, etc., PC, PC was an Irish peer and freemason, styled Marquess of Kildare from birth until 1804. He was born and died in Carton....
, who moved that the bill be dismissed. It was an initial test of the government's strength, that would gauge support for the King. The motion was dismissed 206–41. During the first day and the next, opening speeches by Caroline's defence team, Henry Brougham and Thomas Denman, were well-received. In their speeches, Brougham and Denman hinted but did not state explicitly, referring only to "recrimination", that George could come off worse because of the bill if his own infidelities (such as his secret marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert) were revealed in the course of the debate. In private, the Queen also turned the tables on the King by saying, "[I] never committed adultery but once, and that was with Mrs Fitzherbert's husband."
The prosecution case, led by the Attorney General for England and Wales
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
Sir Robert Gifford
Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford
Robert Gifford, 1st Baron Gifford was a British lawyer, judge and politician.Gifford was elected to the House of Commons for Eye in 1817, a seat he represented until 1824, and served under the Earl of Liverpool as Solicitor General between 1817 and 1819 and as Attorney General between 1819 and 1824...
, began on Saturday 19 August. The Queen did not attend. Gifford claimed that Caroline and Pergami had lived as lovers for five years from November 1814. He asserted that they shared a bedroom, were seen in each other's presence arm-in-arm, and were heard kissing. The Queen, he stated, changed clothes in front of Pergami, and ate her meals with him. He said that Pergami was a married man, but although his child, sister, mother and brother lived in the Queen's household, his wife did not. The Sunday papers the following morning were filled with the salacious details of Gifford's speech. Gifford resumed his attack on Monday 21 August by recounting further outrageous revelations: Pergami and Caroline had been seen together on a bed in a state of undress; she had sat on Pergami's knee in public; she had taken baths, accompanied only by Pergami. High society did not receive the speech well. They were appalled at Caroline's behaviour but they were more appalled at George's. By forcing the details of Caroline's life into the public arena, George had damaged the monarchy and endangered the political status quo. Leigh Hunt wrote to Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
, "The whole thing will be one of the greatest pushes given to the declining royalty that the age has seen."
The first witness for the prosecution was an Italian servant, Theodore Majocchi. The prosecution's reliance on Italian witnesses of low birth led to anti-Italian prejudice in Britain. The witnesses had to be protected from angry mobs, and were depicted in popular prints and pamphlets as venal, corrupt and criminal. Street-sellers sold prints alleging that the Italians had accepted bribes to commit perjury. After Gifford's speech on 21 August, Caroline entered the chamber of the House of Lords. Shortly afterward, Majocchi was called. As he was led in, Caroline rose and advanced towards him, flinging back her veil. She apparently recognised him, exclaimed "Theodore!", and rushed out of the House. Her sudden sensational departure was seen as "burst of agony" by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, but others thought it the mark of a guilty conscience. It led her defence team to advise her against attending in future unless specifically requested. Indeed, the evidence was so demeaning that the Queen did usually absent herself from the chamber, though she went to the House of Lords. According to Princess Lieven
Dorothea Lieven
HSH Princess Dorothea von Lieven , née Benckendorff , a Baltic German noblewoman and wife of Prince Khristofor Andreyevich Lieven, Russian ambassador to London, 1812 to 1834, was a political force in her own right....
, she passed the time by playing backgammon in a side-chamber.
Prosecution case
Under examination by the Solicitor General for England and WalesSolicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
John Singleton Copley
John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst
John Singleton Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst PC KS FRS , was a British lawyer and politician. He was three times Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...
, Majocchi testified that Caroline and Pergami ate breakfast together, had adjoining bedrooms, and had kissed each other on the lips. He said Pergami's bed was not always slept in, and he had seen Pergami visit the Queen wearing only underwear and a dressing gown. He said that they had slept in the same tent during a trip around the Mediterranean, and that Pergami had attended the Queen, alone, while she was having a bath. The following day, his astonishing testimony continued with the revelation that when Caroline and Pergami were travelling together in a carriage, Pergami kept a bottle with him so he could relieve himself without having to step down from the coach. The situation in the House became more absurd, as the Solicitor General asked Majocchi about a male exotic dancer employed by Caroline, after which Majocchi demonstrated a dance by pulling up his trousers, extending his arms, clicking his fingers, and shouting "vima dima!", while moving his body up and down in a suggestive fashion. The Times newspaper was disgusted, and informed its readers that it regretted being "obliged" to report "filth of this kind". During Brougham's cross-examination, Majocchi replied "Non mi ricordo (I don't recall)" more than 200 times. The phrase was repeated so often, it became a national joke, and featured in cartoons and parodies. Majocchi's credibility as a witness was destroyed.
The next witness was ship's mate Gaetano Paturzo, who claimed that he had seen Caroline sitting on Pergami's lap, but nothing more, while on a Mediterranean cruise. Ship's master Vincenzo Garguilo testified that Caroline and Pergami had shared a tent on deck, and had kissed. Under cross-examination, he admitted that he had been paid to give evidence, but said that the payment was lower in value than the business he had lost through coming to England. Captain Thomas Briggs of the Leviathan
HMS Leviathan (1790)
HMS Leviathan was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 9 October 1790. At the Battle of Trafalgar under Henry William Bayntun, she was near the front of the windward column led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard his flagship, , and captured the Spanish ship San Augustin.In...
, another ship used by Caroline and Pergami during their trip, was also called as a prosecution witness. He said that they had adjoining cabins on board, and had seen them arm-in-arm. Unlike the Italian witnesses, as an Englishman of some substance, the Lords considered Captain Briggs to be a more credible witness
Credible witness
In the law of evidence, a credible witness is a person making testimony in a court or other tribunal, or acting otherwise as a witness, whose credibility is unimpeachable. A witness may have more or less credibility, or no credibility at all...
. After the conclusion of the cross-examination, however, the Lord Ellenborough
Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough
Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough GCB, PC was a British Tory politician. He was four times President of the Board of Control and also served as Governor-General of India between 1842 and 1844.-Background and education:...
rose and asked Briggs directly, "Did the witness see any improper familiarity between the Princess and Pergami? Had you any reason to suspect any improper freedom or familiarity between them?" "No", replied Briggs.
A further witness, Pietro Cuchi, an innkeeper in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
told the Lords that he had spied on the couple through a keyhole, during which he thought he saw Pergami leave the Queen's bedroom wearing stockings, pantaloons and a dressing gown. However, he couldn't be sure because his view, through the keyhole, was restricted. He did say that Pergami's bed was not slept in, and that both chamber pot
Chamber pot
A chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...
s in Caroline's room were used.
As Princess Lieven observed, the trial was a "solemn farce". On 25 August, a chambermaid from Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Barbara Kress, was sworn in. She was asked about the sheets on the Queen's bed: "Did you at any time see anything on the sheets?", asked the Attorney General. Her response was quietly spoken. Two interpreters, one for the King and one for the Queen, formed a huddle around the witness. The Queen's interpreter claimed the response wuste was not translatable; the King's interpreter was asked to press the witness for a further explanation. The witness broke down, and the proceedings were paused to allow her to regain composure. An eventual translation of "stains" was agreed. Tory grande dame Harriet Arbuthnot
Harriet Arbuthnot
Harriet Arbuthnot was an early 19th century English diarist, social observer and political hostess on behalf of the Tory party. During the 1820s she was the "closest woman friend" of the hero of Waterloo and British Prime Minister, the 1st Duke of Wellington...
wrote in her journal, "if the Whig Lords do not consider the disgusting details they have heard proof, the Whig ladies may in future consider themselves very secure against divorces."
Caroline's former maid, Louise Demont, testified she had seen Caroline leave Pergami's bedroom wearing only a nightdress, and corroborated previous evidence that Caroline and Pergami has shared a tent and a bath during the cruise. She was also asked about stains on the bed-sheets, but refused to be drawn into details because it was "not decent". Under cross-examination, she was accused of living in England for more than a year under the assumed name of "Countess Colombier". Demont's flustered reply mimicked those of Majocchi, as she claimed she could not recall being called by that name. The defence said she had been sacked for lying, and produced a letter written by Demont in which she admitted coming to England on a "false pretence". Demont's sister, Mariette Brun, had remained in Caroline's service as a maid, and had passed information on her sister to Caroline's defence team.
The procession of witnesses continued; a mason Luigi Galdini claimed he had stumbled across Pergami holding Caroline's bare breast in their Italian villa. Coachman Giuseppe Sacchi, who was Demont's lover, claimed that he had found the couple asleep in a carriage in each other's arms, with Caroline's hand on Pergami's undone breeches. Sacchi's testimony was ridiculed in the British press, as "the parties being asleep, such a position in a carriage, where the bodies are themselves upright, or nearly so, is beyond all question absolutely and physically impossible."
Defence case
In a letter to the King, the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool summarised the progress of the trial. He said the evidence had made an impression in the House, but the bill was by no means secure. The Queen was still immensely popular. Over 800 petitions totalling nearly a million signatures were received in her favour. Liverpool warned the King that Majocchi and Demont were discredited as witnesses, and the evidence produced by the defence could damage George severely. The divorce clause was especially unpopular, he wrote, though it might pass the Lords, it would not pass the Commons. He suggested that it be dropped. George would not decide to do so.After the presentation of the prosecution case, the trial was adjourned for three weeks, and the Queen's solicitor, Denman, visited Cheltenham Spa for a break. Once his identity was discovered, a supportive crowd gathered outside his lodgings. Meanwhile, Caroline's defence team assembled their evidence. Letters exchanged between them and Italian correspondents show that Colonel Carlo Vassalli, Caroline's equerry, said there was nothing improper between Caroline and Pergami. Caroline shared a room with Victorine, Pergami's daughter, and Caroline's behaviour with Pergami was no different than with other men. Pergami wrote from Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
in Italy that he would swear that his bed was not slept in because he was sleeping with Demont, and that he never had intercourse with the Queen.
The defence opened on 3 October with a speech from Brougham. His speech was considered the "most magnificent display of argument and oratory that has been heard in years", "one of the most powerful orations that ever proceeded from human lips", and "one of the most magnificent speeches ever made in this or any other country". According to Thomas Creevey
Thomas Creevey
Thomas Creevey was an English politician, son of William Creevey, a Liverpool merchant, and was born in that city....
, it astonished and shook the aristocracy. In it, Brougham threatened to reveal facts about George's own life, even if they damaged the country, if it was the only way to ensure justice for his client. He attacked the character of the prosecution witnesses, and claimed that Italian witnesses could be purchased like a commodity. He read from a letter from an Italian correspondent, "There is nothing at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
so notorious as the free and public sale of false evidence. Their ordinary tariff is three or four ducats." He reminded the Lords that Majocchi was forgetful, that Demont was a liar, and that Cuchi was a lecherous wretch who spied on his female guests through a keyhole. He produced a letter from George to Caroline written in 1796, which became known as the "letter of licence". It appeared to forgive any transgressions on either Caroline or his part, and allow them to lead separate lives. "Our inclinations are not in our power," George had written, "nor should either of us be held accountable to the other."
The defence witnesses included Lord Guilford
Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford
Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford , known as the Honourable Frederick North until 1817, was a British politician and colonial administrator....
, Lord Glenbervie
Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie
Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie PC, KC, FRS, FSA was a British lawyer, politician and diarist. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1793 and 1794.-Background, education and legal career:...
, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, Lord Landaff
Francis Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff
Francis James Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff KP , styled The Honourable Francis Mathew from 1783 to 1797 and Viscount Mathew from 1797 to 1806, was an Irish peer and politician....
, The Hon. Keppel Craven
Keppel Richard Craven
Hon. Keppel Richard Craven was a British traveller and dilettante.Craven was the third and youngest son of William Craven and Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, daughter of the 4th Earl of Berkeley...
, Sir William Gell
William Gell
Sir William Gell was an English classical archaeologist and illustrator.-Life:Born at Hopton in Derbyshire, the son of Philip Gell and Dorothy Milnes...
, Dr Henry Holland
Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet FRS, DCL , was a British physician and travel writer.-Private Life:Born in Knutsford, Cheshire, Holland was the son of the physician Peter Holland and his wife Mary Willets. Peter's sister Elizabeth was the mother of the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, and Mary was the...
, Colonel Alessandro Olivieri, and Carlo Vassalli, all of whom swore that there was nothing unusual about Caroline's behaviour. The King was incensed; "I never thought that I should have lived to witness so much prevarication, so much lying, and so much wilful and convenient forgetfulness", he wrote. Under cross-examination, Lord Guilford was unable to recall leaving a handsome Greek servant alone with Caroline for three-quarters of an hour, and Lady Charlotte had on occasion said "I do not recollect", but without the same disdain that had met Majocchi's constant refrain of non mi ricordo. British servants who had been in Caroline's household, including Keppel's valet John Whitcomb, also testified in Caroline's favour. Whitcomb admitted that he had slept with Demont, who was already known to have slept with the coachman Sacchi, thus further ruining Demont's tarnished reputation. A French milliner, Fanchette Martigner, further testified that Demont had told her that Caroline was innocent, and the charges against her "were nothing but calumnies invented by her enemies in order to ruin her".
The trial seemed to be going Caroline's way, especially after Sacchi's testimony was refuted by the nephew of the Duchess of Torlonia, Carlo Forti. Forti claimed that the Countess Oldi (Pergami's sister) sat between Caroline and Pergami in the carriage, which was also shared with Victorine (Pergami's daughter), and so there could have been no intimacy between them. However, the cross-examination of two of the witnesses damaged Caroline's case. Lieutenant John Flynn and Joseph Hownam had both been on the same Mediterranean cruise with Caroline and Pergami. Flynn said nothing incriminating but during the course of the cross-examination, he fainted, which left a bad impression. Pressed by Gifford, Hownam admitted that Caroline and Pergami had both slept in the same tent on deck because, he claimed, Caroline was afraid of pirates, and wanted a guard in the tent with her. In an attempt to regain ground, Brougham produced two Italian witnesses, Giuseppe Giroline and Filippo Pomi, who revealed that the prosecution witnesses had been paid 40 francs each, and given free food and board. The Whigs now claimed that the trial was tainted as there was prima facie evidence of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by paying witnesses for their testimony. Lord Liverpool countered Whig demands to abandon the bill by saying that there was other evidence, from non-Italian witnesses, that could be relied upon.
Brougham attempted to investigate the claim of conspiracy further in the hope that it would discover the man behind the conspiracy, who paid for the witnesses and hired the prosecution team. Disingenuously referring to "this mysterious being, this retiring phantom, this uncertain shape", Brougham knew full well that "this uncertain shape" was the King. The King knew it too, and took Brougham's words to be a direct reference to his massive size, as the King was vastly overweight. The Tories challenged Brougham's line of questioning, as they claimed it implicated persons who could not be called as witnesses, and widened the investigation beyond the relevance of the bill.
Passed but withdrawn
For ten hours over two days, Thomas Denman summed up for the defence. He cited the dishonesty of the principal prosecution witnesses, the evidence of the defence witnesses that contradicted that of the prosecution, and drew parallels between George and the Roman emperor NeroNero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. He said Nero had banished his wife, Claudia Octavia
Claudia Octavia
Claudia Octavia was an Empress of Rome. She was a great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal first cousin of the Emperor Caligula, daughter of the Emperor Claudius, and stepsister and first wife of the Emperor Nero...
, and taken a mistress in her place. He'd then concocted a conspiracy to dethrone, degrade and divorce her, before she was ultimately condemned and killed. A second member of the defence team, Stephen Lushington
Stephen Lushington (judge)
Stephen Lushington was a Doctor of Civil Law, a judge, a Member of Parliament and a radical for the abolition of slavery and capital punishment.-Early life and education:...
, then spoke for a shorter time to highlight the main points of the defence case. In concluding the prosecution, Gifford reiterated the claims of Demont and Majocchi, and claimed that they were "undeniable proof of her Majesty's guilt".
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
complained that the bill was far removed from ordinary legal practice, and pointed out that, if the Lords passed the bill, the entire process would have to be repeated in the Commons, leading to more public strife. Furthermore, the evidence was insufficient, tainted or contradicted. Even if Caroline had shown Pergami favour, it was within the power of royalty to elevate anyone from a low rank to a high one, and it was a strength of society that any person could rise from the lowest of births to the highest of offices. Indeed, Caroline and Pergami had lived at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, where the King himself (Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
) had risen from humble origins. They had travelled through countries that through the influence of the French revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
had seen the reversal of traditional power structures, with the once-wealthy laid low, and the obscure propelled to distinction.
The vote was held on 6 November 1820, three years to the day since Caroline's only daughter, Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess Charlotte of Wales was the only child of George, Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick...
, had died. Each peer rose and said either "content", indicating support for the bill, or "not content", to oppose it. The vote was 123–95 in favour. Though the majority was 28, it was considered a narrow victory. Eleven of the votes in favour were from the bishops who sat in the House of Lords
Lords Spiritual
The Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom, also called Spiritual Peers, are the 26 bishops of the established Church of England who serve in the House of Lords along with the Lords Temporal. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, is not represented by spiritual peers...
, while many of the votes against were from the richest and most powerful peers. As seats in the House of Commons were often controlled by rich and powerful landowners, it meant that the Commons were almost certain to reject the bill. Consequently, over the next few days the Lords debated dropping the divorce clause, but the Whigs had spotted a tactical opportunity. Lord Grey now spoke in favour of retaining the divorce clause, since by doing so it made the bill more likely to fail in the Commons. On 10 November, a final reading of the bill took place, and a further vote was held. The bill passed by 108–99, with a majority of 9.
In a highly emotional state, the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool rose to address the House. He declared that since the vote was so close, and public tensions so high, the government was withdrawing the bill.
Aftermath
The Queen considered it a victory. Crowds of Londoners celebrated exuberantly in the streets; the windows of government supporters were smashed, and the offices of newspapers that had supported the King were set alight. Similar scenes occurred throughout the United Kingdom. On 29 November, Caroline attended a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
with the Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, much to the dismay of the Dean of St Paul's
Dean of St Paul's
The Dean of St Paul's is the head of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England in the Church of England. The most recent Dean, Graeme Knowles, formerly Bishop of Sodor and Man, was installed on 1 October 2007 and resigned on 31 October 2011...
. Vast crowds turned out to see her; estimates of the number in the crowd vary between 50,000 and 500,000. Nevertheless, she was still barred from George's coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 19 July 1821. She fell ill and died three weeks later. Her husband did not attend her funeral, and her body was returned to Brunswick for burial.
With the failure of the bill, the radicals largely lost Caroline as a figurehead of the reform movement, since they were stripped of a cause and Caroline had no further need of them as allies. Once the scandal had died down, the loyalist pro-King party had a resurgence, and became more vocal. It took over a decade and the death of King George IV, for the reform movement to gain sufficient ground to force through Parliament the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, which regulated the franchise throughout the United Kingdom.
Further reading
- Shingleton HM. The Tumultuous Marriage of The Prince and Princess of Wales. ACOG Clinical Review (2006) 11(6):13-6.