August 13, 1792: Birth of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover. Part I.

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Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; August 13, 1792 – December 2, 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from June 26, 1830 to June 20, 1837 as the wife of King William IV. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.

Adelaide was born on August 13, 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany, the eldest child of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Her mother was Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was a daughter of Prince Christian Albrecht of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wife Princess Caroline of Stolberg-Gedern (1732–1796).

Adelaide was baptised at the castle chapel on 19 August 19 and was titled Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchess in Saxony with the style Serene Highness. Her godparents numbered twenty-one, including her mother….Eleonre of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Here is a partial list of her prestigious godparents.

1. The Holy Roman Empress (Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (1772 – 1807) was the first Empress of Austria and last Holy Roman Empress as the spouse of Franz II. She was born a Princess of Naples as the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria).

2. The Queen of Naples and Sicily (Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (1752 – 1814) was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. She was the thirteenth child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Franz I).

3. The Crown Princess of Saxony (Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1767 – 1827) was born an Archduchess of Austria and a Princess of Tuscany. She was later Queen of Saxony as the second wife and consort of King Anton of Saxony.

Archduchess Maria Theresa was born in Florence, Italy, the eldest child of Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Tuscany (later Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II) and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. As such, she was also the eldest grandchild of Carlos III of Spain. Like all the eldest daughters of the children of her paternal grandparents, she was named after her grandmother, the Habsburg ruler Empress Maria Theresa).

4. Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, aunt of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, (was born Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen (1751 — 1827). She was the eldest child and daughter of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his second wife, Landgravine Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal. Charlotte was an elder sister of Charles Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg through her marriage to Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg).

5. Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld (Sophie Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1724 – 1802) was the tenth of 17 children of Ferdinand Albrecht II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his wife Antoinette Amelia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Sophie Antoinette, married Ernst Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Among her notable great-grandchildren were Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Ferdinand II of Portugal, Empress Carlota of Mexico and Leopold II of Belgium).

6. Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, (Princess and Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt (1757 – 1830) she was the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Caroline of Zweibrücken. She married Duke (later Grand-Duke) Charles August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

7. The Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, (Charles Ludwig, 3rd Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1762 – 1825) was the first child of Prince Christian Albrecht of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wife, Princess Caroline of Stolberg-Gedern. He married Countess Amalie Henriette of Solms-Baruth (1768–1847), daughter of Count John Christian II of Solms-Baruth.

8. Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld. (Landgrave Adolph of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1743 in Ypres – 1803) was a son of the Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1692-1761) from his marriage with Charlotte Wilhelmine of Anhalt).

Saxe-Meiningen was a small state, covering about 423 square miles (1,100 km2). It was the most liberal German state and, unlike its neighbours, permitted a free press and criticism of the ruler. At the time, no statute existed which barred a female ruling over the small duchy and it was not until the birth of her brother, Bernhard, in 1800, that the law of primogeniture was introduced.

Marriage

By the end of 1811, King George III of the United Kingdom was incapacitated and, although he was still king in name, his heir-apparent and eldest son, Prince George, was Prince Regent. On November 6, 1817 the Prince Regent’s only child, Princess Charlotte of Wales died in childbirth. Princess Charlotte was second in line to the throne: had she outlived her father and grandfather, she would have become queen.

With her death, King George III was left with twelve children and no legitimate grandchildren. The Prince Regent was estranged from his wife, who was 49 years old, thus there was little likelihood that he would have any further legitimate children.

To secure the line of succession, Prince William, Duke of Clarence, and the other sons of George III sought quick marriages with the intent of producing offspring who could inherit the throne. William already had ten children by the popular actress Dorothea Jordan, but, being illegitimate, they were barred from the succession.

Considerable allowances were likely to be voted by Parliament to any royal duke who married, and this acted as a further incentive for William to marry. Adelaide was a princess from an unimportant German state.

However, William had a limited choice of available princesses, and, after deals with other candidates fell through, a marriage to Adelaide was arranged. The allowance proposed was slashed by Parliament, and the outraged Duke considered calling off the marriage.

However, Adelaide seemed the ideal candidate: amiable, home-loving, and willing to accept William’s illegitimate children as part of the family. The arrangement was settled and William wrote to his eldest son, “She is doomed, poor dear innocent young creature, to be my wife.”

Adelaide’s dowry was set at 20,000 florins, with additional three separate annuities being promised by her future husband, the English regent, and the state of Saxe-Meiningen.

Adelaide married William in a double wedding with William’s brother, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, and his bride Victoria, Dowager Princess of Leiningen (a Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld), on July 11, 1818, at Kew Palace in Surrey, England.

Adelaide and William had only met for the first time a week earlier on July 4 at Grillon’s Hotel in Bond Street. Neither William nor Adelaide had been married before, and William aged 53 was 27 years senior to Adelaide who was 26.

Despite these unromantic circumstances, the couple settled amicably in Hanover (where the cost of living was much lower than in England), and by all accounts were devoted to each other throughout their marriage.

Adelaide improved William’s behaviour; he drank less, swore less, and became more tactful. Observers thought them parsimonious, and their lifestyle simple, even boring. William eventually accepted the reduced increase in his allowance voted by Parliament.

On the Continent, Adelaide became pregnant, but in her seventh month of pregnancy, she caught pleurisy and gave birth prematurely on March 27, 1819 at the Fürstenhof Palace in Hanover. Her daughter, Charlotte Augusta Louise, lived only a few hours.

Another pregnancy in the same year caused William to move the household to England so his future heir would be born on British soil; however, Adelaide miscarried at Calais or Dunkirk during the journey on September 5, 1819.

Back in London, they moved into Clarence House, but preferred to stay at Bushy House near Hampton Court, where William had already lived with Dorothea Jordan.

Adelaide became pregnant again, and a second daughter, Elizabeth Georgiana Adelaide, was born on December 10, 1820 at St James’s Palace. Elizabeth seemed strong but died less than three months old on March 4, 1821 of “inflammation in the Bowels”. Ultimately, William and Adelaide had no surviving children. Twin boys were stillborn on 8 April 1822 at Bushy Park and a possible brief pregnancy may have occurred within the same year.

The Prince of Wales issues a message on his mother’s Platinum Jubilee

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Clarence House issues The Prince of Wales message on his mother’s Platinum Jubilee

King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. King of Hanover. Part III

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When William became king he wanted to be known as Henry IX (he was christened William Henry) until it was pointed out that the last Stuart pretender, Henry, Cardinal York, was known as Henry IX by his supporters. Cardinal York died in 1807 and that was recent enough for him to change his mind and call himself William IV. The new king was very popular with his subjects at first. He was very down to earth and even would walk the streets of London and Brighton without any security and was found to be very approachable. When he was in Brighton he would send for gusts from the local hotels and invite them to dinner and would not care too much for proper dress and protocol. He also did away with a lot of the pomp and circumstance and the overt display of monarchy that was the rule under his brothers kingship. His coronation was also less extravagant and has become known as the half-crown-ation.

William was 64 years old when he became king and is Britain’s oldest monarch to succeed to the throne. He did not reign for a long time, only seven years, but his reign is seen as significant as he presided over large changes within society and the government, forging Britain into a more modern nation. The Duke of Wellington was the kings first Prime Minister and Wellington said that William was such a hard worker that he had done more work with the king in 10 minutes than he had with his brother, George IV, after years of working with him. Lord Brougham described William IV as a superior man of business who would ask questions to ensure that he understood a matter and this was different from the practice of George IV who feared asking questions lest he appeared to be ignorant.

Although William and Adelaide did not have any children his illegitimate children took up a good deal of his time and attention. He created his eldest son, George, 1st Earl of Munster. He had a troubled relationship with his sons who were constantly looking to their father for money and titles and opportunities for power. This created many quarrels between father and sons. His daughters were said to be beautiful and caused no undue stress for their royal father. During his reign the heir to the British throne was his niece, Princess Victoria of Kent, and although he was fond of his niece there was great animosity between the king and Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. This conflict meant that Victoria was rarely seen at court.

The largest political battle of William’s reign came within his first year on the throne. Shortly after his accession a general election was called. After a bitter battle the Duke of Wellington was defeated and Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey had become Prime Minister. Because of the conflicts and problems during this election the need to reform the process, which had not been modified since the 15th century, was evident. The system was abused. The aristocracy often controlled the elections to the Commons because as landholders the members and potential members of the House of Commons were often their tenants.

The First Reform Bill was defeated in the House of Lords and Earl Grey wanted the king to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. William hesitated because a general election had just been held the prior year. It also placed him in a bind because the House of Lords was debating a resolution that would prevent the king from dissolving Parliament and they were resistant to any reform that would reduce their power. At the request of the Prime Minister, William drove to Parliament, donned the crown, and in the face of great opposition by members such as Lord Londonderry who brandished a whip and threatened violence, he personally declared Parliament dissolved.

Matters grew worse as the Second Reform Bill was also blocked in the House of Lords and discontent grew throughout the country. Minor riots broke out and Earl Grey wanted again to push through reform and face the House of Lords. He asked William to create enough liberal peers to ensure that the Bill would pass in the House of Lords. William agreed to the proposal and created a number of new peers. There were now enough peers for the Reform Bill to pass but these new peers placed enough amendments onto the Reform Bill that they too thwarted the Prime Minister’s plans.

Earl Grey asked one again that William create enough peers for the Reform Bill to pass the House of Lords in its entirety without amendments. William refused to do the prime Minister’s bidding this time and Earl Grey and his entire Cabinet resigned, sinking the monarchy, and specifically William IV, to an all time low in popularity. William desired that the Duke of Wellington should return to his former position but he did not have enough support in the Commons so William had no choice but to ask for Grey’s reinstatement. Grey returned to office and the House of Lords was more complacent knowing that the king was now agreeing to flood their membership with liberal peers. The Reform Bill passed unamended in 1832. During the crisis William had mud thrown at his carriage and was booed at and hissed at. Eventually the blame for the king’s actions were placed on the influence of the queen and the Duke of Cumberland and the kings popularity rose once again.

William was a member of the House of Hanover and his great-great grandfather, King George I of Great Britain, loved Hanover more than Britain. Although William had visited Hanover in his youth he did not step foot in his other kingdom during his tenure as king. Instead, William was represented in Hanover by a viceroy, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, a role he had played through the reign of George IV. Although ruled by the same monarch they were not politically united. During William’s reign Hanover was part of the Confederation of the Rhine, the successor state of the Holy Roman Empire. Austrian minister Metternich had considerable influence over Hanover at this time. Twice he implemented reforms in Hanover which Lord Palmerston did not support. When asked by Palmerston, then Prime Minister of Britain, to block these reforms in Hanover, William refused which was his prerogative as King of Hanover.

In April of 1837 William’s daughter, Sophia, Lady de L’Isle, died in childbirth leaving the frail king shaken and depressed. His health began to decline further. At a dinner reception in May another conflict occurred and he publicly humiliated the Duchess of Kent where he said he hoped he lived long enough to live past princess Victoria’s 18th birthday to avoid the Duchess of Kent from becoming regent. The king was successful in this endeavor. Victoria turned 18 on May 24. William IV passed away on June 20, 1837 at the age of 71. This ended the personal union of the Untied Kingdom and Hanover. The British throne went to his niece, Victoria, and since women were barred against serving as the monarch in Hanover, that crown went to his brother the Duke of Cumberland who became King Ernst-August of Hanover.

His reign was short but significant. He oversaw needed Parliamentary reforms and it was one of the last times when a British monarch would be this active in party politics. He lead an interesting life and was an ordinary man place in extraordinary circumstances.

King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover. Part II

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During the first part of 19th century, after his naval career had ended, the Duke of Clarence spent considerable time in the House of Lords. He took a controversial stance on the slave trade, although illegal in Britain it was still legal in many of their colonies. The Duke did not think freedom would be beneficial to the slaves. He mentioned that in his travels he had seen many freemen in utter poverty. At one point, in a speech concerning the abolitionists, he directed an insult to the leading abolitionist “the proponents of the abolition are either fanatics or hypocrites, and in one of those classes I rank Mr. Wilberforce“.

In 1817 tragedy struck the British royal family. Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of the Prince of Wales (who had become the Prince regent in 1811) died in childbirth along with her stillborn son. This left no legitimate heir in the generation beyond the 12 surviving children of George III. With the succession in jeopardy many of the royal dukes bade farewell to their mistresses in an effort to secure the succession to the throne.

The Duke of Clarence’s relationship with Mrs Jordan ended in 1811. Mrs Jordan was paid a handsome financial settlement and kept custody of her daughters under the condition she did not resume her stage work. She did however, resume her work as an actress to help pay of some debts of one of her son-in-laws (husband to one of her daughters prior to her relationship with William). This resulted in losing her payments from the Duke of Clarence. She retired to Paris and died in poverty in 1816.

William was 52 in 1817 and his choices of suitable women of childbearing age were slim. William’s brother, Prince Augustus, Duke of Cambridge, found   Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, for William to marry but her father, Landgrave Friederich III of Hesse-Cassel, refused the match. In the end the Duke of Cambridge ended up marrying Princess Augusta himself. William eventually found a suitable princess to marry him, Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen the daughter of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. They were married on July 11, 1818 at Kew Palace in double ceremony along with his brother, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

The union of William and Adelaide was a happy one despite the age difference, and despite the fact that she had to be step-mother to her husband’s illegitimate children. Motherhood, however, would be denied as only two children, Charlotte and Elizabeth, were born but lived only months.

On January 1820 King George III died after a long reign of 59 years. The Duke of Clarence became second in line to the throne . His eldest brother was now King George IV. George was estranged from his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, and she was past child bearing years. The next in line to the throne was William’s brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York. The Duke of York was married to the eccentric Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. This union was childless and the couple were estranged. This increased the likelihood that William would one day become king. Because of that awareness William began to take better care of himself and stopped drinking alcohol.

In 1827 William moved a step closer to the throne with the death of his brother, Frederick, Duke of York. William was now 62. He also returned to navy life that year when the Prime Minister, George Canning, appointed William to the office of Lord High Admiral. The office of had been in commission and while it had been in commission the office was exercised by a board. The last time an individual held the office was in 1709. His tenure in the post was short lived and tumultuous. His council consisted of Admiralty officers and they were often in conflict. The conflicts came to a head in 1828 when William put out to sea a squadron of ships that were gone for 10 days without word of where they were heading and for how long they would be gone. His brother, George IV communicated through the Prime Minister,  Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, that his brother should be relieved of command and he demanded his resignation; the Duke of Clarence complied.

William spent the next three years back in the House of Lords and supported the Catholic Emancipation Act which would remove the restrictions placed on Roman Catholics. William supported the bill while his brothers, the Duke of Cumberland and the King, did not. As rumors of Civil War in Ireland grew over these religious restrictions support for the Bill increased and it was passed in 1829. By that time it was clear that the king was in bad health and would not live long. On the morning of June 26, 1830 King George IV died leaving his brother, HRH the Duke of Clarence, king. 

I will post again on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day here in the US and complete my look at William IV and cover his reign as king.

King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover.

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Finally after a few weeks delay I can get back to the featured monarch section. Today I want to feature King William IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover.

He was a man never destined to be king. He was born on August 21, 1765 at Buckingham House (it wasn’t a palace at the time) and was the third child and third son of King George III and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. With older brothers, George, The Prince of Wales (future King George IV), and Frederick, Duke of York ahead of him in the succession nobody contemplated that the little prince would one day be king. I find him to be a fascinating person to study. He was royal yet very human and in many ways very down to earth. He entered the royal navy in 1778 at the age of thirteen to be a midshipman. He remained in the royal navy for 12 years and retired from active service in 1790 at the age of 25. Prior to his retirement he did command his own vessel, the frigate HMS Andromeda, which he took command of in 1788. The next year he was promoted to the position of Rear-Admiral and placed in command of HMS Valiant. While in the royal navy he became close friends with Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté.

Prince William was in New York city during the American Revolution and George Washington even approved a plan to kidnap him. Nothing came of the plot as Britain became aware of it and sent guards to escort the prince around the city. In 1789 Prince William wanted to be made a royal duke similarly to his older brothers. However, the king was unwilling to do so. To twist the kings arm and to get his way William threatened to run in the next election to become a member of the House of Commons. George III did not want this to happen and therefore created William Duke of Clarence and St Andrews and Earl of Munster on May 16, 1789.

I could, and probably will, write a whole blog entry on the marriages of the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Suffice it to say that successful marriages from the 15 children of King George III and Queen Charlotte were a rarity. Prince William was no exception. William and his siblings were the first royals to come to maturity under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 which prohibited descendants of George II from marrying unless they obtained the monarch’s consent, or, if consent was denied they could marry whomever they chose when they were over the age of 25 as long as twelve months notice was given to the Privy Council.

In 1791 Prince William began a long relationship with Dorothea Bland, an actress well known by the stage name “Mrs. Jordan.” William and Dorothea were husband and wife in every way, except legally, for many years. Since his older brother the Prince of Wales unhappily married in 1795 and had a child, Charlotte of Wales, in 1796, the succession seemed assure and William and Dorothea had no reason to test the waters of the Royal Marriages Act. The couple resided at Clarence House in London (the home of the current Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall) where they raised their 10 illegitimate children under the surname FitzClarence. Their eldest son, George FiztClarence, was created 1st Earl of Munster. This line continued up to 2000 and ended with the death Anthony FitzClarence, 7th Earl of Munster. Since he did not have any male heirs when he died in 2000 the title became extinct and merged with the crown. Current British Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, is also a descendant of The Duke of Clarence (William IV) and Mrs. Jordan.

I will stop here and continue with my look at William IV on next Tuesday’s blog. See you then! 🙂

The Cost of Monarchy

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A good friend, George, and a follower of this blog, sent me this NY times article on the redemption of King Juan Carlos of Spain. The king has had a difficult years and Spain is also having its hard economic times. Here in the US we are also experiencing a struggling economy. It is times like this that monarchists like myself get a bit nervous. History has shown that monarchies and crowns, like governments, can collapse due to economic hardships. The Spanish monarchy, although ancient, has been in and out of favor. In the 1870s they experimented with being a Republic and once again the monarchy was abolished in 1931 and would not be officially restored until 1975. There are those that view the Spanish crown as on a probationary period and I wonder how secure the Spanish crown really is?

In these times when monarchs reign and do not rule they are there by the will of the people. In the past monarchs have lived, and some still do, in grand places and had extravagant lifestyles. I think the day is long over when a king of queen being able to live in splendor while their citizens…or subjects…are suffering. Therefore monarchs today need to walk a fine line between the splendor that they and their countrymen are accustomed to. When I look at the extant monarchies today the monarchies of The Netherlands and Denmark seem less ostentatious to me. That may or may not be true.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/world/europe/juan-carlos-i-seeks-redemption-for-spain-and-monarchy.html?emc=eta1

The cost of monarchies is often one of the main complaints by those who favor a Republican style of government. But looking at the reality of the situation will put this in perspective. I have seen prices ranging from $57 million to $62 million for the running of the British monarchy that tax payers have to pay for. However, I recently read that it costs tax payers $1.4 billion to keep the US President up and going. Granted we are a larger country in both area and population than any of the European states and since I am not a statistician I don’t know how that may compare to the European taxpayer.

I guess my final point is that monarchs today have to not only be frugal with the tax payers money in practice but they also have to give the appearance of frugality. It is funny how times have changed. I have a book about the House of Windsor and it shows King George V on a tiger hunt and there is also a picture of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh on a similar hut with a large dead Bengal tiger at their feet. Today the tiger is an endangered species so a tiger hunt would not be tolerated and rightly so. I think this is one of the same reasons why the Elephant hunt was so controversial. People are now more in support of animal rights and protecting wild life and people may not be as tolerate as generations in the past when kings and queens engaged in pastimes that that were more extravagant. 

What will the future hold? Will we see more stripped down versions of Europe’s royal families? I am curious to see what the reign of King Charles III of the United Kingdom will be like. There have been rumors ranging from limiting the royal title even further in order to have less family members dependent on the Civil List. I have heard rumors that Charles will not move into Buckingham Palace and will live either in Windsor Castle or stay at Clarence House. Not I am not trying to further fan the flames of rumors or give them weight and credence. What they point to me is there once Charles does become king, hopefully many years from now, there will be changes and I think that financial concerns will be a part of the motives for those changes.

Prince Henry of Wales

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I usually feature a royal on Thursdays. Today I will feature Prince Henry of Wales…or Prince Harry as he is known but I won’t be featuring him in the usual biographical style I have been doing. Instead I want to address the recent nude pictures released by TMZ.

Prince Harry, third in line to the throne of Great Britain, was stopping over in Las Vegas en route to California for an award or something to do with his charities..sorry can’t remember the details and can’t find that source. Anyway, after some partying and swimming with Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Lochte (a guy from my hometown) and having too many intoxicating beverages he invited some scantily clad young ladies up to his room so they could dress even more scantily. Well, being that we are in the age of modern technology, with the proliferation of cell phones with cameras and the internet, things like these don’t stay secret for long.

The photos have now flashed around the globe but per the request of Clarence House the British Press is not printing them, although the people of Britain are not being denied the opportunity to see the Prince in all his glory covering the crown jewels, they are just a mouse click away. The Prince is heading home where I am sure his father, The Prince of Wales, and his grandmother the Queen may have a thing or two to say to him. I have scoured the internet reading opinions and viewpoints on message boards and blogs trying to gather my thoughts before I made a comment.

In some ways I wonder if we are making something so small (wink, wink) into something bigger than it really is (again, wink, wink)? Early reports are that it hasn’t done any damage to the royal family. I think people understand that at 27 years of age the prince is going to do what many single young men either do…or desperately want to do. Since this is a blog dedicated to royal history I can tell you none of this is really shocking. In times past single and married princes and kings..and even singled and married princesses and queens were very human when it came to sexuality…and they acted out in similar ways in which prince Harry has. The sad part is that he was careless and trusting when he was in a vulnerable spot. He showed trust where that trust had not yet been earned.

Harry has always been a bit of a wild child and he reminds me of Princess Margaret. Growing up the Queen was always the studious and mature one, much like Prince William, and Margaret was the party girl, much like Prince Harry. So I think this is well within his character and not unusual behavior whatsoever. It does show that Harry is not ready to settle down yet. Who knows, maybe this will be a lesson or step along that direction.

Although there doesn’t seem to be any back lash right now one of the points people have been making is that the monarchy is funded by tax payers and that in these difficult economic times people may not appreciate seeing a playboy prince living the high life. So my larger concern is for the monarchy itself. While I think this will blow over and fade into the back of our minds within a short while, I worry that if we have too many of these types of things (nudge, nudge to the York sisters) I do not think the populace would approve of this type of behavior.