nn
n
n Bartolomeo Pergami of Crema. Handsome, tall, manlynBartolomeo swells his dashing Hussars uniform; spur rattling, sabre clattering,nmustachio-twirling Bartolomeo attends the Royal Hotel, Milan, with a letter ofnintroduction to hand. He finds no one at reception. He advances deeper, lookingnfor a flunkey, and in a side-saloon he finds a lady, her skirts entangled aboutna chair-leg. He swoops, he stoops, deftly frees the lady from her snare; henrises, towering, inclines an amply curly head, enquires where he may find thenPrincess. He is informed. She is the Princess. Striking, strapping,nswarthy Bartolomeo is engaged on the spot. He will be the courier to thenPrincess.
n
n
n
n
n
 |
| Bartolomeo Pergami |
n
n
n
n
nPergami came from a good family, rather than a great family, but thenFrench Revolution had ruined them. He had served, with honour, fighting thenCorsican, and although he still wore his Hussars uniform, he was not reallynentitled to do so – he had killed a man of superior rank who had slighted him,nin a duel, and the army had seen fit to relieve him of further service.
n
n
n
nHe wasnable, he was spirited, he got things done. Campaigns had hardened him, servicenhad equipped him to cope, action had built him. He was noticed, his competencenrewarded, his rise assured. First, he became an equerry, then a chamberlain,nCaroline acquired a military order for him, Knight of Malta, then another, thenSicilian title of Baron della Francia, later she had him raised tonKnight of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and made him Grand Master of her ownnorder of St Caroline.
n
n
n
 |
| Countess Oldi, sister of Bartolomeo |
n
n
n
nHis family was brought in, employed, given positions innthe Royal household; his brother, Luigi, presided over it, Valotti Pergaminbecame controller, their sister Angela, married to the Count Oldi of Crema,nreplaced Lady Charlotte Campbell as the Queen’s Lady in Waiting. Carolinenbought the Villa d’Este, on the shore of Lake Como, in July 1815, although shencould not afford to do so, and eyebrows were raised when Bartolomeo began tondine at her table there. Indeed, tongues were set wagging across Europe, (Byron,nin a letter of January 1816, wrote to John Murray concerning the morality ofnVenice,
n
n
n
n“ … a woman is virtuous (according to the code) who limits herselfnto her husband and one lover; those who have two, three, or more, are a little wild;nbut it is only those who are indiscriminately diffuse, and form a lownconnection, such as the Princess of Wales with her courier, (who, by the way,nis made a knight of Malta) who are considered as overstepping the modesty ofnmarriage.”n
n
n
n
n
 |
| Lord George ‘No Stranger to Scandal’ Byron |
n
n
n
nI’d offer that you were rather more than over-stepping thenbounds of modesty if the libidinous Lord Byron was so sufficiently outragednthat he cast a disapproving glare on your behaviour!
n
n
n
 |
| An outraged Prince Regent |
n
n
n
nBack in England, the whiffnof scandal causes the Prince Regent to prick up his ears. He still wants evidence,nstill wants a divorce, for all that Caroline has removed herself to thenContinent. He employs spies, agents to watch, to note and report back, toncollect and catalogue every rumour, every indiscretion, every folly. He usesnhis connections, of which there are many, in the German Courts; he is, afternall, heir apparent to the dignity of Elector of Hanover. Count Munster,nHanoverian prime minister, is too happy to comply and through him BaronnOmpteda, with characteristic Germanic diligence, establishes a bureau in Milan,nwhereby Caroline’s servants are bribed, her movements surveyed, her comings andngoings logged. Keys to drawers were duplicated, letters were read, andnconversations were eavesdropped upon.
n
n
n
 |
| Caroline, Princess of Wales |
n
n
n
nSome Italians, for certain sums andnconsiderations, were persuaded to submit whatever statements about thenPrincess, her movements and her behaviour, as were required, in satisfactorynamounts. Caroline realised what was going on in Milan; she arranged for Omptedanto be sent on wild-goose chases and when he was dining at the Villa d’Este, shendropped unequivocal hints that she knew about the counterfeit keys. In anprivate letter, which Caroline knew full well would be opened and read, shenwrote,
n
n
n
n“Le porteur de cette lettre est une personne qui ne dit jamais lanvérité: il est un espion de la Câbal”n
n[The carrier of this letter is anperson who never told the truth: he is a spy of the Cabal].n
n
n
n
n
 |
| Bartolomeo Pergami |
n
n
n
nThe Prince Regentnsent one Mr Quentin to Naples, with the intention of spying on Caroline whennshe visited there, under the pretext on buying thoroughbred horses. Thensuspicions of Count Macirone were aroused when this supposed horse-buyerndidn’t actually buy any horses, even when the finest animals in the Royal studnwere offered to him, and Macirone informed the King of Naples know what henthought of this odd behaviour. The King sent news to Caroline, keeping hernabreast of his intelligence, and offering to escort Quentin, and any othernspies sent by the English, to the borders of his kingdom. Caroline,ncharacteristically guileless, declined with the reply,
n
n
n
n“When he has lookednabout him and satisfied himself, he’ll take his departure.”n
n
n
n
n
 |
| Villa d’Este, Lake Como |
n
n
n
nOmpteda bribednone of Caroline’s servants, Maurice Crede, to allow access to her bedchamber in the Villa d’Este,nwhere a search for evidence of adultery was carried out (nothing was found).nCrede was fired, ostensibly for an affair with a female servant, and so, in annattempt to regain his position, he wrote a letter confessing his treachery andnundoubtedly causing quite a kerfuffle in Hanover when he named Ompteda as thenperson behind the intrusion. Hardly the sort of thing a secret spy-master needsnto be thrown out into the open.
n
n
n
n
n
 |
| George Cruickshank – Pergami and Caroline |
n
n
n
nOmpteda also had problems with a young British navalnlieutenant, called Hownam, who was so outraged at the behaviour of the spy,nthat he called him out, demanding that he fight a duel for daring to castnaspersions on the Princess’s reputation. Ompteda’s masters back in Hanovernimmediately recalled him home, but the reason given for him not providingnHownam with satisfaction was that the Baron could not be expected to fight sonplebeian an opponent (which, to me, is reason enough for another gauntletnacross the chops Herr Baron).
n
n
n
nTomorrow – Terrible scandals and awful behaviour
n
n
n
