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n When Brougham commenced the examination ofnwitnesses, he shredded those who spoke against the Queen and provided othernwitnesses for the defence who gave evidence that directly contradicted that ofnthe prosecution and exonerated the Queen of all improprieties. When asked ifnshe had ever seen anything that might be thought unbecoming in the Queen’snbehaviour, her lady-in-waiting, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, replied with annunequivocal ‘Never!’
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| George IV – The Pride of Britain |
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nThe Earl ofnLlandaff, who had been at Naples and Venice whilst the Queen was residingnthere, told the Lords that it was absolutely normal for even the most modest ofnItalian ladies to receive morning calls when still in their beds. Mr KeppelnCraven, one of the Queen’s chamberlains, said that he had requested thenMarchese Ghisleri provide a suitable courier, and Pergami was thenrecommendation.
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| Sir William Gell |
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nSir William Gell, another chamberlain, said that he had beennastonished on one occasion to see Ghisleri, in full Austrian chamberlain’snuniform, throw his arms around Pergami and kiss him twice, in the street andnbefore the public.
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n“This familiarity is customary in Italy, between friendsnand equals when they part from one another.”n
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| Bartolomeo Pergami |
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nThe prosecution had made greatnplay of the incident aboard a polacca, when sailing back from Jerusalem,nwhen Pergami and the Queen had slept in the same tent on the deck. They had,nbut at the Queen’s request, as she needed a trusted male servant at close hand,non a ship manned by Greek and Italian seamen, who might not be trusted tonprovide assistance in the pirate-infested waters; they had slept full clothed,non separate couches – surely if they intended intimacy, they would at leastnhave gone below decks and slept in a much-less conspicuous cabin.
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| Tent-ation |
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nHad Pergaminand Caroline travelled together in the same carriage? – Yes, they had, but thenprosecution witnesses had failed to mention that Pergami’s sister and daughternhad also been in the same carriage. Then Brougham called two other Italians,nGiroline and Pomi, both of whom revealed that the prosecution witnesses hadnbeen paid 40 francs a day each and given free room and board.
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| What an Obviously Not-Dishonest Italian Looks Like. |
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nWas this notntantamount to the bribing of witnesses? How could they be trusted? (Byron,nwriting to his publisher during the case, mentions, almost in passing, thatntestimony of any sort could be bought in Italy, if the price was right).
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| Sir Robert Gifford, the Attorney-General |
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nBrougham recalled to the stand one of the prosecution witnesses, GuiseppenRastelli, but the Attorney-General was forced to admit that Rastelli was nonlonger in England. He had been sent to Milan, to assure any witnesses that maynyet still be called from there, that there was nothing to fear in coming tonEngland, in spite of the near lynching of some of the Italians at Dover. Whichnwas convenient. Was it not the case that he had been sent to Milan to get himnout of the country, that he was a secret agent away on business? It was all anvery, well, unEnglish way of going about things.
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| Thomas Denman, the Queen’s Solicitor |
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nDenman, the Queen’s solicitor,nsummed the case up and very nearly scuppered the whole defence when, in hisnfinal sentence, he alluded to the Woman Taken in Adultery, to whom Christ hadnsaid,
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n“If no accuser can come forward to condemn thee, neither do I condemnnthee: go, and sin no more.”n
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nIt was not so much the reference, as the way itnwas delivered, and it did not sit well with the more religious Lords, and thenKing’s supporters made much of Denman’s faux pas.
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nOne shining wit was inspired to pen thisnverse,
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nGracious Queen, we thee implore,nnn
nGo away and sin no more;nnn
nBut if that effort be too great,nnn
nGo away – at any rate.n
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| Thomas Denman, the Queen’s Solicitor |
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nIn one of the longest debates ever to take place innthe Upper House, the Lords considered the pros and cons, mulled over what theynhad seen and heard, and eventually voted for a second reading of the Bill, withn123 declaring themselves ‘content’ and 95 ‘not content’. And so, with anmajority of 28, the Lords declared Caroline of Brunswick guilty of licentiousnand disgraceful behaviour with a menial servant.
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| Would you behave licentiously and disgracefully with this woman? |
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nBut that was not the end. Annumber of those who had voted in favour were the bishops, who were quitenprepared to degrade Caroline from the throne but reluctant to grant a divorce,nbut the Whigs, strategically, pressed for the retention of the divorce clausenin the Bill, (a move thus supported by the King), and when the vote for thenthird reading was taken, the bishops moved against it. In consequence, the votenwas 108 for, with 99 against, a majority of a mere 9 votes.
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| Lord Liverpool |
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nIt becamenabundantly clear to the Tories that if the Bill went before the Commons, withnsuch a slim majority, it was bound to be defeated. With reluctance, LordnLiverpool, the Prime Minister, withdrew the Bill, and in spite, on paper, ofnhaving won the vote, the King’s party had lost the battle.
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| Queen Caroline leaves the Lords after the Bill fails |
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nTo cries of VivatnRegina, the public turned out in support of the Queen, and there werenserious fears that there could be a revolution in England. Members of thenCourt, and even the King himself, were reluctant to go out in public. Thencoaches of the Lords were stopped in the street and were not allowed to proceednuntil the occupants had alighted and cried, “God save the Queen.”
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nLordnLonsdale, stopped in this way, was said to have had his revenge on the mob by shouting,
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n“Godnsave the Queen – may all of your wives be like her.”n
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n Tomorrow – Does George IV admit defeat? Or do things turn nasty?
