He was not really very satisfied with his family.

When they reached Chelsea, Walpole was waiting to greet them.

He behaved as though this was the greatest honour that could befall him, but all his deference was directed towards the Queen; the rest of them were greeted very perfunctorily.

He had invited many guests for this glorious occasion, but the royal family were to dine in a room alone.

This pleased Anne who remarked to Amelia that it was no more than was right. Frederick was less pleased; he could think of much brighter company than that supplied by his own family; in fact he could think of few more dull.

The Queen however was delighted, for Sir Robert himself waited on them. He said it was not only the greatest of honours but the greatest of pleasures.

‘What a respecter of ceremony you are, Sir Robert! ‘ said the Queen with a laugh. ‘I had not expected to stand on such ceremony here in your home.’

‘Madam,’ he said, ‘no matter where, the Queen’s royalty must be maintained.’

How he delighted to serve her; and she delighted to be served!

Afterwards the candles were lighted and there was dancing. The Queen was pleased to look on. It was so comforting to rest her legs. None of the Princesses danced at first. Anne declined for them all for she considered it beneath their dignity; but the Queen implored Sir Robert to dance as she liked to watch the quadrille.

Frederick joined in and Anne scowled at him. How like him to curry favour! Everyone would now be saying that the Prince was more affable than his sisters.

The Queen was smiling and very gay. ‘Dancing becomes Sir Robert,’ she said. ‘How easily he moves! I should not have believed it possible. Ah, and there is Lord Hervey. Lord Hervey,’ she called, and he came and bowed to her.

‘I see you are not dancing, my lord.’ She turned to her daughters. ‘Now there is an excellent dancer. My lord, you should join the dancers.’

‘With Your Majesty’s permission it would give me greater pleasure to remain at your side.’

The Queen looked well pleased. Anne thought: This young man, who can at times look more like a woman than a man, is almost as great a favourite with her as Walpole himself.

‘I shall not give you permission,’ said the Queen. ‘Perhaps one of the Princesses will dance with you.’

Anne turned haughtily away. Amelia had caught sight of the Duke of Grafton. But Caroline had half risen. So Lord Hervey could do no more than beg for the honour.

The Queen sat back in her chair. Such a pleasant day! She was still glowing with pleasure over the successful conclusion of the Spanish Treaty.

Fleetingly she thought of George in Hanover. She had a picture of him caressing some plump beauty, and hoped her charms would be enchanting enough to keep him there a little longer.

A strange thought for a wife to have of her husband, she reminded herself; and then laughed for why should she practise self deception? No good ever came of that.


* * *

Meanwhile George was very happy in Hanover. Here he was supreme ruler; and after all this was his native land. He was more of a German than an Englishman—a fact which because the case had been the same with his father he had preferred to forget. But now his father was dead and he could be himself.

Herrenhausen! Home of a hundred delights, with its glorious gardens, its linden avenue, its hornbeam hedges, its lawns and fountains. Here he instituted the same rules as he insisted on in England, but no one laughed at him here. The Germans were so much more serious than the English. One could not imagine them sitting in taverns composing so-called witty verses. No one would laugh if they did. No sly remarks, no disturbing lampoons; only deep respect for their Elector and eagerness to show their pleasure on his return.

Hanover was delightful.

The English in his retinue were a little restive, but much he cared for that! Let them be. They did not like a life that was governed by the clock. They did not appreciate the importance of time.

Another thing, here he spoke German and there could be no tittering about some quaint turn of phrase or the inability to pronounce certain words. It was he who would have the laugh of the English here, if he could be amused by such a triviality, which he could not. It was the English who were always finding something to laugh at and in particular the opportunity to ridicule others.

He never wanted to leave Hanover.

He had two mistresses, because one, in his opinion, was not enough for his prestige, and they were plump, flaxen-haired German women, docile, honoured to be selected, and with a proper understanding of their position in life. He was contented.

Every morning at precisely eleven thirty he would stand waiting for the arrival of those of his retinue who were lodged at the Leine Schloss. His watch in hand he would smile when they arrived exactly on the minute.

They would return to the Leine Schloss later in the day and the process would be repeated at six o’clock. After that there would be the banquet, at which sausages and sauerkraut dominated, to the disgust of the English, and this was followed by cards. But the King would rise at exactly the same minute each night no matter whether the game was finished or not.

Because he had grown very interested in the theatre during his life in England, plays were performed twice a week at Herrenhausen. The performance began at the time decided on by the King and must end exactly on the minute—otherwise he would rise and leave and the show would therefore end in any case.

The English sneered and grumbled among themselves. It was like living in a monastery, they said. They wondered he didn’t set up a system of bells. But there was one advantage; everyone in the Court would know exactly where the King was at a certain time.

But these habits which had caused such mirth in England were placidly accepted in Germany.

The days were however enlivened by the controversy with the King of Prussia, who was not only his cousin but his brother-in-law. George had hated Frederick William when they were boys and he had seen no reason to change his mind. As for Frederick William, he liked nothing better than trouble, so he plunged into the argument with all the violence of his nature.

Townshend tried to persuade the King not to take Frederick William’s insults too seriously.

‘We know, Your Majesty, the nature of the King of Prussia. The stories we hear of the way in which he treats his family are so shocking that they are almost incredible.’

‘Nothing is incredible with that man. He may browbeat his family but he must remember that I am the King of England.’

‘We shall not allow him to forget that, Your Majesty.’

‘See that he does not.’ George’s eyes bulged with fury. ‘Do you remember when the Prince of Wales planned to leave Hanover for Prussia without my consent, when he thought to go there and marry the King of Prussia’s daughter? Well ... then he encouraged it. Without consulting me, this man encouraged my son to go to Prussia and marry his daughter. That is not all. There was a time when he kidnapped Hanoverian guards for one of his regiments. I tell you, Townshend, this man is a menace to the world.’

‘Your Majesty, with your permission I will write and tell him of your displeasure, but both these matters happened some time ago and have perhaps been forgotten by His Majesty of Prussia.’

‘Leave it to me,’ commanded the King. He was not going to have Townshend nip this quarrel in the bud with one of his bits of diplomacy.


* * *

When the King of Prussia received the letter of complaint from his cousin he was delighted.

He stormed into his wife’s apartment where she was taking a little refreshment and roaring with rage cuffed one of the Queen’s pages and sent him to bring his son and daughter to his presence.

‘Your brother!’ he shouted, throwing the letter he had received from George into the bowl of soup.

Sophia Dorothea picked it out daintily and read it. ‘George Augustus is like you,’ she said. ‘He longs for a fight.’

‘Don’t compare me with that popinjay, or I’ll kill you.’

She put her head on one side. ‘That would be a rather strong action to take,’ she said. ‘Surely I have often done much more to offend you than make such a comparison.’

He approached her, his hand raised; she smiled at him; so he contented himself with spitting into her soup.

‘That,’ she added, placidly, ‘will not I fear improve the flavour.’ She began to read her brother’s letter, and laughed. ‘George is such a fool,’ she said.

‘So you have sense enough to see that! ‘

‘And you,’ she added, ‘are a brute. Between you, you should manage to enjoy your correspondence.’

‘Enjoy! I tell you that if I had that little brother of yours here I’d take his neck in my hands and choke the life out of him.’

‘Don’t be too sure he’d let you do it. He’s something of a soldier, you know. And what he lacks in sense he makes up for in courage.’

‘Then he has to have a lot of courage.’

‘He has.’

The Crown Prince and Princess Wilhelmina entered. Their mother glanced at them anxiously; in spite of the ill-treatment they received from their father they did not appear to be unduly afraid. Blows had become commonplace to them. She wondered when Fritz would turn on his father; as for Wilhelmina, whatever marriage she made she could not find a husband to ill-treat her more than her father had.

‘Come here, you devil’s brood,’ he cried.