When William returned home he was determined not to cast aside his newly-won manhood and looked for the same adventures in London as he had found abroad. He saw clearly the folly of incurring scandal for the sake of Julia Fortescue. He could not marry her and her family would not consent to their forming an irregular union. He must seek excitement elsewhere.

One of his shipmates who was in London at the same time suggested they go together to one of the masked fetes at Ranelagh which were so popular and which offered numerous opportunities for adventure. The gardens were notorious; there ladies roamed in order to lose their reputations among those who had already lost theirs; and everyone was looking for pleasure.

William and his friend in their sailors’ uniforms could be in fancy dress; they had only to put on their masks and they were ready to mingle with Venetian noblemen, shepherdesses, and lords and ladies in the colourful costumes of courtiers. Their masks hiding their features, William and his friend strolled to the Rotunda past the Chinese Temple, the Grotto and the Temple of Pan; they listened to the al fresco orchestra; but they were soon tired of the sights and decided to explore the winding narrow paths, which gave such opportunities, in search of girls. They quickly found them – and William was attracted by one who wore the habit of a nun which was very intriguing because it was obvious that her costume was chosen out of contrast to her way of life.

This seemed a great joke and they were planning how to escape from their companions and go off alone to that part of the gardens which had been carefully cultivated to appear like a natural forest, when they came to a seat under a tree where William’s sailor friend suggested they sit down for a while.

This they did and as the young sailors chatted to their ladies and made sly attempts to remove their masks up strolled a group of men led by one in the costume of a Spanish grandee. There was something arrogant about that grandee; he walked with a swagger and looked through his mask, which was even more concealing than most, as though he not only owned Ranelagh but everyone in it.

He glanced at the group under the tree and his eyes rested on the nun.

‘Charming!’ cried the grandee, and held out a languid hand to the nun.

William was on his feet.

‘Begone, you insolent dog,’ cried William.

‘How dare you address me so, puppy,’ retorted the grandee.

‘Do you think an officer of His Majesty’s Navy will accept insults from a Spaniard?’ demanded William.

‘If he is forced to,’ was the reply, ‘and you will be, my little sailor boy.’

William had learned to use his fists; he was on his feet and delivering a blow which would have felled the grandee if his companions had not rallied round him as though he were a person of some consequence.

But he did not wish to be protected. He demanded satisfaction; a commotion ensued and someone called the constables.

‘Who started this?’ demanded the officer of the law.

The grandee’s friends said it was the sailor, and William and his declared it was that overdressed popinjay, the Spanish grandee; and as a result the constables arrested both the grandee and William and marched them off to the watch-house.

When they were brought before the constable of the night they were ordered to unmask.

When the grandee and William took off their masks they stared at each other.

‘Eh! William, is it you?’ cried the grandee Prince of Wales.

‘Eh, George, is it you?’ echoed William.

There was loud laughter. The brothers embraced, while the constables looked on. Here was a pretty state of affairs when they arrested the King’s two sons.

The Prince of Wales was never at a loss for a gesture.

‘You did good work,’ he told the constables and presented them with a guinea apiece, at which, astonished and delighted, they accepted their rewards and joined in the general amusement.

Then George linked his arm through that of William. They must be together; they must talk; George wanted to hear all about William’s adventures and he would tell William his.

There could be no greater pleasure for George than to be with his brother.

So, Ranelagh forgotten, they went back to George’s apartments in Buckingham House and there they talked far into the night. And William thought how good it was to be home and that there was no one in the world who meant so much to him as his brother George.

When the King heard of the night’s adventure, he fretted to the Queen.

‘Arrested by the Watch! Bribing constables with guineas! It won’t do. It won’t do. He’ll be just like the others. Hear stories of Fred. Wild… just like George. Can’t have William following in their wake, eh, what?’

When the King talked in that breathless jerky manner the Queen was fearful. It was reminiscent of that alarming time which she tried to forget and never could.

‘William is a good boy,’ she reminded the King. ‘You’ve had excellent reports from his superior officers.’

‘Sometimes I wonder… Sometimes I think I don’t get the truth.’

‘Admiral Digby would not distort the facts. As for that man Sandwich… he would soon have something to say.’

‘It’s the influence of George.’ The very mention of his eldest son’s name made the King’s veins knot at his temples. ‘He shall go back to his ship… without delay,’ he added.

So William’s leave on that occasion was considerably shortened and the plans he had made to tour the town incognito in mask and fancy dress with George could not be put into action.

The return of the sailor

THE PATTERN WAS set for the next years of William’s life, but it was an adventurous life. None of the royal family had seen the world as he saw it. He had become weather-beaten from sun and storm; his muscles had developed; he had grown to love the sea and no matter what happened he would always think of himself as a sailor.

His journeys took him to many foreign ports and he delighted in seeing these exotic places, but most of all he was interested in the women. He followed the ways of his brothers and when the King suddenly decided to recall William from the sea for a few months to do the Grand Tour of Europe and he went to Hanover he found his brother Frederick almost as skilled in the art of seduction as George.

The exciting adventures he encountered in the countries he visited, the reunion with Frederick, the entertainments which were given in his honour compensated him for being recalled from the sea. There were romances in plenty, the most serious perhaps with the beautiful Maria Schindbach with whom he was seen daily throughout the whole of one winter. They drove around together in a train of sledges; they danced together whenever possible and would take no other partners during an entire evening. The Prince was in love, said everyone. It was an explosive situation for although Maria was not exactly a beauty she fascinated many, and being such a highly desirable young woman she was scarcely likely to settle for anything less than marriage.

Captain Merrick, a fellow sailor, who had accompanied the Prince was also attracted by the young lady, and having served at sea with William and having treated him on board as no different from any other member of the crew, he was not going to withdraw from the pursuit of Maria simply because his rival was the son of the King.

Maria was amused and delighted by the rivalry; but besides being beautiful she was wise. She knew that there could be no marriage with William; she had learned all about that awkward Marriage Act which prevented ambitious young ladies like herself entering the royal family. Captain Merrick could offer what Prince William could not: marriage.

So she accepted Captain Merrick.

William suffered the pangs of disappointment for a few weeks before going in search of fresh adventures. He found one with a passionate young woman who was to bear his son, but he did not know this at the time. He had passed on before his mistress was aware of it.

Such was his life. Excitement, gaiety, adventure; and after the Grand Tour, to sea again.

William was eighteen when he formed an important friendship.

He had been transferred to the Barfleur which was lying in the Narrows off Staten Island at the time and was doing watch duty on deck when a barge came alongside in which was a young man in the uniform of captain. The Captain came aboard the Barfleur and was received by Admiral Lord Hood who brought him over to William.

It was one of those occasions when William’s rank was remembered for Lord Hood said: ‘Your Highness, I would like to present Captain Horatio Nelson.’

William thought Nelson the youngest captain he had ever seen, and as they talked together an immediate liking sprang up between them. It was to be the first of many meetings.

Nelson talked with more earnestness than any man the Prince had so far met. He was ambitious in the extreme, not for wealth but for the glory of the Navy. William had never known anyone who had such knowledge of ships and war and how the former should be the means of bringing the latter to a satisfactory conclusion.

When Nelson was at hand there was a marked change in the Prince’s behaviour; he did not care so much for roistering in foreign ports. He became imbued with the Captain’s ideals; he listened earnestly to Nelson’s plans for reform in the Navy; he learned of wrongs which had not occurred to him until this moment; he was informed of the unhappy effects of nepotism which appointed the wrong men for certain posts at crucial moments in history.