Chapter III: The Wooing of the Princess

1705.

The Queen of Prussia’s death was one of the great sorrows of Caroline’s life. She was at Ansbach when Sophie Charlotte died, slowly recovering from a low fever. The sad news from Hanover plunged her into the deepest grief, and seriously hindered her convalescence. Leibniz, who had also lost his best friend in the Queen, wrote to Caroline to express his grief and sympathy; he also took this opportunity to explain his views on the Divine scheme of things.

“Your Serene Highness,” he writes, “having often done me the honour at Lützenburg of listening to my views on true piety, will allow me here to revert to them briefly.

“I am persuaded, not by light conjecture, that everything is ruled by a Being, whose power is supreme, and whose knowledge infinite and perfect. If, in this present state, we could understand the Divine scheme of things, we should see that everything is ordered for the best, not only generally but individually, for those who have a true love of God and confidence in His goodness. The teachings of Scripture conform to reason when they say that all things work together for good to those who love God. Thus perfect love is consummated in the joy of finding perfection in the object beloved, and this is felt by those who recognise Divine perfection in all that it pleases God to do. If we had the power now to realise the marvellous beauty and harmony of things, we should reduce happiness to a science, and live in a state of perpetual blessedness. But since this beauty is hidden from our eyes, and we see around us a thousand sights that shock us, and cause temptation to the weak and ignorant, our love of God and our trust in His goodness are founded on faith, not yet lost in sight or verified by the senses.

“Herein, madam, may be found, broadly speaking, the three cardinal virtues of Christianity: faith, hope and love. Herein, too, may be found the essence of the piety which Christ taught--trust in the Supreme Reason, even where our reason fails without Divine grace to grasp its working, and although there may seem to be little reason in it. I have often discussed these broad principles with the late Queen. She understood them well, and her wonderful insight enabled her to realise much that I was unable to explain. This resignation, this trust, this merging of a tranquil soul in its God, showed itself in all her words and actions to the last moment of her life.”[9]

Caroline’s answer to this letter shows that she had not yet arrived at the heights of Leibniz’s philosophy: “Heaven,” she says, “jealous of our happiness, has taken away from us our adored and adorable Queen. The calamity has overwhelmed me with grief and sickness, and it is only the hope that I may soon follow her that consoles me. I pity you from the bottom of my heart, for her loss to you is irreparable. I pray the good God to add to the Electress Sophia’s life the years that the Queen might have lived, and I beseech you to express my devotion to her.”[10]

To add to Caroline’s troubles, the Elector Palatine showed signs at this time of reviving his favourite project of marrying her to the King of Spain, notwithstanding her definite refusal the year before. He probably thought, as the death of Queen Sophie Charlotte had materially affected for the worse the position and prospects of her ward, that the young Princess could now be induced to reconsider her decision. The King of Prussia was of this opinion too, and his tone became threatening and peremptory; he had no objection to keeping Caroline as a possible bride for his son in the last resort, but it would suit his political schemes better to see her married to the future Emperor. But Caroline found an unexpected ally in her brother, the young Margrave of Ansbach, who resented, as much as he dared, the interference of the King of Prussia, and told his sister that she was not to do violence to her convictions, and that she might make her home with him as long as she pleased. Thus fortified, Caroline stood firm in her resistance, though by so doing she refused the most brilliant match in Europe.

With the spring things grew brighter; Caroline could not mourn for ever, and thanks to a strong constitution, youth and health asserted themselves, and she quite recovered her beauty and her vivacity. The Ansbach burghers knew all about her refusal of the future Emperor, and they honoured her for her courage and firmness, and were proud of their beautiful young princess, whom the greatest prince in Europe had sued in vain. Caroline interested herself in many schemes of usefulness in her brother’s principality, and went in and out among the people displaying those rare social gifts which stood her in good stead in later years. Perhaps this was the happiest period of her life, and though she was at Ansbach only for a short time, she always retained an affection for the place of her birth, and an interest in the fortunes of her family. Yet she must have felt the contrast between quiet little Ansbach and the brilliant circle at Berlin; her energetic and ambitious temperament was not one which could have long remained content with an equivocal position in a petty German Court, and she must have wondered what the future had in store for her.

Caroline was not destined to regret her refusal of the Imperial diadem. “Providence,” as Addison put it later, “kept a reward in store for such exalted virtue;” and her “pious firmness,” as Burnet unctuously called her rejection of the future Emperor, “was not to go unrequited, even in this life”.[11] In June, the fairest month of all the year at little Ansbach, when the trim palace garden was full of roses, and the lime trees in the Hofgarten were in fragrant bloom, the Electoral Prince George Augustus of Hanover came to see and woo the beautiful princess like the Prince Charming in the fairy tale. George Augustus was not exactly a Prince Charming either in appearance or character, but at this time he passed muster. He was a few months younger than Caroline, and though he was short in stature, he was well set up, and had inherited some of his mother’s beauty, especially her large almond-shaped eyes. The court painters depict him as by no means an ill-looking youth, and the court scribes, after the manner of their kind, described him as a prince of the highest qualities, with a grace of bearing and charm of manner. Flatterers as well as detractors unite in declaring him to be possessed of physical courage, as daring and impulsive, and often prompted by his heart. George Augustus had his defects, as we shall see later; they developed as the years went on, but they were not on the surface now, and it was only the surface that the young Princess saw.

The wooing of Caroline was full of romance and mystery; even the bare record of it, as related in the state papers and despatches of the day, cannot altogether keep these elements out. The Elector George of Hanover determined that his son should visit Ansbach in disguise, and, under a feigned name, see and converse with the Princess, so that he might find out if he could love her, if she were likely to love him, and whether she was really so beautiful and charming as rumour had described her. The Elector knew by bitter experience the misery of a state marriage between an ill-assorted husband and wife, and he determined to spare his son a similar fate. Extraordinary care was taken to preserve the Prince’s _incognito_, and to prevent his mission being known before everything was settled. There was an additional reason for this secrecy, as the King of Prussia would certainly try to prevent the marriage if he got to know of it in time.

Prince George Augustus rode out of Hanover at night, no one knew whither, but his absence from the court was soon remarked, and the quidnuncs were all agog. The English Envoy at Hanover, Poley, writes home as follows:--

“Our Electoral Prince went out of town at about twelve o’clock at night, attended only by the Baron von Eltz (who had formerly been his governor and is one of these Ministers) and one valet-de-chambre. This journey is a mystery of which I know nothing, but it seems probable that he will make use of the Princess of Hesse’s passing through Celle to view _incognito_ a Princess of that family who is thought to come with her. There is a Princess of Saxe-Zeith, also, said to be the most beautiful in Germany.... In what concerns the Prince’s own inclination in this business, his Highness hath not hitherto appeared so much concerned for the character and beauty of any young lady he hath account of, as the Princess of Ansbach. The mystery of this journey at least will soon be discovered. There is in this court a real desire of marrying the prince very soon.”[12]

Meanwhile George Augustus, in accordance with the Elector’s plan, had arrived at Ansbach. He professed to be a young Hanoverian noble travelling for pleasure, who expected to meet at Nuremberg some travelling companions from Westphalia, but as they had failed to appear, he found Nuremberg dull, and came on to Ansbach to see the town and visit its court. He and his companion, Baron von Eltz, presented introductions from Count Platen, the Hanoverian Prime Minister, commending them to the good offices of the Margrave. They were received at the palace and treated with all hospitality; they were invited to supper, and joined the circle afterwards at music and cards. George Augustus, in the guise of a Hanoverian nobleman, was presented to the Princess Caroline, and conversed with her for some time. According to his subsequent declarations he was so much charmed with her that he fell in love at first sight. She far exceeded all that rumour had declared. It may be presumed that he kept his ardour in check, and Caroline had no idea who he was. But whether she had an inkling or not, she betrayed no sign, and played her part to perfection. After a few days’ sojourn at Ansbach the young prince departed, apparently to Nuremberg to meet his friends, in reality to hasten back to Hanover to tell his father that he was very much in love. Here again we quote Poley:--

“The Prince Electoral is returned and gone to Herrenhausen. He was about two hours with the Elector alone, and the Elector’s appearing afterwards in good humour at table makes it to be imagined that there hath nothing happened but what he is well pleased with. Some with whom I am acquainted are positively of opinion that his Highness hath been at Ansbach, and that he declared his design himself in person, and hath been very well received, and that we shall soon see some effects of it; others think it is a Princess of Hesse.”[13]

But no explanation of the Prince’s expedition was forthcoming, and the Elector went off to Pyrmont to take the waters, leaving the Hanoverian Court in mystification. The secret was well kept; even the Electress Sophia was not informed, notwithstanding that this was her darling scheme. The Elector had contempt for women’s discretion; he often declared that he could not trust a woman’s tongue, and he knew that his mother was a constant correspondent with the greatest gossip in Europe, her niece, Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans.

Matters being thus far advanced at Hanover, Eltz was again despatched to Ansbach. “He hath disappeared secretly,” writes the lynx-eyed Poley, who was still much mystified. When Eltz returned to Ansbach, he kept up his disguise and told the Margrave that he had just returned from Nuremberg, where he had left his young friend. The Elector of Hanover’s secret instructions to Eltz, and the Envoy’s letters to the Elector (preserved in the Hanoverian archives) explain what followed, and the whole of the negotiations at Ansbach. It will be well to quote them in full:--

_The Elector of Hanover to Privy Councillor von Eltz._

“HANOVER, _June 17th, 1705_.

“Whereas, it is already known to our trusty Envoy, that our son,
the Electoral Prince, has seen the Princess of Ansbach, and is
seized with such an affection and desire for her, that he is most
eager to marry her without delay: We therefore should gladly
rejoice to see such a union take place, and hope that the Princess
may be equally favourably disposed. It is necessary, however, that
her inclinations be assured first of all, and, should she consent
to this alliance, it is our wish that the marriage contracts may be
agreed upon without unnecessary delay.

“We therefore instruct our Envoy to betake himself, secretly
and _incognito_, to the Court of Ansbach. On arriving there he
must feign surprise that his friends from Westphalia, who had
arranged to meet him at Nuremberg on their way to Italy, had not
yet arrived. Moreover, he must say that the young friend who
had accompanied him the last time he was at Ansbach having been
unexpectedly called home, he, our Envoy, found the time of waiting
so long at Nuremberg that he returned to Ansbach, and would
consider it a special favour if he might be allowed to pass a few
more days at that Court.

“Having made this explanation, our Envoy should seek an opportunity
of conversing alone with the Princess, and should say to her
privately, when no one else is within hearing, that he had matters
of importance to bring before her notice, and certain proposals to
make, which he hoped would not prove disagreeable to her. He must
therefore beg her to name a convenient time and opportunity to
grant him an interview alone, but in such a manner as to cause no
comment. He should also ask her, particularly, not to confide to
any one the request he had made, the more especially because the
Princess would subsequently see that the matter was of so delicate
a nature as to require absolute secrecy for the present.

“When our Envoy is admitted to the Princess, he must explain to
her that the young friend who accompanied him on his last visit
to the Court of Ansbach was our son, the Electoral Prince, who
had been so much impressed with the reports of the Princess’s
incomparable beauty and mental attributes that he arranged to
appear _incognito_, and have the honour of seeing and speaking with
the Princess without her knowing his electoral rank and station. As
he had succeeded in doing this, and had found that the reports were
more than verified, our son is so charmed and delighted with her
that he would consider it the height of good fortune to obtain her
for his wife, and has asked our permission to seek this end. As we,
the Elector, have always held the Princess in highest esteem and
repute, we are not a little rejoiced to hear that our son cherished
these sentiments towards her, and we should be even more glad if he
could attain the object of his mission.

“Our Envoy must then declare to the Princess who he himself is, and
by whose authority he has come, and he must sound her as to whether
she be free from all other engagements, and if so he must discover
if her heart be inclined towards our son. Our Envoy, however, must
mention, but not in such a way as to suggest that the Princess of
Ansbach is a _pis aller_ for our son, that this matter would have
been broached sooner on our side, if negotiations for our son’s
marriage had not been going on in Sweden, as was perhaps known in
Ansbach, the result of which had necessarily to be awaited. Besides
we had previously to make sure whether the Princess of Ansbach was
likely to entertain the King of Spain’s suit.

“If the Princess should reply that she is engaged to another, or
if she should behave in such a way as to lead our Envoy to suppose
that she was desirous of avoiding the proposal of marriage from
our son, our Envoy is charged to beg the Princess not to make the
slightest mention of the matter to any one, and, under pretext that
he has received news that his travelling companions have at last
reached Nuremberg, he is to take leave of the Court of Ansbach, and
return hither at once as secretly as he left.

“But should the Princess, in answer to our Envoy’s proposition,
declare, as we hope she will, that she is free from any other
matrimonial engagement, and is inclined to an alliance with our
House, our Envoy will inquire of the Princess, first, whether
she would agree to his having an audience with her brother, the
Margrave, and then, on behalf of our son, he will ask her hand
in marriage. Also, because this matter must be formally dealt
with, and a contract of marriage drawn up, he must find out what
trustees, persons well disposed towards the marriage, he shall ask
the Margrave to nominate, or whether the Princess would prefer
herself to nominate them. The Princess will probably require time
to consider the matter, in which case our Envoy will request her to
think over the question by herself. Should the Princess delay in
coming to a decision, our Envoy, in the most polite and delicate
manner possible, will remind her that he must guard in every way
against the Princess having any kind of communication with the
Court of Berlin until such time as this project of marriage is
so far established as to prevent any possibility of its being
upset; and to this end our Envoy will most strongly urge that only
trustworthy persons favourably disposed towards this marriage be
employed in the drawing up of the contract. Our Envoy will point
out that any communication on this subject with the Court of
Berlin would only create difficulties and loss of time. Our Envoy
knows full well that the sooner our son is married the better.
It is, therefore, most important to prevent any whisper reaching
Berlin, and to keep in ignorance all those persons who would surely
speak against this marriage, and seek to delay it, in the hope of
eventually preventing it altogether. Our Envoy can suggest to the
Princess that an explanation could easily be given to the Court of
Berlin later (with apologies for not having acquainted it before),
to the effect that she was so hard pressed by our Envoy for a
decision, she could not well refrain from accepting at once, the
more especially as it was an offer she had no reason to refuse. Her
brother, the Margrave, could say that he knew nothing of the matter
until the Princess announced that she had chosen our son.”

_Privy Councillor von Eltz to the Elector of Hanover._

“ANSBACH, _June 23rd, 1705_.

“On arriving here yesterday evening I went at once to the Court,
and was presented to the Margrave and her Highness the Princess,
under the name of ‘Steding,’ by Court Marshal von Gerleheim. I
was most graciously received by them both. The Princess commanded
me to be shown to her private apartments, and gave me audience in
her own chamber. There was no one else present, except at first
Fräulein von Genninggen, who stood discreetly apart, and with her
back turned to us; she afterwards, at my suggestion, left the room.
I then took the opportunity to carry out the mission with which
I had been graciously entrusted by your Electoral Highness. I
asked first whether her Highness was free of all other matrimonial
engagements, and in that event whether she was favourably disposed
to the Electoral Prince’s suit?

“Her Highness at first seemed to be surprised and agitated. But
she soon composed herself, and said that I could rest assured that
she was entirely free from any engagements, as the negotiations
between herself and the King of Spain had been completely broken
off. Nevertheless, she added, my proposition came to her very
unexpectedly, as (I quote her own words) ‘she had never flattered
herself that any one in Hanover had so much as thought about her’.
That they should have done so, she could only ascribe to the
will of God and the goodness of your Electoral Highness, and she
hoped that you would not find yourself deceived in the favourable
opinion you had formed of her from what others had told you. This
much, at least, she would admit, that she would infinitely prefer
an alliance with your Electoral House to any other; and she
considered it particular good fortune to be able to form fresh
and congenial ties to compensate for the loss she had suffered
by the death of the high-souled Queen of Prussia, and of her own
step-brother. In the meantime, as she was absolutely dependent
on her brother, the present Margrave, she could not formally
give her consent to my proposal until she had spoken with him on
the subject. But she did not doubt that he would consider your
Electoral Highness’s request in a favourable light, and would
willingly give his consent in all things as she wished.

“Having expressed my profound thanks to her Highness for her
favourable reception of my proposal, I then strongly urged upon her
the most absolute secrecy, especially with regard to the too early
announcement of this betrothal to the Court of Berlin. Her Highness
at once declared that this was the very request she herself had
been on the point of making to me, as the King of Prussia took
upon himself to such an extent to command her to do this, that
and the other, that her brother and she were obliged to be very
circumspect, and to be careful of everything they said and did. Her
brother, the Margrave, would most certainly be discreet, and the
Princess was glad that Privy Councillor von Breidow was even now
going to Berlin to represent the Court of Ansbach at the funeral
of the late Queen.[14] Her Highness also undertook to inquire of
her brother what settlements she should ask for, and who should be
entrusted with the drawing up of the marriage contract, at the same
time remarking that she had complete trust in Councillor von Voit,
who, although he had originally advised her to accept the proposal
of the King of Spain, yet, when she could not make up her mind to
change her religion, had not turned against her, and was still her
friend, and deeply attached to her brother. In conclusion, her
Highness said that it would be best for me to retain the name of
Steding for the present, and to come to Court in that name whenever
I wished to drive out with her. Thereupon, so as not to create
remark by too long an interview, and also to be able to expedite
this despatch, I returned to my lodging at once. Tomorrow I shall
repair to Court again and learn what his Highness the Margrave has
to say, whereupon I shall not fail to send my report.”

_Privy Councillor von Eltz to the Elector of Hanover._

“ANSBACH, _June 25th, 1705_.

“As the Princess of Ansbach promised, and as I mentioned in my
despatch of the day before yesterday, her Highness made known
my mission to her brother, the Margrave, the same evening, and
received his consent, which he gave with great pleasure. They
thereupon sent a joint message by an express courier to the
Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt begging him to be good enough to
repair hither without delay; the Princess asked the Landgrave to
come in order that he might be an adviser to her and her brother,
and help to determine the question of her appanage and her
settlements. These will probably be easily settled. There is not
likely to be any difference between the Princess and her brother on
the question of settlements, except that he wishes to give up to
her everything left to her by the will of the deceased Margrave,
and she declines to accept so much from him.

“Meanwhile, though my credentials have not yet arrived, acting on
the Princess’s advice, I had a special audience with the Margrave,
and thanked him for his favourable reply, urging at the same time
despatch in the matter. Further, I asked that Councillor Voit
might act as one of the trustees. To all these requests he replied
most politely, and assured me that he considered your Electoral
Highness’s request as an honour to his House and a piece of good
fortune to his family, and he was deeply obliged to your Electoral
Highness for it, and would endeavour at all times to show your
Electoral Highness devotion and respect.

“Court Councillor Serverit, who is here, and who was private
secretary to the late Margrave, and is still intimate with the
Princess, received a letter yesterday from Court Councillor Metsch,
wherein he says he has been summoned by both the Emperor and
the Elector Palatine, who have commissioned him to make a final
representation on behalf of the King of Spain, and he therefore
must earnestly request Court Councillor Serverit to repair to some
place, such as Nuremberg, where he could meet and confer with him.
But her Highness, the Princess, ordered Court Councillor Serverit
to reply by special courier to Court Councillor Metsch that it was
not worth his trouble to journey to Nuremberg or anywhere else, as
she held firmly to the resolution she had already formed, all the
more as the matter was no longer _res integra_. Thus your Electoral
Highness has chosen the right moment to send me here, not only on
account of this message, but also because of the absence of Privy
Councillor von Breidow; and if only the courier will bring me
the necessary instructions and authorisation from your Electoral
Highness with regard to the marriage contract, as everything is in
readiness, the matter can be settled at once. I also hope that the
Princess will not long delay her departure from Ansbach, and will
not break her journey to Hanover anywhere but at Eisenach. It is
true she told Councillor Voit, when at my suggestion he mentioned
to her that I was pressed for time, that she had no coaches or
appanage ready, and the Councillor also gave me to understand that
the Margrave would need time to make proper arrangements for the
journey. But I, on the other hand, pointed out that your Electoral
Highness cared for none of these things, and needed nothing else
but to see the Princess in person, and hoped as soon as possible
to receive her. Whereupon the Councillor assured me that her
Highness would not take it amiss if I pressed the matter somewhat
urgently, and that he would do all in his power to help me. I now
only await the courier.... I have so much good to tell concerning
the Princess’s merits, beauty, understanding and manner that your
Electoral Highness will take a real and sincere pleasure in hearing
it.”[15]

The courier from Hanover duly arrived at Ansbach bringing the Elector’s warrant, which gave Eltz full powers to arrange the marriage contract and settle the matter of the impending alliance between “our well-beloved son, George Augustus, Duke and Electoral Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and our well-beloved Princess Wilhelmina Caroline, Princess of Brandenburg in Prussia, of Magdeburg, Stettin and Pomerania, of Casuben and Wenden, also Duchess of Crossen in Silesia, Electress of Nuremberg, Princess of Halberstadt, Minden and Cannin, and Countess of Hohenzollern, etc., etc.,” as Caroline was grandiloquently described. Her long string of titles contrasted with her lack of dowry, for she brought to her future consort nothing but her beauty and her talents, which, however, were more than enough.

The preliminaries being settled, Count Platen was told by the Elector, who was still at Pyrmont, to acquaint the Electress Dowager with what had been done. The Electress expressed her surprise that “the whole matter had been kept secret from her,” but she was so overjoyed at the realisation of her hopes that she waived her resentment at the lack of courtesy with which she had been treated.[16] As the “Heiress of Great Britain” the marriage of her grandson, who was in the direct line of succession to the English throne, was a matter in which she had certainly a right to be consulted. But as it all turned out exactly as she would have wished, she put aside her chagrin and prepared to give the bride a hearty welcome.

The betrothal soon became an open secret, and the Duke of Celle, George Augustus’s maternal grandfather, was formally acquainted with the good news, and came to Hanover to offer his congratulations. Poley adds the following significant note: “During the Duke of Celle’s being here, the Duchess of Celle goes to stay with her daughter, and probably to acquaint her with her son’s marriage”.[17] This daughter was the unfortunate wife of the Elector, Sophie Dorothea, the family skeleton of the House of Hanover, whom her husband had put away and kept a prisoner at Ahlden. This was the only notification of the marriage made to her, and she was not allowed to send a letter to her son or to his future wife.

A few days later the good news was publicly proclaimed. Poley writes: “On Sunday, the 26th, just before dinner, the Elector declared that there was concluded a treaty of marriage between his son the Electoral Prince and the Princess of Ansbach, and the Prince received the compliments of the court upon it, and at dinner there were many healths drunk to his good success. So that the mystery is now at an end which hath hitherto been concealed with so much care.... The Prince’s clothes are now making, and the comedians have an order to be in readiness to act their best plays, of which they have already given in a list, though it is thought the mourning for the Emperor may delay the wedding some weeks longer if the Prince’s impatience does not make him willing to hasten it. The Electress told me on Sunday night that the Elector had left the Prince entirely to his own choice, and the Electress herself hath a very great kindness for her, and since her last visit to Berlin, the Princess of Ansbach hath been always talked of at this court as the most agreeable Princess in Germany.”[18]

After this there was no long delay, and everything was done to hasten forward the marriage. The Princess of Ansbach only asked for time to make necessary preparations for departure, and agreed to waive all unnecessary ceremony. At Hanover it was settled that the Electoral Prince and Princess should have the apartments in the Leine Schloss formerly occupied by Sophie Dorothea of Celle when Electoral Princess, and the same household and establishment allotted to them--“nothing very great,” remarks Poley.

The air was full of wedding preparations when the rejoicing was suddenly marred by the death of the aged Duke of Celle, who died of a chill caught hunting. The Princess of Ansbach, accompanied by her brother, the Margrave, had actually started on her journey to Hanover when the news of this untoward event reached her, and the Electoral Prince had gone to meet her half-way. As all arrangements were completed for the wedding, and delays were dangerous owing to the jealousy of the Courts of Vienna and Berlin, it was decided to suspend the mourning for the Duke of Celle for a few days, and to celebrate the marriage on the arrival of the bride.

George Augustus and Caroline were married quietly on September 2nd, 1705, in the chapel of the palace of Hanover. The only account of the marriage is to be found in Poley’s despatch: “The Princess of Ansbach and the Margrave, her brother, arrived here, and were received with all the expressions of kindness and respect that could be desired. The marriage was solemnised the same evening after her coming, and yesterday there was a ball, and in the evening there will be a comedy for her entertainment, and there are the greatest appearances of entire satisfaction on all sides. The Court left off their mourning, and has appeared these three days in all the finery which the occasion requires, and the Marquess of Hertford, Mr. Newport, Mr. Onslow, Mr. Austin, and some other English gentlemen, who are come hither to have their share of the diversions, have made no small part of the show.”[19] Thus early did Caroline make the acquaintance of representatives of the English nation over which, with her husband, she was one day to reign.

FOOTNOTES TO BOOK I, CHAPTER III:

[9] Leibniz to the Princess Caroline of Ansbach, Hanover, 18th March, 1705.

[10] Letter of Princess Caroline to Leibniz, Ansbach, 2nd April, 1705.

[11] Gay, in his _Epistle to a Lady_, also alludes to this incident:--

“The pomp of titles easy faith might shake,
She scorned an empire, for religion’s sake”

[12] Poley’s Despatch, Hanover, 9th June, 1705.

[13] Poley’s Despatch, Hanover, 19th June, 1705.

[14] The Queen of Prussia was not buried until six months after her death, and her funeral, as she had anticipated, was conducted on a scale of great magnificence. Von Breidow was an Ansbach official in the pay of Prussia.

[15] These documents (in German) are preserved in the Royal Archives at Hanover. They have never before been published.

[16] An account of this interview is given in a letter from the Count von Platen to the Elector of Hanover; Hanover, 9th July, 1705 (Hanover Archives.)

[17] Poley’s Despatch, Hanover, 21st July, 1705.

[18] Poley’s Despatch, Hanover, 28th July, 1705.

[19] Poley’s Despatch, 4th September, 1705.