Georgiana may have been an important presence in the nuptials of Maria Fitzherbert and the Prince of Wales but that didn't leave a warm place for her in Maria's heart. For so beloved a duchess, there were three distinct hate-ahs of Georgiana: Jane Duchess of Gordon; her sister in law, Lavinia Countess Spencer, and Mrs. Fitzherbert.Georgiana just didn't care for Maria's personality and when she found out the socialite's feelings about her, she decided she didn't much like Georgiana either. Truth is, she was probably just jealous of Georgiana and her celebrity lifestyle.
Tea times Maria shared with Mrs. Eleanor Creevy tended to become slightly awkward because they usually culminated with Maria going into tirades against Georgiana. Finding out about her illegitimate daughter, Eliza Courtney was like striking gold for Mrs. Fitzherbert. She proudly boasted the fact to Mrs. Creevy over tea, hoping the words would make it to the venomous tongues of gossipers. It didn't really catch on. Maria's jealousy didn't hinder up until Georgiana's final years; she was still bitching about her in 1805. Mrs. Creevy would go on to quote Maria as saying she knew all the dirt on the duchess because she would read all of her husband's letters. She slyly added as she slowly stirred her tea that the Prince knew everything about Georgiana.
Apparently not enough to ruin Georgiana though! Mrs Fitzherbert's gossip left Georgiana unscathed and she never seemed to pay any mind to the threats of her good friend's jealous wife. Georgiana gracefully avoiding the barbs while at the same time getting her vengeance on Maria: she paid no attention to her.
I am a bit confused about Mrs Fitzherbert's status. The Prince marries her in secret, without his father's permission (which I believe was necessary); later he officially marries another (Charlotte? or is that someone else?). What becomes of Mrs F's? Does the prince need to divorce her? Or is that not necessary because their marriage wasn't considered legitimate in the first place? And was there a Mr Fitzherbert somewhere? She sounds like such an unpleasant character. Thanks! Katherine Louise
ReplyDeleteI will be lazy and answer your question with a link because I think that answers most of your questions. But basically, you are are right, the marriage was considered doubly illegitimate because she was both a Catholic and the king's permission hadn't been granted. But Maria (who was a widow) considered herself married to the prince up until the end, even if she wasn't too eager to enter the marriage in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAh, the link explains it -- a twice-widowed (no doubt there were plenty of rumors about that!), Catholic (!) raised in Paris -- that says it all. She and G disliked each other -- I understand why G agreed to accompany her to see the "dying" Prince -- but why would Mrs Fitzherbert ask G in the first place?! Katherine Louise
ReplyDeleteLove the title of the post, Heather. I like to imagine Georgianna saying that with a head jerk and a snap.
ReplyDelete@KL, good question! I am not quite sure.
ReplyDelete@Paul, Exactly! Which reminds me; I am not sure if this is up your alley but did you see this? There needs to be a Horace Walpole version of this!
I love it. So funny, you stupid byetch. I see more of these skits for lots of historical fiction and non-fiction tragedies... Oh, if only there were a sassy gay friend for everyone, like a guardian angel with a charge account at Bloomies AND Haagen-Dazs. Yuk, yuk.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Those are the best kinds of guardian angels!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Sort of read like a celeb gossip blog...I love it!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog site - I don't quite understand how blogs operate. But I do have a request. Please, Please give the citation (at least the museum name) on pictures. It is really challenging to track down the illustrations used without some information. Dates are also useful.
ReplyDeleteWell, it seems like Mrs.Fitzherbert's attempts at ruining georgianna's reputation were in vain. love the title too :)
ReplyDelete