Fitzherbert, Maria

Bundle I: Three autograph letters signed by the Duke of Wellington, as executor to George IV, to Maria Fitzherbert, ON THE FATE OF LETTERS AND PAPERS EXCHANGED BETWEEN HER AND THE LATE KING NOW IN THE HANDS OF FITZHERBERT AND THE LATE KING’S ESTATE (“...daily experience shews us that no papers are safe; or likely to be exempt from Publication. They fall into the hands of Persons who have not the same feelings of delicacy about them as the original correspondents...”), 11 pages, 4to, 29 March to 4 May 1832; two documents in Wellington's hand originally enclosed with these letters, the first an extract from George IV's will, 3 pages, the second a memorandum suggesting that Mrs Fitzherbert and the King's executors “will deliver up to the other all papers and documents in the possession of either signed or written by Mrs Fitzherbert or ... by the late King ... excepting such as relate to a certain Mortgage or Security in the Hands of Mrs Fitzherbert on the Palace at Brighton. A list of the Papers retained ... will be given to the Executors.... In case any Papers ...shall ever appear, it is understood and agreed that both parties will consider and treat such papers as forgeries. The two Parties further agree that all the Papers ... shall be destroyed as soon as possible after delivery”, 3 pages, folio, with annotations in pencil; retained copies of two letters by Mrs Fitzherbert to Wellington, regretting the executors’ wish to burn the papers in their possession (“...they are generally of so Insignificant a nature with the exception of some of which I possess Copies that they cannot possibly be of any use or advantage to any one...”) and refusing to hand over the papers in her possession, 5 pages, 4to, Brighton, no date and 3 May 1832; memorandum outlining an alternative proposal for the disposal of the papers, stating that each side will destroy the papers in their own possession, and that those papers that Mrs Fitzherbert wishes to retain will be sealed in a chest “in the Bank of Messrs Coutts at the disposition of the Earl of Albemarle and of Lord Stourton. The seals not to be broken without the knowledge of the Duke of Wellington and Sir William Knighton”, with a list of the papers to be retained (including the marriage certificate, related letters and a will of the late King), with a subscription by Lord Stourton affirming his approval of the proposals, 3 pages, folio; three autograph letters signed by the Duke of Wellington, to the Earl of Albemarle, on the proposed deposit of these selected papers in Coutts Bank, 6 pages, 8vo, 3 April to 8 September 1833; [also with:] copy letters by George IV as Prince of Wales to Lord Euston and related documents concerning Minney Seymour, 7 pages, undated (paper watermarked 1802); “State of Miss [Minney] Seymours Fortune”, 2 pages, folio, undated (watermarked 1820); will of Maria Fitzherbert, signed by her, with seal and witness signatures, 3 pages, 22 December 1830; two later copies of the 1836 will of Maria Fitzherbert with codicils, paper watermarked 1837 and 1846

Bundle II: CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS OF GEORGE IV AS PRINCE OF WALES: three copy letters by the Prince to PITT THE YOUNGER concerning a meeting on the Prince’s finances (“...When I recollect the Conversation that passed between you & me yesterday I can not but be very much surprized at some Expressions that I understand have dropt from several of your Friends, not that I harbour the smallest doubt of your honour, but I think that some sort of an explanation upon that score is absolutely necessary...”), 4-10 May 1787, together with a related letter by Pitt to Lord Southampton, 29 April 1787; 5 letters to George, as Prince, including by Lord Cornwallis (on Indian affairs), Lord Leinster (on the Regency crisis), and Charles Nassau Thomas, on the Prince’s refusal to provide any supplies to Princess Caroline at Carlton House (“...it would of course be impossible for the Princess to bring a scuttle of coals in the Coach...”) (4 pages, 1788-1808); five letters to Captain Jack Payne, Comptroller of the Prince’s household, including by Lord Malmesbury, Fredrick, Duke of York, and Lord Rawdon, 1789-98; two drafts of a MEMORANDUM ATTACKING THE RESTRICTIONS OF SOVEREIGN POWER IN THE PROPOSED TERMS OF THE REGENCY during the crisis occasioned by the illness of George III, 12 pages, [1789]; memorandum on “the coldness of the Queens answer to the animated representation of the Prince”, advising the Prince on how to improve relations with his mother, 4 pages, together with a draft letter from the Prince to the Queen entitled “Sketch”, 16 pages, [1789]; proposal for a grouping of independent MPs, 4 pages; memorandum on necessary expenses for the Prince of Wales, June 1789; memorandum by the Duke of Kent on the excessive expenditure of the Prince of Wales, 1801; copy of the will of the Duke of Cumberland, 1777; [with:] DETAILED NOTES ON TWO CONVERSATIONS WITH MRS FITZHERBERT ON HER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LATE KING, their marriage, his character, her belief that Caroline of Brunswick had been secretly married in her youth, gossip from the court of George III, and related subjects, 15 pages, 4 February 1832 and 4 April 1832; [also with:] eight documents relating to George Lionel Dawson-Damer and his military service especially at the Battle of Waterloo, including a letter signed by Wellington, mostly 1815-16



Bundle III: notes on a conversation with Maria Fitzherbert about HER FIRST MEETING WITH THE PRINCE, recalling that he was first pointed out to her by her husband when they were driving in a carriage, and that she met him a few days later at Corney House, Chiswick (“...turning down the Lane she found that the Prince had followed her, & had stopped to look at her...”), 2 pages, 4to, 14 November 1836; series of 17 letters by Maria Fitzherbert to George Dawson-Damer and his wife Minney (née Seymour) Fitzherbert’s adoptive daughter, 1820s-30s; 13 Letters to Maria Fitzherbert, including by Edward, Duke of Kent, 1817, Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss of Greiz, and other European nobility and royalty, also a series of four anonymous love letters signed “K”, from the Hague



Occasional nicks and dust staining, a small number of items torn at folds

Minnie Dawson-Damer, adopted daughter of Maria Fitzherbert and mother of the 4th Earl of Portarlington; gifted by the 6th Earl of Portarlington to his Land Agent, Bertram FitzHerbert, c.1930; thence by descent

A FASCINATING ARCHIVE TOUCHING ON MANY ASPECTS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEORGE IV AND MRS FITZHERBERT, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ROYAL LOVE AFFAIRS OF RECENT CENTURIES. These papers have not been used extensively by researchers, although Mrs Fitzherbert's recollection of her first meeting with the Prince is quoted in Anita Leslie's 1960 biography of Maria Fitzherbert from this manuscript.