able determination not to meet the
Princess of Wales upon any occasion, either in public or private."[32]
Queen Charlotte was bound of course to give an official intimation to
that effect to the Princess Caroline, which, on the 24th and 26th of
May, 1814, brought from her letters to the queen and the Regent. In the
first of these communications she intimated her intention of "making
public the cause of her absence from Court at a time when the duties of
her station would otherwise peculiarly demand her attendance"; while her
letter to her husband contained the following intimation: "Your Royal
Highness may possibly refuse to read this letter; but the world must
know that I have written it, and they will see my real motives for
foregoing in this instance the rights of my rank. Occasions, however,
may arise (one, I trust, is far distant) when I _must_ appear in public,
and your Royal Highness must be present also. Can your Royal Highness
have contemplated the full extent of your declaration? Has your Royal
Highness forgotten the approaching marriage of our daughter [to the
Prince of Orange] and the possibility of our coronation?" These words
show that from the first Caroline had decided, _coute que coute_, when
the time came to assert her position, in spite of the opposition of her
husband and any obstacles which might be raised by his friends and
advisers.

We have entered rather fully into this matter, because it seemed to us
necessary, in order that the reader might understand the temper of
Caroline, and the motives which influenced her in the extraordinary
course of conduct which she afterwards thought fit to pursue. She was
treated, we have seen, with the most cruel and studied insult; excluded
from ceremonials at which her rank and position entitled her to be
present. "Sir," said the unfortunate woman in the letter to her husband
to which we have alluded, "the time you have selected for this
proceeding is calculated to make it peculiarly galling. Many illustrious
strangers are already arrived in England; among others, as I am
informed, the illustrious heir of the house of Orange, who has announced
himself to me as my future son-in-law. From their society I am unjustly
excluded. Others are expected, of rank equal to your own, to rejoice
with your Royal Highness in the peace of Europe. My daughter will for
the first time appear in the splendour and publicity becoming the
approaching nuptials of the presumptive heiress