ng time ago (August 30th), but never the particulars till last
night. It is very remarkable that the thing has not been more
talked about. The King invited the Duchess of Kent to go to
Windsor on the 12th of August to celebrate the Queen's birthday
(13th), and to stay there over his own birthday, which was to be
kept (_privately_) on the 21st (the real day, but falling on
Sunday) and _publicly_ the day following. She sent word that she
wanted to keep her own birthday at Claremont on the 15th (or
whatever the day is), took no notice of the Queen's birthday, but
said she would go to Windsor on the 20th. This put the King in a
fury; he made, however, no reply, and on the 20th he was in town
to prorogue Parliament, having desired that they would not wait
dinner for him at Windsor. After the prorogation he went to
Kensington Palace to look about it; when he got there he found
that the Duchess of Kent had appropriated to her own use a suite
of apartments, seventeen in number, for which she had applied last
year, and which he had refused to let her have. This increased his
ill-humour, already excessive. When he arrived at Windsor and went
into the drawing-room (at about ten o'clock at night), where the
whole party was assembled, he went up to the Princess Victoria,
took hold of both her hands, and expressed his pleasure at seeing
her there and his regret at not seeing her oftener. He then turned
to the Duchess and made her a low bow, almost immediately after
which he said that 'a most unwarrantable liberty had been taken
with one of his palaces; that he had just come from Kensington,
where he found apartments had been taken possession of not only
without his consent, but contrary to his commands, and that he
neither understood nor would endure conduct so disrespectful to
him.' This was said loudly, publicly, and in a tone of serious
displeasure. It was, however, only the muttering of the storm
which was to break the next day. Adolphus Fitzclarence went into
his room on Sunday morning, and found him in a state of great
excitement. It was his birthday, and though the celebration was
what was called private, there were a hundred people at dinner,
either belonging to the Court or from the neighbourhood. The
Duchess of Kent sat on one side of the King and one of his sisters
on the other, the Princess Victoria opposite. Adolphus Fitzclarence
sat two or three from the Duchess, and heard every word of what
passed. After dinner, by th