le of Queen of
England. This singular proposition was stated at the time to be made
without the knowledge of the princess; and the reply given was, that
when the king came to give attention to the subject, there would be no
indisposition to acquiesce in such terms, provided she would give
her consent. Thus matters rested till she became Queen of England.
Government then thought it necessary that some line of conduct should
be taken regarding her, which might prevent disclosures that were on all
accounts to be deprecated, and a compromise, founded on Mr.| Brougham's
former proposal, was transmitted to her: she was to receive L50,000 on
condition of renouncing the royal title, and residing in foreign lands.
She had heard of the death of her father, and the accession of her
husband in February, while at Rome, and she immediately assumed the
royal title, and demanded a guard of honour from the papal government.
This demand was not complied with, because no official communication
had been received from the king or his ministers on the subject: his
holiness, indeed, represented that he did not know whether the Queen of
England was in Rome or not. Incensed at this reply, her majesty drew
up a narrative, dated Match 16th, relating her wrongs, and in which she
stated her determination to repair to England. This document, together
with a letter written by her to Lord Liverpool, demanding that her name
should be inserted in the liturgy, and that a palace should be prepared
for her on her arrival, appeared in the papers about the middle of
April, and a general idea prevailed that she was rapidly proceeding
towards England. Various reasons, however, concurred which induced her
to prolong her sojourn at Rome, so that she did not arrive at Geneva
till the 9th of May. From Geneva she dispatched a letter to Mr. Brougham
requiring his attendance either there, or at one of the sea-ports. In
consequence of this communication, Messrs. Denman and Brougham, with
other friends of the queen, held a consultation, in which they agreed
to request her to repair to Calais without loss of time. Her majesty
quitted Geneva instantly on receiving this advice, and in her route
thither she was joined by Lady Anne Hamilton, who had formerly been in
her service, and by Alderman Wood, one of the representatives of the
city of London. On the 20th she arrived at Villeneuve le Roi, whence
she wrote two letters, one to the Duke of York, and the other to Lord
Live