Pains and Penalties Bill 1820

The Pains and Penalties Bill 1820 was a bill introduced to the British Parliament in 1820, at the request of King George IV, who had ascended the throne on 29 January 1820, following the death of his father, King George III. The aim of the bill was to deprive the King's wife, Queen Caroline (née Caroline of Brunswick), of the title of Queen consort, and to dissolve the marriage of the King and Queen. After a public trial of the Queen, the bill was eventually withdrawn.

Background

George IV married Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, after pressure from his father. The marriage, however, was disastrous; each party was unsuited to the other. The two were formally separated after the birth of their only child, HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales. Caroline was soon banished from court, and eventually departed England for Europe.

However, on George IV's accession, Caroline was now Queen of the United Kingdom, and returned to London to assert her rights. The King, however, refused to recognise Caroline as Queen, commanding British ambassadors to ensure that monarchs in foreign courts did the same. By the royal command, Queen Caroline's name was omitted from the liturgy of the Church of England.

Bill

George IV then decided that he must divorce Caroline, and strip her of the right to call herself Queen with the style "Her Majesty". The main charges against Caroline was that she had committed adultery, which was technically high treason at the time. This was despite the fact that the King had numerous affairs throughout his life, and had even married a Catholic, Maria Fitzherbert.

The King soon put pressure on the government to dissolve the marriage, and a bill was introduced into Parliament "to deprive Her Majesty, Caroline Amelia Elizabeth, of the Title, Prerogatives, Rights, Privileges, and Exemptions of Queen Consort of this Realm; and to dissolve the Marriage between His Majesty and said Caroline Amelia Elizabeth.".

Trial

The bill was effectively a public trial of the Queen, whereby the government would call witnesses against Caroline, who would be cross-examined by her legal advisors. Despite this the British public seemed to be on Caroline's side, and gave her strong support.

The Queen herself loved to be the centre of attention and attended the court every day, withdrawing to play backgammon when she was bored. Doing herself no favours, the Queen turned the tables on the King by saying "it is true I did commit adultery once, but it was with the Husband of Mrs Fitzherbert."

Bill withdrawn

The bill passed the House of Lords by a narrow margin of nine votes. Lord Liverpool, aware of the unpopularity of the bill and afraid that it might be overturned in the House of Commons, then withdrew the bill. The Queen saw this as a victory. Nevertheless she was still barred from the coronation. She fell ill on the day of coronation and died several weeks later on August 7, 1821. Her husband did not attend her funeral, and her body was returned to Brunswick for burial.

References

* Shingleton HM. The Tumultous Marriage of The Prince and Princess of Wales. ACOG Clinical Review (2006) 11(6):13-6.