The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 4 October 1820
“House of Lords, Oct. 4, ½ past 1.
“Brougham has
just finished his opening. . . . I never heard him anything like the perfection
he has displayed in all ways. . . . In short, if he can prove what he has
stated in his speech, I for one believe she is innocent, and the whole case a
conspiracy. . . . He concluded with a most magnificent address to the
Lords—an exhortation to them to save themselves—the
Church—the Crown—the Country, by their decision in favour of the
Queen. This last appeal was made with
great passion, but without a particle of rant. . . . I consider myself
infinitely overpaid by these two hours and a half of
Brougham, for all the time and money it has cost me to
be here, and almost for my absence from all of you. . . .”
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THE CREEVEY PAPERS |
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“Oct. 5th.
“. . . I had a very agreeable day at
Powell’s with the Duke
of Norfolk, who called for me here, and we walked there
together. We went to Brooks’s at night, where, as you may suppose, the
monde talked of nothing but
Brougham and his fame, and the
comers-in from White’s said the same feeling was equally strong there. .
. . [The speech] not only astonished but has shaken the aristocracy, though
Lord Granville did tell me at parting
this morning not to be too confident of that, for that the H. of Lords was by
far the stupidest and most obstinate collection of men that could be selected
from all England. This, I think, from a peer himself, and old virtuoso
Stafford’s brother, was damned
fair. . . . General St. Leger was
called, and was only useful as a very ornamental witness. . . . Then came
Lord Guilford, who is the most
ramshackle fellow you ever saw. He is a kind of non
mi ricordo likewise.* He seems, however, to have been a
pretty frequent guest at her Majesty’s table . . . has dined more than
once with Bergami at the Queen’s
table and that he never saw the slightest impropriety. . . . But the witness of
all witnesses has just closed her examination in chief—Lady Charlotte Lindsay. In your life you never
heard such testimony as hers in favour of the Queen—the talent, the
perspicuity, the honesty of it. . . .”
Baron Bartolomeo Bergami (1820 fl.)
Queen Caroline's Italian chamberlain and reputed lover; he placed his sister Angelica,
Countess of Oldi as a maid in waiting.
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
Queen Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1768-1821)
Married the Prince of Wales in 1795 and separated in 1796; her husband instituted
unsuccessful divorce proceedings in 1820 when she refused to surrender her rights as
queen.
George Granville Leveson- Gower, first duke of Sutherland (1758-1833)
The son of the first marquess of Stafford (d. 1803); he was one of the wealthiest men in
Britain with an annual income of £200,000; his program for Scottish clearances and
resettlement was widely unpopular. He was created duke in 1833.
Granville Leveson- Gower, first earl Granville (1773-1846)
English diplomat and ally of George Canning; he was ambassador to St Petersburg (1804-06,
1807) and ambassador to Paris (1824-1828). The Duchess of Devonshire described him as “the
Adonis of his day.”
Bernard Edward Howard, twelfth duke of Norfolk (1765-1842)
Educated at the English College at Douai, in 1815 he succeeded his third cousin, Charles
Howard, eleventh duke (d. 1815), and took his seat in Parliament after passage of the Roman
Catholic Relief Bill of 1829.
Lady Charlotte Lindsay [née North] (1771 c.-1849)
The daughter of Frederick North, second Earl of Guilford; in 1800 she married Lt.-Col.
John Lindsay (d. 1826), son of James Lindsay, fifth Earl of Balcarres. She was Lady in
Waiting to Queen Caroline.
Frederick North, fifth earl of Guilford (1766-1827)
Son of the prime minister; he was governor of Ceylon (1798-1805) and an enthusiastic
philhellene who founded the Ionian University at Corfu. He succeeded to the title in
1817.
Anthony Butler St. Leger (1758 c.-1821)
The son of Maj. Gen. John St. Leger and younger brother of John Hayes St. Leger, the
rakish friend of the Prince of Wales; he was a companion of Queen Caroline called to
testify at her trial.
