The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 24 April 1837
“24th.
“. . . I must let Albemarle rest for the present. His recollections must be full
of interesting matter from Mrs.
Fitzherbert’s letters, which, at proper seasons, one must
endeavour to squeeze out of him. Lady
Sefton learnt from Damer
Dawson* that both the houses in London and Brighton were left to
Minny [Mrs. Dawson-Damer], and £20,000
stock, with all the jewels, and half of her plate; the other half to Mrs. Jerningham, to whom she says in her will
she had given £15,000 during her life. £1000 each to her nieces Lady Bathurst and Mrs. Craven, and there are annuities to the amount of £1000 a
year, to which Minny is subject till they drop in.
“I must just mention another species of property
that our Prinney died possessed of. Perhaps
no man, Prince or subject, ever left such a wardrobe behind him as our
George the 4th, and the Duke
of Wellington, as his executor, had to examine all his coat
pockets, in which he found notes without end, broken fans, &c., &c. Now
I have not the least doubt that what Lord
Cowley told Lady Cowley was
strictly true, viz., that the Duke, in telling this to his brother,
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| 1837-38.] | DEATH OF WILLIAM IV. | 321 |
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never let him see any one of
these notes, or know any one of their contents. The letters burnt at Mrs. Fitzherbert’s were so numerous,
that they had to stop every now and then, from the excessive heat produced . .
. I dine at our Essex’s to-day to
meet our ‘Clunch’
Althorp, now Earl
Spencer, and, as I hope, Melbourne. . . . I was much amused at seeing our young
Victoria playing the popular to her
people on the Birthday. She passed this house [Brooks’s] in
state—four royal carriages and an escort of Horse Guards. The mother had
judiciously chosen a chariot for herself and daughter, so they were both
visible to all. The young one was rather too short to nod quite above the door,
but she was always at it as well as she could, and the mother looked quite
enchanted at her daughter’s reception.”
Georgina Bathurst [née Lennox] (1765-1841)
The daughter of Lieutenant-General Lord George Henry Lennox; in 1789 she married Henry
Bathurst, third Earl Bathurst.
Georgina Craven [née Smythe] (d. 1867)
The daughter of Walter Smythe; in 1833 she married, firstly, George Augustus Craven, son
of the first Earl of Craven; in 1844 she married Edmond de la Force, Duc de la
Force.
George Lionel Dawson-Damer (1788-1856)
The son of John Dawson, first earl of Portarlington; he fought at Waterloo and was MP for
Portarlington and Dorchester.
Maria Anne Fitzherbert [née Smythe] (1756-1837)
The consort of the Prince of Wales whom she married in 1785 as her third husband; the
marriage was regarded as illegitimate since she was a Catholic.
William Lamb, second viscount Melbourne (1779-1848)
English statesman, the son of Lady Melbourne (possibly by the third earl of Egremont) and
husband of Lady Caroline Lamb; he was a Whig MP, prime minister (1834-41), and counsellor
to Queen Victoria.
John Charles Spencer, third earl Spencer (1782-1845)
English politician, son of the second earl (d. 1834); educated at Harrow and Trinity
College, Cambridge, he was Whig MP for Northamptonshire (1806-34) and chancellor of the
exchequer and leader of the lower house under Lord Grey (1830).
Henry Wellesley, first baron Cowley (1773-1847)
The younger brother of the Duke of Wellington; he was a lieutenant-governor in India
(1801-02), MP for Eye (1807-09) secretary to the Treasury (1808-09), ambassador to Spain
(1809-22), Vienna (1823-31) and Paris (1841-46). He was created Baron Cowley in
1828.
