First of all, thank you for your dedication. The dispatches qoted are far longer than I've seen elsewhere. Secondly, these are two articles; Oncken mentions a third in which he'll finish the job of revealing the full extent of British infamy and Raumer & Carlyle slander against FW. By which you can gather we have a late 19th century guy in full nationalistic fervour at our hand, only in his case it's not the French, it's perfidious Albion.
Now, the main conclusion he reaches aren't new to us, i.e.: the Brits in 1730 weren't interested in getting just a Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales match, or even that much into a double marriage; their main interest was to get FW away from the Emperor and more into a British alliance, and getting rid of Grumbkow, with a Fritz/Amalia match as a second (also desirable, but not the main issue) goal. The whole final phase of the interminable English marriages project starts when SD, on December 17, writes to Caroline a letter that basically says: Dear Caroline, my husband right now absolutely won't agree to a Fritz/Amalia match, so Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales is the only thing on the table; can we proceed on the basis you're going for that unconditionally?
Caroline's reply basically says: Dear SD, I'm positively shocked you'd think that as a loving and caring mother I'd agree to let any of my kids marry under such terms as "unconditionally". George says hi.
Oncken: HOW DISGUSTINGLY IMPUDENT.
Now, no one tells FW about Caroline's reply, only about SD's letter. When Hotham shows up - and btw, learned a new thing, Sir Charles Hotham was married to the Earl of Chesterfield's sister! Which means he was related to the Schulenburgs and thus to the Kattes in a roundabout way -, as far as FW is concerned, he's there to officially propose in Fritz of Wales name to Wilhelmine, without any further conditions. Hotham, otoh, has instructions to absolutely avoid doing anything like that and only refer to the reason for his arrival as "the matter addressed in the Queen of Prussia's letter" , and to secure the following from FW:
1.) Getting rid of Grumbkow, moving FW to Team Britain and away from Team Vienna. 2.) Getting the current Prussian envoy to London fired, who has a way too good spy network and also pissed everyone in government off. 3.) Fritz/Amalia-Emily, with Fritz and Amalia governing Hannover, preferably with Amalia in charge.
Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales at this point just isn't an issue anymore as far as the Brits are concerned.
There's initial diplomatic double talk where Hotham painfully avoids saying anything when FW goes on about the happy Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales nuptials now that G2 doesn't want any double marriage anymore. At the first reception for Hotham, FW gets drunk and even makes a toast to the match (we have a Stratemann report on this, too), only to tell everyone the next morning he's gone too far and they're not supposed to spread the story. Hotham, realistically, says given the number of guests and servants attending, he doubts this can be done and he was clear instructions from London for how to proceed, given that clearly Caroline's letter (which has made it clear Wihelmine/FoW is not on the table) has had no effect here.
Cue disaster unfolding, on every level. What baffles me is that Oncker otoh points out Caroline's "impudent" letter already made it clear the Brits would not go for solely Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales, let alone "unconditionally", but otoh goes on and on about how insidious and deceptive it was to use SD's letter as a pretext to show up under the false pretense of Wilhelmine/FoW to achieve their sinister aims.
He also otoh demolishes Carlyle (also Raumer) for only quoting partially from Hotham's dispatches, thus creating the impression Hotham did deliver a marriage proposal upon arrival and FW was the one to reject it and doom the marriage, and prides himself on being the first to quote Hotham's reports almost uncut. Otoh, though, when Hotham reports Knyphausen told him FW said to Knyphausen about Fritz "I hate him and he hates me" and that Fritz going to Hannover might be good after all because it would give them a break from each other (a quote that made it into various biographies), Oncken flatly states this is a complete and utter lie on Knyphausen's part and can't have happened because "The King never hated his son" and also the Hannover regency was a British/Knyphausen idea anyway. Note: he doesn't say "I think it's unlikely that" or "Knyphausen could have made this up because this and that", he just states it is a lie, it can't be anything else,because "King Friedrich Wilhelm never hated his son".
At this point I lost my professional respect. I can take 19th century nationalism, but look,you can't otoh complain about Caryle falsifying evidence by selected quotes and otoh dismiss something you don't like as a lie just because it doesn't fit with your idea of a historical personality.
Anyway, Hotham's report show him between Scylla and Charybdis, because obviously what FW wants and what London wants is imcompatible, except for the withdrawal of the Prussian envoy which will happen in summer, but, Oncken announces, in a way that's like "a fist in Hotham's face" and which he'll describe in his third article about honest and misunderstood FW vs Perfidious Albion (and his own family who are ready to stab him in the back).
ETA: A few more thoughts about British goals at this point. The disinterest in a FoW/Wilhelmine match could have both political and personal reasons. Political: if Fritz marries Amalia/Emily, they already have a match affirming the Prussia alliance, so Wilhelmine doesn't deliver any additional political advantage, and with FW's thriftiness, she won't deliver a huge dowry, either.
Personal: Fritz of Wales has now been in England for less than two years, but it's already obvious the gap between him and the rest of his family which fourteen years apart have left won't heal, and besides, George and Caroline are already trying to figure out a way in which younger beloved son Cumberland, aka Bill the future Butcher, can inherit after all, if not the crown, then at last part of the kingdom. The ideal solution, though it will take a few arguments and years more for them to say it out loud, is for FoW to die without an heir, so Bill of Cumberland becomes the next crown prince. I'm not saying this was coldbloodedly plotted out, but it might be behind dragging out any - not just the one with Wilhelmine - potential marriage projects for Fritz of Wales in his parents' subconscious. He did marry relatively late for one of only two sons in an age where securing the male line of succession (for a relatively new dynasty as far as Britain was concerned) was key.
Also: if you want to know why Wilhelmine is so snarky about Caroline ("Agrippina" comparison and all) in her memoirs despite never having met her, look no further than that letter. (Well, okay, look further to being raised for twenty years with the No.1. goal of your education being to please these people, this causing incredibly heartache to you because it's a big reason for your father to treat you as the enemy, and then they just dismiss you like that.)
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Re: English marriage intrigues
Date: 2021-03-15 07:34 am (UTC)Now, the main conclusion he reaches aren't new to us, i.e.: the Brits in 1730 weren't interested in getting just a Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales match, or even that much into a double marriage; their main interest was to get FW away from the Emperor and more into a British alliance, and getting rid of Grumbkow, with a Fritz/Amalia match as a second (also desirable, but not the main issue) goal. The whole final phase of the interminable English marriages project starts when SD, on December 17, writes to Caroline a letter that basically says: Dear Caroline, my husband right now absolutely won't agree to a Fritz/Amalia match, so Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales is the only thing on the table; can we proceed on the basis you're going for that unconditionally?
Caroline's reply basically says: Dear SD, I'm positively shocked you'd think that as a loving and caring mother I'd agree to let any of my kids marry under such terms as "unconditionally". George says hi.
Oncken: HOW DISGUSTINGLY IMPUDENT.
Now, no one tells FW about Caroline's reply, only about SD's letter. When Hotham shows up - and btw, learned a new thing, Sir Charles Hotham was married to the Earl of Chesterfield's sister! Which means he was related to the Schulenburgs and thus to the Kattes in a roundabout way -, as far as FW is concerned, he's there to officially propose in Fritz of Wales name to Wilhelmine, without any further conditions. Hotham, otoh, has instructions to absolutely avoid doing anything like that and only refer to the reason for his arrival as "the matter addressed in the Queen of Prussia's letter" , and to secure the following from FW:
1.) Getting rid of Grumbkow, moving FW to Team Britain and away from Team Vienna.
2.) Getting the current Prussian envoy to London fired, who has a way too good spy network and also pissed everyone in government off.
3.) Fritz/Amalia-Emily, with Fritz and Amalia governing Hannover, preferably with Amalia in charge.
Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales at this point just isn't an issue anymore as far as the Brits are concerned.
There's initial diplomatic double talk where Hotham painfully avoids saying anything when FW goes on about the happy Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales nuptials now that G2 doesn't want any double marriage anymore. At the first reception for Hotham, FW gets drunk and even makes a toast to the match (we have a Stratemann report on this, too), only to tell everyone the next morning he's gone too far and they're not supposed to spread the story. Hotham, realistically, says given the number of guests and servants attending, he doubts this can be done and he was clear instructions from London for how to proceed, given that clearly Caroline's letter (which has made it clear Wihelmine/FoW is not on the table) has had no effect here.
Cue disaster unfolding, on every level. What baffles me is that Oncker otoh points out Caroline's "impudent" letter already made it clear the Brits would not go for solely Wilhelmine/Fritz of Wales, let alone "unconditionally", but otoh goes on and on about how insidious and deceptive it was to use SD's letter as a pretext to show up under the false pretense of Wilhelmine/FoW to achieve their sinister aims.
He also otoh demolishes Carlyle (also Raumer) for only quoting partially from Hotham's dispatches, thus creating the impression Hotham did deliver a marriage proposal upon arrival and FW was the one to reject it and doom the marriage, and prides himself on being the first to quote Hotham's reports almost uncut. Otoh, though, when Hotham reports Knyphausen told him FW said to Knyphausen about Fritz "I hate him and he hates me" and that Fritz going to Hannover might be good after all because it would give them a break from each other (a quote that made it into various biographies), Oncken flatly states this is a complete and utter lie on Knyphausen's part and can't have happened because "The King never hated his son" and also the Hannover regency was a British/Knyphausen idea anyway. Note: he doesn't say "I think it's unlikely that" or "Knyphausen could have made this up because this and that", he just states it is a lie, it can't be anything else,because "King Friedrich Wilhelm never hated his son".
At this point I lost my professional respect. I can take 19th century nationalism, but look,you can't otoh complain about Caryle falsifying evidence by selected quotes and otoh dismiss something you don't like as a lie just because it doesn't fit with your idea of a historical personality.
Anyway, Hotham's report show him between Scylla and Charybdis, because obviously what FW wants and what London wants is imcompatible, except for the withdrawal of the Prussian envoy which will happen in summer, but, Oncken announces, in a way that's like "a fist in Hotham's face" and which he'll describe in his third article about honest and misunderstood FW vs Perfidious Albion (and his own family who are ready to stab him in the back).
ETA: A few more thoughts about British goals at this point. The disinterest in a FoW/Wilhelmine match could have both political and personal reasons. Political: if Fritz marries Amalia/Emily, they already have a match affirming the Prussia alliance, so Wilhelmine doesn't deliver any additional political advantage, and with FW's thriftiness, she won't deliver a huge dowry, either.
Personal: Fritz of Wales has now been in England for less than two years, but it's already obvious the gap between him and the rest of his family which fourteen years apart have left won't heal, and besides, George and Caroline are already trying to figure out a way in which younger beloved son Cumberland, aka Bill the future Butcher, can inherit after all, if not the crown, then at last part of the kingdom. The ideal solution, though it will take a few arguments and years more for them to say it out loud, is for FoW to die without an heir, so Bill of Cumberland becomes the next crown prince. I'm not saying this was coldbloodedly plotted out, but it might be behind dragging out any - not just the one with Wilhelmine - potential marriage projects for Fritz of Wales in his parents' subconscious. He did marry relatively late for one of only two sons in an age where securing the male line of succession (for a relatively new dynasty as far as Britain was concerned) was key.
Also: if you want to know why Wilhelmine is so snarky about Caroline ("Agrippina" comparison and all) in her memoirs despite never having met her, look no further than that letter. (Well, okay, look further to being raised for twenty years with the No.1. goal of your education being to please these people, this causing incredibly heartache to you because it's a big reason for your father to treat you as the enemy, and then they just dismiss you like that.)