By George! What Manner of Person Are You, My Dear?

Those tabloids! You can’t count on them to get anything right. The carriage did indeed belong to the Duke; but it was parked in front of the house of a certain POLISH countess. Unfortunately for the Prince, the damage was done. The Count believed the papers were talking about his wife, and he was wrong. But he was also right, but for the wrong reasons.

Either way, he wrote a letter to the Prince demanding an explanation and an apology. He also had a chat with his wife. She confessed all. When he received the Counts letter, the Prince did what he would often do in these situations. He freaked out. Screaming, running around, hair pulling, fits, imploring God or anyone else to save him. While he was doing this, a wrinkle developed.

The countess seemed to have developed feelings for the impetuous lad. She sent him a note saying that True Love should conquer all. Let them fly away together, consequences be damned! Oh dear; the gilded slipper was on the other foot. Now the Prince really didn’t know what to do. Wait a minute, yes he did! He knew exactly who to run to in his moment of crisis. Mom.

The Prince dropped in on mom to, in his own words, throw himself at her feet. He told her the whole sordid tale. Wither he included the Kings brother, as inadvertent as his role was, is not known. And true to his nature, after bravely confessing all, he fainted.

Mom, according to sources, “cried excessively.” She also decided the boy needed her help. Perhaps the age difference between the Prince and the Countess convinced her that her son was as much seduced as seducer. After all, the Countess was not without reputation.

The Queen instructed Colonel Hulse, the Prince’s Private Gentleman, to go to the Countess and tell her that the Prince slipped in the tub, cracked his head and would be unconscious for the next few weeks. She then took the King aside and spilled the beans; there was nothing else she could do.

His Majesty solved the problem by ordering the Count and his wife out of the country. Mission accomplished! Said the Prince of the Countess; “She appeared to be very capricious and very singular in some things.” This I believe, is an example of the pot calling the kettle black. He went on; “In short, it was a very miserable and unhappy affair altogether.” In other words, it stopped being fun when she began to behave like him.

Fortunately, the Prince was not one to dwell on failure. Or success, or anything else for that matter. The Prince’s ability to “be in the moment” as some eastern meditation techniques teach was so pronounced it was a wonder he could function at all. This would have profound consequences for England once he became Regent, and then King.

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I would dearly love to read ahead, but alas, Mr. Al hasn’t trensposed it to the computer yet!  Why do I feel like Oliver Twist?  “Please, Sir.  More blog?”