Editing Frederick, Prince of Wales (section)

==Domestic life==
Negotiations between George II and his first cousin and brother-in-law [[Frederick William I of Prussia]] on a proposed marriage between the Prince of Wales and Frederick William's daughter [[Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth|Wilhelmine]] were welcomed by Frederick even though the couple had never met.<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 109–110</ref> George II was not keen on the proposal but continued talks for diplomatic reasons. Frustrated by the delay, Frederick sent an envoy of his own to the [[Prussian court]]. When George II discovered the plan, he immediately arranged for Frederick to leave Hanover for England.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 110</ref> The marriage negotiations floundered when Frederick William demanded that Frederick be made Regent in Hanover.<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 86, 118</ref>

Frederick also almost married [[Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford|Lady Diana Spencer]], daughter of [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland]] and [[Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (1683–1716)|Lady Anne Churchill]]. Lady Diana was the favourite grandchild of the powerful [[Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough|Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough]]. The duchess sought a royal alliance by marrying Lady Diana to the Prince of Wales with a massive dowry of £100,000. The prince, who was in great debt, agreed to the proposal, but the plan was vetoed by [[Robert Walpole]] and the king. Lady Diana soon married [[John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford]].

Although in his youth he was a spendthrift and womaniser, Frederick settled down following his marriage to the sixteen-year-old [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha|Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]] on 27 April 1736.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 April 2011 |title=The Royal Wedding… of 1736 |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/the-royal-wedding-of-1736 |access-date=2018-03-17}}</ref> The wedding was held at the [[Chapel Royal#St James's Palace|Chapel Royal]] at [[St James's Palace]] in London,<ref name="walford">{{Cite book |last=Walford |first=Edward |title=Old and New London |chapter=St James's Palace |pages=100–122 |volume=4 |publisher=Cassell, Petter & Galpin |location=London |date=1878 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol4/pp100-122 |access-date=13 July 2020 }} via "British History Online"</ref> presided over by [[Edmund Gibson]], Bishop of London and Dean of the Chapel Royal. [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] provided the new anthem '[[Sing Unto God/Anthem for the Wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales|Sing unto God]]' for the service, and the wedding was also marked in London by two rival operas, Handel's ''[[Atalanta (opera)|Atalanta]]'' and [[Nicola Porpora|Porpora]]'s ''[[La festa d'Imeneo]]''.<ref>{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-10140 |author=Matthew Kilburn |title=Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales (1707–1751) |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/10140 |access-date=2018-03-17}}</ref>

In May 1736, George II returned to Hanover, which was unpopular in England. A satirical notice was pinned to the gates of St James's Palace decrying his absence: "Lost or strayed out of this house", it read, "a man who has left a wife and six children on the parish."<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 149–150</ref> The King made plans to return, in the face of inclement weather; when his ship was caught in a storm, gossip swept London that he had drowned. Eventually, in January 1737, he arrived back in England.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 152</ref> Immediately he fell ill, with [[hemorrhoid|piles]] and a fever, and withdrew to his bed. The Prince of Wales put it about that the King was dying, with the result that George insisted on getting up and attending a social event to disprove the gossip-mongers.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 153</ref>

[[File:Frederick, Prince of Wales 1754 by Liotard.jpg|thumb|Frederick (pictured) opposed his father's government.]]

Quickly accumulating large debts, Frederick relied for an income on his wealthy friend [[George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe|George Bubb Dodington]]. The prince's father refused to make him a financial allowance of the size that the prince considered should have been his. Frederick's public opposition to his father's government continued; he opposed the unpopular [[Gin Act 1736]], which tried to control the [[Gin Craze]].<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 148</ref> Frederick applied to Parliament for an increased financial allowance, and public disagreement over the payment of the money drove a further wedge between parents and son. Frederick's allowance was raised, but by less than he had asked for.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 154</ref>

In June 1737, Frederick informed his parents that Augusta was pregnant, and was due to give birth in October. Traditionally, royal births were witnessed by members of the family and senior courtiers to guard against [[supposititious children]]. But in fact, Augusta's due date was earlier. When she went into labour in July, the Prince snuck her out of [[Hampton Court Palace]] in the middle of the night and forced her to ride {{convert|21|km|mi}} in a rattling carriage to St James's Palace, so that the King and Queen could not be present at the birth.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 155</ref> When they learned of the Prince's action, George and Caroline were horrified. With a party including two of her daughters and [[John, Lord Hervey|Lord Hervey]], the Queen rushed to St James.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 156</ref> There, Caroline was relieved to discover that Augusta had given birth to a "poor, ugly little she-mouse" rather than a "large, fat, healthy boy". That made a supposititious child unlikely, since the baby was so pitiful. The circumstances of the birth deepened the estrangement between mother and son.<ref name="vdk157">Van der Kiste, p. 157</ref>

Frederick was banished from the king's court,<ref name="Vander" /> and a rival court grew up at Frederick's new residence, [[Leicester House, Westminster|Leicester House]], where his father and mother had themselves lived after becoming estranged from George I.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 159</ref> His mother fell fatally ill at the end of the year, but the king refused Frederick permission to see her.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 161</ref> Frederick became a devoted family man, taking his wife and children to live in the countryside at [[Cliveden]], where he fished, shot, and rowed.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 113</ref> In 1742, [[Robert Walpole]] left office, and the realignment of the government led to a reconciliation between father and son, as [[Patriot Whigs|Frederick's friends in Parliament]] gained influence.<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 175–176</ref>

After the [[Jacobite Rising of 1745]], Frederick met [[Flora MacDonald (Scottish Jacobite)|Flora MacDonald]], who had been imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] for aiding the escape of the Rising's leader [[Charles Edward Stuart]], and helped to secure her eventual release.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 187</ref> In 1747, Frederick rejoined the political opposition, and the king responded by dissolving Parliament. In the subsequent [[1747 British general election|early general election]], Frederick's allies lost.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 188; Hilton, Austin W. B., "King Fred: How the British King Who Never Was Shaped the Modern Monarchy" (2016). ''Electronic Theses and Dissertations''. [https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3064 Paper 3064.] </ref>