The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 19 January 1821
“19th Jan.
“. . . I dined with Brougham on Wednesday, but had not much good of him, as we were
not alone. . . . I looked into Brooks’s afterwards, and found Scarlett there. He was as pompous as be damned
about publick affairs—change of Ministers—meeting of Parliament,
&c., till I frightened him out of his wits by announcing to him the
certainty of an opposition and division on Tuesday next.
“Yesterday I met Brougham in the streets, and had a long walk with him, and
found him much improved in temper—all sunshine, in fact. He says he never
saw any one so improved as the Queen;
that she really is very entertaining, particularly upon the
* The names indicated by initials, here and elsewhere,
are given in full in the original. † Created Lord
Abinger in 1835. |
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| 1821.] | THE QUEEN’S ESTABLISHMENT. | 3 |
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subject of her
travels. He is to manage a dinner for me there at an early date, and at her
early hour, which is 3. . . . Meantime, her establishment is on the stocks and
is getting on—the Duke of Roxburgh
Grand Chamberlain, a young nobleman of 86, so that the breath of scandal can
never touch this appointment. He is, however, a very
excellent old man, and a Whig, and is worth at least
£50,000 per ann. Poor Romilly gained him
his estate, and had the highest possible opinion of him. The poor old fellow
declined at first, and indeed now has consented with reluctance. I saw his
letter to Brougham yesterday upon this subject, which was
quite as good as any play. It seems he married for the first time 5 or 6 years
ago, and has children. He asks Brougham, therefore, if her
Majesty is fond of children, and if he may bring his little ones from Scotland
to present to her; and then he says he will only undertake the office of
Chamberlain upon condition that he (Brougham) will be
guardian to the Marquis of Beaumont, aged 4
years and a half—the Duke’s son. This condition, however, is a secret. Bruffam affected to be
squeamish as to accepting this trust, but the job is done. Lord Hood is to be another of the Queen’s
household; a Countess of Roscommon (Irish)
is mentioned as one of the female staff; Lady
Charlotte Lindsay, &c., &c. Pray read Lord Holland’s letter to the Wiltshire
meeting; is not his anxiety for the Queen quite affecting, after all one knows
of my lady’s virtuous indignation against her? . . . I dined with
Mrs. Taylor
yesterday—Taylor and
Miss Ferguson being engaged at Coutts’s to celebrate his wedding day.
They returned in the evening; Miss Ferguson, from her
appearance, might have been in a hot bath. They sat down to dinner 30: old
Coutts and his bride sitting side by side at the top of the table. The Dukes
of York, Clarence and Sussex were
there; at side-tables were placed musicians and songsters; one of the latter
fraternity from Bath was paid £100 for his trip.”
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.
Thomas Coutts (1735-1822)
Edinburgh-born banker to royalty and aristocracy—and patron of Benjamin Robert Haydon;
his daughter Sophia married Sir Francis Burnett.
Henry Richard Fox, third baron Holland (1773-1840)
Whig politician and literary patron; Holland House was for many years the meeting place
for reform-minded politicians and writers. He also published translations from the Spanish
and Italian;
Memoirs of the Whig Party was published in 1852.
Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827)
He was commander-in-chief of the Army, 1798-1809, until his removal on account of the
scandal involving his mistress Mary Anne Clarke.
Henry Hood, second viscount Hood (1753-1836)
Of Whitley Abbey, the son of the admiral (d. 1816); he was commander of the Portsmouth
Volunteers (1803) and succeeded to his mother's barony in 1806. He was Lord Chamberlain to
Queen Caroline.
James Innes- Ker, fifth duke of Roxburghe (1736-1823)
The son of Sir Henry Innes, fifth baronet; his succession to the title in 1812 was hotly
contested but he managed to father an heir at the age of eighty.
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.
Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818)
Reformer of the penal code and the author of
Thoughts on Executive
Justice (1786); he was a Whig MP and Solicitor-General who died a suicide.
James Scarlett, first baron Abinger (1769-1844)
English barrister and politician educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and the Inner
Temple; he was a Whig MP (1819-34) who served as attorney-general in the Canning and
Wellington ministries.
Frances Ann Taylor [née Vane] (d. 1835)
Whig hostess, the daughter of Sir Henry Vane, first baronet (1729–1794); in 1789 she
married the politician Michael Angelo Taylor.
Michael Angelo Taylor (1757 c.-1834)
Educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, he was MP (1784-34) for a variety of
constituencies; originally a Tory he gravitated to the Whigs over the course of his long
career.
