The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 26 June 1830
“Brooks’s, June 26th.
“. . . So poor Prinney is really dead—on a Saturday too, as was
foretold. . . . I have just met our great Privy Councillors coming from the
Palace (Warrender and Bob Adair included). I learnt from the former
that the only observation he heard from the Sovereign was upon his going to
write his name on parchment, when he said:—‘You have damned bad
pens here!’* Here is Tankerville, who was at the Palace likewise. He says the
difference in manner between the late and present sovereign upon the occasion
of swearing in the Privy Council was very striking. Poor
Prinney put on a dramatic, royal, distant dignity to
all; Billy, who in addition to living out
of the world, has become rather blind, was doing his best in a very natural way
to make out the face of every Privy Councillor as each kneeled down to kiss his
hand. In Tankerville’s own case,
Billy put one
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hand above his eyes and at last said in a most familiar
tone:—‘Oh, Lord Tankerville, is it you?
I am very glad to see you. How d’ye do?’ It seemed quite a
restraint to him not to shake hands with people. He said to Mr. Chancellor of
the Exchequer—the cockeyed Goulbourne—‘D’ye know I’m grown so
nearsighted that I can’t make out who you are. You must tell me your
name, if you please.’ He read his declaration to the Council,
which is said to be very favorable to the present Ministry; and it would be odd
if it was not, as it was drawn up by the
Beau. After reading this production of the Government, he
treated the Council with a little impromptu of his own, and great was the fear
of Wellington, as they say visibly expressed on his face,
least Billy should take too excursive a view of things;
instead of which it was merely a little natural and pretty funeral oration over
Prinney, who, he said, had always been the best and
most affectionate of brothers.”
Sir Robert Adair (1763-1855)
English diplomat; he was Whig MP for Appleby (1799-1802) and Camelford (1802-12), a
friend and disciple of Charles James Fox, and ambassador to Constantinople, 1809-10. He was
ridiculed by Canning and Ellis in
The Rovers.
Charles Augustus Bennet, fifth earl of Tankerville (1776-1859)
Son of Charles Bennet, the fourth earl (d. 1822); educated at Eton, he was Whig MP for
Steyning (1803-06), Knaresborough (1806-18), and Berwick-on-Tweed) (1820-22); in 1806 he
married Armandine Sophie Leonie Corisande de Gramont.
John Wilson Croker (1780-1857)
Secretary of the Admiralty (1810) and writer for the
Quarterly
Review; he edited an elaborate edition of Boswell's
Life of
Johnson (1831).
Henry Goulburn (1784-1856)
Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he held a variety of government offices and was
Tory MP for Horsham (1808-12), St. Germans (1812-18), West Looe ((1818-26), Armaugh
(1826-31), and Cambridge University (1831-56).
Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville (1794-1865)
The son of Captain Charles Greville (1762-1832); he was educated at Eton College and at
Christ Church, Oxford, and was clerk-in-ordinary to the privy council. His famous
Diary began appearing in 1874.
Sir George Warrender, fourth baronet (1782-1849)
Educated at Christ Church, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was MP for
Haddington (1807-12), Truro (1812-18), Westbury (1826-30) and Honiton (1830-32). He was
Lord of the Admiralty (1812-22).
