108 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



for the marriage of the Princess 

 Mary witli the Duke of Glocester : 

 and perhaps there never was an 

 union among the Kojal Family 

 more calculated to produce hap- 

 piness to the parties, and satis- 

 faction to the nation. The Duke, 

 in his public character, is well 

 known as the liberal patron of 

 almost everyuseful and charitable 

 establishment in the empire ; and 

 if report be true, his private be- 

 nevolence does not fall short of 

 his public liberality. The Prin- 

 cess, as is most Jitting to her sex, 

 is hardly known out of her do- 

 mestic circle ; but to the utmost 

 of her means she has for a long 

 time past been the constant and 

 active benefactress of the poor, 

 relieving the wants of the dis- 

 tressed, and superintending the 

 education of the ignorant. 



The marriage of this highly 

 respectable pair has been delayed 

 chiefly on account of the absence 

 of the Duke of Cambridge. The 

 day was not iinaUy Hxed till last 

 Wednesday, and on Friday tlie 

 cards of invitation were issued 

 fi-oni the office of the Lord Cham- 

 berlain. 



The persons invited were the 

 saiue-as-:»'ere present at the mar- 

 riage of the Princess Charlotte, 

 with a very few exceptions. They 

 consisted, in addition to the 

 Royal Family, of the Duke and 

 Duchess of Orleans, the Duchess's 

 sister, tlie Duke de Bourbon, 

 with other foreigners of distinc- 

 tion, the Foreign Ambassadors 

 and P.Iinisters with their Ladies, 

 the Lord Chancellor, with the 

 Cabinet Ministers and their Ladies, 

 the Deputy Earl xVIarshal of Eng- 

 land, tlieGreatofficersof Stateand 

 of theHousehol(l,theChief Justice 

 of the King's Bench, the Master of 



the Rolls, and other Law Officers ; 

 the Duke of York's Staff; the 

 King's, Queen's, and Windsor 

 Establishments, together with the 

 different suites of the different 

 branches of the Royal Family. 

 These were invited to the solem- 

 nization of the marriage. 



The grand saloon of the 

 Queen's palace was the place 

 Ktted up for the performance of 

 the nuptial ceremony : a tempo- 

 rary altar was erected close to the 

 temporally throne lately placed 

 there ; and the crimson velvet 

 and gold lace of the hangings, 

 together with a costly display of 

 massy communion jdate, present- 

 ed a very magnificent spectacle. 



At 12 o'clock the Duke of 

 Gloucester paid a morning visit 

 to his intended bride, who was at 

 the Queens-palace withher Royal 

 Mother and her sisters the Prin- 

 cesses Augusta and Elizabeth. 

 I'he Duke returned to Gloucester- 

 house, where he dined privately 

 at five o'clock. At seven o'clock 

 in the evening a guard of honour 

 marched into the court-yard of 

 the Queen's palace, and a party 

 of Life and Foot Guards were 

 stationed in the Park, under the 

 ])roper authority of a numerous 

 police. The company began to 

 iirrive soon afterwards : the pa- 

 lace was brilliantly illuminated, 

 and the grand staircase had all 

 the state arrangements usual on 

 drawing-room days. The grand 

 hall was lined with a party of the 

 yeomen of the guards. The Royal 

 Family, on their entrance, were 

 received with the usual military 

 honours, the band playing " God 

 Save the King." The Princess 

 Sophia of Gloucester went instate, 

 with her servants in new liveries. 

 At twenty minutes past eight 



o'clock. 



