*136 Memoirs of Caroline Queen of England. [Sept. 1, 
After residing some time at Black- 
heath, she took under her protection 
the -child of a poor man in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, of the name of Austin, of 
which child she appears to have been 
very fond. Her enemies seized on this 
circumstance to attack her character, 
and even to assert that this boy was an 
illegitimate child of her own, This 
was a charge too serious to be passed 
over, but evidence was wanted to es¬ 
tablish the princess’s criminality. No 
effort was neglected to procure this 
evidence, and at last, a lady, the wife of 
a field-officer of marines, lady Douglas, 
who had been much favoured by the 
princess, and honoured with her confi¬ 
dence, made oath to certain points of 
the princess’s conduct, and to certain 
confessions of hers, which, if to be 
credited, afforded proofs of her guilt. 
This happened about the year 1806, 
when lord Grenville and Mr. Fox were 
in administration, and his majesty was 
advised to issue a commission to certain 
lords of the council to inquire into the 
case. These were the lord chancellor, 
(Erskiue,) lord Grenville, earl Spencer, 
and lord Ellenborough. They pro¬ 
ceeded to a minute investigation of the 
documents laid before them, but in their 
final report declared they found nothing 
in the princess’s conduct blameable, 
but levity of manners. The follow¬ 
ing is an extract of the document: 
Your Majesty having been graciously 
pleased, by an instrument under your Ma¬ 
jesty’s Royal Sign Manual, a copy of which 
is annexed to this report, to “ authorize, 
empower, and direct xis to inquire into the 
truth of certain written declarations, touch¬ 
ing the conduct of her Royal Highness the 
Princess of Wales,” 
We first examined on oath the principal 
informants, Sir John Douglas, and Char¬ 
lotte, his w ife: whp both positively swore, 
the former to his having observed the fact 
of the pregnancy of her Royal Highness. 
The most material of those allegations, 
into the truth of which we had been di¬ 
rected to enquire, being thus far supported 
by the oath of the parties from w hom they 
had proceeded, we then felt it our duty to 
follow up the inquiry by the examination 
of such other persons as we judged best 
able to afford us information, as to the facts 
in question. 
We thought it beyond all doubt that, in 
this course of inquiry, many particulars 
must be learned which would be necessa¬ 
rily conclusive on the truth or falsehood of 
these declarations. So many persons must 
have been witnesses to the appearances*of 
ao actually existing pregnancy ; so many 
circumstances must have been attendant 
upon a real delivery; and difficulties so 
numerous and insurmountable must have 
been involved in any attempt to account 
for the infant in question, as the child of 
another woman, if it had been in fact the 
child of the Princess 5 that we entertained 
a full and confident expectation of arriving 
at complete proof, either in the affirmative 
or negative, on this part of the subject. 
This expectation was not disappointed. 
We are happy to declare to your Majesty 
our perfect conviction that there is no 
foundation whatever for believing that the 
child now with the Princess is the child of 
Her Royal Highness, or that she was deli¬ 
vered of any child in the year 1802 ; nor 
has any thing appeared to us which would 
warrant the belief that she was pregnant in 
that year, or at any other period within the 
compass of our inquiries. 
That child was, beyond all doubt, bom 
in the Brownlow-street Hospital, on the 
11th day of July, 1802, of the body of So¬ 
phia Austin, and was first brought to the 
Princess’s house in the month of November 
following. . Neither should we be more 
warranted in expressing any doubt respect¬ 
ing the alleged pregnancy of the Princess, 
as stated in the original declarations—a 
fact so fully contradicted, and by so many 
witnesses, to whom, if true, it must in 
various ways have been known, that we 
cannot think it entitled to the smallest 
credit. 
Erskine, Spencer, Grenville, 
ElLEX BOROUGH. 
July 14 tk f 1806. 
A change of administration soon took 
place, and, as this report was not deemed 
satisfactory, a second commission was 
appointed, and inquiry made ; but that 
commission still reported that no charge 
of a criminal nature was made out. 
After these successive acquittals, the 
public began to take an interest in her 
welfare, and addresses of congratulation 
came in from several places. As her 
enemies could not atchieve their object 
by these charges, the next plan was to 
get her to quit the kingdom, and an 
offer was made her, at the commence¬ 
ment of the Regency, of 50,0001. per 
annum to live abroad. She had now 
thrown herself into the arms of the oppo¬ 
sition, and.by their advice, and to avoid 
further annoyance, she accepted a sti¬ 
pend of 35,0001. a year, and withdrew" 
to the continent. It is uot extraordi¬ 
nary that she should wish to quit a 
country, where she was slighted and 
treated in a manner by no means suited 
to her rank. When the foreign sove¬ 
reigns of Russia, Prussia, &c. came 
here on a visit, she w r as not introduced 
or visited; and her reception at the 
Queen’s 
