Hated by the Queen, who
at this time did all she could to keep her husband and his son apart,
surrounded by intriguers, who did all they could to set him against
his father, George seems to have behaved with great discretion. In the
years that follow, I can conceive no position more difficult than that
in which he found himself every time his father relapsed into lunacy.
That he should have by every means opposed those who through jealousy
stood between him and the regency was only natural. It cannot be said
that at any time did he show anxiety to rule, so long as there was any
immediate chance of the King's recovery. On the contrary, all
impartial seers of that chaotic Court agreed that the Prince bore
himself throughout the intrigues, wherein he himself was bound to be,
in a notably filial way.
There are many things that I regret in the career of George IV., and
what I most of all regret is the part that he played in the politics
of the period. Englishmen to-day have at length decided that Royalty
shall not set foot in the political arena. I do not despair that some
day we shall place politics upon a sound commercial basis, as they
have already done in America and France, or leave them entirely in the
hands of the police, as they do in Russia.
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