The Mary Hamilton Papers : Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton
George, Prince of Wales (later George IV)
The Mary Hamilton Papers
<p style='text-align: justify;'>Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton, on the impossibility of a separation; his desire to live in retirement with her; the good opinion of her held by the King and Queen and the rest of the Household; and on designing her a bracelet.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The Prince fears that Hamilton may find herself ill-treated, and states that 'it is true that my dearest Father loves a joke, and tho perhaps his irony may not be of so delicate a nature as my own, yet he never means any harm to the person against whom he employs it, tho it may appear as if he did; I am sure he never can mean any to you, the bent of all his jokes is to make you laugh to that excess which he delights in'. Regarding Queen Charlotte, he writes that 'I am sure treats you almost with the tenderness of a mother, and when she gives you any advice about laughing, or about anything else, which perhaps tho she may put it in rather a strong light...she always means it for your prosperity & welfare in the world'.</p>