The Secret Wife of King George IV

by Diane Haeger

Ah, the infamous Prince Regent and one of his many amours.  This novel is about the one that he secretly married, Maria Fitzherbert. 

Maria was twice widowed and not looking for husband # 3.  She was reluctantly spending a season in London with her Uncle’s young wife, when she happened to catch the eye of the notoriously debauched Prince George, eldest of King George III’s five sons.  Try as she might she could not stay away from him, but would only surrender to him if he married her — such an overused ploy.  But her reasons were not to gain a Prince and chance to be Queen, but because she valued her virtue and religious beliefs.  Their marriage was illegal and invalid to England, but legitimate by all Catholics and sanctioned by the Pope.  To avoid imprisonment they were mum in public concerning the marriage, and as a result Maria suffered much rancorous gossip and caricatures. 

When they were together (they had various estrangements) their relationship was great, but the Prince had many issues due to an unloving upbringing and constant fighting with his father the King.  He did everything he could to tarnish his reputation just to get back at his father.  This, along with the fact that Maria was Catholic, was detrimental to the Prince’s finances and her complete exclusion from the royal family.  George was forced into a political marriage with Caroline of Brunswick, giving Maria absolutely no hopes of being regarded as George’s true wife. 

I’m giving this book 3 stars because I don’t feel that Maria’s religious beliefs are quite strong enough to keep her from either converting to Protestantism or simply living as the Prince’s mistress.  Perhaps that part of her character was just not explored enough.  I also deplore the way that she treated the Duke of Bedford, which does not parallel her normal behavior (or, hello, her religious beliefs).  Though George admittedly had many faults, he made some very, very stupid decisions that made me wonder why Maria loved him at all. 

There are very detailed descriptions of George’s residences, Carlton House and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, as well as dress and etiquette of the Regency era.  All in all, this novel was not as good as Courtesan, but better than The Perfect Royal Mistress.  The Secret Bride is on my TBR list!