The Princess of Celle

Gossip in Dresden

LIFE AT HANOVER was intolerable with Königsmarck or without him. Sophia Dorothea came to this sudden decision. Previously she had been sustained by the thought that if her life with George Lewis became unendurable she could fly to Celle – now she knew that that escape was denied to her. Perhaps this was the greatest shock she had received so far. To be repudiated by her own father was something which would have seemed to her impossible. She knew that he had forced her to this marriage, but she had convinced herself that he had done so only because he had believed it would be good for her. But now he turned his back on her. Her mother was the only one in the world – with the exception of her lover – on whom she could rely; and her mother was in the power of her father.

Dearest Philip, she thought, you are the only person who can help me.

She would not stay here. She would leave Hanover; and if her parents would not have her there, there must be someone else.

She discussed her plight hourly with Eléonore von Knesebeck. She wrote passionate letters to her lover. Königsmarck replied that he understood that she could not continue in her present state. He thought that a flight to France might be possible. After all she was half French; if she became a Catholic she would be well received there; he would join her and as George Lewis would certainly divorce her, they would be married.

‘There are the children!’ cried Sophia Dorothea distractedly. ‘I should lose them for ever.’

No, she dared not cut herself off completely from the House of Brunswick-Lüneberg; in such a way would she lose her mother too. There must be another way. The answer was surely Wolfenbüttel. Why could she not throw herself at the mercy of her kinsman? Maximilian was already there. She would be among friends; she could take her children with her.

She talked constantly of this project to Eléonore von Knesebeck and letters came back and forth between herself and Königsmarck.

One of the most licentious men in Europe was Frederick Augustus the new Elector of Saxony, and, delighted to find himself in power, he very quickly began to show his subjects the sort of man he was. The court at Dresden was going to rival Versailles, not be a mere shadow of it; Dresden itself was going to have buildings to equal in splendour those of the Roi Soleil. He already had his seraglio but he was going to increase that; he intended to live like a sultan of the Arabian Nights.

He welcomed his friend Königsmarck, and when he found him melancholy, laughed at him and told him that the pleasures of Dresden would soon disperse his sadness.

Königsmarck was a compulsive talker who could never restrain a desire to amuse; it was for this reason that Frederick Augustus enjoyed his company. At the extravagant banquets he would often have him at his side and make efforts to turn him into the gay companion he had once been.

Königsmarck’s thoughts were busy. If he were going to elope with Sophia Dorothea he needed all the money he could lay his hands on. In the past Frederick Augustus had lost to him heavily at cards when they had been in the army together and these debts had never been repaid. Now if he could get the money that was owing him he would be in a better position for a successful elopement.

This, he told himself, was the reason he stayed on at Dresden. But it was not entirely so, and in his heart he knew it. He liked the carefree reckless splendour of this court; now and then the thought entered his mind that if it were not for his involvement with Sophia Dorothea he would be enjoying life as wholeheartedly as Frederick Augustus did. Yet he loved Sophia Dorothea. He wanted only Sophia Dorothea. If he could have married her he believed he would have settled down to raise a family, throw aside his adventurous life without a regret as her father had done when he met the only woman in the world for him.

He was torn one way and another. Frederick Augustus noticed this and came to the conclusion that the best way to restore his friend to his gay old self was to separate him from the Princess of Hanover.

‘I can’t pay you what I owe you in cash,’ said Frederick Augustus. ‘Instead you shall have a post of major general in the Saxon army. That will bring you an income far exceeding my debt to you – and there’ll be little tax on your time.’

Königsmarck was nonplussed. His friend had flattered him, but he was already a Colonel in the Hanoverian army.

Frederick Augustus laughed at him.

‘Give it a trial,’ he said.

Königsmarck thought of the money he would have; and while he was in Dresden he might as well take it.

It was as though he were marking time, waiting, wondering which way to jump. He knew very well that if he returned to Hanover he would have to take some action.

Once he had made the decision Königsmarck felt relieved; he was already slipping into his old ways; and in the company of Frederick Augustus when the drinking was heavy conversation became racy and reckless.

Frederick Augustus was very interested in the rival court of Hanover and who could better satisfy his curiosity than his friend Königsmarck who had recently lived there? The Elector would gather a few of his drinking friends together and, with a mistress on either side of him, would urge his friends to regurgitate the scraps of scandal they had gathered from all over Europe.

William of Orange and his wife Mary were freely discussed and Frederick Augustus was helpless with laughter at the thought of William’s intrigue with Elizabeth Villiers. Having known William it was difficult to imagine him as the lover, and why he should indulge in such an affair gave rise to much ribald speculation, particularly as his interest in male friends was well known. They discussed the possibility of Elizabeth Villiers being a blind for other activities.

It was very entertaining to laugh at the great soldier who, in the battlefield, had proved himself to be more skilful than they could ever be. Then the conversation turned to Hanover.

Königsmarck felt suddenly sad. He had been drinking more than was usual and felt a longing to be back in Hanover with Sophia Dorothea. He knew in that moment that he loved her, that he wanted a chance to live in retirement with her for the rest of his life.

‘My friend is becoming melancholy,’ murmured Frederick Augustus.

‘I am thinking of Hanover,’ Königsmarck sighed.

‘A fair lady in Hanover?’

‘The fairest lady in Hanover is the Princess Sophia Dorothea,’ cried Königsmarck. ‘It is a shame and a scandal the way George Lewis treats her. I could murder him with my bare hands.’

‘Our friend has always been known for his chivalry towards ladies in distress,’ said Frederick Augustus with a smile. ‘Tell us more about the beautiful Princess and her ogre of a husband.’

Königsmarck talked. He did not realize how freely; it was like thinking aloud. She should not be left to her misery; someone should rescue her, carry her away to where she could live happily ever after.

It was clear to the company that Königsmarck felt romantically towards the Princess of Hanover, but this maudlin sentiment was not as amusing as the more scandalous tales of George Lewis and his mistress and the Countess von Platen and her lovers.

It soothed his melancholy to be the focus of their interest. He had information which they sought; the stories he could tell could hold the company’s interest and amuse; Königsmarck, a born raconteur, could not resist the temptation.

His glass was filled; his spirits rose; he heard the laughter as he gave an imitation of George Lewis’s attempts at tenderness towards Fraulein von Schulenburg; but it was Clara who provided his greatest success. Were the stories that were being circulated about that woman true? Was she in fact sexually insatiable? How often did she deceive Ernest Augustus? Was it true that she took lovers indiscriminately – high born and low?

‘She is an amazing woman,’ said Königsmarck. ‘I know from personal experience.’

They must know all he had to tell about this remarkable woman. So Königsmarck, excited and elated by potent wine and flattering attention told the intimate details of his relationship with Clara von Platen.

News travelled back to Hanover. Clara’s spies seized on it and carried it to her. She was being laughed at all over Europe. Her intimate secrets were secrets no longer. By God, she thought, I’ll be revenged for this.

And the enemy was Königsmarck, the man she loved, the man she hated, the man she desired and the man she wanted to see ruined. Because her feelings were mixed, her rage was all the more intense.

Sooner or later the fact that the scandals of his court were being discussed throughout Europe would reach the ears of Ernest Augustus; and Clara wanted to be there first.

He was lying on his bed tired after the day’s business when she went to him. He was often tired now; he was growing old and this meant that he was easier to manage; and the best time to get what she wanted was when he was exhausted. Then she could soothe him with her gentle attentions and couch her request so that he would grant it in order to have done with an unpleasant matter.

She soaked a handkerchief in a cooling perfume and bathed his forehead.

‘That fool Königsmarck is talking too much in Dresden,’ she said softly.

‘Everywhere people are talking too much.’

‘It’s true. He has taken a post in the Saxon army. He seems to have forgotten you made him a Colonel of your guards.’

‘He’s a slippery adventurer. I like the fellow, but don’t forget he’s a Swede, and if he likes to serve Saxony instead of Hanover he can.’

‘You are too lenient.’

Ernest Augustus closed his eyes as though to imply he was weary of the subject.

‘The fellow has uttered some insults about George Lewis,’ she said.

‘No doubt he deserved them.’

‘Even so he is the Crown Prince of Hanover and to insult him is to insult Hanover.’

‘George Lewis will take care of it.’

‘He has insulted me and Fraulein von Schulenburg. George Lewis is angry about this.’

Ernest Augustus shrugged his shoulders.

‘You like the fellow,’ Clara accused him.

‘You like him too,’ retaliated Ernest Augustus and Clara was silent. ‘Why,’ he went on, ‘he’s handsome, romantic. Of course you like him.’

‘So it seems does Sophia Dorothea. If he is her lover … if there is anything in the rumours then … that is dangerous.’

Ernest Augustus was obviously more alert.

‘I don’t believe it to be so. She has too keen a sense of duty.’

‘But if it were so it could be disastrous. The son of the Princess – who in certain circumstances could be the heir – not begotten by the Crown Prince but by a Swedish adventurer!’

‘She would never …’

‘If she did, if it could be proved … then you would take action against him … against her.’

‘Action would then of course be necessary,’ said Ernest Augustus.

Clara sat by his bed exulting.

I’ll be revenged, she promised herself. I’ll be revenged on them both.