The Express.
London, England, 1866-06-09 00:00:00

COURT FOR DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL
CAUBBB.—Join &
(Before the Chief Justice, the Chief Baron, and the Judge
O►dinaryJ
..

HMO W. Tag SHS " PRINCJIBB
After our report left yesterday,
Mrs. Ayres identified Tarim, letters which her
mother had written to the Prince of Wales, and
some of which she (witness) had herself left at
Carlton-house. These documents were of a very singular
character. They were couched in rhapsodical terms, and
contained complaints of distress, prayers for assistance,
protestations of devoted loyalty, and statements of whet
she bad done to serve his royal highness in the affair of
Col. Wardle and Major Dodd. The court, however, inti-
mated that it did not consider them material. The
Attorney-General then put in a letter written to the
Prince of Wales by the Rev. Mr. Grove, of St. Margaret's,
Westminster, who stated that he had made Mrs. Serres'
acquaintance, in consequence of having been applied to
by the petitioner to prepare her for confirmation. He
mentioned that Mrs. Serresropeared to be in deep
distress, and informed his highness that she had
shown him attestations of her birth, which proved
her to be the daughter of the Duke of Cumberland by
Mrs. Payne, the wife of Captain Payne, who was abroad at
the time the aequaintancebetween her parents commenced;
that the lady was born at Warwick Castle, and that the
attestation of her birth had only come into her possession
at the death of Barl of Warwick.
Witness explained that Dr. Wilmot had a sister Olive
who was married to Captain Payne, and that she was the
only Olive Wilmot known to the family. When, therefore,
it was found that her mother was the child of the Duke of
Cumberland and Olive Wilmot, it was erroneously assumed
that that Olive Wilmot could not have been any other
than Olive Payne.
The Attorney-General—But your mother must have
known from the papers in her possession how the fact was,
and Tet she countersigned this letter of Mr. Grove.
Witness—My mother was always doing things like that.
(Laughter.)
The Attorney-General then put in s. letter of Mrs. Serres
to the Prince on the 12th of September, 1817, wherein,
after stating, in reference to an intended voyage of his
royal highness, that she had studied the occult arts, and
that the watery element should be avoided by him, she
begged him to " consider the situation of his late uncle's
natural daughter in London," who "in every trial had
maintained her sexual dignity."
Witness—l can explain that. At first not even the
Duke of Kent was aware that he was legitimately entitled.
He knew that there was a royal marriage
force in 1772, and he never gave it a thought that it did
not exclude her as a legitimate branch of the royal family.
The Attorney-General pointed out that the papers which
were shown the duke in terms asserted the Princess
Olive's legitimacy. The learned gentleman then put in
another letter dated 31st of October, addressed to Mr.
Fielding, the Bow-street magistrate, making some com-
plaint, and stating that she was a natural daughter of the
Duke of Cumberland ; as she had proofs that his royal
highness had had her 'by a sister of Dr. Wilmot, who was
a lady of large fortune, under a promise of marriage,
which accounted for the anger "Junius " displayed at the
duke's marriage with Mrs. Horton.
Winer—That is the same error I told you of.
The Chief Justice read a certificate of Dr. Wilmot,
referring to the mother of Mrs. Series as his daughter.
Witness—But that was in the sealed packet, which was
not opened till afterwards.
The Attorney-General—That is quite true as regards
what I may term the Polish papers. There is, however,
another certificate, which the witness has sworn this very
morning her mother saw in 1815, and in which Dr. Wil-
most speaks of the lady he married to the Duke of Cum-
berland as his daughter. •
Witness—But it does not elate who that daughter was.
(Laughter.)
The Chief Justice—His daughter can't have been his
sister.
The Attorney-General—lt mentions her as " Olive,
Duchess of Cumberland, my dear daughter."
Another letter of Miss Serres to the Prince was put in,
and in that she spoke of herself as having the blood of his
royal highness, " though ever so illegitimately," flowing in
her veins.
The Chief Justice—lt is only right to observe that if she
thought herself the daughter of Mrs. Payne she must have
considered herself illegitimate.
The Attorney-General (to the witness)—Your mother
had documents in her possession stating that Dr. Wilmot
had married Olive Wilmot to the Duke of Cumberland
did she suppose, do you think, that he had married his
own married sister to the Duke of Cumberland?
Witness—Certainly not.
The Attorney-General—Then how could your mother
imagine that she was the daughter of Mrs. Payne?
Witness—Because some person had told her that there
was no other Olive Wilmot than Olive Payne.
The court rose before the conclusion of the petitioner's
cross-examination.