page_title: Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet
section_title: Frances Wentworth and Prince William
hierarchical_section_title: Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet / Frances Wentworth and Prince William
caption_attribution_description: English: Oil on canvas
context_page_description: Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet was the British colonial governor of New Hampshire at the time of the American Revolution. He was later also Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church.
context_section_description: Frances Wentworth had been unhappy since her arrival in Nova Scotia. As ambitious as her husband, she took his and her misfortunes very hard. She also missed the sophisticated lifestyle she had enjoyed in England, missed her son who was being schooled in England, and was distressed by John's long absences.
  Prince William Henry, the third son of King George III, made his first visit to Halifax in late 1786, while John Wentworth was away in Cape Breton. The Prince, later known as the "Sailor King", was at that time in command of HMS Pegasus, and was already known as a hard drinker and womanizer, much to the distress of his royal father. Frances arranged to be introduced to Prince William. At the age of forty-one (the Prince was twenty-one), she was widely considered to be still quite beautiful, dressed at the height of fashion, and retained the sophistication she had gained in England. It is widely believed that shortly after this she became Prince William's mistress. The affair was renewed when the Prince made a second visit to Halifax in the following year.
  John came to know of the affair, but did not raise any public scandal; Frances described him in a letter as the "most diffident of men." A scandal would not have furthered the interests of either of them. Nevertheless, he made his displeasure known to the King, most likely via the Prince's superior officer, Admiral Herbert Sawyer. Prince William soon departed for Québec.
caption: Frances Wentworth, by John Singleton Copley, 1765. At the time of this painting, she was Mrs. Theodore Atkinson.
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