The Washington herald., 1911-05-26


Alice Seymour in Malta, before his mar
riage TO his present queen. and in the
midst of the nerve-racking preparations
for his coronation, once more is confront
ed by serious trouble, or at least by puu-
lie annoyance. This time 1t is an AmerI-
can who has caused the unpleasantness,
one John Guelph. that is claiming the
same family name as the reigning house
Of Britain, and he is after nothing less
than the crown of England, as the heir
OF the late King Edward by an early
| marriage to maid OF honor to his
mother. Queen Victoria.
| John Guelph does not specify the name
| of his mother. He refers TO her simply
as Lady Mary" but gives no family
name. leaving British papers lost in con-
lectures as to which Lady Mary is meant
in the suit And strange to relate, al
| ready there is quite a following for the
| claimant, though John is handicapped
from the outset, for he is obliged to
admit that the papers establishing the
marriage of Edward VII to the myster-
I ious Lady Mary were lost during the San
| Francisco earthquake.
| How he expects to win out, when
Hannah Lightfood. the famous Quaker
| ess, although armed with authenticated
| testimonials as to her marriage with
| a predecessor of King George, failed to
shake the British judges, II is difficult
to imagine. Romance often has made
use of the touching tale of Olivia
Series, princess of Cumberland the
daughter and inheriter of Hanna Light
foods claim. but only an occasional
reader of half-forgotten sensations has
taken the trouble to tell of the heroic
efforts of Lavinia Hortense Series.
Olivia's daughter.
Having refused to compromise her
claim, Olivia ended her long efforts to
establish them fully by an ignoble
death in a debtors prison. She could
have secured a competence by compro-
mise. but she clung to her claims. Yet
in death tacit recognition was given
her, for instead of going to potter's
field, the body OF the princess was
buried in aristocratic St. James. Plea
dilly.
Olivia left two daughters Both were
married. but only the elder. Lavinia.
though welded to a painter, persisted
in claiming her royal heritage. In 1871
she realized the incompatibility of her
queenly rank and the low born hus-
band. She divorced the painter and set
up as the Princess of Cumberland and
Duchess of Lancaster, as her mother
had done before her. Encountered with
six small children, Lavinia found life
a burden, but she counted all her woes
we'll reGompensed in the satisfaction
of figuring as a scion of royalty amoIs
her adherents. No sooner rid Of her
''plebeian" mate, she found ardent advo-
Gates to carry her case to the chancery
court But there the same judges whU
had broken the heart and hope of Olivia,
refused to accept the attested will OF
George III as valid, because 1t had not
been registered. though there was no
question raised as to its authenticity.
Discouraged, but never showing any
doubt, Lavinia waited until the Duke
of Wellington became premier and ap-
pealed to him. He had been one of the
executors of the Kings will. He had wit
messed the document in which the King
had written that he desired Gl5,D0
to be paid annually to his dear Olivia,
daughter of his beloved brother Cumber-
land" But the duke, like the judges,
was confronted by a legal shortcomius
in the document; he couldn't pass over
the law, though he knew of his own
knowledge that the dead King had writ
ten and signed the attestation of the
ladys claims TO royal birth.
Lavinia then waited for a chance to
bring to light other documents that
might force the courts to act. And.
strange to say, this chance actually
came to her in 1885, when she became the
possessor, no one knew how. of a num-
ber of scraps of papers. all bearing upon
the long contended marriage of George
III with Hannah Lightfoot. Instead of
taking her proofs to the obstinate court
of chancery, she brought the matter be- |
fore the divorce court. Among the many |
bits of papers her attorney presented |
was one reading thus:
Il attest by the present writing that |
the marriage between George. Prince OF |
Wales, and Hannah Lightfoot was duly |
solemnized by me according to the rites |
of the English Church, ]. Wilmot, 9th |
May, 1757" On the same paper were the |
names of Hannah Lightfoot and George |
Guelf." Then followed two witnesses, |
William Pitt and Anna Taylor.
The closest scrutiny by experts found /
no flaw In these signatures, the sign
manual of William Pitt being known |
to scores in and out of court, as well |
as the Kings own. Had It not been for |
the certification Of a whole corps of |
experts who testified to the authenticity
of the signatures. the judges would
have thrown the case out of court.
Each expert averred from actual ia
with the handwriting of the
King, the Prince OF wates. the Chan
cellor Dunning. the Duke of Kent. ia
ther of Queen Victoria, that the sigma
lures had been placed on the papers by
the persons named
BY the admission Of the documents
King George would have to be ad-
judged a bigamist, for there was his
hand and seal to the marriage csrtif-