The king's wife
Subtitle: George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert
By: Valerie Irvine.
Publisher: Hambledon and London; Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 2005
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 251
Subjects: Fitzherbert, Maria Anne, 1756-1837.; George IV, King of Great Britain, 1762-1830 -- Marriage.; Marriages of royalty and nobility -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.; Great Britain -- Kings and rulers -- Biography.; Great Britain -- History -- George IV, 1820-1830.
Genres: Biography.
Description: "One of the most extraordinary episodes in British royal history took place on 15 December 1785 when George, Prince of Wales (later Prince Regent and George IV) secretly married the beautiful, twice-widowed and Roman Catholic Maria Fitzherbert. This marriage was in breach of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 but almost certainly valid in the eyes of the church. If it had been discovered, George might well have forfeited his claim to the throne. As it was, George and Maria lived together for twenty-five years, and remained deeply attached, despite George's disastrous (and probably bigamous) public marriage to Princess Caroline of Brunswick. The King's Wife is an account of a love match that pre-echoes the later relationship of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

In the eyes of George IV's own family, Maria was his real wife."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [229]-231) and index.