1816: the Grandest Tour

Germany: Chapter 6

The official invitation arrived within the week. On the appointed day, George and Tobias rode over in their best clothes to the wide square opposite the Munich Royal Residence. Like the Tuileries Palace in Paris, the Residenz featured an exquisite garden promenade in front of its main facade. Walkways were lined with trees and shrubs in perfect balance, while sundry Munich citizens wandered and relaxed in contentment. Also like the Tuileries, the front building of the palace was only the beginning: it led on to a web of additional wings and courtyards that came close to rivaling the Louvre in grandeur.

Feeling just a twinge of déjà vu, the two gentlemen and valet walked diffidently up to the public entrance, where they presented their invitation to the nearest guard. He nodded to his fellows behind him and they pulled open the outer gate, waving them through. In the inner courtyard an usher appeared and conducted them through various antechambers until they were at last outside the small throne room, where he requested they wait. All this time they'd seen hardly anyone around the palace but the obligatory guards and footmen. Remarking on this to each other they joked that maybe it was a slow day at the Residenz. The door opened, they heard their names announced, and then realized they were quite mistaken.

The chamber may have been known as the 'small' throne room, but the crowd within it was bulging indeed. Every sort of German noble seemed to be represented – the whiskers, fans, wigs, and epaulets made for a rather intimidating sight. As for the room, what little floor they could see between all the people was a dark pattern of marble, while the walls were covered by floral decorations in gold leaf. George scanned the faces hoping to find Sir Frederick Lamb, and before long he spied him standing on the right. They walked inside and the ambassador led them to the foot of the modest throne pedestal, where sat King Maximilian I Joseph and Caroline, his Queen.

After the dog and pony show of Hundwald-Pferdigstadt it was a bit of a shock to be suddenly back in the bosom of 'real' monarchy. But reminding themselves of their previous success at the French court, George and Tobias did their best to kneel and comport themselves with as much dignity as they could manage. Once Sir Frederick formally presented them they stood and George humbly offered King Louis's letter of introduction. As at the Prince-Bishop's modest levee this unlooked-for gesture went over very well, and the ambassador gave George an approving nod. Having accomplished the formalities, King Max surprised his three British guests by standing up without further ceremony and descending the throne to give them a friendly shake of the hand.

Maximilian looked to be about the same years as his French counterpart. Unlike Louis, though, he showed little evidence of gout or excess fat. Standing erect in a blue coat and red sash, he gave each of them a firm grip and made small talk in German-edged French.

They touched briefly on the usual topics, and the king commended Munich's many art and antiquity collections to them, a few of which the boys hadn't yet seen. The Bavarian court in general had a much more relaxed feel than that of Paris, the king himself setting the tone. When the monarch moved on to greeting other courtiers, Sir Frederick explained that the scion of Wittelsbach House was well known to walk the streets of Munich with little accompaniment, talking to whomever among his subjects wished to meet him.

This was a model of kingship that instantly appealed to George and Tobias, and they wondered idly if it would ever work in Britain. Sir Frederick introduced them to several other courtiers – princes, counts, and margraves – a few of whom expressed a passing interest in England and general events there. The greater part of the nobility were quite dull, however, especially the ladies. George and Tobias quickly grew tired of the superficial conversations, and began to look for an alibi of escape.

Tobias let his gaze wander the room, trying to stimulate his imagination. His eyes rested on the canopy above the king and queen's thrones. It bore the family arms of the Wittelsbachs, naturally, but when he looked just below the royal crest he stopped in his tracks. The little figure he saw there looked very much like an owl. And not just any owl – the closer he examined it, the more Tobias could almost swear it was the same owl as the one at the end of Dr. Boxborough's mysterious letters. The same tiny lyre even rested in its talons.