Later that day, the PRINCE OF WALES, FOX, SHERIDAN, the DUKE OF PORTLAND, LORD STORMONT, and LORD LOUGHBOROUGH walk through the streets of London, and pass by people who wear either Whig or Tory colors.
PRINCE OF WALES: If this bill is passed-
FOX: It will not pass.
PRINCE OF WALES: But if it is-
SHERIDAN: Come, now, Prinny. Worrying will do you no service.
PRINCE OF WALES: How in God's name can I do anything but worry when my future is being decided for me as though I am a child? I can hardly believe that my regency is even a debate at all. 'Tis an insult- a treasonous insult- to suggest that I do not possess the competency to rule.
FOX: And we agree full-heartedly, but-
PRINCE OF WALES: Come, come and look at this.
The PRINCE OF WALES guides the WHIGS over to a shop window, which displays several prints pertaining to the regency crisis. The prints depict the PRINCE OF WALES as a drunk, or a child, or an incompetent ruler in some way.
PRINCE OF WALES: How will I ever be granted full power to rule when the public perceives me like this- like a mere child?
FOX: Calm yourself, for God's sake. These are obviously Tory-inspired prints. There isn't a single Whig in this country that has not devoted himself, or even herself, to your cause. Just see how the ladies wear your feathers in their hats, with the words 'Ich Dien' inscribed upon them?
PRINCE OF WALES: [Panicked] Ladies have no say in the House of Lords, which will cast their votes this very night. What shall we do if the bill is passed? Damn it all, what shall we do?
FOX: George, hear me, and hear me well! I swear to God in Heaven that, come tonight, the Tories shall succumb to failure, and we shall prevail!
Cut to ACT II, SCENE XXXXIV.
YOU ARE READING
The Drunken Feathers
Historical FictionIn this biographical series that begins in 1784, twenty-one-year-old George, Prince of Wales-- the eldest son of King George III and heir to the British throne-- spends his youth idly by keeping countless mistresses, drinking profusely, and making f...
