Brook's Club, London. The PRINCE OF WALES and DUKE OF YORK stand outside of it and speak worriedly to each other.
DUKE OF YORK: Now all hope of a regency is lost.
PRINCE OF WALES: No it isn't.
DUKE OF YORK: We saw His Majesty last week. The King is in perfect health!
PRINCE OF WALES: Shh! [In a low voice] That fact has not been made known to the public, and we must ensure it never is.
The DUKE OF YORK stares at the PRINCE OF WALES with wonder as he follows him inside Brook's Club. They enter, only to be mobbed by many gentlemen who want to know about the King's welfare. The PRINCE OF WALES knocks his walking-stick against the floor to quiet them down.
PRINCE OF WALES: For those of you seeking information relating to the King's most terrible illness, I shall inform you that he is completely and totally...insane. [Everyone gasps] Is he not, Frederick?
DUKE OF YORK: [After a brief pause of hesitation] Indeed, His Majesty is madder than ever before!
PRINCE OF WALES: Ignore any and all other reports of the King you might encounter, for His Grace the Duke of York and I visited His Majesty just last week, and found him in a most violent state. His bedclothes were drenched-
DUKE OF YORK: And soiled, as well!
PRINCE OF WALES: He spoke nonsense the whole time we were there!
DUKE OF YORK: It was a combination of English, German, and a jargon of his own invention-
PRINCE OF WALES: Not to mention the fact that he frequently foamed at the mouth!
DUKE OF YORK: He shook a tree branch while under the impression it was the hand of the King of Prussia!
PRINCE OF WALES: He fancied London was flooded and demanded that his yacht be sent out upon the waters! The poor gentleman is completely out of his mind- a complete lunatic! I fear he shall never be well again.
Enter HANGER in a hurry.
HANGER: The King and Queen have returned to London today- they are driving through the street at this moment!
Everyone rushes past the PRINCE OF WALES and DUKE OF YORK. They step outside of Brook's Club and see KING GEORGE III and QUEEN CHARLOTTE in a carriage, waving to all the people. After they drive by, everyone turns around and glares at the PRINCE OF WALES and DUKE OF YORK, who look guiltily at each other. Cut to ACT II, SCENE XXXXVIII.
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...
