The Drunken Feathers

Scene li

It is now dusk. The DUKE OF YORK steps through the entrance of Windsor Castle, and finds the PRINCE OF WALES standing outside with his arms folded, waiting for his carriage. The DUKE OF YORK approaches him.

DUKE OF YORK: Are you alright?

PRINCE OF WALES: No, I am not alright. The Queen deliberately admonished me in front of the entire Court as if I were a child. She had an inclination to embarrass me.

DUKE OF YORK: She had malicious intentions, to be sure...

PRINCE OF WALES: I have the most unsettling premonition, that decades from now, when I am old and ill, I shall die alone in my bedchamber, without having a single friend in the world. Upon catching word of my demise, my subjects will say, "Good riddance," and, "'Tis a shame he didn't die sooner."

DUKE OF YORK: Now, that isn't necessarily an accurate supposition; at the very least, I shall be at your bedside when you die. I swear it. But why do you imagine that you are destined for such a morbid fate?

PRINCE OF WALES: You saw how everyone was looking at me, Frederick. They detest me, each and every one of them. They shall never forgive my demeanor during the King's illness, and while I confess I was quite eager to usurp the throne, it was in my best interest to rule with full power of the monarch. The Queen has spread lies that I did so with spiteful intent; she means to turn the whole world against me.

DUKE OF YORK: You don't believe your conduct was at all reprehensible during the Regency Crisis?

PRINCE OF WALES: Absolutely not. I displayed the most virtuous conduct this country has ever beheld. Nobody merits praise more than myself.

The DUKE OF YORK stares at the PRINCE OF WALES with some astonishment as the latter's carriage drives up and stops before them. The PRINCE OF WALES is helped in.

PRINCE OF WALES: You had better return to the Dining Room and inform them of my departure.

DUKE OF YORK: I cannot, for I was warned that I would be forbidden from returning to dinner if I came outside to see you.

PRINCE OF WALES: Then what are you standing about for? Get in the carriage. Come now, make haste! I am quite put out, and cannot stand to remain here another minute.

The DUKE OF YORK is helped into the carriage and sits next to the PRINCE OF WALES.

DUKE OF YORK: Where shall we go?

PRINCE OF WALES: London.

DUKE OF YORK: With what purpose?

PRINCE OF WALES: To drink. What else can we do?

The carriage drives off down the road, with the sun behind it and ark, stormy clouds ahead. As the screen darkens, these words appear:

"Upon King George IV's death in 1830, The Times had this to say of him:

'There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king. What eye has wept for him? What heart has heaved one throb of unmercenary sorrow? If he ever had a friend- a devoted friend in any rank of life- we confess that the name of him or her never reached us.'"

For each character listed in the credits, the portrait of each character in real life is shown next to the name of the actor who played them. Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro' overture plays. After this, the rest of the credits roll in the usual way to Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' Overture, excluding the cadences, until the credits and the movie end.

FINIS