"I was reading a magazine," Florence wrote in her journal, "and on coming to an article that had been sent in by a reader, my face got hot and my head seemed to tingle and vibrate and I thought I was going to faint."The article was headed The Unwilling Royal Groom which said, way back in 1795 George, then Prince of Wales, aged 33 years, married Caroline of Brunswick. Having a mistress, 39 years-old Mrs Fitzherbert, he went unwillingly to the altar.
"The following day, while I was shopping, I went into the newsagent's and bought a magazine that I had had no prior intention of buying. Glancing through it I came to a paragraph that sent hot flushes to my face again. This time it was Jean Plaidy: Historical Novelist, whose books were 'most carefully researched.'
"Feeling that I was being led to another clue I went to the library and borrowed several of her books. One in particular brought the same reaction. It was Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill. The story was about Prince George and Mrs Fitzherbert, which said Mrs Fitzherbert was never the mistress of the Prince; he had secretly married her.
"After the ceremony, conducted by the Rev John Burt, the Prince wrote the certificate on the 15th December 1785, where Maria Fitzherbert had married George August, Prince of Wales. It was a secret marriage, a true marriage in the eyes of God but not the State.
"Two weeks later I had been visiting one of my sisters at Brighton Beach [a suburb of Melbourne] and, on returning on the bus, I was thinking of a photo that we have, one of our ancestors, that we had been trying to identify. [See photo above.] I was concentrating on this photo of a young man, but what I saw was someone entirely different. I saw a very handsome young man, very very elegant, with soft brown hair brushed back, white cravat, check sports coat 4 different shades of brown.
"This picture was so dazzling, as though spotlights were on it, and the light seemed to come from a brooch on the lapel of his coat. Then I seemed to come out of a trance and I was surprised to find I was still on the bus.
"Later I looked at the photo of my ancestor, which was just a dull faded photo, not at all like the one I saw. Strangely enough, I knew at once that the young man in the photo was James Reid of Dundee, Scotland, father of Agnes Reid [aka Granny Fitz], our great grandmother."
What is the explanation of Florence's vision as she described it? What has the Prince of Wales to do with Florence's story? Once more the enigmatic Granny Fitz appears in the story - so who is she? Some answers, or more questions, in my next post.
