‘The Graftons’

In the introduction to ‘Soap Box’, Hilary Kingsley’s guide to soap operas, Kingsley describes the essence of this type of entertainment as: ‘ it must be a continuing story with a family background … [dealing] not with ideas but with feelings and emotions [and] above all, it must be seamless, endless. Problems arise, problems are solved. Danger appears, danger is averted. Love arises, love dies. But always the central story flows on like a great river’. It is no wonder that ‘soaps’ are so addictive. And, it is not surprising that the longest running soap opera that many of us are obsessed with is the Royal Family.

I was reminded of this when I was looking at the portrait of Elizabeth Wrottesley (later Duchess of Grafton) by Thomas Gainsborough which is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. The picture is of immediate interest as Gainsborough is the subject of this week’s ‘Cocktails with a Curator’ from The Frick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVSJyKq5wsM&list=PLNVeJpU2DHHR_0y_Zvgn3MgZQQFcFx2eI&index=2&t=0s

There is very little information about Elizabeth on the web – she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry – but, with a little bit of sleuthing, it is possible to uncover and devise a story that could fit into a long running Royal soap opera genre. I will call it ‘The Graftons’.

Season One – ‘A King is Executed‘

All soaps start with a tyrannical patriarch and Charles I, who was crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1625, fits the bill perfectly. Believing in the divine right of kings, Charles was determined to ‘rule his way’. Many of his subjects opposed his policies – in particular his levying of taxes, the religious conflicts he generated, and his quarrelling with and proroguing of parliament. Ultimately, his ‘absolute monarchy’ created so much antipathy and mistrust that a civil war erupted in England in 1642 which resulted in his defeat and execution in 1649. Descriptions of Charles vary from: ‘duplicitous and delusional’ to ‘the worst king … since the Middle Ages’. As he was wont to say: ‘Princes are not bound to give account of their actions, but to God alone’. I wonder what God made of this decapitated king when he presented himself.

A tyrant needs an enabling partner, so Charles I married Henrietta Maria of France. She was not his first choice. However, when Philip IV of Spain set too many conditions on the betrothal of his daughter, the Infanta Maria of Spain, and Charles retaliated by trying to declare war with Spain – Henrietta was the next best option. They wed when she was aged 15 and eventually formed a close partnership. Henrietta Maria was not ideal. Her Catholicism, her difficulties with the English language, her lack of education, and her frivolousness meant she never fully assimilated into English society – so she was a despised and unpopular character. On the positive side, she was the mother of nine children – two of whom would eventually become Kings of England. Images of her by Anthony van Dyck highlight her ‘pretty eyes, nose and complexion’ but a less flattering portrait is provided by her rivalrous niece, Sophia of Hanover, who described her as: ‘a woman past her prime with long lean arms, uneven shoulders and teeth coming out of her mouth like tusks’!  As a ‘power couple’ with Charles, things were destined to end badly.

Like all soaps, Season One ends on a cliff-hanger. Charles I is dead and the Queen and her children have fled the country.  What will become of them?

Season Two – ‘A King Restored‘

The next season sees the eldest surviving son, Charles II, biding his time in self-exile with his family and court in mainland Europe. Following his defeat by Oliver Cromwell, in the 1651 Battle of Worcester, Charles spends the next nine years living in France, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. After the death of Cromwell, the monarchy is restored in Britain and Charles assumes the throne with much pageantry on his 30^th birthday in 1660. The period of his reign, known as The Restoration, marks a reversal of the stringent Puritan morality. Repression gives way to licence and the period is one of magnificence, opulence, bawdiness and high-spiritedness. After the Puritanical times of Cromwell, it is not surprising that Charles is one of the most popular and beloved Kings. Known as the Merry Monarch, he is married to Catherine of Braganza who does not bear him any living children. This does not discourage him as, in soap opera terms, he is ‘quite the lad’ and has many mistresses (possibly up to fifteen, including the actress Nell Gwyn) – ultimately recognising at least twelve illegitimate children. Six of these, given the name ‘FitzRoy’ are with his girlfriend, Barbara Villiers.

Barbara, 1^st Duchess of Cleveland and Countess of Castlemaine, was the most notorious of Charles II’s many girlfriends.  She is described by Antonia Fraser in her book ‘King Charles II’ (2002) as tall, voluptuous, with masses of brunette hair, slanting, heavy-lidded violet eyes, alabaster skin, and a sensuous, sulky mouth. Another writer, Allen Andrews, presents a less flattering portrait of her in ‘The Royal Whore: Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine’ (1970). A perfect soap opera ‘mega-bitch’ character, she is described as vain, manipulative, cunning, demanding, histrionic and well versed in socio-politico-religio intrigues – the sort of character we marvel at, love to hate, and is destined to have her own spin-off series. (In reality, she did become a leading character in six novels, two plays, eight films, and four TV series). Ultimately, the King tires of her antics and finds other lovers – as does the ever-resourceful Barbara.  

Season Two is mainly a ‘romp’ with many sexual intrigues. However, these are set in the context of a couple of wars with the Netherlands, the Rye House Plot to murder the King, the Great Plague, and the Great Fire of London. Season Two is probably the highlight.

Season Three – ‘The Youngsters‘

After all the shenanigans in Season Two, this season needs a change of direction. What better way to do this than with some genuinely nice characters and … a wedding!

Barbara’s fourth child, Charlotte Fitzroy, was said to be the King’s favourite. Described as sweet-natured and strikingly beautiful, she was betrothed to Edward Henry Lee when she was aged 9 and he was aged 11. The marriage was deferred for nearly three years until she reached puberty – with the wedding taking place on 6 February 1677. As a result of the betrothal, Edward was given the title of Earl of Lichfield and a £2000 annual income – a ‘trifecta of good fortune’. Charlotte and Edward were a match made on earth and in heaven. Apart from enjoying ‘dressing up’ they had 18 children and lived happy and scandal-free lives.

If this season needs a ‘spicy’ sub-plot, then Edward’s uncle, John Wilmot 2^nd Earl of Rochester, should appear. This ‘larger than life’ rakish poet, dashing bon viveur, perpetual drunk, and libertine died of over-indulgence and sexual excess at the age of 33. (He has already been depicted by Johnny Depp in the film ‘The Libertine’ from 2004).

In Season Three we also meet, Charlotte’s older brother, Henry, another of the King’s ‘bastards’. He is married off at a very young age in 1672 – when he was 9 and his bride, Isabella, was 5 – although, for the sake of decorum, the ceremony is repeated seven years later. Henry was brought up in the armed forces and saw military action at the Siege of Luxembourg (1684) and the Storming of Cork in Ireland (1690) – where he unfortunately died from a wound at the age of 27 years. His newly-minted title, ‘Duke of Grafton’, is passed on to his only child, Charles. This is where ‘the Graftons’ officially begin.

The succeeding two generations of the Duke of Grafton are less dramatic. Charles, the 2^nd Duke, was an English and Irish politician who moved in the Royal circles where he was known as ‘Booby Grafton’. Noted for his ‘smooth talking’ he was a Knight of the Garter, Privy Counsellor and Lord Chamberlain. In his spare time he supported the Royal Academy of Music and hung out with the Kit-Cat Club. Happily married, he had seven children and led a remarkably stable life for a ‘Grafton’. It is his third son, Augustus, whose journey we will follow.

Lord Augustus FitzRoy, was a British officer of the Royal Navy, and also a ‘bit of a lad’. At the age of 17, while stationed in the North Atlantic, he visited New York and fell in love with the Governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Crosby, who he married the following year. Being of a ‘very amorous disposition’, the night before he was due to return to active duty, he was discovered in flagrante delicto with another woman at an inn near the harbour where his ship was anchored. Despite the scandal, he stayed married to Elizabeth and they had two sons – Augustus and Charles.  Four years after the birth of the second child, Lord Augustus died from ‘tropical fevers’ at the age of 24 while on active duty in the West Indies. Although he only has a small ‘cameo role’ he is the link to the final season.

Despite having three weddings (two of them starring Henry FitzRoy), Season Three is the quiet season which prepares us for the drama to come.

Season Four – ‘The Return to Power‘

It is said that the ‘apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ and Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3^rd Duke of Grafton, is an example. As the fourth generation descendant of Charles II and Barbara Villiers, and the son of a man with an ‘amorous disposition’ it is not surprising that there will be a bit more ‘rumpy pumpy’ in this season.

Coming from a now-established aristocratic family, Augustus attended Westminster School, obtained a degree at Cambridge and made the Grand Tour. At the age of 21 he entered Parliament as an MP and was elevated into the House of Lords (as the Duke of Grafton) when his grandfather died the following year. Although shy and with a dislike of ceremonial duties, he was clearly an adept ‘political operator’.  Over the next decade Augustus had several senior roles – including Privy Counsellor and Chancellor of Cambridge University – before becoming the youngest person to hold the office of Prime Minister at the age of 33 during which time he was known as both ‘Royal Oak’ and ‘The Turf Macaroni’ (due to his love of horse racing).

The year Augustus entered parliament, he married The Hon. Anne Liddell and they would have three children. However, in 1764, Augustus had a very open affair with a courtesan, Anne (Nancy) Parsons, who he kept at his town house and escorted out in public. This clear flouting of convention both offended the social standards of the day and encouraged Augustus’ wife to become pregnant to her own lover (the 2^nd Earl of Upper Ossory).

‘Fancy Nancy’ – ‘another piece of work’ – was the daughter of a Bond Street tailor who had had a chequered career in Jamaica before meeting Augustus. When they did meet, she was an upper class sex worker whose clientele came from the aristocracy. Augustus was smitten with Nancy and after Parliament passed an Act during the early days of his Prime Ministership allowing him to divorce Anne, Nancy became a de facto first lady.

Augustus would probably have married Nancy had he not discovered that she was also having an affair with John Sackville, 3^rd Duke of Dorset. Nancy stayed with Sackville for the next seven years, before attracting the attention of Viscount Maynard who was ten years her junior. They married and spent much of their time abroad in Italy where they would have a famous menage at trois with the teenage Francis Russell, 5^th Duke of Bedford.

Possibly on the rebound (or remembering his ancestor Barbara), three months after his divorce and having finished with Nancy, Augustus married …. Elizabeth Wrottesley on 24 June 1769. This can only be described as a ‘return to sanity’. Elizabeth was one of the five daughters of the Very Reverend Sir Richard Wrottesley, Dean of Worcester.

In the 1760s Gainsborough established a successful practice in the fashionable spa town of Bath. In failing health, Gainsborough began limiting his commissions, but on meeting Elizabeth’s uncle, the Duke of Bedford, he stated: ‘I cannot resist the honour of doing something for the Duke of Bedford productive of further advantages’. Gainsborough painted so many portraits of the Wrottesley-Bedford family at this time it is assumed they were visiting Bath on holiday. Included among his sitters were Elizabeth and her sister, Mary. The second portrait of Elizabeth may be the one that NGV curator, Laurie Benson, refers to in the collection of the Duke of Bedford in Woburn Abbey.

On Number10.gov.uk (the official site of the Prime Minister’s Office), Elizabeth is described as: ‘not a handsome woman, by all accounts, but had a quiet and amiable character. [Her  husband] said that she had a tenderness and affection as mother of a numerous family’. Elizabeth and Augustus settled into a life of wedded domesticity. They had 13 children in the space of 16 years of which 9 survived.

Augustus’ time as Prime Minister was brief – from October 1768 to January 1770 – but he is remembered as the first British Prime Minister, before Sir Anthony Eden, to be divorced and the second, after Sir Robert Walpole, to marry while in office. He also had the longest post-premiership of any prime minister in British history, totalling 41 years and 45 days. The Duke is remembered in Australia for giving his name to the town of Grafton in New South Wales and Cape Grafton in Far North Queensland. 

As none of Augustus and Elizabeth’s children created much in the way of public interest there was no possibility of a fifth season of ‘The Graftons ‘. Like many soap operas, the early seasons are often the most dramatic, and this is the situation with ‘The Graftons’ where the ‘bold and the beautiful’ become the ‘dull and the dutiful’. Fortunately, a whole new family would stake its claim to Royal soap opera drama. I imagine many of us looking forward to Season 4 of ‘The Crown’.