In the fall of 1794, Lord Malmesbury was sent to ask for the hand of a German Princess named Caroline (daughter of the Duke of Brunswick) for George Augustus Frederick, the Prince of Wales. On 16 December Malmesbury wrote in his diary of Caroline's wish to become Britain's Princess: .
"She says she wishes to be loved by the people; this I assure her can only be obtained by making herself respected and rare - that the sentiment of being loved by the people is a mistaken one - that a nation at large can only respect and honour a great Princess. [This love can only be obtained] by a strict attention to appearance - by never going below the high rank in which a Princess is placed, either in language or manners." .
On 8 April 1795 Caroline did indeed become Princess of Wales. She also gained the love of the British nation. However, she did not achieve it by way of the advice given to her by Lord Malmesbury. Instead, it was through her abandonment and ill treatment by the Prince, and her poor manners that she came to be adored. Her story became known as the "Queen Caroline Affair", and survives in the letters, diaries, and newspaper articles of the early nineteenth century. Through the use of these and other primary documents, one can come to understand the cultural climate of the time, and the specific events of the royal scandal. .
The "Affair" was significant because it magnified the existing moral differences between the upper and lower classes.
• It also provided a forum for the latter to express their views on morality and the monarchy, which was made apparent in the emergence of popular Radicalism, and new liberties of the press. Moreover, the "Affair" helped to foster a strong women's movement, through which women of all classes could become empowered. .
It is said that the heart has nothing to do with royal marriages. Paired together in hopes of maintaining a Hanoverian rule, Caroline and George were far from a perfect match.
