The Massachusetts Spy, And Worcester County Advertiser

Mrs. Fitzherbert. This lady, who once exercised such an important influence on the fortunes of the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV, was so deeply affected when informed of his Majesty's death, that she has ever since been confined to her chamber, very seriously ill; and from her advanced age and consequent infirmities, her recovery is considered doubtful. Her maiden name was Smith, her father a Roman Catholic gentleman, of an ancient and respectable family; and previously to her connection with the Prince, she had been twice married—on the first occasion, when only fifteen years of age, to Mr. Weld, the proprietor of Lulworth castle, (the place assigned to the ex-king, Charles X, as a residence,) who was desirous of an heir to his extensive estates. In this, however, he was disappointed, for he died without issue in less than a year after marriage, and his estates passed to his brother Thomas, father of Dr. Weld, whom the Pope has lately invested with the dignity of Cardinal. The lady was again married before she had completed her 20th year to Mr. Fitzherbert, but in little more than three years she was again a widow, and remained single until the period when the heir apparent to the crown saw and was fascinated by her charms, then ripened into maturity. Her virtue, however, was proof against the temptations of becoming the mere mistress of a Prince, and they were privately married, according to the forms both of the Protestant and Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Priest who married them, consulted his safety by quitting England immediately afterwards, and he was well provided for in another country. A separation, induced by prudential considerations, afterwards took place; but there seems, notwithstanding, to have been a strong mutual attachment; and after the Prince's unhappy marriage with, and separation from, the Princess Caroline of Brunswick, the connection was renewed. The lady has for many years lived in comparative retirement; she had an allowance of £6000 a year from the King, the continuance of which has been secured to her upon his Majesty's death. She has been on terms of intimacy with most of the other members of the Royal family, both male and female, and has received from them visits of condolence since the death of their Royal brother.-English paper.