London, November 25th, 1828
I have not written anything since I left town, because nothing occurred worth remembering. Yesterday I went to the Council at Windsor. Most of the Ministers were there, the Recorder, two foreign Ministers, and the Duke of Clarence. The King seemed to be very well. The Duke of Wellington did not arrive till late, and before he was come the King sent for Peel and gave him an audience of two hours at least. I thought there must be something in the wind, and was struck with Peel’s taking the Duke into one of the window recesses and talking to him very earnestly as soon as he came out. I returned to town after the Council, and in the evening went to the play, and HEALTH AND HABITS OF GEORGE IV. coming out I met Henry de Ros and Frederick Lamb. The former made me go with him in his carriage, when he told me what fully explained the cause of Peel’s long audience—that the Duke has at last made up his mind to carry the Catholic question, and that Peel14 and the rest of the violent anti-Catholics are going out; that the Duke’s present idea is to apply to Huskisson, but that nothing will be done or said till the Ministers assemble in town and hold their cabinets.
He told me also that the French Government have at last agreed to make common cause with us in preventing the Russians from prosecuting the war against Turkey.
Notes
14 [It had not then transpired, nor was it known until long afterwards, that the proposal to carry Catholic Emancipation was made by Mr. Peel to the Duke of Wellington on the 11th of August. Sir Robert Peel states, however, in his ‘Memoir,’ p. 269, ‘At the close of the year 1828 little, if any, progress had been made in removing the difficulties with which the Duke of Wellington had to contend;’ and, p. 274, ‘The chief difficulty was the King. At the commencement of the month of January 1829 his Majesty had not yet signified his consent that the whole subject of Ireland, including the Catholic question, should be taken into consideration by his confidential servants.’]