A Powerful Crush

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Letters from a teenage Prince of Wales to Mary Hamilton have largely been seen as missives of love, showing a rather sweet side of the boy who’d grow up to become the debauched George IV. Sophie Coulombeau, Lecturer in English Literature at the University of York and Co-Investigator on the research project Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers argues there’s a darker side to the story. Mary Hamilton was his sisters’ governess. She didn’t welcome the Prince’s attentions, had no desire to become his mistress or wife and she was terrified about the effect that his advances might have on her precious reputation. George’s pursuit looks less like a harmless crush and more like a case of 18th-century sexual harassment in the workplace. Sophie retells the story of this 1779 summer of “love”, following clues from the library at Kew Palace, through the butterflies of Kew Gardens to the heart of power and politics outside Westminster. She is joined by author and historian Sally Holloway, curator Polly Putnam and the Fawcett Society’s Alesha De-Freitas. Readings are by Scarlett Brookes and Will Kirk and the producer is Sarah Bowen.