Free Courtiers: The Secret History of the Georgian Court by Lucy Worsley Page B

court life of recent years.
    Documents from the Royal Archives are quoted by the kind permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Miss Allison Derrett, Assistant Registrar, was exceptionally helpful, as was my friend Lucy Whitaker of the Royal Collection.
    My fellow curators at Historic Royal Palaces are inspiring, often infuriating, but incomparable colleagues. Many of them are named below. Additionally, I could not have completed this project without the support – both now and over the last ten years – of my director, John Barnes. I’d also like to say hurrah for Alison Heald, the cheerful and competent person who really runs Apartment 25 at Hampton Court. She makes going to work a pleasure.
    Other kind people who have provided me with encouragement or information include: Nigel Arch, Beatrice Behlen, Brett Dolman, Olivia Fryman, Esther Godfrey (whose research into slavery for Historic Royal Palaces was invaluable), John Harris, Maurice Howard, Alison Knowles (the present resident of Broadway Farm), Angelika Marks, Dr Randle McRoberts (my medical guru), Konrad Ottenheym, Julia Parker, David Pearce (editor of the Old Berkhamstedian ), Lee Prosser (who first suggested that ‘The Mysterious Quaker’ could be Dr Arbuthnot), Robert Sackville-West, Jane Spooner, Tina Graham and the Georgian Group. I owe special thanks to Andrew Thompson, Stephen Taylor, Robin Eagles, Matthew Kilburn, Hannah Smith and the History of Parliament Trust for their seminar on Frederick and subsequent help. I have been honoured with stalwart draft readers including: David Adshead, Stephen Clarke, Clair Corbey, Lynne Darwood, Susanne Groom, Holger Hoock, Katherine Ibbett, Joanna Marschner, Harvey Murray Smith, Michael Turner, Kate Retford and Stephen Taylor. Sincere thanks to every single one of them.
    I owe a huge debt to the irrepressible Felicity Bryan in the UK, as well as to Zoe Pagnamenta in the US, to Rebecca Pearson, Susan Holmes, Anne Owen, Ian Bahrami and all the nice people at Faber, and to George Gibson and Margaret Maloney at Bloomsbury USA. Regarding my editor Julian Loose, I would gladly gnaw off my own foot to win a word of his praise.
    Lastly, I dedicate my work to Mark Hines, my very own kind and handsome prince
A NOTE ON DATES
     
    In 1752, Britain’s calendar changed from the Julian to the Gregorian system and the start of the New Year was moved to 1 January, instead of 25 March. (Our tax years still follow the old system.) Unless otherwise stated, dates in this book have been silently corrected so that the months of January, February and March pre-1752 are given the year that we would use today.
PICTURE CREDITS
     
Plate Section
     
    Page 1: (top) The View of Kensington House from the South , c.1713–14 © The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Library Service; (bottom) Tea Party at Lord Harrington’s House, St James’s  by Charles Phillips, Yale Center for British Art reference 147965 © Bridgeman/Yale Center for British Art. Pages 2–3: Chris Puddephatt. Page 4: (top left) King George I , studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller, NPG 544 © National Portrait Gallery, London; (top right) Self-Portrait of Sir James Thornhill , James Thornhill © The Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral; (bottom left) The Cupola Room, Kensington Palace, photographed by Chris Puddephatt; (bottom right) Chris Puddephatt. Page 5: (top left and right, bottom left) Lucy Worsley; (bottom right) Detail from The Royal Hunting Party at Göhrde , 1725 © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Page 6: (top left and right) King George II, when Prince of Wales and Caroline of Anspach, when Princess of Wales by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1716 © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; (bottom) Frederick Prince of Wales and His Sisters by Philip Mercier, NPG 1556 © The National Portrait Gallery, London. Page 7: (top) A Performance of ‘The Indian Emperor’ or ‘The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards’ , William Hogarth, 1732–5, Private Collection; (bottom left) John,