Le Baiser a la Wirtembourg
This print shows an awkward French greeting given by the vastly over-weight and over-decorated Hereditary Prince of Wurtemberg to his bride-to-be, Charlotte Augusta, the Princess Royal.
© Trustees of the British Museum
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The impetus for the print was the recent arrival of the Prince in England (April 9th) for the May 18th wedding. From reports in the newspapers at the time, it seems likely that the actual first meeting between the two took place on April 14th at the start of a brief tour of England specifically designed for the Prince.
The alliance had been proposed by the Prince as early as December 1795. But owing to some nasty rumors about the death of the Prince's first wife, George III needed considerable persuading to agree to the marriage. Finally convinced that the rumors of foul play were groundless, George agreed to the match in June of 1796.
The subtitle of the print may be interpreted in two ways:
Heav'n grant their Happiness complete,
And may they make both Ends to meet;
In these hard times.
It may, as Draper Hill believes, refer to the reluctant financial arrangements made for the couple out of a straitened British treasury. But this is unlikely since discussions of the portion to be given upon the marriage of the Princess Royal do not appear to have begun until the first week of May. See the London Observer for May 7th where the King, having formally announced the marriage, trusts that the Commons will "enable him to give such a Portion to his eldest daughter as may be suitable to the dignity of the Crown."
In light of the sexually crude predecessor to this print called For Improving the Breed, I think it more likely that in Le Baiser. . . Gillray has in mind the obvious physical obstacle to intercourse posed by the Prince's huge belly. From this point of view, the strategically positioned (short) sword is the perfect illustration of the problem.
Sources and Reading
- Commentary from the British Museum on Le Baiser a la Wirtembourg
- Draper Hill, The Satirical Etchings of James Gillray, 1976, #51
- "Frederick I of Wurtemberg," Wikipedia
- "Charlotte, Princess Royal," Wikipedia
- Janice Hadlow, A Royal Experiment, 2014, pp. 464 - 472.
- Thomas Wright and R.H. Evans, Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray #171
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