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 Cliveden, 1737-1751 - Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of George II and the father of George III. Heir to the throne, Frederick died before he had the opportunity to become King, but the years of his residence at Cliveden firmly established as a centre of royal life second only to Hampton Court.
Frederick never owned Cliveden, but leased it from Anne, 2nd Countess of Orkney, in 1737, at a rent of £600 a year. It was a convenient arrangement for the Prince, not least because of the growing animosity between himself and his estranged father.
Although at pains to disagree on almost everything, one taste shared between King and son was the music of Handel. Cliveden became the setting for many great musical fêtes and masques featuring the work of Handel, Thomas Arne and others. Most famously Cliveden is the place where ‘Rule Britannia’ was first performed in 1740. Handel subsequently borrowed it as the opening strain of his Occasional Oratorio in 1746.
Towards the end of his life, the Prince’s thoughts turned towards taking the throne and he was determined to become the ‘Patriot King’, ruling by common consent. Frederick had even prepared his first speech to Parliament as monarch. Sadly, just as his father George II was terminally ill, Frederick himself died in March 1751. The succession passed to his eldest son, George III, who had been brought up, alongside Frederick’s seven other children, at Cliveden.
More History ...
The 2nd Duke of Buckingham
The First Earl of Orkney
Three Countesses of Orkney
Second Fire and Rebirth
Cliveden's 'golden age'
Nancy, Lady Astor
Cliveden and the Profumo Affair
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Thomas Arne playing Rule Britannia
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The Music Party by Philip Mercier
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