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Lot Essay
Sir Walter Farquhar 1st Bt. (1738-1819), physician of the Prince of Wales, later King George IV (r.1820-1830).
Maria Anne Fitzherbert (1756-1837), wife of George IV, was a Catholic and twice widowed when she reluctantly accepted the offer of marriage from the then Prince of Wales. They were married by an Anglican clergyman in her drawing-room in 1785. The legality of the marriage was questioned by some, although the Royal Family always treated her with the greatest of kindness. Although they were happy together she was in many respects little more than the Prince's mistress, and when he married Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, Mrs Fitzherbert lived separately for a while. The final insult came in 1803 when her order of precedence was questioned at a dinner given to Louis XVIII at Carlton House, and she parted from the Prince forever. She was probably the only woman the Prince had been sincerely attached to. In his final illness he enquired after her and died with her portrait around his neck. Mrs Fitzherbert died at Brighton in 1837.
The inscription on the present lot probably represents a farewell sentiment from Mrs Fitzherbert, who had left the Prince shortly before, to Sir Walter Farquhar. Sir Walter had been appointed physician to the Prince of Wales shortly after being created a baronet in 1796, and had many other important and influential patients. Born in 1738, he was educated first at King's College, Aberdeen where he took his M.A.. He continued his medical studies at Glasgow and Edinburgh, subsequently joining the army medical service. After a period in Europe he returned to London and set up his practice. He was very successful and after taking his M.D. from Aberdeen in 1796 he was admitted fellow of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh and licentiate of the London College. He partially withdrew from practice in 1813 and died in 1819.
Maria Anne Fitzherbert (1756-1837), wife of George IV, was a Catholic and twice widowed when she reluctantly accepted the offer of marriage from the then Prince of Wales. They were married by an Anglican clergyman in her drawing-room in 1785. The legality of the marriage was questioned by some, although the Royal Family always treated her with the greatest of kindness. Although they were happy together she was in many respects little more than the Prince's mistress, and when he married Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, Mrs Fitzherbert lived separately for a while. The final insult came in 1803 when her order of precedence was questioned at a dinner given to Louis XVIII at Carlton House, and she parted from the Prince forever. She was probably the only woman the Prince had been sincerely attached to. In his final illness he enquired after her and died with her portrait around his neck. Mrs Fitzherbert died at Brighton in 1837.
The inscription on the present lot probably represents a farewell sentiment from Mrs Fitzherbert, who had left the Prince shortly before, to Sir Walter Farquhar. Sir Walter had been appointed physician to the Prince of Wales shortly after being created a baronet in 1796, and had many other important and influential patients. Born in 1738, he was educated first at King's College, Aberdeen where he took his M.A.. He continued his medical studies at Glasgow and Edinburgh, subsequently joining the army medical service. After a period in Europe he returned to London and set up his practice. He was very successful and after taking his M.D. from Aberdeen in 1796 he was admitted fellow of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh and licentiate of the London College. He partially withdrew from practice in 1813 and died in 1819.