''Mrs. Fitzherbert'', also known as ''Princess Fitz'' and ''A Court Secret'', is a 1947 black and white British historical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Montgomery Tully Montgomery Tully (6 May 190410 October 1988) was an Irish film director and writer. Film career Born in Dublin, Tully studied at the University of London, and originally entered the film industry as a director of documentaries. Later, Tully wo ...

and starring

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 ...

Joyce Howard Joyce Howard (28 February 1922 in London – 23 November 2010 in Santa Monica, California) was an English actress, writer, and film executive. After studying at RADA, she was spotted by film director Anthony Asquith in a play at London's Emb ...

and

Leslie Banks Leslie James Banks CBE (9 June 1890 – 21 April 1952) was an English stage and screen actor, director and producer, now best remembered for playing gruff, menacing characters in black-and-white films of the 1930s and 1940s, but also the Chor ...

. It depicts the relationship between

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

and Maria Fitzherbert. It is an adaptation of the 1945 novel '' Princess Fitz'' by

Winifred Carter :''not to be confused with Winifred S Carter, an American celebrity chef and cookery author also active from the 1920s–40s''. Winifred Carter (c. 1883–1949) was an English author and playwright, who was particularly active from the 1920s– ...

Whilst promotional material summarises the plot as the love affair between a prince and a " commoner", Mrs Fitzherbert falls far short of the definition of a "commoner" and would best be described as "lower aristocracy".

Plot

The

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

goes to meet an elderly Maria Fitzherbert to inform her of George IV's death and she recalls how she had rebuffed George at their first meeting, in which he saved her from a Protestant rioter on the night on the Gordon Riots. She continues to rebuff him but George pursues marriage with her, even knowing that - as she is a Roman Catholic - this will breach both the Act of Succession and the

Royal Marriages Act The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages th ...

. She flees to Brighton and George soon follows, where they meet again and agree simply to remain friends. However, scandal soon grows as they attend more and more social occasions together. Maria initially refuses a renewed offer of marriage from George but soon afterwards relents and agrees to a secret marriage after he makes a suicide attempt. George is summoned from the couple's country retreat by his mother Queen Charlotte to scotch rumours of the marriage - he instead confirms them but fails to win Charlotte round to the marriage. George and Maria move back to Brighton, where he begins work on

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion, and surrounding gardens, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prin ...

and moves a House of Commons debate on his finances, though this degenerates into a discussion of the rumoured marriage. Fox quells the debate by presenting a letter from George denying rumours of the marriage, though he omits to add that the letter is not new but was in fact written before the marriage. George goes to meet his father but finds himself forestalled, as the letter has convinced the king that George really has repudiated the marriage. Overjoyed, he arranges to pay off George's debts and George leaves without even mentioning Maria. George retreats into decadence and depression, acquiescing to a false rumour of an affair between Maria and the Duke of Bedford spread by Lady Jersey, finally repudiating Maria and accepting a political marriage with

Caroline of Brunswick Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821, being the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Pri ...

, though his first meeting with her goes badly. Maria retires to the country, where George's brother William keeps her informed of developments, whilst George's friends only just manage to stop him running back to Maria even on the morning of his wedding to Caroline. The scene shifts back to the elderly Maria and Wellington discussing George's death, where he informs her that among his last words was "Marguerita", his pet name for her, proving he had not forgotten her.

Cast

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

as Maria Fitzherbert *

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

, friend of the Prince *

Margaretta Scott Margaretta Mary Winifred ScottBrian McFarlane, "Scott, Margaretta Mary Winifred (1912–2005)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 201available online Retrieved 30 August 2020. (13 February 1912 – 15 Apri ...

as Lady Jersey, lady-in-waiting and ally to Queen Charlotte * Wanda Rotha as

Princess Caroline of Brunswick Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821, being the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Pri ...

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

as the Duchess of Devonshire *

Frederick Valk Frederick Valk (10 June 1895 – 23 July 1956) was a German-born Jewish stage and screen actor of Czech Jewish descent who fled to the United Kingdom in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, and subsequently became a naturalised British cit ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, the Prince's father *

Ralph Truman Ralph du Vergier Truman (7 May 1900 – 15 October 1977) was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice. He was born in London, England. Truman originally studied at t ...

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', '' The ...

, friend of the Prince * John Stuart as

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

Helen Haye Helen Haye (born Helen Hay, 28 August 1874 – 1 September 1957) was a British stage and film actress.
New York Times. 3 Septem ...

as Lady Sefton, Maria's chaperone *

Chili Bouchier Chili Bouchier (born Dorothy Irene Boucher; 12 September 1909 – 9 September 1999) was an English film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progre ...

as Norris *

Lily Kann Lily Hertha Kann 26th. October, 1893, Peitz – 2nd. November, 1978, Sussex, was a German-born, British actress. (Though the BFI website claims that she was born in Berlin, and died in Horsham). She appeared in the West End in the play ''Backg ...

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

, the Prince's mother * Lawrence O'Madden as

Lord Southampton Baron Southampton, of Southampton in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1780 for the soldier and politician Charles FitzRoy. He was the third son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy, second son of Charl ...

Frederick Leister Frederick Leister (1 December 1885 – 24 August 1970), was an English actor. He began his career in musical comedy and after serving in the First World War he played character roles in modern West End plays and in classic drama. He appeared in ...

as Henry Errington, Maria's uncle *

Scott Forbes Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

, the Prince's younger brother *

Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...

as Beau Brummell, friend of the Prince *

Eugene Deckers Eugene Francis Deckers (22 October 1917, in Antwerp – 1977, in Paris, France) was a Belgian actor. Career After establishing himself on the British stage, Deckers made his first English language film appearance in 1946. Formerly a romantic l ...

as Philippe *

Ivor Barnard Ivor Barnard (13 June 1887 – 30 June 1953) was an English stage, radio and film actor. He was an original member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where he was a notable Shylock and Caliban. He was the original Water Rat in the first L ...

as Reverend Robert Burt, priest at Maria and George's wedding *

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

as William Pitt * Arthur Dulac as

Franz Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

Critical reception

In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

wrote, "it is so rigidly played that the whole thing has the appearance of an animated wax-works on the move."

References

External links

* {{Montgomery Tully 1947 films British biographical drama films Films set in the 1780s Films set in the 1790s Films set in the 1800s Films set in the 1830s 1940s biographical drama films Films directed by Montgomery Tully Films set in Brighton Films set in London Films set in Windsor, Berkshire Films shot at British National Studios British historical drama films 1940s historical drama films Cultural depictions of George III Cultural depictions of George IV Cultural depictions of Richard Brinsley Sheridan British black-and-white films 1947 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films Cultural depictions of William IV Films scored by Stanley Black