The Prince Regent was the eldest son of King George III, born on 12th August 1762 at St James Palace.  As the eldest son, he became the next heir to the throne at birth. Prince George, named after his father, was described as a talented student as a child, learning to speak French, German and Italian quickly.

However, when given his own establishment at the age of 18, his behaviour quickly descended into scandal as he drank heavily and had many mistresses. When he turned 21 in 1783, he was given a grant and a large annual income. Although, neither was enough for the Prince, who had incredibly expensive taste and extravagance.

 

In the same year, he became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert, who was twice widowed and six years his senior. She was also a Roman Catholic and a commoner, which meant she was unsuited to be the Prince's bride as a Catholic could not ascend to the throne according to the Act of Settlement 1701.

Despite all the obstacles, the Prince was determined to marry Mrs Fitzherbert and an illegal marriage ceremony was performed at her house in Mayfair in 1785. As a prince, George could not legally marry without the King's consent so the marriage was void from the onset. I was shocked to discover that Rev Robert Burt was released from Fleet Prison by the Prince to perform the marriage by paying his debt of £500.
 

The Prince continued on his extravagant lifestyle, and when the King refused to assist him financially, he was forced to move from his home at Carlton House and proceeded to live at Fitzherbert's home. To avoid a scandal the Prince was granted money from Parliament to clear his debts and improve Carlton House.

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Despite having his original debts cleared, the Prince's lifestyle didn't change and he was soon into debt again. His father refused to help him unless he married his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick. They were married on 8th April 1795 and separated after the birth of their only daughter Princess Charlotte. He tried to divorce her but his attempt proved unsuccessful. The Prince remained attached to Mrs Fitzherbert for the rest of his life on and off but did take mistresses.

His father's health had been precarious for many years and in 1810 he was deemed unfit to rule. The Prince was created Prince Regent to rule alongside Parliament under the 1811 Regency Act on 11th February 1811. Although the Prince was only Regent for 9 years from 1811 to 1820, the Regency period is often referred to as much longer.

Jane is known for hating the Prince Regent due to his behaviour and referred to him in one of her letters to her friend Martha Lloyd in 1813:

"I suppose all the World is sitting in Judgement upon the Princess of Wales's Letter. Poor woman, I shall support her as long as I can, because she is a Woman, & because I hate her Husband -- but I can hardly forgive her for calling herself "attached & affectionate" to a Man whom she must detest -- & the intimacy said to subsist between her & Lady Oxford is bad -- I do not know what to do about it; but if I must give up the Princess, I am resolved at least always to think that she would have been respectable, if the Prince had behaved only tolerably by her at first. --"

However, the Prince was an admirer of Jane's work and kept a copy of her published novels at his residences including Carlton House. In late 1815, Jane visited her brother Henry, who unfortunately became unwell. Dr Baillie was brought to see Henry and discovered that Jane was the author of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. It turned out that Dr Baillie was actually the Prince's physician and informed Jane that the Prince was a great admirer of her work.

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James Stanier Clarke, the Prince's librarian, got in contact with Jane whilst she was in London and invited her to visit the Prince's library at Carlton House. She paid the visit on 13th November 1815 and following the visit she received a letter from James Stanier Clarke advising Jane that she was at liberty to dedicate her next novel to the Prince Regent.

 

It was evident that she was reluctant to include the dedicate as it seems she tried to get out of the dedication by writing to James Stanier Clarke to ask if it was “incumbent on [her] to shew her sense of the Honour”. However, he quickly replied and responded that "if you wish to do the Regent that honour either now or at any future period, I am happy to send you that permission which need not require any more trouble or solicitation on your Part”. It was clear that she could not avoid the dedication and she wrote to her publisher to request the dedication be added to Emma, which was already in press and was published in December 1815 with the dedication.

Following Jane's lifetime, the Prince Regent went on to become King George IV after his father's death in 1820 and reigned for another 10 years until his own death in 1830.