So there are fans
And then there are the hardcore fangirls/fanboys…
Now a lot of us call ourselves major Jane Austen fans,
But one guy takes the cake: Prince George IV.
Can you believe that, a royal fangirl or boy in this case.
Huh?
So the story goes that Jane Austen’s brother, Henry, became very ill. Dr. Matthew Baillie was the Prince Regent’s doctor and when finding out who Henry’s sister is he lets Jane know that the Prince is a big fan of her novels.
“…that the Prince was a great admirer of her novels; that he read them often, and kept a set in every one of his residences … and that the Prince had desired Mr. Clarke [James Stanier Clarke], the librarian of Carlton House, to wait upon her”*
What?
She was “invited”, as one cannot say no to a prince, to go to Carlton House and there was “asked” to give a dedication to the prince in her next novel.
With her books
Now this would have been fine for most people but Jane Austen really, really did not like the Prince Regent. She hated how he treated his wife, Princess Caroline (read more here). So she didn’t want to.
But can you say no to a prince?
Of course not.
So it had to be done and this is what she wanted it to say:
“The Title page must be Emma, Dedicated by Permission to H.R.H. The Prince Regent. – And it is my particular wish that one Set should be completed & sent to H.R.H. two or three days before the Work is generally public.”
But that’s not enough for a fangirl/boy. They want more.
TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE REGENT
THIS WORK IS,
BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESSES PERMISSION,
MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESSES DUTIFUL AND OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR
It makes you wonder what you as a fan, or people you know, would make their favorite person to fan over do with that kind of power.
For more on Jane Austen, go to Just Jane
For more on fangirling, go to To Fandom With Love
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