Leaving another royal reputation in tatters was the cash-for-commissions scandal in which Sophia\u2019s brother, Frederick, Duke of York, commander-in-chief of the British Army, was embroiled by a vengeful former mistress, deprived of her promised allowance. When it exploded in 1809, it emerged that during their three-year affair courtesan Mary Anne Clarke had abused her access to the duke\u2019s official papers, taking bribes from military men in exchange for adding their names to the promotion lists which it was his job to authorise. Even her footman had managed to obtain a commission that way.<\/p>\n

With a humiliating British retreat from Spain in the war against Napoleon very raw, Parliament had opted for an inquiry into the duke\u2019s complicity. A prince effectively on trial for corruption in the House of Commons was bad enough, but the glamorous Mary Anne was induced to testify against him and boldly stated that her lover had connived in her schemes. Her clever responses and double entendres made MPs laugh and stirred up more public outrage over the apparently immoral, indulgent lifestyles of the royal men. Some observers felt that it was a waste of parliamentary time \u201cwhen so many other important objects require[d] their attention\u201d but it was the hottest topic in town, spawning a veritable avalanche of cartoons lampooning the lustful duke.<\/p>\n

Clarke\u2019s clever responses and double entendres made MPs laugh and stirred up more public outrage <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
It eventually transpired that the names had been added to the lists without the duke\u2019s knowledge, but with public opinion against him, he was forced to resign. And the matter was not quite over even then. A hefty sum had to be paid to gag Mrs Clarke and suppress her memoirs, which threatened further embarrassment for the family.<\/p>\n
Only a year later, yet another son, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, found himself the talk of every dinner table, but in his case, it concerned something much more serious than an extra-marital affair: murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND\u201d had screamed the headlines, the papers revealing that in the early hours of 31 May 1810, the duke had been ferociously attacked with his own sabre as he slept, his assailant splitting open his skull with sufficient force to reveal his brains. Soon after the alarm had been raised, the duke\u2019s valet, Joseph Sellis, had been found locked in his room, \u201chis throat cut from ear to ear\u201d.<\/p>\n
Read more about the Duke of Cumberland and his valet: a bloody tale of attempted murder<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
The inquest concluded that Sellis had committed the bloody crime before taking his own life, but the verdict did little to quash talk of the affair. \u201cThe business is a most mysterious one,\u201d mused one lady, \u201cendless stories are circulated\u201d. Some of these concerned possible motives for the attack. Ranging from revenge for an affair between the duke and his wife to an angry rejection of his employer\u2019s homosexual advances, they rarely painted the royal in a good light. But there was a far more sinister rumour in circulation, too, which said the duke was not the victim but the villain.<\/p>\n
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