William Pitt suggested that the Prince of Wales supervise the regency, which caused a heated discussion in the cabinet.
In Britain, the king is the clear master of the entire country, but delegates a large amount of power to Parliament.
But this is not a transfer, but a delegation. The power still belongs to the king, and the parliament is equivalent to the agent.
The power of the British Parliament comes from the King. When the Parliament meets, it must first ask for the King's scepter.
While the king is in a coma, Parliament is theoretically unable to function.
Including after the parliament expresses no confidence in the cabinet, the removal of the prime minister or the dissolution of parliament and an early election require the approval of the monarch.
The new government formed after the election also needs to be appointed by the king to be established.
The king is offline, and theoretically the court should be paralyzed.
However, since there is a hidden danger of paralysis, there are solutions to deal with it.
Britain also has a tradition of setting up regents.
Especially as early as sixteen years ago, in 1789, George III had a serious illness.
At that time, the upper and lower chambers negotiated and formulated a special regency law.
Provided that the Prince of Wales would act as regent in the event that the king was unable to perform his duties.
Although George III's spirit returned to normal before the Act was passed, the Regency Act was not officially implemented.
However, after George III regained consciousness, he approved of the actions of Parliament at that time.
In the original history, George III fell ill again five years later, in 1810, and never fully recovered.
Parliament restarted the original Regency Act, and the Prince of Wales officially began his regency career.
It was not until the death of George III ten years later that the Prince of Wales officially succeeded to the throne.
If the Regency Act is implemented now, the Prince of Wales will only start regency five years earlier than historically.
The Prince of Wales was originally the crown prince, and he would have succeeded George III after his death. There was no legal risk in using him as regent.
Therefore, the Regency Act does not even require the establishment of a Regency Council.
The power of the Prince of Wales' Regency is not significantly different from that of a real King.
But the decision may not be favorable to Pitt.
The British Foreign Secretary, William Wyndham Grenville, reminded his cousin quite carefully:
"Peter, no one can remove you while His Majesty is unable to govern.
“But after His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales takes over as regent, Parliament may put pressure on His Royal Highness.
“His Royal Highness should be unable to go against the opinions of parliament and public opinion.
"You should have considered this situation, right?"
Grenwell's father is a former British Prime Minister, and his uncle is Peter's father, who is also a former British Prime Minister.
Cousin Peter is the British Prime Minister, and he himself also served as the British Prime Minister in history.
Peter nodded directly and said:
"Of course I have considered it, but I want to bear the responsibility for the peace talks without any fault, and they must also pay the price."
As he spoke, Peter turned to look at the somewhat confused Prince of Wales:
“Your Highness, I can debate, or rather negotiate, with the opponents.
“We can use this opportunity to realize our plans for the Cape.
"Formal union of the United States of America with the United Kingdom."
The Prince of Wales thought of the conversation between the two at the Western Cape and said with a little guilt:
"Will this work?"
Peter said very decisively:
"Yes, definitely possible, the key is the degree of merger, the highest is complete merger to become a United Empire.
"The lowest level... is a commonwealth, like Ireland before the Act of Union.
"This process won't be too difficult, Your Highness doesn't need to worry."
Then Peter looked at Monroe:
"Sir Monroe, this is an opportunity to fight for the interests of the United States. I hope you will contact all colleagues in the United States and give us the greatest support!"
Monroe attended the cabinet in the name of Secretary of State for American Affairs and was stunned after hearing the conversation between Monroe and the Prince of Wales.
Because during the peace talks, Pitt and other representatives abandoned American interests, Monroe had become alienated.
After returning to London, Monroe did not speak at a cabinet meeting for a long time.
As a result, Peter received a huge shock today.
Monroe was stunned for several seconds:
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, do you mean... that you want the United States to become part of the United Kingdom like Scotland?"
Pete shook his head and said:
"No, the ideal goal is to unite the British Isles as a whole with the United States into a United Empire."
Munro said directly:
"This is impossible. The local parliamentarians will not accept it... If it is pushed forward forcefully, it may even lead to a local independence war..."
The Native War of Independence refers to the war of independence that broke out in Britain after the merger of Britain and the United States to break away from the United Empire.
Then the king or emperor would have no choice but to run away to America.
Peter exhaled softly:
“It’s not a matter of a local independence war. We and the American immigrants are both British, and we can always find a compromise.
"But this matter is still extremely difficult, so I need support and pressure from the United States."
Monroe quickly calmed down and immediately understood Peter's thoughts.
At the same time, I felt gratitude and admiration for Pete, and felt that I had misunderstood Pete before.
From Pete's perspective, ceding Florida was no choice.
Pitt himself was not prepared to give up on the United States, and even supported giving the United States a higher status.
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister's character is admirable, and I will mobilize the power of the United States!"
America's secession tendency already exists, but it is still undecided about independence.
The composition of the Thirteen Colonies of the United States was very complex.
There are colonies actively developed by the British court, and there are royal territories owned by the British king.
There were also frustrated people from Britain who ran to the New World and established colonies, which were recognized by the British court.
There are radical independent republicans, as well as conservative royalists.
At the same time, a common perception of being "British" still exists among immigrants in the United States.
The vast majority of Americans still consider themselves British and are proud of it.
Historically, the United States was in a similar state before independence.
The true independence of the United States actually had a certain element of chance.
The stubbornness of the Mad King George III played a role, as did the fanfare of England's hostile nations.
The American colonies in this world have achieved a higher status than they have in history.
There is a dedicated minister of affairs in the cabinet.
The United States today is similar to the United States before its independence. The purpose of causing trouble is to gain attention from the local people and to improve their status there.
They did not aim for independence from the beginning.
If Pete wanted to fight for the interests of the United States, Monroe, who represented the interests of the United States, would certainly not disagree.
The key is that Pitt made it clear to Monroe that he was ready to make Monroe the new prime minister.
The glory and status of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom are almost the pinnacle of his political career that Monroe could have imagined.
So Monroe personally accepted it as a matter of course.
Pitt still had a high degree of control over his cabinet at this time, and it was not difficult to convince the Prince of Wales on his own territory.
So plans were quickly finalized, and Pitt and his cabinet began to push for a regency for the Prince of Wales.
Monroe contacted important civil opinion leaders in the United States, adding fuel to the already conflicting situation in the United States.
They published articles in newspapers reiterating their view that there would be no taxation without representation.
Organize civil society representatives in the United States to sign a formal letter of submission and submit it to the British government, once again demanding the right to elect members.
Others called for the establishment of a broad local American parliament to independently decide on American affairs.
Some people even flipped the table and claimed that if the United Kingdom cannot protect the interests of the United States, the United States should separate from the United Kingdom and become independent!
Some radical or sensational newspapers even analyzed the feasibility of inviting a Ming prince to serve as king.
This is an idea that has been considered in the United States, and it has naturally been recognized by a large number of Americans.
When these topics were deliberately promoted, they immediately triggered a new round of public opinion turmoil in the United States.
Party parades broke out again on the streets of several cities, including New York.
The already hot issue of American rights has once again been brought to the forefront.
British newspapers also summarized and conveyed relevant public opinions.
Existing members of parliament are once again feeling the pinch.
Pitt's cabinet was also taken aback by the magnitude of America's response.
This further strengthened Peter's belief that the American issue could not be delayed any longer.
News from the United States put tremendous pressure on Congress, making the advancement of the Regency Act particularly smooth.
A king is needed to make decisions to deal with matters in the United States.
A large number of representatives hoped that Pitt would take the blame and that the king would remove Pitt.
Coupled with the precedent of the Regency Act in 1789, most members quickly accepted the Regency Act with basically no changes.
The Regency Act was passed by both Houses, and the Lord Chancellor sealed it.
The content of the law is very simple. During the period when King George III of England is unable to govern, the Crown Prince of Wales, on behalf of his father, performs the corresponding functions of the King of England.
The entire process of promoting the proposal lasted for more than ten days, but King George III's condition did not improve.
So much so that the Regency of the Prince of Wales became an established fact.
As soon as the regency plan was passed, some members immediately called for Pitt's removal.
Due to pressure from the United States and the unstable situation in the UK, most members do not want to dissolve parliament and hold a general election.
I still hope that the king will directly remove Peter.
At Pitt's suggestion, the Prince of Wales held another inquiry about Pitt.
The venue of the meeting was still the House of Lords, but the host, King George III, was changed to the Prince of Wales.
As soon as the inquiry began, Peter did not wait for the justice to ask, and directly took the initiative to lift the roof:
“Now that the matter has come to this, we might as well ‘open the skylight and speak clearly’. I know what many people are thinking right now.
“I can cooperate, I can take the initiative to assume all responsibilities for this peace negotiation, and bear all public opinion crises this time.
“But all of us understand that I was not at fault in this peace negotiation, and I should have merit.
“So my resignation must be conditional.
"My condition is that the new Prime Minister be James Monroe, who was born in the colonies.
“The new government should unite Great Britain and Ireland with the United States to form the United Empire of Britain and America.
"This is the single best solution to America's problems!"
As soon as Peter said this, the whole scene was in an uproar.
The Prince of Wales and cabinet members, as well as a small number of MPs who were notified by Pitt and still stood by him, received the news in advance. The shocking thoughts have passed, and they are still relatively calm now.
But most of the other uninformed lawmakers were stunned.
Immediately, a group of people came out to refute, saying that it was absolutely impossible to allow the merger with the United States and to establish any kind of United Empire.
With the exception of Monroe, the current congressmen are all of British origin, and of course they cannot stand on the side of the United States.
It is impossible to allow Americans to compete with themselves for seats in the Parliament and share the power and interests of the United Kingdom.
The crowd was furious for a while. Faced with this situation, Peter seemed to take a weak step back:
“Then refer to the Act of Union to elevate the United States to the status of Scotland and Ireland and become part of the United Kingdom.
"We have solved the Scottish and Irish problems with similar solutions, and I should use the same solution to solve the American problems.
"Other than that, I don't think there's any way, anybody, that can solve America's current problems.
"If we fail to solve America's problems, the immediate result will undoubtedly be American independence.
"We can choose to suppress, but the United Kingdom now does not have the ability to engage in a new war, a war across the ocean.
"If the United States is allowed to become independent or become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, then we in the UK will forever lose the opportunity to lead Europe.
“We will always be outclassed by the French on Europa matters and we should not allow this to happen!
"We need America, the United Kingdom cannot live without America, so at least give America the status of Scotland!"
The question meeting turned into a speech by Peter, and many representatives were convinced by Peter in their hearts.
Losing ground is actually a small matter. The reduction of Britain's international status cannot be considered a big deal. Falling completely behind the French is a big deal.
Most of these representatives can be considered astute people, and they certainly understand the significance of the United States to the United Kingdom.
However, their vital interests determine that they cannot easily support this proposal.
It is even less possible for Monroe, who was born in the United States, to serve as prime minister.
So even though what Peter said was very reasonable, one after another MPs came out to object and question.
Pete was fully prepared, standing on the commanding heights of national interests, and gave responses and rhetorical questions one by one.
Members came out one after another, but they were all refuted one after another by Peter.
But they continued to question and question tirelessly, not even caring whether their doubts were justified.
The question session lasted for nearly an hour. After refuting a member of Parliament, Pitt looked at the Prince of Wales on the stage and said:
"Your Highness, I believe you have seen that my suggestions are truly reasonable and truly correct suggestions that benefit the United Kingdom.
“But why can’t I get approval from MPs?
"Because other than Mr. Monroe, there was no representative from the United States.
“So we have the entire Congress on the ground making decisions that don’t really take the interests of the United States into consideration.
“The United States is an integral part of the United Kingdom, and the interests of the United Kingdom cannot be fully protected without considering American interests.
"Therefore, it is an imperative choice to give the United States the status of Scotland and the right to participate in parliamentary elections."
Of course the Prince of Wales understood what Peter meant and had long understood the logic introduced by Peter, but he was unable to make the final decision.
Even when George III was sober, it was impossible for him to directly decide on such a matter, and he would even directly refuse it on the spot.
The Prince of Wales, who had a weak personality, instinctively procrastinated and opened his mouth several times not knowing what to say.
Other MPs present did not wait for the Prince of Wales to make a decision, and continued to stand up to refute and question Pitt.
This time multiple people came out together, making it impossible for Peter to respond carefully.
Pete simply ignored their questions and expressed his unilateral opinions loudly and loudly.
When chaos threatened to break out, the Speaker advised the Prince of Wales to adjourn the meeting temporarily.
The Prince of Wales, who was already having a big headache, directly agreed, so the consultation meeting that day came to nothing again.
After the two question sessions ended, many MPs began to change their thinking.
Everyone has realized that there is still a long way to go before the real settlement of American affairs.
Many members of Congress began to consider that compared to having Monroe, a man of American origin, serve as prime minister, Pitt would be more acceptable.
The key is that no one is willing to take over this mess of American affairs.
Especially when the king is unable to govern and the regent, the Prince of Wales, has no independent opinion.
Since Pete is willing to take the blame, he might as well take the blame for American affairs and solve it together.
As a result, the tendency to remove Pitt slowly decreased after the two consultation meetings.
There was a chance that Pitt's premiership would continue for some time.
Britain needs a strong prime minister now.
