Biography

Olivia Serres (April 3 1772- November 21 1834) was a writer and painter; however, she was mainly known for her exploits as an English impostor. Serres was born in Warwick, and lived there for several years with her uncle, but eventually moved back to London to rejoin her father. From a young age, Serres demonstrated talents in both painting and writing, and began to pursue both fields. Serres had several paintings shown in both the Royal Academy of Arts and the British Institution, and published several romance novels, poems and plays. Even at this early point in her life, she already demonstrated a desire to be above her social station, sending letters to members of the royal family in hopes they would respond. This would foreshadow the events later in her life. 

While working as an artist, she met her husband, John Serres, who was her drawing master. The two married in 1791; the marriage was a happy one in the early years, and they had two children (Jan Bondesson 164). However, the couple eventually divorced due to Olivia’s financial recklessness, as she wanted items of luxury that made her appear of a higher social class, such as fine curtains and clothing. Olivia had gone to tradespeople and taken things out on credit on John’s name, and forged his signature for other payments. When confronted, Olivia said she was disgusted by the lack of money she was given by her husband, as she was given £200 per year. The amount of debt Olivia had accrued made them both go to debtor’s prison, where they would remain in and out of for the rest of their lives (Bondesson 164).

When the two separated in 1804, Olive stole away some of her husband’s paintings, along with their children. A few months after, John realized Olivia was also unfaithful, as she had an illegitimate son with George Fields, a man who had lived with the family some time before the separation (Bondesson 165).

After Olivia got out of prison, she supported herself by painting landscapes and writing  romance novels and other literary works, such as St Julian (1805), Flights of Fancy: Poems (1806), and an opera, The Castle of Avola (1805). In 1813, Olivia pivoted from her typical writing and wrote The Life of the Author of the Letters of Junius, the Rev. James Wilmot, which claimed that her uncle wrote the series of letters, which criticized George III, along with his government. The public got their first taste of Olivia and her stubbornness in the Gentleman’s Magazine, where she fiercely defended her claims of her uncle being Junius against people who disagreed with her (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).

In 1817, Olivia began her debut as Olive, Princess of Cumberland. In a petition to George III, she put forward a claim to be the natural daughter of Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, the king's brother, and in 1820, after the death of George III, claimed to be the Duke's legitimate daughter. A few years later, she rebaptized herself as such, though there are mixed accounts as to whether she managed to do so. Olive also appeared in newspapers where she sent in her claims, and put up posters all throughout London. In 1822, she wrote a book, The Princess of Cumberland's Statement to the English Nation, As to Her Application to Ministers: With the Letters Addressed to the Duke of York, which included evidence of her claims, such as birth certificates and letters. Olive generated lots of gossip in the papers, which was mainly negative. One example of this is once again in the Morning Herald; some papers, however, such as the Luminary, believed that Serres was telling the truth (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).

Besides keeping up appearances in letters, she also strived to keep up appearances in person. During this time, she was described as haughty, dignified and well dressed. Often, she was accompanied by a much younger man. Olive also had servants; when she crossed Constitution Way, a gate reserved for only royalty, she was in a carriage with “royal arms emblazoned on the door panels, her servants wearing elegant green-and-gold liveries (Bondeson 166). However, Olive did not have the funds to keep up appearances for long; she went into prison for debt again in 1821.

Olive tried to appeal to the public to raise money to help release her, having posters posted throughout London, which said that the late king had supposedly promised her 15000£. Despite having applied to the court to give her that sum, she had yet to see a single penny, and was thus left to ask the public. We can guess that members of the public had sympathy, as she raised some money to be let out of prison. In 1822, Olive wrote her first pamphlet regarding her claims, The Princess of Cumberland's Statement to the English Nation, as to Her Application to Ministers: With the Letters Addressed to the Duke of York. The pamphlet included certificates of her royal parent’s marriage, and certificates of her birth, along with how she found out her royal lineage. However, the pamphlet failed to impress the public. 

At some point during 1820 to 1825, Olive had an affair with Sheriff Parkins, another well known eccentric in London. However, the relationship fell apart when Olive refused to give money that she owed to Parkins. After their relationship fell apart, Parkins contacted Serres, Olive’s former husband, and this only fueled his dislike of her. What also added fuel to the fire was that after Olive’s relationship with Parkins, Olive fell into a relationship with William FitzClarence, a younger man who was supposedly an illegitimate son of the Duke of Clarence (Bondesson 168). Parkins may have seen Serres as a mirror of what could have happened to him if he allowed Olive to keep borrowing money, and he made his dislike of Olive clear in letters in papers. Both Serres and Parkins agreed that Olive needed to be stopped; the opportunity came for Parkins when the court was looking for someone who would find evidence against Olive’s claims, as she was looking to go to court to finally be recognised as royal blood.

Olive had managed to convince Sir Gerald Noel, a member of Parliament, that her case was worth looking into, and thus was able to have a court case. While Noel delivered a powerful speech in her favor, evidence was stacked against her. Through the help of Parkins , the court found numerous documents that proved Olive as a fraud (Bondesson 169). One of these documents was a  birth certificate and a document signed by Robert Wilmot saying that he was her natural father; another part of the evidence was a man who testified that he had provided her autographs of men she forged documents from in her book of evidence of being royal. Finally, Parkins sent a letter asking Princess Pontiatowski whether her sisters had ever been to England, as Olive claimed that one of her sisters was her mother. Pontiatowski replied that they had never stepped foot in England, and the case was closed, declared as full of fabrications, with Serres openly mocked and laughed at throughout the case. 

While the court declared the case as completely made up, it was clear from court and accounts of her that she believed her claims completely, despite the minimal evidence. One account says that from a young age, Olive was described to have an inclination to create fanciful stories. When robbers had attempted to steal from her house, she declared that an entire gang of burglars cornered her in her bed, and she leaped out through her window dressed only in her petticoats. When she got out, she ran through the snow to get help. Besides creating fanciful stories, she also continued to have an obsession with fame, even in adult life; this is shown in an example where she had told Serres that she had an affair with the Duke of Cambridge. Olive continued to be a subject of mockery in both newspapers and books, such as The Satire.

Serres published the last pamphlets about her claims in 1830, but her fame was coming to an end, and by the end of her life, she relied on money that the rich would give to see her as a curiosity. However, she did make some friends that had connections to royal blood, such as Lady Ann Hamilton. Serres died in King’s Bench Prison for debt in 1834. Her daughter, Lavinia, would also attempt to go to court in an attempt for her supposed royal blood to be recognised, but the case ran into similar difficulties as her mother had, and she died with her royal claims unrecognised.

Works Cited

Bondeson, Jan. The Great Pretenders: The True Stories Behind Famous Historical Mysteries. W.W. Norton, 2004, Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/greatpretenderst00bond/page/170/mode/2up?q=serres.

Cumberland, Olive. "PRINCESS OLIVE OF CUMBERLAND." Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, no. 72, 13 July 1823, p. 573. Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals, link-gale-com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/apps/doc/DX1900331976/GDCS?u=sfu_z39&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=3e3c8e94.

"Documents." Westmorland Gazette, 22 June 1822, p. 4. British Library Newspapers, link-gale-com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/apps/doc/IG3222841639/GDCS?u=sfu_z39&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=dbaf0116.

“The Captive Princess.” The Leeds Mercury, 20 Oct. 1821, p. 2, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/389116561/.

“The Princess of Cumberland.” The Luminary, 1 July 1821, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002379/18210701/015/0005.

“Domestic Occurences.” Gentleman's Magazine, 10 Oct. 1821, p. 396, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435054261292&view=1up&seq=396&skin=2021&q1=Princess%20Cumberland.

“Olivia Styling Herself Princess of Cumberland.” Oxford University and City Herald, 21 June 1823, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000991/18230621/006/0002.

Parkins, J. W. “To The Editor of The Morning Herald.” Morning Herald, 14 Nov. 1821, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002408/18211114/025/0003.

"'PRINCESS OLIVE' OF CUMBERLAND." Newcastle Courant [1803], 15 June 1866. British Library Newspapers, link-gale-com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/apps/doc/Y3206617300/GDCS?u=sfu_z39&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=5037490f. Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.

Reynolds, John Hamilton. The press: or, Literary chit-chat: a satire. Printed for Lupton Relfe, 1822. Nineteenth Century Collections Online, link.gale.com/apps/doc/LFJUXV938531285/GDCS?u=sfu_z39&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=10fd1975&pg=50.

Reynolds, K. D. "Serres [née Wilmot], Olivia [alias Princess Olive of Cumberland] (1772–1835), royal impostor." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.  23. Oxford University Press. Date of access 16 Oct. 2021, <https://www-oxforddnb-com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-25106>

“Review of New Publications.” Gentleman's Magazine, Aug. 1821, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hw29gj&view=1up&seq=176&skin=2021&q1=Olivia%2