At short notice, Mary Dowager Marchioness of Downshire and Baroness Sandys, entertained her friend The Prince of Wales (later to be Prince Regent, and then King George IV) for four days at her "long neglected" ancestral home. This involved making hurried arrangements to receive the Prince and retinue and to provide entertainment and hospitality for large numbers of people. The story unfolds in letters exchanged in the days immediately before, during and after, and contemporary press cuttings.