On the night of 4 April 1793, two lovers were planning a secret ceremony in Rome. The wedding of the son of King George III to the daughter of the Earl of Dunmore would not only be concealed, it would also be illegal. Lady Augusta Murray had known Prince Augustus Frederick, later the Duke of Sussex, for only three months but they had fallen deeply in love and were desperate to be married. However, the Royal Marriage Act forbade such a union without the King's permission and Augusta's life was changed forever. From a beautiful socialite she became a social pariah; her children were declared illegitimate and her family was scorned. In Forbidden Wife, Julia Abel Smith uses material from the Royal Archives and the Dunmore family papers to create a compelling biography set in the reigns of King George III and IV against the background of the American and French Revolutions.