'' The trial opened on 1 June 1891. Ticket holders began queuing at 9:30 am, and the court was full half an hour before its 11 am start time. The prince sat on a red leather chair on a raised platform between the judge and the witness box; his appearance was the first time since 1411 that an heir to the throne had appeared involuntarily in court.
The Pall Mall Gazette stated that "the court presented an appearance which, save for the dignity of its own fittings and its rows of learned-looking law books, might have been taken for a theatre at a fashionable matinée", with society ladies watching proceedings with opera glasses or
lorgnettes. The correspondent of
The Manchester Guardian described the opening of the case as being "in the presence of a carefully selected and fashionable assembly", while Clarke later wrote that "the court had a strange appearance. Lord Coleridge had appropriated half of the public gallery, and had given tickets to his friends". Clarke opened the case for the
plaintiff, telling the jury that "It is a simple question, aye or no, did Sir William Gordon-Cumming cheat at cards?" After describing Gordon-Cumming's background and record, he explained the rules of baccarat, which he described as "the most unintelligent mode of losing your own money, or getting somebody else's, I ever heard of". Clarke also outlined Gordon-Cumming's system of placing bets which, he explained, could have been mistaken by the inexperienced players as cheating, rather than a correct method of gambling. After his opening speech, Clarke then questioned Gordon-Cumming and his approach was to show that Gordon-Cumming "was a man of honour who had been sacrificed to save the courtiers". After an adjournment for lunch Gordon-Cumming returned to the witness box, where he was cross-examined by Russell. During the session Russell provided a model of the table used and a photograph of the room, and questioned Gordon-Cumming about the bets where cheating had been suspected. Russell also asked him about why he had signed the document agreeing not to play cards: Gordon-Cumming stated that he had "lost my head ... on that occasion. If I had not lost my head I would not have signed that document". Gordon-Cumming's cross-examination ran into the second day, after which he was then re-examined by Clarke; his time in the witness box lasted until 1 pm.
The Illustrated London News considered that "Gordon-Cumming made an admirable witness ... leaning easily on the rail, his grey-gloved left hand resting easily on the bare right, perfectly dressed, his tones equable, firm, neither over-hurried nor over-deliberate, cool, but not too cool". Gordon-Cumming was replaced in the witness box by the prince. Examined by Clarke, he stated that he had not seen any cheating and was ignorant of the accusations until he was told by Coventry and Williams. After twenty minutes of questions from both Clarke and Russell, the prince was free to depart. As the prince was leaving the witness box, a member of the jury put two questions to Edward: whether the heir had seen "nothing of the alleged malpractices of the plaintiff?" and "What was your Royal Highness's opinion at the time as to the charges made against Sir William Gordon-Cumming?" To the first question the prince replied that he had not, although he explained that "it is not usual for a banker to see anything in dealing cards"; to the second, he stated that "the charges appeared to be so unanimous that it was the proper course—no other course was open to me—than to believe them". In comparison with Gordon-Cumming's performance in the witness box, Edward did not make a strong impression; the reporter for
The New York Times noticed "that the heir apparent was decidedly fidgety, that he kept changing his position, and that he did not seem able to keep his hands still ... Except to those near him, only two or three of his answers were fairly audible throughout the courtroom".
The Daily News agreed, and stated that the impression gained from the prince's performance was unfavourable. The court adjourned for lunch after Edward's examination, after which Clarke called his last witness, Williams. Under Clarke's questioning Williams confirmed that he had seen no actions by Gordon-Cumming that he considered as unfair. After Clarke finished questioning Williams, Asquith cross-examined the soldier for the remainder of the session; after a brief re-examination by Clarke, the day—and the case for the plaintiff—came to an end. The third day began with the opening speech for the defendants, after which Stanley Wilson took the stand for the remainder of the day, and on into the fourth day. Examined by Asquith, Stanley recounted seeing Gordon-Cumming illicitly add counters to his stake twice on the first night and at least twice on the second night, although he could not remember the full details. When cross-examined by Clarke he was not brow-beaten by the lawyer's questions, although Clarke made him appear "brash, conceited and callow". Stanley was replaced in the witness box by Levett;
The Morning Advertiser considered that Levett "felt somewhat uncomfortable" appearing against Gordon-Cumming, and reported that he had "described his position as an 'awkward' one". Despite his discomfort, Levett confirmed that on the first evening he had seen Gordon-Cumming add counters after the hand had finished but before the stake had been paid. He was unsure of other details of the evening's play, and had not witnessed anything on the second night. Edward Lycett Green, described by Havers, Grayson and Shankland as "the emotional force behind the accusations", was next in the witness box. Although he had not played on the first night, Clarke considered Lycett Green a potentially dangerous witness, as he may have held vital evidence. Lycett Green stated that he had seen Gordon-Cumming twice push counters over the chalk line when he should not have done so; he had considered accusing Gordon-Cumming at the time, but decided against it because he "did not like to make a scene before ladies". At points in the examination by Asquith, Lycett Green contradicted the course of events outlined by Stanley Wilson—which Levett had also done—and on one point regarding a question the prince put to Levett; his answer was "highly suspect". Havers, Grayson and Shankland later wrote that "it is remarkable that he, the prime mover in the affair, seemed unable to say anything without qualifying it with some such remark as, 'I don't exactly remember' ... The hedging by the principal accuser certainly weakens the defendants' case". They also thought that "[h]is refusal to remember anything was obviously humbug, a deliberate policy". Lycett Green was followed into the witness box by his wife, and her testimony ran into the following day. Under questioning she confirmed that she had seldom played baccarat before; although she had seen nothing untoward on the first night, she accepted her husband's second-hand version of events as the truth, but did not agree that as a result she had been watching Gordon-Cumming. Although she "gave the most important part of her evidence with clarity and conviction", and had impressed the public and press, according to Havers, Grayson and Shankland, she provided a different series of events to those outlined by other witnesses, although she stated that she thought she had seen Gordon-Cumming illicitly add to his stake. After Mrs Lycett Green had finished her testimony on the fifth day, her place was taken by Mrs Wilson. On examination by Russell, Mrs Wilson stated that she thought she saw Gordon-Cumming cheat twice by adding additional counters to his stake. When Clarke cross-examined her, he asked if anyone had placed a stake of £15. Mrs Wilson stated that only her husband had placed such an amount, but Wilson had not played on either night as he disliked both the game and high-stakes gambling. Havers, Grayson and Shankland consider it "rather shocking really, considering that she had sworn to tell the truth, ... to find her coming out with this ... lie spoken, apparently, with the complete self-assurance that the other members of her family had shown". The final witness called for the defence was Coventry. He was one of the non-playing members of the party who had witnessed no cheating, understood little about gambling and, as a non-soldier, knew nothing of Article 41 of the Queen's Regulations. When cross-examined by Clarke, Coventry confirmed that as far as he was aware, the witnesses had all decided to watch Gordon-Cumming's play on the second night, despite their claims to the contrary. As the defence closed, the
Daily Chronicle considered "the obvious doubts which tainted the accusations of the defendants ... they and the Prince's flunkeys all contradicted each other on material points". Russell's summing up for the defence took the remainder of the day and the court adjourned until the following Monday, when he continued. He referred to a possible thirteen acts of cheating that the defendants were alleged to have seen, and that "we have five persons who believe he cheated, swearing unmistakably they saw him cheat, and telling you how they saw him cheat". Once Russell had completed his speech for the defendants, Clarke gave his reply, which the
Daily Chronicle considered to be "a very brilliant, powerful, wily and courageous effort". Clarke pointed to the many inaccuracies in both the written statement prepared by Coventry and Williams, and in the memories of all concerned. He went on to outline that there had been celebrations at the races—the prince's horse had won on the first day, and the St Leger had been run on the second—combined with the full hospitality of the Wilsons to consider: according to the court reporter for
The Times, Clarke "alluded to the profuse hospitalities of Tranby Croft, not with any idea of suggesting drunkenness, but as indicating that the guests might not be in a state for accurate observation". He also drew the jury's attention to the gaps in the defendants' memories, where they were so precise about some of their observations, but could not remember other, key, details. Clarke lampooned some of the involved parties, referring to Lycett Green as "a
Master of Hounds who hunts four days a week", while Stanley Wilson was a spoiled wastrel from a rich family who lacked initiative and drive. Above all, Clarke indicated, the defendants—with the exception of Stanley Wilson—saw what they had been told to expect: "the eye saw what it expected or sought to see ... there was only one witness who saw Sir William Gordon-Cumming cheat without expecting it—young Mr. [Stanley] Wilson. The others were all told there had been cheating, and expected to see it". At the end of his reply, Clarke's speech was greeted by applause amongst those in the galleries. The British lawyer
Heber Hart later wrote that Clarke's speech was "probably the most conspicuous example of the moral courage and independence of the Bar that has occurred in modern times", while Clarke considered it to be "one of the best speeches I ever made." The following day, 9 June, Coleridge began his four-hour summing up. His summary was a response to Clarke's, and he went through on a point-by-point basis to discredit the solicitor general's speech, although in places his description "was directly contrary to the evidence". Tomes relates that "many opined that the judge's summing-up had been unacceptably biased"; Havers, Grayson and Shankland call Coleridge's speech "biased", while
The National Observer considered it "a melancholy and flagrant violation of the best traditions of the English bench." Some sections of the press, however, were more sympathetic;
The Pall Mall Gazette thought the summing up to be justified, while
The Daily Telegraph thought Coleridge's summary to have been "nobly comprehensive and eloquent ... he fulfilled his duty perfectly, displaying nothing but impartial desire for the truth". The jury deliberated for only thirteen minutes before finding in favour of the defendants; their decision was greeted by prolonged hissing from some members of the galleries. According to the historian
Christopher Hibbert "the demonstrations in court were an accurate reflection of the feelings of the people outside". The historian
Philip Magnus-Allcroft later wrote that "a storm of obloquy broke over the head of the Prince of Wales. It would be difficult to exaggerate the momentary unpopularity of the Prince", and he was booed at
Ascot that month. ==Aftermath==