Categotry Archives: History
By George! He’s Incensed!
.George IV’s taste in women wasn’t the only place in which he displayed dubious judgment. . Mr Canning was well pleased with the services he was able to render on behalf of His Majesty. The King had been deeply upset over the loss of Lord Liverpool; Canning’s willingness to accommodate the Crown on a number of issues important to the King personally went a long way in easing His Majesties mind. One letter from Canning to the King illustrates this […]
By George! Heavy Weighs the Crown in Turbulent Times
In the later years of his life, George IV may have partied a little less hardy, but he still had an interest in some of his old pursuits. It was very unfortunate that His Majesty seemed to be losing his grip when he did, although it must be said that he never lost it as completely as did his father. Demand for reforms had been growing since the days of his Regency. Catholic emancipation was on the front burner, in […]
By George! It Runs In the Family
Over the last several months we have watched King George IV grow from childhood to adult through Mr. Al’s eyes. What a sorry site. An interesting aspect of the King’s insistance on a highly regimented home life was that he himself was bored silly by it He complained often of his boredom. He confided to close friends that he feared the boredom of his domestic arrangements were driving Lady Conyngham to distraction, if not out of his house altogether. In […]
By George! The King Drifts Along
Having lost one handler and gone on to another, King George IV lived… much as he had before. Things certainly did not improve after Canning took office. The King took great pleasure in slighting Canning at every opportunity. Not to be wondered at, really, since Canning was opposed to nearly everything His Majesty wanted to do. The King’s foreign policy was, in essence, simple. The crowned heads of Europe should be united in their opposition to anything and everything democratic. […]
By George! Who Leads the King Now?
Last week George IV went off to Scotland at Lord Castlereagh’s suggestion for a royal vacation. When George returned, the man was dead. It would seem that Castlereagh’s suicide was not entirely a surprise. Before the King left for Scotland he had had several talks with Lord Liverpool about Castlereagh’s behavior. In one conversation he stated that “either I am mad or Lord Castlereagh is mad.” The Duke of Wellington expressed concern, Castlereagh’s brother, Lord Stewart, “had never seen a […]
By George! How to Visit Scotland
George IV became king when he was already older, and set in his ways. The difference from his Regency? Not much. . . If His Majesties problems with his Cabinet were annoying, at least they were predictable. There was something equally predictable regarding His Majesty, although he would never admit it. He easily grew bored with his girlfriends. Yes, Lady Conyngham was on her way out and she was most distraught over the situation. This made little difference to the […]
By George! He’s the Consummate Host
For the last several weeks we have been looking at a straight progression of events and George IV grows into the crown. Now, with the crown firmly on his head, and his wife firmly out of the picture, what does he do? Let’s pause to take a look. While His Majesties political life was less than satisfactory, he could take some measure of satisfaction in the fact that people who did not live in England liked him. As we have […]
By George! The Power Behind the Throne
George IV celebrated the death of his wife, Queen Caroline. What kind of mischief could he get into? At least His Majesty could take some measure of solace in the arms of a new girlfriend. He still had his old girlfriend, Lady Hurtford, but that was getting a bit stale. What with his detested wife dead and all, time for something new. Lady Conyngham was the something new. She was “a fat, kindly, religious, rich and rapacious woman of fifty-two.” […]
By George! Where Queen Caroline Ended Up
George IV might not have been able to divorce his queen, but he could still cut her out of his life. Including his coronation. Queen Caroline had spent several weeks getting ready to attend the coronation. She had even sent a letter to her husband, asking him what she should wear. Rather cheeky, that. It was returned, unopened, “in uniformity with a resolution adopted more than twenty years ago, and since invariably adhered to by the King.” Lord Liverpool assured […]
By George! How to Become King
If you know anything about George IV, you know he can’t let a little thing like his own coronation go by without a celebration. In the end the King never did receive the divorce he so ardently sought, but the Queen never officially became queen, either. And Caroline was going to discover that Wilberforce was correct, a mob was a fickle thing indeed. Once they lost interest… After the trial, the public mood began to change. For many, it was […]
By George! The Lords Are… Determined?
At this point in Mr. Al’s narrative George IV has become king, but has not yet become coronated. When he began his divorce proceedings it was his desperate hope to be rid of Princess Caroline as quickly and conveniently as possible. On August 17, 1820, the House of Lords began it’s inquiry. The Queen moved to a house in St. James Square, to be close at hand. She spent so much time at a front window, waving and bowing to […]
By George! She’s Come Home To Roost.
George IV made himself quite ill over how to rid himself of his wife, Queen Caroline. If he couldn’t do it before his father died, while she was merely a princess, how can he do it once she was queen? In June, 1820, Queen Caroline decided to return to England. It was not a sudden decision, but once she made up her mind to do so, nothing could stop her. Her demand for a royal yacht to pick her up […]
By George! He Will Have Her Head.
When Princess Charlotte died, her mother, Princess Caroline, was off toodling around in Europe while being watched by an eager to dislodge husband, George IV. It’s hard to imagine that Princess Caroline did not know about all the people following her. What is really amazing is that she didn’t seem to care what her behavior was doing to her reputation. Said one historian; “For months past the Regent had been closely following his wife’s wild progress with intentness and disgust. […]
By George! What a Ride.
While George IV’s daughter, Charlotte, struggled with her father over whom to marry, her mother was off gallivanting around Europe. But how much trouble could a wayward princess get into? And what of Princess Caroline? When we last saw her she was skipping the country, much to Charlotte’s annoyance, while Charlotte was the unwilling guest at Cranborne Lodge. It was this act that convinced Charlotte that she had been truly abandoned to her fate. It also gave Charlotte the plan […]
By George! Who Can Provide?
When Prince Goerge IV’s only children died, England turned to his siblings for a new heir. There were certainly plenty to chose from, but who could produce? The duke of Kent was in the same boat as his brother, wife-wise. He needed to marry, but unlike the Duke of Clarence he was in no hurry to put aside his mistress, Mme de St Laurent. He considered himself so far down the list of heirs to the throne that perhaps no […]
