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 too close a call with revolution. And for what? Queen Caroline didn’t lose all her support overnight, but as the coronation drew near there was a noticeable shift in public feeling toward the King.

As to the coronation, the King was moving ahead with his plans, which did not include the Queen. Nobody said a word. And, legally, there was nothing Caroline could do to force His Majesty to include her. The situation had never come up before. That didn’t stop her from planning to crash the party. Now, I’m going to quote rather extensively from one writer on the preparations. It will give the reader a much better idea of what it was like than I could ever hope to do.

“For months past, carpenters and painters, upholsterers and joiners had been hard at work in both Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall. In the Abbey, tiers of crimson cloth-covered benches, boxes and galleries had been ranged beneath the western windows looking down upon the nave. Further seats had been provided in the choir and in the north and south transepts. Boxes for the Royal Family, the Press and foreign Ministers had been built in the sanctuary.

The interior of Westminster Hall, where the coronation banquet was to be held, had been even more drastically transformed. A new wooden floor, covered in blue cloth, had been laid above the stone flags; tiers of seats rose above it against the cloth-draped walls. At one end a Gothic triumphal arch soared towards the gallery where the King’s band was to play. Facing this arch at the far end of the Hall was the dais for the King and the royal dukes.

Between dais and arch, across the whole length of the Hall, were the dining-tables for the privileged and distinguished guests; the backs of the chairs were in the shape of Gothic arches and covered with scarlet cloth. A raised and covered walk, spread with a vivid blue carpet, led from the Abbey to the Hall and was overlooked by decorated stands, seats in which were being offered for sale at prices ranging up to twenty guineas.

At Carlton House the King studied the arrangements, following the precedents for the coronation of King James II but making such alterations and improvements as he considered advisable, “perfectly absorbed in all the petty arrangements.” Visitors were taken to see the coronation robes, on which over 24,000 pounds had been spent, the ermine alone costing 855 pounds. One of these visitors was Count Joseph Boruwlaski, the 2ft 4in tall Polish dwarf, who came to present a copy of his memoirs and who received in exchange a beautiful miniature watch and seals which the King presented to him with the words, “My dear friend, I shall read and preserve this book as long as I live for your sake; and in return, I request you will wear and keep this watch for mine.”

The robes which the dwarf was then taken to see were of an astonishing splendor. The King’s crimson velvet train, ornamented with golden stars, was 27 feet long; his huge black Spanish hat was surmounted by sprays of ostrich feathers and a heron’s plumb.”

Yowza! Parliament had set aside 243,000 pounds for the party. His Highness intended to spend all of it, and then some. At half past ten, July 19th 1821, the King entered Westminster Hall. Said one witness, Benjamin Robert Haydon, “Something rustles, and a being buried in satin, feathers and diamonds rolls gracefully into his seat. The room rises with a sort of feathered, silken thunder. Plumes wave, eyes sparkle, (opera) glasses are out, mouths smile as one man becomes the prime object of attraction to thousands.” His Majesty received mixed reviews of his behavior during the five hour long ceremony. The Duke of Wellington told people that he was close enough to see The King smile, wink and blow little kisses to numerous ladies. Others, who were equally close, swore His Majesty did no such thing.

No one had an opinion of Queen Caroline’s dress or demeanor because she wasn’t there. At least, she wasn’t in the building. She did happen to be outside it, however. Raising quite a fuss at not being allowed to enter.

— Mr. Al