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Coronation of George IV
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Coronation of George IV
The coronation of George IV as king of the United Kingdom took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 19 July 1821. Originally scheduled for 1 August of the previous year, the ceremony had been postponed due to the parliamentary proceedings of George's estranged wife, Queen Caroline; because these failed to deprive Caroline of her titles and obtain a divorce from the King, she was excluded from the ceremony. In accordance with George's lavish personal tastes, the coronation was the most extravagant ever staged and a number of the traditional elements of the ceremonial were conducted for the last time.
George had acceded to the throne on 29 January 1820, on the death of his father, King George III, at Windsor Castle. The late king had been debilitated by illness for most of the previous decade and George had been appointed prince regent in his father's place in 1811. From the start of the Regency, Prince George, already notorious for his numerous mistresses and being an extravagant follower of fashion, declared that he would "quite eclipse Napoleon". Following Britain's victory in the Napoleonic Wars, George purported that he had played a leading role in the downfall of the French emperor. Therefore, the intention was that George would outshine the sumptuous coronation of Napoleon and a tailor was dispatched to Paris to study the emperor's coronation robe.
The ceremony was originally planned for 1 August 1820; however, on 5 June, George's estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, unexpectedly returned to England from the continent to claim her right to be crowned as queen. Despite long-standing rumours of Caroline's immoral lifestyle, she garnered considerable public sympathy, probably due to the King's unpopularity. She also gained the backing of Whig politicians, who formed the opposition to the Tory government, led by Lord Liverpool. At the urging of George, the government introduced a bill of pains and penalties into the House of Lords, "to deprive Her Majesty Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of the title, prerogatives, rights, Privileges, and Exemptions of Queen Consort of this Realm, and to dissolve the Marriage between His Majesty and the said Caroline Amelia Elizabeth" based on Caroline's alleged adultery. These proceedings, which took on something of the nature of a trial, would obviously take some time and so there was a postponement of the coronation until 19 July 1821. In the event, there was insufficient support for the bill which was abandoned in November, so Caroline was simply written-out of the coronation ceremony.
To fund the coronation, the King was able to secure £100,000 from government funds and the rest came from the huge war reparations of 100 million French francs which had been forced on France by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. Preparation and furnishing Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall cost £16,819, £111,810 was spent on jewels and plate, £44,939 on uniforms, robes and costumes, and £25,184 on the banquet. The total cost of the coronation was £238,000, the most expensive ever and more than twenty times the cost of the previous event in 1761.
The organisation of the ceremonial was the responsibility of two of the Great Officers of State; the Lord Great Chamberlain, or in 1821, the Deputy, Lord Gwydyr, was responsible for events in Westminster Hall, while the Earl Marshal was in charge of the non-ecclesiastical proceedings in the abbey. However, since the holder of that hereditary post, the Duke of Norfolk was a Catholic and therefore excluded, he was obliged to appoint a Deputy, his Anglican brother, Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard, to fulfil his role.
Scaffolding was erected in the abbey to seat 4,656 guests, more than three times the number at the previous coronation. Because of the limited space in the old Palace of Westminster, the interior of Westminster Hall had been subdivided by wooden partitions to serve as courtrooms and these all had to be demolished to create the large space required for the coronation banquet, which required galleries for 2,934 spectators and 1,268 diners seated at 47 tables, some of which had to be sited in other parts of the palace. A temporary triumphal arch was erected at the north end of the hall in the style of a medieval castle.
In accordance with the vogue for Romanticism and with his own taste for flamboyant clothes, George insisted that the participants should dress in Tudor and Stuart period costumes. Peers were expected to provide their own clothing and a display of the required styles was staged at the College of Arms in June 1820 for the benefit of their lordships' tailors. The resulting outfits on the day, according to one report, "produced much amusement among the ladies"; but Sir Walter Scott enthused over the "gay and gorgeous and antique dress which floated before the eye". George's personal coronation outfit cost more than £24,000; his 27 feet (8.2 m) red velvet robe was afterwards sold to Madame Tussaud for display in her wax museum.
Although many of the Crown Jewels had been inherited from George's ancestors, he spared no expense in enhancing their magnificence. St Edward's Crown, dating from 1661, was actually only a frame, and most of the jewels had to be hired to be set in it; this cost £375,000 in 1821. The new Coronation Crown of George IV was commissioned at an estimated cost of over £50,000. A crown-like hatband for George's plumed hat, now known as the George IV State Diadem, cost £8,000, while coronets for the royal dukes cost £4,000 and for the princesses, £2,000 each. In contrast, coronets for the extended royal family were produced for £40 each at the next coronation.
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Coronation of George IV
The coronation of George IV as king of the United Kingdom took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 19 July 1821. Originally scheduled for 1 August of the previous year, the ceremony had been postponed due to the parliamentary proceedings of George's estranged wife, Queen Caroline; because these failed to deprive Caroline of her titles and obtain a divorce from the King, she was excluded from the ceremony. In accordance with George's lavish personal tastes, the coronation was the most extravagant ever staged and a number of the traditional elements of the ceremonial were conducted for the last time.
George had acceded to the throne on 29 January 1820, on the death of his father, King George III, at Windsor Castle. The late king had been debilitated by illness for most of the previous decade and George had been appointed prince regent in his father's place in 1811. From the start of the Regency, Prince George, already notorious for his numerous mistresses and being an extravagant follower of fashion, declared that he would "quite eclipse Napoleon". Following Britain's victory in the Napoleonic Wars, George purported that he had played a leading role in the downfall of the French emperor. Therefore, the intention was that George would outshine the sumptuous coronation of Napoleon and a tailor was dispatched to Paris to study the emperor's coronation robe.
The ceremony was originally planned for 1 August 1820; however, on 5 June, George's estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, unexpectedly returned to England from the continent to claim her right to be crowned as queen. Despite long-standing rumours of Caroline's immoral lifestyle, she garnered considerable public sympathy, probably due to the King's unpopularity. She also gained the backing of Whig politicians, who formed the opposition to the Tory government, led by Lord Liverpool. At the urging of George, the government introduced a bill of pains and penalties into the House of Lords, "to deprive Her Majesty Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of the title, prerogatives, rights, Privileges, and Exemptions of Queen Consort of this Realm, and to dissolve the Marriage between His Majesty and the said Caroline Amelia Elizabeth" based on Caroline's alleged adultery. These proceedings, which took on something of the nature of a trial, would obviously take some time and so there was a postponement of the coronation until 19 July 1821. In the event, there was insufficient support for the bill which was abandoned in November, so Caroline was simply written-out of the coronation ceremony.
To fund the coronation, the King was able to secure £100,000 from government funds and the rest came from the huge war reparations of 100 million French francs which had been forced on France by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. Preparation and furnishing Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall cost £16,819, £111,810 was spent on jewels and plate, £44,939 on uniforms, robes and costumes, and £25,184 on the banquet. The total cost of the coronation was £238,000, the most expensive ever and more than twenty times the cost of the previous event in 1761.
The organisation of the ceremonial was the responsibility of two of the Great Officers of State; the Lord Great Chamberlain, or in 1821, the Deputy, Lord Gwydyr, was responsible for events in Westminster Hall, while the Earl Marshal was in charge of the non-ecclesiastical proceedings in the abbey. However, since the holder of that hereditary post, the Duke of Norfolk was a Catholic and therefore excluded, he was obliged to appoint a Deputy, his Anglican brother, Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard, to fulfil his role.
Scaffolding was erected in the abbey to seat 4,656 guests, more than three times the number at the previous coronation. Because of the limited space in the old Palace of Westminster, the interior of Westminster Hall had been subdivided by wooden partitions to serve as courtrooms and these all had to be demolished to create the large space required for the coronation banquet, which required galleries for 2,934 spectators and 1,268 diners seated at 47 tables, some of which had to be sited in other parts of the palace. A temporary triumphal arch was erected at the north end of the hall in the style of a medieval castle.
In accordance with the vogue for Romanticism and with his own taste for flamboyant clothes, George insisted that the participants should dress in Tudor and Stuart period costumes. Peers were expected to provide their own clothing and a display of the required styles was staged at the College of Arms in June 1820 for the benefit of their lordships' tailors. The resulting outfits on the day, according to one report, "produced much amusement among the ladies"; but Sir Walter Scott enthused over the "gay and gorgeous and antique dress which floated before the eye". George's personal coronation outfit cost more than £24,000; his 27 feet (8.2 m) red velvet robe was afterwards sold to Madame Tussaud for display in her wax museum.
Although many of the Crown Jewels had been inherited from George's ancestors, he spared no expense in enhancing their magnificence. St Edward's Crown, dating from 1661, was actually only a frame, and most of the jewels had to be hired to be set in it; this cost £375,000 in 1821. The new Coronation Crown of George IV was commissioned at an estimated cost of over £50,000. A crown-like hatband for George's plumed hat, now known as the George IV State Diadem, cost £8,000, while coronets for the royal dukes cost £4,000 and for the princesses, £2,000 each. In contrast, coronets for the extended royal family were produced for £40 each at the next coronation.
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