The Toxic Royal Marriage of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick

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EDIT: Apologies friends, I made a date fumble in this - when talking about George abandoning Mrs Fitzherbert and taking new mistresses - I said "1590s" and "1595". I meant 1790s and 1795. I do make these slips quite frequently as it is a feature of my dyslexia. I always try to pick it up but unfortunately, sometimes, I don't spot the mistake will note taking, filming or editing (I don't work with anyone on these and it can be hard to spot your own mistakes). I can't promise this won't happen again, but I will keep doing my very best to avoid it.

History is full of examples of types of marriages to avoid… George and Caroline’s is certainly one of them…

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Images (from Wikimedia Commons, unless otherwise stated):

“How to get Un-married, - Ay, there's the Rub!” by and published by John Lewis Marks (published 1820). Held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Caroline of Brunswick when Princess of Wales by Gainsborough Dupont (between c.1795 and c.1796). Held by the Royal Collection.

Portrait of the Prince of Wales (later George IV) by Sir William Beechey R.A. (c.1798). (c) Royal Academy of Arts. Photographer credit: John Hammond.

King George III in coronation robes by Allan Ramsay (c.1765). Held by the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Queen Charlotte with her two Eldest Sons by Allan Ramsay (c.1764). Held by the Royal Collection.

Screenshot of currency converter from: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/c...

Maria Anne Fitzherbert (née Smythe) by Sir Joshua Reynolds (c.1788). Held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Portrait of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey by Thomas Beach (18th century). Held in an unidentified private collection.

Portrait of Princess Charlotte of Wales by Sir Thomas Lawrence (c.1801). Held by the Royal Collection.

(1769–1830) Blue pencil.svg wikidata:Q312096
Title
Portrait of Caroline of Brunswick by Thomas Lawrence (1798). Held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Portrait of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, heiress presumptive of the British crown by George Dawe (c.1817). Held by the Museum of New Zealand.

“The Long and Short of the Tales”, caricature engraving of Queen Caroline and Bartolomeo Pergami by George Cruikshank (1821). Held by the National Portrait Gallery.

“The Peterloo Massacre” by Richard Carlile (1819). Held by Manchester Libraries.

The Trial of Queen Caroline 1820, by Sir George Hayter (before 1871). Held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Coronation of George IV in Westminster Abbey. 19 July 1821, after James Stephanoff (1821). Held by the Royal Collection.

Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by James Lonsdale (c.1820). Held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Portrait of Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham by Thomas Lawrence (c.1801-1802). Held by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Photograph of the exterior or the Royal Pavillion at Brighton, taken by Qmin (2011).

“A voluptuary under the horrors of digestion” by James Gilray, published. by H. Humphrey, 1792 July 2nd. Held by the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division.

The Banqueting Room at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton from John Nash's Views of the Royal Pavilion (1826), archive of the Brighton Pavilion.

George IV in Coronation Robes by Thomas Lawrence (1821). Held by the Royal Collection.

Quoted texts:

E. A. Smith, ODNB entry on Caroline [Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]

Christopher Hibbert, ODNB entry on George IV

Judith Schneid Lewis, ODNB entry on Charlotte Augusta, Princess [Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales]

Martin J. Levy, ODNB entry on Fitzherbert [née Smythe; other married name Weld], Maria Anne


Also consulted, were:

Other relevant entries from The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online.

#History #Georgian #Regency