157-664: George Bryan " Beau " Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England , and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV , but after the two quarrelled and Brummell got into debt, he had to take refuge in France. Eventually, he died from complications of neurosyphilis in Caen . Brummell
314-596: A heavyweight always had a natural advantage over smaller fighters. Even so, the first British champion of the Regency era was Daniel Mendoza , a middleweight who had successfully claimed the vacant title in 1792. He held it until he was defeated by the heavyweight Gentleman John Jackson in April 1795. Other Regency era champions were famous fighters like Jem Belcher , Hen Pearce , John Gully , Tom Cribb , Tom Spring , Jem Ward and James Burke . Gully went on to become
471-511: A rhododendron hybridised by Lionel de Rothschild was named after the dandy. In 1928, there were several Beau Brummel styles from the Illinois Watch Company and in 1948, LeCoultre marketed a Beau Brummel watch with a minimalist design and no numbers. In 2016, a men's skincare and shaving company launched using the name Beau Brummell for Men . T. S. Eliot 's poem about "Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town" refers to him as
628-537: A 10-minute film by the Vitagraph Company of America (1913), based on a Booth Tarkington story, and Beau Brummell and his Bride , a short comedy made by the Edison Company in the same year. In 1937, there was a radio drama on Lux Radio Theater with Robert Montgomery as Brummell. A further film, Beau Brummell , was made in 1954 with Stewart Granger playing the title role, Peter Ustinov as
785-632: A Glass of Brandy ", followed by a large dose of laudanum. Writing to Maria Fitzherbert in June, the King's doctor, Sir Henry Halford , noted "His Majesty's constitution is a gigantic one, and his elasticity under the most severe pressure exceeds what I have ever witnessed in thirty-eight years' experience." Though George had been under Halford's care since the time of the Regency, the doctor's social ambitions and perceived lack of competence were strongly criticised, with The Lancet labelling Halford's bulletins on
942-838: A bad harvest in 1816 (the " Year Without a Summer "), and an ongoing population boom . Political response to the crisis included the Corn Laws , the Peterloo Massacre , and the Representation of the People Act 1832 . Led by William Wilberforce , there was increasing support for the abolitionist cause during the Regency era, culminating in passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 . The longer timespan recognises
1099-427: A bottle to politics and a sermon". The Regency period saw a shift in fashion that was largely determined by George. After political opponents put a tax on wig powder , he abandoned wearing a powdered wig in favour of natural hair. He wore darker colours than had been previously fashionable as they helped to disguise his size, favoured pantaloons and trousers over knee breeches because they were looser, and popularised
1256-499: A chair, and doctors frequently tapped his abdomen in order to drain excess fluid. Despite his obvious decline, George was admired for clinging doggedly to life. His will to live and still-prodigious appetite astonished observers; in April 1830, the Duke of Wellington wrote that the King had consumed for breakfast "a Pidgeon and Beef Steak Pye ... Three parts of a bottle of Mozelle , a Glass of Dry Champagne, two Glasses of Port [and]
1413-433: A coat. Brummell examined his Grace with the cool impertinence which was his Grace's due. He turned him about, scanned him with scrutinizing, contemptuous eye, and then taking the lapel between his dainty finger and thumb, he exclaimed in a tone of pitying wonder, "Bedford, do you call this thing a coat?" His personal habits, such as a fastidious attention to cleaning his teeth, shaving, and daily bathing exerted an influence on
1570-523: A contingency, the Act provided for his mother, Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales , to be appointed regent and discharge most but not all royal functions. In 1761, George III married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and over the following years they had 15 children (nine sons and six daughters). The eldest was Prince George , born on 12 August 1762 as heir apparent. He was named Prince of Wales soon after his birth. By 1765, three infant children led
1727-469: A craftsman was £52. Additionally, he claimed that he took five hours a day to dress and recommended that boots be polished with champagne. This preoccupation with dress, coupled with a nonchalant display of wit, was referred to as dandyism . Brummell put into practice the principles of harmony of shape and contrast of colours with such a pleasing result that men of superior rank sought his opinion on their own dress: The Duke of Bedford once did this touching
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#17327718830571884-455: A dispute arose over the custody of Princess Charlotte, which led to her being placed in the care of the King. It also led to a Parliamentary Commission of Enquiry into Princess Caroline's conduct after her husband accused her of having an illegitimate son. The investigation cleared Caroline of the charge but still revealed her behaviour to have been extraordinarily indiscreet. In late 1810, the King's mental health once again broke down, following
2041-667: A far smaller role than his father. The principle that the prime minister was the person supported by a majority in the House of Commons, whether the King personally favoured him or not, became established. His governments, with little help from the Regent, presided over British policy. One of the most important political conflicts facing the country concerned Catholic emancipation , the movement to relieve Roman Catholics of various political disabilities. The Tories, led by Prime Minister Spencer Perceval , were opposed to Catholic emancipation, while
2198-438: A former suitor of Harriette Wilson 's friend Julia. "In short," she wrote, "his maxims on dress were excellent. Besides this, he was neither uneducated nor deficient. He possessed also a sort of quaint, dry humour, not amounting to anything like wit; indeed, he said nothing which would bear repetition; but his affected manners and little absurdities amused for the moment. Then it became the fashion to court Brummell's society, which
2355-539: A friend that he had a son who was a naval officer in the West Indies, whose identity has been tentatively established as Captain Henry A. F. Hervey (1786–1824), reportedly George's child by the songwriter Lady Anne Lindsay (later Barnard), a daughter of James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres . Other reported children include Major George Seymour Crole, the son of theatre manager's daughter Eliza Crole; William Hampshire,
2512-550: A glimpse of Brummell." He was referring to two examples of the fashionable or silver fork novel , of which more than a thousand were to be written over the next two decades. Brummell's character also served as foundation for depiction of fictional dandies. One such is the character Trebeck in Thomas Henry Lister 's Granby (1826), who abandons dandyism when he discovers a waistcoat of his devising worn by "a natty apprentice". In Bulwer Lytton 's 1828 novel Pelham ,
2669-469: A grant of £60,000 (equivalent to £9,124,000 today ) from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 (equivalent to £7,603,000 today ) from his father. It was far too little for his wants—his stables alone cost £31,000 a year. He then established his residence in Carlton House , where he lived a profligate life. Animosity developed between the prince and his father, who desired more frugal behaviour on
2826-411: A great preponderance of good—that I ever saw in any character in my life." Upon George's death, The Times captured elite opinion succinctly: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king. What eye has wept for him? What heart has heaved one throb of unmercenary sorrow? ... If he ever had a friend—a devoted friend in any rank of life—we protest that
2983-482: A high collar with neck cloth because it hid his double chin. His visit to Scotland in 1822 led to the revival, if not the creation, of Scottish tartan dress as it is known today. During the political crisis caused by Catholic emancipation, the Duke of Wellington said that George was "the worst man he ever fell in with his whole life, the most selfish, the most false, the most ill-natured, the most entirely without one redeeming quality". However, his eulogy delivered in
3140-465: A house on Chesterfield Street in Mayfair and, for a time, managed to avoid the nightly gaming and other extravagances frequent in such elevated circles. Where he refused to economise was on his dress: when asked how much it would cost to keep a single man in clothes, he was said to have replied: "Why, with tolerable economy, I think it might be done with £800", at a time when the average annual wage for
3297-416: A jazz-style dance band that toured between 1924 and 1935. During the 1960s, there were the rock bands such as The Beau Brummels from San Francisco and Beau Brummell Esquire and His Noble Men, the name used by South African born Michael Bush for his English group. Regency England The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between c. 1795 and 1837, although
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#17327718830573454-532: A lady's rank, she may be expected to be proficient in reading and writing, mathematics, dancing, music, sewing, and embroidery. In Pride and Prejudice , the Bennet sisters are frequently out walking and it is at a ball where Elizabeth meets Mr Darcy . There was a contemporary belief that people had limited energy levels with women, as the "weaker sex", being most at risk of over-exertion because their menstruation cycles caused periodic energy reductions. One of
3611-425: A lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules ( for Scotland ); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent ( for Ireland ); overall an escutcheon tierced in pall reversed (for Hanover), I Gules two lions passant guardant Or (for Brunswick), II Or a semy of hearts Gules a lion rampant Azure (for Lüneburg), III Gules a horse courant Argent ( for Westphalia ), overall an inescutcheon Gules charged with
3768-469: A more positive direction, thereby leaving him with the pursuit of pleasure as his only outlet, as well as his sole form of rebellion against what he saw as disapproval and censure in the form of his father. In the 1810s, the Prince Regent proposed the conversion of Crown land in Marylebone and St Pancras into a pleasure garden. The design work was initially assigned to the architect John Nash but it
3925-503: A no-holds-barred pastime with an unlimited number of players on opposing teams which might comprise whole parishes or villages. The playing area was an undefined stretch of land between the two places. The ball , as such, was often a pig's bladder that had been inflated and the object of the exercise was to move the ball by any means possible to a distant target such as a church in the opposing village. The contests were typically arranged to take place on feast days like Shrove Tuesday . By
4082-478: A notorious example being St Giles in London. These were places where alcoholism, gambling, prostitution, thievery and violence prevailed. The population boom, comprising an increase from just under a million in 1801 to one and a quarter million by 1820, heightened the crisis. Robert Southey drew a comparison between the squalor of the slums and the glamour of the Regent's circle: The squalor that existed beneath
4239-470: A patron, influencing fashion and courted by a large segment of society. In 1816, Brummell, owing thousands of pounds, fled to France to escape debtor's prison . Some sources liberally estimate he owed up to £600,000 at the time. Usually, Brummell's gambling obligations, being "debts of honour", were paid immediately. The one exception to that was his final wager, dated March 1815 in White's betting book, which
4396-478: A recovery. In 1812, when it appeared highly unlikely that the King would recover, the Prince Regent again failed to appoint a new Whig administration. Instead, he asked the Whigs to join the existing ministry under Perceval. The Whigs, however, refused to co-operate because of disagreements over Catholic emancipation. Grudgingly, Prince George allowed Perceval to continue as prime minister. On 11 May 1812, Perceval
4553-597: A regency. In the House of Commons, Charles James Fox declared his opinion that Prince George was automatically entitled to exercise sovereignty during the King's incapacity. A contrasting opinion was held by the prime minister, William Pitt the Younger , who argued that, in the absence of a statute to the contrary, the right to choose a regent belonged to Parliament alone. He even stated that, without parliamentary authority "the Prince of Wales had no more right ... to assume
4710-540: A rental dispute and the club took temporary lease of a second ground in St John's Wood . This was in use for only three seasons until the land was requisitioned because it was on the proposed route of the Regent's Canal . MCC moved to a nearby site on which they established their present ground. Lord Byron played for Harrow School in the first Eton v Harrow match at Lord's in 1805. The match became an annual event in
4867-455: A senior aide to the King confided to his diary: "A more contemptible, cowardly, selfish, unfeeling dog does not exist ... There have been good and wise kings but not many of them ... and this I believe to be one of the worst." By December 1828, like his father, George was almost completely blind from cataracts , and had such severe gout in his right hand and arm that he could no longer sign documents. In mid-1829, David Wilkie reported
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5024-615: A set of satirical aphorisms purporting to be yet more Brummelliana. Further fictitious aphorisms were published in France by Honoré de Balzac in the course of a series of articles published under the title Traité de la vie élégante (1830). These sayings were supposed to have arisen during an interview with Brummell in Boulogne, rather than Calais, and epitomise his view of "the elegant life". Brummell appears at length in The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, Written by Herself, (1825) as
5181-482: A stillborn son. George III's second son, Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, had died childless in 1827, so the throne passed to the third son of George III, William, Duke of Clarence, who reigned as William IV . George was described as the "First Gentleman of England" on account of his style and manners. He was bright, clever, and knowledgeable, but his laziness and gluttony led him to squander much of his talent. The Times wrote that he would always prefer "a girl and
5338-536: A successful racehorse owner and, representing the Pontefract constituency , a Member of the first post-Reform Parliament from December 1832 to July 1837. Cribb was the first fighter to be acclaimed world champion after he twice defeated the American Tom Molineaux in 1811. Marylebone Cricket Club , widely known as MCC, was founded in 1787 and became cricket 's governing body. In 1788,
5495-531: A time and got the younger William a clerical position at the Treasury , which led to his successful career. The family had achieved middle class status, but William Brummell was ambitious for his son George to become a gentleman, and he was raised with that understanding. It was suggested (possibly by the Brummells) that William Brummell was an illegitimate descendant of Frederick, Prince of Wales . Brummell
5652-401: A time of refinement and culture, that was the preserve of the wealthy few, especially those in the Prince Regent's own social circle. For the masses, poverty was rampant as population began to concentrate due to industrial labour migration. City dwellers lived in increasingly larger slums , a state of affairs severely aggravated by the combined impact of war, economic collapse, mass unemployment,
5809-737: A time when neither party wished to share power with the other. Possibly using the failure of the two peers as a pretext, George immediately reappointed the Perceval administration, with Lord Liverpool as prime minister. The Tories, unlike Whigs such as Lord Grey , sought to continue the vigorous prosecution of the war in Continental Europe against the powerful and aggressive Emperor of the French, Napoleon I . An anti-French alliance, which included Russia, Prussia , Austria, Britain and several smaller countries, defeated Napoleon in 1814. In
5966-465: A trial in a court of law. The bill would have annulled the marriage and stripped Caroline of the title of queen. The bill proved extremely unpopular with the public, and was withdrawn from Parliament. George decided, nonetheless, to exclude his wife from his coronation at Westminster Abbey , on 19 July 1821. Caroline fell ill that day and died on 7 August; during her final illness she often stated that she thought she had been poisoned. George's coronation
6123-511: Is also referred to, or figures as a minor character, in the work of later writers of this genre. More recently, Brummell was made the detective-hero of a series of period mysteries by Californian novelist Rosemary Stevens, starting with Death on a Silver Tray in 2000. These are written as if related by their hero. Yet another American reinterpretation of his character appears in Cecilia Ryan's homoerotic novella The Sartorialist (2012). In
6280-550: Is inscribed with his own words: "to be truly elegant, one should not be noticed." On the other side of Piccadilly , a blue plaque has marked Brummell's former home in Chesterfield Street since 1984, while in 2013, another plaque commemorated his name as a member of the hunting and dining club in Melton Mowbray . In literature, Brummell has been more extensively portrayed. Scarcely had he left England than he
6437-445: Is said to have once terrified a master there by asserting that he thought cricket was "foolish". He did, however, play a single first-class match for Hampshire at Lord's Old Ground in 1807 against an early all- England cricket team. Brummell made scores of 23 and 3 on that occasion, leaving him with a career batting average of 13.00. Brummell's wealthier friends influenced him; he began spending and gambling as though his fortune
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6594-412: Is the world's oldest running club. The school organised paper chase races in which the hounds followed a trail of paper shreds left by two "foxes". The oldest running race of the modern era is Shrewsbury's Annual Steeplechase (cross-country), first definitely recorded in 1834. The following is a list of places associated with the Regency era: For more names see Newman (1997). George IV of
6751-597: The ton —the upper echelons of polite society—who began to do likewise. Enthralled, the Prince would spend hours in Brummell's dressing room, witnessing the progress of his friend's lengthy morning toilette. In June 1811 he was one of the guests at the Carlton House Fête held to celebrate the beginning of the Regency era . While studying at Eton, Brummell played for the school's first eleven , although he
6908-528: The Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act 1811 , commonly known as the Regency Act 1811 . The King was suspended from his duties as head of state and the Prince of Wales assumed office as Prince Regent on 5 February 1811. At first, Parliament restricted some of the Regent's powers, but the constraints expired one year after the passage of the Act. The Regency ended when George III died on 29 January 1820 and
7065-572: The City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden . Following the death of Raffles soon afterwards, the 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne assumed responsibility for the project and supervised construction of the first animal houses. At first, the zoo was used for scientific purposes only with admittance restricted to Fellows of the ZSL which, in 1829, was granted a Royal charter by George IV. The zoo
7222-457: The House of Lords called George "the most accomplished man of his age" and praised his knowledge and talent. Wellington's true feelings were probably somewhere between these two extremes; as he said later, George was "a magnificent patron of the arts ... the most extraordinary compound of talent, wit, buffoonery, obstinacy, and good feeling—in short a medley of the most opposite qualities, with
7379-511: The Prince of Wales , and Elizabeth Taylor as Lady Patricia Belham. There were also two television dramas: the sixty-minute German So war Herr Brummell (Süddeutscher Rundfunk, 1967) and the UK's Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006). In 1931, there was a French three-act operetta , Brummell , composed by Reynaldo Hahn to a libretto by Rip and Robert Dieudonné. This featured Brummell as
7536-772: The River Thames in London. In sailing, the first Cowes Week regatta was held on the Solent in August 1826. Track and field competitions in the modern sense were first recorded in the early 19th century. They are known to have been held by schools, colleges, army and navy bases, social clubs and the like, often as a challenge to a rival establishment. In the public schools, athletics competitions were conceived as human equivalents of horse racing or fox hunting with runners known as "hounds" and named as if they were racehorses. The Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt , established in 1819,
7693-796: The Royal Academy . The National Gallery was established in London in 1824. The plays of William Shakespeare were very popular throughout the period. The performers wore modern dress, however, rather than 16th-century costumes. London had three patent theatres at Covent Garden , Drury Lane and the Haymarket . Other prominent theatres were the Theatre Royal, Bath and the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin . The playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan controlled
7850-567: The Theatre Royal, Birmingham in November 1928, Elgar himself conducted the orchestra on its first night. With the exception of the minuet, Elgar's orchestral score subsequently disappeared and the manuscript has never been located. Brummell's later years were the setting for Ron Hutchinson's 2001 two-character play The Beau (originally Beau Brummell ), which, following a UK national tour, played for one month at Theatre Royal Haymarket, starring Peter Bowles as Brummell. Earlier movies included
8007-624: The Victorian era (1837–1901). The latter term had contemporaneous usage although some historians give it an earlier startpoint, typically the enactment of the Great Reform Act on 7 June 1832. The Prince Regent himself was one of the leading patrons of the arts and architecture . He ordered the costly building and refurbishing of the exotic Brighton Pavilion , the ornate Carlton House , and many other public works and architecture. This all required considerable expense which neither
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#17327718830578164-472: The page 's shoulder ... I was up the stairs in five minutes, and he died but eight minutes afterwards." Other accounts state the King placed his hands on his stomach and said "Surely, this must be death", or that he called out "Good God, what is this?", clasped his page's hand, and said "my boy, this is death". George died at 3:15 a.m. An autopsy conducted by his physicians revealed George had died from upper gastrointestinal bleeding resulting from
8321-466: The rupture of a blood vessel in his stomach . A large tumour "the size of an orange" was found attached to his bladder; his heart was enlarged, had heavily calcified valves and was surrounded by a large fat deposit. The King was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle , on 15 July. George's only legitimate child, Charlotte, had died from post-partum complications in 1817, after delivering
8478-606: The "Brummell of Cats", an allusion taken up in Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Cats , the 1981 musical based on Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939). Other allusions to Brummell appear in the lyrics of such songs as "All I Need Is The Girl" from the 1959 musical Gypsy , "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" from the musical Annie (1977), and Billy Joel 's 1980 hit " It's Still Rock and Roll to Me ". Various bands also adopted Brummell's name, beginning with Zack Whyte and His Chocolate Beau Brummels,
8635-530: The Act of Parliament that instituted the regency, the prince's formal title as regent was "Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". George's coat of arms as the Prince of Wales was the royal arms (with an inescutcheon of Gules plain in the Hanoverian quarter ), differenced by a label of three points Argent . The arms included the royal crest and supporters but with
8792-471: The Drury Lane Theatre until it burned down in 1809. Among the popular newspapers, pamphlets and other publications of the era were: In 1814, The Times adopted steam printing. Using this method, it could print 1,100 sheets every hour, five and a half times the prior rate of 200 per hour. The faster speed of printing enabled the rise of the " silver fork novels " which depicted the lives of
8949-462: The Duke by pretending to have fought at Waterloo disguised as a German general. With great difficulty Wellington obtained the King's consent to the introduction of a Catholic Relief Bill on 29 January 1829. Under pressure from his fanatically anti-Catholic brother Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland , the King withdrew his approval and in protest the Cabinet resigned en masse on 4 March. The next day
9106-450: The Duke of Wellington. As a result, the ministry was forced to include Whigs. Canning died later in that year, leaving Lord Goderich to lead the tenuous Tory–Whig coalition. Goderich left office in 1828, to be succeeded by Wellington, who had by that time accepted that the denial of some measure of relief to Roman Catholics was politically untenable. George was never as friendly with Wellington as he had been with Canning and chose to annoy
9263-447: The French. After Liverpool's retirement, George was forced to accept Catholic emancipation despite opposing it. His only legitimate child, Princess Charlotte , predeceased him in 1817, as did his childless younger brother Prince Frederick in 1827, so he was succeeded by another younger brother, William IV . George was born at St James's Palace , London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III and Queen Charlotte . As
9420-490: The King "was wasting away frightfully day after day", and had become so obese that he looked "like a great sausage stuffed into the covering". George took laudanum to counteract severe bladder pains, which left him in a drugged and mentally impaired state for days on end. He underwent surgery to remove a cataract in September 1829, by which time he was regularly taking over 100 drops of laudanum before state occasions. By
9577-482: The King recovered and the Bill was withdrawn. Had it been passed into law, the Prince of Wales would have become the regent in 1789. The King's mental health continued to be a matter of concern but, whenever he was of sound mind, he opposed any further moves to implement a Regency Act. Finally, following the death on 2 November 1810 of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia , he became permanently insane. Parliament passed
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#17327718830579734-534: The King's consent was not granted (and never even requested). However, Fitzherbert believed that she was the prince's canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union was to remain secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it. But, in spring 1786, covert allusions to the marriage appeared in the press, and several satirical prints depicted
9891-503: The King's health as "utterly and entirely destitute of information", subsequently characterising Halford's treatment of George, which involved administering both opium and laudanum as sedatives , as appearing to lack sense or direction. George dictated his will in May and became very devout in his final months, confessing to an archdeacon that he repented of his dissolute life, but hoped mercy would be shown to him as he had always tried to do
10048-487: The King, now under intense political pressure, reluctantly agreed to the Bill and the ministry remained in power. Royal assent was finally granted to the Catholic Relief Act on 13 April. George's heavy drinking and indulgent lifestyle had taken their toll on his health by the late 1820s. While still Prince of Wales, he had become obese through his huge banquets and copious consumption of alcohol, making him
10205-723: The Lords Commissioners to act unless the Great Seal of the Realm was affixed to it. The seal could not be legally affixed without the prior authorisation of the sovereign. Pitt and his fellow ministers ignored the last requirement and instructed the Lord Chancellor to affix the Great Seal without the King's consent, as the act of affixing the Great Seal in itself gave legal force to the bill. The legal fiction
10362-951: The Prime Minister, Lord North , and Mary (née Richardson, daughter of the Keeper of the Lottery Office ). North rated William Brummell highly, procuring for him appointments including those he held at the time of his death, namely Receiver of the Duties on Uninhabited Houses in London and Middlesex, Comptroller of the Hawkers' and Pedlars' Office, and Agent and Paymaster to the out-pensioners of Chelsea Hospital; these gave William about £2,500 per annum. On his retirement from politics, William had bought Donnington Grove in Berkshire and served as High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1788. William
10519-425: The Prince Regent succeeded him as George IV. After George IV died in 1830, a further Regency Act was passed by Parliament. George IV was succeeded by his brother William IV . His wife, Queen Adelaide , was 37 and there were no surviving legitimate children. The heir presumptive was Princess Victoria of Kent , aged eleven. The new Act provided for her mother, Victoria, Dowager Duchess of Kent to become regent in
10676-655: The Prince Regent, then aged 57, ascended the throne as George IV, with no real change in his powers. By the time of his accession, he was obese and possibly addicted to laudanum . George IV's relationship with his wife Caroline had deteriorated by the time of his accession. They had lived separately since 1796, and both were having affairs. In 1814, Caroline left the United Kingdom for continental Europe, but she chose to return for her husband's coronation and to publicly assert her rights as queen consort . However, he refused to recognise Caroline as queen, and commanded British ambassadors to ensure that monarchs in foreign courts did
10833-781: The Regency era, the five classic races had all been inaugurated and have been run annually since 1814. These races are the St Leger Stakes (first run in 1776), The Oaks (1779), the Epsom Derby (1780), the 2,000 Guineas Stakes (1809) and the 1,000 Guineas Stakes (1814). National Hunt racing began in 18th century Ireland and developed in England through the Regency era. There are tentative references to races held between 1792 and 1810. The first definitely recorded hurdle race took place on Durdham Down , near Bristol , in 1821. The first officially recognised steeplechase
10990-504: The Regent himself nor HM Treasury could afford. The Regent's extravagance was pursued at the expense of the common people. While the Regency is noted for its elegance and achievements in the fine arts and architecture, there was a concurrent need for social, political and economic change. The country was enveloped in the Napoleonic Wars until June 1815 and the conflict heavily impacted commerce at home and internationally. There
11147-501: The United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III , having done so since 5 February 1811 during his father's final mental illness. George IV
11304-466: The United States, Brummell's life was dramatised in an 1890 stage play in four acts by Clyde Fitch with Richard Mansfield as Brummell. This in turn was adapted for the 1924 film Beau Brummel , with John Barrymore and Mary Astor . Another play about him, authored by Bertram P Matthews, is only remembered because it had incidental music written for it by Edward Elgar . When it was staged at
11461-570: The Whigs supported it. At the beginning of the Regency, Prince George was expected to support the Whig leader, Lord Grenville . He did not, however, immediately put Grenville and the Whigs into office. Influenced by his mother, he claimed that a sudden dismissal of the Tory government would exact too great a toll on the health of the King (a steadfast supporter of the Tories), thereby eliminating any chance of
11618-448: The administration of affairs". In the interests of the nation, both factions agreed to compromise. A significant technical impediment to any Regency Bill involved the lack of a speech from the throne, which was necessary before Parliament could proceed to any debates or votes. The speech was normally delivered by the King but could also be delivered by royal representatives known as Lords Commissioners . However, no document could empower
11775-582: The architect Thomas Hamilton in 1829 and completed in 1835. King's Cross , now a major transport hub sitting on the border of Camden and Islington in north London, takes its name from a short-lived monument erected to George IV in the early 1830s. A square and a neighbouring park in St Luke's, Islington , are also named after George IV. At birth, George was entitled to the dignities Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, Electoral Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duke of Cornwall, and Duke of Rothesay. Under
11932-537: The beginning of the 19th century, efforts were being made in the English public schools to transform this mob football into an organised team sport. The earliest-known versions of football code rules were written at Eton College (1815) and Aldenham School (1825). Horse racing had been very popular since the years after the Restoration when Charles II was a frequent visitor to Newmarket Racecourse . In
12089-471: The best for his subjects. By June, he was unable to lie down, and received the Sacrament on 14 June in the presence of Lady Conyngham, Halford, and a clergyman. While Halford only informed the Cabinet on 24 June that "the King's cough continues with considerable expectoration", he privately told his wife that "things are coming to a conclusion ... I shall be released about Monday." At about three in
12246-542: The champion fighter in Britain was also, in effect, the world champion. Britain's only potential rival was the United States, where organised boxing began c. 1800 . Boxing was in fact illegal but local authorities, who were often involved on the gambling side of the sport, would turn a blind eye. In any case, the huge crowds that attended championship bouts were almost impossible to police. Like cricket and horse racing , boxing attracted gamblers . The sport needed
12403-473: The charitable intervention of his friends in England was he able to secure his release later that year. In 1840, Brummell died at the age of 61, penniless and demented from syphilis , at Le Bon Sauveur Asylum on the outskirts of Caen . He is buried at Cimetière Protestant, Caen, France. A very early portrait of Brummell, along with his elder brother William, occurs in the Joshua Reynolds painting of
12560-414: The clandestine marriage. Prince George was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle. His father refused to assist him, forcing him to quit Carlton House and live at Fitzherbert's residence. In 1787, the prince's political allies proposed to relieve his debts with a parliamentary grant. George's relationship with Fitzherbert was suspected, and revelation of the illegal marriage would have scandalised
12717-405: The club drafted and published a revised version of the sport's rules. MCC had considerable influence throughout the Regency era and its ground, Lord's , became cricket's premier venue. There were in fact three Lord's grounds. The first, opened in 1787 when the club was formed, was on the site of Dorset Square in Marylebone , hence the name of the club. The lease was terminated in 1811 because of
12874-459: The consent of Parliament. Following the passage of preliminary resolutions Pitt outlined a formal plan for the regency, suggesting that Prince George's powers be greatly limited. Among other things, George would not be able either to sell the King's property or to grant a peerage to anyone other than a child of the King. Prince George denounced Pitt's scheme by declaring it a "project for producing weakness, disorder, and insecurity in every branch of
13031-538: The curly-headed Brummell children, dating from 1781 and now in the Kenwood House collection. The caricaturist Richard Dighton painted a watercolour of Brummell at the elegant height of his dandyism and used it as the basis for a popular print in 1805. Two centuries later, it served as model for a 2002 statue of Brummell by Irena Sedlecká , erected in Jermyn Street . A plaque on the front of this statue
13188-571: The dandy Beau Brummell and the architect John Nash created the Regency style , exemplified by the Regency terraces of Regent's Park and Regent Street . George took up the new idea of the seaside spa and had the Brighton Pavilion developed as a fantastical seaside palace, adapted by Nash in the "Indian Gothic" style inspired loosely by the Taj Mahal , with extravagant "Indian" and "Chinese" interiors. When George III died in 1820,
13345-536: The death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia . Parliament agreed to follow the precedent of 1788; without the King's consent, the Lord Chancellor affixed the Great Seal of the Realm to letters patent naming Lords Commissioners. The letters patent lacked the Royal Sign Manual , but were sealed by request of resolutions passed by both Houses of Parliament. The Lords Commissioners appointed by
13502-565: The divorced wife of a physician; and Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey , who dominated his life for some years. In later life, his mistresses were the Marchioness of Hertford and the Marchioness Conyngham . George was rumoured to have fathered several illegitimate children. James Ord (born 1786)—who moved to the United States and became a Jesuit priest—was reportedly his son by Fitzherbert. Late in life, George told
13659-668: The eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth; he was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester a few days later. On 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker , Archbishop of Canterbury . His godparents were his maternal uncle Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (for whom the Lord Chamberlain , William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire , stood proxy); his paternal grand-uncle Prince William, Duke of Cumberland ; and his grandmother Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales . George
13816-432: The essence of dandyism through a study of his career and opinions. In the course of his essay, Barbey d'Aurevilly deprecates English attempts to portray Brummell in fiction: "Within Brummell's lifetime two well-known authors took up their pen – sharpened to exquisite points and dipped in musk-scented Chinese ink – to cast on blue-tinted paper with silver borders a few facile lines where one catches
13973-411: The event of William's death before 24 May 1837, the young Victoria's 18th birthday. The Act made allowance for Adelaide having another child, either before or after William's death. If the latter scenario had arisen, Victoria would have become Queen only temporarily until the new monarch was born. Adelaide had no more children and, as it happened, William died on 20 June 1837, just four weeks after Victoria
14130-407: The event, and then " cut " Brummell and Mildmay by staring at their faces without speaking. This provoked Brummell's remark, "Alvanley, who's your fat friend?". This incident marked the final breach in a rift between Brummell and the Regent that had opened in 1811, when the Prince became Regent and began abandoning all his old Whig friends. Brummell became an anomalous favourite, flourishing without
14287-491: The first Grand National , but there are historical uncertainties about the three races between 1836 and 1838 so they are officially regarded as precursors to the Grand National. Some sources insist they were held on Old Racecourse Farm in nearby Maghull but this is impossible as that course closed in 1835. The first official Grand National was the 1839 race . Rowing and sailing had become popular pastimes among
14444-505: The fists only. A round ended when a fighter was grounded and the rules prohibited the hitting of a downed opponent. He was helped to his corner and then had thirty seconds in which to "step up to the mark", which was a line drawn for that purpose so that the fighters squared off less than a yard apart. The next round would then begin. A fighter who failed to step up and square off was declared the loser. Contests continued until one fighter could not step up. There were no weight divisions and so
14601-492: The glamour and gloss of Regency society provided sharp contrast to the Prince Regent's social circle. Poverty was addressed only marginally. The formation of the Regency after the retirement of George III saw the end of a more pious and reserved society, and gave birth of a more frivolous, ostentatious one. This change was influenced by the Regent himself, who was kept entirely removed from the machinations of politics and military exploits. This did nothing to channel his energies in
14758-490: The government, than any other individual subject of the country". Though disagreeing on the principle underlying a regency, Pitt agreed with Fox that the Prince of Wales would be the most convenient choice for a regent. The Prince of Wales, though offended by Pitt's boldness, did not lend his full support to Fox's approach. Prince George's brother Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany , declared that George would not attempt to exercise any power without previously obtaining
14915-538: The hero of the title passes through Calais and meets the inspiration of his dandiacal way of life in the character of Mr. Russelton. The latter is modeled on Brummell, and to him are attributed such stories from the Brummell apocrypha as his once needing three tailors to make his gloves and the sartorial insult, "Do you call this a coat?" Brummell appeared under his own name as a character in Arthur Conan Doyle 's 1896 historical novel Rodney Stone . In this,
15072-709: The influence of Lord Alvanley and the Duke of Beaufort . This provided him with a small annuity to fuel his new life in France; however, this lasted only two years because the Foreign Office acted on Brummell's recommendation to abolish the consulate. He had made it in the hope of being appointed to a more remunerative position elsewhere to regain some influence, but no new position was forthcoming, much to his detriment. Rapidly running out of money and growing increasingly slovenly in his dress, his long-unpaid Calais creditors forced him into debtors' prison in 1835. Only through
15229-505: The investment provided by gambling, but there was a seamier side in that many fights were fixed. At one time, prizefighting was "anything goes" but the champion boxer Jack Broughton proposed a set of rules in 1743 that were observed throughout the Regency era until they were superseded by the London Prize Ring Rules in 1838. Broughton's rules were a reaction to "bar room brawling" as they restricted fighters to use of
15386-442: The letters patent, in the name of the King, then signified the granting of Royal Assent to a bill that became the Regency Act 1811 . Parliament restricted some of the powers of the Prince Regent (as the Prince of Wales became known). The constraints expired one year after the passage of the Act. The Prince of Wales became Prince Regent on 5 February 1811. The Regent let his ministers take full charge of government affairs, playing
15543-470: The longer timespan is roughly the final third of the Georgian era (1714–1837), encompassing the last 25 years or so of George III's reign, including the official Regency, and the complete reigns of both George IV and his brother and successor William IV . It ends with the accession of Queen Victoria in June 1837 and is followed by the Victorian era (1837–1901). Although the Regency era is remembered as
15700-414: The main character in a fabricated story of a rural courtship which saw occasional performance in later years. This was later broadcast by Radio-Lille (1963). Brummell's name became associated with style and good looks, and was therefore borrowed for a variety of products or alluded to in songs and poetry. One example was the paint colour Beau Brummel Brown, used exclusively on the 1931 Oldsmobile . In 1934,
15857-463: The major artists, musicians, novelists and poets of the Romantic movement were prominent Regency figures, such as Jane Austen , William Blake , Lord Byron , John Constable , John Keats , John Nash , Ann Radcliffe , Walter Scott , Mary Shelley , Percy Bysshe Shelley , J. M. W. Turner and William Wordsworth . George III (1738–1820) became King of Great Britain on 25 October 1760 when he
16014-434: The morning of 26 June 1830 at Windsor Castle, George awoke and passed a bowel movement—"a large evacuation mix'd with blood ". He then sent for Halford, allegedly calling to his servants "Sir Henry! Sir Henry! Fetch him; this is death!" Accounts of George's final moments and last words vary. According to Halford, following his arrival and that of Sir William Knighton , the King's "lips grew livid, and he dropped his head on
16171-463: The most common activities among the upper class was attending and hosting balls, house parties, and more. These often included dancing, food, and gossip. The food generally served included items such as white soup made with veal stock, almonds and cream, cold meats, salads, etc. Bare-knuckle boxing , also known as prizefighting , was a popular sport through the 18th and 19th centuries. The Regency era has been called "the peak of British boxing" because
16328-600: The name of him or her never reached us". There are many statues of George IV, a large number of which were erected during his reign. In the United Kingdom, they include a bronze statue of him on horseback by Sir Francis Chantrey in Trafalgar Square . In Edinburgh, " George IV Bridge " is a main street linking the Old Town High Street to the north over the ravine of the Cowgate , designed by
16485-520: The nation and doomed any parliamentary proposal to aid him. Acting on Prince George's authority, the Whig leader Charles James Fox declared that the story was a calumny. Fitzherbert was not pleased with the public denial of the marriage in such vehement terms and contemplated severing her ties to George. He appeased her by asking another Whig, Richard Brinsley Sheridan , to restate Fox's forceful declaration in more careful words. Parliament, meanwhile, granted
16642-463: The national crisis included the Peterloo Massacre in 1819 and the various Corn Laws . The Whig government of Earl Grey passed the Great Reform Act in 1832. Essentially, England during the Regency era was a stratified society in which political power and influence lay in the hands of the landed class. Their fashionable locales were worlds apart from the slums in which the majority of people existed. The slum districts were known as rookeries ,
16799-440: The official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the late 1780s, and relapsed into his final mental illness in 1810. By the Regency Act 1811 , his eldest son George, Prince of Wales , was appointed Prince Regent to discharge royal functions. When George III died in 1820, the Prince Regent succeeded him as George IV. In terms of periodisation ,
16956-535: The order of succession and Parliament again passed a Regency Act as contingency. The Minority of Heir to the Crown Act 1765 provided for either Queen Charlotte or Princess Augusta to act as regent if necessary. George III had a long episode of mental illness in the summer of 1788. Parliament proposed the Regency Bill 1789 which was passed by the House of Commons . Before the House of Lords could debate it,
17113-402: The part of the heir apparent . The King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the prince's adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians. Soon after he reached the age of 21, the prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert . She was a commoner (though granddaughter of a baronet), six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic. Nevertheless,
17270-572: The period, and Lord Frederick Beauclerk as the outstanding amateur player. The 1821 match ended prematurely after the Gentlemen team, well behind in the contest, conceded defeat. This had been billed as the "Coronation Match" because it celebrated the accession of the Prince Regent as King George IV and the outcome was described by the sports historian Sir Derek Birley as "a suitably murky affair". Football in Great Britain had long been
17427-579: The prince was determined to marry her. This was in spite of the Act of Settlement 1701 , which barred the spouse of a Catholic from succeeding to the throne, and the Royal Marriages Act 1772 , which prohibited his marriage without the King's consent. The couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at Fitzherbert's house in Park Street, Mayfair . Legally the union was void, as
17584-405: The prince £161,000 (equivalent to £25,841,000 today ) to pay his debts and £60,000 (equivalent to £9,630,000 today ) for improvements to Carlton House. In the summer of 1788, the King's mental health deteriorated, possibly as the result of the hereditary disease porphyria . He nonetheless discharged some of his duties and declared Parliament prorogued from 25 September to 20 November. During
17741-484: The pro-emancipation Tory George Canning . When Canning entered office, the King, hitherto content with privately instructing his ministers on the Catholic Question, thought it fit to make a public declaration to the effect that his sentiments on the question were those of his revered father, George III. Canning's views on the Catholic Question were not well received by the most conservative Tories, including
17898-534: The prorogation, he became deranged, posing a threat to his own life, and when Parliament reconvened in November, the King could not deliver the customary speech from the throne during the State Opening of Parliament . Parliament found itself in an untenable position: according to long-established law it could not proceed to any business until the delivery of the King's Speech at a State Opening. Although arguably barred from doing so, Parliament began debating
18055-440: The regiment frequently enjoyed banquets and entertainment. For such a junior officer, Brummell took the regiment by storm, fascinating the Prince : "[T]he first gentleman of England", by the force of his personality. He was allowed to miss parade, shirk his duties and, in essence, do just as he pleased. Within three years, by 1796, he was made a captain, to the envy and disgust of older officers who felt that "our general's friend
18212-470: The rich and aristocratic. Publishers used these as a way of spreading gossip and scandal , often clearly hinting at identities. The novels were popular during the later years of the Regency era. During the Regency era and well into the succeeding Victorian era, society women were discouraged from exertion although many did take the opportunity to pursue activities such as dancing, riding and walking that were recreational rather than competitive. Depending on
18369-616: The same. By royal command, Caroline's name was omitted from the Book of Common Prayer , the liturgy of the Church of England . The King sought a divorce, but his advisors suggested that any divorce proceedings might involve the publication of details relating to George's own adulterous relationships. Therefore, he requested and ensured the introduction of the Pains and Penalties Bill , under which Parliament could have imposed legal penalties without
18526-529: The single arched coronet of his rank, all charged on the shoulder with a similar label . His arms followed the change in the royal arms in 1801, when the Hanoverian quarter became an inescutcheon and the French quarter was dropped altogether. The 1816 alteration did not affect him as it only applied to the arms of the King. As king, George's arms were those of his two kingdoms, the United Kingdom and Hanover, superimposed: Quarterly, I and IV Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or ( for England ); II Or
18683-407: The social calendar. Lord's staged the first Gentlemen v Players match in 1806. This fixture provides another illustration of the class divide in Regency society as it matched a team of well-to-do amateurs (Gentlemen) against a team of working-class professionals (Players). The first match featured Billy Beldham and William Lambert , who have been recognised as the outstanding professionals of
18840-478: The son of publican 's daughter Sarah Brown; and Charles "Beau" Candy, the son of a Frenchwoman with that surname. Anthony Camp , Director of Research at the Society of Genealogists , has dismissed the claims that George IV was the father of Ord, Hervey, Hampshire and Candy as fictitious. The problem of George's debts, which amounted to the extraordinary sum of £630,000 in 1795 (equivalent to £82,215,000 today ),
18997-420: The spring of 1830, George's imminent end was apparent. Now largely confined to his bedchambers, having completely lost sight in one eye and describing himself "as blind as a beetle", he was forced to approve legislation with a stamp of his signature in the presence of witnesses. His weight was recorded to be 20 stone (130 kg; 280 lb). Attacks of breathlessness due to dropsy forced him to sleep upright in
19154-603: The subsequent Congress of Vienna , it was decided that the Electorate of Hanover , a state that had shared a monarch with Britain since 1714, would be raised to the Kingdom of Hanover . Napoleon returned from exile in 1815, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington , brother of Lord Wellesley. During this period George took an active interest in matters of style and taste, and his associates such as
19311-546: The target of ridicule on the rare occasions that he appeared in public; by 1797, his weight had reached 17 stone 7 pounds (111 kg; 245 lb). By 1824, his corset was made for a waist of 50 inches (130 cm). He had gout , arteriosclerosis , peripheral edema ("dropsy"), and possibly porphyria . In his last years, he spent whole days in bed and had acute and serious spasms of breathlessness. George's last years were marked by increasing physical and mental decay and withdrawal from public affairs. Privately,
19468-640: The title Brummelliana was republished many times in the following decades. This began with the story of him enquiring the identity of his companion's "fat friend", and also included his "I once ate a pea" remark. William Hazlitt borrowed the same title, "Brummelliana", for an unsympathetic essay published in 1828, referring to some of these stories and repeating others uncollected there. Dandyism also came under attack in George Robert Wythen Baxter 's satirical essay "Kiddyism", published in humorous journals from 1832 onwards, which culminates in
19625-412: The title "the first gentleman of England", but his dissolute way of life and poor relationships with his parents and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick , earned him the contempt of the people and dimmed the prestige of the monarchy. He excluded Caroline from his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in an unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. George's rule
19782-404: The title character's uncle, Charles Tregellis, is the center of the London fashion world, until Brummell ultimately supplants him. Tregellis's subsequent death from mortification serves as a deus ex machina , in that it resolves Rodney Stone's family poverty. Georgette Heyer , author of a number of Regency romance novels, included Brummell as a character in her 1935 novel Regency Buck . He
19939-655: The ultimately defeated Catholic Relief Bill of 1813. By 1824 he was denouncing Catholic emancipation in public. Having taken the coronation oath on his accession, George now argued that he had sworn to uphold the Protestant faith, and could not support any pro-Catholic measures. The influence of the Crown was so great, and the will of the Tories under Prime Minister Liverpool so strong, that Catholic emancipation seemed hopeless. In 1827, however, Liverpool retired, to be replaced by
20096-491: The university after only a year at age 16. In June 1794, Brummell joined the 10th Light Dragoons, later the Tenth Royal Hussars as a cornet , the lowest rank of commissioned officer , and soon after had his nose broken by a kick from a horse. His father died in 1795, by which time Brummell had been promoted to lieutenant. His father had left him an inheritance of some £30,000. Ordinarily a considerable sum, it
20253-650: The vast majority of people, street performers provided their sole access to music of any kind. However, the upper class enjoyed music such as Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30, Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Sonata in F major, MWV Q 7, and much more. Especially popular composers of the time included Beethoven, Rossini, Liszt, and Mendelssohn. The most prominent landscape painters were John Constable and J. M. W. Turner . Notable portrait painters include Thomas Lawrence and Martin Archer Shee , both Presidents of
20410-588: The wealthier citizens. The Boat Race , a rowing event between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club , was first held in 1829 at the instigation of Charles Merivale and Charles Wordsworth , who were students at Cambridge and Oxford, respectively. Wordsworth was a nephew of William Wordsworth . The first race was at Henley-on-Thames and the contest later became an annual event on
20567-520: The wider social and cultural aspects of the Regency era, characterised by the distinctive fashions , architecture and style of the period. The first 20 years to 1815 were overshadowed by the Napoleonic Wars . Throughout the whole period, the Industrial Revolution gathered pace and achieved significant progress by the coming of the railways and the growth of the factory system . The Regency era overlapped with Romanticism and many of
20724-417: Was 18. Officially, the Regency began on 5 February 1811 and ended on 29 January 1820 but the "Regency era", as such, is generally perceived to have been much longer. The term is commonly, though loosely, applied to the period from c. 1795 until the accession of Queen Victoria on 20 June 1837. The Regency Era is a sub-period of the longer Georgian era (1714–1837), both of which were followed by
20881-508: Was 22 years old, succeeding his grandfather George II . George III had himself been the subject of legislation to provide for a regency when Parliament passed the Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1751 following the death of his father Frederick, Prince of Wales , on 31 March 1751. George became heir apparent at the age of 12 and he would have succeeded as a minor if his grandfather had died before 4 June 1756, George's 18th birthday. As
21038-459: Was a magnificent and expensive affair, costing about £243,000 (approximately £27,970,000 in 2024; for comparison, his father's coronation had only cost about £10,000). Despite the enormous cost, it was a popular event. In 1821, George became the first monarch to pay a state visit to Ireland since Richard II of England . The following year he visited Edinburgh for "one and twenty daft days". His visit to Scotland , organised by Sir Walter Scott ,
21195-546: Was a talented student, and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English. At the age of 18, Prince George was given a separate establishment, and in dramatic contrast to his prosaic, scandal-free father, threw himself with zest into a life of dissipation and wild extravagance involving heavy drinking and numerous mistresses and escapades. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, but grossly expensive, taste in decorating his palace. George turned 21 in 1783, and obtained
21352-626: Was as ample as theirs. He found it increasingly difficult to maintain his lifestyle as his spending continued over time, but his prominent position in society allowed him to float a line of credit. This situation changed in July 1813 at a masquerade ball jointly hosted at Watier's private club by Brummell, Lord Alvanley , Henry Mildmay and Henry Pierrepont . The four were considered the prime movers of Watier's, dubbed "the Dandy Club" by Lord Byron . The Prince Regent greeted Alvanley and Pierrepont at
21509-450: Was assassinated by John Bellingham . The Prince Regent was prepared to reappoint all the members of the Perceval ministry under a new leader. The House of Commons formally declared its desire for a "strong and efficient administration", so George then offered leadership of the government to Lord Wellesley and afterwards to Lord Moira . He doomed the attempts of both to failure, however, by forcing each to construct an all-party ministry at
21666-518: Was denounced by Edmund Burke as "forgery, fraud"; a "glaring falsehood" and a "palpable absurdity". Prince Frederick described the plan as "unconstitutional and illegal". Nevertheless, others in Parliament felt that such a scheme was necessary to preserve an effective government. Consequently, on 3 February 1789, more than two months after it had convened, Parliament was formally opened by an "illegal" group of Lords Commissioners. The Regency Bill
21823-412: Was disastrous; each party was unsuited to the other. The two were formally separated after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte , in 1796, and remained separated thereafter. George remained attached to Maria Fitzherbert for the rest of his life, despite several periods of estrangement. George's mistresses included Mary Robinson , an actress whom he paid to leave the stage; Grace Elliott ,
21980-628: Was educated at Eton College and made his precocious mark on fashion when he not only modernised the white stock, or cravat, that was the mark of the "Eton boy", but added a gold buckle to it. He progressed to Oxford University, where, by his own example, he made cotton stockings and dingy cravats fall out of favour. While an undergraduate at Oriel College in 1793, he competed for the Chancellor's Prize for Latin Verse, coming second to Edward Copleston , who later became provost of his college. He left
22137-561: Was enough to make many seek it who cared not for it; and many more wished to be well with him through fear, for all knew him to be cold, heartless, and satirical." Two more books were later dedicated to confirming Brummell as a cult figure. In England, there was Captain Jesse's two volume Life of George Brummell (1844), the first biography devoted to him. In France, there was the influential essay of Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly , " On Dandyism and George Brummell " (1845), which seeks to define
22294-512: Was inadequate for the expenses of an aspiring officer in the personal regiment of the Prince of Wales . The officers, many of whom were heirs to noble titles and lands, "wore their estates upon their backs – some of them before they had inherited the paternal acres." Officers in any military regiment were required to provide their own mounts and uniforms and to pay mess bills, but the 10th in particular had elaborate and nearly endless variations of uniform. Their mess expenses were unusually high because
22451-577: Was introduced, but before it could be passed the King recovered. The King declared retroactively that the instrument authorising the Lords Commissioners to act was valid. Prince George's debts continued to climb, and his father refused to aid him unless he married his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick . In 1795, the prince acquiesced, and they were married on 8 April 1795 at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace . The marriage, however,
22608-487: Was marked "not paid, 20th January, 1816". Seemingly unable to quell his urge to spend and gamble, it became apparent his lifestyle could no longer be sustained. Brummell was ostracized from his social circle and soon found refuge in France. He lived the remainder of his life in French exile, spending ten years in Calais without an official passport , before acquiring an appointment to the consulate at Caen in 1830 through
22765-402: Was mass unemployment and, in 1816 , an exceptionally bad harvest . In addition, the country underwent a population boom and the combination of these factors resulted in rampant poverty . Apart from the national unity government led by William Grenville from February 1806 to March 1807, all governments from December 1783 to November 1830 were formed and led by Tories . Their responses to
22922-650: Was not opened to the public until 1847, after it became necessary to raise funds. Jane Austen , Lord Byron , Walter Scott and others were the most prominent writers of the Regency era. However, the time period also produced some of the 19th century's most prolific writers such as Charles Dickens , Charlotte Brontë , and Benjamin Disraeli . Especially popular forms of literature at this time were novels and poetry, such as Lord Byron's The Regent's Bomb. Wealthy households staged their own music events by relying on family members who could sing or play an instrument. For
23079-510: Was now the general." In 1797, when his regiment was sent from London to Manchester , he immediately resigned his commission, citing the city's poor reputation, undistinguished ambience and want of culture and civility. Although he was now a civilian, Brummell's friendship with (and influence over) the Prince continued. He became a noted figure in fashion and adopted a habit of dress that rejected overly ornate clothes in favour of understated but perfectly fitted and tailored bespoke garments; this
23236-628: Was over a cross-country route in Bedfordshire on 8 March 1830. Aintree Racecourse held its first meeting on 7 July 1829. On 29 February 1836, a race called the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was held. One of its organisers was Captain Martin Becher who rode The Duke to victory. The infamous sixth fence at Aintree is called Becher's Brook . The 1836 race, which became an annual event, is recognised by some as
23393-492: Was remembered afterwards as the preeminent example of the dandy , and a whole literature was founded upon his manner and witty sayings, which have persisted until today. His name is still associated with style and good looks and has been given to a variety of modern products to suggest their high quality. Brummell was born in Downing Street , London, the younger son of William Brummell ( d. 1795), Private Secretary to
23550-432: Was satirised as the witty Bellair in the picaresque novel Six Weeks at Long's, by a Late Resident (1817), now ascribed to Eaton Stannard Barrett . Among his humorous remarks there, he is credited with denouncing the eating of vegetables and, when challenged whether he had ever tried it, replying, "Oh, yes, I remember I once ate a pea." A collection of the witticisms ascribed to him and of anecdotes about him followed under
23707-405: Was solved (at least temporarily) by Parliament. Being unwilling to make an outright grant to relieve these debts, it provided him an additional sum of £65,000 (equivalent to £8,482,000 today ) per annum. In 1803, a further £60,000 (equivalent to £6,921,000 today ) was added, and George's debts as at 1795 were finally cleared in 1806, although the debts he had incurred since 1795 remained. In 1804,
23864-421: Was tarnished by scandal and financial extravagance. His ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible and he was strongly influenced by favourites. During most of George's regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as prime minister of the United Kingdom . Liverpool's government presided over Britain's ultimate victory over Napoleon and negotiated a peace settlement with
24021-538: Was the eldest child of King George III and Queen Charlotte . He led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era . He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace , and commissioned Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle . George's charm and culture earned him
24178-447: Was the father and son partnership of James and Decimus Burton who had the majority of input to the project. Landscaping continued through the 1820s and Regent's Park was finally opened to the public in 1841. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) was founded in 1826 by Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davy . They obtained land alongside the route of the Regent's Canal through the northern perimeter of Regent's Park, between
24335-405: Was the first by a reigning monarch since the mid-17th century. George spent most of his later reign in seclusion at Windsor Castle , but he continued to intervene in politics. At first it was believed that he would support Catholic emancipation, as he had proposed a Catholic Emancipation Bill for Ireland in 1797, but his anti-Catholic views became clear in 1813 when he privately canvassed against
24492-419: Was the moment of the so-called Great Male Renunciation seen across Europe. His daily dress was similar to that of other gentlemen in his time, based upon dark coats and full-length trousers (rather than knee breeches and stockings). Above all, Brummell favoured immaculate shirt linen and an elaborately knotted cravat . This mode of cravat-wearing has been described as Brummell's chief innovation. Brummell took
24649-554: Was the son of another William Brummell ( d. 1770), who had been valet to a Lincolnshire politician, Charles Monson, and, reckoned "an excellent servant", met with some success despite his modest origins through patronage and good fortune; he went into business as a confectioner in Bury Street , "in an area notorious for [...] high-class brothels", letting some rooms in the family's house for boarding. The statesman Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool , stayed there for
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