Engraving
Maker & role
George Hayter (b.1792, d.1871), After; James Bromely (b.1800, d.1838), Artist; John Porter (b.Mid 19th Century), Artist; R. Bower & M. Parkes, Publisher
Production date
1832
Object detail
Title
View of the Interior of the House of Peers during the Trial of Queen Caroline 1820
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 88.7 x W: 107.1 x D: 5.5cm (H: 887 x W: 1071 x D: 55mm); 0 - Whole, H: 76 x W: 87.4cm (H: 760 x W: 874mm)
Subject Place
Signature & marks
Inscribed in the key "To the Right Honourable George James Welbore Lord Dover etc etc etc this Engraving from the Original Picture in His Lordship's possession and published under His patronage is most respectfully dedicated by His Lordship's ever obliged & truly obedient servant, Robert Bowyer". "Proof".
Credit line
Purchase, 1978
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
View of the Interior of the House of Peers during the Trial of Queen Caroline 1820, by James Bromley and John Porter, after George Hayter, 1832
Description
Steel engraving by James Bromley (1800-1838) and John Porter 'depicting a 'View of the Interior of the House of Peers during the Trial of Queen Caroline 1820', from the original by George Hayter then in the collection of Lord Dover the Honourable George James Welbore. Published by R.Bowyer and M.Parkes, London, 1832. A drop-down panel, concealed within the lower frame, contains an illustrative key to the scene.
The print depicts the trial for adultery of Queen Caroline (of Brunswick), consort (and 1st cousin) of George IV. Following the increasingly disastrous first years of their marriage (they were grossly unsuited to each other – George reputedly calling for brandy when he first saw her) Caroline eventually left the country in 1814 in self imposed exile, at one stage cruising the Mediterranean where her conduct/relationship with her Italian majordomo caused an increasingly public scandal. She returned to England for the imminent coronation of George (who had previously been Regent for his father) and what she viewed as her legal coronation as Queen. As rumours about her (increasingly public) private life vigorously resurfaced, George instigated divorce proceedings. This caused great popular turmoil and even rioting, and she became an unlikely figurehead at a time of great socio-political ferment and change (the same political and legal changes we see played out in microcosm, though no less vigorously, in the colony of NSW).
As she is a Royal Personage the divorce trial is taking place in the House of Lords (ie before the Peers of the Realm). The standing figure is her defence, who spoke continuously for a mammoth 8 hrs on the first day, then collapsed from exhaustion. Extra galleries (designed by leading architect Sir John Soane) have been installed for the aristocratic crowd, and on the left notes are shown being passed through a window, to be raced off to the broadsheet printers.
Found guilty by the Lords the trial never proceeded to the Commons, where Caroline had greater support, and the case collapsed. A month later, the coronation was held. Caroline, who was cheered as she rode to Westminster Abbey, found herself refused entry, and she ran in full coronation robes from door to door to try and gain admittance – the doors being hurriedly slammed against her at each. The crowds now found her behaviour ludicrous and she was jeered, making a desolate retreat. She fell ill and died only a few weeks later. There were riots around her funeral cortège. George had no legal heir, as he and Caroline’s only child Charlotte (married to Prince Leopold, later King of the Belgians) died young after childbirth, causing considerable mourning in Britain and the colony (Francis Greenway proposed turning Garden Island into a pyramidal memorial for her). The crown passed to his brother William IV, thence to his niece Victoria.
Alexander Macleay, as a senior civil servant (in forced retirement from 1818), would have followed the reports of the Prince and Princess’s increasing estrangement and the eventual trial with close interest, and the resultant successions to the throne would have considerable significance to his career as both Colonial Secretary and Speaker of the Legislative Council in the colony.
The print depicts the trial for adultery of Queen Caroline (of Brunswick), consort (and 1st cousin) of George IV. Following the increasingly disastrous first years of their marriage (they were grossly unsuited to each other – George reputedly calling for brandy when he first saw her) Caroline eventually left the country in 1814 in self imposed exile, at one stage cruising the Mediterranean where her conduct/relationship with her Italian majordomo caused an increasingly public scandal. She returned to England for the imminent coronation of George (who had previously been Regent for his father) and what she viewed as her legal coronation as Queen. As rumours about her (increasingly public) private life vigorously resurfaced, George instigated divorce proceedings. This caused great popular turmoil and even rioting, and she became an unlikely figurehead at a time of great socio-political ferment and change (the same political and legal changes we see played out in microcosm, though no less vigorously, in the colony of NSW).
As she is a Royal Personage the divorce trial is taking place in the House of Lords (ie before the Peers of the Realm). The standing figure is her defence, who spoke continuously for a mammoth 8 hrs on the first day, then collapsed from exhaustion. Extra galleries (designed by leading architect Sir John Soane) have been installed for the aristocratic crowd, and on the left notes are shown being passed through a window, to be raced off to the broadsheet printers.
Found guilty by the Lords the trial never proceeded to the Commons, where Caroline had greater support, and the case collapsed. A month later, the coronation was held. Caroline, who was cheered as she rode to Westminster Abbey, found herself refused entry, and she ran in full coronation robes from door to door to try and gain admittance – the doors being hurriedly slammed against her at each. The crowds now found her behaviour ludicrous and she was jeered, making a desolate retreat. She fell ill and died only a few weeks later. There were riots around her funeral cortège. George had no legal heir, as he and Caroline’s only child Charlotte (married to Prince Leopold, later King of the Belgians) died young after childbirth, causing considerable mourning in Britain and the colony (Francis Greenway proposed turning Garden Island into a pyramidal memorial for her). The crown passed to his brother William IV, thence to his niece Victoria.
Alexander Macleay, as a senior civil servant (in forced retirement from 1818), would have followed the reports of the Prince and Princess’s increasing estrangement and the eventual trial with close interest, and the resultant successions to the throne would have considerable significance to his career as both Colonial Secretary and Speaker of the Legislative Council in the colony.
Accession number
EB78/121-2
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