" a;‘gjrf'oss voluptuary v.

 View: George IV as V‘

  

GEORGE IV’s love of wine and T

his penchant for ageing mistresses
ensured him a place in popular
history as a degenerate king, but
the good points of his reign are to
be highlighted in an exhibition at
Buckingham Palace later this year.

Material from the royal ar-
chives, never seen in public
before, provide a picture of a
glorious past in which George III’s
corpulent eldest son, who was
Prince of Wales then prince regent
before becoming king in 1820, was
a patron and connoisseur of the
arts.

The king is remembered for his
tremendous appetite for money,
food, and women. After particular

periods of excess he had to mount
his horse using a trolley and pulley
system, but he was also a great
collector, according to the ex-
hibition, which opens at the
Queen’s Gallery on March 22.

George, born in 1762, suffered
the hardships of a particularly
strict childhood and in his later
years rebelled against his early life.
Because of his father’s madness he
became prince regent in 1810,
succeeded to the throne 10 years
later and reigned for a decade.

His first affair is said to have
occurred with an actress when he
was aged 18. He was always in
debt and married Princess Caro-
line of Brunswick in 1795 in
return for Parliament paying his

debts of £650,000. He later tried to
divorce her, which led to a
national scandal and her death in
1821 ended an unfortunate epi-
sode in his reign. When George
died he lefi bundles of letters from
the 18 women he had loved.

The exhibition, the first of its
kind, gives a fresh perception on
the monarch described in Cham-
bers Biographical Dictionary as
“an undutiful son, a bad husband
and a callous father”. lt dem-
onstrates how George filled
Carlton House in Pall Mall, his
London home, with priceless
paintings and furniture.

He is portrayed as a patron of
English artists, including Reyn-
olds, Stubbs, Hogarth and Gains-

at Carlton «House. The dayafter

-home for clothes, before" they...
into . the 2’

 archives show Prinny’s icu1turalsidei,'

borough. He gathered"unriVall 
collections of rFr‘ench 
and porcelain, English gold’-5_a'nd' 
silver plate, and Russian irnpef
swords. Many of the finest
will be on display. ‘ j - I
The exhibiton does not; ignore ”'
his excesses. It chronicles’ , thy “
great fetes and lavish parties Shel‘

:

one party Georse opened the,

house to the public and a mob?‘  
descended filled with curiosity. .. _ L‘ ..
The Morning Chronicle re-' H,

ported: “About a dozen females ,
were so completely disrobed -in the
squeeze, they were obliged tossendt

could venture out
streets._” _ .4

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