Broadside regarding the coronation of King George IV

Commentary

This broadside begins: 'Coronation of His Majesty / Which took place at London on Thursday last, the 19th July, 1821, with an account of the non-admittance of the Queen.' It was published by William Carse of Glasgow, and probably sold for one penny.

As stated in the introduction to this broadside, Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821), the estranged wife of King George IV (1762-1830), was refused admittance to the coronation. Banned from the royal court in 1811, Caroline moved overseas and did not return to Britain until her husband, the Prince Regent, was declared King in 1820. She returned in anticipation of becoming Queen, but was met with the offer of a bribe to remain in exile. After Caroline refused to accept his bribe, the King unsuccessfully tried to divorce her. The final shock of being refused admittance to the coronation, is thought to have contributed to her demise the following month. Despite being shunned by the King for most of their marriage, Caroline always proved a popular figure with the British public.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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