Background

On the 29 January 1820, George IV became King. Soon after this, he began proceedings to try and divorce his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, accusing her of having an affair.

The background to their bad relationship began on the day they first met, 5 April 1795. Their marriage had been arranged as a useful political alliance between the Royal houses of Brunswick and England. George and Caroline had only seen small painted portraits of each other before they were betrothed (engaged). When Caroline finally arrived in England and was presented to George it was a case of hate at first sight for him - after formally greeting her, George was said to have walked quickly away and called for a glass of brandy!

George was far more devoted to his mistresses than his wife. He found Caroline's company difficult. She was known for being rather loud and tactless. Her behaviour was described by Lord Malmesbury, the king's adviser who had brought her back from Germany, as 'flippant, rattling, affecting raillery and wit and throwing out coarse vulgar hints about Lady Jersey (George's mistress) who was present'.

As relations between them worsened, a potentially dangerous political situation arose. George was already unpopular with the public and Caroline's bad treatment was seen to reflect his similar disregard for political reform and the wishes of the people in general.

Caroline loved going out and about to the theatre and opera, where she was often seen on her own. Here she became a focus for both the Whig opposition party in Parliament and for the radical popular reformers on the street. Caroline herself enjoyed being the focus of such attention, especially when she was so ignored by her husband. However, the Royal Family were quite terrified by these events, especially given what had happened in the French Revolution when the French King had been executed in January 1793. They forbade Caroline to go out alone and, in 1797, had her moved to a house further out of London and the public eye.

It was impossible for George to divorce Caroline. Lord Malmesbury pointed out to him that radical reformers would see this as an attack on English Civil Liberties and use it as an excuse to turn against the Royal Family. 'Your interests and happiness are so closely united with the country at large that it is impossible for you to take any material step on which the public will not claim a right to form a judgement'.

Life became so difficult for Caroline, cut off from her husband, family and society that she proposed to go and travel the continent - an idea that was supported by George as an ideal solution to the problems her continued presence in the country caused him. While she was in Italy, Caroline developed a close association with her Italian courier, Bartolomeo Pergami. Pergami claimed to be of noble birth, but that his family had fallen on hard times. He was very good looking, described by contemporaries as having a 'magnificent head of black hair, pale complexion, mustachios (a moustache) that reached from here to London … of superb and commanding appearance … his physical beauty attracts all eyes.' Pergami was quickly promoted and soon became one of Caroline's close entourage, eventually given the title of Baron by her. All the while, the relationship was the subject of many allegations and spies. A report on the situation by James Brougham who had been sent by George to discuss the possibility of a divorce with Caroline, said that she and Pergami were to 'all appearances man and wife, never was anything so obvious.'

When George III died on 29 January 1820, Caroline found she had numerous supporters who wanted her to return to England as Queen. She did not trust the government to make her a suitable divorce settlement and determined to return to England to claim what support she could. She arrived in Dover on 6 June 1820 and proceeded to London. A contemporary diarist, Greville, described the scene, 'the road was thronged with an immense multitude the whole way … she was everywhere received with the greatest enthusiasm'. Alderman Wood who had contacts with city radicalism and trade supporters accompanied her on the journey and also organised a campaign of support for her. For two days there were riots in London. The Duke of Wellington had the windows of his carriage broken; Lord Exmouth had to arm himself and drive a mob from his house.

In the midst of all this a secret committee was appointed by George to study the contents of a certain 'green bag'. The contents of this bag were the findings of the Milan Commission who had collected a mass of evidence against Caroline during her five years abroad. The report on this stated that there was no doubt that Caroline had behaved scandalously while abroad, especially in her relationship with Pergami. The only course was to hold a solemn enquiry in the House of Lords, with a public examination of witnesses to determine the passing of a Bill of Pains and Penalties against Caroline that would remove her name from the prayer book of the Church of England as Queen, and have her removed from the country.

The Queen Caroline Affair, as it became known, was a particularly significant threat to the monarchy. For the first time the Whig Opposition party in Parliament joined with the radical political reformers on the streets. She had supporters from the aristocracy down to the lowest class of people who thought that she was being cruelly and unjustly used. Processions, parades and meetings in her favour took place all over the country. Lord Lyttleton commented on the crowds that assembled in St James' Square to see her each morning of the enquiry, 'not only the mob, but people of all ranks and the middle classes almost to a man, and I believe the Troops (army) too, side with the Queen'. Even the navy were seen to give their support to Caroline, wearing pieces of silk with 'Protection to the Innocent' on them.

Even though the evidence against Caroline, given by witnesses from her time in Italy, was strong, public support for her seemed unaffected by this. But her greatest asset was in having James Brougham acting in her defence, a skilled lawyer who was able to demolish the evidence brought against her. The trial went on for 40 days, summing up the evidence at the end took 2 days. For the first time reference was made to George's part in this; never before had a king thought himself able to divorce his wife for misconduct, when his own misconduct in the first place was the reason for hers.

When the final vote was taken in the House of Lords, George's majority had shrunk from 28 to just 9 and he decided to withdraw the Bill. Caroline had won, although she had not been acquitted.

There were great celebrations and crowds of up to 50,000 people turned out in London to watch her process to St Paul's Cathedral for a ceremony of thanksgiving.

However, as the affair became less current, Caroline's popularity began to decline. The extent of this became apparent at George's coronation as King George IV on 19 July 1821. Every effort was made by George to keep Caroline away, but she was determined to attend. Being refused entry at the door of Westminster Abbey was humiliating enough for Caroline, but almost as bad was the fact that few of the crowds, once her greatest supporters, paid little attention to her as she was forced to go back home. This finally seemed to break her spirit and health. She was taken seriously ill that night and died the next day.

The Queen Caroline Affair is also significant in the history of political cartoons. During the course of the affair, between six and ten satirical cartoons appeared each week, compared to the normal three or five.