Westminster, 19 July 1821: Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of George IV, arrives to be crowned beside him and finds every door to the Abbey closed in her face
Coronation Proceeds Without Queen
WESTMINSTER, 19 July 1821 – The coronation of King George IV at Westminster Abbey, one of the most lavish and expensive in British history, has gone ahead as planned, with one notable absence: the King wife. Queen Caroline, who had arrived at the Abbey early in the morning expecting to be crowned beside him, was turned away at the doors, reportedly being told she had no ticket. Officials describe the incident as a seating issue.
A Disastrous Marriage
George, then Prince of Wales, had married his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, in 1795, largely because Parliament agreed to pay off his enormous debts if he did. The couple disliked each other from their first meeting. George reportedly turned to an aide and asked for a glass of brandy. He was, in addition, already secretly married, in a ceremony not recognised by law, to a Catholic widow, Maria Fitzherbert. George and Caroline had one child, Princess Charlotte, born in 1796, and then lived almost entirely apart. Caroline eventually moved abroad, where her behaviour became the subject of gossip and paid investigations.
The Trial
When George became king in 1820, Caroline returned to England to claim her place as queen. George was determined to divorce her. The government introduced a Bill of Pains and Penalties in the House of Lords, effectively putting the Queen on trial for adultery in order to strip her of her title and dissolve the marriage. Witnesses, many of them servants from Italy, were cross-examined in public. The proceedings became a national sensation and a political crisis. The public largely sided with Caroline, seeing her as a wronged woman persecuted by a selfish, extravagant king who had hardly been faithful himself. The bill was abandoned.
The Abbey Doors
Caroline was not crowned and not invited. On coronation morning, she went from door to door around the Abbey, demanding entry. Each was shut against her. Some in the crowd cheered her; others jeered, as public sympathy had begun to cool. Eventually she left. Historians describe it as one of the most humiliating public scenes in royal history.
Caroline fell ill that same evening and died less than three weeks later, on 7 August 1821, aged fifty-three. Some of her supporters suspected poison; historians generally think she died of an intestinal illness. She asked that her coffin bear the inscription, Caroline of Brunswick, the injured Queen of England. Her funeral procession through London led to riots, as crowds forced the route through the City.
Meanwhile, in 2026
Royal family quarrels still play out in public. The London Prat reports Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors after an anonymous source claimed the heir believes his brother read their uncle memoir first. Reports say reconciliation is off, and the uncle says he told everyone. Regency historians note that public sympathy tends to shift unpredictably in royal disputes, as Caroline discovered, and that nobody comes out of a public royal quarrel entirely well.
The London Prat has been knocking on the Abbey doors since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, with its royal row video on YouTube. Bohiney at https://bohiney.com/ covers American celebrity divorces.
Study Questions for Students
Why did so many people support Caroline? What does the trial reveal about the monarchy and public opinion in the 1820s? How did the press shape the story? Discuss, and make sure you have your ticket.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/