The Trial of Queen Caroline | |
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Artist | George Hayter |
Year | 1823 |
Type | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 233 cm× 356.2 cm(92 in× 140.2 in) |
Location | National Portrait Gallery, London |
The Trial of Queen Caroline is an 1823 history painting by the British artist George Hayter. [1] It depicts the events of 1820, in which George IV, who had recently succeeded to the throne, attempted to divorce his long-estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick. In order to secure his divorce, George had a special bill moved in the House of Lords. The Lords heard evidence of the Queen's adultery, but with public opinion strongly in Caroline's favour, the measure was ultimately withdrawn by the government. [2] Caroline remained married to George until her death the following year.
The painting was commissioned by George Agar-Ellis, a rising young Whig Member of Parliament and supporter of Caroline. [3] It depicts the sixth day of the proceedings. [4] Caroline herself is seated near the front center of the picture facing sideways. Amongst those prominent in the picture are the Whig opposition politicians Lord Holland and Earl Grey, with the latter standing and cross-examining a witness. Amongst the large crowd are the current Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, in addition to the government ministers the Duke of Wellington and Lord Castlereagh, along with former or future Prime Ministers William Grenville, Henry Addington, Lord John Russell, and Lord Melbourne. Also included are two of the King's brothers: the Duke of York and Duke of Clarence, the future William IV. Agar-Ellis appears prominently on the right of the painting, and in the bottom right hand corner is a self-portrait of the artist. [5]
It was exhibited at Cauty's Great Rooms at Schomberg House in Pall Mall in 1823. Hayter went on to produce several contemporary history paintings, including The House of Commons, 1833, as well as the Coronation and Wedding of Queen Victoria. It is now part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, following a 1912 gift by the Art Fund. [5]
George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III, having done so since 5 February 1811 during his father's final mental illness.
Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821 as the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Princess of Wales from 1795 to 1820.
Sir Thomas Lawrence was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at the Bear Hotel in the Market Square. At age ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At 18, he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1789. He stayed at the top of his profession until his death, aged 60, in 1830.
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) and as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783) and then of the United Kingdom (1807–1809). The gap of 26 years between his two terms as prime minister is the longest of any British prime minister. He was also an ancestor of King Charles III through his great-granddaughter Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle of Castle Howard,, styled Viscount Morpeth until 1825, was a British statesman. He served as Lord Privy Seal between 1827 and 1828 and in 1834 and was a member of Lord Grey's Whig government as Minister without Portfolio between 1830 and 1834.
Sir George Hayter was an English painter, specialising in portraits and large works involving sometimes several hundred individual portraits. Queen Victoria appreciated his merits and appointed Hayter her Principal Painter in Ordinary and also awarded him a Knighthood in 1841.
The Pains and Penalties Bill 1820 was a bill introduced to the British Parliament in 1820, at the request of King George IV, which aimed to dissolve his marriage to Caroline of Brunswick, and deprive her of the title of queen.
Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham, KP, GCH, PC, styled Lord Francis Conyngham between 1816 and 1824 and Earl of Mount Charles between 1824 and 1832, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, courtier, politician and absentee landlord.
George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover PC FRS FSA was a British politician and man of letters. He was briefly First Commissioner of Woods and Forests under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1831.
John Cochran or Cochrane was a Scottish portrait miniaturist, a stipple and line engraver and a painter of watercolours. Cochran exhibited his portraits at the Royal Academy between 1821 and 1823, and at the Suffolk Street Gallery from 1821 to 1827.
The coronation of Victoria as queen of the United Kingdom took place on Thursday, 28 June 1838, just over a year after she succeeded to the throne of the United Kingdom at the age of 18. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey after a public procession through the streets from Buckingham Palace, to which the Queen returned later as part of a second procession.
Anne Mee, née Foldsone (1765–1851) was a prolific English miniature painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Lady Anne Hamilton was a courtier and writer, and friend of the British queen Caroline of Brunswick.
The coronation of George IV as king of the United Kingdom took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 19 July 1821. Originally scheduled for 1 August of the previous year, the ceremony had been postponed due to the parliamentary proceedings of George's estranged wife, Queen Caroline; because these failed to deprive Caroline of her titles and obtain a divorce from the King, she was excluded from the ceremony. In accordance with George's lavish personal tastes, the coronation was the most extravagant ever staged and a number of the traditional elements of the ceremonial were conducted for the last time.
The Trial of William Lord Russell in 1683 is an 1825 history painting by the British artist George Hayter. It is held at Ferens Art Gallery, in Kingston upon Hull.
The Coronation of Queen Victoria is an 1839 painting by the British artist George Hayter. It depicts in oils the Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey on 28 June 1838. Victoria was eighteen when she succeeded her uncle William IV to the throne on 20 June 1837 and went on to reign until 1901.
The Marriage of Queen Victoria is an 1842 painting by the British artist George Hayter. It depicts the wedding between Queen Victoria, reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, and her prince consort Albert on 10 February 1840 at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace in London.
The House of Commons, 1833 is a large history painting by the British artist George Hayter. It depicts the first meeting of the House of Commons following the 1832 Great Reform Act and the subsequent general election that produced a landslide majority for the ruling Whig Government. In the Victorian era the painting was often known as The First Reformed Parliament.
The First Council of Queen Victoria is an 1838 history painting by the Scottish artist David Wilkie. It depicts the first meeting of the privy council following the succession of Queen Victoria to the throne following the death of her uncle William IV. It represents the actual meeting that took place in the Red Saloon at Kensington Palace on 20 June 1837, when the eighteen year-old queen met with senior politicians from both the governing Whig Party and the opposition Tories.