Tracy Borman: WHAT IS THE TRUTH
ABOUT THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III?
WHAT CONDITION CAUSED HIS SUFFERING,
AND HOW HAS FASCINATING RECENT ANALYSIS
CHALLENGED LONG HELD THEORIES?
HOW TRUE ARE THE STORIES ABOUT HIS SON,
THE PRINCE REGENT’S GLUTTONY AND LOVE OF EXCESS?
AND HOW DID THIS ERA PROVIDE INSPIRATION
FOR THE FIRST POLITICAL CARTOONISTS?
Man: GEORGE III WAS SOMEBODY
WHO TOOK BEING A KING VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
I MEAN, HE TRIED TO BE A GOOD KING IN SPITE OF ALL HIS FAULTS.
HE LOST AMERICA.
HE HAD A VERY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY.
IN THE END OF THE DAY, HE COMES ACROSS AS A BIT DULL
BUT OTHERWISE A SOLID MONARCH.
Man: IF WE KNOW ANY ONE FACT ABOUT GEORGE III,
IT’S THE FACT THAT HE WAS THE MAD KING.
EVENTUALLY, HE WAS COMPLETELY CONSUMED
BY THIS SORT OF STRANGE FORM OF MADNESS
THAT WAS IN HIS BLOOD.
IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT THE PRINCE REGENT
STARTED EYEING UP THE THRONE FOR HIMSELF.
Woman: FOR MOST PEOPLE THAT KNEW GEORGE IV,
THEY DISLIKED HIM.
HE WAS DESCRIBED AS A COWARDLY, CONTEMPTUOUS DOG
BY ONE OF HIS AIDES.
HE WAS NOT A NICE PERSON.
Man: GEORGE IV WAS A PLEASURE-LOVING,
LASCIVIOUS, HARD-DRINKING, HARD-GAMBLING, VENAL,
VINDICTIVE, NASTY, SMALL-MINDED RULER.
George III: AAH!
Borman: IN THIS EPISODE,
WE EXAMINE THE DECLINE AND MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III,
THE CARTOONS THAT SCANDALIZED THE MONARCHY,
AS WELL AS THE GARGANTUAN APPETITES AND LIFESTYLE
OF HIS SON, THE NEW GEORGE IV.
I’M TRACY BORMAN, AND I’M HERE TO TRY AND FIND THE ANSWERS
TO THESE AND MANY MORE FASCINATING QUESTIONS,
AS WE TELL THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE PRIVATE LIVES
OF KING GEORGE III AND THE PRINCE REGENT.
♪
IN OCTOBER 1760,
AT THE AGE OF JUST 22,
GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK
BECAME THE THIRD HANOVERIAN KING
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
HE WAS ONLY HEIR TO THE THRONE BECAUSE IN 1751
HIS FATHER, FREDERICK PRINCE OF WALES,
HAD DIED FROM A LUNG ABSCESS,
WHICH WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED
BY A BLOW FROM A CRICKET BALL.
BUT WHAT KIND OF MAN HAD ASCENDED TO THE THRONE,
AND WHY WAS HE KNOWN AS FARMER GEORGE?
♪
Tony McMahon: GEORGE III CAME FROM A LINE OF GERMAN KINGS.
NOW, HE IS THE FIRST OF THE HANOVERIANS
WHO TRIES TO PROJECT THE FACT
THAT HE IS ENGLISH, HE IS BRITISH.
HE’S A 22-YEAR-OLD, AND HE SAYS TO THE COUNTRY, "I AM BRITISH.
I WAS BORN IN THIS COUNTRY, NOT IN GERMANY."
HE WANTED TO BE REGARDED AS TOTALLY BRITISH.
Rebecca Rideal: HE BECAME A MONARCH QUITE YOUNG,
AND HE WAS QUIET.
HE WASN’T AS INTELLECTUAL AS SOME OF HIS PREDECESSORS,
BUT HE WASN’T AS ABYSMAL
AS OTHERS OF HIS PREDECESSORS AS WELL.
HE WAS KIND OF AVERAGE IN INTELLIGENCE.
Hallie Rubenhold: GEORGE LIVED LIKE A COUNTRY SQUIRE.
HE WAS INTERESTED IN AGRICULTURAL MATTERS.
HE WAS INTERESTED IN FRUGALITY, IN PENNY-PINCHING.
HE WAS INTERESTED IN HIS LITTLE SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS.
HE WAS NOT INTERESTED IN FASHIONABLE SOCIETY.
HE WAS NOT INTERESTED IN MAKING A SPLASH.
HE WANTED A VERY SIMPLE AND VERY PLAIN EXISTENCE.
♪
Borman: OF COURSE, THIS WAS THE ERA OF ARRANGED MARRIAGES,
AND AFTER A THOROUGH OFFICIAL SEARCH
THROUGH A LIST OF THE AVAILABLE WOMEN IN EUROPE,
IT WAS DECIDED THAT CHARLOTTE,
THE DAUGHTER OF THE DUKE OF MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ,
WAS A SUITABLE MATCH FOR THE NEW KING.
AND IT TOOK PLACE BEHIND THOSE WINDOWS,
IN THE CHAPEL ROYAL AT ST. JAMES’S PALACE.
♪
AMAZING AS IT NOW SOUNDS,
GEORGE HAD NEVER MET HIS FUTURE WIFE
BEFORE THE DAY OF THE WEDDING.
YOU’D THINK THAT UNPROMISING START
MIGHT HAVE MADE A SUCCESSFUL UNION UNLIKELY,
BUT THIS WAS TO BE A VERY HAPPY MARRIAGE
THAT LASTED FOR 57 YEARS AND PRODUCED 15 CHILDREN.
AT A TIME WHEN IT WAS ALMOST EXPECTED
THAT A KING SHOULD KEEP MISTRESSES, GEORGE NEVER DID.
Rideal: LOTS AND LOTS OF WOMEN FROM AROUND EUROPE
HAD BEEN ASSESSED.
MANY HAD BEEN FOUND TO BE INAPPROPRIATE,
AND FINALLY THEY FIXED ON THIS PRINCESS CHARLOTTE,
AND SHE WAS CHOSEN, NOT BECAUSE SHE WAS A GREAT BEAUTY,
BUT BECAUSE SHE WAS THOUGHT TO BE SENSIBLE AND OKAY
AND OPEN TO THE WAY OF LIFE IN ENGLAND
AND MARRIAGE TO GEORGE AS WELL.
Rubenhold: HERE WAS GEORGE, WHO MARRIED CHARLOTTE,
WHO WAS KNOWN TO BE THIS RATHER UNATTRACTIVE GERMAN PRINCESS
WHO HE HAD NEVER MET,
WHO HE STAYED ABSOLUTELY FAITHFUL TO
THROUGHOUT HIS MARRIAGE.
Dominic Selwood: GEORGE WAS VERY DIFFERENT
TO MANY OF THE MONARCHS WHO CAME BEFORE AND AFTERWARDS,
IN THAT HE REALLY WAS DEVOTED TO HIS QUEEN,
WHOM HE DIDN’T KNOW THAT WELL.
IT WAS STILL A FORMAL MARRIAGE, BUT THE LETTERS BETWEEN THEM,
PARTICULARLY WHEN HE BECAME INSANE LATER IN LIFE,
THEY’RE EXTRAORDINARILY TENDER.
THESE TWO HAD A VERY SPECIAL BOND,
AND HE WAS FAITHFUL TO HER.
FOR THE PERIOD AND THE SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS BEFOREHAND,
THAT MAKES GEORGE ALMOST UNIQUE.
♪
Borman: BEHIND ME IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS BUILDINGS
IN THE WORLD-- BUCKINGHAM PALACE--
BUT IT CERTAINLY WASN’T THAT WHEN KING GEORGE PURCHASED IT
AS PLAIN OLD BUCKINGHAM HOUSE IN 1761.
HE BOUGHT IT AS A LONDON RETREAT FOR HIS FAMILY,
WHILE HIS MAIN AND FAVORED RESIDENCES
WERE KEW PALACE AND WINDSOR CASTLE.
McMahon: IN 1761, GEORGE III BUYS THIS HOUSE,
BUCKINGHAM HOUSE.
IT’S QUITE CLOSE TO ST. JAMES’S PALACE.
IT’S INTENDED TO BE A KIND OF FAMILY HOME,
BUT, TO BE HONEST, IT WAS A PRETTY RAMSHACKLE PLACE.
IT WAS A KIND OF A HUNTING LODGE,
AND IT’S NOTHING LIKE THE BUILDING THAT YOU SEE TODAY,
SO THERE WAS NO GRAND FACADE.
IT’S REALLY A KIND OF A RETREAT ALMOST,
BUT RIGHT NEXT TO THE PALACE.
Matt Green: HE WAS A MAN OF SIMPLE, MODEST TASTES.
HE WAS FARMER GEORGE.
HE DIDN’T REALLY WANT TO SPEND
THAT MUCH LONGER IN LONDON THAN HE HAD TO,
SO HE TENDED TO, YOU KNOW, APPEAR IN ST. JAMES’S PALACE,
BUT THEN HE WOULD RETREAT TO KEW OR TO WINDSOR
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
YOU KNOW, THE URBANE LIFE
WASN’T FOR HIM.
Selwood: GEORGE GOT THE NICKNAME FARMER GEORGE
BECAUSE HE WASN’T REALLY INTERESTED OR SUITED
TO THE POLITICS AND HIGH INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY.
WHAT HE REALLY LOVED WAS PLANTS AND FLOWERS AND FARMING.
THE TIME HE SPENT AT KEW AND AT WINDSOR IN HIS GARDEN
WERE THE HAPPIEST TIMES IN HIS LIFE.
[BAND PLAYING GOD SAVE THE KING]
♪
Borman: KING GEORGE MAY HAVE BEEN A LOT OF THINGS,
BUT HE CERTAINLY WASN’T A TRAVELER.
IN FACT, HE SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND.
HE EVEN TOOK HIS FAMILY ON HOLIDAYS
TO THE DELIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN COAST,
AND HE LOVED BATHING IN THE SEA,
BUT NOT AS THE AVERAGE PERSON DOES IT TODAY.
♪
ONE OF THE KING’S FAVORITE HOLIDAY RESORTS
WAS WEYMOUTH IN DORSET, WHICH HAS A FAMOUS BEACH,
AND WHERE THERE’S A BEACH, THERE’S WATER IN WHICH TO SWIM,
WHICH WAS EXACTLY WHAT THE KING DID.
HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT A SUN LOUNGER, BEACH TOWEL,
BOTTLE OF SUN CREAM TYPE OF AFFAIR.
NO, WHEN GEORGE WENT BATHING,
HE DID SO IN A MANNER BEFITTING HIS ROYAL STATUS.
Green: AS THE MONARCH, NOT JUST OF ENGLAND BUT BRITAIN AS WELL
AND A BURGEONING EMPIRE, YOU NEED SOME TIME OUT,
SO HE WENT TO WEYMOUTH, AND THE REASON HE WENT THERE
WAS TO TAKE THE WATERS
FOR ITS KIND OF HEALTH-GIVING AND THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS.
McMahon: SO YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE
GEORGE III GOING DOWN TO THE BEACH.
THIS IS NOT LIKE A MODERN BEACH HOLIDAY.
I MEAN, HE WOULD GO DOWN IN WHAT WAS DESCRIBED
AS A BATHING MACHINE.
SO HE’D BE PUSHED DOWN TO THE SEA,
AND NEARBY WAS A BAND THAT WOULD GOD SAVE THE KING
AS IF IT WASN’T THERE,
AND THEN HE WOULD EMERGE IN SOME KIND OF BATHING ROBE,
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY YOU DIDN’T SHOW YOUR BODY OFF
IN THOSE DAYS,
AND PROCESS DOWN TO THE SEA AND COVER HIMSELF IN SEAWATER
IN THE HOPE THAT THIS WOULD TAKE AWAY ALL HIS VARIOUS AILMENTS.
Rubenhold: HE WENT EVERY YEAR TO WEYMOUTH TO DO THIS
BECAUSE GEORGE IN HIS HEART WAS A CREATURE OF HABIT.
HE LIKED PLAIN THINGS.
HE LIKED TO JUST DO THE SAME THING THAT HE WOULD ALWAYS DO.
Borman: GEORGE III’S PASSION FOR BATHING AND MEDICINE
WASN’T HIS ONLY INTELLECTUAL INTEREST.
HERE, AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM IN LONDON,
THEY HAVE SOME UNIQUE ARTIFACTS FROM THE KING’S LIFE,
AND I’VE BEEN GIVEN SPECIAL PERMISSION TO TAKE A LOOK
WITH ONE OF THE CURATORS, JANE DESBOROUGH.
THAT’S INCREDIBLE!
Jane Desborough: SO, HERE WE ARE IN THE CONSERVATION LABS.
I’LL JUST GET THE LIGHTS.
Borman: WOW!
NOW, THESE LOOK-- INTRIGUING OBJECTS.
WHAT ARE THEY?
Desborough: SO, HERE WE HAVE TWO OBJECTS
FROM THE KING GEORGE III COLLECTION.
ON THE ONE HAND,
WE’VE GOT THE VERY SHINY AND HIGH-END INSTRUMENTS
MADE BY THE GEORGE ADAMS FAMILY OF INSTRUMENT MAKERS
FOR GEORGE III.
Borman: SO, TELL ME WHAT THIS WAS FOR.
Desborough: SO, THIS IS MECHANICAL POWERS OPERATORS,
AND THAT MEANS MECHANICAL POWERS ARE PULLEYS AND LEVERS.
THE DEMONSTRATOR WOULD USE DIFFERENT WEIGHTS
ON THESE DIFFERENT SERIES OF PULLEYS,
AND THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT AT THE TIME
BECAUSE ALTHOUGH PEOPLE HAD ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED
IN DIFFERENT PULLEYS AND THE WAY THAT GREAT WEIGHTS
SUCH AS STONES OR CARGO COULD BE LIFTED,
THEY REALLY WANTED TO WORK OUT
THE PRINCIPLES BEHIND EFFICIENT LIFTING
AND CHOOSE THE RIGHT KIND OF PULLEYS
FOR THE JOB THAT THEY NEEDED TO GET DONE.
Green: WE THINK OF GEORGE AS SPARTAN, MODEST,
ALMOST QUITE A BACKWARDS FIGURE.
IT’S SINCE COME TO LIGHT THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER SIDE TO HIM,
AND THIS KIND OF VENEER OF SIMPLICITY
CLOAKED A BRILLIANT MIND,
AND HE WAS INCREDIBLY SORT OF SCIENTIFICALLY ACUTE,
AND HE’S ALMOST LEFT A KIND OF 800 SORT OF GADGETS
THAT HE USED TO KIND OF PLAY WITH
AND MEASURE ALMOST ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND WE STILL HAVE HIS CALCULATIONS
BASED ON THE TRANSIT OF VENUS, WHICH OCCURRED DURING HIS REIGN,
AND THE ENTIRE THING IS ABSOLUTELY METICULOUS.
IT’S ALMOST LIKE HE’S A BIT OF AN OBSESSIVE.
SO THIS WAS COMPLETELY SORT OF HIDDEN
BY THE IMAGE THAT HE USED TO PORTRAY TO THE PUBLIC.
Desborough: IF I CAN SHOW YOU THE NEXT MODEL.
THIS IS A MODEL PILE DRIVER.
THE FULL-SCALE VERSION WOULD HAVE BEEN USED
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OLD WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.
Borman: OH, REALLY?
Desborough: SO, HERE WE’VE GOT THIS PRINT,
IF I CAN SHOW YOU THIS, OF HOW THE PILE DRIVER WORKED.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT WAS FLOATING ON THE RIVER.
THERE WERE HORSES THAT OPERATED THE CAPSTAN.
IF I SHOW YOU ON THE MAIN MODEL HERE.
SO THE HORSES WOULD HAVE TURNED THIS CAPSTAN.
THAT WOULD HAVE LIFTED THIS WEIGHT OVER HERE.
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN UP TO THE TOP
AND THEN LET GO TO DRIVE THE PILES INTO THE RIVERBED.
Borman: SO, GIVEN THIS WAS A HUGE PART OF HIS LIFE,
AND THERE ARE WHAT, 800 OBJECTS, YOU SAID, IN THE COLLECTION,
WHY HAS IT BEEN FORGOTTEN?
Desborough: I DON’T KNOW.
I MEAN, THAT’S SOMETHING THAT WE HERE REALLY WANT TO PUSH
SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE OTHER SIDE TO GEORGE,
BECAUSE IT IS SO IMPORTANT AND FASCINATING,
AND HE SHOULD BE KNOWN AS THAT PERSON
WHO WAS SO INTRIGUED AND INTO EVERYTHING.
Borman: IT’S BEEN A TOTAL REVELATION FOR ME.
IT’S REALLY CHANGED MY OPINION OF GEORGE,
SO I’M VERY GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR SHOWING ME THEM.
THANK YOU.
Desborough: IT’S WONDERFUL TO SHOW YOU THEM.
Rubenhold: GEORGE WAS A MUCH MORE COMPLEX MAN
THAN HE’S OFTEN GIVEN CREDIT FOR BEING.
HE WAS FASCINATED WITH THE ARTS.
HE WAS THE PATRON OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY.
HE HAD A MASSIVE COLLECTION OF BOOKS,
WHICH LATER BECAME THE ESSENCE OF, OF THE BRITISH LIBRARY.
HE WAS A MAN WHO WAS FASCINATED WITH INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS
AND ENGAGED IN THEM,
AND HE WAS WHAT WE WOULD THINK OF AS AN ENLIGHTENED MONARCH,
A MAN OF HIS TIME.
♪
George III: AAH!
Borman: BUT, OF COURSE, WHEN WE THINK OF KING GEORGE III,
WE THINK FIRST OF HIS SO-CALLED MADNESS,
THE RECURRING BOUTS OF TERRIBLE MENTAL ILLNESS,
WHICH AFFECTED THE KING FROM 1788 UNTIL THE END OF HIS LIFE.
FOR MANY YEARS, THE CAUSE OF THE KING’S ILLNESS
WAS BELIEVED TO BE AN INHERITED CONDITION CALLED PORPHYRIA,
BUT VERY RECENT RESEARCH HAS SHED SOME DOUBT ON THAT.
Selwood: GEORGE III HAD THREE VERY SERIOUS EPISODES
OF INSANITY.
WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS.
PEOPLE HAVE COME UP WITH DIFFERENT IDEAS OVER THE YEARS.
FOR A LONG TIME, IT WAS PORPHYRIA.
IT’S POSSIBLE.
PEOPLE NOW LIKE TO TALK MORE ABOUT A BIPOLAR DISORDER,
WHICH IS ALSO POSSIBLE.
BUT WHAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT HE HAD SERIOUS INSANITY
FOR THESE PERIODS.
Green: THE LOSS OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES
DEALT AN EXTREMELY SEVERE PSYCHOLOGICAL BLOW TO THE KING.
JUST IMAGINE YOU HAVE THIS HUGE EMPIRE--
TERRITORIALLY IT WAS THE BIGGEST EMPIRE
THE WORLD HAD SEEN SINCE ROME--
AND THEN SUDDENLY A WHOLE PART OF IT IS JUST LOPPED OFF.
IT’S GONE, IT’S VANISHED, IT’S NOT PART OF BRITAIN ANYMORE.
Rideal: IT WAS A TRAIT OF HIS THAT,
IF HE ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE UPSET BY SOMETHING,
HE REALLY WENT INTO A DEEP STATE OF MELANCHOLY,
AND THIS WAS THE BIGGEST SHAKE-UP OF HIS LIFE
THAT HE’D HAD TO THAT DATE.
Rubenhold: HE LOST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF LAND,
A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TERRITORY WHICH BELONGED TO BRITAIN,
AND SO THAT WAS A PERSONAL FAILURE,
UM, AND GEORGE SAW IT AS A PERSONAL FAILURE,
AND, IN FACT, HE EVEN DRAFTED A RESIGNATION LETTER,
WHICH HE NEVER SUBMITTED,
BUT IT’S UNLIKELY THAT HE EVER FULLY RECOVERED
FROM THIS, THIS TERRIBLE LOSS.
Borman: DR. PETER GARRARD
FROM ST. GEORGE’S UNIVERSITY IN LONDON
HAS STUDIED THE KING’S MADNESS IN DETAIL
AND STRONGLY SUSPECTS THAT THE WIDELY HELD BELIEF
THAT HE HAD PORPHYRIA IS, IN FACT, WRONG,
AND HE SAYS HE KNOWS THAT
FROM HIS DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE KING’S HANDWRITING.
SO, PETER, WHAT DOES YOUR RESEARCH TELL US
ABOUT THE HANDWRITING OF GEORGE?
I KNOW YOU’VE LOOKED AT THIS IN QUITE SOME DEPTH.
Peter Garrard: WE HAVE THIS TIMELINE
OF TEXTS AND SCRIPTS OF KING GEORGE,
WHICH GO THROUGH A PERIOD, SEVERAL DECADES OF HIS LIFE,
AND PASS THROUGH PERIODS
WHERE HE’S MENTALLY HEALTHY,
MENTALLY UNWELL, AND WHAT WE FOUND
WAS THAT THOSE TWO TYPES OF LANGUAGE
THAT HE USED IN HIS LETTERS DURING THOSE TWO PERIODS
COULD BE TEASED APART.
THE FEATURES OF THE, THE TWO PERIODS WERE DIFFERENT.
SO, HERE’S A LETTER THAT KING GEORGE WROTE IN, I THINK, 1786.
HERE IT IS, RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM.
WE CAN SEE IT’S WRITTEN
IN THIS BEAUTIFUL SCRIPT, LOVELY STRAIGHT LINES.
IT’S A LETTER TO ONE OF HIS MEMBERS OF HIS GOVERNMENT.
"MY GOOD LORD." VERY POLITELY SIGNED OFF
WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL SIGNATURE AT THE END,
AND THIS IS FROM A VERY HEALTHY, MENTALLY HEALTHY PERIOD
OF GEORGE’S LIFE IN 1786.
SO THAT’S TWO YEARS BEFORE THIS INDEX PERIOD OF MADNESS.
Borman: AND IT’S BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN.
IT’S VERY NEAT AND ORDERLY.
Garrard: YES.
Borman: IT’S REFLECTING HIS MIND AT THAT STAGE.
McMahon: SO, THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MYSTERY
ABOUT WHAT THE KING WAS SUFFERING FROM.
I MEAN, THE EXTERNAL SYMPTOMS
WERE TALKING AT A MASSIVE RATE FOR HOURS ON END,
FOAMING AT THE MOUTH, SAYING THE MOST BIZARRE THINGS.
WAS THAT CAUSED BY A DISEASE OF THE BLOOD?
I MEAN, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HIS URINE BEING BLUE,
AND THAT IT WAS PORPHYRIA.
SOME PEOPLE SAY NO, IT WAS BIPOLAR,
AND IT WAS ACTUALLY THE MEDICINE THAT WAS TURNING HIS URINE BLUE.
SO THERE’S A BIT OF A MYSTERY AS TO WHAT HE ACTUALLY HAD,
BUT THE END RESULT IS THAT GEORGE III WENT BARKING MAD,
WHATEVER THE CAUSE.
Garrard: THIS IS A NICE SEQUENCE OF FOUR LETTERS, WRITTEN 1779,
AND I THINK PERHAPS WE CAN SEE IN THIS
THAT IT’S SLIGHTLY LESS PRECISE THAN BEFORE.
THE LINES ARE NICE AND STRAIGHT,
BUT THERE’S PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT MORE VARIATION
IN THE SIZE OF THE LETTERS.
Borman: YOU CAN SEE THAT.
THERE’S SOMETHING LESS ORDERED ABOUT IT.
THIS FIRST ONE THERE, IN PARTICULAR.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS ONE DOWN HERE, DATED 1805,
THAT’S, THAT IS QUITE DIFFERENT, ISN’T IT?
Garrard: YES. WELL, THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LAST LETTERS
THAT KING GEORGE WROTE IN HIS OWN HAND.
IT’S DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHETHER TO ATTRIBUTE
THE UNTIDINESS OF THIS TO HIS COGNITIVE DECLINE
OR TO HIS VISUAL DECLINE,
AND I SUSPECT THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF BOTH IN THAT.
Borman: IT’S ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING, THOUGH, ISN’T IT,
TO SEE THIS WRITTEN RECORD OF GEORGE’S HEALTH IN THIS WAY.
Rubenhold: THERE ARE A LOT OF THEORIES
ABOUT GEORGE’S QUOTE-UNQUOTE "MADNESS."
SOME BELIEVE THAT HE MAY HAVE HAD
A KIND OF MANIC DEPRESSIVE BIPOLAR DISORDER
THAT HE WAS SUFFERING FROM,
BUT HE WAS MOST CERTAINLY SUFFERING
FROM SOME SORT OF MENTAL DISABILITY.
Borman: THE HOUSE OF HANOVER WAS PROBABLY
ONE OF THE MOST DYSFUNCTIONAL ROYAL DYNASTIES
IN BRITISH HISTORY.
TO PUT IT MILDLY, MANY OF THEM NEVER GOT ON,
AND KING GEORGE III AND HIS SON, ALSO NAMED GEORGE,
CARRIED ON THAT FAMILY TRADITION.
WHERE KING GEORGE WAS THRIFTY AND DOWN-TO-EARTH,
HIS ELDEST SON WAS SPENDTHRIFT AND DISSOLUTE.
THE KING CERTAINLY WASN’T VERY FOND OF HIM,
AND THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL.
Selwood: THE GEORGES, THE HANOVERIANS,
WERE VERY WELL KNOWN FOR HAVING COLOSSALLY DYSFUNCTIONAL
RELATIONSHIPS DOWN THE GENERATIONS
AND FOR FATHERS AND SONS NOT TO GET ON,
BUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEORGE III AND GEORGE IV
WAS ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULARLY DYSFUNCTIONAL
AND DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED.
Rubenhold: FOR, AS ABSTEMIOUS AND FRUGAL AND MISERLY
AS GEORGE III WAS,
GEORGE IV WAS EXTRAVAGANT, LAZY,
A WOMANIZER, A GLUTTON,
UM, DIDN’T CARE ABOUT BEING A GOOD RULER,
WAS IN IT FOR HIMSELF, HAD NO MORAL FIBER.
HE WAS COMPLETELY THE OPPOSITE OF HIS FATHER.
♪
Borman: IN 1783, AT THE TENDER AGE OF 21,
THE PRINCE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE
WITH A LADY CALLED MARIA FITZHERBERT.
IN FACT, HE BECAME INFATUATED WITH HER.
IT WAS, AS THEY SAY, NEVER GOING TO WORK.
MARIA WAS A TWICE WIDOWED COMMONER,
SIX YEARS HIS ELDER, AND, WORST OF ALL, A ROMAN CATHOLIC.
THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT OF 1701
BARRED THE SPOUSE OF A CATHOLIC FROM SUCCEEDING TO THE THRONE,
BUT THE PRINCE OBVIOUSLY DIDN’T SEE THIS AS A PROBLEM,
BECAUSE HE MARRIED MARIA IN SECRET IN 1785.
Rideal: ONE THING THAT THE HANOVERIANS LIKED
MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE WAS A SECRET MARRIAGE,
AND THIS IS WHAT GEORGE IV DID.
HE MARRIED WITHOUT PERMISSION, AND BEFORE HIS FATHER DIED,
HIS UNCLES HAD DONE THE SAME THING.
AND IT WAS FORBIDDEN,
BUT HE DID IT ANYWAY,
AND THIS KIND OF SET THE TONE FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
McMahon: HIS FATHER HAD HAD TO PAY HIS GAMBLING DEBTS,
HAD HAD TO PAY OFF WOMEN WHO WERE BLACKMAILING HIM,
BECAUSE HE BASICALLY OFFERED THEM HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY
TO GO TO BED WITH HIM AND THEN NOT PAID THEM,
AND THEN THERE WAS MARIA FITZHERBERT,
HIS SECRET WIFE, HIS CATHOLIC WIFE,
THAT THE PRINCE REGENT HAD MARRIED,
MUCH TO THE HORROR OF HIS FATHER,
SO HIS FATHER HAD ABSOLUTE CONTEMPT FOR HIS SON.
HIS SON, IN TURN, YOU KNOW, IN THE EARLY PART OF THE REIGN,
OBVIOUSLY COULDN’T DO ANYTHING
TO GET HIS OWN BACK ON HIS FATHER,
BUT ONCE THE MADNESS DESCENDED, THEN THERE WAS THE OPPORTUNITY
TO GET HIS OWN BACK ON HIS FATHER.
[YELLING]
Man: GOOD MORNING.
George III: DON’T TOUCH ME! GET OFF! GET OFF!
[YELLING]
Borman: SO WITH AN APPARENTLY MAD KING ON THE THRONE
AND HIS EXTRAVAGANT SON WAITING IN THE WINGS,
THE MONARCHY BECAME A RIPE TARGET
FOR A NEW STYLE OF CRITICISM, THE POLITICAL CARTOON.
THE ARTISTS INCLUDED JAMES GILLRAY
AND THE MAN DESCRIBED AS THE MODERN HOGARTH,
GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.
THEY PORTRAYED PRINCE GEORGE AS FAT, LAZY,
AND AN OLYMPIC-SIZED LOVER OF THE GOOD LIFE.
MARTIN ROWSON HAS BEEN A CARTOONIST
NEWSPAPER FOR OVER 20 YEARS
AND IS A GREAT ADMIRER OF GILLRAY.
SO, MARTIN, YOU’VE GOT QUITE A WONDERFUL COLLECTION
OF CARTOONS HERE.
CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH SOME OF THEM?
Martin Rowson: YEAH, WELL, I’VE GOT THIS PILE OF GILLRAYS
ABOUT GEORGE III
AND THE PRINCE REGENT,
AND THIS IS A GOOD ONE
TO START OFF WITH
BECAUSE IT SHOWS QUITE HOW FAR
THEY WERE PREPARED TO PUSH THINGS.
SO, IT’S A PASTICHE OF FUSELI’S OIL PAINTING
THE THREE WITCHES MACBETH,
BUT IT’S DEALING WITH AN EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TOPIC,
WHICH IS THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE.
AND THERE HE IS AS THE MOON.
HE’S BEEN ECLIPSED, SO HE’S IN DARKNESS BECAUSE HE’S GONE MAD.
YOU CAN JUST SEE THIS SORT OF HALF MOON OF THE QUEEN.
WILL SHE BE TAKING OVER THE REGENCY?
AND HERE IS PITT THE YOUNGER
AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT,
LIKE THE LORD CHANCELLOR SORT OF PONDERING
OVER THE ECLIPSE OF THE MADNESS OF THE KING,
BUT THAT WAS SMALL BEER COMPARED TO HOW FAR GILLRAY
AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES WERE PREPARED TO GO.
I MEAN, THEY WERE PREPARED TO DO
REALLY, REALLY CLOSE TO THE WIRE STUFF.
SO HERE IS THE PRINCE REGENT,
THE PRINCE OF WALES AS A GOAT WITH HIS MISTRESS,
LADY JERSEY, THE MOUNTAINS OF WALES
AND VARIOUS FIGURES DANCING AROUND THE PLACE.
Borman: IT’S QUITE SHOCKING, ISN’T IT?
IT’S CLOSER TO THE BONE
THAN WE WOULD EVER DARE GO WITH OUR ROYALS.
Rowson: IT’S ABOUT AS CLOSE TO THE BONE AS YOU CAN GET
BECAUSE THIS ONE, FOR EXAMPLE,
YOU HAVE THE REIGNING MONARCH, GEORGE III,
WHO IS BEING TOLD ABOUT THE ASSASSINATION
OF THE KING OF SWEDEN BY PITT THE YOUNGER,
AND HE IS SITTING AT STOOL.
Borman: HE IS! HE’S--
Rowson: AND, AND THERE’S NO PARTICULARLY GOOD REASON
WHY HE SHOULD BE DEPICTED IN THIS WAY
EXCEPT, OF COURSE, IT’S FUNNY.
IT’S A GAG. IT’S A JOKE.
McMahon: THE TYPE OF SATIRE THAT GILLRAY ENGAGED IN
WOULD HAVE BEEN REGARDED BY US TODAY AS INCREDIBLY VICIOUS.
HE MOCKED GEORGE III’S FRUGALITY.
YOU KNOW, HE HAD HIM EATING
OFF THREADBARE TABLES.
HE MOCKED THE FACT
THAT GEORGE III WASN’T INTO COURTLY LIFE,
AND THAT HE WAS INTO GOING AND TENDING HIS TURNIPS,
AND HE’S MOCKED AS FARMER GEORGE IN HIS OWN LIFETIME.
YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT PARTICULARLY
WEREN’T BAD ABOUT A MONARCH,
BUT THEN SEEMED TO BE REGARDED AS HILARIOUS.
Rowson: THERE’S THIS WONDERFUL COUPLE OF COMPANION PIECES
BY GILLRAY, PRODUCED IN 1792,
AND IT’S COMPARING GEORGE III
WITH HIS SON.
AND ON THE ONE HAND, YOU HAVE GEORGE III,
TEMPERANCE ENJOYING A FRUGAL MEAL,
AND HE’S SO FRUGAL,
HE’S NOT GOING TO WEAR OUT HIS ROYAL CHAIRS.
HERE IS THE TRIUMPH OF BENEVOLENCE,
WHICH IS AN EMPTY FRAME,
BECAUSE HE’S SO TIGHT WITH MONEY.
THERE IS THE QUEEN EATING RAW VEGETABLES,
AND HE’S EATING AN EGG OFF GOLD CUTLERY.
BUT IT’S THIS IDEA OF FRUGALITY AND ACTUALLY MEANNESS.
AND YOU COMPARE THAT WITH THE IMAGE OF HIS SON,
THE PRINCE OF WALES, WHO’S THIS BLOATED, FAT GLUTTON
WHO’S JUST CRAMMED FULL OF FOOD,
THE BONES OF HIS BREAKFAST LEFT THERE
LOOKING LIKE THE REMNANTS OF A CANNIBAL FEAST.
IN THE BACKGROUND, THERE’S THIS KIND OF PYRAMID OF POTIONS,
WHICH ARE ALL THERE TO TREAT SYPHILIS.
HE’S JUST A DISGUSTING, DIRTY, FAT, POX-RIDDEN PIG.
AND JUST TO GILD THE LILY, AS IT WERE,
BEHIND HIM YOU CAN SEE THIS OVER-BRIMMING CHAMBER POT,
FILLED WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF EATING AND DRINKING TOO MUCH.
Green: GILLRAY DIDN’T HOLD HIS PUNCHES.
HE PORTRAYED HIM AS THIS KIND OF GLUTTONOUS MOUNTAIN OF FLABBER
THAT WOULD JUST KIND OF EAT
ANYTHING THAT CAME ANYWHERE NEAR HIM,
AND SO THE SORT OF UNDERLYING MESSAGE WAS THAT, YOU KNOW,
HE WAS QUITE A SORT OF CORRUPT AND DECADENT KING.
SO IT WASN’T JUST ABOUT EATING,
IT WAS ABOUT HIS KIND OF ATTITUDE
TOWARDS GOVERNMENT AS WELL.
SO, FOR GILLRAY,
GEORGE III AND HIS SON, GEORGE IV,
WERE SORT OF BRILLIANT FODDER.
Man: AS LONG AS YOU CAUSE DISCORD AND CHAOS,
YOU WILL BE RESTRAINED, SIR!
George III: I...
Man: PUT HIS HEAD...
George III: ...AM THE KING!
STOP THAT!
Borman: WITH THE KING’S HEALTH IN DECLINE
AND THE COURT PHYSICIANS CLEARLY BAFFLED,
THE QUEEN BROUGHT IN A NEW DOCTOR TO TREAT THE KING.
HIS NAME WAS FRANCIS WILLIS.
WILLIS STILL EMPLOYED THE ACCEPTED METHODS OF THE TIME,
WHICH INCLUDED PHYSICAL RESTRAINT
AND BLISTERING OF THE SKIN,
AND THE KING WASN’T SPARED.
Selwood: DR. WILLIS HAD TRAINED FIRST AS A PRIEST,
AND THEN IN LATER LIFE HAD RETRAINED AS A DOCTOR,
AND HE’D HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUCCESS
TREATING WEALTHY AND NOBLE PEOPLE FOR, FOR MENTAL ISSUES,
WHICH WASN’T A BRANCH OF MEDICINE
THAT WAS PARTICULARLY FOCUSED ON AT THE TIME,
SO HE WAS CALLED IN
WHEN ALL OTHER AVENUES FAILED WITH GEORGE,
AND HIS TECHNIQUES WERE TO, TO CALM GEORGE DOWN,
TO TAKE HIM BACK TO THE NURSERY ALMOST,
AS IT WERE, AND TREAT HIM LIKE A CHILD.
Rubenhold: HOWEVER, HE WAS NOT AVERSE
TO USING MORE TRADITIONAL METHODS,
SO METHODS OF RESTRAINT AND COERCION,
WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN DEEPLY HUMILIATING FOR THE KING,
THE KING WHO DIDN’T HAVE TO RESPOND TO ANYBODY
IF HE DIDN’T WANT TO.
Borman: BY THE YEAR 1810,
THE KING’S MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
HAD BROKEN DOWN TO THE POINT
WHERE EVEN HE ACCEPTED HE COULDN’T CARRY ON,
AND SO PARLIAMENT, WITHOUT THE KING’S CONSENT,
HANDED POWER TO THE KING’S SON,
WHO BECAME THE PRINCE REGENT IN 1811.
HE NOW HAD THE CONTROL AND POWER THAT HE DESIRED
AND LEFT HIS MAD FATHER TO SEE OUT HIS FINAL YEARS
LOCKED AWAY AND OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE.
I’VE COME TO KENSINGTON PALACE IN LONDON
TO MEET ISABELLA CORACA, WHO HAS ARRANGED TO SHOW ME
THE WAISTCOAT GEORGE III WORE DURING HIS FINAL DAYS.
OKAY.
OH, LOOK AT THAT!
Isabella Coraca: YES.
Borman: THAT’S ASTONISHING!
Coraca: UM, SO, THIS IS GEORGE III’S SLEEVED WAISTCOAT.
Borman: WOW!
Coraca: WE ACTUALLY THINK THIS IS FROM 1820,
THE YEAR THAT HE PASSED, AND IT REALLY SHOWS
THE CONDITION OF HIS HEALTH AT THAT POINT.
Borman: AND WHAT CLUES DOES THIS GIVE US
OF GEORGE’S SO-CALLED MADNESS?
Coraca: WELL, ACTUALLY IT GIVES US A LOT OF CLUES.
SO, THE FIRST ONE, THE ENLARGED SLEEVES.
SO, YOU HAVE, WE HAVE A LITTLE PANEL,
ADDING A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE SHOULDER,
AND THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED
HIS SERVANTS DRESS HIM.
IT WOULD HAVE GIVEN A LITTLE BIT
MORE GIVE TO THE CLOTHES,
BECAUSE, AT THIS POINT,
IT’S NOT ONLY HE WAS, AS THEY CALLED, MAD,
BUT HIS HEARING, HIS SIGHT, THEY WERE ALL GOING,
SO HE WAS IN A VERY MUCH VULNERABLE STATE.
Green: HE SORT OF BECAME SOMETHING OF A VEGETABLE.
HE RETREATED INTO HIMSELF.
HE LOST TOUCH WITH REALITY,
AND HE STARTED BABBLING FOR HOURS ON END.
SO, ON ONE OCCASION, HE BABBLED FOR OVER 50 HOURS--
BABBLE, BABBLE, BABBLE.
HIS HAIR WAS GROWN LONG,
SO HE LOOKED LIKE A SORT OF MERLIN FIGURE,
AND HE WOULD FOAM AT THE MOUTH.
YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THE KIND OF SPECTACLE OF MONARCHY,
THIS IS THE VERY LAST THING THAT YOU WANTED TO HAPPEN TO A RULER,
SO HE HAD TO BE KEPT AWAY.
Borman: AND WHAT ABOUT THESE STAINS HERE?
IS THAT JUST AGING, OR WHAT IS IT?
Coraca: WELL, THEY ARE DEFINITELY
FOOD AND DRINK STAINS,
FROM WHICH POINT
THE FOOD HAD COME OUT,
IT’S NOT REALLY CERTAIN.
HE COULD HAVE BEEN
JUST DROPPING,
OR IT COULD HAVE BEEN DRIBBLE.
IT COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN VOMIT AS WELL.
Borman: GOSH!
Coraca: YES, IT’S REALLY HARD TO TELL,
BUT IT DOES SHOW THAT HE WAS HAVING DIFFICULTIES EATING.
BUT YOU CAN DEFINITELY SEE, LIKE, THROUGHOUT THE WAISTCOAT,
THIS ALL SHOWS HOW, HOW DIFFICULT
THOSE, THOSE ACTIVITIES THAT TODAY WE THINK, YOU KNOW,
THEY ARE JUST COMMON.
Borman: YES.
Coraca: BUT FOR HIM, IT WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING
REALLY, REALLY HARD TO GO THROUGH.
Borman: VERY DIFFICULT.
WELL, IT IS JUST AN EXTRAORDINARILY POIGNANT
REMINDER OF GEORGE III,
NOT JUST IN HIS MADNESS BUT IN HIS FRAILTY,
SO THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME.
Coraca: OH, IT’S MY PLEASURE.
Rubenhold: AT THE TIME WHEN HIS FATHER
WAS IN THE GRIP OF HIS MADNESS,
THE PRINCE REGENT WAS ALL TOO HAPPY TO SEE
HIS FATHER’S MENTAL STATE DEGENERATE
TO MAKE HIM UNFIT TO RULE
BECAUSE HE WAS READY TO STEP IN AND TAKE THE THRONE.
Borman: KING GEORGE III FINALLY DIED ON JANUARY 29, 1820,
AND THE PRINCE REGENT SUCCEEDED TO THE THRONE
AS GEORGE IV.
HIS CORONATION TOOK PLACE ON THE 19th OF JULY THE FOLLOWING YEAR,
BUT HE WAS NOT PARTICULARLY LIKED BY THE PUBLIC.
HE WAS OBESE, LAZY, AND QUITE POSSIBLY ADDICTED
TO THE OPIUM-BASED DRUG LAUDANUM.
HOWEVER, IT WASN’T ALL BAD FOR GEORGE IV.
HE HAD A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN ARCHITECTURE,
AND, WITH THE HELP OF THE ARCHITECT JOHN NASH,
BEGAN A SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING PROGRAM,
SHAPING LONDON AND THE ROYAL RESIDENCES
THE WAY HE WANTED THEM.
IN 1825,
GEORGE INSTRUCTED NASH
TO BEGIN A REMODELING
OF BUCKINGHAM HOUSE,
MODIFICATIONS THAT WOULD TURN IT
INTO THE BUCKINGHAM PALACE
WE KNOW TODAY.
Green: HIS ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY IS STILL ALL AROUND US
IN LONDON TODAY.
IF YOU THINK OF PLACES LIKE REGENT STREET,
IT’S ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS STREETS IN ALL OF LONDON,
THAT WAS HIS DOING WITH NASH.
THERE’S REGENT’S PARK AS WELL, THERE’S CARLTON TERRACE,
AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY PERHAPS,
SOMEWHERE THAT’S SO ICONIC OF LONDON, BUCKINGHAM PALACE,
AND WE HAVE HIM TO THANK FOR THAT.
Rubenhold: GEORGE DID NOT SET OUT TO DO SOMETHING TREMENDOUS.
HE WANTED TO BASICALLY RESTYLE AND REFASHION
THE HOUSES THAT HE LIVED IN.
HE WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING ARCHITECTURALLY FABULOUS,
AND, AS A RESULT,
HE ENDED UP KIND OF RESHAPING THE LANDSCAPE
OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS, AS MODERN LONDON.
SO HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JOHN NASH
WAS REALLY QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.
Borman: ANOTHER FRUIT OF HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH JOHN NASH
WAS THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE MARINE PAVILION
INTO THIS SPECTACULAR ROYAL PAVILION.
AND WHAT DID GEORGE DO WITH THIS INCREDIBLE BUILDING?
WELL, HE THREW HUGE, LAVISH PARTIES AND BANQUETS,
AND HIS APPETITE WAS THE STUFF OF LEGEND.
Rideal: IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GEORGE IV
AND YOU WENT TO BRIGHTON PAVILION,
YOU WOULD REALIZE THAT SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT
IS GOING ON HERE.
IT’S A REALLY GAUDY, EXTRAVAGANT DEMONSTRATION,
I SUPPOSE, OF GEORGE IV’S PERSONALITY.
McMahon: THE PRINCE REGENT THOUGHT
HE HAD ABSOLUTELY IMPECCABLE TASTE.
HE THOUGHT HE WAS A CONNOISSEUR OF THE ARTS,
AND THEN HE BUILT BRIGHTON PAVILION.
THERE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THESE DOMES, THESE ORNATE DOMES,
THIS CHINOISERIE, THE KIND OF INDIAN MOTIFS.
I MEAN, IT WAS THE HEIGHT OF VULGARITY.
Rubenhold: THIS IS A PLACE WHERE LAVISH PARTIES WERE HAD
AND GAMBLING WOULD HAPPEN, SOMETIMES ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT,
AND IT WAS JUST A KIND OF SCENE OF COMPLETE DISSOLUTION
AND, AND, AND TOTAL DEBAUCHERY
AND JUST FULL OF SOCIETY’S RICH, DISSOLUTE REPROBATES.
George IV: IT’S WONDERFUL HAVING YOU ALL HERE IN MY HOME,
AND I’M SURE THAT I’M GOING TO HAVE YOU ALL...
[CHEERING]
Borman: GEORGE IV’S LOVE OF PARTIES AND BANQUETS
DIDN’T GO UNNOTICED,
AND HIS GARGANTUAN APPETITE WAS LEGENDARY.
IVAN DAY IS A FOOD HISTORIAN WHO HAS AGREED TO SHOW ME
JUST HOW MUCH THE PRINCE REGENT
ATE AT ONE INFAMOUS MEAL, AT BREAKFAST.
WE KNOW THIS BECAUSE IT WAS RECORDED
BY NONE OTHER THAN THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
IT SEEMS THAT, FOR ALL HE’D SEEN AND DONE,
THE IRON DUKE STILL THOUGHT THE KING’S GARGANTUAN MEALS
WERE WORTH NOTING DOWN.
Ivan Day: RATHER THAN PREPARING
ONE OF HIS BIG SET PIECE GRAND DINNERS,
I THOUGHT THE BEST WAY TO ILLUSTRATE TO YOU
THE SCALE OF HIS EATING HABITS,
THAT WE’D JUST HAVE A GEORGE IV BREAKFAST.
SO, JUST BEFORE HE DIED, ABOUT TWO MONTHS,
HE WAS SERVED A BREAKFAST WHERE THIS WAS THE MAIN DISH.
Borman: WOW! THAT IS MAGNIFICENT!
Day: PIES WERE TREATED AT THE TABLE
IN A VERY, VERY DIFFERENT WAY TO HOW THEY’RE EATEN NOW.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, WHAT THEY DID WAS,
THEY WOULD ACTUALLY CUT THE LID OFF.
THIS WAS CALLED BORDERING THE PIE.
ONCE THAT’S BORDERED, WITH A BIT OF LUCK,
I’VE GOT TO TEASE IT OPEN LIKE THAT, OKAY?
Borman: OH, LOOK AT THAT, IT’S COMING OFF BEAUTIFULLY.
Day: AND I’M, SOMEHOW OR OTHER, GOING TO PUT IT OVER THERE
OUT OF THE WAY.
Borman: WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF MEAT IN THAT PIE!
Day: YEAH, BUT WE’RE TOLD IN THE RECIPE
THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO PUT A GARNITURE OF EGG YOLK.
Borman: THIS IS A VERY SUBSTANTIAL BREAKFAST, ISN’T IT?
EGGS, BACON.
IT’S SORT OF A DECONSTRUCTED
GREAT BRITISH FRY-UP IN A PIE, ISN’T IT?
[LAUGHTER]
Green: GEORGE IV WAS A PROFESSIONAL GLUTTON.
HE ATE FOR ENGLAND,
THE MAN HAD A GARGANTUAN, INSATIABLE APPETITE,
AND SOME OF THE BANQUETS
THAT HE HAD AT THE ROYAL PAVILION IN BRIGHTON
WERE MESMERIZING.
HE USED TO ACTUALLY IMPORT CELEBRITY CHEFS
FROM ALL OVER EUROPE, LIKE ANTOINE CAREME,
TO COOK THESE ENORMOUS JELLIES
THAT WERE SHAPED LIKE EGYPTIAN TEMPLES AND PYRAMIDS,
AND HE WOULD GUZZLE THEM,
AND THERE WOULD BE, LIKE, SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD.
THEY WOULD ALL BE LAID OUT IN FRONT OF HIM,
AND HE WOULD JUST POUR THE WHOLE THING DOWN HIS GULLET.
IT WAS QUITE A DISGUSTING SPECTACLE.
HE BECAME ABSOLUTELY IMMENSE IN HIS LATER YEARS.
Day: THE DUKE TELLS US THAT
HE HAD TWO PIGEONS ON HIS PLATE AND TWO BEEFSTEAKS.
Borman: AND THIS WAS A TYPICAL BREAKFAST,
OR WAS HE GOING TO TOWN ON THIS OCCASION?
Day: WELL, IN HIS POSITION, IT WAS A TYPICAL BREAKFAST.
Borman: I JUST FIND IT EXTRAORDINARY
THAT ALL THIS IS BREAKFAST, OKAY.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE GEORGE HERE SALIVATING,
READY FOR THE PIECE DE RESISTANCE.
Day: I MEAN, THERE ARE, THERE ARE...
Borman: WOW.
Day: THERE ARE NO HORNS ON THAT PIE,
BUT THIS IS THE OTHER SIDE OF DESPERATE DAN,
ISN’T IT, REALLY?
Borman: THAT IS HUGE, ISN’T IT? AND HE ATE TWO OF THOSE.
Day: TWO, YES!
[LAUGHTER]
Borman: TWO PIGEONS.
THAT’S JUST A GARGANTUAN QUANTITY OF MEAT
FOR ANY TIME OF THE DAY, BUT BREAKFAST?
McMahon: BY THE END OF HIS REIGN,
I MEAN, THIS GUY IS ENORMOUS,
AND THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TURNS UP TO HAVE
ONE OF THE LAST RECORDED MEALS WITH THE KING,
WITH GEORGE IV, AND IN FRONT OF THE KING
IS THIS HUMONGOUS PIE WITH BEEFSTEAKS, WITH PIGEONS IN IT.
NEXT TO IT’S A BOTTLE
OF MOSELLE, CHAMPAGNE, BRANDY, PORT.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON THINKS,
"WELL, WHO ELSE IS COMING TO BREAKFAST?"
BUT IT’S JUST GEORGE, AND HE BASICALLY DEMOLISHES
THIS WHOLE ITEM ALL ON HIS OWN INTO HIS BIG FAT TUMMY.
Borman: HERE, AT THE FAMOUS BERRY BROS. & RUDD
IN CENTRAL LONDON,
THERE IS A LONG-STANDING ROYAL CONNECTION.
THE COMPANY STILL HOLDS THE SEAL WHICH ALLOWS IT TO DELIVER
BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT TO THE MODERN ROYAL HOUSEHOLD.
TODAY THEY STILL DISPLAY AN EXTRAORDINARY SET OF SCALES
ON WHICH WERE RECORDED KING GEORGE IV’S WEIGHT.
THE FACTS AND FIGURES MIGHT EVEN HAVE BEEN RECORDED
IN HIS OWN HAND.
SO, SIMON, WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS INCREDIBLE CONTRAPTION?
Simon Berry: THIS IS A SET OF SCALES,
ORIGINALLY PUT IN HERE
IN 1698,
IN ORDER TO WEIGH
THE BAGS OF TEA AND COFFEE
WHICH THIS SHOP ORIGINALLY SOLD.
AS SORT OF AN EARLY MARKETING EXERCISE,
ONE OF MY ANCESTORS DECIDED TO PUT A SEAT ON IT
AND BEGIN TO WEIGH CUSTOMERS.
SO WHY DON’T WE GET YOU TO SIT DOWN AND...
Borman: GOODNESS, THE MOMENT OF TRUTH.
Berry: BE CAREFUL.
Borman: BE CAREFUL.
Berry: HERE WE GO.
Borman: OKAY, SO FAR, SO GOOD.
Berry: OKAY?
Borman: SO, I’M SITTING WHERE THE GEORGIAN CUSTOMERS
WOULD HAVE SAT 300 YEARS AGO.
Berry: YES, YOU ARE, ON THE VERY SAME SEAT.
Borman: SO, OF COURSE, THE MOST FAMOUS CUSTOMER
WAS THE PRINCE REGENT.
Berry: YES, HE WAS A VERY FAMOUS CUSTOMER HERE,
AND WE HAVE PRETTY STRONG EVIDENCE
THAT HE WAS WEIGHED HERE.
HE WAS VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT HIS WEIGHT.
Borman: AND, OF COURSE, IT WAS LAMPOONED
IN ALL THE CARTOONS OF THE DAY.
Berry: OF COURSE, OF COURSE,
SO HE WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT THIS.
SO IT WOULD MAKE SENSE IF HE WAS BEING WEIGHED HERE
TO BE AS SECRETIVE AS HE POSSIBLY COULD.
Green: GEORGE IV USED TO GO IN THERE
BEFORE AND AFTER HE’D HAD LUNCH.
HE WOULD BE WEIGHED,
AND HIS WEIGHT WOULD BE RECORDED IN A LEDGER BOOK.
HE WANTED TO GAUGE THE IMPACT OF HIS LUNCH AND OF HIS DINNER,
AND HE ATE FOR ENGLAND,
SO THERE WAS QUITE A PROFOUND DIFFERENCE IN THESE INSTANCES,
AND, TO THIS DAY,
YOU CAN GO IN AND SEE THOSE WEIGHTS
RECORDED IN THIS LEDGER BOOK.
[DOOR CREAKING]
Geordie Willis: SO, HERE IT IS.
Borman: THIS IS THE FAMOUS LEDGER.
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE.
Willis: SO, THESE ARE THE TWO PAGES THAT ARE CONSIDERED TO BE
THE WEIGHTS OF THE PRINCE REGENT.
Borman: AND WHAT GIVES YOU
THE CLUES THAT THEY ARE HIS?
Willis: WELL, THERE ARE TWO MAIN POINTS.
ONE IS THAT IT’S IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT HAND
FROM THE REST OF THE BOOK, WHICH IS STRANGE.
THE OTHER POINT, WHICH SOUNDS ODD,
IS THAT THERE ISN’T A NAME ATTACHED TO IT.
ALL THE OTHER ENTRIES ARE CITED TO SOMEONE.
Borman: AND CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THIS SAYS
ABOUT THE PRINCE REGENT, THESE DIFFERENT MEASUREMENTS?
WAS HE IN GOOD SHAPE?
Willis: HE CERTAINLY WASN’T IN GOOD SHAPE.
WE CAN SEE THAT HE WAS FLUCTUATING
AROUND ABOUT 16 OR 17 STONE.
Borman: SO HE WASN’T A TALL MAN, EITHER, WAS HE?
SO THAT’S QUITE A WEIGHT.
AND CAN YOU JUST TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE COMMENTS
IN THE MARGIN HERE?
Willis: WELL, OFTEN WE’RE SAYING WHAT HE WAS WEARING,
NOT THE DETAIL OF THE FASHION, BUT SHOES, BOOTS, AND SO ON.
Borman: BECAUSE THAT HAS A BEARING, THEN, ON...
Willis: THAT HAS A BEARING OF THE WEIGHT,
AND THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OF VANITY COMING THROUGH.
IF YOU’RE, IF YOU’RE A LITTLE BIT OVER THE SCALES,
YOU WANT TO BE ASSURING PEOPLE
THAT YOU’VE GOT A HEAVY PAIR OF BOOTS ON.
WHAT’S ALSO IMPORTANT,
AND WE KNOW HIS HEALTH WASN’T GREAT AT THE TIME,
IS THAT WE MENTION GOUT QUITE A FEW TIMES.
Borman: AH!
Willis: SHOES, GOUT, GOUT, AFTER GOUT.
WE KNOW HE WASN’T WELL,
AND THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A REFERENCE TO HIS SIZE
BUT ALSO WHY HE WAS THAT SIZE.
Borman: THAT’S ANOTHER FAIRLY CONVINCING PIECE OF EVIDENCE,
ISN’T IT, THAT THIS ACTUALLY IS THE PRINCE REGENT’S RECORD?
Willis: I THINK THAT’S PROBABLY PRETTY TRUE, YEAH.
Borman: TOWARDS THE END OF HIS LIFE,
GEORGE WAS IN TERRIBLE PHYSICAL CONDITION,
A BLOATED 280 POUNDS, PLAGUED BY DROPSY AND GOUT,
AND, JUST LIKE HIS FATHER, ALMOST BLINDED BY CATARACTS.
HE CLUNG ON DOGGEDLY UNTIL THE 26th OF JUNE, 1830,
WHEN, NOW BEDRIDDEN, HE SUDDENLY EXCLAIMED,
"GOOD GOD, WHAT IS THIS? THIS IS DEATH!"
AND TOOK HIS LAST BREATH.
HE WAS 67 YEARS OLD, AND HE WENT TO HIS GRAVE
UNMOURNED AND UNLOVED BY HIS PEOPLE.
McMahon: RIGHT AT THE END OF HIS LIFE,
I MEAN, GEORGE COULDN’T HAVE CUT A MORE DREADFUL FIGURE.
I MEAN, HE IS BLOATED IN HIS ABDOMEN, HIS CHEST.
THE ACCOUNTS SAY THAT HIS FACE WAS EMACIATED,
UH, AND HE’S BLEEDING,
AND HE’S UNABLE TO CONTROL HIS BOWEL MOVEMENTS.
IT’S A PRETTY IGNOMINIOUS AND, FRANKLY, UNMOURNED END.
Selwood: I DON’T THINK ANYONE, THEN OR NOW,
MISSES GEORGE IV,
BUT HE HAS INDELIBLY MARKED
THE COUNTRY AND A NUMBER OF CITIES
WITH HIS ARCHITECTURAL AND ARTISTIC VISIONS.
Rubenhold: I THINK YOU REALLY HAVE TO
TAKE YOUR HAT OFF TO GEORGE
BECAUSE THIS IS, IS NOT A MINOR ACHIEVEMENT,
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S WITH US TODAY,
SOMETHING THAT LONDONERS APPRECIATE.
IT’S A PART OF THE FABRIC OF OUR LANDSCAPE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE COME TO LONDON TO ADMIRE.
♪
Borman: AND THAT ENDED THE GEORGIAN ERA.
GEORGE III AND IV MAY ONLY BE ONE DIGIT REMOVED,
BUT THEY COULD HARDLY HAVE BEEN MORE DIFFERENT.
GEORGE III WAS A PIOUS, DEVOTED FAMILY MAN
AND SOMEONE OF QUITE SIMPLE TASTES,
IF WE EXCLUDE THE ODD EXTRAVAGANT BATHING TRIP.
AS FOR HIS SON, GEORGE IV, WELL, IT’S SOMETIMES SAID
THAT THE BRITISH MONARCHY’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT
WAS TO SURVIVE DESPITE GEORGE IV.
AND YES, IT IS RATHER TEMPTING TO THINK OF HIM
AS JUST A DEBAUCHED, DECADENT, SELFISH KING
WHO DIED THE VICTIM OF HIS OWN EXCESSES,
BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, HE SHAPED SO MUCH
OF WHAT THE PUBLIC FACE OF THE MONARCHY IS TODAY.
HIS REDESIGNS OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND WINDSOR CASTLE
AND HIS DELIGHT IN THE SHEER BLING OF ROYALTY,
RATHER THAN DESTROYING
THE MONARCHY,
SET THE STAGE
FOR THE PAGEANTRY AND SPLENDOR
THAT ARE THEIR HALLMARK TODAY.