1 00:00:02,024 --> 00:00:04,089 Royal history is at the heart of the stories 2 00:00:04,114 --> 00:00:06,478 we tell about the past. 3 00:00:06,503 --> 00:00:09,399 We often think it's definitive. 4 00:00:09,424 --> 00:00:12,089 Kings and queens, 5 00:00:12,114 --> 00:00:14,249 dates and facts, 6 00:00:14,274 --> 00:00:17,678 all unchanging and fixed forever. 7 00:00:19,474 --> 00:00:21,039 But it's not like that at all. 8 00:00:21,064 --> 00:00:24,119 History is a cacophony of voices, 9 00:00:24,144 --> 00:00:27,889 all of them competing to tell their own version of the story. 10 00:00:27,914 --> 00:00:30,449 And, when revolution's in the air, 11 00:00:30,474 --> 00:00:33,478 that competition gets really intense. 12 00:00:34,864 --> 00:00:37,199 In this series, I'm lifting the lid 13 00:00:37,224 --> 00:00:41,199 on three revolutionary moments in royal history. 14 00:00:42,194 --> 00:00:43,808 The French Revolution - 15 00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:48,678 Was it really a peasants' revolt or more of a bourgeois backlash? 16 00:00:51,024 --> 00:00:52,608 The Russian Revolution - 17 00:00:52,633 --> 00:00:55,959 Was it really a victory for Lenin and the Bolsheviks? 18 00:00:57,274 --> 00:01:01,319 And, in this episode, George IV and the Regency. 19 00:01:02,633 --> 00:01:05,319 When the madness of King George Ill 20 00:01:05,344 --> 00:01:08,889 forced him to hand power to his extravagant son. 21 00:01:10,114 --> 00:01:14,808 We think of the Regency as a genteel, well-ordered age, 22 00:01:14,833 --> 00:01:17,639 full of Jane Austen-type balls 23 00:01:17,664 --> 00:01:19,728 and beautiful architecture 24 00:01:19,753 --> 00:01:24,728 and gallant, red-coated officers thrashing Napoleon at Waterloo. 25 00:01:24,753 --> 00:01:27,759 But behind the facade of Georgian elegance 26 00:01:27,784 --> 00:01:32,558 was an age of rebellion, suppressed by fibs. 27 00:01:32,583 --> 00:01:36,889 Why was a British massacre airbrushed out of history? 28 00:01:36,914 --> 00:01:42,618 It becomes very dangerous to attack anyone connected to King George IV. 29 00:01:42,643 --> 00:01:46,269 Who really won the Battle of Waterloo? 30 00:01:49,324 --> 00:01:53,139 And was the United Kingdom as united as we think? 31 00:01:53,164 --> 00:01:58,339 It was the most astounding piece of propaganda in the 19th century. 32 00:01:58,364 --> 00:02:02,748 As the French Revolution inspired rebellion across Britain, 33 00:02:02,773 --> 00:02:06,269 the monarchy fought to stop a revolution at home. 34 00:02:07,643 --> 00:02:12,109 Maintaining royal power meant distorting the story, 35 00:02:12,134 --> 00:02:14,189 suppressing the story, 36 00:02:14,214 --> 00:02:17,979 sometimes even making the story up as you went along. 37 00:02:18,004 --> 00:02:21,939 So, what was really going on in the age of the Regency? 38 00:02:32,853 --> 00:02:36,828 In the 1780s, the British monarchy was in trouble. 39 00:02:37,964 --> 00:02:41,139 King George Ill had lost the American colonies 40 00:02:41,164 --> 00:02:44,139 in the Revolutionary War. 41 00:02:44,164 --> 00:02:48,828 Radical politicians were fighting to reduce the power of the Crown... 42 00:02:49,804 --> 00:02:52,549 ...and the Prince of Wales was using public money 43 00:02:52,574 --> 00:02:54,939 to go on a spending spree. 44 00:02:56,804 --> 00:02:59,339 He was partying and gambling, 45 00:02:59,364 --> 00:03:02,979 getting expensive renovations done to his grand London house, 46 00:03:03,004 --> 00:03:04,909 and he was thinking about buying 47 00:03:04,934 --> 00:03:07,859 an extravagant holiday house in Brighton as well. 48 00:03:07,884 --> 00:03:11,339 Very soon, the Prince of Wales had to ask Parliament 49 00:03:11,364 --> 00:03:14,549 for more money to clear his debts. 50 00:03:17,134 --> 00:03:20,139 But Parliament was fighting back. 51 00:03:20,164 --> 00:03:23,828 MPs were reluctant to give more money to Prince George, 52 00:03:23,853 --> 00:03:28,618 because of a royal scandal, which could stop him ever becoming King. 53 00:03:30,004 --> 00:03:33,498 A rumour was circulating in the press that the Prince of Wales 54 00:03:33,523 --> 00:03:37,219 had secretly married a Catholic, 55 00:03:37,244 --> 00:03:40,189 and this wasn't just a private matter. 56 00:03:44,934 --> 00:03:50,259 Angry MPs knew that if he really had secretly married a Catholic, 57 00:03:50,284 --> 00:03:53,659 he would've violated the Act of Settlement. 58 00:03:53,684 --> 00:03:56,939 The husband of a Catholic could never be king. 59 00:03:59,324 --> 00:04:01,549 MPs demanded to know if the prince 60 00:04:01,574 --> 00:04:03,939 had forfeited his right to the throne. 61 00:04:06,853 --> 00:04:10,549 Whig MP Charles James Fox, a close friend of the prince, 62 00:04:10,574 --> 00:04:13,259 stood up in Parliament to answer them. 63 00:04:15,773 --> 00:04:18,549 Fox said that this rumoured marriage, 64 00:04:18,574 --> 00:04:21,618 not only could never have happened legally, 65 00:04:21,643 --> 00:04:24,578 but in fact had never happened in any way whatsoever, 66 00:04:24,603 --> 00:04:28,189 and that to suggest otherwise was a malicious falsehood. 67 00:04:29,414 --> 00:04:31,498 But that wasn't quite true. 68 00:04:33,134 --> 00:04:37,498 In December 1785, the heir to the throne had indeed married 69 00:04:37,523 --> 00:04:40,139 Maria Fitzherbert, a Catholic. 70 00:04:42,324 --> 00:04:46,939 Caricatures were filled with images of the couple cavorting together. 71 00:04:49,494 --> 00:04:53,219 But marrying her was illegal on two counts, 72 00:04:53,244 --> 00:04:55,698 not only because his wife was Catholic, 73 00:04:55,723 --> 00:04:59,979 but also, the Prince couldn't marry without his father's permission. 74 00:05:01,603 --> 00:05:03,899 So, George had lied to Fox 75 00:05:03,924 --> 00:05:07,549 and told him that the marriage would never happen. 76 00:05:07,574 --> 00:05:10,828 And that's because George wasn't just the Prince of Wales, 77 00:05:10,853 --> 00:05:13,979 he was also the Prince of Fibs. 78 00:05:17,364 --> 00:05:21,779 George's lie helps keep the course of royal history right on track. 79 00:05:23,523 --> 00:05:27,828 The secret wedding was brushed aside as legally invalid, 80 00:05:27,853 --> 00:05:30,939 George could still one day be king. 81 00:05:32,214 --> 00:05:35,299 And this wouldn't be the only time royal fibs were used 82 00:05:35,324 --> 00:05:39,059 to cover up the truth in this volatile era. 83 00:05:47,964 --> 00:05:49,859 Three years after the secret wedding, 84 00:05:49,884 --> 00:05:53,549 another royal crisis would call for political spin. 85 00:05:55,393 --> 00:05:59,299 In November 1788, King George Ill was brought to Kew Palace 86 00:05:59,324 --> 00:06:03,939 to be treated for the first of several periods of mental illness. 87 00:06:05,674 --> 00:06:10,779 The madness of King George has come to define his place in history. 88 00:06:11,804 --> 00:06:18,259 George Ill is often remembered today as the "Mad King" who lost America. 89 00:06:18,284 --> 00:06:21,259 People have this idea of him as a weak king, 90 00:06:21,284 --> 00:06:26,389 volatile, running amok through the palace corridors, in his nightshirt. 91 00:06:26,414 --> 00:06:29,748 But to the people actually alive in the 18th century, 92 00:06:29,773 --> 00:06:31,748 it wasn't like that at all. 93 00:06:34,523 --> 00:06:37,389 George's subjects didn't see much of his madness 94 00:06:37,414 --> 00:06:40,828 and certainly not images of the King in freezing baths 95 00:06:40,853 --> 00:06:42,748 or straightjackets. 96 00:06:44,494 --> 00:06:47,339 In an age when print shop windows were full of cartoons, 97 00:06:47,364 --> 00:06:49,859 lampooning figures of authority, 98 00:06:49,884 --> 00:06:53,779 images of a mad King George are almost non-existent. 99 00:06:55,393 --> 00:06:58,029 The public's attention was being diverted 100 00:06:58,054 --> 00:07:00,189 to a different royal problem. 101 00:07:02,214 --> 00:07:05,649 This is the only known satirical print of King George Ill 102 00:07:05,674 --> 00:07:08,939 during the first period of his mental illness, 103 00:07:08,964 --> 00:07:11,828 and it's a sympathetic image. 104 00:07:11,853 --> 00:07:14,779 The poor guy's clearly suffering in his bed, 105 00:07:14,804 --> 00:07:19,059 unlike his son, who's bursting drunkenly in with his mates. 106 00:07:19,084 --> 00:07:21,389 And he's shouting out, "Damn me, 107 00:07:21,414 --> 00:07:24,419 "l'lljust see if the old fellow's dead or not". 108 00:07:24,444 --> 00:07:29,289 It's pretty clear that one of these two is out of control and dangerous, 109 00:07:29,314 --> 00:07:32,189 but it's not the King, it's the Prince. 110 00:07:36,723 --> 00:07:39,899 The King's son had been a target for the cartoonists 111 00:07:39,924 --> 00:07:42,578 for most of his adult life. 112 00:07:42,603 --> 00:07:47,139 The Prince of Wales' lies and his louche lifestyle 113 00:07:47,164 --> 00:07:49,698 made him an excellent subject of satire. 114 00:07:49,723 --> 00:07:52,498 He was excessive in everything, 115 00:07:52,523 --> 00:07:55,618 in women, in wine, in food, 116 00:07:55,643 --> 00:07:58,109 in clothes and in art, 117 00:07:58,134 --> 00:08:01,779 but this caricature image didn't leave much room for nuance. 118 00:08:03,244 --> 00:08:08,748 To supporters of King George Ill, the Prince was trouble. 119 00:08:08,773 --> 00:08:13,219 Young George seemed to stand for everything his father hated. 120 00:08:13,244 --> 00:08:17,578 A friend of the Whigs, while his father preferred the Tories. 121 00:08:17,603 --> 00:08:22,859 An exuberant spendthrift, while his father lived a quiet life. 122 00:08:22,884 --> 00:08:25,109 The lover of a Catholic, 123 00:08:25,134 --> 00:08:29,828 while his father felt duty-bound to defend the Protestant faith. 124 00:08:34,494 --> 00:08:37,779 And the King's mental illness now meant the Prince 125 00:08:37,804 --> 00:08:40,669 was an even bigger political problem. 126 00:08:42,054 --> 00:08:46,029 The Prince might now have to step up and rule in his father's place. 127 00:08:46,054 --> 00:08:48,498 In other words, a regency. 128 00:08:50,773 --> 00:08:53,469 And as regent, the Prince would have the right 129 00:08:53,494 --> 00:08:55,389 to dismiss the Tory government 130 00:08:55,414 --> 00:08:58,578 and hand power to his friends in the Whig Party. 131 00:09:00,694 --> 00:09:03,748 Worried Tories fought to avoid a regency 132 00:09:03,773 --> 00:09:08,219 and pro-Tory cartoons emphasised the Prince's character flaws. 133 00:09:10,084 --> 00:09:14,309 The political crisis helped cement the Prince's terrible reputation. 134 00:09:15,773 --> 00:09:19,469 But mental illness had a very different effect 135 00:09:19,494 --> 00:09:22,259 on King George lll's image. 136 00:09:22,284 --> 00:09:25,469 What's interesting is that you might think that his image takes, 137 00:09:25,494 --> 00:09:28,618 you know, takes a dive, or that his image suffers 138 00:09:28,643 --> 00:09:30,618 during this period of the original madness. 139 00:09:30,643 --> 00:09:33,748 But, actually, I think historians really think that in some ways, 140 00:09:33,773 --> 00:09:37,139 once he recovers, his image actually improves. 141 00:09:37,164 --> 00:09:40,289 Well, in the period before that first illness, you know, 142 00:09:40,314 --> 00:09:42,779 he's not in a particularly good position. 143 00:09:42,804 --> 00:09:44,389 He's lost the American colonies. 144 00:09:44,414 --> 00:09:46,289 People aren't particularly happy about that. 145 00:09:46,314 --> 00:09:48,899 And he's sort of struggled through the first period, 146 00:09:48,924 --> 00:09:53,029 the first decades of his reign, but after his illness, 147 00:09:53,054 --> 00:09:57,109 his reputation really actually surprisingly improves quite a bit. 148 00:09:57,134 --> 00:10:00,259 I think, for the British nation, for the British people, 149 00:10:00,284 --> 00:10:05,539 he is seen as ever more resolute and there is a sense of his recovery 150 00:10:05,564 --> 00:10:08,029 as being enormously symbolically important. 151 00:10:08,054 --> 00:10:09,979 He seems stronger. 152 00:10:10,004 --> 00:10:14,389 The popular perception of the King as dangerously out of control 153 00:10:14,414 --> 00:10:17,818 didn't really get going until the 20th century. 154 00:10:19,204 --> 00:10:23,109 The notion of "George is mad", in a sense, for me, 155 00:10:23,134 --> 00:10:25,259 all comes down to the American bicentennial, 156 00:10:25,284 --> 00:10:27,899 the 200th anniversary of American independence, 157 00:10:27,924 --> 00:10:30,219 which, in America, was a very big deal. 158 00:10:30,244 --> 00:10:33,818 This 1976 moment was very, very big and it brought around, 159 00:10:33,843 --> 00:10:36,419 brought about a reconsideration of George Ill. 160 00:10:36,444 --> 00:10:39,179 It also elevated him to American consciousness. 161 00:10:39,204 --> 00:10:41,779 Everything, from the way that children in elementary schools 162 00:10:41,804 --> 00:10:43,698 are taught about the American Revolution, 163 00:10:43,723 --> 00:10:46,669 to the way that there are popular film and television shows, 164 00:10:46,694 --> 00:10:48,029 you need an antagonist, 165 00:10:48,054 --> 00:10:50,339 and George Ill probably serves that purpose pretty well. 166 00:10:50,364 --> 00:10:52,339 So, by the time we get to the famous film 167 00:10:52,364 --> 00:10:54,979 about the madness of George Ill, the damage is done. 168 00:10:55,004 --> 00:10:58,568 Yes. George Ill is out of control. He's unable to rule. 169 00:10:58,593 --> 00:11:01,179 Yes. He is clearly the enemy of America. Yes, yes. 170 00:11:01,204 --> 00:11:04,309 The American Revolution needs the King to have been, 171 00:11:04,334 --> 00:11:07,029 you know, an unsympathetic figure. You need an enemy. 172 00:11:07,054 --> 00:11:08,389 You need an enemy. 173 00:11:08,414 --> 00:11:11,859 He was seen as this kind of antagonist to American liberty 174 00:11:11,884 --> 00:11:16,259 and also mad and also, you know, mentally unstable. 175 00:11:16,284 --> 00:11:19,568 And for Americans, that's very handy to have it both ways, isn't it? 176 00:11:22,723 --> 00:11:26,539 In February 1789, the King recovered 177 00:11:26,564 --> 00:11:29,489 and the political crisis was resolved. 178 00:11:30,803 --> 00:11:34,269 Doctors' concerns that it might be a recurring illness 179 00:11:34,294 --> 00:11:37,939 were hidden from the people. 180 00:11:37,964 --> 00:11:42,508 Galas, processions and a huge Thanksgiving service at St Paul's 181 00:11:42,533 --> 00:11:46,299 ensured the public knew that their King was well. 182 00:11:50,174 --> 00:11:53,469 MUSIC: British National Anthem 183 00:11:54,853 --> 00:11:58,039 This image of a strong and healthy King 184 00:11:58,064 --> 00:12:00,599 would soon become even more important, 185 00:12:00,624 --> 00:12:03,659 because just three months after the celebrations, 186 00:12:03,684 --> 00:12:07,119 the French would rise up against their monarchy 187 00:12:07,144 --> 00:12:09,429 and start their revolution. 188 00:12:13,603 --> 00:12:17,508 Across the Channel, the people sent their king to the guillotine. 189 00:12:18,574 --> 00:12:23,119 Rallying public support for the British monarch was now vital. 190 00:12:23,144 --> 00:12:27,939 French revolutionary ideas were spreading across Europe. 191 00:12:27,964 --> 00:12:34,039 And in 1793, Britain went to war with France to stop them. 192 00:12:34,064 --> 00:12:39,039 This was a fight to secure the system of monarchy across Europe, 193 00:12:39,064 --> 00:12:41,679 and George wanted a part in it. 194 00:12:42,964 --> 00:12:47,828 Again and again, he had himself painted in military uniform. 195 00:12:50,733 --> 00:12:56,149 These portraits presented the Prince of Wales as a gallant man of action, 196 00:12:56,174 --> 00:12:58,628 about to gallop away on his horse, 197 00:12:58,653 --> 00:13:03,149 or else leading his troops through the smoke of the battlefield. 198 00:13:05,603 --> 00:13:10,069 This was an era of military heroes, like Nelson and Wellington. 199 00:13:12,424 --> 00:13:15,429 And in these paintings, George was one of them. 200 00:13:16,603 --> 00:13:18,789 Except that he wasn't. 201 00:13:18,814 --> 00:13:21,989 George never actually went to a war, 202 00:13:22,014 --> 00:13:25,859 and the military version of the Prince of Wales is a fib. 203 00:13:28,934 --> 00:13:32,109 Why was George so keen on being presented as an action hero? 204 00:13:33,454 --> 00:13:37,708 I think George wanted desperately to be part of a tradition 205 00:13:37,733 --> 00:13:43,958 that had both military, royal and celebrity association. 206 00:13:43,983 --> 00:13:48,989 He absolutely wanted to be that person to lead his forces 207 00:13:49,014 --> 00:13:51,469 and soldiers, to stand up for the nation. 208 00:13:51,494 --> 00:13:55,319 And he couldn't, he wasn't allowed. He wasn't allowed to go, basically, 209 00:13:55,344 --> 00:13:58,219 because to be able to be the next King of England, 210 00:13:58,244 --> 00:14:00,219 his safety was paramount. 211 00:14:00,244 --> 00:14:03,149 But I think if we're really brutally honest about it, 212 00:14:03,174 --> 00:14:06,149 he quite liked the military dress as well. 213 00:14:06,174 --> 00:14:09,508 And I think he also saw that celebrities of the time 214 00:14:09,533 --> 00:14:11,789 were often people who were returned, 215 00:14:11,814 --> 00:14:13,859 fresh from the battlefields, 216 00:14:13,884 --> 00:14:17,019 and he wanted a little bit of that public glamour as well. 217 00:14:17,044 --> 00:14:21,049 Who would see all these pictures of the Prince of Wales? 218 00:14:21,074 --> 00:14:24,159 Well, many of these pictures would have been on the walls 219 00:14:24,184 --> 00:14:28,229 of the Royal Academy, in the famous summer exhibition 220 00:14:28,254 --> 00:14:31,518 and it was somewhere that certainly, annually, 221 00:14:31,543 --> 00:14:35,799 had THE most popular exhibition in London town. 222 00:14:35,824 --> 00:14:38,999 And, in a way, I think that was the chance for George 223 00:14:39,024 --> 00:14:41,968 to engage with some of the things on the walls of the academy 224 00:14:41,993 --> 00:14:44,439 that he couldn't do in real life. 225 00:14:45,663 --> 00:14:48,689 As British troops fought against the French republic, 226 00:14:48,714 --> 00:14:51,919 these military paintings could strengthen the image 227 00:14:51,944 --> 00:14:53,508 of monarchy at home. 228 00:14:54,714 --> 00:14:57,559 He looks to the events of Revolutionary France 229 00:14:57,584 --> 00:15:01,799 with real horror and real concern for those involved, 230 00:15:01,824 --> 00:15:05,439 but also with a real sense that Britain still needs 231 00:15:05,464 --> 00:15:09,838 to express monarchy in a way that feels grand, 232 00:15:09,863 --> 00:15:12,949 and that inspires kind of awe. 233 00:15:12,974 --> 00:15:16,718 And I think it's making sure that in an age where people were far less 234 00:15:16,743 --> 00:15:19,799 frequently exposed to images of monarchy, 235 00:15:19,824 --> 00:15:24,971 there were at least ways that images could be seen by the public 236 00:15:24,996 --> 00:15:28,301 and they could really engage with that image. 237 00:15:28,326 --> 00:15:31,560 Very few people would be likely to see him in real life. 238 00:15:31,585 --> 00:15:35,171 So, if there was a gap between the image and the reality, 239 00:15:35,196 --> 00:15:37,131 most people just wouldn't be aware. 240 00:15:37,156 --> 00:15:38,921 Yeah, that's right. They wouldn't. 241 00:15:40,176 --> 00:15:43,810 In an age of revolution, the monarchy needed stability. 242 00:15:45,585 --> 00:15:48,331 Since his illegal wedding, the Playboy Prince 243 00:15:48,356 --> 00:15:50,891 had enjoyed other affairs. 244 00:15:50,916 --> 00:15:54,251 Now, he was to marry his Protestant cousin, 245 00:15:54,276 --> 00:15:58,171 Caroline of Brunswick, and produce an heir. 246 00:15:58,196 --> 00:16:01,381 Pictures painted this like a Jane Austen romance. 247 00:16:02,505 --> 00:16:04,411 But that's nonsense. 248 00:16:06,606 --> 00:16:10,581 This was the opposite of a fairy-tale royal wedding. 249 00:16:10,606 --> 00:16:13,251 When they met in the flesh, Caroline said, 250 00:16:13,276 --> 00:16:16,661 "Blimey, he wasn't that fat in his portrait!" 251 00:16:16,686 --> 00:16:20,331 And George said, "Look at her, I need brandy". 252 00:16:20,356 --> 00:16:23,381 They somehow stumbled through their marriage vows 253 00:16:23,406 --> 00:16:28,480 and then he spent the wedding night drunkenly asleep in the fireplace. 254 00:16:30,996 --> 00:16:34,451 Caroline and George stayed together just long enough 255 00:16:34,476 --> 00:16:36,121 to produce a daughter. 256 00:16:36,146 --> 00:16:38,690 After that, they lived apart. 257 00:16:40,326 --> 00:16:44,221 George would soon accuse Caroline of infidelity, 258 00:16:44,246 --> 00:16:46,661 and eventually, she left the country. 259 00:16:50,326 --> 00:16:54,051 But Britain hadn't seen the last of Caroline of Brunswick. 260 00:16:59,246 --> 00:17:01,371 While the Georgians tried to secure 261 00:17:01,396 --> 00:17:03,411 the future of the monarchy in Britain, 262 00:17:03,436 --> 00:17:06,121 a military hero was setting himself up 263 00:17:06,146 --> 00:17:09,251 as the alternative to monarchy in France. 264 00:17:10,866 --> 00:17:15,301 In 1804, 11 years after the execution of Louis XVI, 265 00:17:15,326 --> 00:17:18,810 Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor... 266 00:17:20,276 --> 00:17:24,251 ...and he, too, was using fibs to solidify his power. 267 00:17:25,796 --> 00:17:31,810 Napoleon's coronation was really the Napoleon propaganda spectacular. 268 00:17:31,835 --> 00:17:35,610 The whole thing was designed to legitimise his power. 269 00:17:35,635 --> 00:17:38,251 In this painting he commissioned of the event, 270 00:17:38,276 --> 00:17:40,411 he hasn't been afraid to ask for a few little 271 00:17:40,436 --> 00:17:43,021 tweaked improvements to reality. 272 00:17:44,585 --> 00:17:47,051 The artist originally painted the Pope 273 00:17:47,076 --> 00:17:48,921 with his hands on his knees, 274 00:17:48,946 --> 00:17:53,251 but he was told to show him blessing the coronation instead. 275 00:17:54,715 --> 00:17:58,121 Also the proportions of the church have been shrunk, 276 00:17:58,146 --> 00:18:02,891 and that was to make Napoleon look bigger. 277 00:18:02,916 --> 00:18:05,371 The French Revolution was an inspiration 278 00:18:05,396 --> 00:18:08,480 to radicals in Georgian Britain. 279 00:18:08,505 --> 00:18:12,730 Progressive politicians were now calling for electoral reform 280 00:18:12,755 --> 00:18:15,371 to give more British people a voice. 281 00:18:16,996 --> 00:18:20,451 Reformers said that the diadem of Napoleon 282 00:18:20,476 --> 00:18:24,730 was dimming the lustre of all the ancient crowns of Europe, 283 00:18:24,755 --> 00:18:26,171 and that, in Britain, 284 00:18:26,196 --> 00:18:29,971 the King was losing his hold upon the affections of his people. 285 00:18:29,996 --> 00:18:35,091 But he was also, once again, losing his hold upon his mind. 286 00:18:37,036 --> 00:18:40,531 In 1811, at the age of 48, 287 00:18:40,556 --> 00:18:45,251 the Prince of Wales finally became Prince Regent. 288 00:18:45,276 --> 00:18:49,251 George now presented himself as Napoleon's nemesis. 289 00:18:50,755 --> 00:18:52,891 Napoleon had redesigned Paris 290 00:18:52,916 --> 00:18:54,331 with a grand boulevard 291 00:18:54,356 --> 00:18:58,301 and triumphal arches to celebrate his military victories. 292 00:18:59,996 --> 00:19:05,581 George hopes to eclipse Napoleon with his own elegant boulevard, 293 00:19:05,606 --> 00:19:08,091 London's Regent Street. 294 00:19:10,036 --> 00:19:12,891 But it would take a battle, not architecture, 295 00:19:12,916 --> 00:19:16,940 to cut Napoleon's empire down to size. 296 00:19:21,686 --> 00:19:26,051 Waterloo has gone down in history as a great British victory, 297 00:19:26,076 --> 00:19:31,301 won by British troops, and it's given its name to a railway station, 298 00:19:31,326 --> 00:19:35,661 to a bridge, and to one of London's poshest streets. 299 00:19:35,686 --> 00:19:39,891 But this story of Waterloo as a distinctly British victory 300 00:19:39,916 --> 00:19:42,371 is a distortion of the truth. 301 00:19:45,436 --> 00:19:48,301 It's true that the troops at the Battle of Waterloo 302 00:19:48,326 --> 00:19:50,451 were led by the Duke of Wellington. 303 00:19:51,996 --> 00:19:54,761 But he led an allied army. 304 00:19:54,786 --> 00:19:59,331 Only around a third of Wellington's troops were British. 305 00:19:59,356 --> 00:20:02,730 The rest were Dutch, Belgian and Hanoverian. 306 00:20:04,276 --> 00:20:06,940 And in the decisive hours of the battle, 307 00:20:06,965 --> 00:20:09,971 Wellington's 68,000 allied troops 308 00:20:09,996 --> 00:20:14,251 were joined by 48,000 Prussians. 309 00:20:14,276 --> 00:20:18,091 Most of the soldiers who defeated Napoleon were German! 310 00:20:21,146 --> 00:20:24,971 So, how has it come to be remembered as this British victory? 311 00:20:26,505 --> 00:20:30,301 The spin started on the night after the battle 312 00:20:30,326 --> 00:20:34,451 when Wellington wrote the first definitive description of Waterloo. 313 00:20:36,606 --> 00:20:38,581 The Prince Regent was dining at a house, 314 00:20:38,606 --> 00:20:40,730 here, in St james's Square in London, 315 00:20:40,755 --> 00:20:43,301 when Wellington's dispatch reached him. 316 00:20:44,426 --> 00:20:46,531 In his report from the battlefield, 317 00:20:46,556 --> 00:20:49,971 Wellington graciously acknowledges the Prussians. 318 00:20:49,996 --> 00:20:53,690 He says that they gave cordial and timely assistance. 319 00:20:53,715 --> 00:20:56,761 But even this first dispatch helps make it sound 320 00:20:56,786 --> 00:20:58,761 like a British victory. 321 00:21:00,476 --> 00:21:04,171 Wellington's report gave the battle its name. 322 00:21:06,755 --> 00:21:09,301 The Prussian General Blucher wanted to call it 323 00:21:09,326 --> 00:21:14,371 the Battle of Belle Alliance, a nod to the allied victory. 324 00:21:16,715 --> 00:21:19,371 But Wellington wrote his victorious dispatch 325 00:21:19,396 --> 00:21:22,610 from a village three miles from the battlefield... 326 00:21:22,635 --> 00:21:24,371 ...called Waterloo. 327 00:21:28,226 --> 00:21:31,251 Very soon, Parliament was adding its weight 328 00:21:31,276 --> 00:21:33,581 to the British version of the story. 329 00:21:35,715 --> 00:21:37,841 Within a few clays of the victory, 330 00:21:37,866 --> 00:21:40,011 the Foreign Secretary, Lord Castlereagh, 331 00:21:40,036 --> 00:21:42,730 also acknowledged the assistance of the Prussians, 332 00:21:42,755 --> 00:21:46,480 but he went on to say that this was a triumph of British arms 333 00:21:46,505 --> 00:21:51,371 and that it exulted the military glory of the British nation. 334 00:21:54,916 --> 00:21:58,011 Politicians knew that taking credit for the victory 335 00:21:58,036 --> 00:22:02,011 would enhance Britain's power and authority in Europe. 336 00:22:03,635 --> 00:22:07,221 And soon, alternatives to the great British narrative 337 00:22:07,246 --> 00:22:08,891 were being silenced. 338 00:22:10,835 --> 00:22:14,581 In 1830, the Army commissioned cartographer 339 00:22:14,606 --> 00:22:18,730 Lieutenant William Siborne to make a model of Waterloo. 340 00:22:20,606 --> 00:22:24,251 Siborne spent eight months surveying the battlefield. 341 00:22:25,676 --> 00:22:28,221 To position his tiny soldiers, 342 00:22:28,246 --> 00:22:31,221 he wrote to hundreds of Waterloo veterans, 343 00:22:31,246 --> 00:22:33,201 asking them where they were 344 00:22:33,226 --> 00:22:36,531 at around 7pm on the night of the battle. 345 00:22:38,965 --> 00:22:40,730 When it came to making his model, 346 00:22:40,755 --> 00:22:42,651 was accuracy important to Mr Siborne? 347 00:22:42,676 --> 00:22:45,121 We have a letter in the collection where he actually says, 348 00:22:45,146 --> 00:22:47,891 "All I want is the truth and I'm going to..." 349 00:22:47,916 --> 00:22:50,531 The truth? Yes. That's a big thing to aim for. 350 00:22:50,556 --> 00:22:52,201 Absolutely. Yes. 351 00:22:52,226 --> 00:22:54,940 So, he definitely was... He was very meticulous. 352 00:22:55,996 --> 00:23:00,371 Siborne's research suggested that the role of the Prussians 353 00:23:00,396 --> 00:23:03,480 had been more important than the British had made out. 354 00:23:04,556 --> 00:23:07,480 Partway through the project, he lost his funding. 355 00:23:09,556 --> 00:23:11,690 During the project, 356 00:23:11,715 --> 00:23:16,331 he managed to make an enemy of Wellington, or that's how it seems. 357 00:23:16,356 --> 00:23:22,401 So, losing Wellington's favour actually made it impossible for him 358 00:23:22,426 --> 00:23:26,810 to get any government money to finance the project. 359 00:23:26,835 --> 00:23:29,841 Why? Why would the Duke of Wellington not want there to be 360 00:23:29,866 --> 00:23:32,730 a model of the Battle of Waterloo? You'd think he'd love it. 361 00:23:32,755 --> 00:23:36,730 Yeah, you would, but it seems like he was not particularly pleased 362 00:23:36,755 --> 00:23:39,221 with the prominence that he thought was given 363 00:23:39,246 --> 00:23:40,971 to the Prussian troops on the model. 364 00:23:40,996 --> 00:23:44,680 So, there were slight hints for a long period that, unfortunately, 365 00:23:44,705 --> 00:23:49,891 Siborne didn't get, about the fact that Wellington was not that happy, 366 00:23:49,916 --> 00:23:55,251 and by the time he realised that the Prussians were probably an issue, 367 00:23:55,276 --> 00:23:59,651 he made public that he would be happy 368 00:23:59,676 --> 00:24:03,331 to remove the Prussians and go with what Wellington thought was correct. 369 00:24:03,356 --> 00:24:05,581 It was a little bit too late and Wellington, 370 00:24:05,606 --> 00:24:07,841 I mean, he had lost interest. 371 00:24:07,866 --> 00:24:10,651 So, do you personally think that there might be 372 00:24:10,676 --> 00:24:13,221 a few Prussians missing here? 373 00:24:13,246 --> 00:24:18,011 There should be a few more appearing here. 374 00:24:18,036 --> 00:24:22,401 There aren't that many left, but there are certain documents 375 00:24:22,426 --> 00:24:26,971 that suggest that he removed some of the Prussians 376 00:24:26,996 --> 00:24:28,581 from the battlefield. 377 00:24:31,916 --> 00:24:34,610 Britain was determined to claim Waterloo as its own, 378 00:24:34,635 --> 00:24:38,610 but the real victor appeared to be monarchy itself. 379 00:24:40,885 --> 00:24:45,680 With Napoleon defeated, the French monarchy was restored. 380 00:24:45,705 --> 00:24:49,171 The ideals of the French Revolution had been crushed. 381 00:24:51,116 --> 00:24:54,371 But in Britain, revolutionary ideas didn't go away. 382 00:24:57,596 --> 00:24:59,480 In the aftermath of Waterloo, 383 00:24:59,505 --> 00:25:02,041 two very different pictures of Regency life 384 00:25:02,066 --> 00:25:04,041 were starting to appear. 385 00:25:06,246 --> 00:25:10,610 One was a nation of gallant heroes and a victorious Prince Regent, 386 00:25:10,635 --> 00:25:14,041 splashing cash on extravagant royal palaces. 387 00:25:15,526 --> 00:25:18,221 The other was less glorious. 388 00:25:18,246 --> 00:25:21,810 Soldiers returning from war faced mass unemployment, 389 00:25:21,835 --> 00:25:25,930 soaring food costs and a thirst for democracy. 390 00:25:30,426 --> 00:25:34,730 Fewer than 2% of the people in Regency Britain had the vote. 391 00:25:35,885 --> 00:25:38,221 The people wanted a voice 392 00:25:38,246 --> 00:25:42,680 and there were ever louder calls to extend the franchise. 393 00:25:42,705 --> 00:25:46,291 The Regent and his government feared revolution. 394 00:25:47,346 --> 00:25:50,041 On August 16th, 1819, 395 00:25:50,066 --> 00:25:55,371 60,000 men, women and children came flooding through here 396 00:25:55,396 --> 00:25:59,651 towards what was then St Peter's Field in Manchester. 397 00:25:59,676 --> 00:26:02,321 They'd come to attend a huge protest rally 398 00:26:02,346 --> 00:26:07,041 and to hear the exciting, celebrated orator, Henry Hunt. 399 00:26:09,146 --> 00:26:14,041 The authorities were determined to stamp out any hint of revolution, 400 00:26:14,066 --> 00:26:17,241 so they told a lie. 401 00:26:17,266 --> 00:26:21,880 They said the crowd was armed, violent and riotous. 402 00:26:21,905 --> 00:26:24,750 In fact, the crowd were keen that this should come across 403 00:26:24,775 --> 00:26:28,311 as a patriotic and a peaceful occasion. 404 00:26:28,336 --> 00:26:31,421 A lot of the women in the crowd were wearing white dresses, 405 00:26:31,446 --> 00:26:32,880 the colour of peace, 406 00:26:32,905 --> 00:26:36,311 and the protesters even sang God Save The King. 407 00:26:36,336 --> 00:26:41,981 MUSIC: British National Anthem 408 00:26:47,696 --> 00:26:51,671 Magistrates gave the order to arrest the speaker, Henry Hunt. 409 00:26:52,905 --> 00:26:57,591 The local militia charged in on horseback, brandishing sabres. 410 00:26:59,616 --> 00:27:04,551 Up to 700 people were injured, 18 were killed, 411 00:27:04,576 --> 00:27:07,341 including a two-year-old child. 412 00:27:08,725 --> 00:27:12,630 It became known as the Peterloo Massacre. 413 00:27:17,056 --> 00:27:21,031 After 20 minutes of bloodshed, a new battle began. 414 00:27:21,056 --> 00:27:25,141 The battle to control the story of what had happened. 415 00:27:26,855 --> 00:27:30,031 Officials continued to claim the militia were provoked, 416 00:27:30,056 --> 00:27:32,500 by an armed and dangerous crowd. 417 00:27:33,655 --> 00:27:36,521 In the People's History Museum, in Manchester, 418 00:27:36,546 --> 00:27:40,750 is a walking stick that belonged to one of the protesters. 419 00:27:40,775 --> 00:27:44,671 The magistrates were desperate to find weapons in this crowd. 420 00:27:44,696 --> 00:27:48,981 They believe that this was a violent mob intent on revolution, really. 421 00:27:49,006 --> 00:27:52,311 And an object like this would have been the perfect evidence 422 00:27:52,336 --> 00:27:55,031 that this was actually a violent crowd. 423 00:27:55,056 --> 00:27:59,031 So, after Peterloo, you can see an inscription written on it. 424 00:27:59,056 --> 00:28:02,341 "L was one of the dreadful bludgeons, 425 00:28:02,366 --> 00:28:07,311 "seen on the fields of Peterloo". 426 00:28:07,336 --> 00:28:11,271 There's Peterloo in the capital letters there. Yep. 427 00:28:11,296 --> 00:28:15,271 So, this is somebody being a bit ironic. This ordinary walking stick. 428 00:28:15,296 --> 00:28:17,981 Yeah, it's a kind of mocking reference to the fact 429 00:28:18,006 --> 00:28:20,061 that the government is saying this is a violent... 430 00:28:20,086 --> 00:28:21,521 A dreadful bludgeon. Yeah. 431 00:28:21,546 --> 00:28:23,671 I mean, clearly this is not a violent weapon, 432 00:28:23,696 --> 00:28:26,950 and it shows the really contested nature of this history, 433 00:28:26,975 --> 00:28:29,421 even in the months after Peterloo, 434 00:28:29,446 --> 00:28:31,421 that people are fighting over the meaning. 435 00:28:31,446 --> 00:28:35,671 What would Prince George himself say to us had happened? 436 00:28:35,696 --> 00:28:38,391 He's briefed by the military and by the government 437 00:28:38,416 --> 00:28:42,471 on what's happened, and he formally sends his thanks 438 00:28:42,496 --> 00:28:45,781 to the Yeomanry and to those who have crushed 439 00:28:45,806 --> 00:28:47,551 the demonstration at Peterloo. 440 00:28:47,576 --> 00:28:50,341 To us, the Prince Regent appears open to criticism. 441 00:28:50,366 --> 00:28:52,671 Did anybody criticise him at the time? 442 00:28:52,696 --> 00:28:57,161 Well, people did. So, in 1820, a radical newspaper 443 00:28:57,186 --> 00:29:03,391 writes that George is a flippant, callous leader, really, 444 00:29:03,416 --> 00:29:05,471 and these words become very dangerous. 445 00:29:05,496 --> 00:29:08,311 Actually, a shopkeeper, who sells this newspaper, 446 00:29:08,336 --> 00:29:11,830 goes to prison for selling these seditious words. 447 00:29:11,855 --> 00:29:13,981 The government brings in the Six Acts, 448 00:29:14,006 --> 00:29:18,700 so it becomes illegal to meet and to protest against the government. 449 00:29:18,725 --> 00:29:21,421 The radical newspapers, they're clamped down on, 450 00:29:21,446 --> 00:29:22,950 so the taxes are raised 451 00:29:22,975 --> 00:29:26,391 and the story of Peterloo goes underground, really. 452 00:29:26,416 --> 00:29:29,521 Anyone who tries to talk about what they've witnessed 453 00:29:29,546 --> 00:29:31,750 or what they've experienced at Peterloo 454 00:29:31,775 --> 00:29:34,551 really has the threat of imprisonment. 455 00:29:34,576 --> 00:29:37,231 We're veering towards a totalitarian state, then, 456 00:29:37,256 --> 00:29:40,031 when you cannot publish or even speak criticism. 457 00:29:40,056 --> 00:29:42,391 Yeah, I mean there's a huge clamp down on anyone 458 00:29:42,416 --> 00:29:44,620 who dares to speak out against the monarchy 459 00:29:44,645 --> 00:29:47,391 and those who supported the massacre. 460 00:29:47,416 --> 00:29:50,191 What do you think the authorities were trying to achieve 461 00:29:50,216 --> 00:29:54,341 by all of this censoring, silencing of the story? 462 00:29:54,366 --> 00:29:57,750 Well, the authorities were panicking at the idea of revolution, 463 00:29:57,775 --> 00:30:01,161 that the revolution in France, which was still in living memory, 464 00:30:01,186 --> 00:30:02,830 might spread to Britain, 465 00:30:02,855 --> 00:30:06,671 and so they hoped with these very authoritarian laws 466 00:30:06,696 --> 00:30:09,950 that they might stop that spread of revolution, 467 00:30:09,975 --> 00:30:13,341 and so there was a desperate attempt to stop any real reforms 468 00:30:13,366 --> 00:30:16,870 being given to ordinary people. 469 00:30:16,895 --> 00:30:19,620 Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley 470 00:30:19,645 --> 00:30:23,911 responded to Peterloo with The Masque of Anarchy. 471 00:30:25,855 --> 00:30:29,830 His poem called for the masses to rise like lions 472 00:30:29,855 --> 00:30:32,950 against the ruling elite of Regency Britain. 473 00:30:32,975 --> 00:30:34,471 He told the people to... 474 00:30:34,496 --> 00:30:37,671 Shake your chains to earth like dew 475 00:30:37,696 --> 00:30:41,031 Which in sleep had fallen on you 476 00:30:41,056 --> 00:30:45,231 Ye are many - they are few! 477 00:30:45,256 --> 00:30:48,750 But Shelley couldn't find a publisher in his lifetime. 478 00:30:48,775 --> 00:30:51,591 They were all too afraid to print it. 479 00:30:54,975 --> 00:30:58,111 To maintain power, monarchy and parliament 480 00:30:58,136 --> 00:31:01,231 had silenced the story of Peterloo. 481 00:31:02,696 --> 00:31:05,391 For the voice of the people to be heard, 482 00:31:05,416 --> 00:31:09,830 Reformers would now start spinning their own fibs. 483 00:31:11,136 --> 00:31:16,911 On January 29th, 1820, King George Ill died. 484 00:31:16,936 --> 00:31:19,620 After nine years of his Regency, 485 00:31:19,645 --> 00:31:23,801 the Prince could finally become King George IV. 486 00:31:29,336 --> 00:31:32,311 This is a whole lot of commemorative cups and plates, 487 00:31:32,336 --> 00:31:34,950 the sort of thing that's familiar from royal weddings, 488 00:31:34,975 --> 00:31:37,750 jubilees, that sort of thing. 489 00:31:37,775 --> 00:31:42,031 But these genteel royal knick-knacks are not what they seem. 490 00:31:42,056 --> 00:31:46,830 Each one of these represents a slap in the face to King George IV 491 00:31:46,855 --> 00:31:50,801 because this lot celebrate the woman he didn't want to be Queen. 492 00:31:52,256 --> 00:31:55,421 At the hint of a coronation, George's wife, Caroline, 493 00:31:55,446 --> 00:31:59,511 returned from Europe, determined to take her place as Queen. 494 00:32:02,496 --> 00:32:04,591 George was having none of it. 495 00:32:04,616 --> 00:32:08,341 He wanted a divorce but if he tried to get one, 496 00:32:08,366 --> 00:32:10,591 he might open himself up to criticism 497 00:32:10,616 --> 00:32:12,671 for the mistresses that he'd had. 498 00:32:13,725 --> 00:32:19,471 So, George decided to bring his case against Caroline before Parliament. 499 00:32:20,806 --> 00:32:23,191 Politicians, rather than a court, 500 00:32:23,216 --> 00:32:26,721 should decide if Caroline was guilty of adultery. 501 00:32:29,056 --> 00:32:32,671 This was effectively trial by Parliament. 502 00:32:32,696 --> 00:32:35,591 If Caroline wanted to be Queen, she'd have to put up 503 00:32:35,616 --> 00:32:39,830 with her sex life being trotted out and picked over 504 00:32:39,855 --> 00:32:41,981 in front of the entire nation. 505 00:32:43,775 --> 00:32:47,111 Witnesses told tales of debauchery, 506 00:32:47,136 --> 00:32:52,471 stained bedsheets and a bath shared with an Italian lover. 507 00:32:53,536 --> 00:32:57,471 But Caroline thought of a way of getting the upper hand. 508 00:32:57,496 --> 00:32:58,981 Ooh, thanks. 509 00:32:59,006 --> 00:33:01,471 By telling just a little lie, 510 00:33:01,496 --> 00:33:06,950 she could reposition herself as the people's radical Queen. 511 00:33:10,006 --> 00:33:12,700 Caroline was no political radical, 512 00:33:12,725 --> 00:33:15,781 but she did want revenge on her husband. 513 00:33:17,256 --> 00:33:22,830 So she made an alliance with the people fighting for the vote. 514 00:33:22,855 --> 00:33:26,750 During her trial, the radicals used the press and caricatures 515 00:33:26,775 --> 00:33:32,151 to spin Caroline into the figurehead for a wronged people. 516 00:33:32,176 --> 00:33:37,311 Tradesmen, shopkeepers and women's groups signed petitions of support. 517 00:33:39,336 --> 00:33:43,441 And Caroline's radical allies scripted replies in her name 518 00:33:43,466 --> 00:33:45,781 to fans across the country. 519 00:33:48,136 --> 00:33:50,341 To her supporters in Sunderland, 520 00:33:50,366 --> 00:33:54,311 Caroline said, "If the highest subjects in the land 521 00:33:54,336 --> 00:34:00,261 "can be divorced, dethroned, debased by an arbitrary power, 522 00:34:00,286 --> 00:34:02,671 "then the constitutional liberty 523 00:34:02,696 --> 00:34:05,830 "of the kingdom will be shaken to its base." 524 00:34:05,855 --> 00:34:08,341 The newspapers loved her. 525 00:34:08,366 --> 00:34:11,791 They called her the French revolutionary leader. 526 00:34:13,086 --> 00:34:15,791 Caroline's lawyer soon warned MPs 527 00:34:15,816 --> 00:34:18,261 that to save themselves and the Crown, 528 00:34:18,286 --> 00:34:20,591 they must find her innocent. 529 00:34:21,645 --> 00:34:25,341 So, every day that she goes down for the trial, 530 00:34:25,366 --> 00:34:29,031 there is a - what the government refers to as - mob 531 00:34:29,056 --> 00:34:31,591 waiting to roar support. 532 00:34:31,616 --> 00:34:34,620 It's an extraordinary time. 533 00:34:34,645 --> 00:34:39,620 It sounds like an unholy alliance between Caroline and the radicals. 534 00:34:39,645 --> 00:34:42,511 Why did the radicals want to help Queen Caroline? 535 00:34:42,536 --> 00:34:47,591 The radicals are certainly... 536 00:34:47,616 --> 00:34:53,721 ...seeing an opportunity coming after Peterloo, 537 00:34:53,746 --> 00:34:57,791 and then these coercive acts, 538 00:34:57,816 --> 00:35:00,191 following that by the government. 539 00:35:00,216 --> 00:35:03,151 By focusing on the Queen, 540 00:35:03,176 --> 00:35:07,671 they can attack the King and the government, 541 00:35:07,696 --> 00:35:09,950 but they're not criticising 542 00:35:09,975 --> 00:35:13,391 or saying anything seditious or treasonable, 543 00:35:13,416 --> 00:35:16,261 because they're saying the Queen is a wronged woman. 544 00:35:16,286 --> 00:35:20,620 So, a cheer for Queen Caroline is secretly a boo for the King, 545 00:35:20,645 --> 00:35:23,031 and for the Tory government. Absolutely. 546 00:35:23,056 --> 00:35:27,850 And an unspoken wish that the franchise could be extended. Yeah. 547 00:35:27,875 --> 00:35:31,251 Fear of revolution helped to sway Parliament's decision 548 00:35:31,276 --> 00:35:33,331 to abandon the trial. 549 00:35:35,196 --> 00:35:38,331 George's coronation could finally go ahead. 550 00:35:44,026 --> 00:35:48,100 In July 1821, George IV processed through the streets 551 00:35:48,125 --> 00:35:50,890 to Westminster Abbey. 552 00:35:50,915 --> 00:35:53,561 King George hopes that he could use his coronation 553 00:35:53,586 --> 00:35:57,001 to stabilise the monarchy and outshine Napoleon 554 00:35:57,026 --> 00:35:59,201 as a truly regal leader. 555 00:36:00,915 --> 00:36:03,970 But it didn't go entirely elegantly. 556 00:36:03,995 --> 00:36:07,491 There were complaints about the horrendous cost of it all, 557 00:36:07,516 --> 00:36:09,331 and there was an uninvited guest. 558 00:36:09,356 --> 00:36:12,531 Caroline turned up and she was banging on the door of the abbey, 559 00:36:12,556 --> 00:36:15,970 demanding to be let in, as Queen of England. 560 00:36:15,995 --> 00:36:20,451 But she was kept out and had to slink away humiliated. 561 00:36:22,795 --> 00:36:25,451 Once again, George would turn to art 562 00:36:25,476 --> 00:36:28,331 to tell his version of royal history. 563 00:36:33,795 --> 00:36:37,890 So, Kathryn, this is George's big moment, he's finally become King. 564 00:36:37,915 --> 00:36:41,640 What's he trying to express through this coronation portrait? 565 00:36:41,665 --> 00:36:45,171 Obviously, there's been huge political turmoil. 566 00:36:45,196 --> 00:36:46,921 There's been military turmoil in Britain. 567 00:36:46,946 --> 00:36:49,691 So, this is the moment where he can present himself 568 00:36:49,716 --> 00:36:52,081 in this magnificent way to his people 569 00:36:52,106 --> 00:36:56,131 and show them, here we are, monarchy is still strong. 570 00:36:56,156 --> 00:36:57,491 Monarchy is back! 571 00:36:57,516 --> 00:36:59,970 It summarises monarchy in every way you can think of, really. 572 00:36:59,995 --> 00:37:03,411 All that gold, the diamonds, everything is showing. 573 00:37:03,436 --> 00:37:05,441 And even just his pose. 574 00:37:05,466 --> 00:37:08,640 He appears in this portrait to be this towering figure. 575 00:37:08,665 --> 00:37:10,811 I don't think he was more than 5'7", 576 00:37:10,836 --> 00:37:14,640 but Lawrence makes him into this great majestic figure. 577 00:37:14,665 --> 00:37:17,611 You can see this great swagger of monarchy. 578 00:37:17,636 --> 00:37:20,890 So, it's not a portrait of a man, it's a portrait of an institution. 579 00:37:20,915 --> 00:37:23,921 What are the sort of hidden messages of the painting? 580 00:37:23,946 --> 00:37:25,770 Well, the key one, really, is the table, 581 00:37:25,795 --> 00:37:29,251 which just appears in the corner of the portrait. 582 00:37:29,276 --> 00:37:32,611 And, in fact, that was a table that was made for Napoleon, 583 00:37:32,636 --> 00:37:35,720 and after the defeat of Napoleon and the restoration of the monarchy, 584 00:37:35,745 --> 00:37:38,840 Louis XVIII presented it to George IV. 585 00:37:38,865 --> 00:37:41,561 And you can just see this lovely gesture that George, 586 00:37:41,586 --> 00:37:45,451 just with a single fingertip, is resting upon Napoleon's table. 587 00:37:45,476 --> 00:37:48,081 I think that just sort of sums up his attitude, 588 00:37:48,106 --> 00:37:52,890 that sort of slightly insolent nod to his defeat of Napoleon. 589 00:37:52,915 --> 00:37:55,451 There's a real sense of one-upmanship here, isn't there? 590 00:37:55,476 --> 00:37:56,970 There is, definitely. 591 00:37:56,995 --> 00:38:00,561 It's, "l can do it bigger and better, but also I've defeated you". 592 00:38:00,586 --> 00:38:03,640 I think that the political underpinning of that 593 00:38:03,665 --> 00:38:06,840 is really in response to what Napoleon is doing, 594 00:38:06,865 --> 00:38:09,331 and that he's trying to make sure 595 00:38:09,356 --> 00:38:11,331 that that's not going to happen again. 596 00:38:11,356 --> 00:38:13,921 George is clearly excellent at style, 597 00:38:13,946 --> 00:38:17,171 some people might say at the expense of substance, 598 00:38:17,196 --> 00:38:19,640 but perhaps, in an age of revolution, 599 00:38:19,665 --> 00:38:24,451 it's more important that kings project their majesty, do you think? 600 00:38:24,476 --> 00:38:27,411 I think he's very conscious of how he appears in public. 601 00:38:27,436 --> 00:38:30,531 This great glittering backdrop, this very sparkling court 602 00:38:30,556 --> 00:38:33,411 that he creates, is all designed, really, to present the monarchy 603 00:38:33,436 --> 00:38:36,281 in the place where he felt it belonged. 604 00:38:36,306 --> 00:38:40,051 George, really, is trying to protect the monarchy at that moment 605 00:38:40,076 --> 00:38:42,611 as the leaders of Europe. 606 00:38:43,836 --> 00:38:46,840 King George wanted to dazzle his people 607 00:38:46,865 --> 00:38:49,331 with the spectacle of monarchy, 608 00:38:49,356 --> 00:38:51,770 and that meant new bling. 609 00:38:53,386 --> 00:38:56,731 George had this diamond diadem created to wear 610 00:38:56,756 --> 00:38:58,879 on the way to his coronation. 611 00:39:02,544 --> 00:39:04,879 It's still worn by the Queen today. 612 00:39:10,674 --> 00:39:13,239 George wanted his diadem to contain symbols 613 00:39:13,264 --> 00:39:15,798 of all the different bits of the United Kingdom. 614 00:39:15,823 --> 00:39:19,848 So, it's got an Irish shamrock, the English rose 615 00:39:19,873 --> 00:39:22,009 and the Scottish thistle, 616 00:39:22,034 --> 00:39:25,519 he's setting out his stall as a unifying monarch. 617 00:39:28,703 --> 00:39:33,289 But to unify the country he'd have to rely on a few fibs. 618 00:39:34,904 --> 00:39:38,879 The union between Britain and Ireland had been forged in 1800 619 00:39:38,904 --> 00:39:41,928 to curb rebellion and help discourage an alliance 620 00:39:41,953 --> 00:39:43,848 with Revolutionary France. 621 00:39:45,753 --> 00:39:50,129 Part of the deal was the promise of Catholic emancipation. 622 00:39:50,154 --> 00:39:54,728 This would allow Catholics, who made up 80% of the Irish population, 623 00:39:54,753 --> 00:39:58,319 to hold public office and become MPs. 624 00:40:00,073 --> 00:40:02,928 But that promise had turned out to be a lie. 625 00:40:04,823 --> 00:40:08,569 George Ill had vowed never to allow Catholic emancipation. 626 00:40:08,594 --> 00:40:12,129 He felt it went against the oath he'd made at his coronation, 627 00:40:12,154 --> 00:40:14,519 which was to support the Protestant faith, 628 00:40:14,544 --> 00:40:17,489 but his son appeared to think otherwise. 629 00:40:19,034 --> 00:40:21,769 When George IV announced a trip to Ireland 630 00:40:21,794 --> 00:40:25,289 a month after his coronation in 1821, 631 00:40:25,314 --> 00:40:30,319 it seemed that Catholic emancipation might finally be on the horizon. 632 00:40:32,344 --> 00:40:37,048 George IV was welcomed to Dublin by cheering crowds. 633 00:40:37,073 --> 00:40:40,009 After all the negativity at the affair with Queen Caroline, 634 00:40:40,034 --> 00:40:41,928 this is a real tonic to him. 635 00:40:41,953 --> 00:40:46,009 He told the people he met implausibly, but sincerely, 636 00:40:46,034 --> 00:40:49,569 that his heart had, in fact, always been Irish. 637 00:40:53,034 --> 00:40:56,678 At the centre of the festivities was Daniel O'Connell, 638 00:40:56,703 --> 00:40:59,678 leader of the Campaign for Catholic Emancipation. 639 00:41:00,703 --> 00:41:04,948 In the past, O'Connell had publicly criticised George. 640 00:41:04,973 --> 00:41:08,769 Now, he was determined to gain maximum advantage 641 00:41:08,794 --> 00:41:10,649 from the King's visit. 642 00:41:11,873 --> 00:41:14,159 Patrick, what are both sides hoping to achieve 643 00:41:14,184 --> 00:41:16,769 from this visit to Dublin by George IV? 644 00:41:16,794 --> 00:41:20,079 I think the King was trying to show that he was 645 00:41:20,104 --> 00:41:23,519 the King of a United Kingdom, and a genuinely United Kingdom, 646 00:41:23,544 --> 00:41:27,519 that his subjects in Ireland loved him, that he loved them, 647 00:41:27,544 --> 00:41:31,239 and that they were part of this relationship 648 00:41:31,264 --> 00:41:34,099 that really was only in existence for 20 years. 649 00:41:34,124 --> 00:41:38,569 So, I think there was a good reason for the King to want to do it. 650 00:41:38,594 --> 00:41:41,209 For Daniel O'Connell, it was more cynical. 651 00:41:41,234 --> 00:41:45,798 It was about making this huge demonstration of Catholic loyalty, 652 00:41:45,823 --> 00:41:48,519 so that George IV might be persuaded, 653 00:41:48,544 --> 00:41:51,409 might be convinced, that the Catholics could be trusted 654 00:41:51,434 --> 00:41:54,129 and that therefore emancipation could be granted. 655 00:41:58,154 --> 00:42:02,598 George departed from Ireland, here from the quayside at Dun Laoghaire. 656 00:42:02,623 --> 00:42:05,959 The town was renamed Kingstown in his honour. 657 00:42:05,984 --> 00:42:07,489 And, before he went, 658 00:42:07,514 --> 00:42:12,439 Daniel O'Connell crowned him with the victorious wreath of laurel. 659 00:42:12,464 --> 00:42:15,879 Full of enthusiasm, George said to the cheering crowd, 660 00:42:15,904 --> 00:42:18,159 that if ever the opportunity arose for him 661 00:42:18,184 --> 00:42:21,718 to do something to serve Ireland, he would do it. 662 00:42:21,743 --> 00:42:25,239 This didn't turn out to be strictly accurate. 663 00:42:28,973 --> 00:42:34,239 George's visit celebrated the union and gave Irish Catholics hope. 664 00:42:35,623 --> 00:42:39,409 But, once again, he was fibbing. 665 00:42:39,434 --> 00:42:43,879 He'd sworn as King to defend the Protestant faith. 666 00:42:43,904 --> 00:42:47,798 Back in England, there was no movement on emancipation. 667 00:42:49,594 --> 00:42:51,649 So, what happened when it became clear 668 00:42:51,674 --> 00:42:54,489 that George really wasn't going to help the Catholics? 669 00:42:54,514 --> 00:42:57,399 Suddenly, you had a backlash against O'Connell, 670 00:42:57,424 --> 00:42:59,608 because O'Connell had been going around the country, 671 00:42:59,633 --> 00:43:01,969 wearing a fur cap that had a gold band on it 672 00:43:01,994 --> 00:43:06,219 and he'd been telling everyone that this had been a gift from the King. 673 00:43:06,244 --> 00:43:08,779 But as soon as it looked like the King 674 00:43:08,804 --> 00:43:10,219 wasn't going to change his mind, 675 00:43:10,244 --> 00:43:13,779 O'Connell had to deny that the cap was a gift he had. 676 00:43:13,804 --> 00:43:16,728 He said, "That was just a joke, I was only pretending". 677 00:43:16,753 --> 00:43:18,449 People began telling stories about 678 00:43:18,474 --> 00:43:21,978 how O'Connell had humiliated himself at Dun Laoghaire, at Kingstown. 679 00:43:22,003 --> 00:43:24,449 How he had waded out in the harbour 680 00:43:24,474 --> 00:43:28,299 to present this laurel crown to the King and O'Connell denied that. 681 00:43:28,324 --> 00:43:31,089 There was this belief that he had gone too far 682 00:43:31,114 --> 00:43:32,938 and had gained nothing in return. 683 00:43:32,963 --> 00:43:37,169 So, O'Connell started, once again, abusing the King 684 00:43:37,194 --> 00:43:39,499 and moving on from it. 685 00:43:40,724 --> 00:43:42,449 Over the next seven years, 686 00:43:42,474 --> 00:43:46,938 three emancipation bills were defeated at Westminster. 687 00:43:46,963 --> 00:43:50,019 Eventually, O'Connell tried a new tactic. 688 00:43:51,324 --> 00:43:53,708 He got himself elected! 689 00:43:53,733 --> 00:43:55,239 The government realised that 690 00:43:55,264 --> 00:43:58,249 denying O'Connell his parliamentary seat in London 691 00:43:58,274 --> 00:44:01,019 could spark a rebellion in Ireland. 692 00:44:02,324 --> 00:44:07,419 In 1829, the Catholic Relief Act granted emancipation. 693 00:44:07,444 --> 00:44:11,728 King George was finally forced to concede power to the people. 694 00:44:13,444 --> 00:44:16,938 Emancipation was cheered and celebrated by Irish people, 695 00:44:16,963 --> 00:44:19,958 who had no ambition to ever sit in Parliament, 696 00:44:19,983 --> 00:44:21,828 but it was still meaningful for them 697 00:44:21,853 --> 00:44:23,969 because it was a campaign for civil rights. 698 00:44:23,994 --> 00:44:26,529 The emancipation itself has to be understood 699 00:44:26,554 --> 00:44:28,579 because it's not just a religious thing 700 00:44:28,604 --> 00:44:30,728 and it's not really even a religious thing. 701 00:44:30,753 --> 00:44:34,169 It's a civil rights issue, a campaign to ensure that Catholics, 702 00:44:34,194 --> 00:44:37,808 who had the right to vote, would be able to sit in parliament, 703 00:44:37,833 --> 00:44:41,419 would be able to become judges and kings' councils. 704 00:44:41,444 --> 00:44:44,858 And also be equal in their own country, 705 00:44:44,883 --> 00:44:47,249 no longer feeling that they were inferior, 706 00:44:47,274 --> 00:44:49,339 no longer feeling that they were slaves, 707 00:44:49,364 --> 00:44:52,139 and that is why they gave O'Connell the name Liberator. 708 00:44:52,164 --> 00:44:53,808 And that is why O'Connell became 709 00:44:53,833 --> 00:44:55,969 one of the great figures in Irish history, 710 00:44:55,994 --> 00:44:59,169 because he had led this mass peaceful movement 711 00:44:59,194 --> 00:45:01,969 and he had brought the British Empire to its knees 712 00:45:01,994 --> 00:45:04,858 and he had done it without having to fire a single shot. 713 00:45:09,194 --> 00:45:11,938 A year after George's Irish trip, 714 00:45:11,963 --> 00:45:16,998 he embarks on another visit to quell rebellion - to Edinburgh. 715 00:45:18,624 --> 00:45:23,339 In 1820, Scottish workers had called a general strike 716 00:45:23,364 --> 00:45:27,419 under the revolutionary motto, Liberty or Death. 717 00:45:29,444 --> 00:45:33,369 The three leaders of the strike were hanged and beheaded. 718 00:45:34,724 --> 00:45:38,369 Could a royal visit inspire some loyalist spirit? 719 00:45:41,354 --> 00:45:46,359 The Edinburgh George IV visited was a tartan extravaganza. 720 00:45:46,384 --> 00:45:50,249 Everywhere you looked, there were clan chiefs or people 721 00:45:50,274 --> 00:45:53,369 holding Highland Bulls to celebrate the King. 722 00:45:53,394 --> 00:45:56,219 Even George himself had been persuaded 723 00:45:56,244 --> 00:45:59,369 to truss himself up into a tartan costume. 724 00:45:59,394 --> 00:46:02,579 But this tartan city was an illusion, 725 00:46:02,604 --> 00:46:06,009 a bit like the mythical village of Brigadoon. 726 00:46:09,684 --> 00:46:12,529 Tartan wasn't even an Edinburgh thing. 727 00:46:12,554 --> 00:46:14,969 It was a Highland tradition. 728 00:46:14,994 --> 00:46:18,089 England supporter, are you? Er, no, the other one. 729 00:46:18,114 --> 00:46:20,249 Aye. Funny that. Yeah. 730 00:46:20,274 --> 00:46:24,009 And it was associated with the Hanoverian's great rivals, 731 00:46:24,034 --> 00:46:26,089 the Jacobites. 732 00:46:26,114 --> 00:46:28,808 Just 77 years earlier, 733 00:46:28,833 --> 00:46:32,169 the Jacobite rebellion had fought to put a Stuart King 734 00:46:32,194 --> 00:46:34,139 back on the British throne. 735 00:46:35,684 --> 00:46:41,828 But in 1746, George's family had crushed them at Culloden. 736 00:46:41,853 --> 00:46:44,299 And the wearing of Highland dress, 737 00:46:44,324 --> 00:46:47,579 a sign of political allegiance to the jacobites, 738 00:46:47,604 --> 00:46:51,699 had been banned for 35 years. 739 00:46:51,724 --> 00:46:54,808 Now, the King's visit would rewrite history. 740 00:46:56,274 --> 00:46:59,089 The man in charge of it all was Sir Walter Scott, 741 00:46:59,114 --> 00:47:03,938 the best-selling author of romanticised historical fiction. 742 00:47:05,164 --> 00:47:08,938 This pamphlet was published just before the royal visit 743 00:47:08,963 --> 00:47:12,938 and it's called Hints To The Inhabitants Of Edinburgh, 744 00:47:12,963 --> 00:47:17,369 suggesting to them how to behave and what to wear. 745 00:47:17,394 --> 00:47:19,808 The author here is given as "An Old Citizen". 746 00:47:19,833 --> 00:47:23,009 Actually, that was Sir Walter Scott himself. 747 00:47:23,034 --> 00:47:27,169 And he says, basically, you can't wear too much tartan. 748 00:47:27,194 --> 00:47:30,608 Scott was a Tory unionist 749 00:47:30,633 --> 00:47:34,699 and he was willing to tweak the truth to support his cause, 750 00:47:34,724 --> 00:47:40,139 even if that meant turning Hanoverian George into a Scotsman. 751 00:47:40,164 --> 00:47:44,499 "He comes as the descendant of a long line of Scottish kings, 752 00:47:44,524 --> 00:47:48,499 "the blood of the heroic Robert Bruce, the blood of the noble, 753 00:47:48,524 --> 00:47:53,009 "the enlightened, the generous James I is in his veins." 754 00:47:53,034 --> 00:47:55,529 And he concludes, triumphantly, 755 00:47:55,554 --> 00:47:59,858 "that we are the clan and the King is our chief." 756 00:48:01,474 --> 00:48:06,009 300,000 people turned out to see George in Scotland. 757 00:48:06,034 --> 00:48:10,889 The image of the Tartan King was captured by court painters 758 00:48:10,914 --> 00:48:13,139 and mocked by cartoonists. 759 00:48:15,674 --> 00:48:19,299 What was Scott up to when he staged-managed this amazing visit 760 00:48:19,324 --> 00:48:21,369 to Edinburgh by George IV? 761 00:48:21,394 --> 00:48:25,289 In some ways, it was the most astounding piece of propaganda 762 00:48:25,314 --> 00:48:27,299 in the 19th century. 763 00:48:27,324 --> 00:48:32,978 The fact that you have a Hanoverian King, dressed up as a Jacobite, 764 00:48:33,003 --> 00:48:35,219 is quite striking, you know, 765 00:48:35,244 --> 00:48:38,089 given that only two generations beforehand, 766 00:48:38,114 --> 00:48:42,139 these people were trying to oust his whole family. 767 00:48:42,164 --> 00:48:45,728 But Scott nuances everything to say, 768 00:48:45,753 --> 00:48:50,009 "George IV is yourjacobite King". 769 00:48:50,034 --> 00:48:53,449 It invokes an idea of loyalty 770 00:48:53,474 --> 00:48:56,728 and it was trying to heal divisions 771 00:48:56,753 --> 00:49:01,499 between Hanoverian and Jacobite, between English and Scottish. 772 00:49:01,524 --> 00:49:05,339 Scott manages to somehow fuse all this together, 773 00:49:05,364 --> 00:49:08,699 into a cohesive whole that is Scotland 774 00:49:08,724 --> 00:49:12,249 and admits George IV as their King. 775 00:49:12,274 --> 00:49:14,649 And how did Scottish people themselves react 776 00:49:14,674 --> 00:49:17,449 to being encouraged to put on fancy dress? 777 00:49:17,474 --> 00:49:20,728 It was something which many of the other people, 778 00:49:20,753 --> 00:49:24,808 lowlanders like me, found quite objectionable, 779 00:49:24,833 --> 00:49:27,889 people refer to it as nauseous 780 00:49:27,914 --> 00:49:30,699 and Sir Walter has made us ridiculous 781 00:49:30,724 --> 00:49:33,009 by claiming we're all Highlanders. 782 00:49:33,034 --> 00:49:37,009 They simply didn't like it, but it was something that translates, 783 00:49:37,034 --> 00:49:41,259 and I think one can measure the success, 784 00:49:41,284 --> 00:49:44,608 if you look at any kind of cultural depiction 785 00:49:44,633 --> 00:49:48,449 of Scotland, nowadays, it's tartan. Yes. 786 00:49:48,474 --> 00:49:53,889 Doesn't matter if it's The Simpsons or if it's Braveheart, 787 00:49:53,914 --> 00:49:56,699 tartan equals Scotland, 788 00:49:56,724 --> 00:49:58,699 and that's what Scott did. 789 00:49:58,724 --> 00:50:02,139 We had this ancient garb, as he would've called it. 790 00:50:02,164 --> 00:50:04,449 Ancient garb. That's a great word for it. 791 00:50:04,474 --> 00:50:07,579 Ancient garbage, some might say! LUCY LAUGHS 792 00:50:07,604 --> 00:50:11,219 Did this help neutralise any actual Scottish rebellion 793 00:50:11,244 --> 00:50:13,449 that might have been otherwise brewing? 794 00:50:13,474 --> 00:50:14,889 I think it did. 795 00:50:14,914 --> 00:50:18,649 I think because there's a certain idea of... 796 00:50:18,674 --> 00:50:21,289 ...it alljust being a fiction. 797 00:50:21,314 --> 00:50:24,779 Of it not actually making any difference. 798 00:50:24,804 --> 00:50:28,449 There's a great sense that, look, what does it matter? 799 00:50:28,474 --> 00:50:32,579 And yet, it's so significant that through this, 800 00:50:32,604 --> 00:50:36,529 given that the 19th century will become the age of revolutions, 801 00:50:36,554 --> 00:50:38,928 and particularly nationalist revolutions 802 00:50:38,953 --> 00:50:41,889 from Finland through to Hungary, 803 00:50:41,914 --> 00:50:44,889 where doesn't have a revolution? 804 00:50:44,914 --> 00:50:46,009 Scotland. 805 00:50:46,034 --> 00:50:49,419 Well, the solution, obviously, is just put men into skirts. 806 00:50:52,554 --> 00:50:55,339 George's Edinburgh visit was a triumph. 807 00:50:57,444 --> 00:51:00,058 But winning over his people in person 808 00:51:00,083 --> 00:51:02,699 was becoming more of a challenge. 809 00:51:04,724 --> 00:51:08,608 The King was now in his '60s, obese and unhealthy. 810 00:51:10,034 --> 00:51:12,419 He began to think of his legacy. 811 00:51:14,444 --> 00:51:17,369 Once again, George was hoping that his lasting image 812 00:51:17,394 --> 00:51:20,728 would be as the vanquisher of Napoleon. 813 00:51:20,753 --> 00:51:25,449 In later life, he'd sometimes reminisce about how he himself 814 00:51:25,474 --> 00:51:27,808 had been on the battlefield at Waterloo, 815 00:51:27,833 --> 00:51:30,369 which left the Duke of Wellington, rolling his eyes 816 00:51:30,394 --> 00:51:35,499 and muttering about the madness that ran in the royal family. 817 00:51:35,524 --> 00:51:37,499 To cement his place in history, 818 00:51:37,524 --> 00:51:43,009 George would rely on his favourite spin doctors - art and architecture. 819 00:51:45,364 --> 00:51:49,619 In 1825, he began transforming London's Buckingham House 820 00:51:49,644 --> 00:51:52,089 into a grand palace. 821 00:51:53,804 --> 00:51:56,499 In front of Buckingham Palace was to be an arch 822 00:51:56,524 --> 00:51:59,369 to rival the Arc de Triomphe, 823 00:51:59,394 --> 00:52:02,499 celebrating Britain's victory over Napoleon 824 00:52:02,524 --> 00:52:05,449 and topped with a statue of George. 825 00:52:07,753 --> 00:52:10,619 At Windsor, he raised the height of the Round Tower 826 00:52:10,644 --> 00:52:13,928 to make it more imposing... 827 00:52:13,953 --> 00:52:17,858 ...and inside the castle, he planned to display portraits of the leaders 828 00:52:17,883 --> 00:52:22,139 who'd ended the march of French Republicanism at Waterloo. 829 00:52:23,594 --> 00:52:26,499 The paintings were all to be gathered together 830 00:52:26,524 --> 00:52:32,699 into one amazing room that's still called the Waterloo Chamber. 831 00:52:32,724 --> 00:52:34,928 What's being celebrated here 832 00:52:34,953 --> 00:52:37,728 is not so much the fighting on the battlefield. 833 00:52:37,753 --> 00:52:40,699 Instead, these people are the architects 834 00:52:40,724 --> 00:52:42,449 of the peace that followed. 835 00:52:42,474 --> 00:52:45,249 These are the builders of a new Europe. 836 00:52:45,274 --> 00:52:47,649 And this is a pantheon of heroes 837 00:52:47,674 --> 00:52:50,569 in which George could take his place. 838 00:52:53,554 --> 00:52:58,369 But George wouldn't live to see his version of history completed. 839 00:52:59,644 --> 00:53:02,169 He died in 1830. 840 00:53:03,914 --> 00:53:06,858 The money for his triumphal arch ran out, 841 00:53:06,883 --> 00:53:10,259 and the smaller version, now known as Marble Arch, 842 00:53:10,284 --> 00:53:13,699 was moved away from Buckingham Palace. 843 00:53:13,724 --> 00:53:18,649 George's heroic legacy remained a fantasy. 844 00:53:18,674 --> 00:53:22,169 Instead, he was remembered for his excesses 845 00:53:22,194 --> 00:53:24,978 and his extravagance. 846 00:53:25,003 --> 00:53:28,219 After his death, The Times was scathing. 847 00:53:28,244 --> 00:53:30,858 "There never was an individual less regretted 848 00:53:30,883 --> 00:53:34,699 "by his fellow creatures than this deceased King. 849 00:53:34,724 --> 00:53:38,419 "What eye has wept for him?" 850 00:53:38,444 --> 00:53:42,259 It was the caricature version of George that won out. 851 00:53:42,284 --> 00:53:45,569 He'd made countless attempts to control his own story, 852 00:53:45,594 --> 00:53:48,209 but, ultimately, he failed. 853 00:53:50,164 --> 00:53:51,779 After George's death, 854 00:53:51,804 --> 00:53:55,089 the memory of Peterloo could no longer be suppressed. 855 00:53:57,444 --> 00:54:00,808 Shelley's forbidden poem, The Masque of Anarchy, 856 00:54:00,833 --> 00:54:03,858 was finally published in 1832, 857 00:54:03,883 --> 00:54:06,728 the same year as the first of the great reform acts 858 00:54:06,753 --> 00:54:08,649 started to extend the vote. 859 00:54:11,364 --> 00:54:13,419 It was later quoted by Gandhi 860 00:54:13,444 --> 00:54:16,058 during the campaign for Indian independence... 861 00:54:17,753 --> 00:54:20,649 ...by students at Tiananmen Square in 1989... 862 00:54:22,114 --> 00:54:26,209 ...and by protesters in Cairo during the Arab Spring. 863 00:54:28,394 --> 00:54:30,928 And in Britain, fighters for democracy 864 00:54:30,953 --> 00:54:35,449 kept digging beneath the facade of the Regency for inspiration. 865 00:54:37,164 --> 00:54:41,419 In October 1905, Christabel Pankhurst and another suffragette 866 00:54:41,444 --> 00:54:44,619 came here to the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. 867 00:54:44,644 --> 00:54:47,978 They wanted to attend a big meeting at the Liberal Party. 868 00:54:48,003 --> 00:54:51,889 They had some questions for the party leaders about votes for women. 869 00:54:51,914 --> 00:54:55,089 Now, this place had enormous significance 870 00:54:55,114 --> 00:54:56,779 for Christabel Pankhurst 871 00:54:56,804 --> 00:55:01,499 because the building stands on what had been the field of Peterloo, 872 00:55:01,524 --> 00:55:05,899 where her own great-grandfather, as she'd often been told, 873 00:55:05,924 --> 00:55:09,089 had only just escaped being massacred. 874 00:55:11,524 --> 00:55:16,499 After disrupting the meeting, Pankhurst spat at police officers. 875 00:55:16,524 --> 00:55:18,569 These two were the first suffragettes 876 00:55:18,594 --> 00:55:21,699 to be imprisoned for militant action. 877 00:55:21,724 --> 00:55:23,909 And the Pankhursts would later point out 878 00:55:23,934 --> 00:55:27,748 that they and their ancestor had fought for democracy 879 00:55:27,773 --> 00:55:30,078 on the very same site. 880 00:55:32,494 --> 00:55:36,029 To the suffragettes then, the Regency wasn't a time 881 00:55:36,054 --> 00:55:38,359 of fancy balls and fancy manners, 882 00:55:38,384 --> 00:55:41,639 it was a time when rebellion was born. 883 00:55:43,184 --> 00:55:48,109 Georgian fibs were used to maintain power and control, 884 00:55:48,134 --> 00:55:52,919 and George's impact may have been greater than history remembers. 885 00:55:52,944 --> 00:55:58,389 Throughout his regency and reign, the monarchy remained intact. 886 00:55:58,414 --> 00:56:03,948 Napoleon was defeated and there was no revolution in Britain. 887 00:56:03,973 --> 00:56:07,469 George lived through a time when thrones were falling. 888 00:56:07,494 --> 00:56:09,359 The French Revolution had just happened. 889 00:56:09,384 --> 00:56:13,669 Does he bear any credit for seeing things through 890 00:56:13,694 --> 00:56:16,639 in Britain, without revolution? 891 00:56:16,664 --> 00:56:19,439 I think he probably doesn't bear much credit for it 892 00:56:19,464 --> 00:56:23,519 in terms of the actual military victories 893 00:56:23,544 --> 00:56:26,469 that kept Napoleon from our shores, 894 00:56:26,494 --> 00:56:30,868 but he certainly was preoccupied with what monarchy might seem 895 00:56:30,893 --> 00:56:35,748 or be or embody in his own time period. 896 00:56:35,773 --> 00:56:41,309 He argues for a state of splendour that would somehow set Britain 897 00:56:41,334 --> 00:56:46,868 on an international stage and give it that kind of credibility 898 00:56:46,893 --> 00:56:50,669 for monarchy-led constitution. 899 00:56:50,694 --> 00:56:55,389 I think George's legacy is absolutely the kind of pomp 900 00:56:55,414 --> 00:56:59,189 and circumstance that we have that surrounds monarchy today. 901 00:56:59,214 --> 00:57:03,439 That aspect of the glamour and the splendour of monarchy 902 00:57:03,464 --> 00:57:08,948 is something that we still want to see in the 21st century. 903 00:57:10,744 --> 00:57:14,389 Many of George's attempts to spin the story of Great Britain 904 00:57:14,414 --> 00:57:16,639 and its monarchy have survived. 905 00:57:19,254 --> 00:57:21,189 His version of the United Kingdom, 906 00:57:21,214 --> 00:57:23,479 whether that's tartan-clad spectacle 907 00:57:23,504 --> 00:57:25,389 or conquerors of Napoleon, 908 00:57:25,414 --> 00:57:28,839 is still how the nation presents itself to the world. 909 00:57:30,893 --> 00:57:33,748 His palaces are still the seat of monarchy. 910 00:57:35,214 --> 00:57:41,828 His diamond diadem still sparkles on our currency and our Queen. 911 00:57:41,853 --> 00:57:45,359 And maybe his excessive dazzle 912 00:57:45,384 --> 00:57:49,109 still blinds us to the truth to this day. 913 00:57:49,134 --> 00:57:53,948 This period of history is often remembered as genteel and refined. 914 00:57:53,973 --> 00:57:57,948 We concentrate on the style of it rather than the substance. 915 00:57:57,973 --> 00:58:01,279 But this was also an age which saw stirrings of revolution, 916 00:58:01,304 --> 00:58:05,639 even in Britain, and monarchy had to react to that. 917 00:58:05,664 --> 00:58:10,469 Stories about ridiculous George and his lavish lifestyle, 918 00:58:10,494 --> 00:58:13,509 tend to crowd out the grittier reality 919 00:58:13,534 --> 00:58:16,669 of the age of the Regency. 920 00:58:19,054 --> 00:58:22,868 Next time, the Russian Revolution. 921 00:58:22,893 --> 00:58:25,828 Was Lenin really the leader who toppled the monarchy? 922 00:58:27,944 --> 00:58:31,279 How did Eisenstein help create the cult of Lenin? 923 00:58:33,304 --> 00:58:37,948 And is Vladimir Putin the true heir to the czars?