page_title: George IV of the United Kingdom
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: George IV of the United Kingdom / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: A voluptuary under the horrors of digestion Js. Gy. design et fecit. SUMMARY: Caricature of George IV as the Prince of Wales, languid with repletion, leaning back in an arm-chair, at a table covered with remains of a meal, holding a fork to his mouth. His waistcoat is held together by a single button across his distended stomach. In the background, the Prince of Wales' three ostrich feathers emblem is shown above a knife and fork crossed on a plate (instead of a coat of arms). The picture behind and above the Prince's head is of Luigi Cornaro, a Venetian nobleman who wrote several treatises concerning dieting and eating habits. MEDIUM: 1 print&#160;: engraving, color. CREATED/PUBLISHED: [London]&#160;: Pubd. by H. Humphrey, 1792 July 2d. According to Wright &amp; Evans, Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray (1851, OCLC 59510372), p. 47, "A bitter satire on the Heir to the Throne, who was at this time celebrated for his voluptuousness, and for the pecuniary difficulties in which he was constantly involved, in consequence of his expensive habits. The picture is full of allusions, which tell their own story."
context_page_description: George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as regent during his father's final mental illness.
  George IV was the eldest child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. He led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and commissioned Sir Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle. George's charm and culture earned him the title "the first gentleman of England", but his dissolute way of life and poor relationships with his parents and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, earned him the contempt of the people and dimmed the prestige of the monarchy. He excluded Caroline from his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in an unsuccessful attempt to divorce her.
context_section_description: George was described as the "First Gentleman of England" on account of his style and manners. He was bright, clever, and knowledgeable, but his laziness and gluttony led him to squander much of his talent. The Times wrote that he would always prefer "a girl and a bottle to politics and a sermon".
  The Regency period saw a shift in fashion that was largely determined by George. After political opponents put a tax on wig powder, he abandoned wearing a powdered wig in favour of natural hair. He wore darker colours than had been previously fashionable as they helped to disguise his size, favoured pantaloons and trousers over knee breeches because they were looser, and popularised a high collar with neck cloth because it hid his double chin. His visit to Scotland in 1822 led to the revival, if not the creation, of Scottish tartan dress as it is known today.
  During the political crisis caused by Catholic emancipation, the Duke of Wellington said that George was "the worst man he ever fell in with his whole life, the most selfish, the most false, the most ill-natured, the most entirely without one redeeming quality". However, his eulogy delivered in the House of Lords called George "the most accomplished man of his age" and praised his knowledge and talent. Wellington's true feelings probably lie somewhere between these two extremes; as he said later, George was "a magnificent patron of the arts ... the most extraordinary compound of talent, wit, buffoonery, obstinacy, and good feeling—in short a medley of the most opposite qualities, with a great preponderance of good—that I ever saw in any character in my life."
  Upon George's death, The Times captured elite opinion succinctly: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king. What eye has wept for him? What heart has heaved one throb of unmercenary sorrow? ... If he ever had a friend – a devoted friend in any rank of life – we protest that the name of him or her never reached us".
  There are many statues of George IV, a large number of which were erected during his reign. In the United Kingdom, they include a bronze statue of him on horseback by Sir Francis Chantrey in Trafalgar Square.
  In Edinburgh, "George IV Bridge" is a main street linking the Old Town High Street to the north over the ravine of the Cowgate, designed by the architect Thomas Hamilton in 1829 and completed in 1835. King's Cross, now a major transport hub sitting on the border of Camden and Islington in north London, takes its name from a short-lived monument erected to George IV in the early 1830s. A square and a neighbouring park in St Luke's, Islington, are also named after George IV.
caption: "A Voluptuary Under The Horrors of Digestion": 1792 caricature by James Gillray from George's time as Prince of Wales
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