Dubourg (Matthew)

one of a series of scenes from Robert Bowyer’s ‘An Impartial Historical Narrative’, in which he reflected the popular support for Caroline of Brunswick, de facto Queen Consort to the hugely unpopular George IV, who had succeeded to the throne in 1820, but who refused to acknowledge his wife, whom he hated and wished to divorce. They had separated years earlier, following the birth of their daughter, Princess Charlotte, Caroline then moving to Italy where she thwarted George’s attempts to expose her loose living, his own appalling behaviour including not informing her of their daughter’s in 1817, culminating in Caroline’s return to England to claim her rightful place on the throne in defiance of her husband, who refused to allow her to attend the coronation in 1821, after which she fell ill and died,

original hand-coloured aquatint, 370 x 510 mm. (14 1/2 x 20 in), surface dirt in the upper right margin, but well outside the image,