[Williams (Charles)]

, William Naughton Jones, 1814.
this caricature satirises Queen Charlotte’s supposed miserliness at the time of a national fund-raising campaign for the relief of German civilian victims of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. An army officer bursts in upon her, waving a document purportedly signed by her, pledging 2000 guineas to the cause, to which she replies ‘Nein Gott! my poor countrymen!’. She sits in an ungainly manner at a small table, taking snuff and eating a humble meal of eggs and bread, while one of her daughters stokes a fire in the hearth under a small saucepan. The scene of frugality and miserliness is enhanced by the presence of bulging bags of coins on the table and in an open cupboard behind, along with a casket of jewels. Behind them stand two sniggering figures, one thought to be the publisher, Rudolph Ackermann, who acted as secretary to both the London and Westminster committees behind the charitable campaign. The caricature alludes to the fact the queen’s name did, indeed, appear on a pledge to donate, but turned out to be a spoof, although she did eventually contribute £200..
250 by 335mm (9¾ by 13¼ inches).