The latest series of Bridgerton – Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story – has captured viewers with a reimagining of the monarch’s life. But who was the real Queen Charlotte? And what was her marriage to George III actually like? Dr Robin Eagles, editor of the Georgian Lords, discusses… At 1 o’clock on 17 November 1818, Queen Charlotte died at Kew after what the London Gazette … Continue reading ‘Almost an afterthought’: Queen Charlotte
In May 1923, Andrew Bonar Law handed in his resignation letter and it fell to King George V to select a new prime minister. Lord Lexden, trustee of the History of Parliament, reflects on the process behind George V’s decision. One hundred years ago this month, King George V had to find a new prime minister very quickly. The incumbent, the Conservative Andrew Bonar Law, … Continue reading The king’s dilemma: how it fell to George V to choose a new prime minister
After a shaky start to his reign, the king intended his coronation to bolster his personal image and agenda ahead of the 1626 Parliament. However, things didn’t go according to plan, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explains… Little went right for Charles I in the opening months of his reign. Following his accession in March 1625, a major outbreak of the … Continue reading The 1626 coronation: Charles I’s botched political relaunch
Royal celebrations in the Georgian period were renowned for their mixture of stately formality and farcical mix-ups. In the third of our series on 18th-century coronations, we turn to that of George III in the late summer of 1761, which proved no exception, as Dr Robin Eagles points out. Shortly after 10 pm on 22 September 1761 the doors of Westminster Hall were flung open … Continue reading ‘The buzz, the prattle, the crowds, the noise, the hurry’: the Coronation of George III and Queen Charlotte
What did a meeting of the English Parliament look like 500 years ago? The earliest-known image of a state opening offers important clues, but also requires careful interpretation, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explains… The picture shown below is the oldest near-contemporary image of an English Parliament that we know of. As such it has almost iconic status, and has been … Continue reading Picturing the Parliament of 1523
Contemporaries were agreed that the coronation of George II and Queen Caroline on 11 October 1727 was spectacular. In our second Coronation-themed blog, Dr Charles Littleton looks back on the event and considers the roles played by some of those involved in it. For the Swiss traveller César de Saussure the coronation of 1727 was ’the most solemn, magnificent, and sumptuous ceremony it is anyone’s … Continue reading ‘The most solemn, magnificent, and sumptuous ceremony’: The coronation of George II and Queen Caroline, 11 October 1727
Continuing our blog series on coronations, Simon Payling from our Commons 1461-1504 project, reflects on the Coronation of the young King Richard II and the issue that hereditary roles had on the preparations for this Coronation. On 9 July 1377, a week before the day scheduled for the coronation of the ten-year-old Richard II, his uncle, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, discharged a task … Continue reading Preparations for the Coronation of Richard II
The death of Queen Anne on 1 August 1714 heralded the arrival of a new dynasty in Britain – literally – the kingdom had to await the arrival of the new king from Hanover on 18 September. Continuing our Coronation blog series, Dr Stuart Handley examines the preparations for and proceedings of George I’s coronation in 1714. Following the death of the queen, according to … Continue reading The Peerage and the Coronation of George I
During the coronation of King Charles III this May, he will be crowned with the St Edward’s Crown. Dr Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow of our House of Lords 1640-1660 project, reflects on the origin of this crown and its purpose as a gift to an earlier King Charles. The central act of King Charles III’s coronation on 6 May will be his crowning with the … Continue reading St Edward’s Crown: a Restoration gift from Parliament
Reports have suggested that as many as 35 million viewers in the UK tuned in to watch the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As much of the nation, and the world, continues to reflect on her passing, here Dr Hannes Kleineke editor of our Commons 1461-1504 project explores the similarities between this funeral in September 2022 and the funeral of King Edward IV … Continue reading ‘All men of Englond ar bounde for hym to pray’: The Funeral of King Edward IV, April 1483
The History of Parliament 