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00:00:02Just imagine you had all the money in the world.
00:00:06While your poor neighbour down the road is struggling to make ends meet.
00:00:12In this series, I'm teaming up with historian Ruth Goodman
00:00:16to discover how some of history's most famous events
00:00:19were experienced by the rich.
00:00:21And by the poor.
00:00:24Will your fortunes be down to luck, resilience, or cold hard cash?
00:00:30This time, we're in Georgian England.
00:00:34I feel more myself in this, somehow.
00:00:36For one of the most expensive royal events in British history.
00:00:39£7,000 of beef.
00:00:42This is absolutely staggering.
00:00:44The coronation of King George IV.
00:00:48God save the king.
00:00:49I'll be with the wealthy VIPs in the build-up and on the big day itself.
00:00:53When a nation's haves lorded it over the have-nots.
00:00:57And I'll be following the blood, sweat, and tears of the poor
00:01:01as they laboured away to pull it all off.
00:01:05It's a story of jaw-dropping twists and turns.
00:01:09It's like Regency soap opera.
00:01:12Heartbreaking tragedy.
00:01:14Their fate unavenged.
00:01:16And a king who just couldn't stop indulging.
00:01:19Oh, there we go.
00:01:20I'm ready for my coronation.
00:01:38Britain, January 1820.
00:01:42A rapidly growing country of 14 million people.
00:01:47We're less than two decades before Queen Victoria ascends to the throne
00:01:52and Britain becomes the workshop of the world.
00:01:55But this is still the Georgian age.
00:01:59And at its heart sits 57-year-old Prince George.
00:02:06For the last nine years, his father, King George III, had been too ill to rule.
00:02:10So Prince George officially reigned in his father's place,
00:02:14taking the title Prince Regent.
00:02:17With Buckingham Palace yet to become royal HQ,
00:02:21Prince George is based at nearby Carlton House.
00:02:24A palatial mansion and scene of Regency London's most extravagant balls and banquets.
00:02:31Though not tonight.
00:02:40Because Prince George is ill with a chest infection.
00:02:46As George lay in bed, there's a knock on the door.
00:02:49A royal messenger has some urgent news
00:02:52that he and the rest of Britain have long been expecting.
00:03:02At midnight, church bells begin ringing out over London.
00:03:09In run-down Soho, carpenter Richard Honey puts down his ale.
00:03:16As he steps out of the pub, he can see immediately that there's something up.
00:03:21There's people standing around, talking in hushed tones,
00:03:24and there's even someone crying.
00:03:29In aristocratic Mayfair, socialite Lady Jersey is entertaining
00:03:34when someone rushes into the room.
00:03:37They'd heard the bells of St Paul's Cathedral ringing.
00:03:40It was midnight.
00:03:42So that could only mean one thing.
00:03:45130 miles north in Stoke,
00:03:4911-year-old apprentice Potter, Samuel Bevington,
00:03:51is off to bed after a long shift.
00:03:56What Samuel needs now is a good sleep.
00:04:00But as he curls up on his small bed,
00:04:04he can't possibly imagine the news that would await him when he wakes.
00:04:13After 59 years on the throne,
00:04:16the so-called mad king, George III, was dead.
00:04:21He'd been Britain's longest-serving monarch.
00:04:26The next morning, his son rises from his sickbed to hold court.
00:04:30Not as Prince Regent,
00:04:33but as King George IV.
00:04:36He'd waited for this moment his whole life,
00:04:38and there was little time for tears.
00:04:41Because the new king has one big priority.
00:04:46To kick-start his reign with the most fabulous and costly coronation in history.
00:04:54No-one was surprised.
00:04:57George IV loved the finer things in life.
00:05:01Fabulous parties, extravagant feasts, stylish clothes.
00:05:04If it was seriously expensive, the king had to have it.
00:05:08His father was barely in the ground when George started planning his coronation,
00:05:12and he certainly wasn't going to start cutting corners with it.
00:05:15Everything would have to be grand, and with it, a price tag to match.
00:05:25George's coronation would take place at Westminster Abbey,
00:05:29like every crowning since 1066.
00:05:33But the new king wanted his coronation to be on a scale never seen before.
00:05:39And he already had big plans.
00:05:43At first, George would lead a spectacular procession around Parliament Square.
00:05:48And there'd be huge stands put up to seat those who wanted to catch a glimpse of the king.
00:05:53Then it would be into the Abbey for over five hours of pomp and ceremony,
00:05:58before ending at Westminster Hall,
00:06:00with the most extravagant banquet in the whole of British history.
00:06:06Turning George's plans into reality would require a vast army of British workers,
00:06:12from carpenters creating elaborate staging,
00:06:15to potters hand-making crockery for the banquet after.
00:06:19And all to be ready for the summer.
00:06:22As for the king, he was careful not to overexert himself.
00:06:28George still had a really bad chair,
00:06:30so rather than oversee preparations here in London,
00:06:34his doctor had advised him to go and get some fresh air down in Brighton.
00:06:38Luckily, he had a little place to stay.
00:06:48Two months on from his father's death,
00:06:50George was at his seaside pad, the spectacular Royal Pavilion.
00:06:57The new king was currently doing it up
00:06:59and showing his usual commitment to jaw-dropping spending.
00:07:10I mean, gosh.
00:07:12Yeah, pretty much sums it up.
00:07:13This is totally extraordinary.
00:07:16It really is.
00:07:17It would have cost an absolute fortune.
00:07:19Well, it did.
00:07:20The room cost £46,000 to decorate, just to decorate the inside.
00:07:24So to put that into context,
00:07:25we're talking about roughly £3 million in today's money.
00:07:28Just for this room's interior design?
00:07:31Yeah.
00:07:32And who was paying for that?
00:07:33Well, George liked to run up debts,
00:07:36and in the end, it was paid off by Parliament.
00:07:38So essentially, the taxpayer paid for it.
00:07:41It didn't bode well for the coronation,
00:07:44given George had spent over £500,000 of taxpayers' money
00:07:48on his holiday home.
00:07:51That's the equivalent of over £3 billion today.
00:07:57But perhaps his greatest coronation excess would be the banquet.
00:08:04What a fabulous dining table.
00:08:06Because dining in style was an obsession for George.
00:08:10And his appetite and thirst were legendary.
00:08:16What would he have drank?
00:08:17What about all those glasses?
00:08:18He would often start very early on.
00:08:20So when he had breakfast, he would often have champagne.
00:08:22He would have three quarters of a bottle of white wine with breakfast,
00:08:26and a glass of brandy, possibly some port, maybe some Madeira.
00:08:30So, yeah, vast amounts of alcohol.
00:08:32And that was just for breakfast.
00:08:33Breakfast?
00:08:34Yeah.
00:08:35So he was very oiled by lunchtime?
00:08:37Absolutely, yes.
00:08:39But then you have to remember,
00:08:40he often didn't get up until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
00:08:42And then he would just carry on as the day went on.
00:08:45You know, his court, the aristocrats,
00:08:48were they drinking alongside with him?
00:08:50Absolutely.
00:08:50I mean, there was a large culture of that kind of thing,
00:08:53and excess in general amongst the aristocracy.
00:08:56Gambling, drinking, eating huge amounts of food.
00:08:59It was all a real life of excess that they lived.
00:09:08Life for the poor in the build-up to the coronation was, of course, very different.
00:09:15England's population had doubled in the past 80 years,
00:09:18and people were increasingly crammed into towns and cities
00:09:21in ramshackle neighbourhoods like London's Soho.
00:09:27Once a place for the wealthy,
00:09:29they'd now fled west as the poor moved in.
00:09:34These gorgeous Georgian townhouses were heavily subdivided.
00:09:39London was still a very small space,
00:09:42and there were now a million people crammed into it.
00:09:46So landlords rented out each room individually to a different family.
00:09:52But some people didn't even have that much.
00:09:56There was an old Irish lady round the corner
00:09:58who just rented the corner of a room.
00:10:01The other corners were rented out separately.
00:10:04In fact, it was so extreme
00:10:05that some of them were renting out space in their own beds.
00:10:10In the middle of this overcrowded neighbourhood
00:10:12lived a 35-year-old carpenter, Richard Honey.
00:10:17He shared a room with his 11-year-old daughter
00:10:20after recently becoming a single parent.
00:10:25Richard is lucky in that he has a proper job.
00:10:29That means that they have got a roof over their heads
00:10:32and they've got food on the table.
00:10:34But it's not a fancy life by any stretch of the imagination,
00:10:38and that 11-year-old daughter is now left keeping house.
00:10:42It'll be her who's trying to cook the food over the fire,
00:10:47who's doing the laundry, who's just managing everything.
00:10:52And if we think about their life together,
00:10:54it's going to be OK but basic.
00:10:58So breakfast, for example, pot of wheat tea.
00:11:02It'll have to have been wheat because the tea leaves are quite expensive,
00:11:05so people tended to reuse them.
00:11:09Going to the loo, well, there's a chamber pot,
00:11:13but then you've got to empty it and you've got to carry it down to the privy.
00:11:16And we know that their privy was shared with 200 people.
00:11:22Whether you used it or not,
00:11:23or just emptied your chamber pot into it,
00:11:25it would have stunk to high heaven.
00:11:29To sustain this basic lifestyle,
00:11:32Richard needed regular carpentry work.
00:11:35Now, thanks to George IV,
00:11:37there was the promise of plenty just a mile away in Westminster.
00:11:42And yet, whilst the coming coronation
00:11:45offered opportunities for work for carpenters like Richard Honey,
00:11:49building staging, seating, flooring,
00:11:53nonetheless, I suspect he was not a big fan of the king.
00:11:59Most ordinary Londoners were disgusted at his spendthrift ways
00:12:04and his general behaviour.
00:12:06He was not a popular figure.
00:12:11As for George himself, he appeared completely tone-deaf.
00:12:16This was, after all, only 30 years
00:12:19that Sarpour had risen up against the super-rich in the French Revolution,
00:12:22where Mary Antoinette had lost her head.
00:12:25So most of the royals in Europe were very wary
00:12:27about shoving their wealth down people's throats.
00:12:30But not our George.
00:12:33The king was now ready to announce the date
00:12:36for his very expensive and very public coronation.
00:12:40But little did he know, trouble was brewing.
00:12:43A plot to ruin his dream day.
00:12:47Not from the disgruntled poor, but from his own wife.
00:12:54It's May 1820.
00:12:56King George IV is back in London after illness and feeling excited.
00:13:03He's just announced his coronation will take place on the 1st of August.
00:13:08The countdown to the costliest crowning in British history has begun.
00:13:20For the king, there are a thousand details to attend to.
00:13:24Invites, menus, and perhaps most excitingly,
00:13:28what was he going to wear?
00:13:32Time for a consultation with the royal tailor.
00:13:37Sack, you look utterly splendid.
00:13:40I'm fascinated by this entire look.
00:13:42I can see myself in it.
00:13:44But when it came to George IV,
00:13:45was he involved in the clothes for his coronation?
00:13:48Absolutely.
00:13:49He was as involved as a bride is with her bridesmaids' outfits.
00:13:54He approved and created these sort of Tudor-esque romanticised designs.
00:13:58Because after all, monarchy is all about display.
00:14:01So what was George IV's coronation outfit?
00:14:03Oh, it was exceptional.
00:14:05I mean, that is mega fabulous.
00:14:07It's excess on excess.
00:14:09It's cloth of silver, cloth of gold,
00:14:11braid, fringe, ermine, velvet, embroidery.
00:14:14So this really is high-end couture?
00:14:16High-end couture on steroids.
00:14:20Creating these Henry VIII-style robes
00:14:22would be a jaw-dropping enterprise
00:14:24and come with a price tag of £24,000,
00:14:28the equivalent of paying tailors £27 million today.
00:14:35It's a far cry from our most recent coronation
00:14:38when King Charles simply reused historic robes.
00:14:43But George didn't stop there.
00:14:45He also oversaw the design of Tudor-style outfits
00:14:48for no less than 700 guests.
00:14:52Because for George, clothes really mattered.
00:14:56And to be part of his wealthy elite,
00:14:59you had to master the dress code.
00:15:01Much better.
00:15:03Yeah, I feel more myself in this, somehow.
00:15:05Absolutely.
00:15:06So what does this outfit say about me, do you think?
00:15:08It says that you are well-connected and covered in silk.
00:15:12Excellent.
00:15:12So I'm giving rich.
00:15:14Giving rich, very much.
00:15:16Off we go.
00:15:17Right, shall we?
00:15:27While in London, the rich were being measured
00:15:29for their coronation outfits,
00:15:31across Britain, ordinary folk
00:15:33were now working flat out for George's big day.
00:15:38Not least in Stoke, North Staffordshire.
00:15:43Home to the prestigious spode works.
00:15:51Staffordshire was known for one thing above all else,
00:15:54world-class pottery.
00:15:57And spode was a name to conjure with.
00:16:00So when George was planning his coronation banquet,
00:16:04he knows he's going to need loads of plates, dishes, bowls,
00:16:08and the factory here in Stoke-on-Trent
00:16:11was going to have to produce and decorate
00:16:14to the highest standard.
00:16:18And that meant plenty of work for 11-year-old apprentice Samuel Bevington.
00:16:33It feels really strange thinking of an 11-year-old working full-time in a factory,
00:16:39but that wasn't at all unusual at the time.
00:16:43Factories up and down Britain were full of eight-year-olds working for a living.
00:16:48In fact, Samuel's parents, Richard and Hannah,
00:16:52had actually found him a better-than-average position.
00:16:56Samuel was a gilder's apprentice,
00:16:59assisting his master in applying gold to spode's most high-end products.
00:17:04So you've drawn something out for me here.
00:17:07And using any spare time to learn the craft himself.
00:17:15So this is how Samuel would have practised?
00:17:17Yes.
00:17:17On a bit of seconds or something.
00:17:19It's just painted?
00:17:20There's nothing else I need to know?
00:17:22No.
00:17:23No, just follow the pencil lines.
00:17:27How long do you think it takes to get to be a good painter?
00:17:30It takes around six months to get the paint to stay where you put it.
00:17:36And obviously with a gilder, your brush strokes have to be perfect.
00:17:39So you just rub it out, can you?
00:17:43No.
00:17:44Spode's gilders needed to hand-paint perfectly
00:17:4710,000 pieces of coronation crockery,
00:17:51with Sam and colleagues working six days a week
00:17:54late into the night to hit their deadline.
00:17:59So I'm really glad the king isn't going to eat off this plate.
00:18:02I'd be deeply embarrassed if it's turned up on the royal table.
00:18:06I think you're a natural.
00:18:09If you like lumpy, lumpy to the time.
00:18:12I'm your woman.
00:18:15George IV had higher standards than this for his coronation tableware.
00:18:20So to see exactly what young Sam and co were turning out,
00:18:24I've come to the colour sample room.
00:18:27So Ben, when the coronation order comes in,
00:18:30I mean, somebody must have chosen a pattern.
00:18:32What sort of plate were they actually making?
00:18:34Well, I can show you the exact plate they were making.
00:18:38And this is one?
00:18:39Yeah.
00:18:40It's, um, yeah, it's not subtle, is it?
00:18:43No, it's really not, no.
00:18:44It's a Japanese-inspired, uh, that kind of reds, blues,
00:18:48and, of course, the all-important gilding, yeah.
00:18:51And there's a lot of gold on it when you actually look, isn't there?
00:18:55This vast order of posh plates created plenty of work in Stoke.
00:19:01But making crockery for the rich came at a heavy price
00:19:05for the poor like Samuel.
00:19:09I've heard some truly terrible stories
00:19:12about the health impacts of work in this industry.
00:19:15I mean, just how dangerous was it?
00:19:18Yeah, it wasn't nice.
00:19:20I mean, you were grinding ceramics.
00:19:22OK, so a huge amount of dust.
00:19:23The ceramic body has, yeah, silica in particular.
00:19:26Silica dust.
00:19:27Well, that's the worst of all for those lungs, isn't it?
00:19:29Absolutely, yes. Silicosis or potter's rotters,
00:19:31it was known locally, because it was so endemic,
00:19:33as was lead poisoning and then just general air pollution.
00:19:37Whilst the king's subjects endangered their health
00:19:40preparing for his coronation,
00:19:42for George himself, it wasn't all work, work, work.
00:19:46Because he had a new squeeze.
00:19:49One Lady Conningham.
00:19:52Lady Conningham was by no means his first mistress.
00:19:55George had a bit of a reputation with the ladies,
00:19:58but he was absolutely obsessed with this one.
00:20:01They're always whispering and supposedly kissing like teenagers.
00:20:05George said she was an angel sent from heaven just for him.
00:20:09How sweet.
00:20:16George did also have a wife, Queen Caroline.
00:20:20But he despised her, and the feeling was entirely mutual.
00:20:26In fact, Caroline had moved to Italy nearly six years previously
00:20:30to escape philandering George.
00:20:34On Britain's streets,
00:20:37the king's treatment of his wife had not gone unnoticed.
00:20:40Throughout London were so-called print shops selling cartoons attacking political figures,
00:20:47with those mocking George frequently bestsellers.
00:20:52And in fact, people would gather at the window to look at them and to laugh.
00:20:57So in this one here, look, we've got sort of three images of George.
00:21:01Gent, no-gent and re-gent.
00:21:04He starts off with the sun rising as a gent.
00:21:07A young man as a no-gent in the middle, a bit older,
00:21:11clearly drunk, with his hands all over a woman who's certainly not his wife.
00:21:16And then, finally, he is utterly sozzled, obese, a figure of disgust.
00:21:24In comparison, look at this image of the queen.
00:21:28She is presented in a dignified, stately way,
00:21:32and everything about this picture is positive.
00:21:34The queen and old England forever. God bless her.
00:21:38At the bottom, we've got the lines,
00:21:39Queen Caroline, Britain's best hope.
00:21:45George was desperate for his popular wife to stay abroad,
00:21:50and he certainly didn't want her crowned alongside him.
00:21:55But Queen Caroline was determined to spoil the party.
00:22:00To the delight of ordinary Londoners,
00:22:03their beloved queen was on her way back from Italy.
00:22:07She was going to be in London and be crowned with a jewel.
00:22:12George wanted her or not.
00:22:19As the king that fretted over his wife,
00:22:21it was time for carpenters like Richard Honey
00:22:24to get down to coronation business.
00:22:28So if we think that Richard is involved
00:22:30in the carpentry needed for the coronation,
00:22:33what exactly would you be doing?
00:22:35During the coronation procession,
00:22:37it's going to start here at Westminster Hall,
00:22:39and it's going to follow this route
00:22:41all the way along to Westminster Abbey.
00:22:45All of this in yellow represents seating for the public.
00:22:48So all made in timber,
00:22:50enabling thousands of people to be able to see this procession.
00:22:53So this is a huge amount of work, then,
00:22:55to be able to set it all up
00:22:57and then to build it all by hand out of wood.
00:23:00This is a colossal amount of work,
00:23:01creating the same joint, same size of timber,
00:23:04over and over again.
00:23:06You can't just pass it all through a machine,
00:23:07and that's where the skill comes in.
00:23:09But before starting work each day,
00:23:11Richard needed to make himself a vital piece of equipment,
00:23:14and a paper hat.
00:23:16We can't earn our money until we've done this,
00:23:18so we're going to have to be pretty quick.
00:23:19Pretty quick. Yep.
00:23:22This hat was designed to keep sawdust out of Richard's hair.
00:23:26It was also a badge of honour.
00:23:30Go on, shove it on.
00:23:31Let's see what your carpenter looks like.
00:23:33All right.
00:23:34I think that's a bit big,
00:23:35but it's not going to come off.
00:23:38So this is sort of like how you recognise somebody was a carpenter.
00:23:42Yeah.
00:23:42It's not like if you saw somebody these days in Chef's Whites.
00:23:45You'd know immediately what sort of job they did.
00:23:47Exactly.
00:23:47Richard's undergone a training.
00:23:49He's a skilled person,
00:23:51so it's not possible to put on this kind of event without, you know...
00:23:55Without loads of people like Richard.
00:23:57Exactly.
00:24:00With steady work,
00:24:01coronation carpenters like Richard
00:24:03might have had just enough money for a welcome treat.
00:24:09Dinner out.
00:24:12Then, as today,
00:24:13Soho was a great place to get a bite to eat.
00:24:18Ooh.
00:24:19You'd have found street sellers and eating houses
00:24:22selling all sorts of things,
00:24:24especially meat.
00:24:25If you went into one of these eating houses,
00:24:27you could have it on a plate,
00:24:28or you could have a slice or a chop
00:24:30and take it away with you on a lump of bread.
00:24:34Tonight, though, Richard is heading to his local pub
00:24:37because there, unlike at home,
00:24:39they have an oven.
00:24:41And in a Georgian pub,
00:24:42that means one thing.
00:24:45Pies.
00:24:49I noticed that mutton pie is on the menu today.
00:24:53At home, Richard will probably have mostly been eating offal,
00:24:57maybe things like pig's trotters,
00:24:59and lots and lots of bread.
00:25:02Alongside the pies and booze,
00:25:04pubs were places to play cards, dice,
00:25:06and hear the latest gossip.
00:25:08And tonight brought big news.
00:25:12The king's wife, Caroline, was back in London
00:25:15and would be staying in Mayfair,
00:25:17less than a mile away,
00:25:19this very night.
00:25:21The effect on Londoners was electric.
00:25:26As people spilled out of the bars
00:25:29and eating houses of Soho that night,
00:25:31many were heading over to Mayfair
00:25:33because they'd heard that the queen was arriving.
00:25:36And I can imagine Richard joining in the throng,
00:25:40marching over there.
00:25:42He'd have seen people hanging out windows,
00:25:45waving handkerchiefs.
00:25:46Everyone wanted to get a glimpse of the queen.
00:25:51George would have liked his popular wife
00:25:54out of the picture for his coronation.
00:25:56Now he faced a huge dilemma.
00:25:59Invite her and ruin his big day?
00:26:02Or ban her and enrage a nation?
00:26:13With less than a month to go,
00:26:15London was awash with excitement.
00:26:18The king's estranged wife, Caroline,
00:26:20was back in blighty,
00:26:21determined to be crowned alongside him as queen.
00:26:27But the king had made a shocking move against her,
00:26:31asking Parliament to annul his marriage
00:26:33on the grounds of Caroline's adultery.
00:26:37It was now king versus queen,
00:26:40and Britons picked a side.
00:26:43For the poor, it was quite straightforward.
00:26:45They supported Queen Caroline all the way.
00:26:47For the rich, it was a little more complicated,
00:26:50but that didn't stop them talking about it.
00:26:52And where better to gossip about the queen
00:26:54than a night out with London's wealthiest?
00:27:01Tonight, London's elite are off to Almax,
00:27:03an exceptionally exclusive weekly ball
00:27:06round the corner from Carlton House.
00:27:11It's guest list was controlled by one Lady Jersey,
00:27:16the queen of aristocratic London,
00:27:20with even the most dashing of guests
00:27:22requiring her approval to pass through its doors.
00:27:26So how important was Lady Jersey in all of this?
00:27:28She was very much the linchpin when it came to society.
00:27:32She really commanded Almax with an iron rod.
00:27:35At a ball like this,
00:27:36social convention is extremely important.
00:27:39I heard that Lady Jersey,
00:27:40no matter who you were,
00:27:41would be very, very strict about it.
00:27:43Is that right?
00:27:44Absolutely, because after all,
00:27:45there was a dress code and you have to adhere to it.
00:27:47When it came to Almax,
00:27:49it was britches and stockings.
00:27:51When the Duke of Wellington turns up
00:27:53in pantaloons and boots,
00:27:55which were seen as common.
00:27:57So he shows up, the Duke of Wellington,
00:27:59the great hero of the time.
00:28:01He's about as A-list as it gets without being royal.
00:28:04And there's Lady Jersey standing there.
00:28:06And I say,
00:28:07I don't think so.
00:28:09Something along those lines.
00:28:10There's a dress code.
00:28:11There's a dress code.
00:28:14By controlling entry,
00:28:16Lady Jersey oversaw the upper-class marriage market.
00:28:22Because Almax was where privileged men
00:28:24found privileged women to marry,
00:28:26whilst obeying yet more rules.
00:28:30Before a man could ask a lady to dance,
00:28:33they needed to be formally introduced.
00:28:37Whilst dancing twice together
00:28:38could spark rumours of romance.
00:28:42And throughout,
00:28:43a gentleman was expected to impress
00:28:45with his conversation.
00:28:47So, Zach, what's the goss at the ball?
00:28:50Well, it's currently the divorce bill
00:28:52that's been brought by His Majesty to Parliament
00:28:55to divorce his wife, Queen Caroline.
00:28:56Scandal.
00:28:57He's such a cat who always was.
00:28:59And this is something
00:29:00which does not go down very well publicly.
00:29:02And in fact,
00:29:03Lady Jersey stands up
00:29:05and defends Caroline quite stringently.
00:29:08Gosh.
00:29:08After all,
00:29:09you have to remember
00:29:10that marriage was the binding contract.
00:29:13The whole thing
00:29:13that kept everything together
00:29:14was the marriage state.
00:29:16so suddenly,
00:29:17if you then have a problem
00:29:18with the concept of marriage,
00:29:19her whole empire falls apart.
00:29:21So, I'm going to be gossiping about that.
00:29:23Quite right.
00:29:23And hopefully finding
00:29:24a suitable wife.
00:29:26Which would be a delicious surprise
00:29:28for my mother.
00:29:29Shall we?
00:29:29Indeed.
00:29:33Many of the ball-going elite
00:29:35disapproved of the king's actions,
00:29:37but few wanted to go public
00:29:38and risk falling out of favour.
00:29:43Better simply
00:29:44to enjoy the dancing.
00:30:01The poor in places like Stoke
00:30:03weren't overly blessed
00:30:05with dancing time,
00:30:07but they did at least
00:30:07have one day off a week.
00:30:09And for the likes
00:30:10of young pottery worker
00:30:12Samuel Bevington,
00:30:13that meant one thing.
00:30:21On Sundays,
00:30:22Samuel was probably at church.
00:30:24Although,
00:30:25after working flat out
00:30:27six days a week
00:30:28on the coronation order,
00:30:30I should imagine
00:30:30he had trouble
00:30:31staying awake in the pews.
00:30:33But Sunday in church
00:30:34was also a classroom,
00:30:37Sunday school,
00:30:37where kids were given
00:30:39the opportunity
00:30:39to learn to read,
00:30:41a few passages
00:30:42out of the Bible perhaps,
00:30:44a few stories,
00:30:45maybe a chance
00:30:46to write a little.
00:30:48It was a very basic education,
00:30:50but it was an education.
00:30:54Then,
00:30:55as Samuel came out
00:30:56of the churchyard,
00:30:57he heard an unmistakable sound.
00:31:02and a voice
00:31:03you couldn't ignore.
00:31:05Oh, yay!
00:31:07Oh, yay!
00:31:09Oh, yay!
00:31:11Back in 1820,
00:31:13the town crier
00:31:15for this bit of the town
00:31:16was one Molly Albin.
00:31:18Despite the best efforts
00:31:20of the Sunday schools,
00:31:21there was still
00:31:21a lot of people
00:31:22working in the factories
00:31:23who couldn't read,
00:31:24and Molly gave them
00:31:26their news
00:31:26directly.
00:31:28And today,
00:31:30Molly was about
00:31:31to drop
00:31:31another royal bombshell.
00:31:34Oh, yay!
00:31:35Let it be known
00:31:37that the coronation
00:31:40of His Majesty,
00:31:43King George IV,
00:31:45is unavoidably delayed.
00:31:49God save the king!
00:31:55Now, the official explanation
00:31:57was diverse,
00:31:59weighty reasons,
00:32:00which, of course,
00:32:01means nothing.
00:32:02So, rumours are going round.
00:32:04I mean,
00:32:04is the king ill again?
00:32:06Is he just too unpopular?
00:32:08Is it something
00:32:09to do with the queen?
00:32:11At least it gives Samuel
00:32:12and his friends
00:32:13a bit more time
00:32:14to fulfil that order.
00:32:16For the king,
00:32:18parliament was proving
00:32:19a tough nut to crack,
00:32:22with a debate
00:32:23over dissolving his marriage
00:32:25dragging on for months.
00:32:35and by late October,
00:32:38popular unrest
00:32:38was reaching fever pitch.
00:32:43Working-class London
00:32:44was totally
00:32:45Team Caroline.
00:32:47There were mobs
00:32:48outside the House of Lords
00:32:50hissing the members
00:32:51as they went
00:32:52in and out.
00:32:53There were petitions,
00:32:54800 of them,
00:32:55and in total,
00:32:56they had collected
00:32:57a million signatures
00:32:59backing the queen.
00:33:02But swaying the lords
00:33:04would require
00:33:04more than a petition
00:33:05from the rabble.
00:33:08Queen Caroline
00:33:09would need
00:33:09aristocratic supporters too.
00:33:13Enter Lady Jersey,
00:33:15society power broker.
00:33:18She headed to
00:33:19Queen Caroline's home
00:33:20in then-rural Hammersmith.
00:33:25It was time
00:33:26for what the Georgian
00:33:27well-to-do termed
00:33:28a morning call.
00:33:31With all its
00:33:31practised rituals.
00:33:37Hello.
00:33:38Hello.
00:33:39Hi, do you have
00:33:39a calling card?
00:33:40Yes, I do,
00:33:41as it happens.
00:33:42Excellent.
00:33:42Mr Robert Rinder.
00:33:44That's right.
00:33:44Why would I need
00:33:45one of them?
00:33:46This was essentially
00:33:47your business card.
00:33:49It would be
00:33:49taken upstairs
00:33:50by a maid
00:33:51or a footman
00:33:52to the lady
00:33:53of the house
00:33:53to see whether
00:33:54she wanted
00:33:54to see you or not.
00:33:55I'm assuming
00:33:56she was delighted
00:33:57I was here.
00:33:57Oh, I'm absolutely
00:33:58convinced.
00:33:59Yes, who wouldn't
00:34:00want to see you, Rob?
00:34:01Really?
00:34:01Well, thank you
00:34:02very much.
00:34:04Lady Jersey's visit
00:34:05to the queen
00:34:06would be widely reported.
00:34:08And Lady Jersey
00:34:10knew it.
00:34:15Oh, perfect.
00:34:16The maid's given us
00:34:16some tea.
00:34:17Hello.
00:34:19Look, I've come
00:34:19for a morning call,
00:34:20but the thing is,
00:34:21it's not morning.
00:34:22What's that about?
00:34:23Morning calls
00:34:24didn't necessarily
00:34:25happen in the morning.
00:34:26Sometimes, of course,
00:34:27they did,
00:34:28but it was before dinner
00:34:30and that could take place
00:34:31during the mid-afternoon,
00:34:33say, about four o'clock.
00:34:34So, wondering
00:34:35about Lady Jersey,
00:34:36what would people
00:34:37have thought
00:34:37that she decided
00:34:38to make a morning call,
00:34:40perhaps four in the afternoon,
00:34:42to Caroline?
00:34:44Yes, well,
00:34:44Lady Jersey was,
00:34:46you know,
00:34:46the queen of society.
00:34:47And so,
00:34:48if she rocked up
00:34:49at your house
00:34:49for a morning call,
00:34:50that was quite a statement
00:34:51that she is supporting Caroline
00:34:53and that she wants Caroline
00:34:55to be crowned.
00:34:56But, you know,
00:34:57Queen Caroline,
00:34:58she wasn't exactly
00:35:00whiter than white herself.
00:35:02No, I know.
00:35:03When she was on the continent,
00:35:04she actually did have
00:35:06a lover who was an Italian,
00:35:07and he had started
00:35:09as a servant
00:35:09and raised up to be,
00:35:10like, the chief
00:35:12of her household.
00:35:13But what I would say
00:35:14is that Lady Jersey
00:35:15and many of the
00:35:16high society ladies
00:35:17could see the double standards
00:35:18of the day.
00:35:19So, George
00:35:20had numerous affairs
00:35:21and this was widely known.
00:35:23And women were saying,
00:35:25well, this isn't fair
00:35:26because we can't divorce
00:35:27our husbands
00:35:27who are adulterers.
00:35:28So, where's the line?
00:35:30So, if I'm Lady Jersey
00:35:31coming to visit
00:35:31Queen Caroline,
00:35:33do I stay,
00:35:34you know,
00:35:34all day?
00:35:35Do we just chat
00:35:36and try and conspire?
00:35:37No, absolutely not.
00:35:38Like, a maximum 20 minutes.
00:35:40Like, don't outstay
00:35:41your welcome.
00:35:41My goodness.
00:35:42In fact, you probably
00:35:43even shouldn't finish that.
00:35:44Caroline needs to receive
00:35:45other guests.
00:35:46So, you better get off.
00:35:48Fair enough.
00:35:49Right.
00:35:50I'm off.
00:35:52Lovely seeing you, babe.
00:35:53Yeah.
00:35:55This 20-minute visit
00:35:56was a huge risk
00:35:58for Lady Jersey.
00:35:59If the king won,
00:36:01she could face
00:36:01social ruin
00:36:02for publicly backing
00:36:03his wife.
00:36:05But Lady Jersey
00:36:06may have hoped
00:36:07her support
00:36:07would help sway
00:36:08the lawmakers.
00:36:14Just one week later,
00:36:16there was big news
00:36:17in Westminster.
00:36:18The government
00:36:19had seen
00:36:20that many wealthy
00:36:21Londoners
00:36:21were now behind Caroline
00:36:24and sensationally
00:36:25they dropped
00:36:26the king's bill
00:36:27to dissolve
00:36:27his marriage.
00:36:31George was not
00:36:32getting his divorce
00:36:33and Caroline
00:36:34was keeping
00:36:35her title.
00:36:37Lady Jersey
00:36:38was thrilled.
00:36:39She'd backed
00:36:39the right horse.
00:36:41George, on the other hand,
00:36:42well, this wasn't
00:36:43a good look for him.
00:36:44He'd run out of options.
00:36:49George desperately
00:36:50wanted a coronation
00:36:51without his wife.
00:36:53As 1820
00:36:55turned into 1821
00:36:56and the winter
00:36:57gave way to spring,
00:36:58George mulled over
00:36:59his dilemma
00:37:00and the clock
00:37:02kept ticking.
00:37:07It was now
00:37:08nearly a year and a half
00:37:10since his father's death
00:37:12and George
00:37:13was looking
00:37:13even more weak
00:37:14and indecisive.
00:37:16The king knew
00:37:17he was losing
00:37:18the support
00:37:19of the people
00:37:19of England
00:37:20fast.
00:37:22He simply
00:37:23couldn't delay
00:37:23any longer.
00:37:26So,
00:37:27at long last,
00:37:28George announced
00:37:29a new date
00:37:29for his crowning.
00:37:32A coronation
00:37:34was finally happening
00:37:35in just one month's time.
00:37:37The show
00:37:37was very much
00:37:38back on the road.
00:37:39for those
00:37:41delivering that show
00:37:42it was now
00:37:43all hands
00:37:44to the pump.
00:37:45But for George
00:37:46the question remained
00:37:47what on earth
00:37:49would he do
00:37:49about Queen Caroline?
00:38:00The coronation
00:38:02of George IV
00:38:02has dominated
00:38:03the lives
00:38:04of Britain's
00:38:05rich and poor
00:38:06for almost
00:38:0718 months.
00:38:08From young
00:38:09potter
00:38:09Samuel Bevington
00:38:11making crockery
00:38:12for the banquet.
00:38:13To society
00:38:14grand dame
00:38:15Lady Jersey
00:38:15appalled
00:38:16by George's
00:38:17treatment
00:38:17of his wife.
00:38:21Now,
00:38:21with just
00:38:22days to go,
00:38:23Britain's wealthy
00:38:24are engaged
00:38:24in one of their
00:38:25favourite activities.
00:38:28Walking quite slowly
00:38:30and gossiping.
00:38:31What a lovely day
00:38:32for a walk.
00:38:33It is, isn't it?
00:38:34But of course,
00:38:34this isn't just a walk.
00:38:35It's a promenade.
00:38:36What's the difference?
00:38:38Well, we're here
00:38:39to be seen.
00:38:41Ah, yeah.
00:38:42Hello, I'm with
00:38:43Rue's good one.
00:38:44And what were they
00:38:44chatting about
00:38:45around the time
00:38:46of the coronation?
00:38:47Well, obviously
00:38:47the coronation itself
00:38:48and more importantly,
00:38:50who has got
00:38:51their sticky knits
00:38:52upon a ticket?
00:38:54Well, how'd you
00:38:54get an invite?
00:38:55Well, if you were
00:38:57titled a lord,
00:38:58then you were
00:38:59entitled to five of them.
00:39:01If it was a lord's
00:39:02wife, though,
00:39:03a lady,
00:39:03she gets one.
00:39:04So, Lady Jersey,
00:39:06I mean, she's titled.
00:39:07Did she get a ticket?
00:39:08Yeah, she does,
00:39:09despite the fact
00:39:10that she's, you know,
00:39:11quite an outspoken
00:39:13critic of her daughter.
00:39:14Right.
00:39:15She does still
00:39:15get a ticket
00:39:16and more than that,
00:39:17because she's titled,
00:39:18all her family
00:39:19are really closely involved.
00:39:21So, to her great
00:39:22excitement,
00:39:23her two sons
00:39:24are called back
00:39:25from Eton
00:39:25because they're going
00:39:26to be two of the page boys
00:39:27in the ceremony itself.
00:39:29I mean, that must have
00:39:29been a big deal.
00:39:30I mean, like nowadays,
00:39:31when there's a royal wedding,
00:39:32everybody comments on
00:39:33who the children
00:39:34of the famous are,
00:39:35for instance.
00:39:36It's a big deal.
00:39:37Those without Lady Jersey's
00:39:39connections and title
00:39:40could buy a ticket
00:39:42to the ceremony,
00:39:43banquet or procession.
00:39:44But these were strictly
00:39:46for the well-heeled,
00:39:47with some seats on offer
00:39:48for 40 guineas,
00:39:50nearly 5,000 pounds today.
00:39:52As for the poor,
00:39:53they could jostle
00:39:54for free street-side spots.
00:39:57This just left
00:39:58one person
00:40:00unaccounted for.
00:40:01Was Queen Caroline
00:40:02going to be there?
00:40:03Three days before
00:40:04and still the answer
00:40:05is no.
00:40:06She's been campaigning
00:40:07for weeks.
00:40:08She's been writing
00:40:09to absolutely everybody
00:40:10she can think of,
00:40:11including the Archbishop
00:40:12of Canterbury,
00:40:13saying that she should
00:40:14be crowned,
00:40:15she should be there.
00:40:16And the Archbishop
00:40:17of Canterbury writes back
00:40:18and says,
00:40:18well, without the King's
00:40:19permission,
00:40:20I can't do anything.
00:40:21So there's a full drama.
00:40:23You know,
00:40:23you're going to be
00:40:23at the Abbey,
00:40:24you don't know
00:40:24whether the Queen
00:40:25is going to show up.
00:40:25I mean,
00:40:26you'd buy a ticket
00:40:27for that.
00:40:27It's like Regency
00:40:28soap opera.
00:40:34As Coronation Day
00:40:35neared,
00:40:36the scale of
00:40:36George's plans
00:40:37was becoming
00:40:38increasingly clear
00:40:39to ordinary Londoners,
00:40:41with Westminster
00:40:42a frenzy
00:40:43of activity.
00:40:46I can imagine it
00:40:48bustling with hundreds
00:40:49of men,
00:40:50in and out,
00:40:51ferrying crates
00:40:52and carts
00:40:53full of supplies
00:40:54for the coronation.
00:40:56I mean,
00:40:56your candles,
00:40:57your crockery,
00:40:58your chairs,
00:40:59your food.
00:41:00And it was in the kitchen
00:41:01where the most frenzied
00:41:03activity was now
00:41:04taking place,
00:41:05or rather,
00:41:06kitchens,
00:41:07because no less
00:41:08than 23 were needed
00:41:10to produce a coronation
00:41:11banquet
00:41:11for over 1,200
00:41:13rich guests.
00:41:15So what would the kitchen
00:41:16have been like
00:41:17before the coronation?
00:41:18I mean,
00:41:19it must have been
00:41:19buzzing,
00:41:20mustn't it?
00:41:20This is a really
00:41:22big operation.
00:41:23I mean,
00:41:23for the catering crew,
00:41:24this is probably
00:41:25the gig of a lifetime.
00:41:26OK,
00:41:26what were we talking
00:41:27about for the menu?
00:41:28Right,
00:41:29we have here
00:41:29a list of what
00:41:30was going on,
00:41:31and it's just
00:41:33astounding.
00:41:34So if you have
00:41:35a little look here,
00:41:367,000 pounds
00:41:38of beef.
00:41:39My gosh,
00:41:40I mean,
00:41:41that's an entire
00:41:42herd.
00:41:43It is,
00:41:43isn't it?
00:41:44It's over
00:41:44three tonnes of beef.
00:41:48160 geese,
00:41:49Ruth.
00:41:49I know.
00:41:50This is absolutely
00:41:51staggering,
00:41:52even for the
00:41:52mega wealthy.
00:41:53I've never seen
00:41:53anything quite like this.
00:41:551,610 chickens.
00:41:57I can't even imagine
00:41:58that many chickens.
00:41:59I know.
00:42:01To feed George
00:42:02and his guests
00:42:03also required
00:42:04three and a half
00:42:05tonnes of veal,
00:42:068,000 eggs,
00:42:07and enough turtles
00:42:08to produce 80
00:42:10great tureens
00:42:11of turtle soup.
00:42:13And what are we
00:42:13having for dessert?
00:42:14Oh, well,
00:42:15there were loads
00:42:15of jellies,
00:42:16which were very
00:42:17fashionable,
00:42:17and then we get
00:42:18things like the
00:42:18croquembouche.
00:42:19It's an extraordinary
00:42:20thing, isn't it?
00:42:20It's profiteroles
00:42:21in a great big pyramid,
00:42:23isn't it?
00:42:23There are tonnes of them.
00:42:24320, apparently.
00:42:26And it must be
00:42:27pointed out that the
00:42:27people actually eating
00:42:29this does not
00:42:30include your lady
00:42:31jersey, because no
00:42:33women ate at this
00:42:34banquet.
00:42:35Hang on a second.
00:42:36What's she supposed
00:42:36to eat?
00:42:37Well, have something
00:42:38before you come out,
00:42:39love, you know?
00:42:41How much did all
00:42:41this come to?
00:42:42What are we talking
00:42:43about for the bill?
00:42:44£25,000.
00:42:46In modern money,
00:42:47we're into the millions
00:42:48for one meal.
00:42:50For a meal.
00:42:55While kitchen staff
00:42:56worked into the
00:42:57small hours, the rich
00:42:58got an early night.
00:43:01The abbey was ready
00:43:02and the stage set
00:43:04for the long-awaited
00:43:05coronation spectacular.
00:43:09What could possibly go wrong?
00:43:25finally, Britain's first
00:43:26coronation day in 60 years
00:43:28dawned.
00:43:30Even the king's biggest
00:43:31critics were keen to see
00:43:33the show, with the likes
00:43:34of carpenter Richard Honey
00:43:35rising early to dress and
00:43:37scrub up.
00:43:38Not easy for the poor.
00:43:41London was an absolutely
00:43:43filthy city.
00:43:45Richard and his daughter
00:43:46are going to need to
00:43:47have a wash.
00:43:48And obviously, a house
00:43:50like this does not have
00:43:51running water.
00:43:52It's all got to be fetched.
00:43:56all the way up those stairs.
00:44:02You might have to queue for it
00:44:03when you get there.
00:44:05But this is one of the few
00:44:07places where it's a communal
00:44:08pump where you could get
00:44:09free water.
00:44:11Mind you, by the time you've
00:44:13pumped it up to fill your
00:44:14bucket, carried it all the
00:44:16way home, and then up all
00:44:17those flights of stairs,
00:44:19you'll have paid for it in
00:44:20sweat.
00:44:24Across the city, the king
00:44:26had spent the night at
00:44:27Speaker's house in the old
00:44:28Palace of Westminster.
00:44:30And he too was up bright and
00:44:32early, ready to have warm
00:44:35water brought to him,
00:44:37whilst a valet gave him a
00:44:38shave.
00:44:40This is the biggest day of
00:44:41George's life.
00:44:42How was he feeling on the
00:44:44day?
00:44:44Was he feeling fit and fine?
00:44:45Well, I think he was probably
00:44:47extremely excited, but he
00:44:49wasn't that healthy.
00:44:51What are we talking?
00:44:52So we're talking massive
00:44:53obesity.
00:44:54He also was suffering from
00:44:56gout.
00:44:56So because he was feeling
00:44:58so, you know, he's in pain a
00:44:59lot of the time, he was
00:45:00addicted to laudanum.
00:45:02What is it?
00:45:02So laudanum is opium
00:45:04dissolved in alcohol to dull
00:45:05the pain.
00:45:06And actually loads of wealthy
00:45:07people were addicted to this
00:45:08at the time.
00:45:09So on the morning of
00:45:10coronation, this man who's
00:45:11been Prince Regent, waiting
00:45:13his entire life for this, is
00:45:14sweaty, he's swigging drugs,
00:45:17he's probably drunk, and
00:45:19he's incredibly corpulent.
00:45:21So fat, in fact, that one
00:45:22contemporary said that his
00:45:23belly was like reaching down
00:45:24to his knees.
00:45:25If he's so horizontally
00:45:26challenged, how is it that
00:45:28he fit into this incredibly
00:45:30expensive gear that he was
00:45:31going to wear for the
00:45:32coronation?
00:45:33Well, we have the male
00:45:34corset, don't we?
00:45:36We're going to suck in that
00:45:38gut, but we're going to suck
00:45:39it in like this.
00:45:41There we go.
00:45:42I'm ready for my
00:45:43coronation.
00:45:43Is that tight enough?
00:45:45That's pretty tight.
00:45:46Can you suck it in?
00:45:48Come on, Bob.
00:45:49Right, madam.
00:45:50You mind.
00:45:51A mile away in Soho, the
00:45:53challenge for Richard Honey and
00:45:54his daughter wasn't getting
00:45:56into their best clothes.
00:45:58It was affording them.
00:46:01I'm sure that Richard and his
00:46:02daughter will have wanted to
00:46:03look their very best for the
00:46:05coronation.
00:46:06Clothes are getting cheaper in
00:46:08the 1820s, but they're still
00:46:10quite expensive.
00:46:11The Industrial Revolution
00:46:13means that cloth is much
00:46:15cheaper than it has ever been,
00:46:16but everything is still
00:46:18completely hand-sewn.
00:46:20It mostly means second-hand
00:46:21clothing.
00:46:21It means that somebody like
00:46:23Richard's daughter could have
00:46:25a lovely, bright cotton like this.
00:46:29It's only a year or two out of
00:46:30fashion.
00:46:31It's not bad.
00:46:32And then when it comes to it,
00:46:34a straw bonnet.
00:46:35Again, probably second-hand.
00:46:37But it is, once again, a little
00:46:39touch of respectability, a little
00:46:42touch of fashion.
00:46:43It just gives her, you know,
00:46:46a fitting in.
00:46:47Not that this one fits me very well.
00:46:49The very most important thing,
00:46:51I suspect, would have been her
00:46:54pride and joy.
00:46:56A shawl such as maybe a middle-class
00:46:59lady might have.
00:47:00The sort of thing that you'd have
00:47:01saved up for ages.
00:47:03Round her shoulders, tucking in
00:47:05all round the front.
00:47:07With her bonnet on, too.
00:47:09She's going to feel very much
00:47:11the proper little miss.
00:47:21By now, St Paul's bells were
00:47:24ringing out across the city.
00:47:26Not that anyone needed reminding
00:47:29what was happening today.
00:47:32Thousands of ordinary people were
00:47:34streaming towards Westminster Abbey
00:47:36on foot.
00:47:38Whilst the wealthy few with
00:47:39invitations to the ceremony,
00:47:41like Lady Jersey, headed there by
00:47:43carriage.
00:47:44Hopefully after a big breakfast.
00:47:48Soon the streets were totally
00:47:49gridlocked.
00:47:50Carriages jammed wheel to wheel.
00:47:52I mean, some guests gave up and
00:47:54clambered out.
00:47:55Hurried the last stretch on foot.
00:47:57Carefully skirting around the
00:47:58riffraff.
00:47:59They'd spent a fortune on those
00:48:01outfits, after all.
00:48:02At the gates, policemen and soldiers
00:48:03inspected tickets.
00:48:04No gate crashes allowed.
00:48:06So, if your name wasn't on the list,
00:48:08you're not getting in.
00:48:14The poor, like Richard Honey,
00:48:17would get to see the King's Spectacular
00:48:18procession before the ceremony.
00:48:21If they could grab a spot in time.
00:48:24And by eight o'clock in the morning,
00:48:27it is packed with people
00:48:29waiting for the big moment.
00:48:32And I think, you know,
00:48:33I can really imagine
00:48:35Richard here with his daughter
00:48:37in amongst the crowd somewhere,
00:48:40waiting.
00:48:41And as Richard waited,
00:48:43there was only one talking point.
00:48:45The crowd's beloved queen.
00:48:47She hadn't been invited.
00:48:50But would that stop her?
00:48:53And then suddenly,
00:48:54there's a roar from the crowd.
00:48:56And people are shouting,
00:48:58God save the queen!
00:49:00And there, there is the carriage
00:49:02coming with Queen Caroline in it.
00:49:05She'd been told that she was not
00:49:06invited to the coronation.
00:49:08But she is here anyway.
00:49:13Crowds followed the carriage,
00:49:14desperate to see what would happen
00:49:16to the gate-crashing queen.
00:49:18First, the queen tries a side door
00:49:21to Westminster Hall,
00:49:22where the king is waiting
00:49:24to process to the abbey.
00:49:27But she's stopped by soldiers.
00:49:29So then she tries the House of Lords,
00:49:32and they actually slam the door
00:49:35in her face.
00:49:38There was now only one entrance
00:49:40left to try,
00:49:41by Poets' Corner
00:49:42at Westminster Abbey,
00:49:44where the rich were now crowded,
00:49:46ready to show their tickets.
00:49:48Her friend, Lord Hood,
00:49:50challenged the guard.
00:49:52I present your queen.
00:49:54Will you refuse her?
00:49:56But George had stationed a series
00:49:58of very intimidating-looking prize fighters
00:50:00on the door,
00:50:01and they said,
00:50:02even if she was the queen,
00:50:04no ticket,
00:50:05no entry.
00:50:07Some accounts say
00:50:08that she was even physically pushed
00:50:11back into the crowd,
00:50:13a crowd made up
00:50:14of very rich
00:50:16and influential people
00:50:17who were beginning
00:50:18to hiss at her
00:50:20and the word
00:50:20shame.
00:50:22Shame.
00:50:24At the last,
00:50:25the wealthy
00:50:26had closed ranks
00:50:27against her,
00:50:28and Caroline
00:50:29had no option
00:50:30but to give up,
00:50:31returning home
00:50:32to Hammersmith
00:50:33uncrowned.
00:50:36The king
00:50:37appeared
00:50:38to have won.
00:50:40But could his big day
00:50:42now
00:50:42go off
00:50:43without a hitch?
00:50:52It was coronation day
00:50:54for George IV.
00:50:56The rich had taken
00:50:57their seats
00:50:58in Westminster Abbey.
00:50:59The poor
00:51:00were crammed
00:51:01into the streets outside.
00:51:03And at Westminster Hall,
00:51:05the king himself
00:51:06waited to begin
00:51:07his public procession.
00:51:10As George prepared
00:51:12to take that first
00:51:13step towards the Abbey.
00:51:14And I've got to wonder
00:51:15whether he was nervous.
00:51:17He'd been planning
00:51:17this moment
00:51:18for over a year.
00:51:19And he must have heard
00:51:20that his wife Caroline
00:51:21had made a right scene
00:51:23trying to get in,
00:51:24banging at the door.
00:51:26I can't believe
00:51:27that the sheer
00:51:27momentousness
00:51:28of this occasion
00:51:29didn't shake him up,
00:51:30didn't put butterflies
00:51:31in his stomach
00:51:32just a little bit.
00:51:34To guard
00:51:35against any unrest,
00:51:3715,000 soldiers
00:51:39were on duty,
00:51:40focused on the king's
00:51:41processional route.
00:51:44So this is the route
00:51:46that the Royal Party took.
00:51:48They're coming out
00:51:48of Westminster Hall there,
00:51:50part of the Houses of Parliament,
00:51:52and then in a great big loop
00:51:54around Parliament Square
00:51:56going right to the side
00:51:57and then back over
00:51:59and into the front
00:52:00of Westminster Abbey.
00:52:05Carpenters like Richard Honey
00:52:07had built vast tiers
00:52:08of temporary seating,
00:52:10all looking down
00:52:11on a raised,
00:52:12covered walkway
00:52:14over 500 yards long.
00:52:16And in the middle,
00:52:17the Royal Procession,
00:52:19700 people strong
00:52:20of nobles,
00:52:22bishops,
00:52:22and politicians,
00:52:24all dressed,
00:52:24at George's behest,
00:52:26in extravagant
00:52:27Tudor-style costumes.
00:52:31Taking pride of place
00:52:32amongst them
00:52:33was the king,
00:52:34buried under layers
00:52:35of velvet and jewels
00:52:36and reportedly red face
00:52:37and close to collapse.
00:52:39I mean,
00:52:39it was the boiling summer sun.
00:52:42The crowd appeared dazzled
00:52:44by Britain's first coronation
00:52:46in 60 years.
00:52:48There were no reports
00:52:49of unrest.
00:52:51George made it to the Abbey,
00:52:52dignity intact.
00:52:55But only just.
00:52:57He was sweating heavily
00:53:00under his thick robes,
00:53:01unsteady on his feet
00:53:02and looked like he might
00:53:03pass out at any moment.
00:53:05So he was quietly whisked off
00:53:08to a room where he was
00:53:09fanned out
00:53:10and given smelling salts
00:53:11to bring him around.
00:53:12Because there was no way
00:53:14he was missing this.
00:53:16Not today.
00:53:17He'd been waiting
00:53:18for this moment
00:53:19for his entire life.
00:53:26And as the king began
00:53:27to process to the altar,
00:53:28a 200-strong choir sang.
00:53:33Alleluia!
00:53:35Alleluia!
00:53:36Alleluia!
00:53:37Alleluia!
00:53:39Alleluia!
00:53:40Alleluia!
00:53:41Every monarch since 1066
00:53:43has been crowned here.
00:53:45Only George was determined
00:53:46to outdo the lot of them.
00:53:49Trailing behind him
00:53:49was a huge 27-foot train
00:53:52carried by not one
00:53:54but eight page boys.
00:53:56And all around the Abbey,
00:53:57towering temporary stands
00:53:59had been packed,
00:54:00squeezing in more than
00:54:014,000 members
00:54:03of the rich and titled elite.
00:54:06What a thing it must have been.
00:54:08Alleluia!
00:54:09Alleluia!
00:54:11Alleluia!
00:54:12Alleluia!
00:54:12Alleluia!
00:54:12It was a stirring sight
00:54:14for the wealthy,
00:54:15even for fans of George's wife,
00:54:17like Lady Jersey.
00:54:19Alleluia!
00:54:20Alleluia!
00:54:20beaming with pride
00:54:22as two of those page boys
00:54:23were her sons.
00:54:25Though the smile might have faded
00:54:27as the ceremony ticked over
00:54:28into its fifth hour.
00:54:36The king apparently spent
00:54:38much of that time
00:54:39winking and smiling
00:54:40adoringly
00:54:41at his mistress,
00:54:42Lady Conningham.
00:54:43Then, finally,
00:54:45George IV was crowned
00:54:47and God Save the King
00:54:49reverberated around the Abbey.
00:54:51He'd finally done it.
00:54:59It was now time
00:55:01for George's favourite bit
00:55:02of the coronation,
00:55:03the party.
00:55:07But it wasn't just in London
00:55:09that people were celebrating.
00:55:11Everywhere across the country,
00:55:12people enjoying
00:55:13a well-deserved knees up.
00:55:16In towns and villages,
00:55:18right throughout the land,
00:55:20bells were ringing
00:55:21and flags were flying.
00:55:26And up in Stoke,
00:55:28young Samuel Bevington
00:55:29was enjoying a rare break
00:55:31from the Spode factory.
00:55:34Now, rather amazingly,
00:55:36there's actually a little piece
00:55:38here in the newspaper.
00:55:39It says,
00:55:40the whole of Mr Spode's servants,
00:55:43Samuel,
00:55:44were then most liberally treated.
00:55:46The men and boys
00:55:47with an excellent dinner
00:55:49and plenty of ale
00:55:51at the Talbot and King's Arms,
00:55:53the women and girls
00:55:54with tea
00:55:55at the manufacturing.
00:55:57I mean,
00:55:58I'm not entirely sure
00:55:59quite how I feel
00:56:00about the fact that,
00:56:01you know,
00:56:01the blokes get a big slap-up dinner
00:56:03and a load of booze,
00:56:05whilst the women get
00:56:06a cup of tea
00:56:07at the office.
00:56:10But, of course,
00:56:11the rich in London
00:56:12marked the moment
00:56:13rather more extravagantly.
00:56:16The venue
00:56:17was 900-year-old
00:56:19Westminster Hall,
00:56:20with over 1,200 male diners
00:56:23packed in for one
00:56:23of history's greatest banquets.
00:56:29This is how
00:56:30the hall would have looked
00:56:31for the banquet.
00:56:33So you can see
00:56:34there are lines of tables
00:56:35along the hall
00:56:37down there.
00:56:38They would have been here.
00:56:38Exactly.
00:56:39And then we can see
00:56:40the tables are very elaborately
00:56:41laid out
00:56:43with the dinner service
00:56:44made by Spode,
00:56:45where the apprentice
00:56:46Samuel Bevington
00:56:47worked, of course.
00:56:49And then extra seating
00:56:50up the side.
00:56:51I mean,
00:56:52they've built basically
00:56:52an indoor stadium, really.
00:56:54You've got people
00:56:55watching people eat.
00:56:57Yeah, so you would
00:56:57have been all right
00:56:58because you probably
00:56:58would have been
00:56:59one of these men
00:56:59sat at the table.
00:57:00But as a woman,
00:57:01I would have been
00:57:02watching in the stands,
00:57:03starving hungry
00:57:04for hours and hours
00:57:05and hours.
00:57:06And boiling.
00:57:07And boiling hot.
00:57:07It's not really
00:57:08much of a party, is it?
00:57:11As the likes
00:57:11of Lady Jersey
00:57:12watched on,
00:57:13riders on horseback
00:57:15led the delivery
00:57:15of each course
00:57:16before the so-called
00:57:18King's Champion
00:57:19entered in full
00:57:19medieval armour.
00:57:23It was his job
00:57:24to fight anyone
00:57:25who challenged
00:57:25the King's right
00:57:26to the throne.
00:57:28A coronation tradition
00:57:29that dated back
00:57:30five centuries.
00:57:33When the meal finishes
00:57:35and George IV
00:57:36has finally had enough
00:57:38and he retires
00:57:39to his home
00:57:39at Carlton House,
00:57:40this amazing scene
00:57:42of pageantry
00:57:42descends into chaos
00:57:43as all of the starving,
00:57:45hungry guests
00:57:46who've been up
00:57:46in the seating up here
00:57:48rush down.
00:57:48They try and get some food,
00:57:50they try and get some drink,
00:57:51but also they're hoping
00:57:52to get a souvenir
00:57:53from the event.
00:57:54It just descends
00:57:55into unscripted chaos.
00:57:57People assume
00:57:58that just because
00:57:58you're aristocratic
00:57:59or posh,
00:58:00somehow you're going
00:58:01to have manners,
00:58:02but you've got these scenes
00:58:04of these lords and ladies
00:58:05fighting over plates
00:58:06going,
00:58:06it's mine!
00:58:07I was here,
00:58:08I paid for my ticket!
00:58:14As the rich fought
00:58:16over the Spode crockery,
00:58:17the sun set
00:58:18on coronation day
00:58:19and the epic drama
00:58:21appeared over.
00:58:23But there would be
00:58:24a deadly twist
00:58:25for our cast
00:58:26of rich and poor.
00:58:38The crowning
00:58:39of George IV
00:58:40at Westminster Abbey
00:58:41seemed to mark
00:58:42the finale
00:58:43of a spectacular
00:58:44royal drama.
00:58:46The poor
00:58:47had not revolted
00:58:48whilst plenty
00:58:49of the rich
00:58:49like Lady Jersey
00:58:50had rallied
00:58:51round the crown,
00:58:52deserting
00:58:52Queen Caroline.
00:58:58But then,
00:58:58as Lady Jersey
00:59:00perused the morning papers,
00:59:01she read
00:59:02of her truly
00:59:03shocking twist.
00:59:13Queen Caroline,
00:59:14who just two weeks ago
00:59:16had been banging
00:59:16on the doors
00:59:17of Westminster Abbey,
00:59:19was now dead.
00:59:20Lady Jersey
00:59:21must have felt guilty
00:59:22when she heard that news.
00:59:24Ever since the king
00:59:25had invited her sons
00:59:26to be page boys
00:59:27at the coronation,
00:59:28she'd been avoiding
00:59:29Caroline.
00:59:30She'd cancelled
00:59:31on their plans twice
00:59:32and now
00:59:33she'd never have
00:59:35a chance
00:59:35to make it up to her.
00:59:43Caroline's sudden death
00:59:44from an unknown illness
00:59:45left many people
00:59:47smelling a rat.
00:59:51When Richard Honey
00:59:52heard the news,
00:59:53he must have been
00:59:54deeply shocked.
00:59:55People were saying
00:59:56that perhaps
00:59:56she'd been poisoned
00:59:57after all,
00:59:59it was just so convenient
01:00:01that weeks
01:00:02after she embarrasses
01:00:04the king,
01:00:05she drops down dead.
01:00:07And so Richard
01:00:08and thousands more
01:00:09of London's workers
01:00:10would gather
01:00:11one final time
01:00:12to praise
01:00:13Queen Caroline
01:00:14and vent their anger
01:00:16at their king
01:00:17at her funeral procession.
01:00:23The authorities had designed
01:00:25the funeral route
01:00:26to minimise trouble.
01:00:29After travelling
01:00:30from Caroline's home
01:00:31in Hammersmith
01:00:32to Hyde Park Corner
01:00:34on the edge of London,
01:00:35the cortege
01:00:36was forbidden
01:00:36from entering the city proper
01:00:38where the poor lived.
01:00:40Instead,
01:00:40it would only skirt
01:00:41the suburbs.
01:00:44It was pouring
01:00:45with rain
01:00:46on the day
01:00:46of the procession
01:00:47but nonetheless,
01:00:49thousands upon thousands
01:00:50of ordinary Londoners
01:00:51turned out,
01:00:52determined to show
01:00:53their respects
01:00:54to their mistreated
01:00:56queen.
01:00:58Richard was here
01:00:59along with many
01:01:00other people
01:01:01on the corner
01:01:02of Hyde Park
01:01:03hoping to catch
01:01:05a glimpse
01:01:05of the procession.
01:01:06But around Richard,
01:01:08the crowd was angry.
01:01:10Many believed
01:01:11the funeral route
01:01:12was a final snub.
01:01:14And as the procession
01:01:16approached,
01:01:17people blocked
01:01:18the road,
01:01:19attempting to force
01:01:20the funeral cortege
01:01:21into central London.
01:01:23And so they ended up
01:01:25turned back.
01:01:27Things were beginning
01:01:28to get a bit chaotic.
01:01:32Some of the soldiers
01:01:33panicked.
01:01:35Weapons were fired.
01:01:38Two people were hit
01:01:39and one of them
01:01:41was our carpenter,
01:01:43Richard Honey.
01:01:47He was rushed
01:01:48to hospital
01:01:49but there was
01:01:50very little
01:01:51they could do
01:01:52and tragically
01:01:53he died
01:01:54a few hours later.
01:02:10Richard was one
01:02:11of two men
01:02:12who were killed
01:02:12that day.
01:02:13The other
01:02:14was a George Francis,
01:02:15a bricklayer.
01:02:17Twelve days later,
01:02:18the two of them
01:02:19had a joint funeral
01:02:20here at St Paul's
01:02:22in Hammersmith.
01:02:25By then,
01:02:26the two men
01:02:27had become
01:02:27a symbol
01:02:28for all the
01:02:29injustice
01:02:30and excess
01:02:31of George IV's reign
01:02:33and people turned out
01:02:35in their thousands.
01:02:41and here,
01:02:42look,
01:02:43here we go.
01:02:45Richard Honey
01:02:46and George Francis.
01:02:48Now just look
01:02:48at this memorial.
01:02:50A gravestone like this
01:02:52was really expensive
01:02:53and ordinary people
01:02:55like Richard
01:02:56just could not afford
01:02:58this sort of funeral.
01:02:59this was paid for,
01:03:00it says so,
01:03:01by public donation,
01:03:03by members
01:03:03of the bricklayers
01:03:04and carpenters trade.
01:03:06People felt that strongly.
01:03:08This was a lot
01:03:09of money to raise.
01:03:10And in addition
01:03:11to all that,
01:03:12there is the sadness
01:03:13of it.
01:03:13Here at the bottom,
01:03:15and Richard Honey
01:03:16left one female orphan.
01:03:20She's alone now
01:03:21and we have no idea
01:03:23what happened to her.
01:03:28The funeral of Richard Honey
01:03:29marked the final chapter
01:03:31of an extraordinary coronation.
01:03:34An event intended
01:03:36to bring rich and poor together,
01:03:37united behind their king,
01:03:39had done no such thing.
01:03:43Instead,
01:03:44the poor had turned
01:03:46further against
01:03:47George IV.
01:03:51Well,
01:03:52I don't think
01:03:53we saw a coronation
01:03:54like that again.
01:03:55I mean,
01:03:55certainly the public
01:03:57would never have allowed
01:03:59a king to spend
01:04:01that much money
01:04:02without there being
01:04:03serious consequence
01:04:04and scrutiny.
01:04:05This is the last moment
01:04:06that we have a king
01:04:08really as spending
01:04:10whatever he wanted
01:04:11and giving the public
01:04:14undivided indifference
01:04:15pretty much.
01:04:16On the other side,
01:04:17like my lot,
01:04:18people are looking
01:04:19at George
01:04:20and going,
01:04:20well,
01:04:21actually,
01:04:21I actually think
01:04:22his wife's a better person
01:04:23than he is.
01:04:24This is somebody
01:04:25who's been hard done
01:04:26by the traditional elite
01:04:27just as we've been
01:04:28hard done by
01:04:29by the traditional elite.
01:04:30She's getting it,
01:04:31we get it
01:04:32and we're not putting up
01:04:33with it for any longer.
01:04:34This is a moment
01:04:35of change.
01:04:37You know,
01:04:38there is a beginning
01:04:38to be something
01:04:40much more modern,
01:04:42much more about
01:04:43people power.
01:04:44Says something else,
01:04:45doesn't it,
01:04:46I mean,
01:04:46there's George.
01:04:48He spends
01:04:49a good deal of time,
01:04:50maybe months
01:04:51and months,
01:04:52close to two years,
01:04:52trying to get divorced
01:04:53from his wife.
01:04:55I mean,
01:04:56it's pretty petty,
01:04:57isn't it?
01:04:58Yeah.
01:04:58It's fair to say
01:04:59that at the end
01:05:00of his coronation
01:05:01he was unpopular,
01:05:02he stayed throughout
01:05:03his reign pretty unpopular
01:05:04and he died unpopular.
01:05:07right now.
01:05:07Mmm.
01:05:09Mmm.
01:05:39Legenda Adriana Zanotto
01:05:50Legenda Adriana Zanotto
01:06:11Legenda Adriana Zanotto
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