King George the Fourth

King George the Fourth

The work presents a critical examination of King George IV's life, focusing on the complexities of his character and reign. It begins with a reflection on his death, suggesting a blend of royal dignity and personal vulnerability. The author critiques the historical narratives surrounding George, particularly those by Thackeray, arguing that they fail to capture the nuances of his personality and the context of his actions. The narrative delves into George's upbringing, marked by strict discipline and a lack of freedom, which shaped his later behavior. His transition into adulthood is portrayed as a release from the constraints of his childhood, leading him to embrace a life of pleasure and excess. The author describes the vibrant social scene of London during George's youth, contrasting it with contemporary society's perceived decline. The text addresses George's tumultuous relationships, particularly with his wives, Mrs. Fitzherbert and Queen Caroline. It explores the scandal surrounding his marriage to Mrs. Fitzherbert, emphasizing the genuine passion he felt for her, despite the legal and social complications. The author argues that George's subsequent marriage to Caroline was a result of external pressures rather than personal desire, leading to a strained and unhappy union. The work also critiques George's political involvement, suggesting that his royal duties often conflicted with his personal inclinations. The author expresses regret over George's entanglement in political intrigues, arguing that his talents were wasted in the political arena rather than being devoted to the arts and society. As the narrative progresses, it reflects on George's later years, marked by physical decline and isolation. The author paints a picture of a once-vibrant king who became a recluse, yet still retained a fondness for the pleasures of life. The conclusion emphasizes the duality of George's legacy: a king who embodied the pursuit of pleasure while also being a product of his time, ultimately leaving a complex and multifaceted legacy that challenges simplistic judgments of his character.

By Max Beerbohm · First published 1926 · Genre: Biography, Historical Essay, Satire · 9,625 words

First lines

They say that when King George was dying, a special form of prayer for his recovery, composed by one of the Archbishops, was read aloud to him and that His Majesty, after saying Amen "thrice, with great fervour," begged that his thanks might be conveyed to its author. To the student of royalty in modern times there is something rather suggestive in this incident. I like to think of the drug-scented room at Windsor and of the King, livid and immobile among his pillows, waiting, in superstitious awe, for the near moment when he must stand, a spirit, in the presence of a perpetual King. I like to think of him following the futile prayer with eyes and lips, and then, custom resurgent in him and a touch of pride that, so long as the blood moved ever so little in his veins, he was still a king, expressing a desire that the dutiful feeling and admirable taste of the Prelate should receive a suitable acknowledgment. It would have been impossible for a real monarch like George, even after the gout had turned his thoughts heavenward, really to abase himself before his Maker. But he could, so to say, treat with Him, as he might have treated with a fellow-sovereign, in a formal way, long after diplomacy was quite useless. How strange it must be to be a king! How delicate and difficult a task it is to judge him! So far as I know, no attempt has been made to judge King George the Fourth fairly. The hundred and one eulogies and lampoons, irresponsibly published during and immediately after his reign, are not worth a wooden hoop in Hades. Mr. Percy Fitzgerald has published a history of George's reign, in which he has so artistically subordinated his own personality to his subject, that I can scarcely find, from beginning to end of the two bulky volumes, a single opinion expressed, a single idea, a single deduction from the admirably-ordered facts. All that most of us know of George is from Thackeray's brilliant denunciation. Now, I yield to few in my admiration of Thackeray's powers. He had a charming style. We never find him searching for the mot juste as for a needle in a bottle of hay. Could he have looked through a certain window by the river at Croisset or in the quadrangle at Brasenose, how he would have laughed! He blew on his pipe, and words came tripping round him, like children, like pretty little children who are perfectly drilled for the dance, or came, did he will it, treading in their precedence, like kings, gloomily. And I think it is to the credit of the reading mob that, by reason of his beautiful style, all that he said was taken for the truth, without questioning. But truth after all is eternal, and style transient, and now that Thackeray's style is becoming, if I may say so, a trifle 1860, it may not be amiss that we should inquire whether his estimate of George is in substance and fact worth anything at all. It seems to me that, as in his novels, so in his history of the four Georges, Thackeray made no attempt at psychology. He dealt simply with types. One George he insisted upon regarding as a buffoon, another as a yokel. The Fourth George he chose to hold up for reprobation as a drunken, vapid cad. Every action, every phase of his life that went to disprove this view, he either suppressed or distorted utterly. "History," he would seem to have chuckled, "has nothing to do with the First Gentleman. But I will give him a niche in Natural History. He shall be King of the Beasts. " He made no allowance for the extraordinary conditions under which all monarchs live, none for the unfortunate circumstances by which George, especially, was from the first hampered. He judged him as he judged Barnes Newcome and all the scoundrels lie created. Moreover, he judged him by the moral standard of the Victorian Age. In fact, he applied to his subject the wrong method, in the wrong manner, and at the wrong time. And yet everyone has taken him at his word. I feel that my essay may be scouted as a paradox; but I hope that many may recognise that I am not, out of mere boredom, endeavouring to stop my ears against popular platitude, but rather, in a spirit of real earnestness, to point out to the mob how it has been cruel to George. I do not despair of success. I think I shall make converts. The mob is really very fickle and sometimes cheers the truth.

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King George the Fourth is listed on Textopian as an essay by Max Beerbohm, dated 1926 CE.

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Biography · Satire · Caricature · Royal Family · British History · 18th Century · 19th Century · Politics · Power Struggle · Social Commentary · Humor · Wit

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