The Queen That Was Denied Entry to Her Husband's Coronation
An unbelievable coronation story for the ages!
We are about to experience the coronation of a new British Monarch for the first time in 70 years, which means, that most people alive today have not ever seen a coronation like this take place! Excitement is mounting and I am sure people around the globe will tune in to see Charles III and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, become anointed and crowned as King and Queen. It is customary for the wife of kings to be crowned alongside their husbands at coronations just as Charles and Camilla will be…But did you know that there was a coronation where the Queen was actually barred from the entry?!
YES! During the Coronation of George IV, who was previously the Prince Regent for his father George III, his wife, whom he detested, was actually TURNED AWAY at the doors of Westminster… I mean, could you imagine that?! But before we get fully into this part of their story, let’s take a step back and understand why George and Caroline had such a bad relationship to begin with. In his younger years, George was actually secretly married to a woman named Maria Fitzherbert, whom he loved. Their marriage however was considered void because it was done without the consent of his father the King, which was against the law. Although they were happy together, George found himself in a considerable amount of debt (over 600,000 pounds or over 70 million pounds today) and the government agreed to pay his debts if he got married and produced an heir for the monarchy. Sadly for Mrs. Fitzherbert, he agreed. Their marriage was denied and George was betrothed to his first cousin, Caroline of Brunswick. (Her mother was the older sister of his father.)
While both of them were considered fairly….stout…. They were equally displeased with one another upon meeting, so much so that George asked for someone to get him a glass of brandy… Things did not improve on his wedding night, as he spent it on the floor in a drunken stupor. However, nine moths after their wedding, Princess Charlotte was born and their job of producing an heir was done. They then began to live separately and Caroline was even paid by the government to live abroad where she kept some rather racy company, behaved recklessly and was often out with very little clothing on. This clearly did not improve relations with her husband who himself was becoming increasingly unpopular back in England. It got so bad between them that even when their beloved daughter died, George did not write to tell Caroline and she only found out because the messenger who was taking word to the Pope passed through the town she was living in and so she heard the news.
As his unpopularity grew throughout his regency, George IVs father passed away and he ascended the throne. Caroline decided to come back to England as Queen and there was a lot of support among Londoners. George wanted to divorce Caroline and there was a lengthy hearing but it was decided that they should not be divorced because that would probably not be prudent for monarchy.
As his coronation (which was the most opulent coronation in history) drew nearer, Caroline made up her mind to attend as Queen, even though she was told she would not be allowed in. She dismissed the warning and turned up to Westminster where shew as refused entry at both the eastern and western cloisters as well as through Westminster Hall where she stood until the doors were slammed in her face. She tried once more, but was then persuaded to get back into her carriage and leave. In that instant, public opinion of her which had always been fairly high, shifted because the onlookers thought that she had behaved with such indignity.
Unfortunately, Caroline passed away less than a month later and her body was processed back to her final resting place in Brunswick.
This tragic story of the marriage between two rather tragic figures seems almost unbelievable to us today. With all of the royal dramas and press coverage in recent years, and as uncomfortable as we have thought relationships within the royal family have become between certain members, I just find it simply hard to imagine. I can’t imagine the a government publicly paying a royal family member to be married. I cannot imagine a Queen of England standing at the doors of Westminster Abby during the coronation of her husband demanding to be let in! I cannot imagine a royal couple having such a deep hatred for one another that one would be denied entry in the first place! Truly… imagine a Queen and her retinue being refused entry to Westminster during a coronation that she really should have taken part in. Today, it seems inconceivable.
So, as some of us may have mounting excitement about the coronation….It is safe to say that there will likely NOT be the kind of drama that there was at a coronation just over 200 years ago. What do you think? Could you imagine something like this happening today? Comment below!!
Thanks for reading, and Until Next Time,
McKenzie
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