Crowns through the Ages

This week I visited the Tower of London to see both the World War I poppy installation and also to go on a tour of the Tower itself. My favourite part of the day (other than seeing the extraordinary and poignant poppy display) was an exhibition called Crowns through the Ages. These spanned the Georgian and Victorian eras and it was fascinating to see them.

The earliest crown on display had been worn by George I at his coronation in 1714. George decided

to have a new crown made as Charles II’s crown from 1661 was in a poor state of repair and George also wanted to make a statement of “new dynasty, new crown.” It was set with stones of glass and paste rather than precious jewels but in 1727 these were removed and diamonds were hired especially for the coronation of George II. I was fascinated to see how many diamonds they had brought in for this purpose and wondered where you would source such a huge pile of precious stones!  I could imagine the lenders counting them in and counting them out again very carefully.

George III recycled the crown but his son George IV had a new diamond crown made for his coronation. It was the most lavish in the collection (why does that not surprise me?!) but again the diamonds were borrowed and although George was determined that the government should buy them he failed to convince parliament that it was worth the expense. Because of the frugal tradition of hiring rather than buying the gems, most of the crowns in the exhibition were therefore set with false stones or were just empty frames, which was interesting to see but rather sad.

My favourite crown was that of a Queen Consort, Adelaide, wife of William IV. This had been made especially for he coronation in 1831 because the previous crown, that of Mary of Modena, second wife of James II, was considered too “theatrical.” Adelaide’s crown was a gorgeous, rich scarlet velvet that looked beautiful with the silver. The other thing that struck me from looking at Adelaide’s crown and that of Queen Victoria was what small heads they must have had!

The First Georgians: Art & Monarchy 1714 – 1760. A Question of Spin?

This enjoyable exhibition, which opened recently at The Queen’s Gallery, celebrates the arrival of the Hanoverian dynasty in Britain.

When the Stuart Queen Anne died in 1714, Parliament had a problem. They did not want, James, Anne’s Catholic half-brother, brought up in exile in ancient régime France, as king.

Photo:  George I by Godfrey Kneller

18^th century Britain was a prosperous nation, proud of its liberalism and freedom of speech. Parliament saw the country as modern and forward-thinking. They wanted a constitutional Protestant monarch without any of the ‘Divine Right of Kings’ nonsense which had so be-devilled the Stuarts.

Photo:  George II by Christian Friedrich Zinke 1717

Parliament trawled through the family tree and found the staunchly Protestant George, Elector of Hanover. He was directly descended from the Protestant Princess Elizabeth, sister of King Charles I, who had become ‘the Winter Queen’ of Bohemia. Elizabeth’s daughter, Sophia, who married the Elector of Hanover, was George I’s mother.

(Those of you who are Rupert of the Rhine fans might like to know that Rupert was Sophia’s brother - and thus George I’s uncle. I do like it when things link up!)    

Photo:  The Neptune Centrepiece att. to Nicholas Sprimont 1741/2 

In 1714, George I, together with his eldest son, arrived in England. George I (born 1660) was already in his fifties, and his son in his early thirties. Neither spoke very good English. They were worthy, undoubtedly Protestant, and would, Parliament hoped, let it get on with governing the country. On the other hand, they had an image problem; they lacked the Stuart charisma. This was something that Bonnie Prince Charlie, James’s son, would try to exploit in the future.

Photo: Queen Caroline, Consort of George II, by John Michael Rysbrack, c.1739

So, how did George I and George II present themselves to their new subjects? Sensibly, they kept things low-key. They did not go in for an extravagant Stuart-type court, for example. Instead, they sponsored composers like Handel, supported the setting up of the Chelsea Porcelain Works, and encouraged scientific enquiry – there are some beautiful botanical prints on display. Their new art collection, in the splendid crimson and gold gallery, shows that they also wanted to be seen as art connoisseurs.

Photo: Chelsea Porcelain plate

Various Hanoverian royals swim into focus; the highly intelligent Queen Caroline, wife of George II, for example. She was friends with the philosopher, Leibniz; she admired John Locke, Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton; and she considered herself ‘the promoter of enlightened ideas.’ Why have we forgotten her?

Photo: The Music Party: Frederick, Prince of Wales with his sisters, Philippe Mercier, 1733

Caroline’s cultured eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, was a keen and discerning art collector. Frederick died before his father, so he never became king; his son, George III, inherited the throne instead. Another of Caroline’s sons, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, was a highly competent military commander. The duke’s plan for the battle of Culloden (1746) and other memorabilia of the campaign are on display. 

I really enjoyed this fascinating and wide-ranging exhibition. It is on at The Queen’s Gallery, 11^th April – 12^th October, 2014.

Images courtesy of: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014.

Elizabeth Hawksley