Queen Caroline, entering the House of Lords. The trial of Caroline of Brunswick, Queen consort to King George IV, The Pains and Penalties Bill 1820
Illustration from Cassell's Century Edition History of England, pub circa 1901 by Henry Marriott Paget (1857-1936) Info from wiki: Caroline of Brunswick (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom by marriage to King George IV from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821. In 1820, George ascended the throne and Caroline travelled to London to assert her rights as queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. George despised her and was adamant that he wanted a divorce. Under English law, however, divorce was not then possible unless one of the parties was guilty of adultery. As neither he nor Caroline would admit to adultery, George had a bill introduced to Parliament, which if passed would declare Caroline to have committed adultery and grant the King a divorce. In essence, the reading of the bill was a public trial of the Queen, with the members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons acting as judge and jury. After a sensational debate in the Lords, which was heavily reported in the press in salacious detail, the bill was narrowly passed by the upper house. However, because the margin was so slim and public unrest over the bill was significant, the government withdrew the bill before it was debated by the House of Commons, as the likelihood of it ever passing there was remote.
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
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