GEORGE IV

Like the Coronation ticket this pass ticket was produced using a very early example of security printing.George had acceded to the throne on 29th January 1820, on the death of his father, King George III, at Windsor Castle. The late king had been debilitated by illness for most of the previous decade and George had been appointed Prince Regent in his father's place in 1811. From the start of the Regency, Prince George, already notorious for his numerous mistresses and being an extravagant follower of fashion, declared that he would quite eclipse Napoleon. Following Britain's victory in the Napoleonic Wars, George purported that he had played a leading role in the downfall of the French emperor. Therefore, the intention was that George would outshine the sumptuous coronation of Napoleon and a tailor was dispatched to Paris to study the emperor's coronation robe.The ceremony was originally planned for 1st August 1820; however, on 5th June, George's estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, unexpectedly returned to England from the continent to claim her right to be crowned as queen consort. This delayed the event until the 19th July 1821.