The World of Royalty
An introduction to British royals and politicians of the Georgian era through the eyes of caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson:
The exhibition "High Spirits: The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson" is at The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland until March 2, 2014.
A Kew Palace exhibition "reveals Georgian era satirists' cruel depiction of newlywed princes and princesses."
The book George III: A Life in Caricature by Kenneth Baker is a collection of caricatures of the highly unpopular King George III, many reproduced for the first time. (200 color illustrations.)
Below, an example of Georgian royal caricature. This 1787 cartoon (from the United States Library of Congress) depicts Britain's King George III (at right, dressed as a woman); his wife, Queen Charlotte; and their son the Prince of Wales feasting on food symbolizing gold coins. Source: Wikimedia Commons. According to Wikimedia, this image is in the public domain.
British caricaturist James Gillray's "scathing satires of royalty, leading politicians and the French elite terrified his targets… The Prince Regent, later George IV, tried to buy as many copies as possible to take them out of circulation."
Some of James Gillray's cartoons are available at Wikimedia Commons. That's where I found the famous illustration below, "The Plumb-Pudding in Danger," which depicts British Prime Minister William Pitt and French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte carving up the world. According to Wikimedia, this image is in the public domain.
