Cultural depictions of George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV of the United Kingdom has been depicted many times in popular culture.

Literature

George IV appears as a character in Rodney Stone by Arthur Conan Doyle (1896), where he is shown as an irresponsible spendthrift, wildly self-indulgent and given to self-delusion, but not without some kindly impulses.
In Bernard Cornwell's novel Sharpe's Regiment, which is set during the Regency period, he is portrayed as fat, extravagant and possibly suffering from the same insanity which had afflicted his father. He is an enthusiastic fan of Richard Sharpe's military exploits, and claims to have been present at the Battle of Talavera and to have helped Sharpe capture a French standard. In the novel's historical note, Cornwell said he based the remark on an historical incident when George, during a dinner party at which Wellington was present, claimed to have led a charge at Waterloo.^[1]
George IV appears as a character in The Regency, Volume 13 of The Morland Dynasty, a series of historical novels by author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. The fictional Lucy Morland, Countess of Aylesbury, is one of his 'set' and his reign and regency provide the backdrop to the novel.
Bernard Bastable's Dead, Mr. Mozart (1995) is a detective novel whose main character is an alternate version of Wolfgang Mozart who survives in the 1820s and has settled in England. The story's main crisis is that odd circumstances have drawn Mozart into damage control duty to prevent further eruption of the enmity between King George IV and Caroline of Brunswick immediately following the old king's death.

Film

On screen, George IV has been portrayed by:

Charles Chapman in the silent short Beau Brummel (1913), based on the novel by Booth Tarkington
Teddy Arundell in the silent film The Romance of Lady Hamilton (1919)
Alfred Paumier in the silent film The Amateur Gentleman (1920), based on the novel by Jeffery Farnol
Bellenden Powell in the silent film A Prince of Lovers (1921), based on the play by Alicia Ramsey
Holmes Herbert in the silent film A Stage Romance (1922), based on the play Kean by Alexandre Dumas, père
Willard Louis in the silent film Beau Brummel (1924), based on the play by Clyde Fitch
Otto Dethlefsen in the French silent film Kean, based on the Alexandre Dumas play
Gino Corrado in the silent film The Amateur Gentleman (1926), also based on the novel by Jeffery Farnol
Lumsden Hare in The House of Rothschild (1934), based on the play Rothschild by George Hembert Westley
Nigel Bruce in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), based on the plays by Baroness Orczy and Montagu Barstow
Olaf Hytten in Becky Sharp (1935), based on the play by Langdon Mitchell, itself based on the novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Gilbert Davis in The Amateur Gentleman (1936)
Hugh Huntley in Lloyd's of London (1936)
Evelyn Roberts in Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937)
Raymond Lovell in The Man in Grey (1943), based on the novel by Lady Eleanor Smith
Michael Dyne in Kitty (1945), based on the novel by Rosamond Marshall
Peter Graves in The Laughing Lady (1946), based on the play by Ingram D'Abbes, and Mrs. Fitzherbert (1947), based on the novel by Winifred Carter
Cecil Parker in The First Gentleman (1948), based on the play by Norman Ginsbury
Jack Hawkins in The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
Peter Ustinov in Beau Brummell (1954), based on a play by Clyde Fitch
Roy Kinnear in the musical comedy On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), based on the musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane
Ralph Richardson in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972)
John Sessions in Princess Caraboo (1994)
Rupert Everett in The Madness of King George (1994), based on the play The Madness of George III
James Saxon in Poldark(1996)
Richard McCabe, billed as "The King" in Vanity Fair (2004)
Hugh Bonneville in Beau Brummell, This Charming Man (2006)

Television

On television, George IV has been played by:

Robert Stephens in the BBC Play of the Month Kean (1978), based on the play by Jean-Paul Sartre about the actor Edmund Kean
Peter Egan in the BBC drama series Prince Regent (1979), covering his life until his ascent to the throne
Julian Fellowes in the British dramas The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) and Sharpe's Regiment (1996), the latter based on the novel by Bernard Cornwell
David King in the episode of the Yorkshire Television drama series Number 10 entitled "The Iron Duke" (1983)
Roy Dotrice in the miniseries Shaka Zulu (1986), based on the novel by Joshua Sinclair
Peter Schofield in the BBC series Vanity Fair (1987)
Hugh Laurie in the BBC TV comedy series Blackadder the Third (1987), in which his absurd lifestyle as Prince Regent is the focus of much malice by other characters, particular his butler Mr. Edmund Blackadder, who repeatedly makes sarcastic references to the Prince's stupidity and incompetence and takes advantage of it. The concluding episode of the series depicts the Prince being unwittingly gunned down by the Duke of Wellington (Stephen Fry), and Blackadder assuming his identity, eventually becoming George IV.
James Saxon in the Yorkshire Television sitcom Haggard (1990) and the British drama Poldark (1996), based on the novels by Winston Graham
Richard E. Grant in the 1996 BBC docudrama A Royal Scandal
Roger Ashton-Griffiths in the drama series Vanity Fair (1998)
Jonathan Coy in the British drama series The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999)
Hugh Bonneville in the British drama Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006), based on the biography by Ian Kelly
Jim Howick in the British TV comedy series Horrible Histories (2009–present)

Radio

Mark Perry in Bleak Expectations (2007)
Alex Jennings in The People’s Princess (2008)

Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs

Kingdom of the English 886–1066	Alfred the Great Edward the Elder Ælfweard Athelstan the Glorious¹ Edmund the Magnificent¹ Eadred¹ Eadwig the Fair¹ Edgar the Peaceable¹ Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Forkbeard Edmund Ironside Cnut¹ Harold Harefoot Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold Godwinson Edgar the Ætheling

Kingdom of England 1066–1649	William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II² Henry the Young King Richard I John² Henry III² Edward I² Edward II² Edward III² Richard II² Henry IV² Henry V² Henry VI² Edward IV² Edward V² Richard III² Henry VII² Henry VIII² Edward VI² Jane² Mary I² with Philip² Elizabeth I ² James I³ Charles I³

Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–59	Oliver Cromwell⁴ Richard Cromwell⁴

Kingdom of England 1660–1707	Charles II³ James II³ William III and Mary II³ Anne³

Kingdom of Scotland 843–1707 (traditional)	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret John Robert I David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI ⁵ Charles I⁵ Charles II⁵ James VII⁵ Mary II⁵ William II⁵ Anne⁵

British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707	Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II

¹Overlord of Britain. ²Also ruler of Ireland. ³Also ruler of Scotland. ⁴Lord Protector. ⁵Also ruler of England. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

Footnotes

↑ According to The private letters of Princess Lieven to Prince Metternich, 1820–1826 edited by Quennell (1937) the King merely pretended to have fought at Waterloo disguised as General Bock to annoy the Duke of Wellington.

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