Existing comment:
The Peerage Then and Now
In this political satire, English writer William Hone ridiculed the public's interest in the failing marriage of King George IV (reigned 1820–1830) and Queen Caroline, whose unhappy union had the unexpected effect of polarizing Parliament. When allegations of impropriety led the House of Lords' to conduct an investigation into the Queen's private life, Hone contrasted the frivolity of the Queen's detractors with the heroic memory of the barons who confronted King John at Runnymede. |