Royal residences of the Georgian kings

12 royal residences (details of each picture below)

Brighton Pavilion

George IV made the Royal Pavilion at Brighton his summer residence from 1786 until 1827, when he abandoned it as lacking in privacy. It started life as a modest farmhouse and was redeveloped into the magnificent, if somewhat eccentric, palace that exists today.

Top: Brighton Pavilion from  
History of Brighton and its environs by R Sickelmore (1827)
Bottom: Brighton Pavilion (2004) © Andrew Knowles

Read more about:
George IV’s Brighton
George IV and the Marine Pavilion, Brighton
George IV and the Brighton Pavilion
What did Regency visitors think of the Brighton Pavilion?
Watch my video: A litter of cupolas – Brighton Pavilion in 1823

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace was acquired by George III as a private residence for the royal family in 1761 and was originally known as Buckingham House or the Queen’s House. George IV transformed it into a palace fit for a king, but did not live to see it completed. William IV disliked it and would not live there, but it became the official London residence of Queen Victoria and British monarchs ever since.

Top: Buckingham House from  
The History of the Royal Residences by WH Pyne (1819)
Bottom: Buckingham Palace (2015) © Andrew Knowles

Bushy House

William IV resided at Bushy House from 1797 when, as Duke of Clarence, he was appointed Ranger of Bushy Park. He lived there with his mistress, Dorothea Jordan, until their relationship ended in 1811, and then later with his wife Princess Adelaide. He continued to live at Bushy House even after he became king and following his death, it became the official residence of Queen Adelaide until her death in 1849. In 1900, the site was offered to the Royal Society to house the National Physical Laboratory and ceased to be a royal residence.

Top: Bushy House from History of the life and reign
 of William the Fourth (1837) by R Huish
Bottom: The house in Bushy Park (2014) © Andrew Knowles

Carlton House

Carlton House was purchased as the official residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales, George III’s father, in 1732. In 1783, it became the residence of the future George IV when he came of age. George IV continually remodelled it until he became king, at which point he transferred his interest to the other royal residences. It was demolished in 1825 and replaced by a number of prestigious houses - Carlton House Terrace.

Left: Carlton House, south front,  from  
The History of the Royal Residences by WH Pyne (1819)
Right: Carlton House Terrace (2015) © Andrew Knowles

Clarence House

Clarence House was built in 1825-7 as the London residence of William IV when he was Duke of Clarence. He continued to live there after he became king in 1830. Following his death, it became the residence of Princess Augusta and the Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent, Queen Victoria’s mother. It is now the official residence of the Prince of Wales.

Top: Clarence House from The Graphic (Nov 1874)
Bottom: Clarence House (2015) © Andrew Knowles

Gloucester Lodge

George III visited Weymouth nearly every year from 1789 to 1805 and stayed at Gloucester Lodge, the house built for his brother William, Duke of Gloucester, on the seafront. It was sold by George IV when he became king and is now a hotel.

Top: Weymouth seafront from The Lady's Magazine (1789)
Bottom: Gloucester Lodge (2012) © Andrew Knowles

Read more about:
George III in Weymouth
Sea bathing in Regency Weymouth
Fashionable entertainment in Regency Weymouth
Watch my video: George’s seaside adventure - George III in Weymouth

Hampton Court

Hampton Court first became a royal residence after it was acquired by Henry VIII in 1528 and rebuilt to his design. It was used by the early Georgian monarchs, but under George III, the palace was divided up into grace-and-favour apartments – rent-free accommodation for those favoured by the King. It is now in the care of Historic Royal Palaces and is open to the public.

Top: Quadrangle, Hampton Court, from  
The History of the Royal Residences by WH Pyne (1819)
Bottom: Hampton Court (2014) © Andrew Knowles

Kensington Palace

William III and Mary bought Nottingham House in 1689 and transformed it into Kensington Palace, an out-of-town royal residence in which to live in preference to St James’s Palace. It was renovated under George I and used extensively by George II. Members of the royal family continued to live there, but it was never used as the residence of the sovereign again. Kensington Palace is in the care of Historic Royal Palaces and is open to the public.

Top: Kensington Palace from  
The History of the Royal Residences by WH Pyne (1819)
Bottom: Kensington Palace (2012) © Andrew Knowles

Read more about Kensington Palace

Kew Palace

George II first used Kew Palace as a royal residence for part of his family from 1729. George III housed his two eldest sons here whilst using the White House, Kew, as a country retreat. Kew Palace was used during George III’s mentally incapacitating illness and Queen Charlotte died there in 1818. Queen Victoria gave the palace to the public and it is now managed by Historic Royal Palaces.

Left: The old palace at Kew from Memoirs of HM Sophia Charlotte
 of Mecklenburg Strelitz, Queen of Great Britain by WM Craig (1818)
Right: Kew Palace (2014) © Andrew Knowles

Read more about:
Kew Palace
Kew Gardens
Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, within Kew Gardens

St James’s Palace

Built for Henry VIII in the 1530s, St James’s Palace became the principal London palace of the British sovereign after the Palace of Whitehall was destroyed by fire in 1698. Part of the St James’s Palace was destroyed by fire in 1809, but court levées were still held here until 1939. It remains an official residence although no sovereign has resided here since the time of William IV.

Read more about St James's Palace here.

Read about drawing room presentations here.

Top: St James's Palace from  
The History of the Royal Residences by WH Pyne (1819)
Bottom: St James's Palace (2014) © Andrew Knowles

White House, Kew

Frederick, Prince of Wales, George III’s father, lived in the White House at Kew from 1730. George III inherited the White House from his mother and used it as a country retreat. George III was incarcerated here during several bouts of mental illness and he ordered its demolition in 1802. All that remains to mark the site is a sundial opposite to Kew Palace.

Left: The north prospect of HRH The Prince of Wales' House at Kew
- detail from John Rocque's map A New Plan of Richmond Garden (1748)
Right: The sundial opposite Kew Palace that marks the site
of the White House (2014) © Andrew Knowles

Read more about the White House at Kew

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle has been a royal residence since about 1100. It was a favoured out-of-town residence of both George III and George IV who carried out extensive building works at the castle. It remains an official residence of the King today.

Top: The Upper Ward, Windsor Castle from 
The History of the Royal Residences by WH Pyne (1819)
Bottom: The Lower Ward, Windsor Castle (2015) © Andrew Knowles

Read more about:
Windsor Castle
St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
1815 exhibition: Waterloo at Windsor 1815-2015

Updated 30/9/22

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

 

Sources used include:
Craig, William Marshall, Memoirs of HM Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, Queen of Great Britain (1818)
Huish, Robert, History of the life and reign of William the Fourth (1837)
Pyne, WH, The history of the Royal Residences of Windsor Castle, St James's Palace, Carlton House, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, Buckingham House and Frogmore (1819)
Rocque, John, A New Plan of Richmond Garden (1748)
Sickelmore, Richard, History of Brighton and its environs (1827)
The Graphic (1874)
The Lady's Magazine (1789)

Historic Royal Palaces website
Royal Collection Trust website
The official website of The British Monarchy 

 

© RegencyHistory

The First Georgians exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery

The First Georgians – Art & Monarchy 1714-1760 was an exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, which ran from Friday 11 April to Sunday 12 October 2014.

Why I am blogging about The First Georgians

I was privileged to attend the exhibition preview. But I claim to blog about late Georgian and Regency history, so why am I writing about the First Georgians exhibition which stops in the year that George III became King?

There are two reasons why this exhibition is still relevant. Firstly, the reigns of George I and George II were immediately before that of George III and so set the scene for the late Georgians. What took place in those years shaped the nation that George III became ruler of.

 

Secondly, George III was born in 1738, and so his formative years took place during the last 22 years of his grandfather George II’s reign.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the early Georges, here is a very brief introduction:

George I (1714-1727)

George I by Sir Godfrey Kneller (c1715)
(On display in the portrait room)

The Act of Settlement of 1701 decreed that Great Britain had to be ruled by a Protestant monarch. Accordingly, George I, Elector of Hanover, was proclaimed King on the death of Queen Anne who had no surviving offspring.

George I had two children, George and Sophia, but was no longer married to their mother, Sophia Dorothea. George had divorced and incarcerated his wife for abandoning him when she had eloped with her lover, whose death it was generally believed that he had arranged.

He did not marry again, but had two main mistresses, Ehrengard Melusina von Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal, and Charlotte Sophia Kielmannsegge, Countess of Darlington.

In 1717, he fell out with his son George so badly that he banished him from the Court. He often visited Hanover and died there unexpectedly in 1727.

George II (1727-1760)

George II by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1716) - note his wonderful red heels!
(On display in Georgian royals, giltware and the Garricks)

George II was the last British monarch not to be born on British soil. His wife was Caroline of Ansbach, a beautiful and intelligent woman, who was very popular at Court. She embraced the philosophy of the enlightenment, respecting reason above tradition, and was a keen collector of art.

Queen Caroline by J Highmore (c1735)
(On display in the Portraits room)

They had four children in Hanover: Frederick, Anne, Amelia and Caroline, and another four in England: George who died in infancy, William, Mary and Louisa.

George II was the last British monarch to lead his troops into battle, which he did at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743.

Like his father, George II quarrelled with his eldest son. He banished Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his wife Augusta from Court in 1737 after a row over the birth of their first child. Frederick had whisked Augusta away from Hampton Court whilst she was in labour to make sure his parents would not be there at the birth. The breach between Frederick and his mother was never healed.

Frederick died in 1751 leaving his eldest son, George, to become King George III in 1760.

The exhibition

The exhibition composes entirely of items from the Royal Collection. It presents us with a snapshot into the lives of the first Georgian Kings: their families and where they lived; the battles they fought and the works of art with which they surrounded themselves.

Portraits

The first room introduces us to the early Georgians with some lovely portraits, including that of Caroline of Ansbach (above) and a pastel of George III by Jean-Étienne Liotard.

George III by Jean-Étienne Liotard (1754)

The next three rooms are themed: royal residences, maps and the prints of Hogarth:

Royal residences

This display includes prints of some of the internal rooms of the royal residences, such as the King’s Gallery at Kensington and the Queen’s State Bedchamber at Hampton Court.

The King's Gallery, Kensington Palace by Charles Wild (c1816)

Maps 

The maps were largely collected by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, a younger son of George II. He was nicknamed ‘Butcher Cumberland’ because of his ruthless policy against the Jacobite rebels after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

Medley drawing by JFC Schilling (1767)
It may have been a gift to George III.

The Hogarth room

This room includes a selection of prints by Hogarth including The Harlot’s Progress which acted as a comment on the society of the time. This series of prints tells the story of the fall of the harlot, Moll Hackabout, and they were hugely popular in the 1730s.

The South Sea Scheme by William Hogarth (c1721)

Old Masters

From the monochrome prints of Hogarth, you pass into the first of the large display rooms, where you are dazzled by colour. The walls are covered with paintings, including several huge pieces by Rubens, collected by the early Georgians and exhibited symmetrically as they would have displayed them.

Room displaying Old Masters

There are two tables, beautifully gilded and supported on either side by gilt pedestals which would have held candelabra. The candlelight would have been reflected in the mirrors which would originally have been behind each table to dazzling effect.

One item that particularly caught my interest is a clock. It was bought by Frederick, Prince of Wales, but you have to search to find the clock which is very small compared to the overall size of the piece. In the bottom, there is an organ which plays tunes by Handel.

Miniatures and botanical drawings

Two small chambers off the Old Masters room show displays of royal miniatures and beautifully illustrated books of botany. A further anteroom has a collection of pistols, snuff boxes and other decorative items.

Botanical drawings by GD Ehret described by CJ Trew (1750-73)

Georgian royals, giltware and the Garricks

The second of the two large display rooms is my favourite and contains portraits of all the early Georgians. There is an enormous painting of six of Frederick Prince of Wales’ children, including the eight year old, George III, wielding a bow.

Detail from painting of Prince Frederick of Wales' children
 showing the future George III and his brother Edward
 by Barthélemy du Pan (1746)

This room also boasts two paintings by Canaletto depicting the River Thames and a table laden with gilt tableware.

Detail from London: The Thames from Somerset House terrace
by Canaletto (c1750)

One of my favourite works of art on display is the picture of David and Eva Garrick which has been used as the definitive image of the exhibition. I was surprised to discover that this very colourful and cheerful picture was in fact painted by William Hogarth, whom I have always associated with the rather sobering black and white prints displayed in the earlier room.

David Garrick and his wife, Eva-Maria Veigel
by William Hogarth (1757-64)

The Georgian coffee shop

The Millar Learning Room set up as a Georgian coffee shop

The final room to explore is to the left of the portrait room at the start of the exhibition. This is the Millar Learning Room which has been set up as a Georgian coffee shop. This is an interactive space, particularly good for those with children. There are background noises and ‘windows’ displaying Georgian street scenes. There are bags full of family activities available, short videos playing on a screen set within a picture frame and period hats with headphones, so that you can take in the atmosphere. I really enjoyed visiting the exhibition.

Me in the Georgian coffee shop

There are three videos which you can watch online:
Warrior Kings
A King’s Ransom
The Enlightened Queen
and lots more information about the different items on display on the Royal Collection website.

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

 

Sources used include:
Plumb, JH, The First Four Georges (1956)
Royal Collection website

All photographs © Andrew Knowles Regencyhistory.net

Kew Gardens - a Regency History guide to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

A view of the Pagoda, Kew Gardens (2009)

Where are they?

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, often referred to as Kew Gardens, are in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Kew Palace is situated within the gardens.

History

Amongst the Georgian royals there were a number of keen gardeners: Queen Caroline; her son Prince Frederick and his wife Princess Augusta; and their son George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte.

Queen Caroline developed the gardens around Richmond Lodge whilst Prince Frederick developed the gardens at Kew. After Prince Frederick’s death, Princess Augusta continued to follow her husband’s plans for the gardens. In 1759, she employed William Aiton to develop her botanical garden and this is considered to be the foundation of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Bluebells in front of Kew Palace (2013)

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew now include both of these royal estates – Richmond GardensGeorge III and Kew Gardens, separated by Love Lane. They were combined into one estate by George III who inherited Richmond from his grandfather in 1760 and Kew Gardens from his mother in 1772.

The botanic gardens were given to the state in 1841 and further land was donated in subsequent years. The gardens now cover over 300 acres of land and serve as both a scientific institution and a public park.

Georgian connection

Princess Caroline

The future George II and Queen Caroline started using Richmond Lodge as their summer residence in 1719. The gardens included a number of exotic plants and trees including orange trees, pomegranates, nut trees, myrtles and bay trees.

Caroline consulted Alexander Pope and commissioned William Kent to build various buildings in the grounds including a new pavilion at Richmond, a Gothic Hermitage and Merlin’s Cave.

Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta

George II’s son Frederick and his wife Augusta lived a short distance away at Kew. Frederick had a passion for botany and with the help of Lord Bute, he started to collect exotic plants and trees.

After Frederick’s death in 1751, Augusta continued to develop her husband’s plant collection, using about 9 acres of the Kew estate as a botanical garden.

Augusta continued to accept Lord Bute’s support and appointed William Aiton as her head gardener. She commissioned Sir William Chambers to design various buildings around the estate including the Pagoda, the Ruined Arch and the Orangery.

The Pagoda, Kew Gardens (2014)

Queen Charlotte

George III and Queen Charlotte used Richmond Lodge and then the White House at Kew as their country retreat. Queen Charlotte shared her mother-in-law’s love of botany and continued to develop the gardens. Sir Joseph Banks often visited and brought a collection of over 1000 new seeds and plants from the South Seas.

Sir Joseph was the unofficial director of Kew and ensured that the study of plants at Kew was done scientifically. Aiton started to create a catalogue of all the plants being introduced, the Hortus Kewensis (1789).

Franz Bauer became the resident artist at Kew and taught botanical drawing to the princesses.

Part of the ceiling detail from the tea room
in Queen Charlotte's cottage painted by Princess Elizabeth (2014)

What can you see today?

Highlights to look out for in the gardens include:

• Queen Charlotte’s Cottage

Queen Charlotte's Cottage, Kew (2014)

 • The Pagoda

The Pagoda, Kew Gardens (2014)

• The Ruined Arch

The Ruined Arch, Kew Gardens (2014)

• The Orangery

The Orangery, Kew Gardens (2014)

Rachel Knowles writes clean/Christian Regency era romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have enjoyed this blog and want to encourage me and help me to keep making my research freely available, please buy me a virtual cup of coffee by clicking the button below.

Last visited: June 2013.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like my guides to Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace.

Sources used include:
Groom, Susanne and Prosser, Lee, Kew Palace, the official illustrated history (2006)
Kew Gardens website

Photographs © RegencyHistory.net

The White House, Kew - a Regency History guide

Sundial marking the site of the White House,
opposite to Kew Palace, Kew

Where was it?

The White House was a royal residence which used to stand opposite to Kew Palace in what is now the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London.

History

The origins of the White House are not known, but it is thought to have been built in Tudor times. Before becoming a royal residence, Kew House, as it was then known, belonged to Lady Elizabeth Capel. Lady Elizabeth’s husband, Samuel Molyneux, was George II’s secretary and a keen astronomer. He built an observatory in the attic of Kew House.

Prince Frederick of Wales, George III’s father, started renting the house in 1730 and it became known as His Royal Highness’ House at Kew and later, the White House.

The south prospect of HRH The Prince of Wales' House at Kew
- detail from John Rocque's map A New Plan of Richmond Garden (1748)

It was not until 1799, that George III acquired the freehold, but by this time the house was in a poor state of repair and in 1802, the process of demolition began.

The only evidence of the White House now is a sundial in the ground opposite Kew Palace that marks the site.

Georgian connections

Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta

Princess Augusta and Prince Frederick of Wales
from The Georgian Era (1832)

Frederick, Prince of Wales, arrived in England in December 1728 having spent his childhood in Hanover. Initially he got on well with his family and spent time at Richmond and Kew. He took a lease on Kew House, which stood opposite to Kew Palace where his sisters Anne, Caroline and Amelia were living. In 1730, he commissioned the architect William Kent to extend and remodel Kew House. The finished building was rendered and whitewashed and became known as the White House.

The north prospect of HRH The Prince of Wales' House at Kew
- detail from John Rocque's map A New Plan of Richmond Garden (1748)

After his estrangement from his father, Frederick lived the life of a country gentleman at Kew with his wife, Augusta, and a growing number of children: Augusta, George, Edward, Elizabeth, William, Henry, Louisa, Frederick and Caroline Matilda, who was born posthumously. They played cricket, rowed on the river, performed plays and celebrated birthdays with fun and fireworks. Frederick gave his family astronomy lessons in the attic observatory and promoted the development of the gardens aided by Lord Bute.

After Frederick’s sudden death from pneumonia in 1751, Augusta continued to live at Kew and under her auspices, the Royal Botanic Gardens were founded in 1759.

George III and Queen Charlotte

George III inherited the White House from his mother, Augusta, on her death in 1772. George III and Queen Charlotte used the White House as their country retreat, whilst their eldest sons, George and Frederick, moved into Kew Palace opposite.

At Kew, the King and Queen were able to live a much more informal life than in London. The princes learned about farming and played games of cricket and football, occasionally joined by their sisters, especially Princess Augusta. They visited the royal menagerie of exotic animals and took picnics in the gardens at Queen Charlotte’s Cottage. The King was frequently visited by the botanist Joseph Banks who fascinated him with tales of his travels, brought new seeds and plants for the gardens and in 1774, introduced him to the Tahitian warrior Omai.

Omai - mezzotint by J Jacobé after J Reynolds (1777)
published by J Boydell (1780) © British Museum

After 1776, George III developed a preference for Windsor and spent less time at Kew, until 1788, when a long visit was forced upon him.

George III’s illness

In 1788, George III became mentally incapacitated and it was necessary to move him to a quieter location than Windsor. Kew was the obvious answer. The King was restricted to apartments in the White House from November 1788 to March 1789 whilst he underwent treatment for his condition by Dr Willis.

When his illness returned in 1801, George III once again found himself a prisoner in the White House. Although it had largely fallen into disrepair and most of its furniture moved to Kew Palace, apartments had been prepared there for Prince Adolphus, and it was decided to use these to house the King.

Once more, the King recovered, and, perhaps anxious to ensure that he was never incarcerated there again, the following year, George III ordered the demolition of the White House.

What can you see today?

Not much!

• A sundial marking the site of the White House.

The sundial marking the site of the White House (indicated by the arrow)
from the first floor of Kew Palace

Last visited Kew Palace: June 2013.

To discover more about Kew, read my guides to Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte's Cottage.

Sources used include:
Groom, Susanne and Prosser, Lee, Kew Palace, the official illustrated history (2006)

Photographs © RegencyHistory.net