Margaret Swanson

George & Caroline: the Gendered Discourse of a Royal Scandal Margaret Swanson

1n 1820, George IV accused his wife, Caroline, of adultery with a lowborn foreigner, instigating a Bill of Pains and Penalties to divorce and degrade her. The proceeding generated intense public debate, mobilizing people along class lines. The middle class defended Caroline while the aristocracy backed George. Both sides used print media to argue for their chosen royal. This book examines pamphlets, caricatures, and newspapers to highlight the gendered discourse prevalent in such media. Kingites and Queenites alike used the scandal to express their views on gender relations. Carolinites used bourgeois gender ideals to defend the Queen while spreading their beliefs nationally. Strikingly, loyalists used the same middle-class language to neutralize Caroline's threat to the political and social orders. Despite trying to defend patriarchy, Kingites ended up advocating bourgeois gender ideas. Ultimately, the gendered debate revealed the changing social context of the period, witnessing the emergence of Victorian ideologies.