 Prince
of Pleasure
The Prince of Wales & the Making of the Regency
Saul David
When the future British monarch George IV
(1762-1830) was a lad of 15, his head instructor predicted the Prince of
Wales "will either be the most polished gentleman or the most
accomplished blackguard in Europe, possibly an admixture of both." It
was, as historian Saul David notes, "a particularly prescient
remark." He is most popularly remembered for setting the pace for
drunkenness and lechery among England's upper crust, not to mention his
attempts to exploit the "madness" of his father, George
III, for political gain (which would incidentally help him raise the
money necessary to pay off his massive debts). But, David says, he was
also a generous patron of the arts--responsible for, among other things,
the establishment of the National Portrait Gallery--and played a critical
role in the multinational campaign against Napoleon, thereby securing
Britain's position of supremacy.
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