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Lot Essay
Designed by Sir Henry Peake and built in Deptford, H.M.Y. Royal George was launched on 17t<\sup>h<\sup> August 1817 and was initially classed as a Second Rate. Named after the Prince Regent, rather than King George III, she bore all the hallmarks of the Regent's flamboyant taste. The Royal George became a firm favourite with the Prince Regent, who enjoyed many cruises in her off Brighton, and also off Cowes after the Prince Regent joined the 'Yacht Club', as the Royal Yacht Squadron was then known, in 1817. He took a 'cottage' on the sea-front at Cowes, and returned to the town in 1821 after he had acceded to the throne.
In July 1822, George IV determined to visit Scotland, after having spent time in his other domains of Ireland and Hanover the previous year, and so became the first English monarch to visit the country since Charles II in 1650. The forthcoming trip was treated with typical exuberance and extravagance, with the King ordering several Highland outfits expressly for the visit. The total cost was an astonishing £1,354 18s, twice the annual pay of the Royal George's captain.
Leaving Greenwich on the Royal George on 10t<\sup>h<\sup> August, the King arrived in the Firth of Forth on the 14t<\sup>h<\sup> in the pouring rain, and the decision was taken to delay going ashore at Leith until the following day. Despite the inclement weather, numerous boats sailed around the Royal George, their passengers ignoring the rain and waving at the King in their excitement, who satisfied them by occasionally appearing under the dripping quarter-deck awning, bowing and smiling. Fortunately the next day dawned with a clear blue sky, and shortly before noon King George IV descended into his barge, which was manned by 16 seamen in blue frock coats and black velvet hats, with Commodore Sir Charles Paget himself at the helm. Entering Leith inner harbour, the King stepped ashore to a tumultous reception on a crimson carpet strewn with summer flowers. After a farewell visit to Hopetoun House on 29t<\sup>h<\sup> August, the King, despite his exhaustion, remaining as affable as ever, boarded the Royal George at South Queensferry and set sail for London, arriving in Greenwich three days later, twenty-two days after she had left her moorings.
The visit, masterminded by Sir Walter Scott, was a triumph, with crowds flocking into Edinburgh from the neighbouring countryside, and helped increase the King's popularity in Scotland, turning his subjects away from the rebellious radicalism of the time. However, it was the plaided pageantry used in the ceremonies that was to have perhaps the most lasting influence by elevating the kilt to become part of Scotland's national identity.
In July 1822, George IV determined to visit Scotland, after having spent time in his other domains of Ireland and Hanover the previous year, and so became the first English monarch to visit the country since Charles II in 1650. The forthcoming trip was treated with typical exuberance and extravagance, with the King ordering several Highland outfits expressly for the visit. The total cost was an astonishing £1,354 18s, twice the annual pay of the Royal George's captain.
Leaving Greenwich on the Royal George on 10t<\sup>h<\sup> August, the King arrived in the Firth of Forth on the 14t<\sup>h<\sup> in the pouring rain, and the decision was taken to delay going ashore at Leith until the following day. Despite the inclement weather, numerous boats sailed around the Royal George, their passengers ignoring the rain and waving at the King in their excitement, who satisfied them by occasionally appearing under the dripping quarter-deck awning, bowing and smiling. Fortunately the next day dawned with a clear blue sky, and shortly before noon King George IV descended into his barge, which was manned by 16 seamen in blue frock coats and black velvet hats, with Commodore Sir Charles Paget himself at the helm. Entering Leith inner harbour, the King stepped ashore to a tumultous reception on a crimson carpet strewn with summer flowers. After a farewell visit to Hopetoun House on 29t<\sup>h<\sup> August, the King, despite his exhaustion, remaining as affable as ever, boarded the Royal George at South Queensferry and set sail for London, arriving in Greenwich three days later, twenty-two days after she had left her moorings.
The visit, masterminded by Sir Walter Scott, was a triumph, with crowds flocking into Edinburgh from the neighbouring countryside, and helped increase the King's popularity in Scotland, turning his subjects away from the rebellious radicalism of the time. However, it was the plaided pageantry used in the ceremonies that was to have perhaps the most lasting influence by elevating the kilt to become part of Scotland's national identity.