CAROLINE OF BRUNSWICK: THE INJURED QUEEN OF ENGLAND
George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV (1762-1830), Queen Caroline's husband, was an extravagant collector and builder who acquired many important works of art for the Royal Collection. He commissioned the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Carlton House and transformed both Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. To settle his debts, he married his cousin Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821) in 1795. They met for the first time on their wedding day, and instantly disliked each other. The marriage was a failure. George famously declared: "I would rather see vipers crawling over my victuals than sit at the same table as her." After the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte (1796-1817), they separated. Caroline lived mostly in Italy, whilst the Prince of Wales sought to erase her from his life.

On the death of King George III in 1820, Caroline became nominal Queen and returned to England to assert her rights. King George IV, determined to prevent her coronation, attempted to divorce and discredit her. He pushed for a Bill of Pains and Penalties, effectively putting her on trial for the alleged adultery with her Italian servant, Bartolomeo Pergami. Stephen Lushington (1782-1873) was one of the counsel retained by Queen Caroline, and spoke in her defense during her trial before the House of Lords. The public spectacle lasted months, but the bill failed, damaging King George IV’s reputation.
She subsequently attempted to enter King George’s coronation at Westminster Abbey but was turned away repeatedly, and left humiliated but still cheered by the crowds. Despite scandal and satirical attacks, Queen Caroline remained popular and a symbol of defiance beloved by the public for her strong stand against her husband.

Queen Caroline died three weeks after the coronation under mysterious circumstances, possibly from stomach cancer, or, as some suspected, from poisoning by King George IV’s allies. Knowing the end was near, she requested burial in Brunswick and wrote a codicil to her will stipulating that a coffin plate engraved with the epitaph: "Here lies Caroline, the Injured Queen of England." The coffin plate was commissioned from from the silversmith Paul Storr. As her coffin travelled from London to Harwich to be shipped to her final resting place in Brunswick, riots broke out in Hyde Park, leading to two deaths. This prevented the coffin plate being delivered to her Hammersmith residence in time for it to be affixed to the coffin. In Colchester, at St. Peter's Church, when the funeral cortege rested for the night, her executors were able to fix the plate on her coffin, however it was removed by the Royal order as being offensive and forbidden by the King. The plate was then stolen by a retainer of Dr. Lushington, who kept it until 1847, when on his death-bed he sent back to his master whose family have kept it until now.