Worst coronation in British History revealed: ‘Unseemly, Chaotic'

King Charles became the oldest monarch to be crowned on the British throne in 2023 at age 74 after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch, passed away in the previous year.

Hence, it became a significant event since it was the first coronation which was taking place nearly 70 years after the last one. And it also did not come without drama. The feud between the Sussexes and the royals had been fresh, and Prince Harry had been moved to the third row with no notable interaction with his immediate family.

There were some pleasant moments and some awkward moments, but none of the mishaps and drama compared to the one that happened two centuries ago for the coronation ceremony of King George IV.

Westminster Abbey has been the scene of all coronations of British monarchs since 1066 and the worst one to ever take place was in 1821, according to award-winning London Guide David Harry.

He narrated the historical events that occurred during the time, describing King George IV to be renowned for his “eating, drinking and womanising, so it was not surprise that his coronation was ostentatious, unseemly and chaotic”.

“It was the most outrageous Westminster Abbey service that there’s ever been,” he shared, noting that even at that time it cost £240,000, which is equivalent to the current day £21 million.

George had secretly married Catholic widow Mrs Fitzherbert (as well as having several mistresses), which was illegal, and had many children with her. However, he was forced to marry Caroline of Brunswick. He had a daughter with Caroline but she sadly passed away as a teen; and the two “loathed” each other.

Hence, when the coronation did happen, Caroline was banned from the service, king of like if Princess Diana was alive, Charles would’ve banned her, per the local guide.

While there had been some horrifying events that took place that day, the 27-foot red velvet used for the ceremony was first sold to Madame Tussauds. However, it has now been rediscovered and been used in all subsequent ceremonies since 1911.