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Description: | The three figures shown are the Duke of Wellington (then Prime Minister) presenting a huge list of expenses, King George IV (seated) and Prince William, Duke of Clarence, on the right, dressed in the traditional garb of a Thames waterman and carrying a cermonial silver oar intended as the oar-mace of Admiralty. The subject is the dismissal of the Prince as Lord High Admiral, a post to which his elder brother the king had appointed him for entirely honorific purposes. The prince, however, who had been a professional naval officer in earlier life up the the substantive rank and working experience of captain, took it on himself to show a close practical interest in the Navy and not only went off in 1828 on a tour of inspection of the dockyards at Portsmouth and Plymouth, but on his own authority went to sea on manoeuvres with a squadron from Plymouth for about a week. On his return -and as shown here partly owing to the expense of such unauthorized activity - the Duke of Wellington was obliged to have the king call him to account and dismiss him. Albeit in a simple populist way, the arguments are represented here in the speech 'bubbles'. Two years later the prince again became ex-officio Lord High Admiral by succeeding his brother on the throne as the 'sailor king', William IV. [PvdM 8/13]
Box Title: Caricatures 3. Jack Afloat TW-R. | Publisher: | "http://collections.rmg.co.uk/" | Rights holder: | "Royal Museums Greenwich" | Subjects: | prints | Source: | Royal Museums Greenwich | Identifier: | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections... | Go to resource |
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