Beau Brummell And King George IV's Relationship Could Not Survive A Joke

George IV and Beau Brummell had a lengthy friendship dating back to their days in the same British military regiment. While Brummell's military career highlight was having his nose shattered by an irate horse (via The Life of George Brummell, esq., Commonly Called Beau Brummell"), he rose to captain merely because of the circles he

George IV and Beau Brummell had a lengthy friendship dating back to their days in the same British military regiment. While Brummell's military career highlight was having his nose shattered by an irate horse (via ”The Life of George Brummell, esq., Commonly Called Beau Brummell"), he rose to captain merely because of the circles he ran in, which included the soon-to-be monarch of England, George IV. George, too, had a penchant for pageantry and a fondness for the finer things in life. When he died in 1830, he was riddled with gout and morbidly obese (per Historic UK).

It seemed George IV's weight made him literally and figuratively the elephant in the room. Cartoons of the period would often depict George IV as a whale seated at the table. Another dandy running in the same circles, Thomas Raikes, would remark about George, "[no man] was more unwilling to hear from those around him any hint or suspicion of his seeming decay" (via Brighton Museum).

The schism between these two old friends can be traced back to July 1813, when Brummell, George, and a slew of other society dandies attended an exclusive masquerade ball. When the Prince Regent approached them, Beau was with three other socialites. George IV is said to have acknowledged two of the men before walking away, dismissing Brummell and another friend. Upon this perceived slight, Brummell famously turned to Lord Alvanley and quipped, ”Alvanley, who's your fat friend?” This off-the-cuff remark resulted in Brummell becoming effectively ”canceled,” as a rift sprung up between the two former friends that would never truly heal (via ”Beau Brummell").

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCFmGlwa2lfl7KiwYybqa6lnZq5rXnAp5tmo5mjtG6zxKipoJ1dnsO0edGeo5qsmaS7tLTIqWScp6WhsW66zq1krK2iq7a3sYyaZKOnm5p8

 Share!