The Prince Regent's moment of triumph turns sour

The Regency gets under way with a grotesque display of indulgence

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For months, royal power had hovered tantalisingly close, yet remained just beyond the e grasp of George, Prince of Wales. The repeated bouts of mental illness that had previously afflicted his father, George III, had always eased before a regency could be imposed. But in February 1811, the king was judged permanently incapacitated, and the prince was awarded the authority he had coveted for years. That June, Carlton House was the stage upon which that triumph was trumpeted.