Lasting city legacy of the 'Injured Queen of England'

THOUSANDS crowded the streets of Liverpool in support of Queen Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821), the estranged wife of George IV, who had unsuccessfully tried to divorce her.

- Stephen Guy

Queen Caroline of Brunswick was the wife of George IV

Caroline was the German bride of the spendthrift monarch who acted as regent for his father George III, who suffered from periods of mental illness.

George and Caroline, who were cousins, married in 1795 it was a disaster almost from the start.

Soon after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte, in 1796, the couple were formally separated.

Caroline then spent 18 years travelling around Europe with a controversial retinue including her constant companion Baron Pergami, an Italian adventurer said to be her lover.

Her adopted son, William Austin, also came along - scandalous gossip insisted he was her illegitimate child.

When George IV succeeded to the throne in 1820, Caroline returned to England.