A view of the Grand Barge. Presented by the Dutch - S - to his Grace (caricature)

This print depicts the Duke and Duchess of St. Albans being rowed along the Thames. Under an awning, the Duke peeks out from behind the Duchess’ inflated posterior that hangs off the side of the boat, causing the river-life[KG2.1] below to gaze in shock. A yellow flag inscribed “Falcon” flies at the back of the boat, matching the clothes of the rowers struggling with the weight of the boat.

The inscription above the image reads, “Placed in the gilded barge / Proud with the burden of so [s]weet a charge – / with painted oars the youths begin to sweep / Neptunes smooth face – vid Waller / The barge she sat in like a burnished thron[e] – / Burnt on the Water | Shakespear[e]”. It combines a 17th century poem by Edward Waller (that celebrates the bravery of Prince Charles II aboard a boat in a storm) with a description of Cleopatra’s mesmerising boat in Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’.

In 1827, the duke, William Beauclerk married wealthy widow, Harriot Mellon. Mellon’s financial independence, and being 23 years the duke’s senior, was a source of scandal and ridicule, with a number of caricatures, like this, mocking the balance of influence in union.

The caricature is signed in the lower left with a small figure of a crouching man, leaning on a cane. This figure represents ‘Paul Pry’, a pen name frequently used by artist William Heath. Heath took the name from the title character in a farce written by playwright John Poole in 1825.

This impression is undated, but another in the British Museum (1868,0808.8879) is dated ‘16 June 1828’ in the bottom right corner. This impression has a stamp on the back from ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’.