Identity, Imagination and George IV in Edinburgh, 1822

Robert Pirrie delivering his lecture

On 1 September 2022 the GPP joined the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet in the magnificent setting of the Signet Library in Edinburgh to present a lecture by Robert Pirrie discussing ‘Identity, Imagination and George IV in Edinburgh, 1822’. The lecturer combines his role as CEO of the Society with that of a PhD student at King’s College London’s History department, where he is currently completing his dissertation on Imagined Monarchy in Scotland during the Hanoverian era. Speaking to a full house, Robert explored the standard accounts of the famous royal visit in 1822, and challenged many of their underlying assumptions. Instead, he offered a convincing argument placing the visit within the context of a rich and complex relationship between Scotland and the British monarchy in the later eighteenth century.

Arthur Burns introducing the GPP

As a prelude to the talk, Professor Arthur Burns introduced the wider work of the Georgian Papers programme, highlighting the considerable body of work done under its auspices which had relevance to Scotland, and indicating that there were still important avenues to be explored in the future in this regard. He also noted the impending publication of Flora Fraser’s new biography of Flora Macdonald, drawing on research undertaken in part while the GPP Mount Vernon fellow in 2017. The evening ended with  thanks delivered by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, the former Lord Chancellor and current keeper of the Signet. We hope to post a link to a recording of the lecture in the near future.

Robert Pirrie delivering his lecture