James Gillray - Fashionable Contrasts

Sometimes one finds surprising that the Monarchy in Britain still survives . Particularly, after all the public ridicule to which they have been subjected by the media (and which they undoubtedly provoke)*. But of course, a good explanation is that the British are pretty used to. The tradition of making (public) fun of the royal family is probably as old as the Monarchy itself. A good example are the satiric prints and drawings by the "golden age" British caricaturists, such as James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson, and George Cruikshank (XVII-XIX century).

Take A Voluptuary under the horrors of Digestion, for instance (I love the name of the print, btw). If you can't get the full meaning of the picture just by looking at it, read this description:

True, making fun of the monarchy is nothing new, and the questionable reputation of royals hasn't changed. Unfortunatelly, though, the images of the media nowadays are far less refined and subtle than these prints. It would have been good if we were also used to being exposed to good taste.

*This is specially puzzling if one comes from a country like Spain, where the press treatment of the royal family is tremendously controlled and paternalistic.