The Court of George II: Lord Berkeley of Stratton’s Perspective

Abstract

The diaries of John, 5th and last Lord Berkeley of Stratton (1697–1773), throw a fresh, insider’s perspective on court life. in the last years of George II’s reign and are a significant addition to the existing sources. Both in a formal sense, as Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners from 1756 to 1762 and, in an informal one, as an intimate of Princess Amelia, little at court escaped Berkeley’s attention. Beneath the anti-Pelhamite invective contained in his writings, one finds a compelling mixture of humour, snobbery and piety as well as a shrewd judgment of men and measures. Berkeley was a loyal, though far from uncritical, servant of George II, a well-connected courtier who stood at the intersection of household and government and yet kept himself at a distance from both.