George IV, pictured as a guard, stands before a door, holding a pole with an evidence bag which reads "BEWARE of the Report of a BAD HOUSE." From the house's open window, Queen Caroline holds a torch, labeled “DEFENCE,” to the bag. Two men, identified as Brougham and Denman, watch the scene from within the window (George 80). The accompanying text draws attention to the head of Queen Caroline: “They found that they couldn’t well cut off her head.” Queen Caroline’s head is indeed attached to her body within the image, though visually separated by means of her collar; of special importance here are the multiple disembodied heads within the illustration. The door itself holds a door knocker in the shape of Athena’s head. The evidence bag and Queen Caroline’s handbag both echo the shape of George IV’s head. Caroline’s hand bag is a pun on the word “reticule”—it is “her ridicule at his ‘Report’!” (George 80)

The image was originally published in William Hone's pamphlet, The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder. The pamphlet, which went through over 44 editions, was inspired by a children's toy (Hunt 714). Sold along with the pamphlet was a cardboard "ladder" which illustrated the poem's 14 stages with different allegorical engravings, also designed and engraved by Cruikshank. It was later collected in Geo. Cruikshanks Illustrations to W. Hone.

n 1820 King George IV introduced the Bill of Pains and Penalties in order to publicly accuse and convict his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, of adultery and deny her the title of Queen. The bill was passed in November of 1820, but was subsequently withdrawn. Queen Caroline’s trial held the public’s interest completely; more caricatures were created as commentary on the trial than for any other event of the 1800s or 1810s (Hunt 699).

The popular interest in Caroline’s trial resulted in large part from its tendency to bring together disparate political groups, uniting the middle classes and artisanal community with more radical reformers (Laqueur 12). One reason for this unification was a growing perception of the monarchy as accountable for its virtuous (or immoral) behavior. As Hunt explains, “this episode clearly reveals a new emphasis on morality and respectability indicating a strong desire on the part of the public that the monarch exercise moral leadership” (722). Critics of the Bill of Pains and Penalties perceived its “possibly illegal” attempts to dethrone Caroline as one of George IV’s many abuses of his imperial power; radicals pointed to the secrecy surrounding the trial and to the government’s responses to greater political unrest as indicative of tyrannical misuse of power (Hunt 702-703).

Accusation (1820) reveals Cruikshank’s early interest in “reading” heads, even before the growth of phrenology as a popular science. Visual echoes within this image allow several ways to read the head of George IV, here presented as a watchman. One such "echo" is seen in the resemblance of George IV's head to the shape of the evidence bag. The evidence bag was commonly shown in political caricatures concerning both the Queen Caroline affair and the 1817 treason trials as a symbol of the secrecy of the British government (Laqueur 436). The visual echo of the evidence bag in the shape of George IV’s head may suggest that George’s character can be “read” in the same way—that is, we can interpret this parallel imagery as indicative of the secrecy and underhandedness of George IV’s own moral state and political action.

George Cruikshank and William Hone's The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder is typical of their collaboration on political pamphlets. Along with the text and other illustrations of the pamphlet, Accusation reflects popular moral and political criticism of George IV's adulterous relationships. Caroline's neglected rights—as a wife, mother, and accused citizen—were equated with the rights of all citizens in radical political pamphlets. Hunt calls the Ladder“perhaps the most successful portrayal of the queen” as a mother figure (714). Ladder was part of the larger media frenzy portraying the Queen Caroline affair; the caricatures of the trial provide “testimony that suggests a changing cultural significance of the monarchy, which was evident in a growing demand for royal morality” (Hunt 721).

Political pamphlets were used by both supporters and critics of George IV to reflect and to influence public opinion. Because they could be made and sold cheaply, the pamphlets reached a huge audience and played a key role in both distributing news about George IV's affairs and entertaining their audience.

The image was originally published in William Hone's pamphlet, The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder. The pamphlet, which went through over 44 editions, was inspired by a children's toy (Hunt 714). Sold along with the pamphlet was a cardboard "ladder" which illustrated the poem's 14 stages with different allegorical engravings, also designed and engraved by Cruikshank. It was later collected in Geo. Cruikshanks Illustrations to W. Hone.