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...architecture, and a vibrant social life. Given his penchant for the finer things, it is perhaps unsurprising that George IV’s coronation cost 20 times that of his father’s. It remains, in 2023, the most expensive coronation in British history1. George IV’s coronation is also memorable for another reason, the unexpected arrival of his estranged and uninvited wife,...

...architecture alongside the athletic competitions. There was no torch relay in the 1896 Olympic opening ceremony. Instead, the occasion was marked with a few speeches, an Olympic Hymn performed by nine bands and 150 choir singers, and a variety of musical offerings (all very civil). The Olympic torch relay as we know it today has a much shadier and more recent origin. It...

...architecture in my mind: I foresee a new mechanic power;" no, but he finds himself in the river of the thoughts and events, forced onward by the ideas and necessities of his contemporaries. He stands where all the eyes of men look one way, and their hands all point in the direction in which he should go. The church has reared him amidst rites and pomps, and he carries out...