Regency

Regency in British history, the period of the last nine years (1811-20) of the reign of George III, when the king's insanity had rendered him unfit to rule and the government was vested in the prince of Wales (later George IV ) as regent. The period witnessed the end (1815) of the Napoleonic Wars and growing social unrest, which was met by the Tory government of the time with harsh repression. Socially, the period took a distinctive coloration from the gay and dissolute regent and his companions. It was the time of a notable flowering in arts, letters, and architecture. In literature, the period marks the height of the romantic movement in the work of such poets as Lord Byron, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley and in the novels of Sir Walter Scott. Regency architecture culminated in the elegant simplicity of the Regency style . Regency furniture shows a similar refinement of design and taste and a strong influence of the styles of the French Directoire.

Bibliography: See A. Bryant, The Age of Elegance (1950); J. B. Priestley, The Prince of Pleasure and His Regency (1969).

re·gen·cy / ˈrējənsē/ • n. (pl. -cies) the office or period of government by a regent. ∎  a commission acting as regent. ∎  (the Regency) the particular period of a regency, esp. (in Britain) from 1811 to 1820 and (in France) from 1715 to 1723. • adj. (Regency) relating to or denoting British architecture, clothing, and furniture of the Regency or, more widely, of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Regency style was contemporary with the Empire style and shares many of its features: elaborate and ornate, it is generally neoclassical, with a generous borrowing of Greek and Egyptian motifs.

Regency in the UK, the period from 1811–20 when, during the incapacity of George III, the country was ruled by his eldest son as Regent; in particular, relating to or denoting British architecture, clothing, and furniture of the period (1811–20) or, more widely, of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Regency style is generally neoclassical, with a generous borrowing of Greek and Egyptian motifs.