Royal Welcomes in Edinburgh New Town: portraying civic identity in 1822 and 1842

This paper explores the role of Edinburgh New Town as the chosen setting of the welcoming ceremonies organised for King George IV and Queen Victoria in 1822 and 1842, during their visits north of the border. A textual and visual analysis of relevant evidence such as written documents, printed illustrations, paintings, and celebrative material will be the basis for a spatial reconstruction of the two routes. The 1822 and 1842 routes through the New Town will also be discussed in comparison with their Early Modern counterparts, which developed along the High Street in the Old Town instead. My paper argues that the choice in the XIX century of the newly-built New Town as preferred location to stage the civic welcome, intentionally acknowledged a changed perception of Edinburgh’s civic identity, and of the Scottish capital’s expected role in a post-Enlightenment, pan-British context. In this context, this paper will discuss in which ways and with what success the New Town celebrations in 1822 and 1842 addressed Edinburgh’s social, economic, and technological modernity –particularly in relation to the management of civic participation, and the involvement of business and corporations. However, I also argue that the persistence of some elements of traditional Early Modern entries, albeit at times heavily altered or anachronistically inserted in a different urban context, pointed at a sense of local pride and continuity with the past. The looming presence of the Old Town, romantically framed by the straight lines and the well-ordered facades of the New Town, was noted and appreciated by both rulers, and I argue that during XIX century entries the identity of modern Edinburgh was constructed in the Now Town in relation, rather than in opposition, to its Old Town self