[The following is in regards to Caroline of Brunswick, wife of English King George IV, who only marginally more popular than her hated husband.]
Caroline was savvy enough to realize that although she had political supporters, she had virtually no friends. She was shunned by most of society, and the king’s allies made sure that anyone who tried to befriend her saw their reputation shredded in the press. Moreover, the public was fickle and lacked patience for bad behavior. One bit of doggerel popular at the time went:
Most gracious Queen, we thee implore,
To go away and sin no more;
Or if that effort be too great,
Go away at any rate.
Source:
McRobbie, Linda Rodriguez. “Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, The Princess Who Didn’t Wash.” Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories From History-- Without the Fairy-Tale Endings. MJF Books, 2013. 219-20. Print.
Further Reading:
Thw Brits have always had an interesting relation to authority.