I rather like this print, attributed to Henry Kingsbury and published by S W Fores in 1787, and which appears on the Yale University website:It is entitled A Milliner’s Shop and is a dig at the miserliness of the Royal family – suggesting that the King (George III) and his wife Queen Charlotte go shopping in Windsor with their entourage of Royal Princesses, and then haggle over the pennies charged by the local tradesmen. The verses underneath end with the lines
“And why in Gods name should not Queens and Kings
purchase a comb or corkscrew; Lace for cloaks,
Edging for Caps, or tape for apron-strings
Or pins or Bobbin, cheap as other folks?
Reader, to make thine Eyes with wonder stare,
Farthings are not beneath the Royal Care!”
In a way nothing has changed – look at the fuss made by the British Press if a member of the Royal family pops in to order a take-away pizza. We like to blame our royals for being extravagant (“Air Miles Andy”) but we also like to ridicule them if they appear less than ‘regal’ in their everyday actions. George III was often mocked for his miserliness because it was in such marked contrast to the wildly opulent lifestyle of his son, the future Prince Regent.
My understanding is that it was an Elizabethan custom to import straw hats from Milan, Italy. They would then be finished off in London by “Milan-ers” who would add ribbons and bows, so I suspect ‘milliners’ was a corruption of this and covered all sorts of embellishments and not just the making and selling of hats.Mind you, describing yourself as a milliner was the standard response of many a harlot dragged before the bench – it wasnt an especially reputable calling, any more than being ‘an actress’ !
King George III and his Queen were ridiculed for their frugal habits – but not as much as their playboy son (The Prince Regent) was lampooned for his excesses and extravagence ….seems like the Royal family couldnt do right for doing wrong (then, or now!)…
Can’t win either way.