Rich Lives, Poor Lives (2025- )

In this episode of the Rich Lives, Poor Lives strand, Rob and Ruth travel back to 1820, as Britain prepares for the coronation of King George IV. One of the most lavish and controversial royal events in British history is about to unfold, and people across the country are swept up in the excitement and the eyewatering expense. Litttle did they know the gossip and drama would also include tragedy.

Rob follows the fortunes of those at the heart of the royal court. New monarch George IV, is determined to stage a coronation unlike anything Britain has ever seen, sparing no expense in his pursuit of splendour. But as preparations gather pace, a major threat emerges. His estranged wife, Queen Caroline, returns to Britain determined to claim her place beside him. Rob also explores the world of London's wealthy through Lady Jersey, one of the capital's most influential society hostesses. At balls and elite salons all over the city, gossip, scandal and political intrigue swirl around the coming ceremony.

Meanwhile, Ruth uncovers the lives of ordinary people caught up in coronation fever. Like carpenter Richard Honey, a single father trying to make ends meet in the overcrowded streets of Soho. While in Staffordshire, eleven year old apprentice potter Samuel Bevington works long into the night helping to produce the luxury tableware the King requires for his magnificent banquet. For Richard and Samuel, the coronation brings opportunity, but also exposes the stark realities of life for Britain's working poor.

As the great day approaches, Rob and Ruth discover how rich and poor alike became part of a royal spectacle on an unprecedented scale. They reveal what happened when the nation gathered to witness the crowning of its new king, and how the drama did not end when the celebrations were over. And for those swept up in the turbulent events that followed, the consequences would prove devastating.