Edward Bell after T. Maynard.

John Charles Brooke Esq.r F.S.A. Somerset Herald.

8 x 11 inches

To what lengths would people go to catch a glimpse of their king? The life and, more poignantly, the death of John Brooke gives us an insight into this matter for it was on the night of the 3rd of February 1794 whilst attempting to get near to George III that he was crushed to death in a "Dreadful Accident" at The Haymarket Theatre in London. He and his fellow herald, Benjamin Pingo, were among 20 well-wishers who died trying to get into the pit and see the king. It was an ignoble end for a man who had given diligent and faithful service to his country as the Somerset Herald; a job at the behest of the monarch but recommended by none other than the Duke of Norfolk. This modest mezzotint acts as a reminder that by the end of the century, the times they were a changing and it was not just the great and the good who were recorded for posterity.