Although the Regency era is remembered as a time of refinement and culture, that was the preserve of the wealthy few, especially those in the Prince Regent's own social circle.

For the masses, poverty was rampant as urban population density rose due to industrial labour migration.

City dwellers lived in increasingly larger slums, a state of affairs severely aggravated by the combined impact of war, economic collapse, mass unemployment, a bad harvest in 1816 (the "Year Without a Summer"), and an ongoing population boom.

The longer timespan recognises the wider social and cultural aspects of the Regency era, characterised by the distinctive fashions, architecture and style of the period.

Throughout the whole period, the Industrial Revolution gathered pace and achieved significant progress by the coming of the railways and the growth of the factory system.

George III had himself been the subject of legislation to provide for a regency when Parliament passed the Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1751 following the death of his father Frederick, Prince of Wales, on 31 March 1751.

As a contingency, the Act provided for his mother, Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, to be appointed regent and discharge most but not all royal functions.

[citation needed] In 1761, George III married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and over the following years they had 15 children (nine sons and six daughters).

[3] The King's mental health continued to be a matter of concern but, whenever he was of sound mind, he opposed any further moves to implement a Regency Act.

The latter term had contemporaneous usage although some historians give it an earlier startpoint, typically the enactment of the Great Reform Act on 7 June 1832.

He ordered the costly building and refurbishing of the exotic Brighton Pavilion, the ornate Carlton House, and many other public works and architecture.

[12] While the Regency is noted for its elegance and achievements in the fine arts and architecture, there was a concurrent need for social, political and economic change.

The country was enveloped in the Napoleonic Wars until June 1815 and the conflict heavily impacted commerce at home and internationally.

[11][13] Essentially, England during the Regency era was a stratified society in which political power and influence lay in the hands of the landed class.

The formation of the Regency after the retirement of George III saw the end of a more pious and reserved society, and gave birth of a more frivolous, ostentatious one.

The design work was initially assigned to the architect John Nash but it was the father and son partnership of James and Decimus Burton who had the majority of input to the project.

[18] At first, the zoo was used for scientific purposes only with admittance restricted to Fellows of the ZSL which, in 1829, was granted a Royal charter by George IV.

However, the time period also produced some of the 19th century's most prolific writers such as Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, and Benjamin Disraeli.

Notable portrait painters include Thomas Lawrence and Martin Archer Shee, both Presidents of the Royal Academy.

Among the popular newspapers, pamphlets and other publications of the era were:[citation needed] In 1814, The Times adopted steam printing.

[25] The faster speed of printing enabled the rise of the "silver fork novels" which depicted the lives of the rich and aristocratic.

Depending on a lady's rank, she may be expected to be proficient in reading and writing, mathematics, dancing, music, sewing, and embroidery.

The food generally served included items such as white soup made with veal stock, almonds and cream, cold meats, salads, etc.

[29] Boxing was in fact illegal but local authorities, who were often involved on the gambling side of the sport, would turn a blind eye.

He was helped to his corner and then had thirty seconds in which to "step up to the mark", which was a line drawn for that purpose so that the fighters squared off less than a yard apart.

[30] Gully went on to become a successful racehorse owner and, representing the Pontefract constituency, a Member of the first post-Reform Parliament from December 1832 to July 1837.

This had been billed as the "Coronation Match" because it celebrated the accession of the Prince Regent as King George IV and the outcome was described by the sports historian Sir Derek Birley as "a suitably murky affair".

[citation needed] Football in Great Britain had long been a no-holds-barred pastime with an unlimited number of players on opposing teams which might comprise whole parishes or villages.

[38][39] By the beginning of the 19th century, efforts were being made in the English public schools to transform this mob football into an organised team sport.

[50] In the public schools, athletics competitions were conceived as human equivalents of horse racing or fox hunting with runners known as "hounds" and named as if they were racehorses.