gala-performances

Updated: June 11, 2025

And at Naples, where King Joachim Murat gave her a regal reception, with a sequel of fêtes and gala-performances in honour of the wife of the Regent of England, she attended a rout, at the Teatro San Carlo, so lightly attired "that many who saw her at her first entrance looked her up and down, and, not recognising her, or pretending not to recognise her, began to mutter disapprobation to such an extent that she was compelled to withdraw.... The English residents soon let her understand, by ceasing to frequent her palace, that even at Naples there were certain laws of dress which could not be trampled underfoot in this hoydenish manner."

Thornton Hall - Love affairs of the Courts of Europe