Remarriage of Former King William I

This lithographic satire mocks the marriage of retired Dutch King William I to Countess d'Oultremont, a woman of lower rank. At left, the portly elderly king struts in military dress beside his new bride in an exaggerated wedding scene. Right, observers—military men, courtiers, and servants—react with knowing disapproval. The print deploys the visual language of 19th-century European political caricature: distorted anatomy, satirical juxtaposition, and narrative detail to ridicule royal dignity and questionable romantic choices. Such lithographed broadsheets, rooted in Gillray and Daumier's traditions, reached popular audiences through print shops and street vendors, establishing visual satire as democratic commentary on power. This tradition directly shaped the sequential panels and social critique that would define modern comics.