King George IV, known for his love of wine and women, welcomed back a significant piece of his legacy today—his grand piano, which has returned to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Originally gifted to the King over two centuries ago, the piano has undergone extensive restoration, including re-enameling, re-varnishing, and re-tuning, and now takes pride of place in his seaside palace.
Purchased at auction by the Royal Pavilion & Museums on April 6, 2017, the piano, now valued far beyond the £230 that King George paid in the 1820s, is considered a masterpiece by maker Thomas Tomkison. Brighton & Hove Museums describe it as the most celebrated surviving example of Tomkison’s work. The Royal Archives describe it as “an elegant rosewood grand piano inlaid with brass, highly polished, with gilt mouldings, turnbuckles, and intricately carved legs.”
In its time, the piano cost more than double that of a standard top-quality English grand piano, with records showing Tomkison supplied other ‘extra elegant’ models to the Prince Regent, though no others are known to have survived.
When the Pavilion was sold to Brighton in 1850, Queen Victoria removed much of its original contents, sending them to other royal residences. However, when it became clear that the Pavilion would not be demolished, Queen Victoria began returning items. Over the years, successive monarchs have continued this process, sometimes reacquiring pieces that left the Royal Collection through purchase or donation. The exact timeline of when the Tomkison piano left the collection remains unclear, though evidence suggests it may have been at Windsor Castle in the 1840s.
Now restored, the piano’s return marks an important homecoming for a piece of royal and musical history.
