'George and the Dragon' was inspired by the Pavilion and its hero, the Prince Regent. The costume evolved as an opulent comment on George IV, weighed down by the excesses of his Pavilion.

The artists explained that the dragon represented the Royal Pavilion building (through oriental symbolism) and the many problems it caused the King.

It was "a sort of a demon-devil on his shoulder, sucking out of him. Even when George IV died, the Pavilion was still unfinished and was costing the Royal family a vast amount of money. The dragon represents these problems that the king 'carried' with him." (Rose Holt)