William IV

1765-1837. Son of George III. King of England 1830-1837.

William IV was born at Buckingham Palace on 21 August 1765 as the third son of George III and Queen Charlotte. His oldest brother George was heir to the throne and his next brother Frederick was also available to become king. For this reason, it was considered unlikely that William would ascend the throne.

At the age of 13, William was sent to become a midshipman in the Royal Navy, where he experienced a good deal of combat and did not receive any special treatment.

From 1791-1811, William lived with his mistress Dorothy Jordan. The celebrated comic actress bore him 10 illegitimate children.

In 1811, George III was declared insane – he is now known to have had porphyria, a nervous disorder – and William’s oldest brother George (later George IV) was appointed prince regent. When the prince regent’s only child, Princess Charlotte, died in 1817, a dynastic crisis threatened the British monarchy because she was George III’s only grandchild and there was no other heir to the throne in the next generation. The same year, William married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. Adelaide became pregnant several times but none of her children survived.

With the death of William’s brother Frederick (1827), William was quite unexpectedly left heir to the throne. In 1830, George IV died and William was crowned king at the age 64.

His simplicity, friendliness and good nature made him initially very popular, especially after the vain and extravagant reign of his brother. However, he was often criticised for his shallow and eccentric opinions and because he frequently insulted important people.

By the early 1830’s the call for electoral reform was great and the king agreed with the Whig leader Lord Grey that a reform was necessary. William decisively intervened when the conservative House of Lords rejected the reform bill. In 1832 the Great Refom Bill was passed, which abolished some of the worst abuses of the electoral system (e.g. the representation of so called ‘rotton boroughs’ – constituencies whose population had declined and, therefore, had an unrepresentative influence within Parliament – were stopped). The Reform Act 1832 also introduced standardised rules for the franchise and extended the right to vote to the middle class.

On 20 June 1837 King William IV died. He had often been foolish and undignified, but unlike George IV, the Britons considered him to be one of them. With his passing the Georgian era ended and William’s niece Victoria, who had turned 18 one month before his death, succeeded him to the throne.

Sources:

BBC. Historic Figures: William IV. 2010 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_iv.shtml>.

Erickson, Carolly. Brief lives of the English monarchs. London: St Martin’s Press, 2003.

The official website of the British Monarchy. William IV. 2009 <http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheHanoverians/WilliamIV.aspx>.