George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV of the United Kingdom (George Augustus Frederick; London, August 12, 1762-Windsor, June 26, 1830) was king of the United Kingdom and of Hanover, since his accession to the throne on January 29, 1820 until his death in 1830.

He had previously served as Prince Regent when his father, George III, suffered a permanent relapse of madness due to the porphyria he suffered from. George's regency—which lasted nine years, from 1811 until the death of his father in 1820—was marked by victory in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. George IV was a monarch who interfered in politics on numerous occasions (especially in the matter of Catholic Emancipation), although not as much as his father. For most of his regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as prime minister. George IV is also remembered as an extravagant prince and monarch.

It is said that every time George IV conquered a woman, he cut a lock of her hair and placed it in an envelope with the lady's name, as a "trophy." At the time of his death it is said that he had seven thousand of these envelopes with hair in his possession. He had a terrible relationship with his father and with his wife, Carolina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, whom he even excluded from his coronation. He was, however, a patron of the arts; During his regency and his reign, literary figures such as Lord Byron, Walter Scott and Jane Austen stood out. George IV was responsible for the construction of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

Early years

George was born at St. James's Palace on August 12, 1762, being the first-born of the 15 children of King George III of the United Kingdom and the German Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

As the first-born male of a British sovereign, he automatically acquired the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay from birth. King George III conferred upon him the title of Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 19 August. On September 8, he was baptized by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury; His godparents were his maternal uncle, Charles II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz—duke since 1794—, his great-uncle, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, and his grandmother, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, princess. widow of Wales.

George IV was an excellent student, quickly learning to speak not only English, but also French, German and Italian. He also played the cello, received instruction in subjects such as law, history, mathematics and religion, and also received drawing lessons. However, his father criticized him for his easily influenced character and his tendency to laziness. The following letter from George III is characteristic, writing to the prince, who was seventeen years old at the time:

You can dine in your apartment on Sundays and Thursdays, but I cannot afford this more often [...] I will not allow participation in dances and parties that take place in private houses [...]. As for the masks, you know that the inappropriate encounters for this country [...] If I leave in the morning, I hope you'll come with me. I have no objection if you travel only the other days, as long as it is to exercise and not to lazy in Hyde Park [...].

Jorge III

From the age of sixteen, the heir to the throne began to rebel more and more against his parents. He frequented the circles of prominent Whigs such as Charles James Fox, who opposed his father's Conservative government. These circles also fostered his gambling addiction, his penchant for women's stories, and his dissolute lifestyle. Even before he came of age, he attracted the attention of London society through a romance with the young Mary Robinson. Mary, known today as a poet and early feminist, experienced her first successes as an actress at that time and was also called 'Perdita'. for one of her roles. Her counterpart in this role was Prince 'Florizel'. The mocking verses and caricatures about "Perdita" and "Florizel" They were understood long after the end of the romance in 1783 as an allusion to the romance between the actress and the heir to the throne.

The economic consequences of the brief romance caused public displeasure: the heir to the throne bought the affection of the young actress by promising her generous financial donations. He wanted to repay her this as soon as she came of age. Mary Robinson ultimately received only a fraction of what was originally promised, but she received a lump sum payment of £5,000 after the end of the affair and was later able to enforce a pension £500 annual when he threatened to publish her love letters. The size of the payments was considerable: a British lieutenant colonel like Mary Robinson's later lover, Banastre Tarleton, received an annual salary of £346 at the time. Jane Austen stated that a priest with £140 would have a modest but adequate annual income.

At the age of eighteen, the Prince of Wales received a separate allowance and, in contrast to his father's simple, scandal-free life, began a life of dissipation and extravagance involving much alcohol and numerous lovers and escapades. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, but very expensive, taste in the decoration of his palace. The prince turned 21 in 1783 and obtained a grant of £60,000 (equivalent to £7,277,000 current) of Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 (equivalent to 6,064,000 £ current) of his father the king. He was too little for his needs: his stables alone cost £31,000 a year. He then took up residence at Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life. A great antipathy then began between the prince and his father, who desired more frugal behavior on the part of his heir. The king, a political conservative, was also upset by the prince's sympathy toward Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians.

Illegal marriage

Shortly after turning 21, Jorge fell in love with a Catholic, María Ana Fitzherbert, six years older than him and who had been widowed twice. The Act of Settlement (1701) stipulated that any member of the royal family who married a Catholic lost their right to the succession. On the other hand, the Royal Marriages Act, passed in 1772, established that the Prince of Wales needed the king's consent to marry, and as was logical, the monarch would never give him permission. However, the couple married in London on December 15, 1785. Legally the union was void, as it did not have royal consent. However, Mrs. Fitzherbert logically believed that she was the sole and legitimate wife of the Prince of Wales, putting the laws of the Catholic Church above the laws of the State and the Church of England. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Mrs. Fitzherbert promised not to publish any documents of the marriage.

His disorderly lifestyle plunged the Prince of Wales into many debts. His father refused to help him, forcing him to leave Carlton House and live at Mrs. Fitzherbert's residence. In 1787, the Prince of Wales's allies in the House of Commons made an offer to relieve his debts with a parliamentary concession. The prince's personal relationship with Mrs Fitzherbert began to be suspected, but the revelation of his illegal marriage would have scandalized the nation and undermined any parliamentary offer to help him. Acting with the prince's authorization, Charles James Fox, leader of the Whigs, declared the story a slander. Mrs. Fitzherbert was dissatisfied with his public denial of her union in such vehement terms and she contemplated separating from the prince. He appeased her by asking another Whig, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, to modify Fox's strong statements with softer words. Parliament, meanwhile, was generous enough to grant the Prince of Wales the sum of 161,000 pounds to pay his debts, in addition to 20,000 for improvements to his residence, Carlton House. The king also agreed to increase the Prince of Wales' annual income by £10,000.

Mental health of George III and brief regency

George III suffered from a hereditary disease, known as porphyria. In the summer of 1788, the illness affected the king's mental health, leaving him unable to carry out his duties. But even so, he managed to delay the parliamentary session from September 25 to November 20, 1788. During the prorogation, however, George III went mad again, becoming a threat to himself, and Parliament—reconvened in November—would not be able to receive the king's customary Speech from the Throne during the opening session. Parliament found itself in a delicate position: according to long-established law, no legislation could proceed until the king could deliver his speech from the Throne at the opening session.

Although theoretically prevented from doing something like that, Parliament began to discuss a Regency. In the House of Commons, Charles James Fox declared that the Prince of Wales automatically had the right to exercise sovereignty during the king's incapacity. A contrary view was that of the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, who argued that, in the absence of a statute to the contrary, the right to elect a regent was solely in the hands of Parliament. He even indicated that, without parliamentary authority, "the Prince of Wales had no more right... to assume the government, than any other subject of the country." However, disagreeing on the principle that he himself defended regarding the regency, Pitt agreed with Fox that the Prince of Wales would be the most suitable choice to be regent.

George—although offended by Pitt's impertinence—did not give his full support to Fox's philosophy. Prince Frederick, Duke of York, declared that his brother, the Prince of Wales, could exercise no power without having obtained prior consent of Parliament. Following the passing of preliminary resolutions, Pitt created a formal plan for the regency, suggesting that the powers of the Prince of Wales would be very limited (among other things, the Prince of Wales would not be able to sell any of the king's property or grant any peerage to no one except a member of the royal family). The Prince of Wales denounced Pitt's scheme, declaring that it "will produce weakness, disorder and insecurity in every branch of public administration." However, both factions reached a compromise in the interest of the nation.

A significant technical impediment to any pro-regency law involved the absence of the Speech from the Throne, which was theoretically necessary before Parliament could proceed to any discussion or vote. The speech, as was known, was normally delivered to the king, but could also be delivered to royal representatives known as lords commissioners. But no document could authorize the actions of the lords commissioners unless the Great Seal of the Realm was stamped on it. Unfortunately, the Great Seal could not be legally affixed without the sovereign's prior permission. Pitt and his fellow ministers ignored this requirement and ordered the Lord Chancellor to affix the Great Seal without the king's consent. This conduct was denounced as "fantasy", "fictitious" and as "fraudulent". The Duke of York described this plan as "unconstitutional and illegal." However, others in Parliament felt that this procedure was necessary to preserve an effective government. Therefore, on February 3, 1789—more than two months after the date on which it had been convened—Parliament was formally opened by that “illegal” group of lords commissioners. The Regency Act was introduced, but, before it could be passed, the king recovered from his attacks of madness. Perplexingly, the king declared that the document authorizing the lords commissioners to act was valid.

Prince's debts and legal marriage

The Prince of Wales's debts continued to increase; His father refused to help him unless he married. The chosen one was his cousin, Carolina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The marriage was celebrated at St. James's Palace on April 8, 1795. From this union a daughter was born:

• Carlota Augusta (Carlton House, 7/1/1796 – Claremont House 6/11/1817), married to Leopoldo of Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeld, future king of Belgium.

The union, however, was a complete failure. They formally separated immediately after the birth of their daughter - who was said to be a "miracle", having been conceived in one of only three intimate contacts between the princes of Wales - and remained so for the rest of their lives.. The Prince of Wales would remain close to Mrs. Fitzherbert—despite several periods of estrangement—for many years, until 1811, when their relations were definitively severed.

Even before meeting Mrs Fitzherbert, the Prince of Wales had fathered several illegitimate children. Among his lovers were Grace Dalrymple-Elliott, the Scottish wife of a London doctor; Olga Zherebtsova, Russian noblewoman who claimed to have had his son; and Francisca Twysden, Lady Jersey, who would dominate his life for some years.

Meanwhile, the problem of the prince's debts – which reached the extraordinary sum of £660,000 in 1796 – was solved (at least by the moment) by Parliament. Being unwilling to make an outright concession to settle these debts, he provided her with an additional sum of £65,000 annually. In 1803, a further £60,000 was allocated to him, and the Prince of Wales's debts were finally paid in full.

Prince Regent

In late 1810, George III had a relapse of his mental illness shortly after the death of his youngest and favorite daughter, Princess Amelia. Parliament agreed to proceed as in 1788. Without the king's consent, the Lord Chancellor affixed the Great Seal of the Realm to the letters patent to designate the lords commissioners. These, in the name of the king, gave royal assent to the Regency Act (1811). Parliament made several restrictions on the powers of the Prince-Regent (as the Prince of Wales would henceforth be known), which disappeared within a year of the Act being passed.

When the Prince of Wales became Prince-Regent, one of the most important political conflicts facing the country concerned Catholic Emancipation, the project to remove Catholics from the various political disabilities they suffered. The Tories, led by the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, opposed Catholic Emancipation, while the Whigs supported it. At the beginning of the Regency, the Prince of Wales indicated that he would support the Whig leader, William Wyndham Grenville, 1. er Baron Grenville. He, however, did not immediately put Lord Grenville and the Whigs in political office. George argued that a sudden and mass dismissal of the Tory government would not be beneficial to the health of the king (a staunch Tory supporter), eliminating any chance of a recovery. In 1812, when it seemed clearly unlikely that the king would recover, the Prince of Wales refused to appoint a new administration under Whig leadership. Instead, he asked the Whigs to join forces with the existing ministry under Spencer Perceval. The Whigs, however, refused to cooperate due to disagreements regarding Catholic Emancipation. Enraged, the Prince of Wales allowed Perceval to continue as prime minister.

When, in May 1812, Spencer Perceval was assassinated by John Bellingham, the Prince of Wales prepared to rearrange all members of Perceval's ministry under a new leader, unless the House of Commons declared formally his desire for a “stronger and more efficient” administration. The Prince of Wales then offered the leadership of the government to Richard Wellesley, 1.er Marquess of Wellesley, and then to Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2.º earl of Moira. However, he shot down every attempt by both, forcing them to build a two-party ministry at a time when neither party wanted to share power with the other. Using the absence of the two peers as a pretext, the Prince of Wales immediately reinstated Perceval's administration, with Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, as prime minister.

The Tories, unlike the Whigs such as Charles Grey, 2nd Earl of Grey, attempted to vigorously continue the war against the powerful Emperor of France, Napoleon I. With the help of Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and other countries, the United Kingdom defeated Napoleon in 1814. At the subsequent Congress of Vienna, it was decided that they would elevate the electorate of Hanover (a state that had shared sovereignty with Great Britain since 1714) to a kingdom. Napoleon attempted to return in 1815, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, brother of the Marquis of Wellesley. Also in 1815, the Anglo-American War (also called the War of 1812) came to an end, with neither side victorious.

During his tenure as regent, George took an active interest in matters of "style and good taste," and his protégés—such as the dandy Beau Brummell and the architect John Nash—created the Regency style. In London, Nash designed the Regency terraces at Regent's Park and Regent Street. Jorge had the idea of creating a beach resort and had the Brighton Pavilion built, creating a fantastic beach palace adapted by Nash in the "Indian Gothic" style, which was loosely inspired by the Taj Mahal, with extravagant "Indian" interiors and "Chinese."

Death of George III and accession to the throne of George IV

When George III died on 29 January 1820, the Prince-Regent ascended the throne as George IV, without any real change in his powers. By then, George IV was extremely obese and possibly addicted to laudanum. He also showed some of the symptoms of the illness that affected his father.

George IV's relations with his wife Carolina had completely deteriorated by the time of his accession to the throne. They had lived apart since 1796 and both had lovers. Carolina had left the United Kingdom to travel through Europe, but she decided to return for the coronation of her husband, making her rights public. However, George IV refused to recognize Caroline as queen consort, ordering British ambassadors to ensure that monarchs at foreign courts did the same. By royal order, Caroline's name was omitted from the liturgy of the Church of England. The king sought a divorce, but his advisors suggested that he not do so, as any legal proceedings could involve the publication of details regarding George's adulterous affairs. The monarch therefore requested and ensured that a Pains and Sorrows Act was introduced, a procedure that would have allowed Parliament to impose legal penalties without the need for a trial or a Court of Justice. This law could then annul the royal marriage and strip Carolina of the title of queen. The law, however, proved extremely unpopular and was withdrawn from Parliament. George IV decided, however, to exclude his wife from her coronation at Westminster Abbey on 19 July 1821. Caroline died a few weeks later on 7 August. It was rumored that one of the king's closest associates, John Roberts, had a hand in Carolina's death.

Coronation and reign

The coronation of George IV was ostentatious and very expensive, costing around £943,000. The coronation was a very popular event. Many came from all corners of the empire to buy souvenirs and get copies of Sir Thomas Lawrence's coronation portrait. In 1822, George visited Edinburgh. His visit to Scotland was the first by a reigning monarch since Charles II of England traveled there in 1650. The visit was organized by Sir Walter Scott and increased the king's popularity.

However, George IV spent most of his reign confined to Windsor Castle, but continued to interfere in political affairs. At first it was believed that he would support Catholic Emancipation, but his anti-Catholic views became very clear in 1824. The influence of the crown was so great, and the power of the Tories under Lord Liverpool as prime minister so strong, that Catholic Emancipation seemed hopeless. In 1827, however, Lord Liverpool retired, being replaced by the pro-emancipationist Tory George Canning. When Canning took office, the king, who until then had been content to privately instruct his ministers on the Catholic question, now had only one oppositional statement left to make. It was known that "his sentiments... on the Catholic question were the same as those which his revered father, George III, and his late brother, the Duke of York, had maintained during their lives, and which I myself had professed while I was Prince of Wales, and whom I would never deny; finally... the recent ministerial arrangements are the result of circumstances that Her Majesty describes as unforeseen and unpleasant ».

Canning's views on the Catholic question were not well received by the more conservative Tories, including the Duke of Wellington. As a result of this, the ministry was forced to include Whigs. Canning died that same year, leaving Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich as leader of the fragile Tory-Whig coalition. Lord Goderich left office in 1828, being replaced by the Duke of Wellington, who by then had accepted that the refusal of certain measures giving greater rights to Catholics was politically unsustainable. With great difficulty, Wellington obtained the king's consent to the introduction of a Catholic Rights Act. The king then withdrew his approval, but shortly afterwards granted it again. The Bill of Rights was formally granted to Catholics in 1829.

Decline and death

George's excessive drinking and indulgent lifestyle had taken a toll on his health in the late 1820s. While still Prince of Wales, he had become obese due to his immense banquets and copious drinking., which made him the target of ridicule on the rare occasions when he appeared in public; By 1797 his weight had reached 245 pounds (111 kg). In 1824, his corset was made for a 50-inch (127 cm) waist. He suffered from gout, arteriosclerosis, peripheral edema (dropsy), and possibly porphyria. In his last years he spent entire days in bed and suffered spasms of suffocation that left him half asphyxiated.

Jorge's last years were marked by increasing physical and mental deterioration and an abandonment of public affairs. Privately, a senior aide to the king confided to his newspaper:

There is no more despicable, cowardly, selfish, insensitive dog [...]. There have been good and wise kings but not many of them [...] and this I think is one of the worst.

In December 1828, like his father, George was almost completely blind due to cataracts and suffered from gout so severe in his right hand and arm that he could no longer sign documents. In mid-1829, Sir David Wilkie reported that the king was "wasting terribly day after day," and had become so obese that he looked like "a large stuffed sausage.". The king took large quantities of laudanum to counteract severe bladder pains, which left him in a state of stupor and mental disability for days on end. He underwent surgery to remove a cataract in September 1829, at which time he regularly took more than one hundred drops of laudanum before state occasions.

In the spring of 1830, George's imminent end was evident. Now largely confined to his chambers, having completely lost sight in one eye and describing himself "as blind as a beetle," he was forced to pass the legislation with a seal of his signature in the presence of witnesses. His weight was recorded as 20 stones (280 lb; 127 kg). Attacks of shortness of breath due to dropsy forced him to sleep upright in a chair, and doctors frequently tapped his abdomen to drain excess fluid. Despite his obvious decline, Jorge was admired for clinging tenaciously to life. His will to live and his still prodigious appetite astonished observers; In April, the Duke of Wellington wrote that the king had for breakfast "a pigeon and a steak pie... Three parts of a bottle of Mozelle, a glass of dry champagne, two glasses of port [and ] a glass of brandy, followed by a large dose of laudanum. Writing to Mary Fitzherbert in June, the king's physician, Sir Henry Halford, noted: "His Majesty's constitution is gigantic, and its elasticity under the severest pressure exceeds anything I have ever witnessed in thirty-eight years of service." experience». Although George had been under Halford's care since the Regency, the doctor's social ambitions and perceived lack of competence were heavily criticized, and The Lancet called Halford's bulletins on George's health monarch as "totally devoid of information," later characterizing his treatment, which involved the administration of opium and laudanum as sedatives, as appearing to lack meaning or direction.

George dictated his will in May and became very devout in his final months, confessing to an archdeacon that he regretted his dissolute life, but hoped that he would be shown mercy, as he had always tried to do the best for his loved ones. subjects. In June he was unable to go to bed and received the Sacrament on the 14th of that month in the presence of Lady Conyngham, Halford and a clergyman. Although Halford did not inform the Cabinet until the 24th that "the king's cough continues with considerable expectoration," he privately told his wife that "things are coming to an end."...I will be released around Monday.

In the early hours of June 26, 1830 at Windsor Castle, George woke up and had a bowel movement: «A large stool mixed with blood». He then sent for Halford, supposedly calling to his servants: Sir Henry! Sir Henry! Bring him, this is death! Accounts of his final moments and last words vary. According to Halford, after his and Sir William Knighton's arrival, the king's lips "grew livid and he dropped his head on the page's shoulder... I went upstairs in five minutes and he died in eight minutes." later». Other accounts claim that the king put his hands on his stomach and said, "Surely this must be death." Or that he shouted, "My God, what is this?". He squeezed his page's hand and said: «Boy, this is death» and he died. Jorge died at 3:15 a.m. m.. An autopsy performed by his doctors revealed that he had died of an upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage resulting from a ruptured blood vessel in his stomach. A large tumor “ the size of an orange” was found attached to his bladder; His heart was enlarged, had heavily calcified valves, and was surrounded by a large deposit of fat.

The king was buried in the royal vault of St. George's Chapel on July 15. His only legitimate daughter, Charlotte, had died of postpartum complications in 1817, after giving birth to a stillborn son. George III's second son, Prince Frederick of York and Albany, had died childless in 1827, so the throne passed to George III's third son, Prince William of Clarence, who reigned as William IV.

It is suspected that he may have left several illegitimate children, but none of them have been confirmed.

Legacy

George was described as the «first gentleman of England» due to his style and manners. He was brilliant, intelligent and knowledgeable, but his laziness and gluttony led him to waste much of his talent. The Times wrote that he would always prefer "a girl and a bottle to politics and a sermon."

The Regency period saw a change in fashion that was largely determined by it. After political opponents placed a tax on wig powder, he abandoned wearing a powdered wig in favor of natural hair. He wore darker colors than those previously in fashion as they helped disguise his size, he preferred pants above the knees because they were looser, and he popularized a high collar with neck cloth because it hid his double chin. His visit to Scotland in 1822 led to the revival, if not the creation, of the Scottish tartan dress as it is known today.

During the political crisis caused by Catholic emancipation, the Duke of Wellington said that George was "the worst man he had ever fallen in love with in his entire life, the most selfish, the most false, the most evil.", the most entirely without a redeemer. However, the eulogy of him delivered in the House of Lords called him "the most accomplished man of his age" and praised his knowledge and talent. Wellington's true feelings probably lie somewhere between these two extremes; As he later said, George was «a magnificent patron of the arts... the most extraordinary compound of talent, wit, buffoonery, obstinacy and good feelings; In short, a mixture of the most opposite qualities, with a great preponderance of goodness that I have seen in any character in my life.

After the king's death, the Times captured elite opinion succinctly: «There was never an individual less mourned by his fellow men than this deceased king. Whose eye has cried for him? What heart has ever beaten a beat of non-mercenary grief?... If he ever had a friend, a devoted friend in any rank of life, we protest because his name never reached us.

There are many statues of George IV, many of which were erected during his reign in the United Kingdom, including a bronze statue of him on horseback by Sir Francis Chantrey in Trafalgar Square.

In Edinburgh, George IV Bridge is a main road linking Old Town High Street to the north over the Cowgate Ravine, designed by the architect Thomas Hamilton in 1829 and completed in 1835. King's Cross, now a major transport hub, on the border of Camden and Islington in north London, it takes its name from a short-lived monument erected to the king in the early 1830s. A square and neighboring park in St Luke's 39;s, Islington, are also named after him.

Titles

• 12 - 19 August 1762: Your Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall
• 19 August 1762-29 January 1820: Your Royal Highness Prince of Wales
• January 5, 1811-29, January 1820: Your Royal Highness the prince regent
• 1 October 1814-29 January 1820: Your Royal Highness the crown prince of Hanover.
• 29 January 1820-26 June 1830: Your Majesty the king.

His official title as British monarch was George IV, by the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith.

Ancestors