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George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. He had earlier served as Prince Regent when his father, George III, suffered from a relapse into insanity from porphyria. The Regency, George's nine-year tenure as Prince Regent, which commenced in 1811 and ended with George III's death in 1820, was marked by victory in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. George was a stubborn monarch, often interfering in politics, especially in the matter of Catholic Emancipation, though not as much as his father. For most of George's regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister.

George is often remembered largely for the extravagant lifestyle that he maintained as prince and monarch. It is reported that every time he had intimate relations with a woman he would cut a lock of her hair and place it in an envelope with her name on it. At the time of his death there were allegedly 7,000 such envelopes. He had a poor relationship with both his father and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, whom he even forbade to attend his coronation. He was a patron of new forms of leisured style and taste; he was responsible for the building of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

Early life

George, the eldest son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was born in St. James's Palace. At the time of his birth, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay; he was created Prince of Wales shortly afterwards. On September 8 of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury; his godparents were the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (his uncle), the Duke of Cumberland (his great-uncle) and the Dowager Princess of Wales (his grandmother). George was a talented student, quickly learning to speak not only English but also French, German and Italian.

The Prince of Wales turned 21 in 1783, when he obtained a grant of £60,000 from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 from his father. He then established his residence in Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life. Animosity developed between the prince and his father, a monarch who desired more frugal behaviour on the part of the heir-apparent. The King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the Prince of Wales's adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically-inclined politicians.

Soon after he reached the age of 21, the Prince of Wales fell in love with a Roman Catholic, Maria Anne Fitzherbert. Mrs Fitzherbert was a widow twice over; her first husband, Edward Weld, died in 1775, and her second husband, Thomas Fitzherbert, in 1781. A marriage between the two was prohibited by the Act of Settlement 1701, which declared those who married Roman Catholics ineligible to succeed to the Throne. In addition, under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 the Prince of Wales could not marry without the consent of the King, which would have never been granted. Nevertheless, the couple contracted a "marriage" on 15 December 1785. Legally the union was void, as the King's assent was never requested. However, Mrs Fitzherbert believed that she was the Prince of Wales's canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Mrs Fitzherbert promised not to publish any evidence relating to it.

The Prince of Wales was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle. His father refused to assist him, forcing him to quit Carlton House and live in Mrs Fitzherbert's residence. In 1787, the Prince of Wales's allies in the House of Commons introduced a proposal to relieve his debts with a parliamentary grant. The prince's personal relationship with Mrs Fitzherbert was suspected, but revelation of the illegal marriage would have scandalised the nation and doomed any parliamentary proposal to aid him. Acting on the prince's authority, the Whig leader Charles James Fox declared that the story was a calumny. Mrs Fitzherbert was not pleased with the public denial of the marriage in such vehement terms and contemplated severing her ties to the prince. He appeased her by asking another Whig, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, to restate Fox's forceful declaration in more careful words. Parliament, meanwhile, was sufficiently pleased to grant the Prince of Wales £161,000 for the payment of his debts, in addition to £20,000 for improvements to Carlton House. The King also agreed to increase the Prince of Wales's annual allowance by £10,000.

Regency Crisis of 1788

George III suffered from an hereditary disease known as porphyria. In the summer of 1788, the disease took a great toll on the King's mental health, but he was nonetheless able to discharge some of his duties. Thus, he was able to declare Parliament prorogued from 25 September to 20 November 1788. During the prorogation, however, George III became deranged, posing a threat to his own life, and when Parliament reconvened in November the King could not deliver the customary Speech from the Throne during the State Opening of Parliament. Parliament found itself in an untenable position: according to long-established law, it could not proceed to any business until the delivery of the King's Speech at a State Opening.

Although theoretically barred from doing so, Parliament began debating a Regency. In the House of Commons, Charles James Fox declared his opinion that the Prince of Wales was automatically entitled to exercise sovereignty during the King's incapacity. A contrasting opinion was held by the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, who argued that, in the absence of a statute to the contrary, the right to choose a Regent belonged to Parliament alone. He even stated that, without parliamentary authority "the Prince of Wales had no more right … to assume the government, than any other individual subject of the country." Though disagreeing on the principle underlying a Regency, Pitt agreed with Fox that the Prince of Wales would be the most convenient choice for a Regent.

The Prince of Wales—though offended by Pitt's boldness—did not lend his full support to Fox's philosophy. The prince's brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, declared that the prince would not attempt to exercise any power without previously obtaining the consent of Parliament. Following the passage of a number of preliminary resolutions, Pitt outlined a formal plan for the Regency, suggesting that the powers of the Prince of Wales be greatly limited. (Amongst other things, the Prince of Wales could neither sell the King's property nor grant a peerage to anyone other than a child of the King). The Prince of Wales denounced Pitt's scheme, declaring it a "project for producing weakness, disorder, and insecurity in every branch of the administration of affairs." In the interests of the nation, both factions agreed to compromise.

A significant technical impediment to any Regency Bill involved the lack of a Speech from the Throne, which was necessary before Parliament could proceed to any debates or votes. The Speech was normally delivered by the King, but could also be delivered by royal representatives known as Lords Commissioners, but no document could empower the Lords Commissioners to act unless the Great Seal of the Realm was affixed to it. The Seal could not be legally affixed without the prior authorisation of the Sovereign. Pitt and his fellow ministers ignored the last requirement and instructed the Lord Chancellor to affix the Great Seal without the King's consent. This course of action was denounced as a "phantom," as a "fiction," and even as a "forgery." The Prince of Wales's brother, the Duke of York, described the plan as "unconstitutional and illegal." Nevertheless, others in Parliament felt that such a scheme was necessary to preserve an effective government. Consequently, on 3 February 1789, more than two months after it had convened, Parliament was formally opened by an "illegal" group of Lords Commissioners. The Regency Bill was introduced, but, before it could be passed, the King recovered. Retroactively, the King declared that the instrument authorising the Lords Commissioners to act was valid.

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