1831 William IV Patriotic Commemorative Dragon Slayer Token ~ Medal # 10
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1831 William IV Patriotic Commemorative Dragon Slayer Token ~ Medal # 10:
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William IV(William Henry; 21 August 1765– 20 June 1837) wasKingof theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Irelandand ofHanoverfrom 26 June 1830 until his death. William, the third son ofGeorge IIIand younger brother and successor toGeorge IV, was the last king and penultimate monarch of Britain\'sHouse of Hanover.
He served in theRoyal Navyin his youth and was, both during his reign and afterwards, nicknamed the \"Sailor King\".[1][2]He served in North America and theCaribbean, but saw little actual fighting. Since his two older brothers died without leaving legitimate issue, heinherited the thronewhen he was 64 years old. His reign saw several reforms: thepoor lawwas updated,child labourrestricted,slavery abolishedin nearly all theBritish Empire, and the British electoral system refashioned by theReform Act 1832. Though William did not engage in politics as much as his brother or his father, he was the last monarch to appoint a Prime Minister contrary to the will of Parliament. Through hisbrother, theViceroyof Hanover, he granted that kingdom a short-lived liberal constitution.
At the time of his death, William had no surviving legitimate children but he was survived by eight of the ten illegitimate children he had by the actressDorothea Jordan, with whom he cohabited for 20 years. William was succeeded in the United Kingdom by his niece,Victoria, and in Hanover by his brother,Ernest Augustus I.
Contents[hide]- 1Early life
- 2Service and politics
- 3Relationships and marriage
- 4Lord High Admiral
- 5Reign
- 5.1Early reign
- 5.2Reform crisis
- 5.3Foreign policy
- 5.4King of Hanover
- 5.5Later life
- 6Legacy
- 7Titles, styles, honours and arms
- 7.1Titles and styles
- 7.2Honours
- 7.3Arms
- 8Issue
- 9Ancestry
- 10See also
- 11Sources
- 12References
- 13External links
William was born in the early hours of the morning on 21 August 1765 atBuckingham House, the third child and son ofKing George IIIandQueen Charlotte.[3]He had two elder brothers,GeorgeandFrederick, and was not expected to inherit the Crown. He was baptised in the Great Council Chamber ofSt James\'s Palaceon 20 September 1765. His godparents were his paternal uncles,the Duke of GloucesterandPrince Henry(later Duke of Cumberland), and his paternal aunt,Princess Augusta, then Hereditary Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.[4]
Prince William aged thirteen and his younger brotherEdwardin 1778He spent most of his early life inRichmondand atKew Palace, where he was educated by private tutors.[5]At the age of thirteen, he joined theRoyal Navyas amidshipman,[6]and was present at theBattle of Cape St. Vincentin 1780.[7]His experiences in the navy seem to have been little different from those of other midshipmen, though in contrast to other sailors he was accompanied on board ships by a tutor. He did his share of the cooking[8]and got arrested with his shipmates after a drunken brawl inGibraltar; he was hastily released from custody after his identity became known.[9]He served in New York during theAmerican War of Independence. While William was in America,George Washingtonapproved a plot to kidnap him, writing: \"The spirit of enterprise so conspicuous in your plan for surprising in their quarters and bringing off the Prince William Henry andAdmiral Digbymerits applause; and you have my authority to make the attempt in any manner, and at such a time, as your judgment may direct. I am fully persuaded, that it is unnecessary to caution you against offering insult or indignity to the persons of the Prince or Admiral...\"[10][11]The plot did not come to fruition; the British heard of it and assigned guards to William, who had up till then walked around New York unescorted.[12]He became a Lieutenant in 1785 andCaptainofHMSPegasusthe following year.[13]In late 1786, he was stationed in theWest IndiesunderHoratio Nelson, who wrote of William: \"In his professional line, he is superior to two-thirds, I am sure, of the [Naval] list; and in attention to orders, and respect to his superior officer, I hardly know his equal.\"[14]The two were great friends, and dined together almost nightly. At Nelson\'s wedding, William insisted on giving thebrideaway.[15]He was given command of the frigateHMSAndromedain 1788, and was promoted toRear-Admiralin command ofHMSValiantthe following year.[16]
William sought to be made adukelike his elder brothers, and to receive a similar parliamentary grant, but his father was reluctant. To put pressure on him, William threatened to stand for theHouse of Commonsfor the constituency ofTotnesin Devon. Appalled at the prospect of his son making his case to the voters, George III created himDuke of Clarence and St AndrewsandEarl of Munsteron 16 May 1789,[17]supposedly saying: \"I well know it is another vote added to the Opposition.\"[18]William\'s political record was inconsistent and, like many politicians of the time, cannot be certainly ascribed to a single party. He allied himself publicly with theWhigsas well as his elder brothersGeorgeandFrederick, who were known to be in conflict with the political positions of their father.[19]
Service and politics[edit]William in dress uniform painted by Sir Martin Archer Shee, c.1800The newly created Duke ceased his active service in the Royal Navy in 1790.[20]When the United Kingdom declared war on France in 1793, he was anxious to serve his country and expected a command, but was not given a ship, perhaps at first because he had broken his arm by falling down some stairs drunk, but later because he gave a speech in theHouse of Lordsopposing the war.[21]The following year he spoke in favour of the war, expecting a command after his change of heart; none came, the Admiralty did not even reply to his request.[22]He did not lose hope of being appointed to an active post. In 1798 he was made anadmiral, however the rank was purely titular.[23]Despite repeated petitions, he was never given a command throughout theNapoleonic Wars.[24]In 1811, he was appointed to the honorary position ofAdmiral of the Fleet. In 1813, he came nearest to any actual fighting, when he visited the British troops fighting in theLow Countries. Watching the bombardment ofAntwerpfrom a church steeple, he came under fire. A bullet pierced his coat.[25]
Instead of serving at sea, he spent time in the House of Lords, where he spoke in opposition to the abolition of slavery, which although not legal in the United Kingdom still existed in the British colonies. Freedom would do the slaves little good, he argued. He had travelled widely and, in his eyes, the living standard among freemen in theHighlands and Islandsof Scotland was worse than that among slaves in the West Indies.[26]His experience in the West Indies lent gravitas to his position, which was perceived as well-argued and just by some of his contemporaries.[27]Others thought it \"shocking that so young a man, under no bias of interest, should be earnest in continuance of the slave trade\".[28]In his speech to the House of Lords, the Duke insultedWilliam Wilberforce, the leading abolitionist, saying: \"the proponents of the abolition are either fanatics or hypocrites, and in one of those classes I rank Mr. Wilberforce\".[29]On other issues he was more liberal, such as supporting moves to abolishpenal lawsagainstdissenting Christians.[30]He also opposed efforts to bar those found guilty ofadulteryfrom remarriage.[31]
Relationships and marriage[edit]From 1791 William lived for 20 years with an Irish actress,Dorothea Bland, better known by her stage name, Mrs. Jordan,[20]the title \"Mrs.\" being assumed at the start of her stage career to explain an inconvenient pregnancy[32]and \"Jordan\" because she had \"crossed the water\" from Ireland to Britain.[33]
Mrs. Jordan in the Character of Hypolita,mezzotintby John Jones of London, 1791, after a painting byJohn HoppnerWilliam was part of the first generation to grow to maturity under theRoyal Marriages Act 1772, which forbade descendants ofGeorge IIfrom marrying unless they obtained the monarch\'s consent, or, if over the age of 25, giving twelve months\' notice to thePrivy Council. Several of George III\'s sons, including William, chose to cohabit with the women they loved, rather than seeking a wife. Having legitimate issue was not a primary concern; as William was one of the younger sons of George III, he was not expected to figure in the succession, which was considered secure once the Prince of Wales married and had a daughter,Princess Charlotte, second-in-line to the throne.
William appeared to enjoy the domesticity of his life with Mrs. Jordan, remarking to a friend: \"Mrs. Jordan is a very good creature, very domestic and careful of her children. To be sure she is absurd sometimes and has her humours. But there are such things more or less in all families.\" The couple, while living quietly, enjoyed entertaining, with Mrs. Jordan writing in late 1809: \"We shall have a full and merry house this Christmas, \'tis what the dear Duke delights in.\"[34]George III was accepting of his son\'s relationship with the actress (though recommending that he halve her allowance)[35]and in 1797, created William Ranger of Bushy Park, which included a large residence,Bushy House, for William\'s growing family.[36]William used Bushy as his principal residence until he became king.[37]His London residence,Clarence House, was constructed to the designs ofJohn Nashbetween 1825 and 1827.[38]
The couple had ten illegitimate children—five sons and five daughters—nine of whom were named after William\'s siblings; each was given the surname \"FitzClarence\".[39][40]Their affair lasted for twenty years before ending in 1811. Mrs. Jordan had no doubt as to the reason for the break-up: \"Money, money, my good friend, has, I am convinced made HIM at this moment the most wretched of men,\" adding, \"With all his excellent qualities, his domesticvirtues, his love for hislovelychildren, what must he not at this moment suffer?\"[41]She was given a financial settlement of £4,400 (equal to £278,600 today) per year and custody of her daughters on condition that she did not resume the stage. When she resumed acting in an effort to repay debts incurred by the husband of one of her daughters from a previous relationship, William took custody of the daughters and stopped paying the £1,500 (equal to £91,500 today) designated for their maintenance. After Mrs. Jordan\'s acting career began to fail, she fled to France to escape her creditors, and died, impoverished, near Paris in 1816.[42]
Before he met Mrs. Jordan, William had an illegitimate son whose mother is unknown; the son, also called William, drowned offMadagascarinHMSBlenheimin February 1807.[43]Caroline von Linsingen, whose father was a general in the Hanoverian infantry, claimed to have had a son, Heinrich, by William in around 1790 but William was not in Hanover at the time that she claims and the story is considered implausible by historians.[44]
Adelaide Amelia Louisa Theresa Caroline of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen, portrait by SirWilliam Beechey, c.1831Deeply in debt, William made multiple attempts at marrying a wealthy heiress, but his suits were unsuccessful.[45]Following the death of William\'s niece Charlotte, then second-in-line to the British throne, in 1817, the king was left with twelve children, but no legitimate grandchildren. The race was on among theroyal dukesto marry and produce an heir. William had great advantages in this race—his two older brothers were both childless and estranged from their wives, who were both beyond childbearing age anyway, and William was the healthiest of the three.[46]If he lived long enough, he would almost certainly ascend the British and Hanoverian thrones, and have the opportunity to sire the next monarch. William\'s initial choices to wed either met with the disapproval of his eldest brother, the Prince of Wales, or turned him down. William\'s younger brotherAdolphus, the Duke of Cambridge, was sent to Germany to scout out the available Protestant princesses; he came up withPrincess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, but her fatherFrederickdeclined the match.[47]Two months later, the Duke of Cambridge married Augusta himself. Eventually, a princess was found who was amicable, home-loving, and was willing to accept, even enthusiastically welcoming of William\'s nine surviving children, several of whom had not yet reached adulthood.[48]AtKewon 11 July 1818,[49]William married PrincessAdelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the daughter ofGeorge I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. At 25, Adelaide was half William\'s age. Their marriage, which lasted almost twenty years until William\'s death, was a happy one. Adelaide took both William and his finances in hand. For their first year of marriage, the couple lived in economical fashion in Germany, and William\'s debts were soon on the way to being paid, especially since Parliament had voted him an increased allowance, which he reluctantly accepted after his requests to increase it further were refused.[50]William is not known to have had mistresses after his marriage.[16][51][52]The couple had two short-lived daughters and Adelaide suffered three miscarriages.[53]Despite this, false rumours that Adelaide was pregnant persisted into William\'s reign—he dismissed them as \"damned stuff\".[54]
Lord High Admiral[edit]Portrait of William, as Lord High Admiral, print by William James Ward, afterAbraham Wivell\'s painting, first published in 1827William\'s elder brother, the Prince of Wales, had beenPrince Regentsince 1811 because of the mental illness of their father, George III. In 1820, the King died, leaving the Crown to the Prince Regent, who becameGeorge IV. William was now second in the line of succession, preceded only by his brother, Frederick, Duke of York. Reformed since his marriage, William walked for hours, ate relatively frugally, and the only drink he imbibed in quantity wasbarley waterflavoured with lemon.[55]Both of his older brothers were unhealthy, and it was considered only a matter of time before he became king.[56]When the Duke of York died in 1827, William, then more than 60 years old, became heir presumptive. Later that year, the incoming Prime Minister,George Canning, appointed William to the office ofLord High Admiral, which had been in commission (that is, exercised by a board rather than by a single individual) since 1709. While in office, the Duke had repeated conflicts with his Council, which was composed ofAdmiraltyofficers. Things finally came to a head in 1828 when the Lord High Admiral put to sea with a squadron of ships, leaving no word of where they were going, and remaining away for ten days. The King, through the Prime Minister, by nowArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, requested his resignation; the Duke of Clarence complied.[51]
Despite the difficulties the Duke experienced, he did considerable good as Lord High Admiral. He abolished thecat o\' nine tailsfor most offences other thanmutiny, attempted to improve the standard of naval gunnery and required regular reports of the condition and preparedness of each ship. He commissioned the first steam warship and advocated more.[57]Holding the office permitted William to make mistakes and learn from them—a process that might have been far more costly had he not learnt before becoming King that he should act only with the advice of his councillors.[51][58]
William spent the remaining time during his brother\'s reign in the House of Lords. He supported theCatholic EmancipationBill against the opposition of his younger brother,Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, describing the latter\'s position on the Bill as \"infamous\", to the Duke of Cumberland\'s outrage.[59]George IV\'s health was increasingly bad; it was obvious by early 1830 that he was near death. The King took his leave of his younger brother at the end of May, stating, \"God\'s will be done. I have injured no man. It will all rest on you then.\"[60]William\'s genuine affection for his older brother could not mask his rising anticipation that he would soon be king.[59][61]
- v
- t
- e
When George IV died on 26 June 1830 without surviving legitimate issue, the Duke of Clarence succeeded him as William IV. Aged 64, he was the oldest person ever to assume the British throne.[62]Unlike his extravagant brother, William was unassuming, discouraging pomp and ceremony. In contrast to George IV, who tended to spend most of his time inWindsor Castle, William was known, especially early in his reign, to walk, unaccompanied, through London orBrighton. Until the Reform Crisis eroded his standing, he was very popular among the people, who saw him as more approachable and down-to-earth than his brother.[63]
The King immediately proved himself a conscientious worker. The King\'s first Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, stated that he had done more business with King William in ten minutes than he had with George IV in as many days.[64]Lord Broughamdescribed him as an excellent man of business, asking enough questions to help him understand the matter—whereas George IV feared to ask questions lest he display his ignorance and George III would ask too many and then not wait for a response.[65]
The King did his best to endear himself to the people.Charlotte Williams-Wynnwrote shortly after his accession: \"Hitherto the King has been indefatigable in his efforts to make himself popular, and do good natured and amiable things in every possible instance.\"[66]Emily Edennoted: \"He is an immense improvement on the last unforgiving animal, who died growling sulkily in his den at Windsor. This man at leastwishesto make everybody happy, and everything he has done has been benevolent.\"[67]
William dismissed his brother\'s French chefs and German band, replacing them with English ones to public approval. He gave much of George IV\'s painting collection to the nation, and halved the royalstud. George IV had begun an extensive (and expensive) renovation ofBuckingham Palace; his brother refused to reside there, and twice tried to give the palace away, once to the Army as a barracks, and once to Parliament after theHouses of Parliamentburned down in 1834.[68]His informality could be startling: When in residence at theRoyal Pavilionin Brighton, King William used to send to the hotels for a list of their guests and invite anyone whom he knew to dinner, urging guests not to \"bother about clothes. The Queen does nothing but embroider flowers after dinner.\"[69]
Upon taking the throne, William did not forget his nine surviving illegitimate children, creating his eldest sonEarl of Munsterand granting the other children the precedence of a younger son (or daughter) of a marquess. Despite this, his children importuned for greater opportunities, disgusting elements of the press who reported that the \"impudence and rapacity of the FitzJordans is unexampled\".[70]The relationship between William and his sons \"was punctuated by a series of savage and, for the King at least, painful quarrels\" over money and honours.[71]His daughters, on the other hand, proved an ornament to his court, as, \"They are all, you know, pretty and lively, and make society in a way that real princesses could not.\"[72]
Reform crisis[edit]At the time, thedeath of the monarchrequired fresh elections and, in thegeneral election of 1830, Wellington\'sTorieslost ground to theWhigsunderCharles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, though the Tories still had the largest number of seats. With the Tories bitterly divided, Wellington was defeated in the House of Commons in November, and Lord Grey formed a government. Lord Grey pledged to reform the electoral system, which had seen few changes since the fifteenth century. The inequities in the system were great; for example, large towns such asManchesterandBirminghamelected no members (though they were part of county constituencies), while small boroughs—known asrottenorpocket boroughs—such asOld Sarumwith just seven voters, elected two members of Parliament each. Often, the rotten boroughs were controlled by great aristocrats, whose nominees were invariably elected by the constituents—who were, most often, their tenants—especially since the secret ballot was not yet used in Parliamentary elections. Landowners who controlled seats were even able to sell them to prospective candidates.[73]
Political cartoon supporting the Reform Act; King William sits above the clouds, surrounded by Whig politicians, belowBritanniaand the British Lion cause the Tories to flee.When the House of Commons defeated the First Reform Bill in 1831, Lord Grey\'s ministry urged William to dissolve Parliament, which would lead to a new general election. At first, William hesitated to exercise his prerogative to dissolve Parliament because elections had just been held the year before and the country was in a state of high excitement which might boil over into violence. He was, however, irritated by the conduct of the Opposition, which announced its intention to move the passage of an Address, or resolution, in the House of Lords, against dissolution. Regarding the Opposition\'s motion as an attack on his prerogative, and at the urgent request of Lord Grey and his ministers, William IV prepared to go in person to the House of Lords andprorogueParliament.[74]The monarch\'s arrival would stop all debate and prevent passage of the Address.[75]When initially told that his horses could not be ready at such short notice, William is supposed to have said, \"Then I will go in a hackney cab!\"[75]Coach and horses were assembled quickly and William immediately proceeded to Parliament. SaidThe Timesof the scene before William\'s arrival, \"It is utterly impossible to describe the scene... The violent tones and gestures of noble Lords... astonished the spectators, and affected the ladies who were present with visible alarm.\"[76]Lord Londonderrybrandished a whip, threatening to thrash the Government supporters, and was held back by four of his colleagues. William hastily put on the crown, entered the Chamber, and dissolved Parliament.[77]This forcednew elections for the House of Commons, which yielded a great victory for the reformers. But although the House of Commons was clearly in favour of parliamentary reform, theHouse of Lordsremained implacably opposed to it.[78]
The crisis saw a brief interlude for the celebration of theKing\'s Coronationon 8 September 1831. At first, the King wished to dispense with the coronation entirely, feeling that his wearing the crown while proroguing Parliament answered any need.[79]He was persuaded otherwise by traditionalists. He refused, however, to celebrate the coronation in the expensive way his brother had—the 1821 coronation had cost £240,000, of which £16,000 was merely to hire the jewels. At William\'s instructions, the Privy Council budgeted less than £30,000 for the coronation.[80]When traditionalist Tories threatened to boycott what they called the \"Half Crown-nation\",[81]the King retorted that they should go ahead, and that he anticipated \"greater convenience of room and less heat\".[82]
After the rejection of the Second Reform Bill by the Upper House in October 1831, agitation for reform grew across the country; demonstrations grew violent in so-called \"Reform Riots\". In the face of popular excitement, the Grey ministry refused to accept defeat in the House of Lords, and re-introduced the Bill, which still faced difficulties in the House of Lords. Frustrated by the Lords\' recalcitrance, Grey suggested that the King create a sufficient number of new peers to ensure the passage of the Reform Bill. The King objected—though he had the power to create an unlimited number of peers, he had already created 22 new peers in his Coronation Honours.[83]William reluctantly agreed to the creation of the number of peers sufficient \"to secure the success of the bill\".[84]However, the King, citing the difficulties with a permanent expansion of thePeerage, told Grey that the creations must be restricted as much as possible to the eldest sons and collateral heirs of existing peers, so that the created peerages would eventually be absorbed as subsidiary titles. This time, the Lords did not reject the bill outright, but began preparing to change its basic character through amendments. Grey and his fellow ministers decided to resign if the King did not agree to an immediate and large creation to force the bill through in its entirety.[85]The King refused, and accepted their resignations. The King attempted to restore the Duke of Wellington to office, but Wellington had insufficient support to form a ministry and the King\'s popularity sank to an all-time low. Mud was slung at his carriage and he was publicly hissed. The King agreed to reappoint Grey\'s ministry, and to create new peers if the House of Lords continued to pose difficulties. Concerned by the threat of the creations, most of the bill\'s opponents abstained and theReform Act 1832was passed. The mob blamed William\'s actions on the influence of his wife and brother, and his popularity recovered.[86]
Foreign policy[edit]William distrusted foreigners, particularly anyone French,[87]which he acknowledged as a \"prejudice\".[88]He also felt strongly that Britain should not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, which brought him into conflict with the interventionist Foreign Secretary,Lord Palmerston.[89]William supportedBelgian independenceand, after unacceptable Dutch and French candidates were put forward, favouredPrince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the widower of his niece, Charlotte, as a candidate for the newly created Belgian throne.[90]
Though he had a reputation for tactlessness and buffoonery, William could be shrewd and diplomatic. He foresaw that the potential construction of acanal at Suezwould make good relations withEgyptvital to Britain.[91]Later in his reign, he flattered the American ambassador at a dinner by announcing that he regretted not being \"born a free, independent American, so much did he respect that nation, which had given birth to George Washington, the greatest man that ever lived\".[92]By exercising his personal charm, William assisted in the repair of Anglo-American relations, which had been so deeply damaged during the reign of his father.[93]
King of Hanover[edit]William never visitedHanoveras itsking. His brother,Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, acted asviceroythere throughout William\'s reign as he had throughout George IV\'s reign.
Public perception in Germany was that Britain dictated Hanoverian policy. This was not the case. In 1832,Metternichintroduced laws that curbed fledging liberal movements in Germany. Britain\'sForeign SecretaryLord Palmerstonopposed this, and sought William\'s influence to cause the Hanoverian government to take the same position. The Hanoverian government instead agreed with Metternich, much to Palmerston\'s dismay, and William declined to intervene. The conflict between William and Palmerston over Hanover was renewed the following year when Metternich called a conference of the German states, to be held inVienna, and Palmerston wanted Hanover to decline the invitation. Instead, the Viceroy accepted, backed fully by William.[94]
In 1833, William signed a new constitution for Hanover, which empowered the middle class, gave limited power to the lower classes, and expanded the role of the parliament of Hanover. The constitution was revoked after William\'s death by the new king, William\'s brother,Ernest Augustus.
Later life[edit]Portrait of King William IV bySir David Wilkiein 1837For the remainder of his reign, William interfered actively in politics only once, in 1834, when he became the last British sovereign to choose a Prime Minister contrary to the will of Parliament. In 1834, the ministry was facing increasing unpopularity and Lord Grey retired; theHome Secretary,William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, replaced him. Lord Melbourne retained most Cabinet members, and his ministry retained an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. Some members of the Government, however, were anathema to the King, and increasingly left-wing policies concerned him. The previous year Grey had already pushed through a bill reforming the ProtestantChurch of Ireland. The Church collectedtithesthroughout Ireland, supported multiple bishoprics and was wealthy. However, barely an eighth of the Irish population belonged to the Church of Ireland. In some parishes, there were no Church of Ireland members at all, but there was still a priest paid for by tithes collected from the local Catholics andPresbyterians, leading to charges that idle priests were living in luxury at the expense of the Irish living at the level of subsistence. Grey\'s bill had reduced the number of bishoprics by half, abolished some of the sinecures and overhauled the tithe system. Further measures to appropriate the surplus revenues of the Church of Ireland were mooted by the more radical members of the Government, includingLord John Russell.[95]The King had an especial dislike for Russell, calling him \"a dangerous little Radical.\"[96]
Half-Crownof William IV, 1836. The inscription reads GULIELMUS IIII D(EI) G(RATIA) BRITANNIAR(UM) REXF(IDEI) D(EFENSOR)(William IV by the Grace of God King of the Britains,Defender of the Faith)William IV drawn by his daughter Sophia de L\'Isle and Dudley in early 1837In November 1834, theLeader of the House of CommonsandChancellor of the Exchequer,John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp, inherited a peerage, thus removing him from the House of Commons to the Lords. Melbourne had to appoint a new Commons leader and a new Chancellor (who by long custom, must be drawn from the Commons), but the only candidate whom Melbourne felt suitable to replace Althorp as Commons leader was Lord John Russell, whom William (and many others) found unacceptable due to his Radical politics. William claimed that the ministry had been weakened beyond repair and used the removal of Lord Althorp—who had previously indicated that he would retire from politics upon becoming a peer[97]—as the pretext for the dismissal of the entire ministry. With Lord Melbourne gone, William chose to entrust power to a Tory,Sir Robert Peel. Since Peel was then in Italy, the Duke of Wellington was provisionally appointed Prime Minister.[98]When Peel returned and assumed leadership of the ministry for himself, he saw the impossibility of governing because of the Whig majority in the House of Commons. Consequently, Parliament was dissolved to forcefresh elections. Although the Tories won more seats than in theprevious election, they were still in the minority. Peel remained in office for a few months, but resigned after a series of parliamentary defeats. Lord Melbourne was restored to the Prime Minister\'s office, remaining there for the rest of William\'s reign, and the King was forced to accept Russell as Commons leader.[99]
The King had a mixed relationship with Lord Melbourne. Melbourne\'s government mooted more ideas to introduce greater democracy, such as the devolution of powers to theLegislative Council of Lower Canada, which greatly alarmed the King, who feared it would eventually lead to the loss of the colony.[100]At first, the King bitterly opposed these proposals. William exclaimed toLord Gosford, Governor General-designate of Canada: \"Mind what you are about in Canada... mind me, my Lord, the Cabinet is not my Cabinet; they had better take care or by God, I will have them impeached.\"[101]When William\'s son Augustus FitzClarence enquired of his father whether the King would be entertaining duringAscot week, William gloomily replied, \"I cannot give any dinners without inviting the ministers, and I would rather see the devil than any one of them in my house.\"[102]Nevertheless, William approved the Cabinet\'s recommendations for reform.[103]Despite his disagreements with Lord Melbourne, the King wrote warmly to congratulate the Prime Minister when he triumphed in the adultery case brought against him concerning LadyCaroline Norton—he had refused to permit Melbourne to resign when the case was first brought.[104]The King and Prime Minister eventually found amodus vivendi; Melbourne applying tact and firmness when called for; while William realised that his First Minister was far less radical in his politics than the King had feared.[102]
Both the King and Queen were fond of their niece,Princess Victoria of Kent. Their attempts to forge a close relationship with the girl were frustrated by the conflict between the King and theDuchess of Kent, the young princess\'s widowed mother. The King, angered at what he took to be disrespect from the Duchess to his wife, took the opportunity at what proved to be his final birthday banquet in August 1836 to settle the score. Speaking to those assembled at the banquet, who included the Duchess and Princess Victoria, William expressed his hope that he would survive until Princess Victoria was 18 so that the Duchess of Kent would never be regent. He said, \"I trust to God that my life may be spared for nine months longer... I should then have the satisfaction of leaving the exercise of the Royal authority to the personal authority of that young lady, heiress presumptive to the Crown, and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by evil advisers and is herself incompetent to act with propriety in the situation in which she would be placed.\"[105]The speech was so shocking that Victoria burst into tears, while her mother sat in silence and was only with difficulty persuaded not to leave immediately after dinner (the two left the next day). William\'s outburst undoubtedly contributed to Victoria\'s tempered view of him as \"a good old man, though eccentric and singular\".[106]William survived, though mortally ill, to the month after Victoria\'s coming of age. \"Poor old man!\", Victoria wrote as he was dying, \"I feel sorry for him; he was always personally kind to me.\"[107]
William was \"very much shaken and affected\" by the death of his eldest daughter, Sophia, Lady de L\'Isle, in childbirth in April 1837.[108]A watercolour sketch made by her during her later pregnancy in early 1837 shows his frailty then.
William and his eldest son, George, Earl of Munster, were estranged at the time, but William hoped that a letter of condolence from Munster signalled a reconciliation. His hopes were not fulfilled and Munster, still thinking he had not been given sufficient money or patronage, remained bitter to the end.[109]
Queen Adelaide attended the dying William devotedly, not going to bed herself for more than ten days.[110]William IV died in the early hours of the morning of 20 June 1837 atWindsor Castle, where he was buried. As he had no living legitimate issue, the Crown of the United Kingdom passed to Princess Victoria of Kent, the only child ofEdward Augustus, Duke of Kent, George III\'s fourth son. UnderSalic Law, a woman could not rule Hanover, and so the Hanoverian Crown went to George III\'s fifth son,Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. William\'s death thus ended thepersonal unionof Britain and Hanover, which had persisted since 1714. The main beneficiaries of his will were his eight surviving children by Mrs. Jordan.[51]Although William IV is not the direct ancestor of the later monarchs of the United Kingdom, he has many notable descendants through his illegitimate family with Mrs. Jordan, including Prime MinisterDavid Cameron,[111]TV presenterAdam Hart-Davis, author and statesmanDuff Cooper,[112]and thefirst Duke of Fife, who married Queen Victoria\'s granddaughterLouise.
Legacy[edit]A statue of William IV inGöttingen, GermanyWilliam\'s reign was short, but eventful. The ascendancy of the House of Commons and the corresponding decline of the House of Lords were marked by the Reform Crisis, during which the threat of flooding the Upper House with peers was used effectively for the first time by a ministry. The weakening of the House of Lords continued during the nineteenth century, and culminated during the twentieth century with the passage of theParliament Act 1911. The same threat which had been used during the Reform Crisis—the threat to flood the House of Lords by creating several new peers—was used to procure its passage.
The reduction in the influence of the Crown was clearly indicated by the events of William\'s reign, especially the dismissal of the Melbourne ministry. The crisis relating to Melbourne\'s dismissal also indicated the reduction in the King\'s influence with the people. During the reign of George III, the King could have dismissed one ministry, appointed another, dissolved Parliament, and expected the people to vote in favour of the new administration. Such was the result of a dissolution in 1784, after the dismissal of theFox-North Coalition, and 1807, after the dismissal ofWilliam Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville. But when William IV dismissed the Melbourne ministry, the Tories under Sir Robert Peel were not able to win the ensuing elections. The King\'s ability to influence the opinion of the people, and therefore national policy, had been reduced. None of William\'s successors has attempted to remove a government or appoint another against the wishes of Parliament. William understood that as a constitutional monarch he was powerless to act against the opinion of Parliament. He said, \"I have my view of things, and I tell them to my ministers. If they do not adopt them, I cannot help it. I have done my duty.\"[113]
During his reign great reforms were enacted by Parliament including the Factory Act, preventing child labour, the Abolition Act, emancipating slaves in the colonies, and the Poor Law, standardising provision for the destitute.[16]He attracted criticism from reformers, who felt that reform did not go far enough, and from reactionaries, who felt that reform went too far. The modern interpretation is that he failed to satisfy either political extreme by trying to find compromise between two bitterly opposed factions, but in the process proved himself more capable as a constitutional monarch than many had supposed.[114][115]
Titles, styles, honours and arms[edit]Titles and styles[edit]- 21 August 1765– 16 May 1789:His Royal HighnessThe Prince William Henry
- 16 May 1789– 26 June 1830:His Royal HighnessThe Duke of Clarence and St Andrews
- 26 June 1830– 20 June 1837:His MajestyThe King
William\'s official style as King of the United Kingdom was \"William the Fourth, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith\". He was the first king of the United Kingdom named William, though there were three previous kings ofEnglandcalled William and two ofScotland.
His style in Hanover was \"William the Fourth, by the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, etc., and also King of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, etc.\"
Honours[edit]British Honours
- KT:Knight of the Thistle,1770
- KG:Knight of the Garter,1782
As a son of the sovereign, William was granted the use of theroyal arms(without the electoralinescutcheonin the Hanoverianquarter) in 1781, differenced by alabelof three pointsargent, the centre point bearing a crossgules, the outer points each bearing an anchorazure.[116]In 1801 his arms altered with the royal arms, howeverthe marks of differenceremained the same.
As king his arms were those of his two kingdoms, the United Kingdom and Hanover, superimposed: Quarterly, I and IV Gules three lionspassant guardantinpaleOr(for England); II Or a lionrampantwithin atressureflory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland); overall an escutcheontierced per pale and per chevron(for Hanover), I Gules two lions passant guardant Or (for Brunswick), II Or asemyof hearts Gules a lion rampant Azure (for Lüneburg), III Gules a horsecourantArgent (for Westphalia), overall an inescutcheon Gules charged with the crown of Charlemagne Or, the whole escutcheon surmounted by a crown.[117]
Coat of Arms from 1801 to 1830 as Duke of ClarenceCoat of arms of King William IVCoat of arms of King William IV (in Scotland)1831 William IV Patriotic Commemorative Dragon Slayer Token ~ Medal # 10:
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