I knew that without a doubt, this Monarch of the Month needed to cover the Regency. I’m getting more Regency questions than ever, thanks to Bridgerton, and it seems to be a mystery for many. (Feel free to keep asking those questions!) Although he wasn’t actually the Monarch during the period, he was the Regent (henceforth the Regency) and set the trends of society. Without any further dallying, let’s jump into King George IV!
Monarch of the Month: George IV Fast Facts
Birth Date: 12 August 1762
Death Date: 26 June, 1830
Reign: 29 January 1820- 26 June 1830
Coronation Date: 19 July 1821
Predecessor: George III
Successor: William IV
House: Hanover
Father: George III
Mother: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Spouse(s): Caroline of Brunswick
Why Do We Know George IV?
The Regency- we know him because of the Regency. His actual reign wasn’t great for the UK, but was only 10 years. However, the wider Regency period is well-known in television and books, thanks to the popularity of Jane Austen. He is an interesting figure all on his own, but we don’t remember him for his wife banging on the door of Westminster Abbey (more on that later). We remember him for the Regency!
George IV’s Early Life- One of Many
George Augustus Frederick was the eldest child of King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He had 14 younger siblings, with 12 of them surviving to adulthood. He was an intelligent child, and a dedicated student- he has an aptitude for languages, and became fluent in Greek, Italian, and German. George had an infamously terrible relationship with his father, but was close with his mother. He and his brothers were educated together, but while they were allowed to go into the military, George was not as the Prince of Wales.
Freedom at 18
George and Charlotte kept a very tight rein on their children all throughout childhood and adolescence. And as one might expect, most of the children rebelled, and George more than the others. He was a gregarious and charismatic person, and he knew how to use that to his advantage. In line with royal traditions, George was given his own household at 18, and he took every advantage of it. He quickly took to excessive eating and drinking, mistresses, gambling, and general mayhem with his friends. (The complete opposite of his father, in true Hanoverian fashion.) He quickly racked up significant debt, and his annual income of £50,000 was nowhere near enough what he needed to finance his lifestyle at Carlton House.
Marriage to Maria Fitzherbert
At this point in time, George was governed by both the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which dictated that several members of the royal family needed the sovereign’s permission to marry, as well as the The Act of Succession 1701, which barred anyone who was Catholic or married to a Catholic from holding the throne. On 15 December 1785, George married the Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert, a commoner. He didn’t even bother to ask the king’s permission, so legally the marriage was null and void. However, Fitzherbert would consider herself the Prince’s canonical and true wife for the rest of her life. Goerge did enjoy life with her, but his debts continued to rise and the only way to satisfy his father and parliament and receive a higher allowance was to legally marry. Fitzherbert received a letter in June of 1794 informing her that the relationship was over and the marriage was not legal- George would be marrying his first cousin, Caroline of Brunswick.
Note: George is often cited whenever a member of the extended British royal family marries a Catholic, but with the Act of Succession 2013, marriage to a Catholic no longer precludes you from holding the throne, so this is an irrelevant point. (And typically sloppy journalism.)
Caroline of Brunswick- A Marriage Made in Hell
George decided that his royal partner would be Princess Caroline of Brunswick. And quite frankly, he could not have chosen a worse person. Caroline thought that George was fat and was fall-over drunk at their wedding; George thought that Caroline was unhygienic and ugly. Miraculously, they were able to consummate their marriage, and after only two nights together, Caroline was pregnant. Nine months later, Princess Charlotte of Wales was born.
The two immediately separated, as their unhappiness was common knowledge. Caroline moved into a private residence in Charlton, and Charlotte was raised by a governess at Carlton House. She was taken to a mansion close to Montagu House in the summers, and Caroline was able to visit her there, but was not allowed to actually raise her daughter. Both George and Caroline had several other relationships.
The Regency
George III suffered with physical and mental illness throughout much of his adult life. In the 1788, he was incapacitated and unable to perform any of his duties. The government argued over whether or not the wild Prince of Wales should be allowed to act as Prince Regent, but the bill was put to parliament in February of 1789. However, before the bill could pass, the king recovered.
At the end of 1810, the king sunk into permanent illness. He had little understanding of what was happening day to day, and could fluctuate wildly between melancholia and mania. By 1811, it was obvious that a regent would be needed, and by all rights, that title belonged to the Prince of Wales. The now-Prince Regent technically oversaw all of the king’s duties, though very poorly. George had no interest in governing in any manner, and meddled only enough to make messes.
The Regency was a great period in the development of English culture, literature, arts, though, under the Prince Regent. You can see the evidence of the Regency in Regent’s Park and Regent’s Street in London today, the surviving Brighton Pavillion, and in spa towns like Bath. The Prince’s friend, Beau Brummell, set the fashion for men’s suits as we would (mostly) recognise them now. ESchewing the early Stuart and Georgian styles of elaborate court dress, Brummell’s dandy look was expensive but much more streamlined and neutral.
The Reign of King George IV
George III died in 1820, and the Prince Regent became King George IV. His daughter, Charlotte, had died in 1817, and George had been overcome by grief. George’s heavy drinking and eating continued for his entire adult life, and he was overweight and not even close to in good health by the time he took the throne. (He may have been addicted to laudanum by this point.
The reign started off poorly- George’s coronation in 1821 was the most expensive coronation in English history. He had to delay it while he pursued his divorce trial, but it didn’t go through and it only turned more people against him. Caroline wasn’t allowed to attend his coronation, and she stood banging on the doors to be let in to no avail. He spent most of his reign in seclusion at Windsor, and other than occasionally meddling in politics, he did little of note. Suffice it to say, few people were sad when he passed in 1830.
George IV: Interesting Facts
– Prinny- If you ever see Prinny referenced in a book or show (like Sanditon), it is referencing George as the Prince Regent. Depending on whom you asked, it was a witty or denigrating nickname.
– George was the first reigning monarch to visit the UK since Charles II. His 1822 visit to Scotland was planned by Sir Walter Scott, and ignited the trend of the English wearing tartan. (It had been outlawed in Scotland in 1745 after the Jacobite rebellion.)
– He spent a lot of time in both Bath and Brighton, spa towns where the upper levels of society would “recuperate” from various illnesses (and also socialise and carouse the same as anywhere else).
– George was so upset by his daughter’s death that he was unable to attend her funeral.
Further Readings on George IV
David, Saul. Prince of Pleasure: the Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency. New York: Grove Press, 2000.
Hibbert, Christopher. George IV: the Rebel Who Would Be King. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Tillyard, S. K. George IV: King in Waiting. London: Penguin Books, 2017.
Rex Factor Podcast. George IV episode.
Looking for my earlier Monarch of the Month posts? Read about Mary I here! And read About Anne here! Edward the Confessor more your speed? Or William IV? Edward IV? Maybe James I? Or our own Queen’s grandfather, George V? Perhaps Mary, Queen of Scots?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
