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. He had earlier served as Prince Regent when his father, George III, suffered from a relapse into insanity from porphyria.

Regency

In late 1810, George III was once again overcome by his malady following the death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia. Parliament agreed to follow the precedent of 1788; without the King's consent, the Lord Chancellor affixed the Great Seal of the Realm to letters patent naming Lords Commissioners. The Lords Commissioners, in the name of the King, signified the granting of the Royal Assent to a bill which became the Regency Act 1811. Parliament restricted some of the powers of the Prince Regent (as the Prince of Wales became known). The constraints expired one year after the passage of the Act.

Related Topics:
1810 - Princess Amelia - Letters patent - Royal Assent - Regency Act 1811

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As the Prince of Wales became Prince Regent, one of the most important political conflicts facing the country concerned Catholic Emancipation, the project to relieve Roman Catholics of various political disabilities. The Tories, led by the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, were opposed to Catholic Emancipation, whilst 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, 1st Baron Grenville. He did not, however, immediately put Lord Grenville and the Whigs in office. He claimed that a sudden dismissal of the Tory government would exact too great a toll on the health of the King (a steadfast supporter of the Tories), thereby eliminating any chance of a recovery. In 1812, when it appeared highly unlikely that the King would recover, the Prince of Wales failed to appoint a new Whig administration. Instead, he asked the Whigs to join the existing ministry under Spencer Perceval. The Whigs, however, refused to co-operate because of disagreements over Catholic Emancipation. Angrily, the Prince of Wales allowed Perceval to continue as Prime Minister.

Related Topics:
Catholic Emancipation - Roman Catholics - Spencer Perceval - William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville - 1812

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When, in May 1812, John Bellingham assassinated Spencer Perceval, the Prince of Wales was prepared to reappoint all the members of the Perceval ministry under a new leader, except that the House of Commons formally declared its desire for a more "strong and efficient administration." The Prince of Wales then offered leadership of the government to Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, and afterwards to Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira. He doomed the attempts of both to failure, however, by forcing each to construct a bipartisan ministry at a time when neither party wished to share power with the other. Using the failure of the two peers as a pretext, the Prince of Wales immediately reappointed the Perceval administration, with Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool as Prime Minister.

Related Topics:
John Bellingham - Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley - Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira

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The Tories, unlike Whigs such as Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, sought to continue the vigorous prosecution of the war against the powerful and aggressive Emperor of France, Napoleon I. With the aid of Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and other countries, the United Kingdom defeated Napoleon in 1814. In the subsequent Congress of Vienna, it was decided that the Electorate of Hanover (a state which had shared a monarch with Britain since 1714) would be raised to a Kingdom. Napoleon made a return in 1815, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the brother of the Marquess Wellesley. Also in 1815, another war, the British-American War (also called the War of 1812), was brought to an end, with neither side victorious.

Related Topics:
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey - France - Napoleon I - Russia - Prussia - Sweden - Austria - 1814 - Congress of Vienna - Electorate of Hanover - 1714 - 1815 - Battle of Waterloo - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington - British-American War

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During this period George as Regent took an active interest in matters of style and taste, and his associates such as the dandy, Beau Brummell and the architect John Nash created the Regency style. In London Nash designed the Regency terraces of Regent's Park and Regent Street. George took up the new idea of the seaside spa and had the Brighton Pavilion developed as a fantastical seaside palace adapted by Nash in the "Indian Gothic" style inspired loosely by the Taj Mahal, with extravagant "Indian" and "Chinese" interiors.

Related Topics:
Beau Brummell - John Nash - Regency style - London - Regent's Park - Regent Street - Brighton Pavilion - Taj Mahal

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