William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV (William Henry) (21 August 1765–20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death. William, the son of King George III and younger brother and successor of King George IV, was the penultimate monarch of the House of Hanover. During his youth, he served in the Royal Navy; he was afterwards nicknamed the Sailor King. His reign was one of several reforms: the poor law updated, municipal government democratised, child labour restricted and slavery abolished throughout the British Empire. The most important reform legislation of William IV's reign was the Reform Act 1832, which refashioned the British electoral system. William did not meddle in politics as much as either his brother or his father, though he did prove to be the last monarch to appoint a Prime Minister contrary to the will of Parliament (in 1834).

Later years

For the remainder of his reign, William interfered actively in politics only once—in 1834—when he became the last Sovereign to choose a Prime Minister contrary to the will of Parliament. Two years after the passage of the Reform Act 1832, the ministry had become unpopular; it had also lost the support of the King due to its support for the reform of the Church of Ireland. In 1834, Lord Grey resigned; one of the Whigs in his cabinet, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, replaced him. The Melbourne administration, for the most part, included the same members as the Grey administration; though disliked by many in the country, it retained an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. Its reforming ways, however, were obnoxious to the King.

Related Topics:
1834 - Church of Ireland - William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne

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In October 1834, the Whig minister John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp inherited a peerage, thus removing him from the House of Commons to the Lords. Because of his removal to the Upper House, he was forced to relinquish the posts of Leader of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Exchequer—traditionally, a member of the House of Lords could hold neither post. All admitted that the loss of Lord Althorp required a partial reconstruction of the Cabinet, but William IV claimed that the ministry had been weakened beyond repair. He used the removal of Lord Althorp—not from the Government, but from one House to the other—as the pretext for the dismissal of the entire ministry.

Related Topics:
John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp - Leader of the House of Commons - Chancellor of the Exchequer

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With Lord Melbourne gone, William IV 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. When Peel returned and assumed leadership of the ministry for himself, he noticed the impossibility of governing with the large Whig majority in the House of Commons. Consequently, the King dissolved Parliament and forced fresh elections. Although the Tories won more seats than during the previous 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's ministry was restored, remaining in office for the rest of William IV's reign.

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William IV died in 1837 in Windsor Castle, where he was buried. As he had no living legitimate issue, the Crown of the United Kingdom passed to his eighteen-year-old niece, HRH Princess Victoria of Kent. Under Salic Law, a woman could not rule Hanover; thus, the Hanoverian Crown went to William IV's brother, HRH Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. William's death thus ended the personal union of Britain and Hanover, which had persisted since 1714.

Related Topics:
1837 - Windsor Castle - HRH Princess Victoria of Kent - Salic Law - HRH Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland - 1714

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