William IV . (b. 21 August 1765 – d. 20 June 1837) . William was the third son of George III & Queen Charlotte. He succeeded his elder brother George IV, becoming the last king & penultimate monarch of Britain’s House of Hanover. . During his career in the Royal Navy he served in New York during the American War of Independence, making him the only member of the British royal family to visit America up to & through the American Revolution. . William ceased his active service in the Royal Navy in 1790. When Britain declared war on France in 1793, he was anxious to serve his country & expected a command, but was not given a ship. He did not lose hope of being appointed to an active post. In 1798 he was made an admiral, but the rank was purely nominal. . In 1813, he came nearest to any actual fighting, when he visited the British troops fighting in the Low Countries. Watching the bombardment of Antwerp from a church steeple, he came under fire, & a bullet pierced his coat. . From 1791 William lived with an Irish actress, Dorothea Bland, better known by her stage name, Mrs Jordan. The couple had ten illegitimate children—five sons & five daughters—nine of whom were named after William’s siblings; each was given the surname “FitzClarence”. Their affair lasted for twenty years before ending in 1811. On 11 July 1818 at Kew Palace, William 27 years her senior, married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. William’s marriage, which lasted almost twenty years until his death, was a happy one. The couple had two short-lived daughters & Adelaide suffered three miscarriages. . Aged 64, he was the oldest person yet to assume the British throne. He refused, to celebrate the coronation in the expensive way his brother had—the 1821 coronation had cost £240,000. At William’s instructions, the Privy Council budgeted less than £30,000 for the coronation. . Unlike his extravagant brother, William was unassuming, discouraging pomp & ceremony. William was known, especially early in his reign, to walk, unaccompanied, through London or Brighton. . . . #WilliamIV #KingWilliamIV #Theking #Monarchy #BritishMonarch (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAdigu8jRLy/?igshid=9ju0mowlkgf8
