 William IV (1765-1837) was the son of King George III and Charlotte of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was so
delighted to become king, on the death of his brother George IV in
1830, that he drove round London personally greeting his new
subjects. In his youth, William had served in the Royal Navy and
commanded ships. He was made a Rear Admiral in 1789, the same year
he was created Duke of Clarence. In 1811, William became admiral
of the Fleet. William married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in 1818.
for the sake of this marriage William had to leave his
longstanding mistress and their ten children.
Sadly, the two daughters of William
and Adelaide, died in infancy and William's heir was his niece,
Victoria. William became king at 65 and his great ambition was to
live long enough for Victoria to reach her majority at age 18. William
achieved his ambition in 1837 by a mere four weeks.
Three of England's greatest reforms were passed during his reign. They were the Reform Bill of
1832 which completely transformed the make-up of Parliament, the abolition of slavery in England's colonies, and factory reform
that banned child labour. |
