Born 21st August 1765 in Buckingham House, London, England – Died 20th June 1837 at Windsor Castle, aged 71
Also known as Wilhelm Heinrich, William Henry and Duke of Clarence. Nicknamed ‘The Sailor King’ and ‘Silly Billy’.
William IV reigned from June 26th 1830 (succeeding to the throne at age 64) until 1837 as King of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover. The House of Hanover was a British Royal house of German origin, connected to the British crown until the end of William IV reign. Queen Victoria, who inherited the British crown, was barred as a woman from succession to Hanover by continental Salic Law. Therefore, the connection ended there. William IV died on 20th June 1837, a month after his niece, Victoria, had come of age which avoided another regency. He was buried in the Royal Vault at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
William was the third son of George III and Queen Charlotte. William had older brothers George and Frederick, thereby he was third in line to the throne and never expected to become King. His eldest brother, George, became George IV after their father became mentally unwell. Then in 1827, Frederick died which left William heir presumptive. 3 years later, on 26th June 1830, his eldest brother King George IV died and, without any legitimate heirs, left William as King.
William was coronated in September 1831. He chose to have a modest ceremony, budgeting less than £30,000 for his coronation, compared to the £240,000 of his brother’s 1821 coronation. William IV was described as portraying a stable and down-to-earth image. Settling into his role, William IV tried his best to involve himself with the public as well as those working in parliament, noted by the then Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington.
As suggested by one of his nicknames, ‘The Sailor King’, William spent a considerable time at sea and in the Navy. Aged 13, William became midshipman and first started his career in the Royal Navy. He is noted as having fought in the American War of Independence and was present at the Battle of Cape, St Vincent – one of the opening battles of the Anglo-Spanish war.
Stories of note during his time at sea include when George Washington approved a plan to kidnap young William IV. Fortunately for William, the British received intelligence before the plot could be enacted and he was assigned a guard for protection. His status meant that William was even exonerated for his involvement in a drunken fight in Gibraltar! Throughout his career, he also had relations with other high-profile individuals; in the late 1780s, Wiliam was serving in the West Indies and became known to the future naval hero Horatio Nelson.
William remained keen to explore success in other areas. He desired to be a duke like his brothers and wanted to stand in the House of Commons for the Devonshire constituency of Totnes. His father had reservations but eventually gave in and made William Duke of Clarence and St Andrews and Earl of Munster in the late 1780’s. Other political avenues of interest include his opposition towards the abolition of slavery. It is thought that, following his time in the West Indies, many of his views were reflective of plantation owners whom he had connected with during his stay.
William later retired from the Navy in 1790. Three years later in 1793, Britain went to war with France. William had expressed some very mixed messages about his opinion of the Napoleonic war and his support (or not) of it. He was expecting to be called up to serve but never received an active role. Instead, he was made Admiral in 1798 and Admiral of the Fleet in 1811 but these positions were more honorary.
William was known to have had numerous love affairs. Between 1794 and 1807, he had had 10 illegitimate children by the Irish comedian ‘Mrs Jordan’, aka Dorothea Bland. After 20 years together, William drew the relationship to an end, giving Dorothea a financial settlement and custody of her children, on the condition that she not return to being an actress. When she disobeyed and went back to acting, William took custody and stopped her maintenance payments. This had a significant impact on Dorothea who spent her remaining years poor in Paris. As for William, he knew he needed to find himself a wife to produce a legitimate heir to the throne. It was decided for him to be married on 11th July 1818 to young Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. They were married for 20 years and had 2 daughters though both died in infancy, leaving William no heirs.
William’s reign was marked by several momentous changes. One was the Reform Act of 1832. In 1830, the government supported by William was defeated in the general election. Lord Grey was the figure introducing such a reform. He urged William to dissolve parliament, thereby forcing a new general election to allow Lord Grey to seek permission for parliamentary reform. The Second Reform Bill was rejected by the House of Lords in October 1831. Agitation grew across the country and the Grey ministry refused to accept defeat, re-introducing the Bill later. The Bill was later signed by King William IV. Lord Grey wanted to make changes to the electoral system which had not seen changes since the 13th Century. His Reform Bill made such changes as to abolish some of the inequities across the country. The system had originally been characterised by inconsistencies in representation – in some northern and industrialised areas there were no MPs to represent them, whilst further south in Cornwall there were 42! Even small boroughs, known as rotten or pocket boroughs, with minimal voters were able to elect a number of MPs for representation. The Reform Crisis marked the ascendancy of the House of Commons and the subsequent decline of the House of Lords. William’s interest and involvement in politics also extended to his choice of Prime Minister and under his reign was the last time a monarch appointed a Prime Minister against the will of parliament.
Several other notable reforms marked William’s reign. In 1833 was the Abolition of Slavery Act, liberating slaves in the colonies. In the same year, the Factory act which served to prevent and restrict the rampant use of child labour at the time. The next year, 1834, the Poor Law Amendment Act was introduced as a measure to assist in the provision of the poor through a system which would lead to the construction of workhouses across the country. This act was passed with a large majority and seen as a positive way of reforming the failures of the old system.
William left behind an eventful legacy characterised by reform, increased stability and a roadmap for constitutional monarchy.
Many pubs across Great Britain are called the King William IV. He is a popular monarch among pub names, likely linked to the passing of the 1830 Beerhouse Act during his reign. This reform liberalised the brewing and selling of beer and concurrently the number of pubs multiplied beyond belief. William is, therefore, celebrated by having his name on so many.
Ours, The King William IV, West Horsley, was originally two Georgian houses. In the 1830’s, a local miller, Edmund Collins, bought the 2 adjoining cottages and knocked them together in order to create a dwelling space for his family and room to brew ale. The original windows are said to still remain.
As a miller, he was already in possession of the raw ingredients needed for brewing and he took full advantage of the new law, that anyone could obtain a licence to brew ale and sell it from their homes. This law was a direct reaction to the sudden emergence of ‘Gin Houses’ and the epidemic of gin-drinking that was stealing across England at the time, destroying the working classes through addiction. The drinking of old-fashioned English ale was considered a much healthier alternative and widely supported by the government!
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The King William IV
83 The Street | West Horsley | Surrey
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