William IV

William IV of the United Kingdom

Born in the early hours of 21st August 1765 at the Buckingham House, William IV was the third child and son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. George and Frederick, the two elder brothers were to inherit the British Crown. However, William IV was known for his immaculate dressings. He spend majority of his life at Richmond and Kew. He was educated by private tutors and at an early age of 13 he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman. He was a part of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1780. His experiences in the navy seem to have been little different than those of other sailors, doing his share of the cooking. He got arrested with his shipmates after a drunken brawl on Gibraltar, however hastily released when his identity became known. William IV served in New York during the American War of Independence.

Some what driven by modern fashion, William IV became a Lieutenant in 1785 and Captain of HMS Pegasus the following year. In late 1786, he was stationed in the West Indies under Horatio Nelson. In a mutual admiration for William IV, Horatio wrote of William, “In his professional line, he is superior to two-thirds, I am sure, of the existing naval list; and in attention to orders, and respect to his superior officer, and I hardly know his equal.” The two were great friends, and dined together almost nightly. At Nelson’s wedding, the prince William IV insisted on giving the bride away. He was given command of the frigate HMS Andromeda in 1788, and was promoted to Rear-Admiral in command of HMS Valiant the following year.

William sought to be made a Duke like his elder brothers, and to receive a similar Parliamentary grant, but his father was reluctant. To put pressure on him, William threatened to run for the House of Commons for the constituency of Totnes in Devon. Appalled at the prospect of his son making his case to the voters, George III created him Duke of Clarence and St Andrews and Earl of Munster on 16 May 1789.