King of the United Kingdom George IV

Born on August 12, 1762, George IV was the eldest son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. He was known for his complex personality, combining a precocious intellect and strong will with a lack of ambition and a penchant for a lavish lifestyle. As a young man, he cultivated a reputation as a gifted dilettante and sensualist, often engaging in overindulgences with food, brandy, and opium, which led to significant personal debts. His private life was often scandalous, including a secret and annulled marriage to Mrs. Fitzherbert in 1785. In 1795, he entered an arranged marriage with his first cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick, which produced their only legitimate child, Princess Charlotte Augusta, in January 1796, before the couple separated in bitter enmity. Following his father King George III's descent into irreversible mental illness in 1810, George was formally declared Prince Regent on February 5, 1811. He succeeded to the throne upon his father's death on January 29, 1820, and was crowned at Westminster on July 19, 1821. His reign was immediately overshadowed by a public and acrimonious attempt to divorce Queen Caroline, which, despite widespread public support for the Queen, ultimately failed. As king, George IV largely opposed governmental reforms, often thwarting his own prime ministers, though social changes still occurred during the 1820s. Despite his unpopularity due to his extravagance amidst public poverty, he was a man of taste who commissioned several notable architectural projects, including the Brighton Pavilion, Windsor Castle, and Buckingham Palace. George IV died of a heart attack on June 26, 1830, and was succeeded by his brother, William IV, as his only legitimate child had died in childbirth in 1817.