WILLIAM TV. (1765-1837), king of England, third son of George III., was born at Buckingham Palace on Aug. 21, 1765. In he was sent to sea and became a midshipman under Admiral Digby. Next year he sailed under Rodney and took part in the action off Cape St. Vincent (Jan. 16, 178o). During the rest of the war the young prince saw plenty of service, for which he had a strong liking, and so laid the foundation of his popularity. On the conclusion of the war he travelled in Germany, visiting Hanover and Berlin, where he was entertained by Frederick the Great. In 1785 he passed for lieutenant; next year he was made captain and stationed in the West Indies.
In 1789 he was made duke of Clarence. When war was de clared against the French republic in 1793, he could obtain no command. He amused or revenged himself by joining the prince of Wales and the duke of York in their opposition to the king. He took his seat in the House of Lords, where he defended the extravagances of the prince of Wales, spoke on the Divorce Bill, and vehemently opposed the emancipation of slaves. Meanwhile he formed a connection with Mrs. Jordan, the actress, with whom he lived on terms of mutual affection and fidelity for nearly twenty years. The death of Princess Charlotte in 1817 compelled him to break with Mrs. Jordan, and to marry (1818) Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, who obtained great influence over her husband. On the death of the duke of York in 1827 the duke of Clarence became heir to the throne, and in the same year he was appointed lord high admiral. He endeavoured to assume independent control of naval affairs, although his patent precluded him from acting without the advice of two members of his council. This involved him in a quarrel with Sir George Cockburn, in which he had to give way. As he still continued to act in defiance of rules, the king was at length obliged to call upon him to resign.
On June 26, 1830 the death of George IV. placed him on the throne. During the first two years of his reign England under went an agitation more violent than any from which it had suffered since 1688. William IV. was well-meaning and con scientious; but his timidity and irresolution drove ministers to despair, while his anxiety to avoid extremes and his want of insight into affairs prolonged a dangerous crisis and brought the country to the verge of revolution. The July revolution in France gave a great impulse to the reform movement in England. Within
a fortnight of the opening of parliament the Tory ministry were beaten on a motion for the reform of the civil list, and resigned. Lord Grey undertook to form a ministry, with the avowed inten tion of bringing in a large measure of reform. This was not in itself displeasing to the king, who had liberal tendencies, and a few years before had supported Catholic emancipation. But when the government were beaten in committee, and offered to resign, the king declined to accept their resignation, but at the same time was unwilling to dissolve. He was only forced to it (April 1831) by the action of the opposition. After a protracted political crisis (see GREY, CHARLES GREY, 2nd earl) the king was com pelled to consent to create a sufficient number of new peers to carry the Second Reform bill, and the threat was successful in bringing about the passing of the act in 1832.
During the rest of his reign William IV. had not much oppor tunity of active political interference, but on one other occasion he made an unjustifiable use of his prerogative. This was in Nov. 1834 when he suddenly dismissed the Melbourne ministry on a mere pretext, but in reality because he disapproved of their Irish Church policy, and summoned Sir Robert Peel. The formation of the Peel ministry was immediately followed by a dissolution, and, beaten on Lord John Russell's motion respecting the Irish Church (3rd of April, 1835), Peel resigned and Melbourne again came into power. Under him the Whigs retained the lead during the remainder of the reign. This coup d'etat of Nov. was the last occasion on which an English sovereign attempted to impose an unpopular ministry on the majority in parliament.
In May 1837 the king began to show signs of debility, and died from an affection of the heart on June 20, leaving behind him the memory of a genial, frank, warm-hearted man, but a blunder ing, though well-intentioned prince. He was succeeded by his niece Queen Victoria.