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George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover following the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his father's final mental illness. George IV led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and Sir Jeffry Wyattville to rebuild Windsor Castle. He was instrumental in the foundation of the National Gallery and King's College London. His charm and culture earned him the title "the first gentleman of England", but his poor relationship with both his father and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, and his dissolute way of life, earned him the contempt of the people and dimmed the prestige of the monarchy. He even forbade Caroline to attend his coronation and introduced the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. For most of George's regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister, with little help from George. His ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible. At all times he was much under the influence of favourites.〔Kenneth Baker, "George IV: a Sketch." ''History Today'' 2005 55(10): 30–36〕 Taxpayers were angry at his wasteful spending at a time when Britons were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. He did not provide national leadership in time of crisis, nor act as a role model for his people. Liverpool's government presided over Britain's ultimate victory, negotiated the peace settlement, and attempted to deal with the social and economic malaise that followed. After Liverpool's retirement, George was forced to accept Catholic emancipation despite opposing it. His only child, Princess Charlotte, died before him in 1817 and so he was succeeded by his younger brother, William. ==Early life== George was born at St James's Palace, London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth; he was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester a few days later.〔Smith, E. A., p.1〕 On 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury.〔Smith, E. A., p.2〕 His godparents were the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (his maternal uncle, for whom the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Chamberlain, stood proxy), the Duke of Cumberland (his twice-paternal great-uncle) and the Dowager Princess of Wales (his paternal grandmother).〔Hibbert, ''George IV: Prince of Wales 1762–1811'', p.2〕 George was a talented student, and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English. At the age of 18 he was given a separate establishment, and in dramatic contrast with his prosaic, scandal-free father, threw himself with zest into a life of dissipation and wild extravagance involving heavy drinking and numerous mistresses and escapades. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, but grossly expensive, taste in decorating his palace. The Prince turned 21 in 1783, and obtained a grant of £60,000 (equivalent to £ today) from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 (equivalent to £ today) from his father. It was far too little for his needs – the stables alone cost £31,000 a year. He then established his residence in Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life.〔Smith, E. A., pp.25–28〕 Animosity developed between the Prince and his father, who desired more frugal behaviour on the part of the heir apparent. The King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the Prince's adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians.〔Smith, E. A., p.48〕 Soon after he reached the age of 21, the Prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert. She was a commoner, six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic.〔Smith, E. A., p.33〕 Despite her complete unsuitability, the Prince was determined to marry her. This was in spite of the Act of Settlement 1701, which barred the spouse of a Catholic from succeeding to the throne, and the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which prohibited his marriage without the consent of the King, which would never have been granted. Nevertheless, the couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at her house in Park Street, Mayfair. Legally the union was void, as the King's consent was not granted (and never even requested).〔Smith, E. A., pp.36–38〕 However, Fitzherbert believed that she was the Prince's canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it.〔David, pp.57–91〕 The Prince was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle. His father refused to assist him, forcing him to quit Carlton House and live at Fitzherbert's residence. In 1787, the Prince's political allies proposed to relieve his debts with a parliamentary grant. The Prince's relationship with Fitzherbert was suspected, and revelation of the illegal marriage would have scandalised the nation and doomed any parliamentary proposal to aid him. Acting on the Prince's authority, the Whig leader Charles James Fox declared that the story was a calumny. Fitzherbert was not pleased with the public denial of the marriage in such vehement terms and contemplated severing her ties to the Prince. He appeased her by asking another Whig, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, to restate Fox's forceful declaration in more careful words. Parliament, meanwhile, granted the Prince £161,000 (equivalent to £ today) to pay his debts and £60,000 (equivalent to £ today) for improvements to Carlton House.〔〔De-la-Noy, p.31〕〔Marilyn Morris, "Princely Debt, Public Credit, and Commercial Values in Late Georgian Britain." ''Journal of British Studies'' 2004 43(3): 339–365〕 The Prince was admitted to the Odd Fellows at a date subsequent to 1780, which arguably is the first authentic reference to the society of Odd Fellows by name. 〔https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Odd_Fellows,_The_Independent_Order_of〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George IV of the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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