William IV (1765-1837) - Find a Grave Memorial

British Monarch. He was the third son of King George III and was not expected to become king after his brother, George IV, produced an heir. William joined the Royal Navy and served in various places including the Americas. He was made Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews and also Earl of Ulster. He lived with an actress called Mrs Dorothea Jordan with whom he had a family of 10 children who were given the family name of FitzClarence. In 1818 his niece Charlotte died which meant there was no heir following the current generation which was by now well into middle age. William had to abandon Mrs Jordan and marry Adelaide of Sax-Coburg on 11 July 1818. Although she became pregnant three times, the two daughters and twin sons all died. William's reign followed that of his extravagant brother George IV but he was a very different person with far less expensive tastes. William also brought to the Monarchy a sense of duty which had been absent before and this was developed further by his niece Victoria who succeeded him in 1837 and by her descendents. The greatest political event in William's short reign were the changes brought to the corrupt electoral system of the UK which was ended by the Reform Act. This gave the vote to a far wider range of people. It was also while William was King that Charles Darwin left on HMS Beagle. At the start of his reign the country was near to rebellion but by the time of his death, the population looked upon the Monarchy with affection and perhaps this was his biggest achievement . (bio by Peter Scarratt)