34. William IV

The Kings and Queens podcast

When William IV (1830-37) was a teenage sailor drinking and debauching his way across the empire alongside such esteemed friends as Horatio Nelson, no one expected that one day he would king. He was taught no royal graces or decorum, yet his time would come. He was described as unassuming and disinterested in pomp and as hard-working and conscientious. Despite a short rule, he would provide royal assent to some of the most significant acts in British history. He had political views and his lack of royal training meant; he would not be lightly brushed aside.

Characters

William IV – King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1830-37)
Queen Adelaide – Queen consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1830-37)
George IV - King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1820-30), elder brother of William IV
George III - King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1820), father of William IV and George IV
Queen Charlotte – Queen consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1761-1818), mother of William IV and George IV
Prince Frederick – elder brother of William IV
Prince Adolphus – younger brother of William IV
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent – younger brother of William IV, father of Victoria
Victoria, Duchess of Kent – wife of Edward, mother of Prince Victoria
Princess Victoria – niece of William IV and heir to the throne
George, Earl of Munster – illegitimate son of William IV and Dorothea Jordan
Dorothea Jordan – long-time mistress of William

Horatio Nelson – British flag officer in the Royal Navy

William Wilberforce – leading abolitionist

George Canning – Prime Minister (1827)
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington – Commander at the Battle of Waterloo, Prime Minister (1828-30, 1834)
Charles Grey, Earl Grey – Prime Minister (1830-34)
William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne – Prime Minister (1834, 1835-41)
Robert Peel – Prime Minister (1834-35)
John Russell – Home Secretary
Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston – Foreign Secretary
Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby – War Secretary
Henry Brougham – Lord High Chancellor

John Nash - architect

Charles Greville – Diarist
Emily Eden - Poet

George Washington – Commander-in-chief of the Continental army, 1stPresident of the United States

Credits

Beethoven’s 6th symphony ‘Pastorale’

Freesound.org and BBC sound effects

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