William IV, known as the Sailor King 1765-1837
King of Great Britain

The third son of George III, he was born at Buckingham Palace, London. He joined the navy (1779), and in 1789 he was created Duke of Clarence. He was formally promoted through the successive ranks to Admiral of the Fleet (1811), and in 1827-28 he held the revived office of Lord High Admiral. From 1790 to 1811 he lived with the actress Dorothy Jordan, who bore him 10 children but in 1818 he married Adelaide (1792-1849), eldest daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Their two daughters died in infancy. By the Duke of York's death (1827) the Duke of Clarence became heir presumptive to the throne, to which he succeeded at the death of his eldest brother, George IV in 1830. A Whig up to his accession, he turned Tory, and did much to obstruct the passing of the first Reform Act (1832) but then accepted a succession of liberal reforms. He was succeeded by his niece, Victoria.

Bibliography: Philip Zeigler, King William IV (1971)