William IV (1765-1837) and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (1792-1849)

[theroyalfly]

Today in Royal History is the 254th birthday of King William IV of the United Kingdom son of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz at Buckingham Palace, London. He died age 71 on 20 June 1837.

 

[Ralf]

How many children exactly?

William married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in 1819. All their children were stillborn or lived a very short time, so the throne went to William's niece Victoria when he died in 1837.

How many children did William and Adelaide have exactly? I found numbers between 2 and 7, but I have no idea how many children there were. Can anyone shine a light on this?

 

[An Ard Ri]

As per Wikipedia under search for 'Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_of_Saxe-Meiningen


Princess Charlotte of Clarence:27th of March 1819

Stillborn child:5th September 1819

Princess Elizabeth of Clarence:10th of December 1820-4th of March 1821

Stillborn twin boys: 8th of April 1822

 

[CyrilVladisla]

According to tradition, William, Duke of Clarence could not be present when Princess Adelaide arrived in England. The Prince Regent, standing in for the incapacitated King George III, welcomed Princess Adelaide to her new country.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

An 1837 book about King William IV of England

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King William IV and Queen Adelaide at the opening ceremony of London Bridge in 1831
http://www.maryevans.com/history/10055152

 

[Blog Real]

William aged thirteen (left) and his younger brother Edward, painted by Benjamin West, 1778.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Prince_William_and_Prince_Edward_1778.jpg

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On July 4, 1818 Adelaide met William, Duke of Clarence at Grillon's Hotel.
Adelaide, the queen who met her king in a hotel – Royal Central

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Why were the lives of Queen Adelaide and King William IV considered to be complicated?

 

[Prinsara]

William, probably because he had the typical difficult and suffocating/essentially abandoned George III childhood and the ten illegitimate kids with Ms. Jordan... and Adelaide probably because none of her children lived, and she also had to be William's more sensible influence (and succeeded).

But I would say a lot of royals had more complicated lives than that. They were pretty happy together. Victoria liked both of them, probably because they always tried to be nice to her.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Prince William when a midshipman standing on HMS Prince George

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/771804454917692032/

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King William IV suggested Buckingham House (Palace) be turned over to Parliament after the old Palace of Westminster burned in 1834.

 

[An Ard Ri]

An 1832 Portrait of Queen Adelaide by John Simpson

 

[Maryrose]

Just curious but since William iv died without an heir his niece Victoria became Queen and his brother was the ruler of Hanover. Is there a reason why his brother didn't ascend the throne instead of his niece Victoria?

 

[Stefan]

Just curious but since William iv died without an heir his niece Victoria became Queen and his brother was the ruler of Hanover. Is there a reason why his brother didn't ascend the throne instead of his niece Victoria?

Because the succession law was not salic, so woman could inherit in the UK.

 

[Maryrose]

Thanks for pointing that out Stefan. I just looked at the family tree and see why Victoria became Queen over her uncle.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I just looked at the family tree and see why Victoria became Queen over her uncle.

In most other European monarchies of the time, Victoria's uncle would have become King over her even with the same family tree. However, the Act of Settlement (a 1701 law) stipulated that the UK throne would follow "heirs of the body" rules, which originate in ancient customs of land inheritance and permit land (or in this case, the throne) to pass to daughters in the absence of sons.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Just curious but since William iv died without an heir his niece Victoria became Queen and his brother was the ruler of Hanover. Is there a reason why his brother didn't ascend the throne instead of his niece Victoria?

Ernest Augustus was the fifth son of George III,his niece Victoria was the only child of the fourth son of George III (Prince Edward, Duke of Kent )​

Victoria was above Ernest Augustus in the British Line of Succession.
Victoria was not in the Hanoverian Line of Succession due to the Salic Law.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

The succession to Hanover was semi-Salic, so Victoria could conceivably have succeeded in the very unlikely event that all male princes from all branches of the dynasty had died out.

 

[An Ard Ri]

His eldest illegitimate daughter ,Sophie drew this sketch of her father in 1837 shortly before his death.