Editing George IV (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Allan Ramsay - Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), with her Two Eldest Sons - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|upright|George (left) with his mother, Queen Charlotte, and younger brother, [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Frederick]]. Portrait by [[Allan Ramsay (artist)|Allan Ramsay]], 1764]]

George was born at [[St James's Palace]], London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of [[King George III]] 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.{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|page=1}} On 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by [[Thomas Secker]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|page=2}} His godparents were his maternal uncle [[Adolphus Frederick IV, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]] (for whom the [[Lord Chamberlain]], [[William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire]], stood proxy); his paternal grand-uncle [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland]]; and his grandmother [[Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales]].{{Sfnp|Hibbert|1972|page=2}} George was a talented student and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English.{{Sfnp|Hibbert|2008}}

At the age of 18, Prince George was given a separate establishment, and in dramatic contrast to 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. George turned 21 in 1783, and obtained a grant of £60,000 (equivalent to £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|60000|1783|r=-3}}}} today{{Inflation/fn|UK|df=y}}) from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 (equivalent to £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|50000|1783|r=-3}}}} today{{Inflation/fn|UK|df=y}}) from his father. It was far too little for his wants—his stables alone cost £31,000 a year. He then established his residence in [[Carlton House]], where he lived a profligate life.{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|pages=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.{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|page=48}}

[[File:GeorgeIV1780.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Portrait miniature]] by [[Richard Cosway]], {{circa|1780}}–82]]

Soon after he reached the age of 21, the prince became infatuated with [[Maria Fitzherbert]]. She was a commoner (though granddaughter of a baronet), six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic.{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|page=33}} Nevertheless, 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 King's consent.{{Sfnp|Parissien|2001|page=64}}

The couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at Fitzherbert's house in Park Street, [[Mayfair]]. Legally the union was void, as the King's consent was not granted (and never even requested).{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|pages=36–38}} However, Fitzherbert believed that she was the prince's [[Canon law|canonical]] and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union was to remain secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it.{{Sfnp|David|2000|pages=57–91}} But, in spring 1786, covert allusions to the marriage appeared in the press, and several satirical prints depicted the clandestine marriage.{{Sfnp|Garrett|2022|page=105}} 

Prince George 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. George'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 Prince George's authority, the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] leader Charles James Fox declared that the story was a calumny.{{Sfnp|Innes|1914|pages=396–397}} Fitzherbert was not pleased with the public denial of the marriage in such vehement terms and contemplated severing her ties to George. 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 £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|161000|1787|r=-3}}}} today{{Inflation/fn|UK|df=y}}) to pay his debts and £60,000 (equivalent to £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|60000|1787|r=-3}}}} today{{Inflation/fn|UK|df=y}}) for improvements to Carlton House.{{Sfnp|Hibbert|2008}}{{Sfnp|De-la-Noy|1998|page=31}}<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal |last=Marilyn |first=Morris |date=2004 |title=Princely Debt, Public Credit, and Commercial Values in Late Georgian Britain |journal=[[Journal of British Studies]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=339–365 |doi=10.1086/383599 |s2cid=145614284}}</ref>