Editing George IV (section)

==Reign==
[[File:Coronation of George IV.jpg|thumb|left|[[George IV's coronation]], 19 July 1821]]
[[File:The landing of his Majesty, George the Fourth, at Holyhead, August 7th 1821.jpeg|thumb|left|George IV at [[Holyhead]] en route to Ireland on 7 August 1821, the day of his wife's death]]

When George III died in 1820, the Prince Regent, then aged 57, ascended the throne as George IV, with no real change in his powers.{{Sfnp|Innes|1915|page=81}} By the time of his accession, he was obese and possibly addicted to [[laudanum]].{{Sfnp|Hibbert|2008}}

George IV's relationship with his wife Caroline had deteriorated by the time of his accession. They had lived separately since 1796, and both were having affairs. In 1814, Caroline left the United Kingdom for continental Europe, but she chose to return for [[Coronation of George IV|her husband's coronation]] and to publicly assert her rights as [[queen consort]]. However, he refused to recognise Caroline as queen, and commanded British ambassadors to ensure that monarchs in foreign courts did the same. By royal command, Caroline's name was omitted from the [[Book of Common Prayer]], the [[liturgy]] of the [[Church of England]].{{Sfnp|Parissien|2001|pages=209–224}}

The King sought a divorce, but his advisors suggested that any divorce proceedings might involve the publication of details relating to George's own adulterous relationships. Therefore, he requested and ensured the introduction of the [[Pains and Penalties Bill]], under which Parliament could have imposed legal penalties without a trial in a court of law. The bill would have annulled the marriage and stripped Caroline of the title of queen. The bill proved extremely unpopular with the public, and was withdrawn from Parliament. George decided, nonetheless, to exclude his wife from his coronation at [[Westminster Abbey]], on 19 July 1821. Caroline fell ill that day and died on 7 August; during her final illness she often stated that she thought she had been poisoned.{{Sfnp|Innes|1915|page=82}}

[[File:George4coin.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Half crown (British coin)|Half-crown]] of George IV, 1821]]
[[File:George IV in kilt, by Wilkie.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George IV in Highland Dress|Portrait depicting George during his 1822 trip to Scotland]] by [[David Wilkie (artist)|Sir David Wilkie]]]]

George's coronation was a magnificent and expensive affair, costing about £243,000 (approximately £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|243000|1822|r=-3}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}};{{Inflation/fn|UK|df=y}} for comparison, his father's coronation had only cost about £10,000). Despite the enormous cost, it was a popular event.{{Sfnp|Hibbert|2008}} In 1821, George became the first monarch to pay a state visit to Ireland since [[Richard II of England]].{{Sfnp|De-la-Noy|1998|page=95}} The following year he visited [[Edinburgh]] for "one and twenty daft days".{{Sfnp|Prebble|1988}} His [[Visit of George IV to Scotland|visit to Scotland]], organised by Sir [[Walter Scott]], was the first by a reigning monarch since the mid-17th century.{{Sfnp|Parissien|2001|pages=316–323}}

George spent most of his later reign in seclusion at [[Windsor Castle]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=King George IV |url=https://www.royal.uk/king-george-iv-r-1820-1830 |access-date=18 April 2016 |website=Official website of the British monarchy}}</ref> but he continued to intervene in politics. At first it was believed that he would support Catholic emancipation, as he had proposed a Catholic Emancipation Bill for Ireland in 1797, but his anti-Catholic views became clear in 1813 when he privately canvassed against the ultimately defeated Catholic Relief Bill of 1813. By 1824 he was denouncing Catholic emancipation in public.{{Sfnp|Parissien|2001|page=189}} Having taken the coronation oath on his accession, George now argued that he had sworn to uphold the Protestant faith, and could not support any pro-Catholic measures.{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|page=238}} The influence of the Crown was so great, and the will of the Tories under Prime Minister Liverpool so strong, that Catholic emancipation seemed hopeless. In 1827, however, Liverpool retired, to be replaced by the pro-emancipation Tory [[George Canning]]. When Canning entered office, the King, hitherto content with privately instructing his ministers on the Catholic Question, thought it fit to make a public declaration to the effect that his sentiments on the question were those of his revered father, George III.{{Sfnp|Hibbert|1973|page=292}}

Canning's views on the Catholic Question were not well received by the most conservative Tories, including the Duke of Wellington. As a result, the ministry was forced to include Whigs.{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|pages=231–234}} Canning died later in that year, leaving [[Lord Goderich]] to lead the tenuous Tory–Whig coalition. Goderich left office in 1828, to be succeeded by Wellington, who had by that time accepted that the denial of some measure of relief to Roman Catholics was politically untenable.{{Sfnp|Parissien|2001|page=190}}{{Sfnp|Smith|1999|page=237}} George was never as friendly with Wellington as he had been with Canning and chose to annoy the Duke by pretending to have fought at Waterloo disguised as a German general. With great difficulty Wellington obtained the King's consent to the introduction of a Catholic Relief Bill on 29 January 1829. Under pressure from his fanatically anti-Catholic brother [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]], the King withdrew his approval and in protest the Cabinet resigned ''en masse'' on 4 March. The next day the King, now under intense political pressure, reluctantly agreed to the Bill and the ministry remained in power.{{Sfnp|Hibbert|2008}} Royal assent was finally granted to the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829|Catholic Relief Act]] on 13 April.{{Sfnp|Parissien|2001|page=381}}