Editing William IV (section)

=== Reform crisis ===
At the time, the [[Demise of the Crown|death of the monarch]] caused fresh Parliamentary elections and, in the [[1830 United Kingdom general election|general election of 1830]], Wellington's [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]] lost ground to the Whigs under [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Lord Grey]], though the Tories still had the largest number of seats. With the Tories bitterly divided, Wellington was defeated in the House of Commons in November, and Lord Grey formed a government. Grey pledged to reform the electoral system, which had seen few changes since the fifteenth century. The inequities in the system were great; for example, large towns such as [[Manchester]] and [[Birmingham]] elected no members (though they were part of county constituencies), while small boroughs, known as [[rotten borough|rotten]] or [[pocket borough]]s—such as [[Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)|Old Sarum]] with just seven voters—elected two members of Parliament each. Often, the rotten boroughs were controlled by great aristocrats, whose nominees were invariably elected by the constituents—who were, most often, their tenants—especially since the secret ballot was not yet used in Parliamentary elections. Landowners who controlled seats were even able to sell them to prospective candidates.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 177–180.</ref>
[[File:Reformact1832cartoon.jpg|thumb|left|Political cartoon supporting the Reform Act: King William sits above the clouds, surrounded by Whig politicians; below [[Britannia]] and the British Lion cause the Tories to flee.]]

When the First Reform Bill was defeated in the House of Commons in 1831, Grey's ministry urged William to dissolve Parliament, which would lead to a new general election. At first, William hesitated to exercise his prerogative powers to dissolve Parliament because elections had just been held the year before and the country was in a state of high excitement which might boil over into violence. He was, however, irritated by the conduct of the Opposition, which announced its intention to move the passage of an Address, or resolution, in the House of Lords, against dissolution. Regarding the Opposition's motion as an attack on his prerogative, and at the urgent request of Lord Grey and his ministers, the King prepared to go in person to the House of Lords and [[legislative session#Procedure in Commonwealth realms|prorogue]] Parliament.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 182–188.</ref> The monarch's arrival would stop all debate and prevent passage of the Address.<ref name="Ziegler188">Ziegler, p. 188.</ref> When initially told that his horses could not be ready at such short notice, William is supposed to have said, "Then I will go in a [[hackney cab]]!"<ref name=Ziegler188/> Coach and horses were assembled quickly and he immediately proceeded to Parliament. Said ''The Times'' of the scene before William's arrival, "It is utterly impossible to describe the scene&nbsp;... The violent tones and gestures of noble Lords&nbsp;... astonished the spectators, and affected the ladies who were present with visible alarm."<ref>Grant, p. 59, quoting ''The Times''</ref> [[Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry|Lord Londonderry]] brandished a whip, threatening to thrash the Government supporters, and was held back by four of his colleagues. William hastily put on the crown, entered the Chamber, and dissolved Parliament.<ref>Allen, pp. 121–122 and Ziegler, p. 189.</ref> This forced [[1831 United Kingdom general election|new elections for the House of Commons]], which yielded a great victory for the reformers. But although the Commons was clearly in favour of parliamentary reform, the Lords remained implacably opposed to it.<ref>Allen, pp. 124–127; Ziegler, pp. 190f.</ref>

The crisis saw a brief interlude for the celebration of the [[Coronation of William IV and Adelaide|King's coronation]] on 8 September 1831. At first, William wished to dispense with the coronation entirely, feeling that his wearing the crown while proroguing Parliament answered any need.<ref>Allen, pp. 124, 130; Ziegler, pp. 189, 192.</ref> He was persuaded otherwise by traditionalists. He refused, however, to celebrate the coronation in the expensive way his brother had—the 1821 coronation had cost £240,000, of which £16,000 was merely to hire the jewels. At William's instructions, the Privy Council budgeted less than £30,000 for the coronation.<ref>Molloy, pp. 72–73.</ref> When traditionalist Tories threatened to boycott what they called the "[[Half crown (British coin)|Half Crown]]-nation",<ref>Allen, p. 130 and Ziegler, p. 193.</ref> the King retorted that they should go ahead, and that he anticipated "greater convenience of room and less heat".<ref>[[Herbert Taylor (British Army officer)|Herbert Taylor]], the King's secretary, writing to Lord Grey, 15 August 1831, quoted in Ziegler, p. 194.</ref>

After the rejection of the Second Reform Bill by the House of Lords in October 1831, agitation for reform grew across the country; demonstrations grew violent in so-called "Reform Riots". In the face of popular excitement, the Grey ministry refused to accept defeat, and re-introduced the Bill, despite the continued opposition of peers in the House of Lords. Frustrated by the Lords' obdurate attitude, Grey suggested that the King create a sufficient number of new peers to ensure the passage of the Reform Bill. The King objected—though he had the power to create an unlimited number of peers, he had already created 22 new peers in his Coronation Honours.<ref>Allen, p. 132.</ref> William reluctantly agreed to the creation of the number of peers sufficient "to secure the success of the bill".<ref>Correspondence of [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey]], with William&nbsp;IV and Sir Herbert Taylor, edited by [[Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey]], (1867) 2.102, 113, quoted in Brock</ref> However, the King, citing the difficulties with a permanent expansion of the [[peerage]], told Grey that the creations must be restricted as much as possible to the eldest sons and collateral heirs of existing peers, so that the created peerages would for the most part be absorbed as subsidiary titles. This time, the Lords did not reject the bill outright, but began preparing to change its basic character through amendments. Grey and his fellow ministers decided to resign if the King did not agree to an immediate and large creation to force the bill through in its entirety.<ref>Allen, pp. 137–141; Ziegler, pp. 196–212.</ref> The King refused, and accepted their resignations. The King attempted to restore the Duke of Wellington to office, but Wellington had insufficient support to form a ministry and the King's popularity sank to an all-time low. Mud was slung at his carriage and he was publicly hissed. The King agreed to reappoint Grey's ministry, and to create new peers if the House of Lords continued to pose difficulties. Concerned by the threat of the creations, most of the bill's opponents abstained and the [[Reform Act 1832]] was passed. The mob blamed William's actions on the influence of his wife and brother, and his popularity recovered.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 214–222.</ref>