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William was the son of King George III and Queen CharlotteCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ( May 19, 1744 November 17, 1818) was the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. She was born Sophia Charlotte at Mirow in her father's duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany. Having been selected as the. He had two elder brothers (HRH The Prince George, Prince of Wales and HRH The Prince Frederick, Duke of YorkHis Royal Highness The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus), ( 16 August 1763 5 January 1827) was a member of the British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son of King George III. From 1817 until his own death in), and was not expected to inherit the Crown. At the age of thirteen, he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman. He served in New YorkNew York is a state in the northeastern United States whose U. postal abbreviation is NY . It is sometimes called New York State when there is need to distinguish it from New York City. History See: History of New York New York was one of the thirteen col during the American War of IndependenceThe American Revolutionary War ( 1775 1783), also known as the American War of Independence was a war fought between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. The war, which eventually widened far beyond British Nor. He became a LieutenantA Lieutenant is a military or paramilitary officer. The word lieutenant derives from French; the lieu meaning "place" as in a position or territory; and tenant meaning "holding" as in "holding a position". The British monarch's representative in Ireland a in 1785Events January 1st The first issue of the Daily Universal Register later known as The Times is published in London. January 7 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon and a CaptainCaptain is both a nautical term and a military rank. The word came to English via French from the Latin capitaneus ("chief") which is itself derived from the Latin word for "head" caput . The term has different meanings both at sea and in the military. in the following year. In 1786, he was stationed in the West Indies.
Created Duke of Clarence in 1789, he ceased actively serving in the Royal Navy in 1790. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral upon retirement. When the United Kingdom declared war on France in 1793, he was anxious to serve his country, but was not put in command of any vessel. Instead, he chose to serve in the House of Lords, where he defended the exorbitant spending of his brother, the Prince of Wales, who had applied to Parliament for a grant to in relief of debts. He also spoke in favour of slavery (which, though illegal in the United Kingdom, was still permitted in the British colonies); he used his experience in the West Indies to defend his positions.
After he left the Royal Navy, the Duke of Clarence had a long affair with an Irish actress, Dorothea Bland, better known by her stage name, Mrs Jordan. From 1791, the couple had at least ten illegitimate children, who were give the surname "FitzClarence." The affair ended in 1811, twenty years after it began, for political reasons. In the same year, Clarence was appointed Admiral of the Fleet. On 13 July 1818, he married Princess Adelaide, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, a woman half his age. Though he had been able to father at least ten illegitimate children by Mrs Jordan, Clarence had only two children—both daughters who died during infancy—by his wife.
In 1820, Clarence's father, King George III, died, leaving the Crown to his eldest son, George IV, who had been Prince Regent for his father, who had been blind and insane since 1811. As the new King had no children, the Duke of Clarence was second in the line of succession to the Throne, preceded only by his brother, the Duke of York. When York died in 1827, Clarence, then more than sixty years old, became heir-presumptive. To mark the occasion, George IV appointed Clarence to the office of Lord High Admiral, which had been in commission (that is, exercised by a board rather than by a single individual) since 1709. Whilst in office, Clarence attempted to take independent control of naval affairs, although the law required him to act on the advice of at least two members of his Council. The King requested him to resign in 1828; the Duke of Clarence complied.