The story of foreign emperors: George IV, the alcoholic king.

From 1820 to 1830, George IV was king for only 10 years. However, from 18 12, when my father was mentally ill, he began to exercise all the powers of the king, and he actually came to power from 18.

George IV was charming and handsome when he was young. He ate like a cow and drank like a pig, so in his thirties, he was so paunchy and fat as a monster in a comic book. And his face is red, and his nose stained with high distiller's grains is redder, as if he could spit out blood with a poke. He is in danger of a stroke at any moment. He was surrounded by empty wine bottles and a lot of medicines pressed by urinals, as well as bills owed by the hotel.

1788+0 1 In June, when his father George III was seriously ill, he, the crown prince, went all over the clubs and bars in London and said, "My father and I were having dinner, and everyone was silent. Suddenly, my father stood up, walked up to me, bowed and said, poor Fred ... haha. The father regards his son as a long-lost father. " Hearing this, all the people laughed and asked each other about the prince and the king in the palace. The prince took another big can of beer and gulped it down. He wiped his mouth and said, "My father's eyes are bloodshot and look like purple grapes. It's terrible. " He stood up and muttered like an old king, full of hilarious jokes.

There are more and more people watching the fun.

I don't know who said in the crowd, "The king and the prince are crazy, a pair of stooges!" " "In fact, the prince is very clever. He deliberately spread that the king was a madman in order to plan a coup to seize the throne.

George IV's marriage is also very unhappy. Many women associate with him, but they have never really loved each other.

1784, when he was a prince, he met a woman five years older than him. That woman is a Roman Catholic widow. He officially married the beautiful widow. At that time, the state religion was Protestantism, and Catholicism was still banned. Who will marry? The prince found a priest named Bart, who was in prison for defaulting on his debts. He agreed to hold a wedding for the prince, on the condition that he would become a bishop after the prince ascended the throne in the future. Although the wedding is in line with the canon, it is invalid from the beginning according to 1772 Royal Marriage Law.

The prince spends money like water and is often heavily in debt. As early as 1783, George III refused to increase the annuity for his son, calling it a "shameless waste of public funds to satisfy the luxury of a young man who does not follow the right path".

However, the prince's disaster was that 1795, in order to urge the parliament to forgive his debts, he agreed to marry his cousin Caroline. When he saw the future bride, he was shocked and blurted out, "My God!" " "Then he said," I don't feel well. Please give me a glass of brandy. Caroline also found him "too fat, far less beautiful than his portrait". The prince was as drunk as a fiddler at the wedding and was carried into the bridal chamber like a dead pig by a servant.

Caroline is not much slimmer than the Crown Prince. She is not only fat, but also rude, vulgar and sloppy. She is by no means the ideal princess of Wales. 1796 1 month. After she gave birth to Princess Charlotte, they separated. In her later years, Caroline lived in Italy most of the time.

1820, George IV acceded to the throne. Caroline returned to England and demanded to be queen. How could George IV agree that Caroline should be queen? Some opposition members regard this contradiction as the focus of their opposition to George IV and his government. Signs are posted everywhere in London: "The Queen will always be the Queen! Throw the king into the river! "

The public crowded into Caroline's open carriage and marched on the busy streets of London. Obese Caroline scatters petals on people's heads from time to time .. George IV flew into a rage when she heard the news. He forced the government to introduce a bill to deprive Caroline of the title of queen and declare her marriage with the king null and void forever. Because a lot of evidence presented was completely unreliable, the bill was not passed in the end.

George IV ascended the throne and held a grand coronation ceremony. An angry Caroline rushed to the coronation venue in a carriage, but was stopped at the gate of Westminster Abbey. Fortunately, for the king's peace of mind, his queen, unlike your queen, fell ill and died on August 7, 182 1 year.

There is a lot of discussion about George IV in the society. When he was a prince, an article in The Times described him as "an alcoholic, a man who vowed to love only women and wine bottles forever and not politics and church". The hostility towards the prince is mostly for political reasons, and the criticism is a bit exaggerated. However, the prince is more than that. When he is sober, he talks a lot and is full of interesting anecdotes. He has a good memory and is good at imitating other people's tone and movements. His good friend dude Brummel once said that the prince could have become a European comedian.

George IV is probably the cleverest and most artistic person in Hanover House since ancient times, so he was selected as the "Solemn Steak Club" at 1784, occupying his own place. This club is a Saturday dinner party established by some learned nobles in Britain.

George IV was admired by aristocratic scholars before, because he also studied architectural styles and had extraordinary interests.

George IV is determined to build a palace comparable to Europe. He asked for a variety of styles, including restoring the Gothic style of Windsor Castle and the peasant style of the Royal Country Villa. And the unique oriental style of Brighton attic. Brighton attic has been teased by some people.

Despite the ridicule, George IV's Brighton attic was a success. Domes and minarets are mixed together, and Chinese furniture and chandeliers shaped like lotus flowers and mosquito dragons complement each other. George IV doesn't want to follow other people's fashions, but she always innovates by herself. One of his latest innovations is the discovery of this seaside resort and the construction of Brighton attic, as well as the corresponding lifestyle.

George IV's lifestyle is evolving. He led an almost dissolute life in his early years. Later, he lived a quiet and almost submissive life in Brighton attic. He also took the lead in wearing that dark dress to replace the colorful "peacock-style" fashion.

1800, Mrs. Fitzherbert returned to her husband, who she thought was legal, to help George IV quit drinking and take care of his gastritis.

In the eyes of his father George III and conservative politicians, George IV was untrustworthy when he was young. One of his close friends is Charlie Fox. When Fox swaggered around in the uniform of American anti-colonialists, he applauded. He supports Fox, because Fox is the political enemy of Prime Minister Peter chosen by his father. He also supported Whigs, arguing that the king was only a nominal leader and had no real power. His real intention is to disturb his father with it.

After 1793, British politics surged and political affairs were fierce. The prince concluded that Fox's Whig principles might lead to revolution and anarchy. He made countless wishes to the Whigs, but when he succeeded to the throne and became king, he immediately told them that he could not get anything from him. George IV was still a Conservative minister when he was his father. The Conservative Party is considered to have always been conservative.

Since becoming Regent, the prince has been physically and mentally trapped and unable to take any firm stand. He drinks all day, crazy, weak and vacillating. Whigs and Tories don't trust him. You can't trust him, because he doesn't like noisy scenes, because he is lazy, because he always muddles along. George IV once agreed to a minister's proposal, but when another minister strongly opposed it, he denied that he agreed.

Ministers believe that George IV is not a malicious person after all. Even when people curse, he has his generous side. Generally speaking, he may be expressive, but it is different when he meets specific circumstances. When Robert Peel was the Minister of the Interior, he was awakened from bed at two o'clock one morning. He was very surprised. It turned out that the king wrote a letter asking him to suspend the execution of the criminal's death penalty scheduled for the next morning.

George IV became regent at the age of 48. He made a scene to celebrate his new power. Then, in order to celebrate the Allied victory over Napoleon, lanterns were decorated everywhere inside and outside the palace, and a grand banquet was held in honor of visiting foreign monarchs. When planning this kind of thing, he forgot his illness, turned against his past laziness and asked himself.

George IV's coronation ceremony, can be said to be the grandest one in all previous dynasties, has done the king's glory. The new king was "like a beautiful bird" at the ceremony. The following year, George IV paid a very successful official visit to Dublin and Edinburgh. In Edinburgh, he wore Stuart tartan and strolled along Prince's Avenue. Ireland is the most unruly place in Britain, and traveling there is a very bold step. An old Irish man claimed: "I rebelled against the old king George III in 1798. But, for God's sake, I am willing to die a thousand times for his son. " George IV is so successful because he is approachable and close to ordinary people. In formal social occasions, George IV is dignified and respected by the royal family, thus at least temporarily erasing the bad impression caused by other behaviors. At this moment, no one will recall his crazy drunk image.

During George IV's first two years in power, his exciting behavior didn't last long. He aged before he was 60. He couldn't sleep well, and what little energy he had left was exhausted by the large dose of opium tincture sent by brandy. The king became a hermit who spent money like water, living in Windsor Castle, and his mind was full of whimsical architectural ideas, not national affairs.

In his later years, George IV was surrounded by a group of old men and women friends, who worked for his evil doctor and confidant Sir Knighton. The visitor looks very pitiful and unbearable. Sometimes, George IV pretends that he played a special role in the Battle of Waterloo. No one knows whether he is joking or insane like his father George III.

George IV is a gifted king and a great man to some extent. Unfortunately, when he was young, he often went crazy because of drinking. In his later years, he was also very sad. When someone flattered him, he smiled and said, "I think I could have been greater myself."

Indeed, in George IV's life, he was more confused than sober.