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00:00Ruling for just 10 short years, George IV is the Hanoverian dynasty's party prince.
00:09The polar opposite of his patriotic, dutiful father.
00:15Talented and clever, but shallow at heart, he dedicates much of his life to the pursuit of pleasure.
00:24Displaying a gargantuan appetite for wine and women.
00:28And racking up extraordinary debts, his life is synonymous with excess and decadence.
00:36A man with time on his hands to become a monster.
00:43He dies obese, alcoholic and a drug addict.
00:49His brief reign marks the end of the Georgian era.
00:56So what went wrong?
00:58George Augustus Frederick is born on the 12th of August, 1762.
01:17Wild from a very young age, George's rebel ways aren't for lack of love from his parents.
01:23King George III and Queen Charlotte actually had their first child very early on in their marriage and they were delighted.
01:33They had produced an heir.
01:35They were actually, for King and Queen at that time, quite maternal and paternal.
01:40He's the absolute favourite of his mother.
01:45She describes him as looking like a little angel.
01:48She commissions endless portraits of him and unfortunately for little George, no one says no to him.
01:55And this is a problem that will continue throughout his life.
02:00Despite George III's ongoing mental illness that would eventually see him removed from the throne, the king's patriotism and dedication had won over the British people and secured the Hanoverian dynasty.
02:15He's determined to make sure his son grows up to be just as dutiful, with an emphasis being placed on Christian piety.
02:26This begins with Prince George's education.
02:36He is a bright student, but lacks focus and interest, much to the dismay of his teachers and father.
02:43A lot of his tutors really struggle to control his behaviour.
02:49They certainly try and he, you know, often gives them the run around.
02:52But when he shows a bit of laziness or he shows a little bit of irritability, his father has him whipped, severely whipped, George and his brothers.
03:03His sister recalls seeing George whipped, as she says, like a dog.
03:07But the king's punitive measures spectacularly backfire.
03:18The young prince rebels against his father's strict moral code.
03:23For George, the sole point of life is the pursuit of pleasure in all its forms.
03:30He embarks on this career of sexual licentiousness at a very young age and women flock around him.
03:41By the time he's 16, 17, he's a notorious drunkard.
03:48He's already sleeping with various mistresses.
03:52He's exceeding his allowance.
03:54All of this, at some level, is because he likes fun.
03:57But there is also an element, I think, of, and this is really going to push back at my dad.
04:02One of George's first passions is for a well-known actress, Mary Darby Robinson.
04:16The fact she is already married only increases her attraction.
04:22Mary initially rejects his advances, but George refuses to take no for an answer.
04:30George, please.
04:31No, no, no, listen.
04:32I mean it.
04:34I'm married.
04:35Not to mention I'm also five years your senior.
04:38I'm not a child.
04:40You are.
04:43Your marriage is finished.
04:46Anyone can see that it's been reduced to a droll, miserable union.
04:50I said no.
04:55I'll pay you.
04:58$20,000 to be mine.
05:01What?
05:02Would that make you change your mind?
05:06But within a few months of securing Mary's affections, he loses all interest in his leading lady, leaving his father to pick up the £20,000 spend he promised her when she threatens to publish his romantic letters.
05:23George moves on to fresh conquests, while Mary is left a laughing stock, while Mary is left a laughing stock.
05:30For him, his amorous liaisons are all about the thrill of the chase.
05:36It's staggering how quickly he enjoys this passionate affair, says all the right things, says all the right things, does virtually none of the right things, and moves on.
05:51Frustrated at living under the same roof as his parents, George persuades his father that greater independence will steady his behaviour.
06:08Reluctantly, the king agrees to increase his allowance, and arranges for the prince to set up home in Carlton House, on fashionable Pall Mall.
06:21This was intended to be a space where he could define his own time, his own freedom, and build up his position as the Prince of Wales.
06:34From an early age, George has shown a passionate interest in art and architecture, and immediately embarks on a major renovation.
06:47And he sends out his agents around the world to bring back tapestries, and carpets, and paintings, and urns, and ceramic, everything.
06:57Carlton House, finally, a sort of metropolitan palace that functioned, in a way, and at a scale, and with a level of decoration, and a level of detail, that felt comparable to the best in Europe.
07:13But rather than a base for the young prince to establish himself as a worthy heir to the throne, Carlton House comes to symbolise his profligacy and excess.
07:24He's the party king as a young man, he's a dancer, there's numerous big dinners, and banquets, and things going on almost every night, with music, and cards, and a huge amount of drinking.
07:42But his extravagant lifestyle leaves the prince with crippling debts.
07:48He's racking up debts of tens of thousands of pounds, that's in the 1770s.
07:54And for someone like George III, who was much more frugal in how he approached ideas, it was seen as very wasteful, very gluttonous behaviour, and not of the moral standing that he would want for his heir.
08:09Now, in his 20s, the party prince, once again, falls head over heels in love.
08:20This time, with another actress, 28-year-old Maria Fitzherbert.
08:25The whole reason why the three Georges before him are on the throne was because they were Protestants.
08:41They played strictly by the rules, not only upholding the Protestant faith, but refusing to countenance, even fraternising with Catholic women.
08:52Unwilling to risk her reputation for a brief dalliance, Maria initially rejects his advances.
09:02But, convinced she's his one true love, the prince's strategy is to outact the actor.
09:09Oh, the pain, the pain of it all.
09:17Your Highness, I came as soon as I could.
09:20They said you ran yourself through with a blade.
09:23I did.
09:24I chose to take my own life rather than live without you.
09:30As I am close to the end, will you do me one last act of kindness?
09:35Yes, Your Grace.
09:39Yes, Your Highness.
09:42Will you take this gift of a ring and comfort me in my final moment?
09:46Of course.
09:50No.
09:54For now we are finally betrothed.
09:57We are what?
10:00Betrothed.
10:00You and I.
10:02No, Your Highness.
10:03And in the eyes of a witness, no less.
10:09Are you not gravely ill?
10:12Never felt better.
10:14Alarmed by the prince's melodramatic posturing, Maria flees to Europe.
10:27After firing off a stream of impassioned letters, he manages to persuade her to return.
10:34But only on the condition that they undergo a private, informal marriage ceremony.
10:39Now, that's against the law.
10:44There's a royal marriages act which says the Protestant heir cannot marry a Roman Catholic.
10:49And there's other legislation which says the king has to agree if the person is not 25 years old.
10:58And George is 23.
10:59But the young prince relishes and will do anything to provoke his father's wrath.
11:06He shows absolutely no hesitation in crossing the line no one has crossed before him.
11:14George goes, oh, it's not allowed?
11:17Well, that's interesting.
11:18I'm going to do it anyway.
11:20They do have a marriage service done by a fleet minister in her own house.
11:28And this, of course, is problematic because it's not a legal, a truly legal marriage.
11:34When rumours start to leak out that George has illegally married a Catholic, his father is furious.
11:45Tensions between the king and his son ratchet up a notch further.
11:51The Prince of Wales actually risked a lot with his relationship with Maria Fitzherbert.
11:55And by the act of settlement at the beginning of the century,
11:58he could have actually lost his place in the line of succession by marrying her if the marriage was considered legal.
12:06Which, luckily for him, it wasn't.
12:09But this just shows the level of devotion and infatuation he had with Mrs Fitzherbert.
12:16The Prince's self-indulgent behaviour is a direct affront to the patriotic values of his father.
12:28Do you know what I heard today?
12:32Pray tell.
12:34I heard that you've been enjoying the company of drunkards and gamblers.
12:42And also that you've been commuting with those who have dubbed me a tyrant.
12:49Have you called me here to chastise me for my choice in friends?
12:53No, but we must not be governed by our desires.
12:56But our sense of duty to this great country.
13:00As such, we must regulate both our public and private life.
13:06Why should this great country care what I do behind closed doors?
13:12Because if you've already been condemned by the people,
13:15Parliament will not help you to achieve your aims.
13:19Whether you care or not, what they think of you matters.
13:23Soon you understand that, the matter.
13:26It's easy to get mad at George for spending all his time drinking.
13:37But his dad won't let him behave in the ways that George feels would give his life meaning.
13:45George wants, for example, to be in the military like his brothers are.
13:50And he wants to climb up the hierarchies of the army or the navy.
13:53And his dad says, forget it.
13:56You are the heir.
13:57You cannot do that.
13:59I think he thinks, my dad won't let me have any meaningful role in public life.
14:05So if all that's left of me is drinking and gambling and running up debts, that's what I'm going to do.
14:10But in 1788, King George III, whose reign had already once been rocked by an unforeseen illness,
14:22was struck by another sudden and more extreme bout of madness.
14:27Meaning George, the party prince, cannot ignore his date with royal destiny.
14:32What starts to swing it is what's called the Regency crisis, which happens in 1788,
14:41when George III declines into some sort of mental eclipse.
14:45So George has several bouts of mental illness throughout his life,
14:51potentially starting in the 1760s and certainly by the 1780s into the 1790s.
14:57He's not speaking very clearly.
14:59He's very confused.
15:00He's babbling.
15:02He's repeating himself.
15:03He's foaming at the mouth.
15:05With the king's descent into madness, a regency bill is drawn up,
15:12appointing the Prince of Wales regent in his place.
15:17George relishes the thought of the money and influence that will come his way
15:22when the king relinquishes the throne.
15:26We've got the Prince of Wales who is effectively champing at the bit,
15:31thinking this is going to be the chance for him to be made prince regent
15:35and be able to do whatever he wants.
15:37But George III makes an unexpected recovery and the bill is repealed.
15:43The general public erupts into celebrations for the much admired king.
15:50But one person who isn't celebrating is the prince.
15:56So it's true then?
15:58My father is sane once again.
16:00Yes, your highness.
16:04The king has made a full recovery.
16:08In fact, I'm told there is to be a ball to celebrate.
16:13Your ticket has already been arranged.
16:16Sell it for all I care.
16:17I shan't be going.
16:19Many of your peers shall be in attendance, sire.
16:22Let it be known that I forbade any of my so-called friends from attending such a farce.
16:30Do you hear me?
16:31If they want to drink my champagne and eat my food,
16:34they can damn well show me some respect.
16:37I shall inform them.
16:39Silly old goat.
16:48I should have just stayed in bed.
16:50The country would be better off.
16:56Fearful of a relapse,
16:58George III once again attempts to get his reckless son on the straight and narrow,
17:04pressurising him to settle down and get married.
17:07After surveying the royal marriage market,
17:12the king selects cousin Caroline of Brunswick from Germany as his top choice.
17:18Caroline is selected as a suitable bride for George
17:22and he has very little say in the matter
17:24and, of course, is an already experienced lover.
17:28He's incredibly promiscuous.
17:30He has spent time and money and energy on many different women up to this point.
17:35The only reason he decides to do it is because he wants more money
17:39and his father says that he'll pay off some of his debts if he marries Caroline.
17:43But the first meeting with his future wife is a disaster.
17:51Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
17:55Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:04Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:06Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:07Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:07Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:08Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:09Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:10Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:11Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:12Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:13Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:14Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:15Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
18:16Fetch me a bottle of brandy.
18:19Of course, Your Highness.
18:27He's very fat.
18:30He's definitely not as handsome as his portraits.
18:38Despite the inauspicious first encounter,
18:41their mutually beneficial financial and political considerations prevail.
18:47Within a few months, the couple are married.
18:51At least the allowance is an aphrodisiac.
18:54It's just another dimension in a family that's warring with each other
18:59about behavior and the responsibilities of the monarchy.
19:04But the wedding day is a calamity,
19:07as the inebriated prince barely makes it to the altar.
19:11Your Highness, please.
19:25Leave me alone a while.
19:27The princess awaits.
19:29She can wait until hell freezes over for all I care.
19:36Sire, please.
19:41On hand at once.
19:49You'll feel better when you're on your feet.
19:51Highly doubt.
19:53Come on, sire.
19:57This way.
19:57It was instant dislike and repulsion on both sides.
20:04And yet they had to, you know, do the deed that very night.
20:08They apparently had intercourse three times,
20:10and of one of those times, they conceived.
20:13Now, their child, their only child, Charlotte,
20:16is born pretty much nine months to the day.
20:19That's the beginning of their relationship.
20:22That's about as good as their relationship gets.
20:27The ill-matched pair never recover from their catastrophic wedding.
20:32She seemed good on paper, but it became apparent very quickly that the word terrible match,
20:39probably the most terrible match ever in the history of the Hanoverian dynasty.
20:43Their relationship is one of mutual hatred, really.
20:48There's certainly no love lost there.
20:50There's no respect for each other.
20:52She is loud, she's noisy, she's not a good dresser.
20:59She's just not the kind of woman he likes.
21:02And he also seemed to intimate that she smelled.
21:08Within a year, Caroline has departed the marital home.
21:13And much to George's annoyance, enjoys the pleasures of the flesh just as much as he does.
21:19Caroline is rumoured to have multiple lovers.
21:24In the years afterwards, there's lots of sensational gossip books
21:28that are written about the scandals she's supposed to have been involved in.
21:32She decides, well, if he can gamble and drink and have a string of sexual partners,
21:38I'd like some of that too, please.
21:40And so she becomes almost as reckless and outrageous as he does.
21:46Worse still for George, Caroline's support for various philanthropic causes
21:53make her a far more popular figure than her dissolute rake of a husband.
21:59When Caroline goes out, she is cheered.
22:03And whether it's to the play or whether it's to the opening of something
22:06or whether it's to some political event, wherever she goes,
22:09a large portion of the press applauds her, takes her side.
22:14And this really irritates the Prince of Wales.
22:21Determined to be rid of Caroline,
22:24the Prince tries unsuccessfully to have her charged with adultery.
22:29Fed up with the rank hypocrisy of her philandering husband,
22:34Caroline departs for Europe in 1814.
22:36And as luck would have it, another thorn in George's sight is about to be dealt with,
22:44as his father, the king, now aged 71,
22:48descends into a madness from which he will never emerge.
22:54Whatever happened to George III's health resurfaces.
22:57And this time, it doesn't pass.
23:02This time, he enters some kind of mental eclipse and he stays there.
23:06He stays there from essentially 1810 until he dies.
23:11Parliament rushes through a new Regency Act, appointing George as regent.
23:16It's been a long wait of nine years.
23:22Due to the king's health,
23:26we are authorised, as per the terms of the Regency Act,
23:31to name you Prince Regent in his stead.
23:34Fetch me a bottle of brandy!
23:37Brandy?
23:38Yes.
23:39We must celebrate.
23:42Celebrate?
23:42Of course, I want a banquet, a party, thrown in my honour.
23:51By 1812, the prince has been granted the full powers of the monarch.
23:57But while George is jubilant about his elevated status,
24:01the British public are less than enthusiastic about their new ruler.
24:06The Prince of Wales becoming regent caused a few concerns.
24:10The main one was about his spending.
24:13How much money is he going to spend?
24:15Is he going to be actually giving us a monarchy that's going to be reputable?
24:21Following the commercial success of George III's reign,
24:25Britain is the richest, most powerful country in the world.
24:30Now, the ecstatic prince can finally indulge his passion
24:34for the finer things in life,
24:37with no one to restrain him.
24:39When he becomes prince regent,
24:41he's considerably older, 23 years older,
24:44but he's excited in the same ways about what it means
24:47in terms of wealth and power.
24:53In 1815, George turns his attention to a passion project in Brighton.
24:59George has been visiting the vibrant seaside resort
25:03since he was a young man,
25:05captivated by its devil-may-care aristocrats
25:08and their dazzling social life.
25:11The Prince of Wales loves going to Brighton
25:14for all kinds of different reasons.
25:16And there is a farmhouse there,
25:19and he acquires that,
25:22and he has an architect turn it into a kind of neoclassical villa,
25:27but modest.
25:28But the Prince is no lover of modesty,
25:33and now that he is regent,
25:35with money no object,
25:37he scales up,
25:38fulfilling a long-cherished dream
25:40of turning the seaside villa
25:42into an exotic pleasure palace.
25:45If you want a sense
25:48of the exuberance and audacity
25:53and creativity of George IV,
25:57it's the Brighton Pavilion.
26:03A mash-up of all different styles.
26:05It draws from architectural styles in India.
26:09The interior features Chinese elements.
26:11There's gilded gold everywhere.
26:15There's these rich fabric wallpapers.
26:18There's murals.
26:19There's artworks hanging everywhere.
26:22You would walk through into this banqueting room,
26:25this incredibly extravagant space,
26:28full of incredible porcelain
26:31and glassware and metal silverware.
26:37Designed by the brilliant architect John Nash,
26:40the Royal Pavilion comes to symbolise
26:43the Regency period
26:44and, in turn,
26:46transforms Brighton's fortunes,
26:48even if only turning it into a playground
26:50for the wealthy aristocracy.
26:54There's a sudden influx
26:56of fashionable Georgian people
26:58coming from London,
27:00all making their way
27:01to party with the Prince Regent.
27:02And it's a sort of play den,
27:06a quote-unquote exotic colonial palace
27:11that celebrates Britain's empire
27:14and George's role
27:15as the sort of decadent head
27:18of all this hedonistic plentifulness.
27:22But beyond the glittering world of Brighton,
27:26Britain has spent the entirety
27:27of the Prince's Regency
27:29at war with France in Europe.
27:33Now, finally, in 1815,
27:36after more than 20 long years of war,
27:40Britain achieves incredible military success,
27:44defeating Napoleon
27:45at the Battle of Waterloo.
27:47When Wellington defeats Napoleon,
27:50there is euphoria in Britain.
27:53Napoleon is sent into exile
27:55and peace comes to Britain
27:58for the first time since 1793.
28:02When the conflict first started,
28:05Prince George had been eager
28:06to serve his country on the battlefield,
28:09but his father, the king,
28:11had forbade it.
28:13As a result,
28:14George had always resented
28:16his lack of military experience.
28:19Now, with the country's victory
28:21against France,
28:22only serving to increase
28:24his innocence of emptiness.
28:27Wellington!
28:29Wellington, tell them.
28:31Tell them how it was I
28:33who led the cavalry charge at Waterloo.
28:38I've oft heard your majesty say so.
28:41See?
28:42Exactly what I said.
28:47Straight from the horse's mouth.
28:54For the rest of his life,
28:58George persists in the fiction
29:00that he played a key part
29:02in Napoleon's downfall.
29:04That's the level of fantasy
29:08he was capable of.
29:09But it speaks to how
29:11the enduring way in which
29:13that grief, frustration, sadness,
29:16whatever it was,
29:17stayed in his head.
29:19With the defeat of Napoleon,
29:22Britain's global dominance
29:23is without challenge.
29:26But the public
29:27is now increasingly angry
29:29about the unequal spoils of war.
29:31There's a significant amount
29:35of unrest brewing in Britain
29:37and partly this is
29:38a hangover from the war
29:40that veterans are returning home
29:43with limbs missing,
29:45with mental injuries as well,
29:47and finding that they cannot work
29:49or they're struggling
29:49to find a place themselves
29:51in the communities
29:52that they'd left.
29:53The Napoleonic Wars
29:56have been a huge drain
29:58on the economy.
30:00Faced with crippling taxes
30:01and soaring unemployment,
30:04George's British subjects
30:05are starving.
30:07The widespread suffering
30:09is in sharp contrast
30:11to the extravagant caprices
30:13of the Prince Regent.
30:16Graffiti appears on the walls
30:19of the Regent's main residence,
30:21Carlton House.
30:22Bread or the Regent's head.
30:26Carlton House
30:26and Brighton Pavilion
30:28are symbols of excess.
30:29They're symbols of gluttony.
30:32They are perceived
30:34as emblematic
30:36of a kind of corrupt,
30:39lascivious, you know,
30:41individual that only
30:42is really looking after themselves.
30:47By now,
30:48George has no one
30:50to help him weather the storm.
30:52George's only child,
31:02Princess Charlotte,
31:03the product of his brief
31:05and disastrous marriage
31:06to Caroline,
31:08dies while giving birth
31:09to a stillborn son.
31:12The nation is devastated.
31:14She's a very popular figure
31:19and seen by many
31:21as the redeeming daughter
31:23to a wayward Prince Regent
31:25and eventually king.
31:26It is said that London
31:28ran out of black cloth
31:30for mourning
31:30because everybody wanted
31:32to show their respect
31:33for the fallen
31:33or the dead princess.
31:35The death of Charlotte
31:37and her son
31:39rocks the foundations
31:41of the House of Hanover
31:42to its core.
31:43All of a sudden,
31:46the whole dynasty
31:47is sort of up in the air.
31:50There's a huge question mark
31:51over who's going
31:52to inherit the throne.
31:57George plunges
31:59into a deep depression
32:00and alcoholism consumes him.
32:04We often see
32:06the Prince of Wales
32:07as he was then
32:08as quite a happy figure,
32:11a very pleasure-seeking figure
32:13and not someone
32:14who necessarily
32:15holds deep feelings.
32:17And yet,
32:17when his daughter died,
32:19he was inconsolable.
32:20He wept in bed for weeks.
32:22And I think that
32:23that's a really
32:24defining low point.
32:27The string of family losses
32:30doesn't end there.
32:32In January 1820,
32:35George loses
32:36the most towering figure
32:37of his entire life
32:39when his father,
32:41George III,
32:42having never recovered
32:43from his madness,
32:45finally dies.
32:47Thousands turn out
32:48to mourn the death
32:50of a much-loved monarch
32:51and his wayward son
32:53finally becomes king.
33:00Having waited
33:01most of his life
33:02for this moment
33:03and after nine years
33:05as Prince Regent,
33:0758-year-old George
33:08has meticulously planned
33:10for this to be
33:11the coronation
33:12to end all coronations.
33:15George IV loves performance
33:17and he loves spectacle.
33:20And so his coronation
33:21was an immense spectacle.
33:26It's all very well choreographed
33:29and it's all designed
33:31to show George
33:32in the best light possible,
33:34which it does.
33:35And part of the reason
33:36is because he did it.
33:38He designed it.
33:39He designed what he was
33:40going to wear.
33:41He designed the whole thing.
33:42The coronation banquet
33:48is the most extravagant
33:50in history.
33:51The food and drink alone
33:53costs over 25,000 pounds,
33:563.5 million pounds
33:58in today's money.
34:00How can he have a celebration
34:03without, you know,
34:04gargantuan quantities
34:05of food and drink,
34:06which is what he supplies.
34:08And of course,
34:09he's able to lead the proceedings
34:11in eating and drinking
34:12because he's very,
34:13very good at that.
34:17In spite of all
34:18their reservations,
34:19the spectacular coronation
34:22briefly tips the public
34:24in the king's favour.
34:27But George has never shown
34:29much interest
34:29in running the country.
34:31He continues to spend
34:34eye-watering suns
34:35indulging his greatest passions,
34:39partying, drinking
34:40and renovating royal palaces.
34:43But there is one
34:46pressing political issue
34:48that, as king,
34:50he cannot avoid.
34:52The fight
34:52for Catholic emancipation.
34:56Ever since the Act of Settlement
34:58in 1701,
35:00aimed at securing
35:01the Protestant succession,
35:04Catholics' political
35:05and civil rights
35:06have been severely curtailed.
35:09Catholics in Britain
35:11were very, very tired
35:12of these restrictions
35:14on their liberties
35:14and wanted them removed,
35:16wanted to be emancipated.
35:18In 1829,
35:20the government
35:21faces the prospect
35:22of a major rebellion
35:24in Ireland.
35:26George comes under
35:28increasing pressure
35:29from the Duke of Wellington,
35:30now Prime Minister,
35:32to give royal assent
35:33to a bill
35:34easing restrictions.
35:37But,
35:37despite his first
35:38illegitimate marriage
35:40to Catholic
35:41Maria Fitzherbert,
35:42George
35:43is fiercely opposed.
35:46The Protestant faith
35:47underpins
35:48why the Hanoverian dynasty
35:49came to rule Britain.
35:51You don't expect me
35:55to sign this?
35:56Only the signing
35:56of the Catholic emancipation
35:58will prevent
35:59a civil war
35:59in Ireland.
36:01Poppycock.
36:02If I may,
36:03Your Majesty...
36:04I'll tell you
36:04what I believe.
36:06I believe this
36:07is against everything
36:08that my
36:09sainted and revered
36:10father believed in.
36:12As upholder
36:13of the Protestant faith,
36:14it is my duty
36:15to veto
36:15any such measure.
36:17Look,
36:19why don't we have
36:20some more brandy?
36:21Make sense
36:22of this issue,
36:23hmm?
36:25Your Highness...
36:25I'll order up
36:26a few bottles.
36:27We can sit down
36:28and marinate
36:30our options.
36:31Your Majesty,
36:31there are
36:32no options
36:33to save unrest
36:34and discontent.
36:36Oh,
36:37don't be a fool.
36:38Of course there are.
36:39Your Majesty,
36:40if you don't sign
36:41this bill,
36:42this country
36:43will be without
36:43government.
36:44I don't care.
36:47If I'm going
36:48to be bullied
36:48into signing
36:49this abomination
36:51of a bill,
36:52I'll abdicate.
36:54Your Majesty,
36:56please.
36:56You think
36:57I'm bluffing?
36:59You force my hand,
37:00I'll do it.
37:02And then
37:03you'll all suffer.
37:06But by now,
37:08the balance of power
37:09has tipped
37:09in Parliament's favour
37:11and George
37:12finally agrees
37:13to sign the bill.
37:16Passed in 1829,
37:18the Catholic
37:18Emancipation Act
37:20enables Catholics
37:21for the first time
37:23in more than
37:23130 years
37:25to be represented
37:26in Parliament.
37:28An act which,
37:29perhaps unwittingly,
37:31changed King George
37:31IV's legacy.
37:33In some ways,
37:34it's really his
37:35parting gift to Britain
37:36and it's a way
37:40that he repairs
37:41something of his
37:42reputation.
37:43It really marks
37:45the end of
37:46the Georgian era
37:48in which this
37:48question of
37:50Protestantism
37:51versus
37:52Catholicism
37:53has shaped
37:54not only
37:55the events
37:56and battles
37:57and rioting
37:58and struggles
37:59on the streets
38:00of Britain,
38:00but has also
38:02completely dictated
38:03what's happening
38:04behind closed doors
38:05in the royal courts.
38:07George
38:08has finally
38:09done something
38:10to restore
38:11his tattered reputation.
38:14But by now,
38:16his dissolute lifestyle
38:17is catching up
38:19with him.
38:19as he nears
38:23the end of life,
38:25George
38:25is an increasingly
38:27pitiful figure.
38:30Years of partying
38:31have caught up
38:32with him.
38:33His complexion
38:34is gone.
38:35He's gone jowly.
38:36He's gone fat.
38:37He's gone flabby.
38:38And he's ill.
38:40He's in a huge amount
38:41of pain,
38:41increasing amounts
38:42of pain,
38:42taking masses
38:44of amounts
38:44of laudanum
38:45as he gets older.
38:46It's a pretty sad
38:48scenario.
38:50He became
38:50fairly bedridden.
38:52He also
38:52didn't seem
38:54to have much
38:54zest for life.
38:55So I think
38:55he was very depressed
38:56towards the end
38:57of his life.
38:57So, yeah,
38:59I think it was
38:59kind of a tragic
39:00end for him.
39:04One of his few
39:05visitors
39:06is his niece,
39:07the future
39:09Queen Victoria.
39:09Give me
39:19your little
39:20paw.
39:28It's beautiful.
39:30It's yours.
39:35Oh, me,
39:35my dear.
39:36Not so quickly,
39:39will you?
39:42Well,
39:42the relationship
39:43of George
39:43with his niece
39:45Victoria
39:45is an extraordinary
39:46one.
39:47And her recollections
39:48of going out
39:49in the carriage
39:50with her uncle
39:51George
39:51are quite remarkable.
39:53She was
39:54pretty loving
39:55and fond
39:56in her recollections
39:57of him
39:58as a person.
40:00But their
40:01burgeoning
40:01companionship
40:02was cut
40:03all too short.
40:06George IV
40:07dies
40:08on the 26th
40:09of June,
40:101830,
40:11aged 68.
40:13A miniature
40:14of Maria
40:15Fitzherbert,
40:16arguably
40:16his one
40:17true love,
40:19is found
40:19around his neck.
40:21But few
40:23mourn
40:23his departure.
40:25When George
40:26IV
40:27dies,
40:29the Times
40:30newspaper
40:31says,
40:32never
40:33was an individual
40:35less regretted
40:36by his fellow
40:37creatures
40:38than this
40:38deceased
40:39king.
40:42George
40:42is succeeded
40:43by his younger
40:44brother William,
40:46but within
40:46seven years,
40:47he too
40:48dies,
40:49childless.
40:51As the
40:52Georgian era
40:53draws to a close,
40:55Princess
40:55Victoria
40:56accedes
40:57to the throne
40:57and the
40:58extravagances
40:59of George
41:00IV
41:00are replaced
41:01by the
41:02straight-laced
41:03virtues
41:03of the
41:04Victorian age.
41:07Lots of
41:08Victorians
41:08looked back
41:09at the
41:10Regency
41:10and just
41:11gasped
41:12that their
41:13grandfathers
41:13would tolerate
41:14that kind
41:15of libertinism
41:16and that kind
41:17of drinking
41:17and excess.
41:19You can see
41:19her reign
41:20as trying
41:21to repair
41:21the damage
41:22to the
41:22monarchy
41:23that he
41:23inflicted
41:24upon it.
41:25But despite
41:30George's
41:30many failings,
41:32his passion
41:32for the arts
41:33and architecture
41:34underpins
41:36the extraordinary
41:37cultural flowering
41:38that takes
41:39place in
41:39Britain
41:40under his reign.
41:42We still
41:43refer to his reign
41:44as the Regency
41:45period because
41:46it was the
41:46aesthetic of
41:47the time.
41:48His idea
41:49of beauty,
41:50of architecture,
41:51of fashion
41:52is still
41:53remembered today
41:54because he
41:55had such
41:55a huge
41:56impact
41:56upon it.
41:57As much
41:57as the
41:58perception
41:58of George
41:59IV was
42:00about opulence
42:01and ostentation,
42:02the heart
42:03of that
42:03is actually
42:03he was a
42:04man of
42:04great taste.
42:06He was
42:06the leader
42:07of fashion.
42:08He was
42:08at the
42:09vanguard
42:09of stylistic
42:10change.
42:13George's
42:14death
42:14ushers in
42:15the end
42:16of the
42:16Georgian
42:17era,
42:18a period
42:20that has
42:21been one
42:21of the
42:22most tumultuous
42:23in British
42:23history.
42:27Despite the
42:28many foibles
42:29of George
42:30I,
42:31second,
42:32third and
42:33fourth,
42:34their legacy
42:35endures to
42:36this day.
42:40Brent today
42:41is entirely
42:42shaped by the
42:43Georgian period.
42:43It's a
42:44fundamental
42:45part of
42:47British history
42:47and a
42:50period that
42:50our
42:51understanding
42:52of
42:52is
42:54fundamental
42:55to
42:55understanding
42:56what works
42:58and what
42:59doesn't
42:59work
43:00in Britain
43:01today.
43:02One of the
43:03main lessons
43:03one could
43:04take from
43:04the Georgian
43:05era is the
43:06importance of
43:07being a
43:07pragmatist
43:08and being a
43:10royal pragmatist.
43:11That ability
43:12to, I think,
43:14their ability
43:15to absorb
43:15change.
43:17Not necessarily
43:17embrace change,
43:19but I think
43:19to respond
43:20to change
43:22over the
43:22long lifespan
43:23of this
43:24dynasty.
43:26In that
43:26lies the
43:27key to
43:27their success.
43:29coming up,
43:34revisit the
43:34historic return
43:35of King
43:36Henry VIII's
43:37prized flagship
43:38in Raising
43:39the Mary Rose,
43:40The Lost
43:40Tapes,
43:41and come
43:42back next
43:42Sunday for
43:43the secret
43:44lives of
43:44the Roman
43:45emperors
43:45with Mary
43:46Beard.
43:59The Lost
44:01Rose,
44:01the Lost
44:02Championship
44:03One,
44:03the Robin
44:04One,
44:04the
44:04Free
44:05Him
44:05the
44:06Ministry
44:06of
44:07the
44:07Temple
44:08t
44:08The
44:09Empire
44:10One,
44:10the
44:11One,
44:12the
44:13Two,
44:13the
44:13One,
44:14the
44:15One,
44:16the
44:17Two,
44:17the
44:18One,
44:18the
44:19One,
44:19the
44:20One,
44:20the
44:21One.
44:21Two,
44:21the
44:22One.
44:22One,
44:23the
44:24One.
44:24One,
44:25One,
44:26Two,
44:27One,
44:27One,