On This Day In Royal History . 26 June 1830 . King George IV died aged 67 at Windsor Castle. . . ◼ By the late 1820’s George’s heavy drinking & indulgent lifestyle had taken their toll on his health. Through huge banquets & copious amounts of alcohol, he had become obese. . ◼ By 1797 his weight had reached 17 stone 7 pounds (111 kg; 245 lb), & by 1824 his corset was made for a waist of 50 inches (130 cm). . ◼ He suffered from gout, arteriosclerosis, peripheral edema (“dropsy”), & possibly porphyria. In his last years, he spent whole days in bed & suffered spasms of breathlessness that would leave him half-asphyxiated. . ◼ By December 1828, like his father, he was almost completely blind from cataracts, & was suffering from such severe gout in his right hand & arm that he could no longer sign documents. The King took laudanum to counteract severe bladder pains, which left him in a drugged & mentally handicapped state for days on end. . ◼ By the spring of 1830, George’s imminent end was apparent. Attacks of breathlessness due to dropsy forced him to sleep upright in a chair, & doctors frequently tapped his abdomen to drain excess fluid. He was admired for clinging doggedly to life despite his obvious decline. He dictated his will in May & became very devout in his final months, confessing to an archdeacon that he repented of his early dissolute life, but hoped mercy would be shown to him as he had always tried to do the best for his subjects. . ◼ At about half-past three in the morning of 26 June 1830 at Windsor Castle, he reportedly called out “Good God, what is this?”, clasped his page’s hand & said “my boy, this is death”, after which he died. . ◼ An autopsy conducted by his physicians revealed he had died from upper gastrointestinal bleeding resulting from the rupture of a blood vessel in his stomach (gastric varices). A large tumour “the size of an orange” was found attached to his bladder, & he had an enlarged heart surrounded by a large fat deposit & heavily calcified heart valves. He was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 15 July. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #theyear1830 #d26jun #GeorgeIV #KingGeorgeIV #history #windsor (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CB5yusBDBKJ/?igshid=rv3qb4hz9vj0

On This Day In History . 26 June 1830 . King William IV accession to the throne. . Accession & early reign; . . ◾ When King George IV died on 26 June 1830 without surviving legitimate issue, the Duke of Clarence succeeded him as William IV. . ◾ The new King was aged 64, & was the oldest person ever to assume the British throne. . ◾ Unlike his extravagant brother, William was unassuming, discouraging pomp & ceremony. . ◾ In contrast to George IV, who tended to spend most of his time in Windsor Castle, William was known, especially early in his reign, to walk, unaccompanied, through London or Brighton. Until the Reform Crisis eroded his standing, he was very popular among the people, who saw him as more approachable & down-to-earth than his brother. . ◾ The King immediately proved himself a conscientious worker. His first Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, stated that he had done more business with King William in ten minutes than he had with George IV in as many days. . ◾ The King did his best to endear himself to the people. He gave much of George IV's art collection to the nation. . 👑 His coronation took place on 8 September 1831. . ◾ George IV had begun an extensive (& expensive) renovation of Buckingham Palace; his brother refused to reside there, & twice tried to give the palace away, once to the Army as a barracks, & once to Parliament after the Houses of Parliament burned down in 1834. . ▪ William would reign for seven years, & was succeeded by his niece Victoria. . Portrait - King William IV, by Sir David Wilkie, 1837, public domain. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #TheYear1830 #Accession #King #WilliamIV #unitedkingdom #greatbritain #KingWilliamIV #HisMajesty #History #RoyaltyinArt #Royalty #HouseoHanover #BritishMonarchy #26jun #RoyalHistory #BritishHistory #Onthisday #historic #portraitpainting #Kingwilliam #British #Instahistory (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLXy75g6rY/?igshid=360f50vgk0pm

On This Day In History . 26 June 1830 . King George IV died aged 67 at Windsor Castle. . . ◼ By the late 1820's George's heavy drinking & indulgent lifestyle had taken their toll on his health. Through huge banquets & copious amounts of alcohol, he had become obese. . ◼ By 1797 his weight had reached 17 stone 7 pounds (111 kg; 245 lb), & by 1824 his corset was made for a waist of 50 inches (130 cm). . ◼ He suffered from gout, arteriosclerosis, peripheral edema ("dropsy"), & possibly porphyria. In his last years, he spent whole days in bed & suffered spasms of breathlessness that would leave him half-asphyxiated. . ◼ By December 1828, like his father, he was almost completely blind from cataracts, & was suffering from such severe gout in his right hand & arm that he could no longer sign documents. The King took laudanum to counteract severe bladder pains, which left him in a drugged & mentally handicapped state for days on end. . ◼ By the spring of 1830, George's imminent end was apparent. Attacks of breathlessness due to dropsy forced him to sleep upright in a chair, & doctors frequently tapped his abdomen to drain excess fluid. He was admired for clinging doggedly to life despite his obvious decline. He dictated his will in May & became very devout in his final months, confessing to an archdeacon that he repented of his early dissolute life, but hoped mercy would be shown to him as he had always tried to do the best for his subjects. . ◼ At about half-past three in the morning of 26 June 1830 at Windsor Castle, he reportedly called out "Good God, what is this?", clasped his page's hand & said "my boy, this is death", after which he died. . ◼ An autopsy conducted by his physicians revealed he had died from upper gastrointestinal bleeding resulting from the rupture of a blood vessel in his stomach (gastric varices). A large tumour "the size of an orange" was found attached to his bladder, & he had an enlarged heart surrounded by a large fat deposit & heavily calcified heart valves. He was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 15 July. . . . #OnThisDayInHistory #ThisDayInHistory #theyear1830 #d26jun #GeorgeIV #KingGeorgeIV #history #windsor (at Windsor, Berkshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLWmvggJqB/?igshid=198kgzwutpkdu