# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom
# Generated: 2026-08-31T16:04:13.148Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom"
name: "William IV of the United Kingdom"
slug: "william-iv-of-the-united-kingdom"
description: "He waited sixty-four years for a crown no one expected him to wear, outlasted by scandal and ten illegitimate children, then ruled just long enough to abolish slavery and reshape Parliament before dying without an heir—handing Britain to a teenage niece named Victoria."
tagline: "King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1830 to 1837"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/William_IV_in_1833_by_Shee_cropped.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "United Kingdom"
  isoCode: "GB"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1765-08-21"
deathDate: "1837-06-20"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           66.16
  momentum:             0
  historical:           30.246468
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     65
  profileCompleteness:  75
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: 141
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Historical Figure"
    slug: "historical-figure"
  - name: "Royalty"
    slug: "royalty"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Early Modern Era"
    slug: "early-modern-era"
platforms:
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13213172/"
    handle:    "nm13213172"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV_of_the_United_Kingdom"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130822"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/William%20IV%20of%20the%20United%20Kingdom"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guill%C3%A9n_IV_d'o_Reino_Uniu"
    title: "Guillén IV d'o Reino Uniu"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B9_%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%A9"
    title: "وليم الرابع ملك المملكة المتحدة"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B9_%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D9%87_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%87"
    title: "ويليام الرابع ملك المملكه المتحده"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermu_IV_del_Reinu_Xun%C3%ADu"
    title: "Guillermu IV del Reinu Xuníu"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AF%D8%A4%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%88_%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_(%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%DB%8C_%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%87)"
    title: "دؤردونجو ویلیام (پادشاهی متحده)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/IV_Vilhelm_(B%C3%B6y%C3%BCk_Britaniya_kral%C4%B1)"
    title: "IV Vilhelm (Böyük Britaniya kralı)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC_IV_(%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%B1%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D1%96)"
    title: "Вільгельм IV (кароль брытанскі)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BC_IV"
    title: "Уилям IV"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV_ar_Rouantelezh-Unanet"
    title: "William IV ar Rouantelezh-Unanet"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilim_IV%2C_kralj_Ujedinjenog_Kraljevstva"
    title: "Vilim IV, kralj Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillem_IV_del_Regne_Unit"
    title: "Guillem IV del Regne Unit"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C_%DA%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%95%D9%85"
    title: "ویلیامی چوارەم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vil%C3%A9m_IV._Britsk%C3%BD"
    title: "Vilém IV. Britský"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV%2C_brenin_y_Deyrnas_Unedig"
    title: "William IV, brenin y Deyrnas Unedig"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhelm_4._af_Storbritannien"
    title: "Vilhelm 4. af Storbritannien"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_IV._(Vereinigtes_K%C3%B6nigreich)"
    title: "Wilhelm IV. (Vereinigtes Königreich)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%AD%CE%BB%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%94%CE%84_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%97%CE%BD%CF%89%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%92%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BF%CF%85"
    title: "Γουλιέλμος Δ΄ του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV"
    title: "William IV"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhelmo_la_4-a_(Britio)"
    title: "Vilhelmo la 4-a (Britio)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_IV_del_Reino_Unido"
    title: "Guillermo IV del Reino Unido"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV"
    title: "William IV"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilen_IV.a_Erresuma_Batukoa"
    title: "Gilen IV.a Erresuma Batukoa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_%DA%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%85"
    title: "ویلیام چهارم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vil%C3%A9m_IV._Anglick%C3%BD"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_IV_of_the_United_Kingdom"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://fa.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_%DA%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%85_(%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%DB%8C_%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%87)"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_IV_Hanowerski"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  William Henry was George III's third son, a royal spare who went to sea and earned the nickname "Sailor King" during years in the Caribbean and British North America. Created Duke of Clarence in 1789, he spent two decades living openly with actress Dorothea Jordan, fathering ten children outside marriage before she left in 1811. He married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in 1818, served as Lord High Admiral in 1827, and inherited the throne in 1830 when both elder brothers died without legitimate issue. His seven-year reign pushed through the Reform Act of 1832, abolished slavery across nearly all the British Empire, restricted child labour, and updated the Poor Law—though he remained the last British monarch to appoint a prime minister against Parliament's will. He died in 1837 with no surviving legitimate children, splitting his two kingdoms: niece Victoria took Britain, brother Ernest Augustus took Hanover, and the personal union that had lasted 123 years came to an end.