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William IV (Penguin Monarchs)

by Roger Knight

Book 10 in the Penguin Monarchs series.

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Roger Knight examines William IV, the former naval officer who became king late in life and reigned during a decisive constitutional crisis. The biography follows his unconventional domestic life, his years as Duke of Clarence and his often erratic attempts to exercise royal influence.

The Reform Act of 1832 forms the political centre of the book. Knight shows how William’s actions, including his willingness to create peers and his dismissal of a ministry, tested the limits of monarchical power at a moment when parliamentary representation and popular politics were being transformed.