George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. He had earlier served as The Prince Regent when his father, George III, suffered from a relapse into insanity from an illness that is now suspected to have been porphyria.The Regency, George's nine-year tenure as Prince Regent, which commenced in 1811 and ended with George III's death in 1820, was marked by victory in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe.George was a stubborn monarch, often interfering in politics, especially in the matter of Catholic emancipation, though not as much as his father. For most of George's regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister.George is remembered largely for the extravagant lifestyle that he maintained as prince and monarch. By 1797 his weight had reached 17 stone 7 pounds (111 kg or 245 lb), and by 1824 his corset was made for a waist of 50 inches (127 cm). He had a poor relationship with both his father and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, whom he even forbade to attend his coronation. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned architect John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and rebuild Windsor Castle. He was largely instrumental in the foundation of the National Gallery, London and King's College London.Soon after he reached the age of 21, the Prince of Wales fell in love with a Roman Catholic, Maria Anne Fitzherbert, who was a widow twice over; her first husband, Edward Weld, died in 1775, and her second husband, Thomas Fitzherbert, in 1781. A marriage between the two was prohibited by the Act of Settlement 1701, which declared those who married Roman Catholics ineligible to succeed to the Throne. In addition, under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 the Prince of Wales could not marry without the consent of the King, which would have never been granted.Nevertheless, the couple contracted a marriage on 15 December 1785 at her house in Park Lane, Mayfair. Legally the union was void as the King's assent was never requested. However, Mrs Fitzherbert believed that she was the Prince of Wales's canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Mrs Fitzherbert promised not to publish any evidence relating to it.The Prince of Wales's debts continued to climb, and his father refused to aid him unless he married his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick.In 1795, the Prince of Wales acquiesced, and they were married on April 8, 1795 at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. The marriage, however, was disastrous; each party was unsuited to the other.The two were formally separated after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte, in 1796, and remained separated for the rest of their lives. The Prince of Wales remained attached to Mrs Fitzherbert for the rest of his life, despite several periods of estrangement.