William IV of the United Kingdom
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dear Duke delights in." The King, generally somewhat of a prude, was accepting of his son's relationship with the actress (though recommending that he halve her allowance) and in 1797, created William Ranger of Bushy Park, which included a large residence, Bushy House, for William's growing family. William would use Bushy as his principal residence until he became King. His London residence, Clarence House, was constructed to the designs of John Nash between 1825 and 1827. The couple had ten illegitimate children, five sons and five daughters, nine of whom were named for William's siblings, and who were given the surname "FitzClarence". The affair would last for twenty years before ending in 1811. Mrs. Jordan at least had no doubt as to the reason for the breakup: "Money, money, my good friend, has, I am convinced made HIM at this moment the most wretched of men," adding, "With all his excellent qualities, his domestic virtues, his love for his lovely children, what must he not at this moment suffer?" Mrs. Jordan was given a financial settlement of £4400 (equal to £243,400 today) per year and custody of the daughters, on condition she did not resume the stage. When she did take up her acting career again, to repay debts incurred by her son-in-law (the husband of one of Mrs. Jordan's daughters from a previous relationship), the Duke took custody of the daughters and stopped paying the £1500 (equal to £82,600 today) designated for their maintenance. With her career failing, she fled to France to escape her creditors, and died, impoverished, near Paris in 1816. Deep in debt, the Duke made multiple attempts towards marrying a wealthy heiress, but his suits were unsuccessful.
However, when the Duke's niece, Princess Charlotte, the second-in-line to the throne, died in childbirth in 1817, the King was left with twelve children, but no legitimate grandchildren. The race was on among the Royal Dukes to marry and produce an heir. William had great advantages in this race—his two older brothers were both childless and estranged from their wives (who were both probably beyond childbearing age) and William was the healthiest of the three. If he lived long enough, he would almost certainly become King, and have the opportunity to sire the next monarch. However, William's first choices to wed either met with the disapproval of the Prince Regent or turned him down. His younger brother, the Duke of Cambridge, was sent to Germany to scout out the available Protestant princesses; he came up with Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, but her father declined the match. Two months later, the Duke of Cambridge married her himself. Eventually, a princess was found who was amicable, home-loving, and was willing to accept, even enthusiastically welcome, William's nine surviving children, several of whom had not yet reached adulthood. At Kew on 11 July 1818, William married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. At 25, Adelaide was half William's age. The marriage, which lasted almost twenty years until William's death, was a happy one. The new Duchess took both William and his finances in hand. For their first year of marriage, the couple lived in economical fashion in Germany, William's debts were soon on the way to being paid, especially since Parliament had voted him an increased allowance,