1-626-247 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Prince of Wales, the future King George IV (1762-1830), in the Highland Dress. George IV was king of Great Britain and Ireland between 1820 and 1830. He had earlier served as Prince Regent when his father, King 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, commenced in 1811 and ended with George III's death in 1820. It was marked by victory in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. George IV is remembered largely for the extravagant lifestyle that he maintained as prince and monarch.