George, Prince of Wales, the oldest son of king George III, was born at St James's Palace London on 12th August 1762. He did not become king until he was nearly 60, but assumed the role of Prince Regent in his late forties as a result of his father's mental illness.
In his early twenties, he fell in love with a Catholic widow (twice married before) known as Mrs Maria Fitzherbert, who was 6 years older than he was. He was also an artistic and cultured man, who liked drinking and gambling, had an eye for the ladies and was very good at wasting the tax-payers' money while others in his country lived in the poverty that accompanied the industrial revolution and fought wars against Napoleon. Both Parliament and George III put pressure on the prince to cut down on his extravagance and to accept an "approved marriage" to his cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick. However, the prince had other ideas.