By the time George IV came to the throne, at the age of 57, his heavy drinking and indulgent lifestyle had taken their toll on his health. He suffered from gout, arteriosclerosis, peripheral edema ('dropsy'), and possibly porphyria (a group of liver disorders). In his last years he spent whole days in bed, and suffered spasms of breathlessness that would leave him half–asphyxiated.
By the spring of 1830, his weight had reached 20 stone; even six years earlier, his waist measurement had been 50 inches. In April 1830, the Duke of Wellington wrote that the King's breakfast had consisted of "a Pidgeon and Beef Steak Pye ... Three parts of a bottle of Mozelle, a Glass of Dry Champagne, two Glasses of Port [and] a Glass of Brandy". This was followed by a large dose of laudanum.
At about three in the morning of 26 June 1830, at Windsor Castle, George awoke and passed a bowel movement – "a large evacuation mix'd with blood". By 3:15 am he was dead. An autopsy revealed that the King had died from upper gastrointestinal bleeding, resulting from the rupture of a blood vessel in his stomach.
© Haydn Thompson 2021