King George IV was the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well as the ruler of Hanover. Born in mid-eighteenth century, he was the eldest son of King George III. Raised under strict discipline, he constantly rebelled against his father. At the age of eighteen, he was provided with a separate income and establishment. Being a little too fond of women and wine, he threw himself into an extravagant lifestyle that displeased his austere father to no end. Concurrently, he started rebuilding Carlton House and very soon transformed it into a glittering court, incurring a huge debt, which his father refused to pay unless he married his cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick. At the age of forty-eight, he became the Prince Regent and at fifty-eight, the King of the United Kingdom. Both as a regent and a king, he interfered very little with the governance, establishing the tradition that prime ministers should be allowed to work freely. Instead, he devoted himself to art and architecture, collecting masterpieces and rebuilding Royal Pavilion in Brighton and Winsor Castle and Buckingham House in London. His extravagant lifestyle made him very unpopular with the masses, and he died unlamented at the age of sixty-seven.