William IV of the United Kingdom William IV of the United Kingdom William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded his elder brother George IV, becoming the last king and penultimate monarch of Britain's House of Hanover. William served in the Royal Navy in his youth, spending time in North America and the Caribbean, and was later nicknamed the "Sailor King". In 1789, he was created Duke of Clarence and St
The Man Who Would Be King The Man Who Would Be King "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888) is a story by Rudyard Kipling about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan. The story was first published in "The Phantom Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales" (1888). It also appeared in "Wee Willie Winkie and Other Child Stories" (1895), and numerous later editions of that collection. It has been adapted for other media a number of times. The narrator of the story is an Indian journalist in 19th century India—Kipling himself, in all but name. Whilst on