George IV could commit Hanover, but not Britain

George IV could consent to the Holy Alliance in his Hanoverian capacity without committing the United Kingdom. British ministers rejected participation, denying the continental monarchies the naval power they needed to intervene across the Atlantic. The episode illustrates the constitutional rule that the king might reign while ministers governed policy. The loudest European outrage therefore came from states with little practical ability to act, while the British government quietly made the American declaration effective.