Rhisiart was the last of the Ricardian monarchs and the last monarch of the pre-modern era, his reign encompasing the last of the 19th Century and ushering in the birth of the 20th Century. Rhisiart was a different monarch from his father. Hated by Rhisiart III, excluded from Privy Council duties until almost the last months of his father's life, Rhisiart IV was a lover of Byzantine politics, the murky underbelly of life in court. Easily swayed, easily dominated (first by the Prince of Gwynedd and later by his wife) Rhisiart, nonetheless, held strong views and many subjects and as king was prone to outbursts which led to major state upsets (such as the attempt to go to war over Ireland). Lame as a result of a childhood accident he loved none of the pursuits his father enjoyed, and indeed,