To build your own Itinerary, click to add an item to your Itinerary basket.
Already saved an Itinerary?
You are here: UK History > Royal History > House of Hanover > George III | The Mad King
When it comes to the reign of Britain’s third George, he is mostly remembered for his mental health issues, but as the longest reigning king so far, there was much more to life under George III than just his bouts of illness. He was the king when the United Kingdom was formed, when Britain abolished slavery and when America and France became independent republics.
Born: 4th June 1738, Norfolk House, St James’ Square, London
Died: 29th January 1820 (aged 81), Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Reign: 25th October 1760 – 29th January 1820.
Parents: Frederick Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe Gotha
Predecessor: George II (grandfather)
Successor: George IV (son)
Spouse: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Streiltz (1761-1818)
Children: George IV, King of the United Kingdom; Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany; William IV, King of the United Kingdom; Charlotte, Queen of Württemberg, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn; Princess Augusta; Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg; Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover; Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex; Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge; Princess Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh; Princess Sophia; Prince Octavius; Prince Alfred and Princess Amelia
Royal House: Hanover
George III was made King of Great Britain and Ireland on 25th October 1760 and the Duke and Prince Elector of Hanover on the death of his grandfather, George II. Later, he would be known as George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union, and the King of Hanover, a title he received in 1714.
George was born on 4th June 1738 at Norfolk House in St James’ Square, London, the first of the House of Hanover to be born in Britain, as such, he spoke English as his first language and never visited Hanover, in fact, it was rare for him to leave London and he only ever travelled in the South of England.
As the oldest son of the Prince of Wales, Frederick, he was automatically given royal titles, however, being two months premature, it was deemed unlikely that he would survive. Because of this, he was baptised the same day and then, a few months later when it seemed clearer that he would live to infancy, was again baptised in public with godparents and sponsors present.
Despite being a sickly baby, he grew into a healthy, reserved, and shy child and was believed to be incredibly intelligent. The royal archives hold a number of family letters that show he was able to read and write in both English and German from a young age and had a firm grasp of politics by eight years old. He and his younger brother, Prince Edward, the Duke of York and Albany, were raised together at their home in Leicester Square, where they received an extensive education which covered chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics, French, Latin, history, geography, commerce, agriculture, constitutional law, dance, fencing and riding. He is believed to be the first British monarch to properly study the sciences and would remain interested in the field for the rest of his life.
As a prince, George was afforded all the luxuries you could think of, however, his father, the Prince of Wales had a difficult relationship with his grandfather the King, leading to George II to have little interest in his grandchildren for most of their lives. After the unexpected early death of the Prince of Wales, King George II made his grandson, the young George heir apparent, giving him his father’s titles and finally starting to take notice of him. As he approached 18, the king offered him his own royal residence at St James’ Palace, however, George refused on the advice of his mother and her close friend, Lord Bute, who would later serve George as Prime Minister. The pair wanted to keep George close so that they could keep an eye on him and continue to influence him as he got closer to succession.
After turning 18, George began to actively look for a wife. Initially, he settled on Lady Sarah Lennox with whom he had an intense courtship, however Lord Bute stepped in, advising him against the marriage. The King also had ideas about who his grandson should be considering, attempting a match with the Princess Sophie Caroline of Brunswick Wolfenbütttel, but his mother refused. George became king at the age of 22, leading to a more intense search for a wife. He was finally married to Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Stelitz on 8th September 1761. They met for the first time on their wedding day and were crowned in a joint ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Like many of his predecessors, this was not in any way a love match, however, George famously never took a mistress and reported having a happy marriage until he fell ill.
A year later, George brought Buckingham House, which stood on the site which is now occupied by Buckingham Palace. At the time, it was used as a family retreat for him, Charlotte and their fifteen children. He retained his grandfather’s rooms at St James’ Palace for official business and would also frequent Kew Palace and Windsor Castle. Unlike other monarchs, who would visit their territories abroad, George rarely left London, but was known to take family holidays in Weymouth on the south coast.
Once George was coronated, he immediately tried to distance himself from his German heritage, something that initially brought him huge popularity, however, his first few years as king were marked by political instability and war. Much like his predecessors, Queen Anne and George I, George had a mostly good working relationship with his parliament, though there were times when they disagreed. George worked better with a Tory majority than a Whig one, which was often the cause of parliamentary discord.
Though we mostly remember George as “The Mad King” he was actually very favourably viewed through the majority of his reign and was well known for being a collector of the arts and books, creating the foundations of a new national library and aided the Royal Academy of Arts from his own funds, donating more than half his personal income to charities.
George was deeply devout and would spend hours praying, he was often appalled by his sibling’s behaviour and in the early part of his reign, insisted on a new law which forbade members of the royal family to marry without the consent of the sovereign, in part to curb the behaviour of his siblings and children. The Royal Marriages Act passed in 1772, leading to issues with George and one of his brothers, who had secretly married one of George's opponents. His behaviour towards potential assassins also contributed to his popularity. In one incident, two assailants who were believed to be insane made attempts on his life and he treated them with kindness. In another, someone tried to shoot him while he was at a show in the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, London. George was so unperturbed by the incident that he fell asleep during the interval.
George’s popularity particularly soared during Pitt’s premiership. The public at the time admired him for his piety and for his relationship with his wife and children, it was noted that he was very fond of his family and would set strict rules for the children, displaying open disappointment when they strayed from his rules.
In 1763, issues with Britain’s colonies in America began to arise, starting with the Royal Proclamation, which put a limit on the westward expansion of American colonies as a way to protect the fur trade with the Native Americans. It ended up being unpopular with the public and led to conflict between the colonists and the British government. The act also saw taxation being passed on to the colonists, with the view that they would pay for their own defence. It was something that would bubble until the Boston Tea Party and the American War for Independence.
The issues with America began under the leadership of Grenville, who was the prime minister. Grenville introduced a Stamp Act and attempted to reduce the king’s powers, resulting in George trying to get William Pitt the Elder to stand as prime minister instead, eventually, Grenville was replaced by Rockingham, but Pitt soon took on the role and repealed the Stamp Act. This was so popular in America that statues of both King George and William Pitt were erected in New York City.
Britain’s grasp on the American colonies had been steadily declining through the 1770s. In 1773, the prime minister, Lord North made the growing discontent in America his priority and repealed most of the custom duties, except the one on tea, leading to an incident which became known as the Boston Tea Party. Rebels boarded ships that were moored in Boston Harbour and threw all the tea overboard. This led to Lord North introducing new measures to combat insurgence, which resulted in the view that George was a tyrant. Modern evidence however would suggest that he actually had little responsibility for the causes of the revolution and was instead, more of a constitutional monarch.
Contemporary historians have also noted that it would have been unthinkable for any monarch to surrender such a large amount of territory, however George’s behaviour throughout was said to have been much less ruthless than other monarchs of his time.
Following the Boston Tea Party, skirmishes and battles broke out across the colonies. Lord North was not seen as an ideal war leader and many of his cabinet members were given strategic positions with little experience. In 1776, the colonists declared independence, listing 27 grievances against the British, mostly centring on the lack of American representation in parliament. The American War of Independence broke out the same year. The French joined the conflict and it soon spilled across Europe, likening it more to a World War than a civil one.
By 1781, British troops had surrendered during the Battle of Yorktown, Lord North’s support at home had waned leading for him to resign. George drafted an abdication notice, conceding the American colonies, but it was never delivered. He accepted defeat publicly and authorised peace negotiations. The Americans chose George Washington to lead them and an American Minister to London, John Adams, to represent them, forging a new relationship between the king and his former colonies.
Shortly after America became a republic, the French had their own revolution and overthrew the monarchy. The revolution and execution of the royal family caused concern throughout Britain, especially among landowners. Following the revolution, France, led by Napoleon, declared war on Britain in 1793. In retaliation, George allowed Pitt to increase taxes and raise an army, joining other European nations in the conflict. The coalitions of European nations eventually fell apart and by 1800, only Britain was left fighting against Napoleon and the French republic.
The French’s attempted landing in Ireland led to the Act of Union which created the United Kingdom. The Act, which came into effect on 1st January 1801, changed George’s title to the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, it was at this time that he also abandoned the title of the King of France, which had been maintained by the British sovereigns since the time of Edward III.
After bringing Ireland officially into the union, Pitt attempted to remove some of the laws against Roman Catholics, however George was worried that by doing so would violate his coronation oath. Faced with opposition, Pitt threatened to resign, leading George to suffer a relapse of his illness, something that he blamed on Pitt’s new policies. Pitt was later replaced by Henry Addington, who made the initial peace with France. George wasn’t convinced by the peace negotiations and he was right, fighting began again in 1803. Lord Nelson’s naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar essentially ended the war.
George is best known for his persistent mental illness. His health initially began to deteriorate in the 1780s, when he began to suffer from episodes of mania. There is ongoing debate as to what caused George’s illness, with some saying he presented similar symptoms to bipolar disorder, while others believe he was suffering from the genetic condition porphyria, which had also plagued many of the French monarchs and was thought to have afflicted Henry VI.
It is believed that the king had a brief episode of the illness in 1765 but suffered a longer one in the summer of 1788, when he moved to Cheltenham Spa to recuperate – the furthest he’d been from London in years, but his conditioned worsened. By the November of that year, he was described as being seriously deranged and would speak for hours without pause and foaming at the mouth, he would repeat himself endlessly and write sentences of over 400 words.
During George’s reign, treatment for mental illness was very primitive and misunderstood, which likely exacerbated his condition. At his worst, he was forcibly restrained until he was calm and doctors would apply poultices to draw out evil spirits. Parliament argued over the terms of the regency and whether the Prince of Wales should act on his father’s behalf, resulting in the passing of the Regency Bill. However, George returned to good health before it came into effect. By the early 1800s he suffered another bout of mental unwellness, becoming dangerously ill by 1810. He accepted the need for the Regency Act and the Prince of Wales became regent for the rest of George’s reign.
The later part of George’s reign was marred with his poor mental health which overshadowed much of his legacy. However, there were several notable incidents that took place under his leadership including the peak of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. There were also great advances in science at the time and George’s personal collection of mathematical and scientific instruments can be viewed at the London Science Museum as part of a permanent loan from King’s College London. George also commissioned the building of the King’s Observatory which can be found in Richmond Upon Thames.
If that wasn’t enough, there were also the changes in British territories, including in America and the French Revolution. One of the most important things to come out of George III’s reign however was the abolition of slavery. It was one of the main conflicts that he had with parliament, as he and the Prince of Wales were in support of continuing the slave trade, but the British Public and William Pitt had begun to turn against it. Pitt refrained from making the abolition of slavery a government policy initially, choosing to work on the campaign in a personal capacity, however, by 1807 the idea of slavery was becoming increasingly more abhorrent, leading to George finally signing the law for the Act of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, under which the transatlantic slave trade was banned in the whole of the British Empire.
Another of George’s lasting legacies is his descendants. Two of his children were future kings, the Prince of Wales who became George IV and William IV who through his illegitimate children, is an ancestor of David Cameron, former British prime minister. Another of his children, Prince Edward was the father of future queen Victoria and the current queen, Elizabeth II is a descendent of both his sons Edward and Adolphus.
By 1810, though George’s popularity was high, he was too ill to continue to rule and under the Regency Act, his son took over most of his duties. By this time, George had cataracts and suffered from rheumatism as well as having a relapse of his mental health issues. This episode was likely triggered by the death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia. By the following year, it looked like he might be on the road to recovery, but in just a few months, he was described as being permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death in 1820.
Between 1811 and 1820, George developed dementia and became completely blind and deaf. He became incapable of understanding that he was made king of Hanover in 1814 or the death of his wife in 1818. By Christmas of 1819, he became unable to walk and on one day, spoke nonsense for 58 hours. George passed away on 29th January 1820 with pneumonia, six days after the death of his son Edward, with another of his children, Frederick, at his side. He lay in state for two days before being buried in Windsor.
George lived for 81 years and reigned for 59 years – the longest serving and longest living king so far. He has only been passed by queens Victoria and Elizabeth II. George was succeeded by two of his sons, George IV who had acted as Regent through the final years of his reign and then William IV, who died without surviving legitimate children. The throne then went on to Victoria, the only legitimate child of Prince Edward.
Bexhill Museum, East Sussex
Buckingham Palace, London
Originally known as Buckingham House, it was brought by George for his wife, Queen Charlotte, as her personal residence.
Cockspurr Street, London
A statue of George can be found here.
Kew Palace
Used as the royal family home.
Royal Academy of Arts, London
George founding the Royal Academy, which was originally located at Pall Mall, then Somerset House, then Trafalgar Square before moving to its current location.
St George's Circus, London
London's oldest roundabout can be found here, it was built during the reign of George III.
St James' Palace, London
George's preferred palace for conducting Royal Business.
St Paul's Cathedral, London
In the crypt is the tomb of Lord Nelson, the sarcophagus was actually made for Henry VIII but wasn't finished on time. It was eventually completed and stored at Windsor until George presented it to the admiralty as a tribute to Nelson.
Truefitt and Hill Barbers, London
Located at St James' Street, they received their first royal warrent from George III.
Windsor Castle, Berkshire
George spent the last years of his life here.
© Visit Heritage 2024. All Rights Reserved