55 King George III Facts: The Ruler During The American Revolution

Born to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, George III was the third monarch from the House of Hanover to rule England. 

Often dubbed a 'mad king' for losing the American colonies, George III's fluctuating reputation has garnered historians' attention. However, that reputation is partly because he inherited a British throne that was on the brink of financial wreckage.

A capricious monarch whose reign was marked by periods of inconsistency, the King showed little respect for constitutional mechanism and frequently interfered in ministerial decisions. After a 59 year-long reign, marked by several indecisions and vague signs of national revival, George III died when he was 81.

Facts About King George III

George III's full name was George William Frederick. He was born to parents Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, on June 4, 1738.

• King George III had a premature birth as he was born two months before his due date.
• He was baptized twice, on the day of his birth, as people thought he was less likely to survive and publicly a month later.
• George III was the first king from the House of Hanover to be born in Great Britain.
• He was also the first Hanoverian monarch to have English as his mother tongue.
• Young George inherited the Dukedom of Edinburgh and was named heir to the British Crown in 1751 after his father's death.
• He was named the Prince of Wales by his grandfather, King George II, on April 20, 1751.
• George III acceded the throne as the new monarch of Great Britain after the death of King George II, his grandfather, in 1760.
• He was the third monarch from the House of Hanover who ruled England.
• He was only 22 years of age during his coronation.
• George III's reign lasted for 59 years until his death.
• He served as one of the longest-serving monarchs of Great Britain, with only Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth surpassing the achievement.
• John Stuart home tutored King George III from an early age.
• George III was the first British monarch to take up science in his formal education.
• His scientific and mathematical instruments collection is exhibited at the Science Museum, London.
• He also took French, Latin, history, music, commerce, agriculture, and constitutional law lessons.
• The King's interest in astronomy led him to commission the King's Observatory.
• Its construction was completed by 1769, in time to observe the Transit of Venus.
• The King's Library assembled George III's collection of books and is currently a part of the British Library.
• The King's royal collection amassed over 65,000 books.
• George III founded the Royal Academy of Arts.
• The Gold State Coach was an enclosed eight-horse-drawn carriage commissioned by King George III in his first year of reign.
• The Royal family has used the coach in the coronation of every British monarch from George IV onwards.
• The Royal Marriages Act, 1772 was commissioned upon King George's insistence.
• The act empowered the monarch to nullify the validity of any Royal marriage contracts that he did not sanction.

King George III's Rule

George III acceded the throne at the backdrop of the Seven Years' War. His tenure was further influenced by the Irish Rebellion and the French Revolution.

• George III inherited his first Prime Minister, Thomas Pelham-Holles, who was elected during George II's reign.
• John Stuart was George III's first elected Prime Minister.
• Over the next 59 years of his reign, George could have as many as 14 different Prime Ministers.
• George III advanced his charge against slavery by giving Royal assent to the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
• Dubbed as 'Farmer George,' it was under the reign of George III that the British Agricultural Revolution climaxed.
• This period experienced a turnaround in the rural demography.
• Britain was left in a state of financial turmoil after the Seven Years' War. George Grenville, George III's Prime Minister, insisted on passing two controversial acts, the Stamp Act and Sugar Act, with the King's approval to maximize revenues.
• The British Crown was empowered to impose taxes on all printed documents under the provisions of the Stamp Act.
• The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 with the support of the King and William Pitt.
• Despite that, newer taxation laws such as the Tea Act and Townsend Act were implemented. The American Revolutionary War, led by General George Washington, unfolded in opposition to these laws.
• The United States allied with the French in 1778 and with Spain and the Dutch Republic in 1779 to defeat the British troops two years later, in 1781. George III fell out with his subjects after losing the American colonies in 1783.
• The King's popularity was restored following the victory in the Battle of Waterloo.
• The Act on Union codified the unification of England and Ireland by 1800. 1801 onwards, George III emerged as the monarch of Great Britain and Ireland until he died in 1820.

King George III's Family

King George III entered into a marriage alliance with Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on September 8, 1761. The King is remembered as a devoted husband who stayed faithful to his wife, Queen Charlotte.

• The Royal wedding was held at the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace.
• The King met his wife for the first time on the day of their marriage.
• George, unlike his predecessors, never took a mistress.
• The couple's marriage lasted 50 years long.
• George and Charlotte raised 15 children.
• 13 out of the 15 children, including Prince George, went on to see the light of adulthood.
• The King's favorite son was Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.
• Buckingham Palace, the London residence of Queen Elizabeth II, was initially purchased by George III in 1761.
• Buckingham house, as it was originally named, was intended to serve as the private residence of the King's wife, Queen Charlotte. Hence, it was also known as the Queen's House.
• George III preferred the Kew Palace and Windsor Castle as his principal London residence.

King George III's Personality

King George III is remembered as the 'Mad King.' He had an unknown mental illness that remains undiagnosed to this day.

• Otherwise an articulate monarch, King George III used less colorful language in his writings during his episodes of mania.
• By 1810, the King was deemed too unfit to rule the United Kingdom due to his mental illness.
• George III became completely blind and lost the ability to walk during the later stages of his life.
• The Regency Act 1811 codified that his eldest son George, the young Prince of Wales, would rule as Regent for the rest of King George's tenure.
• George III was anointed as the King of Hanover in 1814. However, at this point, his mind wasn't in a state to even comprehend the honor.
• It is rumored that the King spoke to himself for 58 hours during the peak of his mental illness in 1819.
• King George's imminent end concluded with his death on January 29, 1820.
• St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle is the King's final resting place.