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George III
From A Storehouse of Knowledge
George William Frederick III (1738-1820), King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, reigned during the Napoleanic Wars and the American Revolution. He took a more active role in politics than was common for the King of Great Britain. He also suffered from frequent bouts of insanity, degenerating into madness for the last ten years of his life.
George was born on June 4, 1738, to Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of George II. Since his father died in 1751, George soon became heir apparent. He took the throne in 1760, the first monarch since Queen Anne to be born in Britain.
Following his mother's repeated advice to "be a king," George personally selected Prime Ministers and recruited a Parliamentary majority through bribery. This did not help relations with the American colonies, which few of his prime ministers understood. George himself was shielded from these troubles, however, since the Americans originally thought Parliament was at fault. When the United States finally won independence, George was so disappointed that he considered abdicating.
George himself lived an exemplary personal life, very close to his wife Queen Charlotte. He had fifteen children, the eldest of whom (later George IV) disappointed him by living a dissolute life. George sympathized William Wilberforce's opposition to slavery and encouragement of public morality.
The Madness of King George
King George suffered from frequent bouts of insanity, recently diagnosed as a genetic disease called porphyria. Mary Queen of Scots and James I, his ancestors, displayed classic symptoms of that disease.
From 1810 on, George was completely mad. He did not even recognize his wife, and was not informed when she died. In 1811, Parliament officially provided for a regency under the Prince of Wales, with whom George was greatly disappointed.
