Their Majesties King George III and Queen Charlotte
Though his obstinacy toward the American colonies led to Great Britain's loss of them and his subsequent distorted image as a tyrant who went mad, George III has nevertheless been one of my favorite British monarchs owing to his sense of duty to his country, moral family life, sincere Christian faith, diverse range on interests, and charitable giving. After the French Revolution and the threat of Napoleon, he became a symbol of British traditions and resistance to invasion. With a reign of 60 years (although for the last 10 incapacitated), he was Great Britain's longest reigning king, and second-longest reigning monarch after his granddaughter Queen Victoria.
posted by Stephen D. | 02:56
3 Comments:
So one could call him, "George, King by the grace of God of Great Britain, Ireland, and AMERICA!" right? I mean before 1783. What was his take on the War of 1812?
Though "King of America" sounds good, I don't think the 13 colonies comprised a single kingdom in British eyes. Perhaps he they were referred to as his "dominions in North America." George III would most likely not have had any take on the War of 1812 since, by 1811, he had succumbed to his final bout with mental illness caused by porphyria and was confined to Windsor Castle. His eldest son, later George IV, would have assumed all the duties of the monarch as Prince Regent, and the prime minister at the time was Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool (one of the longest serving prime ministers, incidentally). The two of them would have presided over Napoleon's final defeat in 1815. But George III was evidently still enough of a symbol in American eyes that a political cartoon of the time depicted him in a boxing match with President James Madison.
I wish we'd settled it with the boxing match.
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