“The Mad King George III and the Mocked King George IV”.
Twentieth episode of Siggie, presenting her take on the history of the monarchs of England in the context of her favorite topic….herself. This episode continues the Hanover Dynasty, with the long-ruling and very famous George III, whose chronic bouts of mental illness are still somewhat controversial today. He is well remembered in modern times for his involvement in the Napoleonic Wars and the American Revolution. His son, George IV, served as Prince Regent for ten years before becoming King himself. George IV reign was marred by scandal and he himself was mocked in his time for being selfish, unreliable and irresponsible.

Now we come to the uber famous King George III of the

House of Hanover. King George III reigned from 1760 to 1820, a whopping 59 years.

The length of his reign is more than a lifetime for some of these monarchs that

we’ve been learning about. He died at the ripe old age of 81. The American

Revolutionary War occurred during the reign of King George III. Also, the great

battles of the Napoleonic Wars including Waterloo occurred during his reign. This

is what happens when one lives long enough, they get to experience all these

great wars. George III was known for being the first of the Hanover Kings

to speak English as a first language. A little bit of trivia… The planet Uranus

was first called George’s star in the king’s honor. He suffered from poor

mental health. It was believed that he suffered from a disease called porphyria,

but I believe that now they don’t think that’s true. He reportedly had episodes

of recurring mania, possibly bipolar disorder. Yeah they kind of switched

their belief from it being porphyria, which also can mimic different mental

disorders, to profound mental illness. So King George III was dubbed the “Mad King.” 

So now we’ll move on to King George IV of

the House of Hanover. He reigned from 1820 to 1830. His daddy was King George

III. George IV basically acted as Prince Regent for his daddy since 1811 during

his dad’s battle with mental illness. Among notable things he accomplished… He commissioned

the remodeling of Buckingham Palace and the rebuilding of Windsor Castle. He also

participated in the founding of King’s College London and the National Gallery.

And now for the bad news. He was mocked terribly in all these caricatures and

all sorts of things by the public. He was considered selfish, extravagant and a

leader lacking strength. He and his much much, much, much, much, much more popular

wife, Caroline of Brunswick, pretty much despised each other and became estranged.

They separated shortly after the birth of their only child, Charlotte, who would

have been heir to the throne after George IV. But she died during childbirth at the

age of 21. So she predeceased both her father George IV and her granddaddy

George III. This was Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales.

(Stay tuned for episode 21 and even more Hanover Dynasty!…)