The King Who Lost America | How Mad Was King George? | BBC Select

King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) introduces this royal history documentary which looks back at the life and times of King George III.

King George III was the longest-lived and longest-reigning king in British history. But his reputation brands him a foolish, incapable madman. As this history documentary reveals, this unfair assessment overshadows his achievements and qualities as a monarch. With new revelations from diaries and letters and interviews with experts, a very different side to this remarkable ruler emerges.

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[mursyidnadisan]

Learn kingdom's history from Etonian ❌
Learn from the King himself ✔

[WORLDNSHKNIGHT]

Charles is right.

George III had a 59 year reign - the longest of any British or English king. Such a long reign cannot easily be summed up by one event.

Among other things, George was genuinely popular in contrast to the first Georges who disliked Britain and spent most of their time in Hanover. He also had a popular touch - known as 'Farmer George' for his affinity to rural life

[deborahbarnes]

He was a very dedicated king.
He cared for his family and country far above himself.
He showed a dedication that far outweighs any other monarch I've ever heard of.
He didn't have a great support system, was not confident in the task ahead of him, but he really seemed to give it his best relentlessly for over 40years. He was a man of high moral standards, a standard he needed from those around him, which is an extremely difficult posistion to be in when others fall short.
Its most definitely lonely at the top.

[JewishKeto]

He had a 59 year reign that could not possibly be summed up by one event.

[loislewis]

George iii was a very loyal person to his wife

[tonyfan]

Just a minute of this? Need more please

[kathiejohns]

Didn't know Charles was fascinated by George III!
Nice!
As I hold a fascination for George III as well!
Nice that we share something in common

[arctain]

The American colonists, for the most part, were loyal to England. They considered themselves Englishmen, first, and colonists, second. This is very evident in the diplomatic and personal letters traversing the pond leading up to the American Revolutionary War. It’s evident in the verbiage in the Declaration of Independence. As English colonists, they increasingly believed that their rights *as* Englishmen were being ignored and broken.

The numerous and increasingly continuous meetings with the Royal Court did little to assuage concerns the colonist’s complaints raised over a span of 40 years. Rather than address the concerns, the court of King George III chose to double down on the colonists perceived second class citizenship - after all, most of the large landowners were originally second or third sons of the landed aristocracy of England, sent to the colonies to manage plantations.

Why, after all, was there tea in Boston Harbor (and Charleston, and Virginia, etc…) in the first place? Because they were Englishmen, connected via custom and tradition to England proper. Instead of considering the concerns and complaints of these Englishmen, Parliament all but affirmed this second-class status by instigating the forced monopoly of English-only imported tea via the Tea Act of 1773 - a way to prop up the failing East India company solely on the backs of the colonists. Because of the destruction of the tea (after demanding that the Massachusetts Governor send it back…) Parliament instituted martial law in Massachusetts and shut down the harbor. And the rest is history…

Could King George III have eased this crisis with diplomacy? Probably. But with the Napoleonic threat, the failing of the East India Company, the thought appears to have been - “They’re Englishmen - they’ll get over it and everything will go back to normal…”

Rather than Mad King George, the problem seems more like Mad Parliamentarians and a weak monarch.

[jaysartori]

King George 3rd also built a huge library.

[yesm]

What a voice ! He can read the alphabet backwards and sound brilliant!

[iGamezRo]

Fun fact; even though he wouldn't have been able to, King George III still proclaimed that if Napoleon were to land in Britain, he would meet him on the battlefield. Even if his body didn't let him serve his country anymore, he still wanted to do it. That included battling it you with Europe's hegemon.

[alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi]

He was dealing with the loss of his daughter, a child he loved dearly, the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, and he did not lose America if anything he gained a better financial foothold in it, because the British overlords and their private companies were no longer in charge,

[coffeeli]

在參觀Kew Palace時得知King George III病情，之後了解到Porphyria Charles 這裡所說，歷史應該給予KING GEORGE

[Kardia_of_Rhodes]

Coming from an American:
"Forgive your enemies, but remember their names."
- John F. Kennedy

[kathiejohns]

Thank you for the statement that George III was not insane!

[globalautobahn]

Imagine getting a letter from your subjects in America saying. “Please we want to remain with England, we do not want to fight a war with our cousins and countrymen, we just want representation and Parliament since you are taxing us“.

The king’s response was to send an invasion force

[neilpemberton]

George III would go out driving a carriage with just the Queen with him. No airs or graces. The common people called him "farmer George" as a token of respect for such humility in a King.

[murder]

My family moved from Corsham village to America in 1635. We really don't care much about the clinical diagnosis of old George because the things he was forcing on us were intolerable. You might say crazy.

[Eclipse-lwvf]

You are remembered more by your failures. Than you are by your success.

[crazyachmed]

Did George III lose America or rather Parliament? In the government practice at that time, it had already been established that the parliamentary majority determined the government. :)