George III of the United Kingdom

Character Profile

Name:	George William Frederick
Date of Birth:	4 June 1738
Service:
Rank:	King
Nationality:	British
Billets:

Biography

George III ascended to the throne on 25 October 1760 as the King of Great Britain and King of Ireland. He became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801, following the passage of the Act of Union 1800 by the British and Irish Parliaments.

In the latter half of King George's life, he suffered from recurrent and, eventually, permanent mental illness. This baffled medical science at the time, although it is now generally thought that he suffered from the blood disease porphyria. The poison arsenic can trigger porphyria, and recent studies have shown high levels of arsenic in locks of the King's hair. The source of the arsenic is not known, but it could have been a component of medicines or cosmetics.

The King may have previously suffered a brief episode of the disease in 1765, but a longer episode began in the summer of 1788 and lasted into the following year. In 1804, George was again affected by his recurrent illness.

Following the invasion of Britain and occupation of London by Napoleon's troops in December 1807, the King was evacuated to Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. At the time, he was in the grip of his madness, coming out onto the upper court of the castle in the rain, wearing only his nightshirt and bed slippers. Meeting Laurence, the King mistook him for Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law, and asked, "Are you here to kill me?"

Laurence and the two Marines who were present also at first failed to recognize their King in this sick old man. When Laurence did, he put his own cloak over the King and tried to persuade him to come indoors. The King continued to complain that his son, the Prince of Wales, wanted him to cross the ocean to Halifax. When Laurence - who at the time already been sentenced to death - suggested that this was for his own safety, the King replied, "I will not go... I ought not go. I will die in England." Servants came to take the King away.

After the Battle of Shoeburyness in March 1808, King George retired to Kensington Palace, and the Prince of Wales was made regent for him.