Mad Facts About George III, The King Who Lost It All
The Mad King. The Man Who Lost America. Farmer George? There are a lot of things you could call George III, but boring certainly isn’t one of them. His reign was as scandal-packed as it was long, and it all led up to a seriously tragic end.
As the leader of their enemies, the Americans villainized him, and his own subjects were quick to jump on the bandwagon. But was he really such a dire villain…or just a scapegoat?
Dive into the twisted story of King George III and find out for yourself.
1. His Birth Was Alarming
When the future King George III came into the world, it caused a flurry of terror and panic. He was the firstborn son to Frederick, Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Gotha—and he was two months premature. But, at that moment, his place in the birth order was the least of his family’s problems.
2. They Didn’t Know If He’d Make It
Since infant mortality was extremely high back then, George’s parents feared for his life—and for his soul.
They brought in the Bishop of Oxford to baptize him on the very same day of his birth, worrying that he may not even make it through the night. Yet as the hours and then days passed it looked like, against all odds, he might just pull through.
Did this inauspicious and fear-stricken entry to the world serve as a dark omen for his reign? If you’re the type to believe in that sort of thing, well, the answer is a definite yes, as we’ll see.
Wikipedia Augusta and her children
3. His Family Hated His Parents
George’s survival seemed like nothing short of a miracle—and it came at a time when his father Frederick definitely needed one. His grandfather, King George II, absolutely loathed Frederick, as did Frederick’s own mother. And while they didn’t mind their daughter-in-law, the Queen was suspicious of her. When Augusta first got pregnant, the Queen speculated that the child didn’t belong to Frederick.
So yeah, that’s the kind of fraught family dynamic George III came into—and it only got worse from there.
4. His Childhood Was Briefly Idyllic
Despite his family’s low opinion of him, Prince Frederick was a pretty good dad to George III, and made sure he had a high-quality and well-rounded education. George III was actually the first king to have science as part of his schooling.
Yet still, the king didn’t seem to care much about the boy—but all that was about to change in an instant.
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