King (1760-1806)
The Beginning/Instability (1760-1770)
During the start of his reign, George III was young and inexperienced. He elected his tutor and father figure John Stuart the earl of Bute as his Prime Minister. This turned out to be an absolute disaster, for Bute was politically inexperienced and thought to be a poltical coward by members of Parliament. Bute only lasted a year in office before he resigned. As a result, George was left feeling let down, with no own to turn to; as result he became isolated from politicians and could not find a strong minister who was not only capable of stabilizing government but also with whom he could get along with, well.
Just five years after the start of his sixty year reign George had become a target of mockery. He was openly criticized, via The North Briton newspaper, in 1765 by John Wilkes or as the king refered to him "that devil Wilkes." As a result of this everyone who was involved in the publication of the news paper was arrested, including Wilkes. Wilkes, however, said that he could not be arrested for speaking his mind because he was a member of Parliament. This caused the people of Britain to begin to question their rights to free speech. Wilkes was released after Parliament began to question the issue. George was furious about this because he thought that Wilkes was a threat to his leadership; but Wilkes fled to France and the king had peace.
Wilkes returns less than five years after he left and protests and riots begin almost immediately, most of them consisting of people on the streets shouting "Wilkes!" and "No King!" The country seemed to be edging closer to anarchy, the only solution was the charge and arrest Wilkes again.
Arresting Wilkes, however, only caused the riots to worsen. They lasted for days at time and the people seemed keen on freeing Wilkes. Eventually, troops were ordered onto the streets, as the possibility of rebellion was becoming a reality. The people charged the streets shouting "Free John Wilkes!" Soliders only responded by firing their muskets into the crowed of civilians. Six people were killed and many more were wounded.
12 Year Stability and Loss of the American Colonies (1770-1783)
In 1770 George elected Lord North as his minister. North was a very calm and collected man and an execllent choice for minister and helped George achieve twelve years of political stability in the government. George was very pleased with North and happy that he had a prime minister that was effective within the government that he could get along with. Everything seemed to going swimingly, on the homefront.
Conflict was beginning to stir in America that would test George's and North's relationship. American colonists had decided that they had had enough of British taxes and rule and saw themselves as independent states, whereas George saw them as part of Britain. North solution to the problem was "to calm things down". King George and Lord North made a choice to remove taxes on everything except tea, which would prove to be a fatal mistake. Tea represented independence in the American colonies. North was planning on lowering the cost on tea so that Britain would win back the trust of the Americans. The Americans thought that the British were simply groveling to get back on their good side. "On December 16th, 1773, at Boston's Old Meeting House, 5,000 American colonists gathered to register their protest." Neither George nor North wanted a war to break out but George said that they would stay put in case fighting broke out. North wanted to make a deal with the colonists, he said that Britain would drop its taxes if America paid for its defences. It's impossible to say if this tactic would have worked or not because fighting had already broke out in the colonies. The war lasted for eight years, and America emerged on the winning side.
Porphyria (1788-1806)
George began to experience abdominal pains in the summer of 1788 and his symptons only worsened with time. Medical professionals at the time diagnosed him with "madness" but we now know that he had a condition know as porphyria, which causes dementia. He was put into a straight jacket and began to wish he was dead.
The king's son, George IV, was to act as a substitue head of state while the king was ill. George IV was very close friends with Charles James Fox, the British whig statesman, which boasted a problem. George III loathed Fox and vice versa; and if George IV was made regent it would mean that the king's friends would be out of government and those he despised would be in. George IV was never appointed regent, though, because the king was not ill long enough for him to take the role of head of state. George III was well again by December of 1799.
King George III became popular again almost immediately after he was recovered. People of Britain began to realize just how much their king meant to them, and how lucky they were to have him rather than an arrogant emperor such as Napoleon. Yet throughout the first years of the nineteenth century, the king would seldom leave his own home, let alone the country.