George III was the King of England before, during, and after the American Revolution. He was born in 1738, took the throne in 1760 when he was 22 years old, and died in 1820. He succeeded his grandfather, George II, when his father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who died before his own father so that succession skipped a generation. George III would be popular with his subjects, who referred to him as "Farmer George." He was considered a man of simple tastes who was both conscientious and industrious. However, two great national revolutions occurred during his reign, the first involving Britain directly (the American Revolution), and the second indirectly (the French revolution). The latter revolution also led to a war against Napoleon (Piper 97-98).
George III's boyhood is well documented. His political opponent Walpole insinuated that the boy had been backward, but this was not the case--he wa snot gifted, but he was of average ability. He was raised with his younger brother Edward, who was brighter and seemed more his parents' favorite (Cannon and Griffiths 484). He knew few young people his own age, and he grew up solemn and censorious. His favored teacher, Bute, taught him to be suspicious and to see plots and conspiracies all around:
Though he cured his early indolence and replaced it by meticulous and mechanical activity, he never got over the feeling that he was surrounded by bad and wicked men, and the depravity of the age in which he had the misfortune to be born was one of his most constant themes (Cannon and Griffiths 486).
George III was the first Hanoverian king to be born in England and not in Germany. He had certain goals when he took the throne, beginning with a desire to regain power from the Prime Minister, and for a time he succeeded in this effort. Parliament had little popular support because too many members sat at the bidding of William Pitt, elected Prime Minister to meet a war crisis. He...