GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK,KING GEORGE III OF HANOVER (GERMANY ) (1738-1820).GEORGE III WAS THE THIRD HANOVERIAN KING OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.AND DUKE OF BRUNSWICK LÜNEBURG.

Francis Ayscough with the Prince of Wales (later King George III) and Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany.On March 21, 1751, George’s father, Frederick, Prince of Wales died at the age of 44. George became heir to the throne and was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by his grandfather King George II on April 20, 1751. His education was then entrusted to his governor Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt and his tutor Thomas Hayter, Bishop of Norwich.

King George III was the King of Great Britain and Ireland who the longest reigning British king, having reigned for 59 years, 96 days. George III was born on June 4, 1738 at Norfolk House, St. James’ Square in London, England. He was the eldest son and the second child of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg. At the time of his birth, his grandfather King George II was the reigning monarch and George was second in the line of succession after his father. He guided Great Britain through the American Revolution and has been credited with fostering the British Agriculture Revolution. Many advances in science and industry were discovered during his reign. He was the third Hanoverian monarch and the first one to be born in England and to use English as his first language.George and Charlotte’s marriage was a very happy one and George remained faithful to Charlotte. Between 1762 – 1783, Charlotte gave birth to 15 children, all of whom survived childbirth. Only two of the children did not survive childhood. It is remarkable that in 1817 at the time of the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was second in line to the throne after her father the Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte was the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, despite the fact that eleven of his fifteen children were still living.George III is widely remembered for two things: losing the American colonies and going mad. This is far from the whole truth. George's direct responsibility for the loss of the colonies is not great. He opposed their bid for independence to the end, but he did not develop the policies (such as the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend duties of 1767 on tea, paper and other products) which led to war in 1775-76 and which had the support of Parliament. These policies were largely due to the financial burdens of garrisoning and administering the vast expansion of territory brought under the British Crown in America, the costs of a series of wars with France and Spain in North America, and the loans given to the East India Company (then responsible for administering India). By the 1770s, and at a time when there was no income tax, the national debt required an annual revenue of £4 million to service it. The declaration of American independence on 4 July 1776, the end of the war with the surrender by British forces in 1782, and the defeat which the loss of the American colonies represented, could have threatened the Hanoverian throne. However, George's strong defence of what he saw as the national interest and the prospect of long war with revolutionary France made him, if anything, more popular than before. The American war, its political aftermath and family anxieties placed great strain on George in the 1780s. George's accession in 1760 marked a significant change in royal finances. In 1760, it was decided that the whole cost of the Civil List should be provided by Parliament in return for the surrender of the hereditary revenues by the King for the duration of his reign. The first 25 years of George's reign were politically controversial for reasons other than the conflict with America. The King was accused by some critics, particularly Whigs, of attempting to reassert royal authority in an unconstitutional manner. In fact, George took a conventional view of the constitution and the powers left to the Crown after the conflicts between Crown and Parliament in the 17th century.Although he was careful not to exceed his powers, George's limited ability and lack of subtlety in dealing with the shifting alliances within the Tory and Whig political groupings in Parliament meant that he found it difficult to bring together ministries which could enjoy the support of the House of Commons. His problem was solved first by the long-lasting ministry of Lord North (1770-82) and then, from 1783, by Pitt the Younger, whose ministry lasted until 1801. George III was the most attractive of the Hanoverian monarchs. He was a good family man (there were 15 children) and devoted to his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom he bought the Queen's House .However, his sons disappointed him and, after his brothers made unsuitable secret marriages, the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 was passed at George's insistence.Under this Act, the Sovereign must give consent to the marriage of any lineal descendant of George II, with certain exceptions. Being extremely conscientious, George read all government papers and sometimes annoyed his ministers by taking such a prominent interest in government and policy. His political influence could be decisive. In 1801, he forced Pitt the Younger to resign when the two men disagreed about whether Roman Catholics should have full civil rights.

Coronation Portraits of King George III and Queen Charlotte.George and Charlotte’s marriage was a very happy one and George remained faithful to Charlotte. Between 1762 – 1783, Charlotte gave birth to 15 children, all of whom survived childbirth. Only two of the children did not survive childhood. It is remarkable that in 1817 at the time of the death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was second in line to the throne after her father the Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte was the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, despite the fact that eleven of his fifteen children were still living.

George’s search for a wife intensified and his choice fell upon an obscure German princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. On September 8, 1761 at 10 PM,George and Charlotte married in the Chapel Royal of St. James’ Palace. On September 22, 1761, their coronation was held at Westminster Abbey.George III was the third Hanoverian king of Great Britain. During his reign, Britain lost its American colonies but emerged as a leading power in Europe. He suffered from recurrent fits of madness and after 1810, his son acted as regent.George chose his mentor the Earl of Bute as his first chief minister. He was a poor choice, isolating George from senior politicians. Effective government became almost impossible, and George was increasingly vilified. The instability following Bute's resignation in 1763 did little to solve the crown's financial difficulties, made worse by the Seven Years' War. In 1770, George appointed Lord North as his first minister. Although an effective administrator, North's government was dominated by disagreements with the American colonists over British attempts to levy taxes on them. n the same year as his marriage, King George III purchased Buckingham House which was originally built for John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1703. Originally purchased as a get-away for Charlotte who gave birth to 14 of her 15 children there, the house became known as the Queen’s House and was the architectural core of the present Buckingham Palace. George and Charlotte led a simple life with their children, residing at the Queen’s House, Windsor Castle, and Kew Palace. The family took summer holidays at Weymouth in Dorset, England which made Weymouth one of the first seaside resorts in England. The simplicity of the royal family’s life dismayed some of the courtiers. Upon hearing that the King, Queen, and the Queen’s brother went for a walk by themselves in Richmond, Lady Mary Coke said, “I am not satisfied in my mind about the propriety of a Queen walking in town unattended.”George’s reign, which was longer than any previous British monarch, was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom, much of the rest of Europe, and also parts of Africa, the Americas and Asia.The marriages of two of George’s brothers to women he considered unsuitable led to the passing of the Royal Marriages Act in 1772. The act stipulated that no descendant of George II under the age of 25, with the exception of descendants of princesses who married into foreign families, could marry without obtaining the consent of the sovereign. Over the age of 25, those wishing to marry without obtaining consent needed to inform the Privy Council of their intention. They would then be free to marry in a year if no objection had been raised by Parliament. The Royal Marriages Act was repealed on March 26, 2015 as a result of the 2011 Perth Agreement. The Royal Marriages Act’s provisions were replaced by less limited restrictions that apply only to the first six people in the line of succession.The only disruption in the family’s domestic lives were George’s attacks of illness. There has been speculation that King George suffered from porphyria. Fanny Burney, a novelist, diarist, and playwright, accepted the post of Queen Charlotte’s Keeper of the Robes in 1786 and left an account of some of George’s behaviors. On one memorable occasion, George chased after her at Windsor. George would become extremely agitated and shout, “What! What! What!” Supposedly, he was found on one occasion conversing with an oak tree which he believed to be the King of Prussia. However, George made a full recovery and on April 23, St. George’s Day, in 1790, the royal family attended a thanksgiving service for his recovery.George had established himself as one of the more popular Hanoverian kings. He was admired for his respectable private life and gained sympathy for his illness. He inherited the family love of music and was a patron of the arts and sciences. George was very interested in agriculture and his creation of model farms at Windsor earned him the nickname “Farmer George” which he adored.

Family of King George III ,George was a good student and at the age of eight, he was able to read and write in English and German.Front row: Henry, William, Frederick; Back row: Edward, George, Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales holding Caroline Matilda, Elizabeth, Louisa. George and Charlotte led a simple life with their children, residing at the Queen’s House, Windsor Castle, and Kew Palace.

King George III is the longest reigning British king, having reigned for 59 years, 96 days. His length of reign is surpassed only by two queens, both his descendants, his granddaughter Queen Victoria.He rose to the throne upon his Grandfather's, King George II's, sudden death on October 25, 1760. Lord Bute was the 3rd Earl of Bute and Prime Minster of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763. He often advised King George III on personal and political matters. When George III was 18, he was invited to reside with his grandfather, King George II, however, Lord Bute was against the decision and advised him to stay with his mother.Since becoming King George III of Great Britain and Ireland, the pressure to find a suitable wife increased. The following quote, describes his thoughts on love and the responsibility of being a King: "I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation, and consequently must often act contrary to my passions.". He married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on September 8, 1761. The couple were crowned at Westminster Abbey and they went on to enjoy a long and happy 50 year marriage together. They had fifteen children in total; 9 sons and 6 daughters!.He spent much of his life in southern England. He resided with his family at Kew, Windsor Castle and Buckingham House. Their family holidays were spent at an English seaside resort in Weymouth, Dorset.During his reign, he had to deal with many conflicts involving his countries. The American revolutionary war,King George III was king throughout the American Revolutionary war which was the culmination of the civil and political American Revolution resulting from the American Enlightenment. Brought to a head over the lack of American representation in Parliament, which was seen as a denial of their rights as Englishmen and often popularly focused on direct taxes levied by Parliament on the colonies without their consent, the colonists resisted the imposition of direct rule after the Boston Tea Party. Creating self-governing provinces, they circumvented the British ruling apparatus in each colony by 1774. Armed conflict between British regulars and colonial militiamen broke out at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775. After petitions to the Crown for intervention with Parliament were ignored, the rebel leaders were declared traitors by the Crown and a year of fighting ensued. The colonies declared their independence in July 1776, listing grievances against the British king and legislature while asking the support of the populace. Among George's other offences, the Declaration charged, "He has abdicated Government here . He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people." The gilded equestrian statue of George III in New York was pulled down. The British captured the city in 1776, but lost Boston, and the grand strategic plan of invading from Canada and cutting off New England failed with the surrender of the British Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga.The Seven Years' War began in 1755, before he became King George III of Great Britain and Ireland. It didn't end until 1764 by which time France was defeated by Great Britain.The American War of Independence ran from 1774 to 1783 and resulted in Great Britain’s loss of many its colonies in North America. France was eager to retaliate against Great Britain following their defeat during the Seven Years' War. Various conflicts against Napoleonic France started in 1793 and led to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.During the conflicts of the Seven Years' War, King George III was a very young king, he was strongly advised by Prime Ministers, Lord Bute and his successor, George Grenville, from 1763.The aftermath of the Seven Years' War left Great Britain financially unstable. George Grenville concluded that the American colonies should pay Great Britain for providing troops to help protect North America. He figured that the American colonies had benefited from the outcome of the Seven Years' War.King George III agreed with George Grenville's plan to look to the American colonies as a financial source to relieve Great Britain of its debt. The Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765 were passed. The American colonies were furious with the demands set by the Stamp Act, but it was still passed, non-the-less, in 1766 as the colonies were subject to British Law. It took a number of years to see the eventual loss of the colonies when the Revolutionary War came to an end and the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783.King George III's eldest son, the Prince of Wales and Prince Regent, succeeded him as King when he died on January 29, 1820. He became King George IV.He died on January 29, 1820, little more than one year following the death of his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He died at Windsor Castle, England, following severe bouts of insanity. He was buried in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on February 16, 1820.

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born on 19 May 1744 as the daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Germany. She came from a tiny German duchy, which was ruled by her uncle at the time of her birth and later by her brother. Due to her low prospects, she was enrolled in a Protestant convent with the idea of spending the rest of her life there.

Princess Sophie Charlotte was born on this date in 1744..Charlotte was the eighth child of the Prince of Mirow, Germany, Charles Louis Frederick, and his wife, Elisabeth Albertina of Saxe-Hildburghausen. In 1752, when she was eight years old, Sophie Charlotte's father died. As princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Sophie Charlotte was descended directly from an African branch of the Portuguese Royal House, Margarita de Castro y Sousa. Six different lines can be traced from Princess Sophie Charlotte back to Margarita de Castro y Sousa.George I of Great Britain’s grandmother was Elizabeth Stuart The Winter Queen of Bohemia and the daughter of James VI of Scotland and James I of England and subsequently Great Britain.  George I was the grandfather of Charlotte's eventual husband (George III).  As a Protestant and a descendant of the Stuart Kings he was chosen to become king.  The long lineage of Scottish kings and queens is often sidelined in the ancestry of the current royal family.She married George III of England on September 8, 1761, at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace, London, at the age of 17 years of age becoming the Queen of England and Ireland. After Queen Charlotte married George III , she gave birth to 15 children. Being almost constantly pregnant weighed on her. “I don’t think a prisoner could wish more ardently for his liberty than I wish to be rid of my burden and see the end of my campaign. I would be happy if I knew this was the last time,” she wrote in 1780 about her pregnancy with her 14th child, Prince Alfred, according to Janice Hadlow’s The Strangest Family: The Private Lives of George III, Queen Charlotte and the Hanoverians. Prince Alfred only lived two years. He became ill after receiving an inoculation against the smallpox virus and died in 1782; soon after, Prince Octavius, who was 19 months Prince Alfred’s senior, also died of smallpox in 1783.The conditions of the marriage contract were, ‘The young princess, join the Anglican church and be married according to Anglican rites, and never ever involve herself in politics’. Although the Queen had an interest in what was happening in the world, especially the war in America, she fulfilled her marital agreement. The Royal couple had fifteen children, thirteen of whom survived to adulthood. Their fourth eldest son was Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, later fathered Queen Victoria.Queen Charlotte made many contributions to Britain as it is today, though the evidence is not obvious or well publicized. Her African bloodline in the British royal family is not common knowledge. Portraits of the Queen had been reduced to fiction of the Black Magi, until two art historians suggested that the definite African features of the paintings derived from actual subjects, not the minds of painters.In Queen Charlotte’s era slavery was prevalent and the anti-slavery campaign was growing. Portrait painters of the royal family were expected to play down or soften Queen Charlotte's African features. Painters such as Sir Thomas Lawrence, who painted, Queen Charlotte in the autumn of 1789 had their paintings rejected by the royal couple who were not happy with the representations of the likeness of the Queen. These portraits are amongst those that are available to view now, which could be seen as continuing the political interests of those that disapprove of a multi-racial royal family for Britain. Sir Allan Ramsey produced the most African representations of the Queen and was responsible for the majority of the paintings of the Queen. Ramsey’s inclination to paint truer versions of the Queen could be seen to have come from being ‘an anti-slavery intellectual of his day. The Coronation painting by Ramsey, of the Queen was sent out to the colonies/commonwealth and played a subtle political role in the anti-slavery movement. Johann Zoffany also frequently painted the Royal family in informal family scenes.Queen Charlotte was a learned character, her letters indicate that she was well read and had interests in the fine arts. The Queen is known to have supported and been taught music by Johann Christian Bach. She was extremely generous to Bach’s wife after Bach’s death. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at aged eight dedicated his Opus 3 piece to the Queen at her request. Also an amateur botanist, Queen Charlotte helped to establish Kew Gardens bringing amongst others the Strelitzia Reginae, a flowering plant from South Africa. The Queen who had the first one in her house in 1800 introduced the Christmas tree to England. It was said to be decorated with, ‘sweetmeats, almonds and raisins in papers, fruit and toys. Also the Queen Charlotte Maternity hospital was established in London. Set up as a charitable institution, it is the oldest maternity care institution in England.Queen Charlotte died on November 17, 1818 at Dutch House in Surrey, now Kew Palace, in the presence of her eldest son, the Prince Regent. She is buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The only private writings that have survived are Queen Charlotte's 444 letters to her closest confidant her older brother, Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. On 23 May 1773 in a letter, the Queen felt she was in a position of privilege yet a task. Her Christian faith was a protection and a method of endurance, as she quotes from the Bible and recognizes her role as a royal of God beyond her royal role on earth.  An exhibition took place in 2004, at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace displaying Charlotte and George’s collections and tastes in the arts. Queen Charlotte was the great great-great grandmother of the present Queen Elizabeth II who still lives in the expanded Buckingham House, now Buckingham Palace. Kew gardens still flourishes and is always being expanded, also the Queen Charlotte maternity hospital and many other places still carry her name in honor globally such as Charlotte town, Canada and Fort Charlotte, St Vincent, West Indies.

The crowning over, George II and Caroline moved from Leicester House to St. James’s Palace, which became their primary residence, though they also renovated and used Hampton Court Palace. Caroline, too, was fond of Windsor Castle and often stayed there when George was out of the country.

George II (1683 -1760) was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain: he was born and brought up in northern Germany. His grandmother, Sophia of Hanover, became second in line to the British throne after about 50 Catholics higher in line were excluded by the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Acts of Union 1707, which restricted the succession to Protestants. After the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his father's reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, until they rejoined the governing party in 1720.In June 1727, 13 years into his reign, George I cheerfully left England for Hanover, grateful as always for any excuse to leave the British behind for the order and privacy of his beloved Electorate. While abroad he was planning a trip to Berlin to see his daughter, the Queen of Prussia, where he was working to finalize a marriage between his grandson, the Crown Prince, and his eldest granddaughter, Princess Anne. He was also going to see his eldest grandson, Prince Frederick, the sole representative of the Royal Family still living in Hanover since George ascended the British throne.En-route, he was handed a letter written by his former wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, to whom he had been divorced since 1694. She had died eight months before in Ahlden Castle, the home in which he and her father had kept her confined after their disastrous marriage was dissolved. In the letter, she reportedly wrote that she was confident he wouldn’t live a year after her death. The next day he suffered a stroke and died two days later at Osnabrück, the same palace in which he was born 67 years before.And with that, a mini-revolution was primed to take over. The news of the King’s death reached London four days later and was shared with his eldest son and his daughter-in-law, Caroline of Ansbach, by defacto Prime Minster Sir Robert Walpole. For over a decade, the new George II and Caroline had been living in Leicester House, the figureheads of the political opposition to George I’s government. They were younger, more popular, better acclimated and while the younger George was no prize, Caroline was politically savvy and intelligent in ways that made it an absolute shame she was the consort and not the monarch.George II’s first action as king was to dismiss his father’s PM, however Walpole had every reason to believe he would be quickly restored to power thanks to Caroline’s influence. Then there is the fact that George ordered to Walpole to answer to Sir Spencer Compton, the Speaker of the House, but it was Compton who asked Walpole to draft the new King’s first speech a request Walpole formally declined and privately accepted.Caroline and Walpole had worked together earlier in George I’s reign when king and heir were bitterly opposed and the younger couple were ousted from central London and royal favor. The split had also deprived Caroline of her three eldest daughters  Anne, Caroline and Amelia  and visitation had only been restored after the untimely death of an infant son. Caroline believed that Walpole should have worked more quickly to bring about peace, but nevertheless, she was aware of his political prowess and effectiveness.In the remaining years of George I’s reign, Caroline had given birth to three more children  William, Mary and Louisa  all of whom were still in the nursery. In-between pregnancies she established herself as the cultural figurehead of the Royal Family  it was she who patronized artists, philosophers and scientists, bolstering England’s role in the broader Enlightenment  she even helped facilitate the Leibniz Clarke correspondence. She and her husband had also established themselves as sympathetic ears to the politicians opposed to the King’s policies, including at various points Walpole himself.This paid off well in that George and Caroline enjoyed political support and optimism from Westminster. When Parliament was held later in June and the finances of the new reign voted on, the royal couple enjoyed a larger allowance than had ever been granted before.Flanders, but his father refused permission for him to join the army in an active role until he had a son and heir.In early 1707, George's hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick. In July, Caroline fell seriously ill with smallpox, and George caught the infection after staying by her side devotedly during her illness. They both recovered. In 1708, George participated in the Battle of Oudenarde in the vanguard of the Hanoverian cavalry; his horse and a colonel immediately beside him were killed, but George survived unharmed. The British commander, Marlborough, wrote that George "distinguished himself extremely, charging at the head of and animating by his example [the Hanoverian] troops, who played a good part in this happy victory".Between 1709 and 1713, George and Caroline had three more children, all girls: Anne, Amelia, and Caroline.By 1714, Queen Anne's health had declined, and British Whigs, politicians who supported the Hanoverian succession, thought it prudent for one of the Hanoverians to live in England, to safeguard the Protestant succession on Anne's death. As George was a peer of the realm (as Duke of Cambridge), it was suggested that he be summoned to Parliament to sit in the House of Lords. Both Anne and George's father refused to support the plan, although George, Caroline, and Sophia were all in favour. George did not go. Within the year, both Sophia and Anne were dead, and George's father was king.Caroline lived another 10 years after her husband came to the throne, though he would go on to rule 22 more after her. George II’s reign is an interesting one, because it’s actually one of Britain’s longest, but most people have no idea. There are a variety of reason for that, but one of them is that Caroline was the true powerhouse in their marriage and the first decade of his reign was essentially hers. Her husband understood on some level that she was smarter than him and he bowed to it – not openly, but she had the ability to bring her husband around without him ever realizing the final result wasn’t his idea to begin with. In light of that influence, she and Walpole effectively controlled the King, an extraordinary situation that worked while it lasted and is particularly interesting given that it most certainly didn’t for her granddaughter, Caroline Matilda, in Denmark, two generations later.

Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1683–1737).She was the Queen consort of King George II. Daughter of Johann Friedrich, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (Germany ). She married George, electorate of Hanover, in September of 1705. They ascended the throne of England in 1727. Theirs was a successful marriage, despite George's mistresses, and she bore 12 children, 8 of whom survived. Beautiful and intelligent, she was very popular with the people, and was involved in matters of state more than any other queen since the Middle Ages.