George III

George III (1738–1820) King of Great Britain and Ireland and of dependencies overseas, King of Hanover (1760–1820). He was the first Hanoverian ruler to be born in Britain. The son of Frederick Louis, he succeeded to the throne on the death of his grandfather GEORGE II, with strong convictions about a monarch's role acquired from Viscount BOLINGBROKE and BUTE. He was a devoted family man and a keen patron of the arts, building up the royal art collection with impeccable taste. He disliked the domination of the government by a few powerful Whig families and preferred to remain above politics, which was a major reason for the succession of weak ministries from 1760 to 1770. He was against making major concessions to the demands of the American colonists, and he shared with many Englishmen an abhorrence of the American aim of independence. He suffered from porphyria, a metabolic disease that causes mental disturbances; this manifested itself briefly in 1765, when plans were made for a regency council, and for several months in 1788–89, when his illness was so severe as to raise again the prospect of a regency. Although his political interventions were fewer than have often been alleged, his interference did bring down the Fox-North coalition in December 1783. Increasing reliance on PITT the Younger reduced his political influence, although Pitt always had to take it into account. When the King refused to consider CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION to offset the ACT OF UNION with Ireland, Pitt resigned (1801). In 1811 increasing senility and the onset of deafness and blindness brought about the REGENCY of the profligate Prince of Wales, which lasted until he succeeded as GEORGE IV.