Page 85 - BBC History - September 2017

GEORGE III :
VISIT
FIVE MORE PLACES
Kew Palace TO EXPLORE

1 Windsor Castle
humours – black bile, yellow bile, blood and
BERKSHIRE
phlegm – were still believed to influence the
Where George III retired and died
body and its emotions”, says Foreman. “If
George III and Queen Charlotte were
one of these humours was thought to be out
incredibly fond of Windsor Castle and
of balance, efforts were made to bring it back
carried out a series of renovations. George
into line. George III’s medical care was became ill and was confined here in 1788
strongly aligned with this theory, and he was before being moved to Kew. During his
subjected to treatments that today we would final illness, from 1810, he was kept in the
probably think of as torture. state apartments and is buried in the
“Arsenic-based powders were applied to castle’s St George’s Chapel.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond
his skin causing it to blister – a method TW9 3AB P hrp.org.uk/kew-palace royalcollection.org.uk
thought to draw the illness out. He was 2 The British Museum
forced to fast, locked up, forced to sleep,
LONDON
bled, and given freezing cold baths as a way recovered and was able to leave Kew. But in
Where George III’s books resided
of ‘shocking’ the illness from his body. 1801 he suffered a relapse of porphyria. This
George III’s collection of 65,000 books
Purgatives such as rhubarb, castor oil and time the king was duped into a second
was given to the nation on his death and
senna were used to treat his constipation and incarceration at Kew by his doctor, who
a grand 300-foot long room was built at
cause diarrhoea, while emetics were given to pretended to be interested in the copy of a
the museum in 1827 to house them. It is
make him vomit, purging him of disease.” self-portrait of Van Dyck, by Nogari – that now called the Enlightenment Gallery, with
still hangs above the fireplace in the dining an exhibition on the 18th century. The
Monarchy in crisis room of the Dutch House. Once there, the books are now held at the British Library.
When the full extent of the king’s illness was king was persuaded to leave his family to britishmuseum.org
realised, a power struggle broke out at undergo treatment once more. Throughout
3 Weymouth
Westminster between Tory prime minister his treatment, his wife and daughters stayed
William Pitt and the opposition Whig party. at Kew with him, living in the upper floors of DORSET
Where George III holidayed
The Whigs called for a regency, which would the Dutch House, while they waited for news
see George III’s son, the Prince of Wales, rule of the king. These sumptuous rooms were a In 1789 George III travelled to Weymouth
in the king’s stead as Prince Regent. Pitt, far cry from the spartan rooms occupied by seeking the health benefits of salt water.
While here, he used one of the first bathing
who knew the Prince of Wales (a Whig ally) the king and are still decorated in the machines to take a dip in the sea.
HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES regency for as long as possible. When the then a final, full-blown attack in 1810 from became his holiday home and the chalk
would restore his rivals to power, resisted a
fashionable styles of the day.
Gloucester Lodge on the promenade
George had another relapse in 1804 and
crisis finally came to a head, Pitt got
horse and rider on the hillside overlooking
which he never fully recovered. Ailing and
parliament to vote in a regency that gave the
Weymouth bay is said to depict the king.
virtually blind with cataracts, he became
Prince Regent as little power as possible,
dorsetforyou.gov.uk
essentially making him into a puppet king.
permanently insane and finally died in 1820.
Within a few weeks of the crisis George III
“George III has been much maligned by
BURLINGTON HOUSE, LONDON
history,” says Foreman. “He is remembered 4 Royal Academy of Arts
as the ‘mad king’ who lost America, yet he Where George III’s legacy is found
did so much more for Britain. Both George The Royal Academy was founded by
and his wife were incredibly well educated George III in 1768 to promote arts and
people who played a huge role in promoting design in Britain through education and
exhibition. The academy moved several
Georgian culture, particularly the architec-
times before settling at Burlington House
ture with which we’re so familiar today. How
in 1867. Its first exhibition of contemporary
many people know that it was George III
art opened on 25 April 1769.
who founded the Royal Academy?
royalacademy.org.uk
“George III was a passionate advocate of
all things British; the mistakes he made more 5 Royal Pavilion
often than not resulted from circumstances BRIGHTON
beyond his control. It’s high time to reassess Where a prince regent partied
this massively misunderstood monarch.” Built as a seaside retreat for George III’s
son, the Prince of Wales, Brighton
Amanda Foreman is an author, Pavilion’s most dramatic transformation
historian and presenter. She is was in 1815 when John Nash was
The dining room where, in currently working on a biography commissioned to turn it into the magnifi-
1801, George III was duped of George III for the Penguin cent oriental palace we see today.
into a second incarceration. brightonmuseums.org.uk/royalpavilion
A self-portrait of Van Dyck Monarchs series of books.
still hangs over the fireplace Words: Charlotte Hodgman
BBC History Magazine 85