Colonial Despatches

George III, after whom Vancouver named the Gulf of Georgia,1 and Fraser named Fort George,2 was the king of the United Kingdom and Hanover, and reigned from 1760 to 1811. George III was king during the Seven Years' War, as well as the American Revolutionary War.3

George III's reign was marked by political instability, war, and recurring bouts of mental illness that were later believed to be caused by a hereditary disease called porphyria. At the time of George III's first bout of “madness”, in 1788, the treatments for mental illness were often severe; under the supervision of a “mad-doctor”, the king was occasionally confined to a straight-jacket and restraining chair. On February 17, 1789, days before George's son, the Prince of Wales, was to become regent, an event which would have had heavy political repercussions, doctors announced that the king had recovered from his ailment.4

Despite the strains caused by his mental illness, George III's marriage and family life were quite happy. George and his wife, Queen Charlotte, shared many of the same interests, including music, art, theatre, and science, and, over their 57-year marriage, the couple had 15 children.5

In October 1810, George III's illness returned, and his condition steadily deteriorated; he lost his eyesight and nearly all of his hearing, and spent the last 10 years of his life in a twilight world.6 George III died at Windsor Castle on January 29, 1820.7

• 1. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Chronicle, 1778-1846 (Victoria: Discovery Press, 1975).
• 2. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names, 3rd Edition (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997), 215.
• 3. John Cannon, George III, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 4. Ibid.
• 5. Clarissa Campbell Orr, Charlotte, Queen Sophie Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 6. John Cannon, George III, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 7. Ibid.