George III: Britain under rule of a mentally diseased King

Britain under rule of a mentally diseased King

It is astonishing the way in which a person can be blind to achieve power. Ambition is the most common characteristic and the perfect word to describe this kind of people. It seems as if anything is possible in order to reach privileges or influences and there is always an opportunity instead of impossibility. People usually take so many risks in the search for power. There is no brotherhood nor friendship nor even family matters in the conquest of fame at any price. What is more, envy often comes as a usual consequence of ambitious people. We can find lots of examples of people thirsty of power not only in the real life and throughout the history but also in fiction.

The king George III ruled Great Britain and Ireland from October 1760 to January 1801. At the end of that period George got sick, although he continued reigning. His erratic behaviour confused his family as well as the Members of Parliament. He suffered from Porphyria. The symptoms of the disease included aches and pains, as well as blue urine and mental disturbances. George became progressively depressed, insane and blind. He suffered in isolation and that period was like a torture for him: he was kept in straight jacket and behind bars to be medically supervised and protected. At that time he was not diagnosed as having Porphyria because doctors could not think and prove a logical explanation for the King´s condition. The disease had lapses of improvements but in periods of crises the reign stayed without any ruler. Once George regained consciousness and became less eccentric, he was back to have the entire leadership of his country again. This impulse made him become even more popular and loved than never before. However, after a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established and George III's eldest son, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent.

On the other hand, George´s son, the Prince of Wales, had a terrible relationship with his father. The only thing he was worried about was the possibility of being in the throne. George III´s disease was not a major problem for the Prince. He seeked to displace his father at all cost. His courageous and dangerous plan was to conspire to have his father declared mad so he could become the ruler of the kingdom. Consequently, he was against his mother´s thoughts, Queen Charlotte, who wanted his husband to recover from the illness and come back to rule. The Prince of Wales tried to persuade everybody several times in order to have a flawless victory in Parliament. Unfortunately for him, that was not possible because of the popularity of his father coupled with the fact that he was not chosen by votes until this mentioned final relapse of his father. In addition, George was always returning to his throne mainly with his wife´s support.

All in all, and based on the previous research of events during George III’s reign, it is evident that ruling in his conditions was not a positive point for Britain. At the same time, George did not count on somebody to rely on his responsibilities as a ruler. Consequently, during all his worst days there were only henchmen without limits trying to discharge him from the throne. If it were necessary, they were ready to kill him in order to get his whole power and wealth. Nevertheless, his perseverance made people loved him much than before and as he returned after recovering partially from his disease he achieved in getting more followers.

We conclude with the following well-known advice taken from one of the “Spiderman” ´s movies: “A great power carries a big responsibility”.To rule a country or an entire empire is a responsibility that affects not only the country or empire itself but also the people living in it. A ruler must be completely conscious of the importance of every choice.