History Fact Finder | Government and Politics - Was King George Iii Really Insane?

Was King George III really insane?

King George III (1738–1820) of England suffered from bouts of mental illness during his sixty-year reign. Many modern historians believe that he was ill with porphyria, a disorder of the metabolism (chemical changes in the body), which results in excessive amounts of porphyrins (basic substances in body tissue, blood, and urine). He ascended the throne in 1760, upon the death of his grandfather, King George II (1683–1760). Five years later he suffered his first attack of mental illness; others followed in 1788 and 1789 and in 1803 and 1804. A final attack came in 1811, leaving him insane and blind.

Despite his health problems, George III led England during one of the most crucial and trying periods in British history. During his reign the American colonies won independence from Britain in the American Revolution (1775–83). In France, the French Revolution (1789–99)...

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