George III was one of the longest reigning British monarchs, ruling over most of the English speaking world from 1760 to 1820. Despite his longevity, George’s reign was one of turmoil. Britain lost its colonies in the War of American Independence and the European political system changed dramatically in the wake of the French Revolution. Closer to home, problems with the King’s health led to a constitutional crisis. Charlotte Papendiek’s memoirs cover the first thirty years of George III’s reign, while Mary Delany’s letters provide a vivid portrait of her years at Windsor. Lucy Kennedy was another long-serving member of court whose previously unpublished diary provides a great deal of new detail about the King’s illness. Finally, the Queen herself provides further insights in the only two extant volumes of her diaries, published here for the first time. The edition will be invaluable to scholars of Georgian England as well as those researching the French and American Revolutions and the history and politics of the Regency period more widely.

For nearly 60 years, King George III reigned over a tumultuous kingdom. His health and realm were in turmoil, while family life held challenges of its own. From the corpulent Prinny and the Grand Old Duke of York, to a king who battled the Lords and the disciplinarian Duke of Kent, this is the story of the elder sons of George III. Born over the course of half a decade of upheaval, George, Frederick, William, and Edward defined an era. Their scandals intrigued the nation and their efforts to build lives away from the shadow of their impossibly pious parents led them down diverse paths. Whether devoting their lives to the military or to pleasure, every moment was captured in the full glare of the spotlight. The sons of George III were prepared from infancy to take their place on the world’s stage, but as the king’s health failed and the country lurched from one drama to the next, they found that duty was easier said than done. With scandalous romances, illegal marriages, rumors of corruption and even the odd kidnapping plot, their lives were as breathless as they were dramatic. In The Elder Sons of George III: Kings, Princes, and a Grand Old Duke, travel from Great Britain to America and on to Hanover in the company of princes who were sometimes scandalous, sometimes sensational, but never, ever dull.