Americans wanting independence<\/a> from Britain as well as by the Whigs at Westminster who resented their fall from power on George\u2019s accession to the throne.<\/p>\n\u201cBut George was far from tyrannical, even in his dealings with America. He took his responsibilities as king incredibly seriously, agonising over decisions and passionately devoted to his country. The idea that he was an ogre who wanted to suppress the rights of Englishmen and limit freedom of speech and freedom of the press was simply a concept that his enemies could use against him.\u201d<\/p>\n
George III\u2019s dismay at losing the American colonies is well recorded. Although he strongly objected to American independence from Britain, he accepted that the way in which the colonies were being ruled did need reforming.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerica is lost! Must we fall beneath the blow? Or have we resources that may repair the mischief?\u201d he wrote in the 1780s, commenting on America\u2019s fight for its independence. But the colonies were eventually lost and, in 1782, British forces in America surrendered.<\/p>\n
What illness was responsible for George III\u2019s \u2018madness\u2019?<\/h2>\n
The 1780s were to bring more heartache for George III when in 1788\u201389 he suffered his first serious bout of mental illness, widely attributed to the genetic blood disorder porphyria. Symptoms displayed during what was probably a mild attack of the disorder in 1765 had been put down to a period of depression and a serious chest infection. But in 1789, the affects of the illness could no longer be ignored.<\/p>\n
Symptoms of porphyria include skin sensitivity, strong abdominal pain and bluish urine, accompanied by psychiatric symptoms, all of which George III displayed. Alongside severe stomach pains and terrible insomnia, the king experienced convulsions so violent that his pages were forced to sit on him to keep him safe on the floor until the fits had passed.<\/p>\n
The king\u2019s behaviour, too, was affected by the condition. He became manic, often behaving inappropriately towards women, and experienced hallucinations. On one occasion he planted a beef steak in the ground, fully believing it would grow into a beef tree. On another, at Windsor Castle, the king was seen talking to, and trying to shake hands with, an oak tree, believing it was the king of Prussia. Meanwhile, at Kew, he would become obsessed with, and try to climb, the Great Pagoda, a 50 metre-high structure that still stands today.<\/p>\n
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How was George III treated during his illness?<\/h2>\n
To hide the true extent of his illness, George was moved under duress from Windsor Castle to the relative privacy of Kew. With a team of court physicians unable to diagnose the problem, the royal family turned to Dr Francis Willis, who was thought to be an expert in mental health conditions. \u201cWillis believed that mental illness was caused by overexcitement and could be cured by calm and control,\u201d says Foreman. \u201cThe treatments applied to the king reduced him to a childlike figure. If he became manic or overexcited, he was placed in a straitjacket (his \u201chated waistcoat\u201d). He was denied a knife and fork at mealtimes, which meant much of what he ate was soft nursery food that could be eaten with a spoon or hands. The king wasn\u2019t even allowed out of the house by himself and had to earn privileges such as seeing his family or using cutlery.\u201d<\/p>\n
The treatments applied to the king reduced him to a childlike figure. If he became manic or overexcited, he was placed in a straitjacket <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> George was confined to the ground floor of the Dutch House, and a visit today takes you through some of the rooms occupied during his periods of illness. Shoes echo on floorboards, left bare because of the king\u2019s hatred of carpet when incapacitated. The small, panelled schoolroom at the front of the house was turned into the king\u2019s library, and once boasted a number of works from his magnificent collection of 65,000 books and manuscripts.<\/p>\n
In the 18th century, the west side of the Dutch House was connected to a service wing where George III was kept secluded. Most of this was demolished in 1881 but visitors can still see a door in the Page\u2019s Waiting Room that once led to the area where the king slept and underwent treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the 18th century, the four humours \u2013 black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm \u2013 were still believed to influence the body and its emotions\u201d, says Foreman. \u201cIf one of these humours was thought to be out of balance, efforts were made to bring it back into line. George III\u2019s medical care was strongly aligned with this theory, and he was subjected to treatments that today we would probably think of as torture.<\/p>\n
\u201cArsenic-based powders were applied to his skin causing it to blister \u2013 a method thought to draw the illness out. He was forced to fast, locked up, forced to sleep, bled, and given freezing cold baths as a way of \u2018shocking\u2019 the illness from his body. Purgatives such as rhubarb, castor oil and senna were used to treat his constipation and cause diarrhoea, while emetics were given to make him vomit, purging him of disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen: Emily Brand tackles key questions about Britain in the Regency era, from the lavish spending and reputation of the Prince Regent himself to how much we can really learn from Jane Austen<\/a>, on this episode of the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n