Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Kign of England Reigned 1750 to 1820
• Stories and Notes: George III, unlike his father and grandfather, was born in England. He became heir to the throne when his father Frederick, Prince of Wales, died in 1751 from a lung abscess (believed to be caused by a blow on the chest from a cricket ball) before he could succeed his father. George was shy and stubborn but well educated in science and arts. He became King George III in 1760 following the death of his grandfather. In 1761, after an official search for a suitable wife, he married Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz whom he first met on his wedding day. The couple enjoyed a happy marriage and he never took a mistress. They had 16 children including George (later George IV) and William (who became William IV) and they were married for 57 years. In 1762 he purchased Buckingham House in London which later became Buckingham Palace. George had high moral standards, and appalled by the loose morals of his brothers introduced the Royal Marriage Act in 1772 which made it illegal for members of the Royal Family to marry without the consent of the Sovereign. He was interested in agricultural improvement, and during his reign there were advances in manufacturing mechanisation including the spinning frame and steam engine. George was determined to be thrifty with his own and public expenses. He handed Parliament the right of income from Crown Estates in return for a Civil List annuity for the support of his household and expenses, an arrangement that continues today. Britain had been fighting a colonial war against France since 1756 with military success but at high financial cost. George appointed Lord Bute to negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1762 to end the Seven years war. This caused patriotic outrage for the concessions it gave to the French including the rights of French colonists in North America to remain in Quebec and New Orleans. Lord North became Prime Minister determined to make the colonies pay for their own security. The Stamp Act of 1765 levied a tax on every official document in the British colonies and high customs duties introduced. These were mostly repealed in the face of American protests, with the exception of the tax on tea. In 1773 colonists threw chests of tea overboard in Boston harbour in a protest know as the ‘Boston tea party’. The American War of Independence began in April 1775 when colonists fought British troops at Lexington. George Washington was appointed commander of the Continental Army. On 4 July 1776 the Continental Congress under leadership of John Hancock declared independence. Fighting continued until 1781 when the British were defeated by Americans and French at Yorktown. In the Treaty of Paris in 1783 Britain agreed to recognise American independence. King George took the loss badly and considered abdication before facing the political and military realities. 1788 he suffered his first attack of insanity (now believed to be the result of the inherited disease porphyria) which was to plague him for the rest of his life. His son George, Prince of Wales, was made temporary regent an arrangement which became permanent in 1810. In 1789 France was shaken by revolution and King Louis XVI guillotined in 1793. Britain was once more at war with France. Attempted revolution by Catholics and French troops in Ireland was crushed and eventually union with Ireland was passed in 1801. By 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte was assembling a fleet for the invasion of England, but the French fleet was defeated by Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle Trafalgar in 1805. Napoleon defeated the Russians at Austerlitz but was forced to withdraw from Moscow by the Russian winter. The battles continued with the Peninsular War in which the British fought to drive the French from Spain. Napoleon was eventually defeated by British and German forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. George III died at Windsor Castle on 29 January 1820, after a reign of almost 60 years - the third longest in British history, and was succeeded by his son George IV.
• Stories and Notes: Movie Title: The Madness of King George Starring: Nigel Hawthorne as King George III, and Helen Mirren as Queen Charlotte Released: 1994 Production: Channel Four Films
• To Lady Kathleen: 12 x cousin 8 times removed

George married Duchess of Mecklenburg Sophia on 8 Sep 1761 in Chapel Royal, St.James Palace, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom. Sophia was born on 19 May 1744 in Mirow, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany; died on 17 Nov 1818 in Kew Palace, Kew, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: King of England Reigned 1820 to 1830
• Stories and Notes: George IV as Prince of Wales was Regent from 1810 to 1820 during his father’s period of insanity. He had several mistresses and in 1785 had secretly married a Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert in contravention of the Act of Settlement and the Royal Marriage Act. He had at least two illegitimate children. Unlike his father he was extravagant with money and became badly in debt. He loved the fine things in life and undertook rebuilding of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Architect John Nash and others created many fine buildings in London, Brighton, Bath and Cheltenham during the ‘Regency Period’. He was forced to deny his marriage with Mrs Fitzherbert and in return for paying off his debts officially marry Caroline of Brunswick whom he detested, so much so that when he became King George IV on the death of his father in 1820 he refused to let her attend his coronation. They had one child Princess Charlotte, but George refused to recognise Caroline as Queen and tried several times to annul his marriage to her. She died in 1821 claiming on her death bed that she had been poisoned. George IV paid a state visit to Ireland but initially refused to support Catholic emancipation until 1829 when encouraged by the Duke of Wellington the Catholic Relief Act was passed. He visited Scotland in 1822, the first monarch to do so since Charles II, and encouraged by Sir Walter Scott wore full Highland regalia leading to a revival of Scottish tartan dress that had been banned after the Jacobite Rebellions. His heavy drinking, indulgent lifestyle and taste for huge amounts of food made him obese, and he became an unpopular figure of ridicule when he appeared in public. He suffered from gout and towards the end of his life became mentally unstable. He died of a heart attack at Windsor Castle in 1830. His only legitimate daughter Charlotte had died in childbirth in 1817 and next eldest brother Frederick died in 1827 so he was succeeded by his younger brother William IV.
• To Lady Kathleen: 13 x cousin 7 times removed

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: King of England reigned 1830 to 1837
• Stories and Notes: William was the third son of George III and not expected to become king. He was sent off to join the Royal Navy at 13 years old, and saw service at the Battle of St Vincent against the Spanish in 1780 and in New York during the American War of Independence. A supposed plot approved by George Washington to kidnap him was leaked and did not come to fruition. He was later stationed in the West Indies under Horatio Nelson, and left active service in 1790 as a Rear Admiral. He was created Duke of Clarence and from 1791 set up home with Dorothea Bland, an Irish actress known as ‘Mrs Jordan’. They lived contentedly together for 20 years, and had 5 sons and 5 daughters given the surname Fitzclarence. By 1817 William was in debt but, with the death of Princess Charlotte only daughter of his elder brother, he had become heir to the throne. Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was found for him as a suitable Protestant wife and they married in 1818. The marriage was happy but despite several miscarriages there were no children who survived infancy. His London residence Clarence House was designed for him by John Nash in 1825. William was 64 years old and the oldest person to date to succeed to the throne when he became King on the death of his brother George IV in 1830. He was nicknamed ‘The Sailor King’, distrusted foreigners and was noted for his informality. He regularly invited his friends for dinner, and when told that his carriage was not ready to take him to Parliament he is reported to have said ‘Then I will go by hackney cab’. In 1834 when fire destroyed the Houses of Parliament at Westminster he offered Buckingham Palace to Parliament. They declined and Westminster was rebuilt by Charles Barry in Gothic style. He took his responsibilities seriously but was more used from his naval career to giving and receiving orders than the intrigues of politics. The Reform Act which sought to remove inequalities in the electoral system, including the removal of ‘rotten boroughs’ which returned a disproportionate representation to actual voters, had a stormy passage through Parliament. It was only passed in 1832 after street protests and Lord Grey and his cabinet threatened to resign unless the king supported them against opposition from the House of Lords. He sought to repair Anglo-American relations following the war during his father’s reign but, despite his experience in the West Indies, argued against Wilberforce who was campaigning to abolish the slave trade. The Abolition of Slavery Act was eventually passed in 1833. William died in 1837 aged 71 of heart failure. He had no legitimate children and was succeeded by his niece Victoria.
• To Lady Kathleen: 13 x cousin 7 times removed

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Duke of Kent in England

Edward married Princess of Saxe - Coburg Victoria Mary Louisa on 11 Jul 1818 in Kew Palace, Kew, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. Victoria was born on 17 Aug 1786 in Coburg, , Bayern, Germany; died on 16 Mar 1861 in Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Queen of England reigned 1837 to 1901
• Stories and Notes: Movie Title: The Young Victoria Starring: Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria, and Rupert Friend as Prince Albert Released: 2009 Production: GK Films
• Stories and Notes: Named Alexandrina Victoria but known as Victoria, she was the only child of Edward Duke of Kent and Victoria Saxe-Coburg. Her father died when she was 1 year old and her domineering mother kept her away from her ‘wicked’ uncles Kings George and William. She had a sheltered upbringing, and came to the throne shortly after her 18th birthday in 1837 on the death of her uncle William IV who had no surviving legitimate children. She was at the time unmarried and not crowned until June 28, 1838. In February 1840 she married her cousin and love of her life Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
• Stories and Notes: The British Empire was at the height of its power and she ruled over 450 million people, one quarter of the world’s population and approximately one quarter of the work’s landmass. It stretched so far around the globe from Canada to the Caribbean, Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand that it was said that the sun never set on the British Empire. India was Jewel in the Crown and in 1876 she was given the title Empress of India. The Victorian era was a time of immense industrial, political, trade, scientific and military progress for Great Britain. In her early years she was dependent on her Prime Minister Lord Melbourne and her uncle King Leopold of Belgium for advice, but increasingly her husband Albert became her main advisor. He was involved in organising the Great Exhibition in 1851, and persuaded her to take a more constitutional role in leaving the rule of the nation and Empire to Parliament. She was strong willed and her relations with her prime ministers ranged from the affectionate (Melbourne and Disraeli) to the stormy (Peel, Palmerston, and Gladstone).
• Stories and Notes: Victoria and Albert had four sons, five daughters and 42 grandchildren who were married to royalty across Europe making her the ‘grandmother of Europe’. Her daughter Victoria was mother of the German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II, and her grand-daughter Alexandria was the wife of Nicholas II Emperor and last Tzar of Russia. The death of Albert from typhoid in 1861 plunged Victoria into mourning and she withdrew almost completely from public life spending her time at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Osborne house on the Isle of Wight where she spent time with her favourite Scottish servant John Brown. This encouraged republican sentiments and she was the target of several assassination attempts. However she kept control of affairs, refusing her son Edward, Prince of Wales (who became Edward VII) any active role. Her golden jubilee in 1887 and diamond jubilee in 1897 regained her popular support and matriarchal role as Queen of the nation and Empire. She died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901, and was buried at Windsor. Her reign lasted 63 years and 7 months which is the second longest of any British monarch.
• To Lady Kathleen: 14 x cousin 6 times removed

Victoria married Prince Of Saxe - Coburg - Gotha Albert Augustus Wettin on 10 Feb 1840 in Chapel Royal, St.James Palace, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom. Albert was born on 26 Aug 1819 in Schloss Rosenau, Coburg, Germany; died on 14 Dec 1861 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: King of England reigned 1901 to 1910 King of Denmark 1844 - 1925
• Stories and Notes: 3 sons and 3 Daugther
• Stories and Notes: He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and known to his family as ‘Bertie’. As Prince of Wales he did not meet his parent’s expectations of duty and during his mother’s long reign devoted himself to being self-indulgent. He was likeable, sociable and outgoing but became known as a playboy interested in horse racing, shooting, eating, drinking and other men’s wives. In 1863 he married Alexandra of Denmark and the marriage was a reasonably happy producing 6 children. Alexandra tolerated his succession of mistresses who included Lille Langtry (actress), Lady Churchill (mother of Winston Churchill), Sarah Bernhardt (actress) and Alice Keppel (great-grandmother of Camilla wife of Charles the current Prince of Wales). Having mistresses was at the time not uncommon amongst the aristocracy, but his mother despaired of him and kept him away from taking an active part in politics even after Albert's death and she was elderly and retired to Balmoral and Osborne. In 1871 Edward survived a serious illness of typhoid which had killed his father. His eldest son Albert who was engaged to Mary of Teck died of pneumonia. Edward was well received abroad and as heir-apparent toured India in 1875. When he finally became King Edward VII on the death of his mother in 1901, he frequently made trips to Europe including France where he contributed to the Anglo-French ‘Entente Cordiale’ signed in 1904, to Russia and the Triple Entente between Britain, Russia and France which a few years later would play an important role in affairs on the outbreak of World War I. He supported reform of the army following the Boer War, and Admiral Fisher’s expansion of the Royal Navy including building the new Dreadnought battleships. The Edwardian period was seen as golden age for the upper class in Europe and America, but society was changing – socialism, women suffragettes, the Labour party and trade unions were becoming powerful and the founding of Britain’s Welfare State. ‘We are all socialists now’ he is reported to have remarked. In an increasing democratic society Edward saw the importance of displaying the mystique of pomp and circumstance of the monarchy, and seeing and being seen by the people. A role he and his successors took to well. He died of pneumonia at Buckingham Palace in 1910 and was succeeded by his second son George V.
• To Lady Kathleen: 15 x cousin 5 times removed

Edward married Princess of Denmark Alexandra Schleswig on 10 Mar 1863 in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. Alexandra (daughter of King of Denmark Christian, IX) was born on 1 Dec 1844 in Amalienborg, Copenhagen, , K; died on 20 Nov 1925 in Sandringham House, Sandringham, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Princess of England

Notes:

Died:
died of diptheria

Alice married Grand Duke of Hesse Louis, IV on 1 Jul 1862 in Osborne House, Isle of Wight, , England, United Kingdom. Louis was born on 12 Sep 1837 in Bessungen, Darmstadt, , Hessen, Germany; died on 13 Mar 1892 in Neues Palais, Darmstadt, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]