Regency Crisis, Madness of George III

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Domains

Political Crises

Dates

Date of occurrence 1788-11-1789-02

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

In November 1788 George III showed signs of mental collapse. (He was suffering from porphyria, an hereditary disease not understood at the time.) William Pitt, the Younger, was George's favourite and disliked by the Prince of Wales (future George IV) so Pitt argued confidence in the king's recovery, and delayed the declaration of a Regency which would have given power to his chief political opponent, Charles James Fox. Throughout the country, the constitutional issues of a Regency were debated in newspapers and at public meetings. Fox came back from the continent to lead the Foxites (which included Edmund Burke and Richard Brinsely Sheridan, the playwright), and took the lead in Parliament, demanding an immediate, total and …

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180 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Regency Crisis, Madness of George III". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 September 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1475, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Regency Crisis, Madness of George III

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