Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal workplace of the monarchy of the United Kingdom.[1] Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing. SONY VAIO VGN-FS215M laptop keyboard
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a largetownhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by King George III in 1761[2] as a private residence forQueen Charlotte and was known as "The Queen's House".Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who formed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoriain 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, HP Mini 110-3505tu laptop keyboard
including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. SONY VGN-FE21M laptop keyboard
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly colouredscagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in aBelle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. COMPAQ 454954-001 laptop keyboard
Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London. ASUS X53K laptop keyboard
The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the Palace's Summer Opening.
In the Middle Ages, the site of the future palace formed part of the Manor of Ebury (also called Eia). The marshy ground was watered by the river Tyburn, Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
which still flows below the courtyard and south wing of the palace.[3]Where the river was fordable (at Cow Ford), the village of Eye Cross grew. IBM 42T3961 laptop keyboard
Ownership of the site changed hands many times; owners included Edward the Confessor and his queen consort Edith of Wessex in late Saxon times, and, after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror. William gave the site to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who bequeathed it to the monks of Westminster Abbey.[4] HP Pavilion dv6-2030ev laptop keyboard
In 1531, Henry VIII acquired the Hospital of St James (later St. James's Palace)[5] from Eton College, and in 1536 he took the Manor of Ebury from Westminster Abbey.[6] These transfers brought the site of Buckingham Palace back into royal hands for the first time since William the Conqueror had given it away almost 500 years earlier.[7] LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 laptop keyboard
Various owners leased it from royal landlords and the freehold was the subject of frenzied speculation during the 17th century. By then, the old village of Eye Cross had long since fallen into decay, and the area was mostly wasteland.[8] Needing money, James I sold off part of the Crown freehold but retained part of the site on which he established a 4-acre (16,000 m2) ACER TravelMate 3012 laptop keyboard
mulberry garden for the production of silk. (This is at the northwest corner of today's palace.)[9] Clement Walker in Anarchia Anglicana (1649) refers to "new-erected sodoms and spintries at the Mulberry Garden at S. James's"; SONY 148084122 laptop keyboard
this suggests it may have been a place of debauchery. Eventually, in the late 17th century, the freehold was inherited from the property tycoon Sir Hugh Audley by the great heiress Mary Davies.[10] ACER Aspire 2920-302G25Mi laptop keyboard
The house was originally intended as a private retreat, and in particular for Queen Charlotte, and was known as The Queen's House[20]—14 of their 15 children were born there. St. James's Palace remained the official and ceremonial royal residence.[21] SONY Vaio VGN-AW21VY/Q laptop keyboard
Remodelling of the structure began in 1762.[22] After his accession to the throne in 1820, George IV continued the renovation with the idea in mind of a small, comfortable home. While the work was in progress, in 1826, the King decided to modify the house into a palace with the help of his architect John Nash.[23TOSHIBA Satellite P305D-S8995E laptop keyboard
Some furnishings were transferred from Carlton House, and others had been bought in France after the French Revolution.[24] The external façade was designed keeping in mind the French neo-classical influence preferred by George IV. SONY VAIO VGN-SR290 laptop keyboard
The cost of the renovations grew dramatically and by 1829, the extravagance of Nash's designs resulted in his removal as architect. On the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother William IV hired Edward Blore to finish the work.[25][26] SONY VAIO VGN-N11S laptop keyboard
At one stage, William considered converting the palace into the new Houses of Parliament, after the destruction of the existing namesake by fire in 1834.[27]
Buckingham Palace finally became the principal royal residence in 1837, on the accession of Queen Victoria,[28] DELL Vostro PP38L laptop keyboard
who was the first monarch to reside there as her predecessor William IV had died before its completion.[29] While the state rooms were a riot of gilt and colour, the necessities of the new palace were somewhat less luxurious. For one thing, it was reported the chimneys smoked so much that the fires had to be allowed to die down, DELL Vostro 3450 laptop keyboard
and consequently the court shivered in icy magnificence.[30] Ventilation was so bad that the interior smelled, and when a decision was taken to install gas lamps, there was a serious worry about the build-up of gas on the lower floors. SONY VAIO VGN-SZ680 laptop keyboard
It was also said that the staff were lax and lazy and the palace was dirty.[30] Following the Queen's marriage in 1840, her husband, Prince Albert, concerned himself with a reorganisation of the household offices and staff, and with the design faults of the palace. The problems were all rectified by the close of 1840. However, the builders were to return within the decade. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard
By 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for court life and their growing family,[31] and consequently the new wing, designed by Edward Blore, was built by Thomas Cubitt,[32] enclosing the central quadrangle. DELL NSK-D5A01 laptop keyboard
The large East Front facing The Mall is today the "public face" of Buckingham Palace and contains the balcony from which the royal family acknowledge the crowds on momentous occasions and annually after Trooping the Colour. TOSHIBA MP-06873US-9204 laptop keyboard
Theballroom wing and a further suite of state rooms were also built in this period, designed by Nash's student Sir James Pennethorne. HP Pavilion DV7-3165dx laptop keyboard
Before Prince Albert's death, the palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments,[33] and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. The composer Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions.[34] SONY VAIO VGN-FZ21E laptop keyboard
Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England.[35] Strauss's "Alice Polka" was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the Queen's daughter, Princess Alice.[36] Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the routine royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations. SONY VAIO VGN-FS315M laptop keyboard
Widowed in 1861, the grief-stricken Queen withdrew from public life and left Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle, and Osborne House. For many years the palace was seldom used, and even neglected. In 1864 a note was found pinned to the fence of Buckingham Palace saying: Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
"These commanding premises to be let or sold, in consequence of the late occupant's declining business."[37] Eventually, public opinion forced her to return to London, though even then she preferred to live elsewhere whenever possible. HP G62t-250 CTO Laptop Keyboard
Court functions were still held at Windsor Castle rather than at the palace, presided over by the sombre Queen habitually dressed in mourning black while Buckingham Palace remained shuttered for most of the year.[38] ACER Aspire 5930 Laptop Keyboard
The Palace measures 108 metres by 120 metres, is 24 metres high and contains over 77,000 m2 (830,000 sq ft) of floorspace.[39] The principal rooms of the palace are contained on the piano nobile behind the west-facing garden façade at the rear of the palace. SONY VGN-FE21M Laptop Keyboard
The centre of this ornate suite of state rooms is the Music Room, its large bow the dominant feature of the façade. Flanking the Music Room are the Blue and the White Drawing Rooms. At the centre of the suite, serving as a corridor to link the state rooms, is the Picture Gallery, which is top-lit and 55 yards (50 m) long.[40] DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard
The Gallery is hung with numerous works including some by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubensand Vermeer;[41][42] other rooms leading from the Picture Gallery are the Throne Room and the Green Drawing Room. DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard
The Green Drawing Room serves as a huge anteroom to the Throne Room, and is part of the ceremonial route to thethrone from the Guard Room at the top of the Grand Staircase.[40] The Guard Room contains white marble statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in Roman costume, HP Mini 210-2090nr Laptop Keyboard
set in a tribune lined with tapestries. These very formal rooms are used only for ceremonial and official entertaining, but are open to the public every summer.
Directly underneath the State Apartments is a suite of slightly less grand rooms known as the semi-state apartments. Opening from the Marble Hall, SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
these rooms are used for less formal entertaining, such as luncheon parties and private audiences. Some of the rooms are named and decorated for particular visitors, such as the1844 Room, which was decorated in that year for the State visit of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and, DELL Inspiron 6400 Laptop Keyboard
on the other side of the Bow Room, the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France.[43] At the centre of this suite is the Bow Room, through which thousands of guests pass annually to the Queen's Garden Parties in the Gardens beyond.[44] The Queen uses privately a smaller suite of rooms in the North wing. HP 9J.N0Y82.H01 Laptop Keyboard
Between 1847 and 1850, when Blore was building the new east wing, theBrighton Pavilion was once again plundered of its fittings. As a result, many of the rooms in the new wing have a distinctly oriental atmosphere. HP Pavilion dv4-1210ef Laptop Keyboard
The red and blue Chinese Luncheon Room is made up from parts of the Brighton Banqueting and Music Rooms, but has a chimney piece designed by W.M. Feetham. The Yellow Drawing Room has wallpaper which had been supplied in 1817 for the Brighton Saloon, Acer eMachines E730 laptop keyboard
and the chimney piece in this room is a European vision of what the Chinese equivalent would look like, complete with nodding mandarins in niches and fearsome winged dragons, designed by Robert Jones.[45] At the centre of this wing is the famous balcony, with the Centre Room behind its glass doors. HP 640892-001 laptop keyboard
This is a Chinese-style saloon enhanced by Queen Mary, who, working with the designer Sir Charles Allom, created a more "binding"[46] Chinese theme in the late 1920s, although the lacquer doors were brought from Brighton in 1873. Running the length of the piano nobile of the east wing is the great gallery, Lenovo 3000 Y510 7758 laptop keyboard
modestly known as the Principal Corridor, which runs the length of the eastern side of the quadrangle.[47]It has mirrored doors, and mirrored cross walls reflecting porcelain pagodas and other oriental furniture from Brighton. The Chinese Luncheon Room and Yellow Drawing Room are situated at each end of this gallery, with the Centre Room obviously placed in the centre. SONY VAIO PCG-FR415B laptop keyboard
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly colouredscagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in aBelle epoque cream and gold colour scheme.[48] DELL Latitude D830 Laptop Keyboard
When paying a state visit to Britain, foreign heads of state are usually entertained by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. They are allocated a large suite of rooms known as the Belgian Suite, situated at the foot of the Minister's Staircase, on the ground floor of the North-facing Garden Wing. TOSHIBA P205-S6267 Laptop Keyboard
The rooms of the suite are linked by narrow corridors, one given extra height and perspective by saucer domes designed by Nash in the style of Soane.[49] A second corridor in the suite has Gothic influenced cross over vaulting.[49] HP 519265-001 Laptop Keyboard
The Belgian Rooms themselves were decorated in their present style and named after Prince Albert's uncle Léopold I, first King of the Belgians. In 1936, the suite briefly became the private apartments of the palace when they were occupied by Edward VIII.[50]
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Women's evening dress included obligatory trains and tiaras or feathers in their hair (or both).
The dress code governing formal court uniform and dress has progressively relaxed. After World War I, when Queen Mary wished to follow fashion by raising her skirts a few inches from the ground, she requested a Lady-in-Waiting to shorten her own skirt first to gauge the King's TOSHIBA NSK-TK001 Laptop Keyboard
reaction. King George V was horrified, so the Queen kept her hemline unfashionably low.[51] Following their accession in 1936, King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth, allowed the hemline of daytime skirts to rise. HP Pavilion dv5-1050tx Laptop Keyboard
Today, there is no official dress code.[50] Most men invited to Buckingham Palace in the daytime choose to wear service uniform or lounge suits;[50] a minority wear morning coats, and in the evening, depending on the formality of the occasion, black tie or white tie. HP G61-440SG Laptop Keyboard
Court presentations of aristocratic girls to the monarch took place in the Throne Room. These girls were known asdébutantes, and the occasion—termed their "coming out"—represented their first entrée into society. Débutantes wore full court dress, with three tall ostrich feathers in their hair. They entered, curtsied, HP AEAT5U00010 Laptop Keyboard
performed a choreographed backwards walk and a further curtsy, while manoeuvring a dress train of prescribed length. (The ceremony, known as evening courts, corresponded to the "court drawing rooms" of earlier reigns.)[citation needed] Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard
In 1958, the Queen abolished the presentation parties for débutantes,[52] replacing them with Garden Parties.[53]Today, the Throne Room is used for the reception of formal addresses such as those given to the Queen on her Jubilees. It is here on the throne dais that royal wedding portraits and family photographs are taken. HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard
State banquets also take place in the Ballroom; these formal dinners take place on the first evening of a state visit by a visiting Head of State.[55] On these occasions, 150 or more guests in formal "HP G62-b30SQ Laptop Keyboard
white tie and decorations", including tiaras for women, may dine off gold plate. The largest and most formal reception at Buckingham Palace takes place every November, when the Queen entertains members of the foreign diplomatic corps resident in London.[56] On this occasion, all the state rooms are in use, as the royal family proceed through them[57] ACER Aspire 5535 Laptop Keyboard
beginning through the great north doors of the Picture Gallery. As Nash had envisaged, all the large, double-mirrored doors stand open, reflecting the numerous crystal chandeliers and sconces, causing a deliberate optical illusion of space and light. Lenovo Thinkpad T520 Laptop Keyboard
Smaller ceremonies such as the reception of new ambassadors take place in the "1844 Room". Here too the Queen holds small lunch parties, and often meetings of the Privy Council. Larger lunch parties often take place in the curved and domed Music Room, or the State Dining Room. On all formal occasions the ceremonies are attended by the Yeomen of the Guard in their historic uniforms, and other officers of the court such as the Lord Chamberlain.[58] Lenovo ThinkPad T410-2516 Laptop Keyboard
Since the bombing of the palace chapel in World War II, royal christenings have sometimes taken place in the Music Room. The Queen's first three children were all baptised here.[59]
The largest functions of the year are the Queen's Garden Parties for up to 8,000 invitees in the Garden.[60] HP Pavilion DV7-3165dx laptop keyboard
Investitures, which include the conferring of knighthoods by dubbing with a sword, and other awards take place in the palace's Ballroom, built in 1854. At 36.6 m (120.08 ft) long, 18 m (59.06 ft) wide and 13.5 m (44.29 ft) high[50] DELL NSK-DD101 laptop keyboard
(120' × 59' × 44' 3.5"), it is the largest room in the palace. It has replaced the throne room in importance and use. During investitures, the Queen stands on the throne dais beneath a giant, domed velvet canopy, HP Pavilion dv6-2120sp laptop keyboard
which is known as a shamiana or a baldachin and was used at the coronation Durbar, Delhi in 1911.[54] A military band plays in the musicians' gallery as award recipients approach the Queen and receive their honours, watched by their families and friends.[55] HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
In 1901 the accession of Edward VII saw new life breathed into the palace. The new King and his wife Queen Alexandra had always been at the forefront of London high society, and their friends, known as "the Marlborough House Set", SONY VAIO VGN-CR23G laptop keyboard
were considered to be the most eminent and fashionable of the age. Buckingham Palace—the Ballroom, Grand Entrance, Marble Hall, Grand Staircase, vestibules and galleries redecorated in the Belle epoque cream and gold colour scheme they retain today—once again became a setting for entertaining on a majestic scale. Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
Many people feel King Edward's heavy redecoration of the palace does not complement Nash's original work.[61] The last major building work took place during the reign of King George V when, in 1913, Sir Aston Webb redesigned Blore's 1850 East Front to resemble in part Giacomo Leoni's Lyme Park in Cheshire. HP Pavilion dv3-2175ee laptop keyboard
This new, refaced principal façade (ofPortland stone) was designed to be the backdrop to the Victoria Memorial, a large memorial statue of Queen Victoria, placed outside the main gates.[62] George V, who had succeeded Edward VII in 1910, had a more serious personality than his father; HP Pavilion G6-1B87CL laptop keyboard
greater emphasis was now placed on official entertaining and royal duties than on lavish parties.[63] He arranged a series of command performances featuring jazz musicians such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919) –HP Pavilion G6-1227TU laptop keyboard
the first jazz performance for a head of state, Sidney Bechet, and Louis Armstrong (1932), which earned the palace a nomination in 2009 for a (Kind of) Blue Plaque by theBrecon Jazz Festival as one of the venues making the greatest contribution to jazz music in the United Kingdom. HP 633183-001 laptop keyboard
Queen Mary also had many new fixtures and fittings installed, such as the pair of marble Empire-style chimneypieces by Benjamin Vulliamy, dating from 1810, which the Queen had installed in the ground floor Bow Room, the huge low room at the centre of the garden façade. Queen Mary was also responsible for the decoration of the Blue Drawing Room.[ HP 640892-001 Laptop Keyboard
66]This room, 69 feet (21 metres) long, previously known as the South Drawing Room, has a ceiling designed specially by Nash, coffered with huge gilt console brackets.[67]
A book published in 1999 by the Royal Collection Department reported that the palace contained 19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms.[68] HP Pavilion G6-1223TX Laptop Keyboard
This is actually small in comparison to the Russian imperial palaces in Saint Petersburg and at Tsarskoe Selo, the Papal Palace in Rome, the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Stockholm Palace, or indeed the former Palace of Whitehall, HP Mini 1151NR laptop keyboard
and tiny compared to the Forbidden City and Potala Palace. A minor change was made in 1938, in which the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory and altered in 1911–13 to a racquets court, was converted into a swimming pool. HP Pavilion dv3-2320es laptop keyboard
During World War I the palace, then the home of King George V and Queen Mary, escaped unscathed. Its more valuable contents were evacuated to Windsor but the royal family remained in situ. The King imposed rationing at the palace, much to the dismay of his guests and household.[69] Packard Bell Easynote TK87 laptop keyboard
To the King's later regret, David Lloyd George persuaded him to go further by ostentatiously locking the wine cellars and refraining from alcohol, to set a good example to the supposedly inebriated working class. The workers continued to imbibe and the King was left unhappy at his enforced abstinence.[70] Lenovo Thinkpad W510 laptop keyboard
The palace fared worse during World War II; it was bombed no less than seven times, the most serious and publicised of which resulted in the destruction of the palace chapel in 1940. Coverage of this event was played in cinemas all over the UK to show the common suffering of rich and poor. HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
One bomb fell in the palace quadrangle while King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were in residence, and many windows were blown in and the chapel destroyed.[71] War-time coverage of such incidents was severely restricted, however. Packard Bell Easynote TM98 laptop keyboard
The King and Queen were filmed inspecting their bombed home, the smiling Queen, as always, immaculately dressed in a hat and matching coat seemingly unbothered by the damage around her. It was at this time the Queen famously declared: "HP Mini 110-3109sl laptop keyboard
I'm glad we have been bombed. Now I can look the East End in the face". The royal family were seen as sharing their subjects' hardship, as The Sunday Graphic reported:
By the Editor: The King and Queen have endured the ordeal which has come to their subjects. SONY 147977821 laptop keyboard
For the second time a German bomber has tried to bring death and destruction to the home of Their Majesties...When this war is over the common danger which King George and Queen Elizabeth have shared with their people will be a cherished memory and an inspiration through the years.[72] LENOVO IdeaPad S10 4231 laptop keyboard
The damaged Palace was carefully restored after the War by John Mowlem & Co.[73]
On 15 September 1940, known as the Battle of Britain Day, an RAF pilot, Ray Holmes of No. 504 Squadron RAF rammed a German bomber he believed was going to bomb the Palace. ACER Aspire 4736Z laptop keyboard
Holmes had run out of ammunition and made the quick choice to ram it. Holmes bailed out. Both aircraft crashed. In fact the Dornier Do 17 bomber was empty. It had already been damaged, two of its crew had been killed and the remainder bailed out. Its pilot, FeldwebelRobert Zehbe, SONY VAIO VGN-CS17G/R laptop keyboard
landed only to die later of wounds suffered during the attack. During the Dornier's descent, it somehow unloaded its bombs, one of which hit the Palace. It then crashed into the forecourt of London Victoria station.[74] DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
The bomber's engine was later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London. The British pilot became a King's Messenger following the war, and died at the age of 90 in 2005.[75]
On VE Day—8 May 1945—the palace was the centre of British celebrations, with the King, Queen and the Princess Elizabeth, FUJITSU Lifebook S7111 laptop keyboard
the future Queen, and Princess Margaret appearing on the balcony, with the palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd in the Mall.[76]
The boy Jones was an intruder who gained entry to the palace on three occasions between 1838 and 1841 as recorded by Charles Dickens some 40 years later.[77] SONY VAIO VGN-CR23G laptop keyboard
In 1982, Michael Fagan was able to break into the palace twice, and conversed with the Queen on one of these occasions.[78] Reportedly, Her Majesty maintained her composure while the palace police were en route and Fagan made no threatening motions towards the Queen. SONY VAIO PCG-FR55E/B laptop keyboard
At the rear of the palace is the large and park-like garden, which together with its lake is the largest private garden in London.[79] Here the Queen hosts her annual garden parties each summer, and also holds large functions to celebrate royal milestones, such as jubilees. It covers 40 acres (16 ha), and includes a helicopter landing area, a lake, and a tennis court.[50] DELL NSK-D5A01 laptop keyboard
Adjacent to the palace is the Royal Mews, also designed by Nash, where the royal carriages, including the Gold State Coach, are housed. This rococo gilt coach, designed by Sir William Chambers in 1760, has painted panels byG. B. Cipriani. DELL Studio 1747 laptop keyboard
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It was first used for the State Opening of Parliament by George III in 1762 and has been used by the monarch for every coronation since George IV. It was last used for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[80]Also housed in the mews are the carriage horses used in royal ceremonial processions.[81] LENOVO IdeaPad S10e 4068 laptop keyboard
The Mall, a ceremonial approach route to the palace, was designed by Sir Aston Webb and completed in 1911 as part of a grand memorial to Queen Victoria. It extends from Admiralty Arch, across St James's Park to the Victoria Memorial. Packard Bell Easynote LM82 laptop keyboard
This route is used by the cavalcades and motorcades of visiting heads of state, and by the royal family on state occasions such as the annual Trooping the Colour.[82]
Every year some 50,000 invited guests are entertained at garden parties, receptions, audiences and banquets. TheGarden Parties, usually three, are held in the summer, DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
usually in July. The Forecourt of Buckingham Palace is used for Changing of the Guard, a major ceremony and tourist attraction (daily during the summer months; every other day during the winter). DELL V110546AS1 laptop keyboard
The palace, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the British state. It is not the monarch's personal property, unlikeSandringham House and Balmoral Castle.[83] Many of the contents from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and St. DELL NSK-DB301 laptop keyboard
James's Palace are known collectively as the Royal Collection; owned by the Sovereign, they can, on occasions, be viewed by the public at the Queen's Gallery, near the Royal Mews. Unlike the palace and the castle, DELL V110546AS1 laptop keyboard
the gallery is open continually and displays a changing selection of items from the collection. The rooms containing the Queen's Gallery are on the site of the former chapel, which was damaged by one of the seven bombs to fall on the palace during World War II. SONY VAIO PCG-FR415S laptop keyboard
The palace's state rooms have been open to the public during August and September since 1993. The money raised in entry fees was originally put towards the rebuilding of Windsor Castle following the 1992 fire which destroyed many of its state rooms. HP Pavilion dv5-1110em laptop keyboard
In May 2009, in response to a request from the Queen to the government for money to carry out a backlog of repairs to the palace, a group of MPs on the Public Accounts Committee proposed that in return for the extra £4 million in annual funds requested, SONY VGN-FE31B laptop keyboard
the palace be open to the public more than the 60 days it is now, as well as when members of the royal family are in residence.[84] The British Government currently provides £15 million yearly for the palace's upkeep. HP Pavilion dv6-2125el laptop keyboard
Thus, Buckingham Palace is a symbol and home of the British monarchy, an art gallery and tourist attraction. Behind the gilded railings and gates which were completed by the Bromsgrove Guild in 1911[38] and Webb's famous façade, which has been described in a book published by the Royal Collection as looking "like everybody's idea of a palace";[38] Lenovo 3000 Y500 laptop keyboard
is not only the weekday home of the Queen and Prince Philip but also the London residence of the Duke of York and the Earl andCountess of Wessex. The palace also houses the offices of the Royal Household and is the workplace of 450 people. SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D laptop keyboard
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738[1] – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King ofIreland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. Acer eMachines E732 laptop keyboard
He was concurrently Duke and prince-electorof Brunswick-Lüneburg ("Hanover") in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, but unlike his two Hanoverian predecessors he was born in Britain, spoke English as his first language,[2] and never visited Hanover.[3] SONY VAIO VGN-FS215E laptop keyboard
His life and reign, which were longer than any other British monarch before him, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, Lenovo 3000 G430 4152 laptop keyboard
becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of its American colonies were soon lost in theAmerican Revolutionary War. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. DELL Studio 1747 laptop keyboard
In the later part of his life, George III suffered from recurrent, and eventually permanent, mental illness. Although it has since been suggested that he suffered from the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, LENOVO IdeaPad S10e 4068 laptop keyboard
and George III's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent. On George III's death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. ASUS F6S laptop keyboard
Historical analysis of George III's life has gone through a "kaleidoscope of changing views" that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them.[4] Packard Bell Easynote LM82 laptop keyboard
Until re-assessment occurred during the second half of the twentieth century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant and in Britain he became "the scapegoat for the failure of imperialism".[5] DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
George was born in London at Norfolk House. He was the grandson of King George II, and the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months premature and was thought unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker, who was both Rector of St James's and the Bishop of Oxford.[6] FUJITSU Lifebook S7111 laptop keyboard
One month later, he was publicly baptised at Norfolk House, again by Secker. His godparents were the King of Sweden (for whom Lord Baltimore stood proxy), his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha (for whom Lord Carnarvon stood proxy) and his great-aunt the Queen-consort of Prussia (for whom Lady Charlotte Edwin stood proxy).[7] TOSHIBA Satellite P105-S6217 laptop keyboard
George grew into a healthy, but also reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, were educated together by private tutors. Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight.[8] SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D laptop keyboard
He was the first British monarch to study science systematically. Apart from chemistry and physics, his lessons included astronomy, mathematics, French, Latin, history, music, geography, commerce, agriculture and constitutional law, along with sporting and social accomplishments such as dancing, fencing, and riding. His religious education was wholly Anglican.[9] SONY VAIO VGN-FS215E laptop keyboard
At age 10 George took part in a family production of Joseph Addison's play Cato and said in the new prologue: "What, tho' a boy! It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, in England bred".[10] Historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear "to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated".[11] SONY Vaio VGN-AW21VY/Q laptop keyboard
George's grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales and took little interest in his grandchildren. However, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. Lenovo 3000 G430 4152 laptop keyboard
He inherited one of his father's titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh. Now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales[12] (the title is not automatically acquired). DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard
In the spring of 1756, as George approached his eighteenth birthday, the King offered him a grand establishment at St James's Palace, but George refused the offer, guided by his mother and her confidant, Lord Bute, HP Pavilion dv4-1102tu Laptop Keyboard
who would later serve asPrime Minister.[13] George's mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her strict moral values.[14][15] ASUS A3L Laptop Keyboard
In 1759, George was smitten with Lady Sarah Lennox, sister of the Duke of Richmond, but Lord Bute advised against the match and George abandoned his thoughts of marriage. "I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation," he wrote, "and consequently must often act contrary to my passions."[16] ACER Aspire 7745G Laptop Keyboard
Nevertheless, attempts by the King to marry George to Duchess Sophie Caroline Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel were resisted by him and his mother;[17] Sophie married the Margrave of Bayreuth instead.[18] HP G72-250US Laptop Keyboard
The following year, at the age of 22, George succeeded to the throne when his grandfather, George II, died suddenly on 25 October 1760, two weeks before his 77th birthday. The search for a suitable wife intensified. HP G72-b10SG Laptop Keyboard
On 8 September 1761 in theChapel Royal, St James's Palace, the King married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he met on their wedding day.[19] A fortnight later, both were crowned at Westminster Abbey. George remarkably never took a mistress (in contrast with his grandfather and his sons), and the couple enjoyed a genuinely happy marriage.[2][10] FUJITSU Lifebook S7110 Laptop Keyboard
They had 15 children—nine sons and six daughters. In 1762, George purchased Buckingham House (on the site now occupied by Buckingham Palace) for use as a family retreat.[20] His other residences were Kew and Windsor Castle. St. SONY VAIO VGN-NW240F Laptop Keyboard
James's Palace was retained for official use. He did not travel extensively, and spent his entire life in southern England. In the 1790s, the King and his family took holidays at Weymouth, Dorset,[21] which he thus popularised as one of the first seaside resorts in England.[22] Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard
George, in his accession speech to Parliament, proclaimed: "Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain".[23] He inserted this phrase into the speech, written by Lord Hardwicke, in order to demonstrate his desire to distance himself from his German forebears, who were perceived as caring more for Hanover than for Britain.[24][25] TOSHIBA Satellite L775D-S7226 Laptop Keyboard
Although his accession was at first welcomed by politicians of all parties,[26] the first years of his reign were marked by political instability, largely generated as a result of disagreements over the Seven Years' War.[27] George was also perceived as favouring Tory ministers, which led to his denunciation by theWhigs as an autocrat.[2] Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
On his accession, the Crown lands produced relatively little income; most revenue was generated through taxes and excise duties. DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard
George surrendered the Crown Estate to Parliamentary control in return for a civil list annuity for the support of his household and the expenses of civil government.[28] Claims that he used the income to reward supporters with bribes and gifts[29] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
are disputed by historians who say such claims "rest on nothing but falsehoods put out by disgruntled opposition".[30] Debts amounting to over £3 million over the course of George's reign were paid by Parliament, and the civil list annuity was increased from time to time.[31] FUJITSU Lifebook S7111 laptop keyboard
He aided the Royal Academy of Arts with large grants from his private funds,[32] and may have donated more than half of his personal income to charity.[33] Of his art collection, the two most notable purchases are Johannes Vermeer's Lady at the Virginals and a set ofCanalettos, TOSHIBA Satellite P105-S6217 laptop keyboard
but it is as a collector of books that he is best remembered.[34] The King's Library was open and available to scholars and was the foundation of a new national library.[35]
In May 1762, the incumbent Whig government of the Duke of Newcastle was replaced with one led by the Scottish Tory Lord Bute. HP G42-415DX Laptop Keyboard
Bute's opponents worked against him by spreading the calumny that he was having an affair with the King's mother, and by exploiting anti-Scottish prejudices amongst the English.[36] John Wilkes, a Member of Parliament, published The North Briton, ASUS F6S Laptop Keyboard
which was both inflammatory and defamatory in its condemnation of Bute and the government. Wilkes was eventually arrested for seditious libel but he fled to France to escape punishment; he was expelled from the House of Commons, HP Mini 1110TU Laptop Keyboard
and found guilty in absentia of blasphemy and libel.[37] In 1763, after concluding the Peace of Paris which ended the war, Lord Bute resigned, allowing the Whigs under George Grenville to return to power. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
Later that year, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 placed a limit upon the westward expansion of the American colonies. The Proclamation aimed to divert colonial expansion to the north (to Nova Scotia) and to the south (Florida). HP Mini 1109TU Laptop Keyboard
The Proclamation Line did not bother the majority of settled farmers, but it was unpopular with a vocal minority and ultimately contributed to conflict between the colonists and the British government.[38] With the American colonists generally unburdened by British taxes, HP Envy 15-1100 Series Laptop Keyboard
the government thought it appropriate for them to pay towards the defence of the colonies against native uprisings and the possibility of French incursions.[39] The central issue for the colonists was not the amount of taxes but whether Parliament could levy a tax without American approval, SONY VAIO VPCF12 Laptop Keyboard
for there were no American seats in Parliament.[40] The Americans protested that like all Englishmen they had rights to "no taxation without representation". In 1765, Grenville introduced the Stamp Act, DELL 0NU956 Laptop Keyboard
which levied a stamp duty on every document in the British colonies in North America. Since newspapers were printed on stamped paper, those most affected by the introduction of the duty were the most effective at producing propaganda opposing the tax.[41] DELL V110546AS1 Laptop Keyboard
Meanwhile, the King had become exasperated at Grenville's attempts to reduce the King's prerogatives, and tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade William Pitt the Elder to accept the office of Prime Minister.[42] After a brief illness, which may have presaged his illnesses to come, George settled on Lord Rockingham to form a ministry, and dismissed Grenville.[43] DELL Vostro 1015 Laptop Keyboard
Lord Rockingham, with the support of Pitt and the King, repealed Grenville's unpopular Stamp Act, but his government was weak and he was replaced in 1766 by Pitt, whom George created Earl of Chatham. The actions of Lord Chatham and George III in repealing the Act were so popular in America that statues of them both were erected in New York City.[44] GATEWAY M-6849 Laptop Keyboard
Lord Chatham fell ill in 1767, and the Duke of Grafton took over the government, although he did not formally become Prime Minister until 1768. That year, John Wilkes returned to England, stood as a candidate in the general election, and came top of the poll in the Middlesex constituency. Wilkes was again expelled from Parliament. ACER 9J.N1H82.01D Laptop Keyboard
Wilkes was re-elected and expelled twice more, before the House of Commons resolved that his candidature was invalid and declared the runner-up as the victor.[45] TOSHIBA Qosmio F20 Series Laptop Keyboard
Grafton's government disintegrated in 1770, allowing the Tories led by Lord North to return to power.[46] George was deeply devout and spent hours in prayer,[47] but his piety was not shared by his brothers. George was appalled by what he saw as their loose morals. In 1770, TOSHIBA 9J.N7482.901 Laptop Keyboard
his brother Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, was exposed as an adulterer, and the following year Cumberland married a young widow, Anne Horton. The King considered her inappropriate as a royal bride: HP Mini 110-3504tu laptop keyboard
she was from a lower social class and German law barred any children of the couple from the Hanoverian succession. George insisted on a new law that essentially forbade members of the Royal Family from legally marrying without the consent of the Sovereign. The subsequent bill was unpopular in Parliament, including among George's own ministers, TOSHIBA PK13CW10200 laptop keyboard
but passed as the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Shortly afterward, another of George's brothers, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, revealed he had been secretly married to Maria, Countess Waldegrave, HP Pavilion dv6-3050ca laptop keyboard
the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole. The news confirmed George's opinion that he had been right to introduce the law: Maria was related to his political opponents. Neither lady was ever received at court.[48] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard
Lord North's government was chiefly concerned with discontent in America. To assuage American opinion most of the custom duties were withdrawn, except for the tea duty, which in George's words was "one tax to keep up the right [to levy taxes]".[49] HP Pavilion DV7-3169wm laptop keyboard
In 1773, the tea ships moored in Boston Harbor were boarded by colonists and the tea thrown overboard, an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. In Britain, opinion hardened against the colonists, with Chatham now agreeing with North that the destruction of the tea was "certainly criminal".[50] DELL Studio 1747 laptop keyboard
With the clear support of Parliament, Lord North introduced measures, which were called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists: the Port of Boston was shut down and thecharter of Massachusetts was altered so that the upper house of the legislature was appointed by the Crown instead of elected by the lower house.[51] HP Probook 4520S Laptop Keyboard
Up to this point, in the words of Professor Peter Thomas, George's "hopes were centred on a political solution, and he always bowed to his cabinet's opinions even when sceptical of their success. The detailed evidence of the years from 1763 to 1775 tends to exonerate George III from any real responsibility for the American Revolution."[52] HP G71-449WM Laptop Keyboard
Though the Americans characterised George as a tyrant, in these years he acted as a constitutional monarch supporting the initiatives of his ministers.[53]
The American Revolutionary War was the culmination of the civil and political American Revolution resulting from theAmerican Enlightenment. SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D Laptop Keyboard
Brought to a head over the lack of American representation in Parliament, which was seen as a denial of their rights as Englishmen and often popularly focused on direct taxes levied by Parliament on the colonies without their consent, the colonists resisted the imposition of direct rule after the Boston Tea Party. Creating self-governing provinces, DELL JVT97 Laptop Keyboard
they circumvented the British ruling apparatus in each colony by 1774. Armed conflict between British regulars and colonial militiamen broke out at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775. Afterpetitions to the Crown for intervention with Parliament were ignored, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
the rebel leaders were declared traitors by the Crown and a year of fighting ensued. The colonies declared their independence in July 1776, listing grievances against the British king and legislature while asking the support of the populace. Among George's other offences, DELL Inspiron 510m Laptop Keyboard
the Declaration charged, "He has abdicated Government here ... He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people." The gilded equestrian statue of George III in New York was pulled down.[54] FUJITSU Amilo Mini Ui 3520 Laptop Keyboard
The British captured the city in 1776, but lost Boston, and the grand strategic plan of invading from Canada and cutting off New England failed with the surrender of the British Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga. TOSHIBA Satellite L750-ST4N02 Laptop Keyboard
George III is often accused of obstinately trying to keep Great Britain at war with the revolutionaries in America, despite the opinions of his own ministers. In the words of the Victorian author George Trevelyan, the King was determined "never to acknowledge the independence of the Americans, SONY VAIO VGN-N37GH/B laptop keyboard
and to punish their contumacy by the indefinite prolongation of a war which promised to be eternal."[55] The King wanted to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable process, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-N500BL laptop keyboard
discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse".[56] However, more recent historians defend George by saying in the context of the times no king would willingly surrender such a large territory,[10][57] SONY Vaio PCG-K37 laptop keyboard
and his conduct was far less ruthless than contemporary monarchs in Europe.[58] After Saratoga, both Parliament and the British people were in favour of the war; recruitment ran at high levels and although political opponents were vocal, they remained a small minority.[10][59] Lenovo 04W0872 laptop keyboard
With the setbacks in America, Prime Minister Lord North asked to transfer power to Lord Chatham, whom he thought more capable, but George refused to do so; he suggested instead that Chatham serve as a subordinate minister in Lord North's administration, but Chatham refused to cooperate. He died later in the same year.[60] Lenovo 45N2106 laptop keyboard
In early 1778, France (Britain's chief rival) signed atreaty of alliance with the United States and the conflict escalated. The United States and France were soon joined bySpain and the Dutch Republic, while Britain had no major allies of its own. COMPAQ 454954-001 laptop keyboard
Lord Gower and Lord Weymouth both resigned from the government. Lord North again requested that he also be allowed to resign, but he stayed in office at George III's insistence.[61] Opposition to the costly war was increasing, and in June 1780 contributed to disturbances in London known as the Gordon Riots.[62] HP 7F0844 laptop keyboard
As late as the Siege of Charleston in 1780, Loyalists could still believe in their eventual victory, as British troops inflicted heavy defeats on the Continental forces at the Battle of Camden and the Battle of Guilford Court House.[63] In late 1781, SONY VGN-FE41S laptop keyboard
the news of Lord Cornwallis's surrender at the Siege of Yorktown reached London; Lord North's parliamentary support ebbed away and he resigned the following year. The King drafted an abdication notice, which was never delivered,[57][64] LENOVO 25-008389 laptop keyboard
finally accepted the defeat in North America, and authorised peace negotiations. The Treaties of Paris, by which Britain recognised the independence of the American states and returned Florida to Spain, were signed in 1782 and 1783.[65] Packard Bell Easynote TK81 laptop keyboard
When John Adams was appointed American Minister to London in 1785, George had become resigned to the new relationship between his country and the former colonies. He told Adams, Lenovo 04W2236 laptop keyboard
"I was the last to consent to the separation; but the separation having been made and having become inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power."[66]
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With the collapse of Lord North's ministry in 1782, the Whig Lord Rockingham became Prime Minister for the second time, but died within months. The King then appointed Lord Shelburne to replace him. Charles James Fox, however, refused to serve under Shelburne, Packard Bell Easynote LM85 laptop keyboard
and demanded the appointment of the Duke of Portland. In 1783, the House of Commons forced Lord Shelburne from office and his government was replaced by the Fox–North Coalition. The Duke of Portland became Prime Minister, with Fox and Lord North, as Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary respectively.[10] HP Pavilion dv6-3306si CPU Fan
The King disliked Fox intensely, for his politics as well as his character; he thought Fox was unprincipled and a bad influence on the Prince of Wales.[67]George III was distressed at having to appoint ministers not of his liking, HP Pavilion dv6-2110ea CPU Fan
but the Portland ministry quickly built up a majority in the House of Commons, and could not be displaced easily. He was further dismayed when the government introduced the India Bill, which proposed to reform the government of India by transferring political power from the East India Company to Parliamentary commissioners.[68] ACER Aspire 5741G Series CPU Fan
Although the King actually favoured greater control over the Company, the proposed commissioners were all political allies of Fox.[69] Immediately after the House of Commons passed it, George authorised Lord Temple to inform the House of Lords that he would regard any peer who voted for the bill as his enemy. IBM ThinkPad T43 2668 CPU Fan
The bill was rejected by the Lords; three days later, the Portland ministry was dismissed, and William Pitt the Younger was appointed Prime Minister, with Temple as his Secretary of State. On 17 December 1783, Parliament voted in favour of a motion condemning the influence of the monarch in parliamentary voting as a "high crime" and Temple was forced to resign. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan
Temple's departure destabilised the government, and three months later the government lost its majority and Parliament was dissolved; the subsequent election gave Pitt a firm mandate.[10]
For George III, Pitt's appointment was a great victory. HP Mini 110-3501tu laptop keyboard
It proved that he was able to appoint Prime Ministers on the basis of his own interpretation of the public mood without having to follow the choice of the current majority in the House of Commons. Throughout Pitt's ministry, SONY VAIO VGN-CR24G laptop keyboard
George supported many of Pitt's political aims and created new peers at an unprecedented rate to increase the number of Pitt's supporters in the House of Lords.[70] During and after Pitt's ministry, George III was extremely popular in Britain.[71] SONY VAIO VGN-N37MH/B laptop keyboard
The British people admired him for his piety, and for remaining faithful to his wife.[72] He was fond of his children, and was devastated at the death of two of his sons in infancy in 1782 and 1783 respectively.[73] Nevertheless, ACER TravelMate 6292 laptop keyboard
he set his children a strict regimen. They were expected to attend rigorous lessons from seven in the morning, and to lead lives of religious observance and virtue.[74] When his children strayed from George's own principles of righteousness, as his sons did as young adults, he was dismayed and disappointed.[75] DELL Vostro PP38L laptop keyboard
By this time George's health was deteriorating. He suffered from a mental illness, which was possibly a symptom of the genetic disease porphyria,[76] although this has been questioned.[77] A study of samples of the King's hair published in 2005 revealed high levels of arsenic, HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu laptop keyboard
a possible trigger for the disease. The source of the arsenic is not known, but it could have been a component of medicines or cosmetics.[78] The King may have suffered a brief episode of disease in 1765, but a longer episode began in the summer of 1788. DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
At the end of the parliamentary session, he went to Cheltenham Spa to recuperate. It was the furthest he had ever been from London—just short of 100 miles (150 km)—but his condition worsened. In November he became seriously deranged, LENOVO IdeaPad S10 4231 laptop keyboard
sometimes speaking for many hours without pause, causing him to foam at the mouth and making his voice hoarse.[79] With his doctors largely at a loss to explain his illness, spurious stories about his condition spread, such as the claim that he shook hands with a tree in the mistaken belief that it was the King of Prussia.[80] HP Mini 110-3504tu laptop keyboard
Treatment for mental illness was primitive by modern standards, and the King's doctors, who included Francis Willis, treated the King by forcibly restraining him until he was calm, or applying caustic poultices to draw out "evil humours".[81] HP Pavilion dv6-2141ee laptop keyboard
In the reconvened Parliament, Fox and Pitt wrangled over the terms of a regency during the King's incapacity. While both agreed that it would be most reasonable for George III's eldest son and heir apparent, the Prince of Wales, to act as regent, HP Pavilion dv7-4170us CPU Fan
to Pitt’s consternation Fox suggested that it was the Prince of Wales's absolute right to act on his ill father's behalf with full powers. Pitt, fearing he would be removed from office if the Prince of Wales were empowered, argued that it was for Parliament to nominate a regent, and wanted to restrict the regent's authority.[82] HP Pavilion dv6701us CPU Fan
In February 1789, the Regency Bill, authorising the Prince of Wales to act as regent, was introduced and passed in the House of Commons, but before the House of Lords could pass the bill, George III recovered.[83] HP Pavilion dv9623cl CPU Fan
After George’s recovery, his popularity, and that of Pitt, continued to increase at the expense of Fox and the Prince of Wales.[84] His humane and understanding treatment of two insane assailants, Margaret Nicholson in 1786 and John Frith in 1790, HP 450933-001 CPU Fan
contributed to his popularity.[85] James Hadfield's failed attempt to shoot the King in the Drury Lane Theatre on 15 May 1800 was not political in origin but motivated by the apocalyptic delusions of Hadfield and Bannister Truelock. George seemed unperturbed by the incident, so much so that he fell asleep in the interval.[86] HP Envy 14-1195la CPU Fan
The French Revolution of 1789, in which the French monarchy had been overthrown, worried many British landowners. France declared war on Great Britain in 1793; in the war attempt, George allowed Pitt to increase taxes, raise armies, a DELL DFS541305MH0T CPU Fan
nd suspend the right of habeas corpus. The First Coalition to oppose revolutionary France, which included Austria, Prussia, and Spain, broke up in 1795 when Prussia and Spain made separate peace with France.[87] The Second Coalition, which included Austria, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, was defeated in 1800. Only Great Britain was left fighting Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the French Republic.
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George used the opportunity to drop the title "king of France", which English and British Sovereigns had maintained since the reign of Edward III.[89] It was suggested that George adopt the title "Emperor of the British Isles", but he refused.[10] HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan
As part of his Irish policy, Pitt planned to remove certain legal disabilities that applied to Roman Catholics. George III claimed that to emancipate Catholics would be to violate his coronation oath, in which Sovereigns promise to maintain Protestantism.[90] IBM Lenovo Thinkpad T410i Series CPU Fan
Faced with opposition to his religious reform policies from both the King and the British public, Pitt threatened to resign.[91] At about the same time, the King suffered a relapse of his previous illness, which he blamed on worry over the Catholic question.[92] SONY VGN-SZ780E CPU Fan
On 14 March 1801, Pitt was formally replaced by the Speaker of the House of Commons,Henry Addington. Addington opposed emancipation, instituted annual accounts, abolished income tax and began a programme of disarmament. In October 1801, he made peace with the French, and in 1802 signed the Treaty of Amiens.[93] HP Pavilion dv7-6035eo CPU Fan
George did not consider the peace with France as real; in his view it was an "experiment".[94] In 1803, the war resumed but public opinion distrusted Addington to lead the nation in war, and instead favoured Pitt. An invasion of England by Napoleon seemed imminent, and a massive volunteer movement arose to defend England against the French. George's review of 27, HP G70-467CL CPU Fan
000 volunteers in Hyde Park, London, on 26 and 28 October 1803 and at the height of the invasion scare, attracted an estimated 500,000 spectators on each day.[95] The Times said, "The enthusiasm of the multitude was beyond all expression."[96] SONY Vaio VPC-EB33FM CPU Fan
A courtier wrote on 13 November that, "The King is really prepared to take the field in case of attack, his beds are ready and he can move at half an hour's warning".[97] George wrote to his friend Bishop Hurd, " Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan
We are here in daily expectation that Bonaparte will attempt his threatened invasion ... Should his troops effect a landing, I shall certainly put myself at the head of mine, and my other armed subjects, to repel them."[98] After Admiral Lord Nelson's famous naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, the possibility of invasion was extinguished.[99] HP Pavilion dv2416us CPU Fan
In 1804, George was again affected by his recurrent illness; after his recovery, Addington resigned and Pitt regained power. Pitt sought to appoint Fox to his ministry, but George III refused. Lord Grenville perceived an injustice to Fox, and refused to join the new ministry.[10] Toshiba Satellite A100-849 CPU Fan
Pitt concentrated on forming a coalition with Austria, Russia, and Sweden. This Third Coalition, however, met the same fate as the First and Second Coalitions, collapsing in 1805. The setbacks in Europe took a toll on Pitt's health and he died in 1806, reopening the question of who should serve in the ministry. Lord Grenville became Prime Minister, Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan
and his "Ministry of All the Talents" included Fox. The King was conciliatory towards Fox, after being forced to capitulate over his appointment. After Fox's death in September 1806, the King and ministry were in open conflict. TOSHIBA Satellite L755-SP5102CL Laptop Keyboard
To boost recruitment, the ministry proposed a measure in February 1807 whereby Roman Catholics would be allowed to serve in all ranks of the Armed Forces. George instructed them not only to drop the measure, ACER Aspire 5930 Laptop Keyboard
but also to agree never to set up such a measure again. The ministers agreed to drop the measure then pending, but refused to bind themselves in the future.[100] They were dismissed and replaced by the Duke of Portland as the nominal Prime Minister, with actual power being held by theChancellor of the Exchequer, IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Laptop Keyboard
Spencer Perceval. Parliament was dissolved, and the subsequent election gave the ministry a strong majority in the House of Commons. George III made no further major political decisions during his reign; the replacement of the Duke of Portland by Perceval in 1809 was of little actual significance.[101] In late 1810, at the height of his popularity[102] SONY VAIO PCG-F16 Laptop Keyboard
but already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, George III became dangerously ill. In his view the malady had been triggered by the stress he suffered at the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia.[103] The Princess's nurse reported that "the scenes of distress and crying every day ... Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard
were melancholy beyond description."[104] He accepted the need for the Regency Act of 1811,[105] and the Prince of Wales acted as Regent for the remainder of George III's life. Despite signs of a recovery in May 1811, by the end of the year George had become permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death.[106] HP G62-a60EV Laptop Keyboard
Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in 1812 (the only British Prime Minister to have suffered such a fate) and was replaced by Lord Liverpool. Liverpool oversaw British victory in the Napoleonic Wars. The subsequent Congress of Viennaled to significant territorial gains for Hanover, which was upgraded from an electorate to a kingdom. Lenovo 3000 Y510a 15303 Laptop Keyboard
Meanwhile, George's health deteriorated. He suffered from dementia and became completely blind and increasingly deaf. He was incapable of knowing or understanding either that he was declared King of Hanover in 1814, or that his wife died in 1818.[107] DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan
Over Christmas 1819, he spoke nonsense for 58 hours, and for the last few weeks of his life was unable to walk.[108] He died at Windsor Castle at 8:38 pm on 29 January 1820, six days after the death of his fourth son, the Duke of Kent. His favourite son, DELL Studio 1555 Series CPU Fan
Frederick, Duke of York, was with him.[109] George III was buried on 16 February in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.[110][111]
George was succeeded by two of his sons George IV and William IV, who both died without surviving legitimate children, leaving the throne to the only legitimate child of the Duke of Kent, Victoria, the last monarch of the House of Hanover. Toshiba KFB0505HB CPU Fan
George III lived for 81 years and 239 days and reigned for 59 years and 96 days: both his life and his reign were longer than those of any of his predecessors. Only Victoria and Elizabeth II have since lived and reigned longer. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan
George III was dubbed "Farmer George" by satirists, at first mocking his interest in mundane matters rather than politics but later to contrast his homely thrift with his son's grandiosity and to portray him as a man of the people.[112] Under George III, who was passionately interested in agriculture,[113] Dell Vostro 3500 CPU Fan
the British Agricultural Revolution reached its peak and great advances were made in fields such as science and industry. There was unprecedented growth in the rural population, which in turn provided much of the workforce for the concurrent Industrial Revolution.[114] DELL Inspiron 1720 CPU Fan
George's collection of mathematical and scientific instruments is now housed in the Science Museum, London; he funded the construction and maintenance of William Herschel's 40-foot telescope, which was the biggest ever built at the time.[115] Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, which he at first named Georgium Sidus (George's Star) after the King, in 1781. SONY Vaio VGN-FS23B CPU Fan
George III hoped that "the tongue of malice may not paint my intentions in those colours she admires, nor the sycophant extoll me beyond what I deserve",[116] but in the popular mind George III has been both demonised and praised. DELL Latitude E6410 Series CPU Fan
While very popular at the start of his reign, by the mid-1770s George had lost the loyalty of revolutionary American colonists,[117]though it has been estimated that as many as half of the colonists remained loyal.[118] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
The grievances in the United States Declaration of Independence were presented as "repeated injuries and usurpations" that he had committed to establish an "absolute Tyranny" over the colonies. DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard
The Declaration's wording has contributed to the American public's perception of George as a tyrant. Contemporary accounts of George III's life fall into two camps: one demonstrating "attitudes dominant in the latter part of the reign, when the King had become a revered symbol of national resistance to French ideas and French power", while the other SONY VAIO VGN-CS16G/Q Laptop Keyboard
"derived their views of the King from the bitter partisan strife of the first two decades of the reign, and they expressed in their works the views of the opposition".[119] Building on the latter of these two assessments, British historians of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as Trevelyan and Erskine May, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
promoted hostile interpretations of George III's life. However, in the mid-twentieth century the work of Lewis Namier, who thought George was "much maligned", kick-started a re-evaluation of the man and his reign.[120] Scholars of the later twentieth century, such asButterfield and Pares, and Macalpine and Hunter,[121] ASUS X53S Laptop Keyboard
are inclined to treat George sympathetically, seeing him as a victim of circumstance and illness. Butterfield rejected the arguments of his Victorian predecessors with withering disdain: "Erskine May must be a good example of the way in which an historian may fall into error through an excess of brilliance. His capacity for synthesis, HP Compaq NW8440 Laptop Keyboard
and his ability to dovetail the various parts of the evidence ... carried him into a more profound and complicated elaboration of error than some of his more pedestrian predecessors ... he inserted a doctrinal element into his history which, granted his original aberrations, HP 605344-001 Laptop Keyboard
was calculated to project the lines of his error, carrying his work still further from centrality or truth."[122] In pursuing war with the American colonists, George III believed he was defending the right of an elected Parliament to levy taxes, rather than seeking to expand his own power or prerogatives.[123] ASUS F6A Laptop Keyboard
In the opinion of modern scholars, during the long reign of George III the monarchy continued to lose its political power, and grew as the embodiment of national morality.[10]
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Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal workplace of the monarchy of the United Kingdom.[1] Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing. SONY VAIO VGN-FS215M laptop keyboard
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a largetownhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by King George III in 1761[2] as a private residence forQueen Charlotte and was known as "The Queen's House".Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who formed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoriain 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, HP Mini 110-3505tu laptop keyboard
including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. SONY VGN-FE21M laptop keyboard
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly colouredscagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in aBelle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. COMPAQ 454954-001 laptop keyboard
Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London. ASUS X53K laptop keyboard
The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the Palace's Summer Opening.
In the Middle Ages, the site of the future palace formed part of the Manor of Ebury (also called Eia). The marshy ground was watered by the river Tyburn, Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
which still flows below the courtyard and south wing of the palace.[3]Where the river was fordable (at Cow Ford), the village of Eye Cross grew. IBM 42T3961 laptop keyboard
Ownership of the site changed hands many times; owners included Edward the Confessor and his queen consort Edith of Wessex in late Saxon times, and, after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror. William gave the site to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who bequeathed it to the monks of Westminster Abbey.[4] HP Pavilion dv6-2030ev laptop keyboard
In 1531, Henry VIII acquired the Hospital of St James (later St. James's Palace)[5] from Eton College, and in 1536 he took the Manor of Ebury from Westminster Abbey.[6] These transfers brought the site of Buckingham Palace back into royal hands for the first time since William the Conqueror had given it away almost 500 years earlier.[7] LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 laptop keyboard
Various owners leased it from royal landlords and the freehold was the subject of frenzied speculation during the 17th century. By then, the old village of Eye Cross had long since fallen into decay, and the area was mostly wasteland.[8] Needing money, James I sold off part of the Crown freehold but retained part of the site on which he established a 4-acre (16,000 m2) ACER TravelMate 3012 laptop keyboard
mulberry garden for the production of silk. (This is at the northwest corner of today's palace.)[9] Clement Walker in Anarchia Anglicana (1649) refers to "new-erected sodoms and spintries at the Mulberry Garden at S. James's"; SONY 148084122 laptop keyboard
this suggests it may have been a place of debauchery. Eventually, in the late 17th century, the freehold was inherited from the property tycoon Sir Hugh Audley by the great heiress Mary Davies.[10] ACER Aspire 2920-302G25Mi laptop keyboard
The house was originally intended as a private retreat, and in particular for Queen Charlotte, and was known as The Queen's House[20]—14 of their 15 children were born there. St. James's Palace remained the official and ceremonial royal residence.[21] SONY Vaio VGN-AW21VY/Q laptop keyboard
Remodelling of the structure began in 1762.[22] After his accession to the throne in 1820, George IV continued the renovation with the idea in mind of a small, comfortable home. While the work was in progress, in 1826, the King decided to modify the house into a palace with the help of his architect John Nash.[23TOSHIBA Satellite P305D-S8995E laptop keyboard
Some furnishings were transferred from Carlton House, and others had been bought in France after the French Revolution.[24] The external façade was designed keeping in mind the French neo-classical influence preferred by George IV. SONY VAIO VGN-SR290 laptop keyboard
The cost of the renovations grew dramatically and by 1829, the extravagance of Nash's designs resulted in his removal as architect. On the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother William IV hired Edward Blore to finish the work.[25][26] SONY VAIO VGN-N11S laptop keyboard
At one stage, William considered converting the palace into the new Houses of Parliament, after the destruction of the existing namesake by fire in 1834.[27]
Buckingham Palace finally became the principal royal residence in 1837, on the accession of Queen Victoria,[28] DELL Vostro PP38L laptop keyboard
who was the first monarch to reside there as her predecessor William IV had died before its completion.[29] While the state rooms were a riot of gilt and colour, the necessities of the new palace were somewhat less luxurious. For one thing, it was reported the chimneys smoked so much that the fires had to be allowed to die down, DELL Vostro 3450 laptop keyboard
and consequently the court shivered in icy magnificence.[30] Ventilation was so bad that the interior smelled, and when a decision was taken to install gas lamps, there was a serious worry about the build-up of gas on the lower floors. SONY VAIO VGN-SZ680 laptop keyboard
It was also said that the staff were lax and lazy and the palace was dirty.[30] Following the Queen's marriage in 1840, her husband, Prince Albert, concerned himself with a reorganisation of the household offices and staff, and with the design faults of the palace. The problems were all rectified by the close of 1840. However, the builders were to return within the decade. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard
By 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for court life and their growing family,[31] and consequently the new wing, designed by Edward Blore, was built by Thomas Cubitt,[32] enclosing the central quadrangle. DELL NSK-D5A01 laptop keyboard
The large East Front facing The Mall is today the "public face" of Buckingham Palace and contains the balcony from which the royal family acknowledge the crowds on momentous occasions and annually after Trooping the Colour. TOSHIBA MP-06873US-9204 laptop keyboard
Theballroom wing and a further suite of state rooms were also built in this period, designed by Nash's student Sir James Pennethorne. HP Pavilion DV7-3165dx laptop keyboard
Before Prince Albert's death, the palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments,[33] and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. The composer Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions.[34] SONY VAIO VGN-FZ21E laptop keyboard
Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England.[35] Strauss's "Alice Polka" was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the Queen's daughter, Princess Alice.[36] Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the routine royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations. SONY VAIO VGN-FS315M laptop keyboard
Widowed in 1861, the grief-stricken Queen withdrew from public life and left Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle, and Osborne House. For many years the palace was seldom used, and even neglected. In 1864 a note was found pinned to the fence of Buckingham Palace saying: Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
"These commanding premises to be let or sold, in consequence of the late occupant's declining business."[37] Eventually, public opinion forced her to return to London, though even then she preferred to live elsewhere whenever possible. HP G62t-250 CTO Laptop Keyboard
Court functions were still held at Windsor Castle rather than at the palace, presided over by the sombre Queen habitually dressed in mourning black while Buckingham Palace remained shuttered for most of the year.[38] ACER Aspire 5930 Laptop Keyboard
The Palace measures 108 metres by 120 metres, is 24 metres high and contains over 77,000 m2 (830,000 sq ft) of floorspace.[39] The principal rooms of the palace are contained on the piano nobile behind the west-facing garden façade at the rear of the palace. SONY VGN-FE21M Laptop Keyboard
The centre of this ornate suite of state rooms is the Music Room, its large bow the dominant feature of the façade. Flanking the Music Room are the Blue and the White Drawing Rooms. At the centre of the suite, serving as a corridor to link the state rooms, is the Picture Gallery, which is top-lit and 55 yards (50 m) long.[40] DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard
The Gallery is hung with numerous works including some by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubensand Vermeer;[41][42] other rooms leading from the Picture Gallery are the Throne Room and the Green Drawing Room. DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard
The Green Drawing Room serves as a huge anteroom to the Throne Room, and is part of the ceremonial route to thethrone from the Guard Room at the top of the Grand Staircase.[40] The Guard Room contains white marble statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in Roman costume, HP Mini 210-2090nr Laptop Keyboard
set in a tribune lined with tapestries. These very formal rooms are used only for ceremonial and official entertaining, but are open to the public every summer.
Directly underneath the State Apartments is a suite of slightly less grand rooms known as the semi-state apartments. Opening from the Marble Hall, SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
these rooms are used for less formal entertaining, such as luncheon parties and private audiences. Some of the rooms are named and decorated for particular visitors, such as the1844 Room, which was decorated in that year for the State visit of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and, DELL Inspiron 6400 Laptop Keyboard
on the other side of the Bow Room, the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France.[43] At the centre of this suite is the Bow Room, through which thousands of guests pass annually to the Queen's Garden Parties in the Gardens beyond.[44] The Queen uses privately a smaller suite of rooms in the North wing. HP 9J.N0Y82.H01 Laptop Keyboard
Between 1847 and 1850, when Blore was building the new east wing, theBrighton Pavilion was once again plundered of its fittings. As a result, many of the rooms in the new wing have a distinctly oriental atmosphere. HP Pavilion dv4-1210ef Laptop Keyboard
The red and blue Chinese Luncheon Room is made up from parts of the Brighton Banqueting and Music Rooms, but has a chimney piece designed by W.M. Feetham. The Yellow Drawing Room has wallpaper which had been supplied in 1817 for the Brighton Saloon, Acer eMachines E730 laptop keyboard
and the chimney piece in this room is a European vision of what the Chinese equivalent would look like, complete with nodding mandarins in niches and fearsome winged dragons, designed by Robert Jones.[45] At the centre of this wing is the famous balcony, with the Centre Room behind its glass doors. HP 640892-001 laptop keyboard
This is a Chinese-style saloon enhanced by Queen Mary, who, working with the designer Sir Charles Allom, created a more "binding"[46] Chinese theme in the late 1920s, although the lacquer doors were brought from Brighton in 1873. Running the length of the piano nobile of the east wing is the great gallery, Lenovo 3000 Y510 7758 laptop keyboard
modestly known as the Principal Corridor, which runs the length of the eastern side of the quadrangle.[47]It has mirrored doors, and mirrored cross walls reflecting porcelain pagodas and other oriental furniture from Brighton. The Chinese Luncheon Room and Yellow Drawing Room are situated at each end of this gallery, with the Centre Room obviously placed in the centre. SONY VAIO PCG-FR415B laptop keyboard
The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly colouredscagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in aBelle epoque cream and gold colour scheme.[48] DELL Latitude D830 Laptop Keyboard
When paying a state visit to Britain, foreign heads of state are usually entertained by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. They are allocated a large suite of rooms known as the Belgian Suite, situated at the foot of the Minister's Staircase, on the ground floor of the North-facing Garden Wing. TOSHIBA P205-S6267 Laptop Keyboard
The rooms of the suite are linked by narrow corridors, one given extra height and perspective by saucer domes designed by Nash in the style of Soane.[49] A second corridor in the suite has Gothic influenced cross over vaulting.[49] HP 519265-001 Laptop Keyboard
The Belgian Rooms themselves were decorated in their present style and named after Prince Albert's uncle Léopold I, first King of the Belgians. In 1936, the suite briefly became the private apartments of the palace when they were occupied by Edward VIII.[50]
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Women's evening dress included obligatory trains and tiaras or feathers in their hair (or both).
The dress code governing formal court uniform and dress has progressively relaxed. After World War I, when Queen Mary wished to follow fashion by raising her skirts a few inches from the ground, she requested a Lady-in-Waiting to shorten her own skirt first to gauge the King's TOSHIBA NSK-TK001 Laptop Keyboard
reaction. King George V was horrified, so the Queen kept her hemline unfashionably low.[51] Following their accession in 1936, King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth, allowed the hemline of daytime skirts to rise. HP Pavilion dv5-1050tx Laptop Keyboard
Today, there is no official dress code.[50] Most men invited to Buckingham Palace in the daytime choose to wear service uniform or lounge suits;[50] a minority wear morning coats, and in the evening, depending on the formality of the occasion, black tie or white tie. HP G61-440SG Laptop Keyboard
Court presentations of aristocratic girls to the monarch took place in the Throne Room. These girls were known asdébutantes, and the occasion—termed their "coming out"—represented their first entrée into society. Débutantes wore full court dress, with three tall ostrich feathers in their hair. They entered, curtsied, HP AEAT5U00010 Laptop Keyboard
performed a choreographed backwards walk and a further curtsy, while manoeuvring a dress train of prescribed length. (The ceremony, known as evening courts, corresponded to the "court drawing rooms" of earlier reigns.)[citation needed] Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard
In 1958, the Queen abolished the presentation parties for débutantes,[52] replacing them with Garden Parties.[53]Today, the Throne Room is used for the reception of formal addresses such as those given to the Queen on her Jubilees. It is here on the throne dais that royal wedding portraits and family photographs are taken. HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard
State banquets also take place in the Ballroom; these formal dinners take place on the first evening of a state visit by a visiting Head of State.[55] On these occasions, 150 or more guests in formal "HP G62-b30SQ Laptop Keyboard
white tie and decorations", including tiaras for women, may dine off gold plate. The largest and most formal reception at Buckingham Palace takes place every November, when the Queen entertains members of the foreign diplomatic corps resident in London.[56] On this occasion, all the state rooms are in use, as the royal family proceed through them[57] ACER Aspire 5535 Laptop Keyboard
beginning through the great north doors of the Picture Gallery. As Nash had envisaged, all the large, double-mirrored doors stand open, reflecting the numerous crystal chandeliers and sconces, causing a deliberate optical illusion of space and light. Lenovo Thinkpad T520 Laptop Keyboard
Smaller ceremonies such as the reception of new ambassadors take place in the "1844 Room". Here too the Queen holds small lunch parties, and often meetings of the Privy Council. Larger lunch parties often take place in the curved and domed Music Room, or the State Dining Room. On all formal occasions the ceremonies are attended by the Yeomen of the Guard in their historic uniforms, and other officers of the court such as the Lord Chamberlain.[58] Lenovo ThinkPad T410-2516 Laptop Keyboard
Since the bombing of the palace chapel in World War II, royal christenings have sometimes taken place in the Music Room. The Queen's first three children were all baptised here.[59]
The largest functions of the year are the Queen's Garden Parties for up to 8,000 invitees in the Garden.[60] HP Pavilion DV7-3165dx laptop keyboard
Investitures, which include the conferring of knighthoods by dubbing with a sword, and other awards take place in the palace's Ballroom, built in 1854. At 36.6 m (120.08 ft) long, 18 m (59.06 ft) wide and 13.5 m (44.29 ft) high[50] DELL NSK-DD101 laptop keyboard
(120' × 59' × 44' 3.5"), it is the largest room in the palace. It has replaced the throne room in importance and use. During investitures, the Queen stands on the throne dais beneath a giant, domed velvet canopy, HP Pavilion dv6-2120sp laptop keyboard
which is known as a shamiana or a baldachin and was used at the coronation Durbar, Delhi in 1911.[54] A military band plays in the musicians' gallery as award recipients approach the Queen and receive their honours, watched by their families and friends.[55] HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
In 1901 the accession of Edward VII saw new life breathed into the palace. The new King and his wife Queen Alexandra had always been at the forefront of London high society, and their friends, known as "the Marlborough House Set", SONY VAIO VGN-CR23G laptop keyboard
were considered to be the most eminent and fashionable of the age. Buckingham Palace—the Ballroom, Grand Entrance, Marble Hall, Grand Staircase, vestibules and galleries redecorated in the Belle epoque cream and gold colour scheme they retain today—once again became a setting for entertaining on a majestic scale. Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
Many people feel King Edward's heavy redecoration of the palace does not complement Nash's original work.[61] The last major building work took place during the reign of King George V when, in 1913, Sir Aston Webb redesigned Blore's 1850 East Front to resemble in part Giacomo Leoni's Lyme Park in Cheshire. HP Pavilion dv3-2175ee laptop keyboard
This new, refaced principal façade (ofPortland stone) was designed to be the backdrop to the Victoria Memorial, a large memorial statue of Queen Victoria, placed outside the main gates.[62] George V, who had succeeded Edward VII in 1910, had a more serious personality than his father; HP Pavilion G6-1B87CL laptop keyboard
greater emphasis was now placed on official entertaining and royal duties than on lavish parties.[63] He arranged a series of command performances featuring jazz musicians such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919) –HP Pavilion G6-1227TU laptop keyboard
the first jazz performance for a head of state, Sidney Bechet, and Louis Armstrong (1932), which earned the palace a nomination in 2009 for a (Kind of) Blue Plaque by theBrecon Jazz Festival as one of the venues making the greatest contribution to jazz music in the United Kingdom. HP 633183-001 laptop keyboard
Queen Mary also had many new fixtures and fittings installed, such as the pair of marble Empire-style chimneypieces by Benjamin Vulliamy, dating from 1810, which the Queen had installed in the ground floor Bow Room, the huge low room at the centre of the garden façade. Queen Mary was also responsible for the decoration of the Blue Drawing Room.[ HP 640892-001 Laptop Keyboard
66]This room, 69 feet (21 metres) long, previously known as the South Drawing Room, has a ceiling designed specially by Nash, coffered with huge gilt console brackets.[67]
A book published in 1999 by the Royal Collection Department reported that the palace contained 19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms.[68] HP Pavilion G6-1223TX Laptop Keyboard
This is actually small in comparison to the Russian imperial palaces in Saint Petersburg and at Tsarskoe Selo, the Papal Palace in Rome, the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Stockholm Palace, or indeed the former Palace of Whitehall, HP Mini 1151NR laptop keyboard
and tiny compared to the Forbidden City and Potala Palace. A minor change was made in 1938, in which the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory and altered in 1911–13 to a racquets court, was converted into a swimming pool. HP Pavilion dv3-2320es laptop keyboard
During World War I the palace, then the home of King George V and Queen Mary, escaped unscathed. Its more valuable contents were evacuated to Windsor but the royal family remained in situ. The King imposed rationing at the palace, much to the dismay of his guests and household.[69] Packard Bell Easynote TK87 laptop keyboard
To the King's later regret, David Lloyd George persuaded him to go further by ostentatiously locking the wine cellars and refraining from alcohol, to set a good example to the supposedly inebriated working class. The workers continued to imbibe and the King was left unhappy at his enforced abstinence.[70] Lenovo Thinkpad W510 laptop keyboard
The palace fared worse during World War II; it was bombed no less than seven times, the most serious and publicised of which resulted in the destruction of the palace chapel in 1940. Coverage of this event was played in cinemas all over the UK to show the common suffering of rich and poor. HP Pavilion DV7-3173nr laptop keyboard
One bomb fell in the palace quadrangle while King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were in residence, and many windows were blown in and the chapel destroyed.[71] War-time coverage of such incidents was severely restricted, however. Packard Bell Easynote TM98 laptop keyboard
The King and Queen were filmed inspecting their bombed home, the smiling Queen, as always, immaculately dressed in a hat and matching coat seemingly unbothered by the damage around her. It was at this time the Queen famously declared: "HP Mini 110-3109sl laptop keyboard
I'm glad we have been bombed. Now I can look the East End in the face". The royal family were seen as sharing their subjects' hardship, as The Sunday Graphic reported:
By the Editor: The King and Queen have endured the ordeal which has come to their subjects. SONY 147977821 laptop keyboard
For the second time a German bomber has tried to bring death and destruction to the home of Their Majesties...When this war is over the common danger which King George and Queen Elizabeth have shared with their people will be a cherished memory and an inspiration through the years.[72] LENOVO IdeaPad S10 4231 laptop keyboard
The damaged Palace was carefully restored after the War by John Mowlem & Co.[73]
On 15 September 1940, known as the Battle of Britain Day, an RAF pilot, Ray Holmes of No. 504 Squadron RAF rammed a German bomber he believed was going to bomb the Palace. ACER Aspire 4736Z laptop keyboard
Holmes had run out of ammunition and made the quick choice to ram it. Holmes bailed out. Both aircraft crashed. In fact the Dornier Do 17 bomber was empty. It had already been damaged, two of its crew had been killed and the remainder bailed out. Its pilot, FeldwebelRobert Zehbe, SONY VAIO VGN-CS17G/R laptop keyboard
landed only to die later of wounds suffered during the attack. During the Dornier's descent, it somehow unloaded its bombs, one of which hit the Palace. It then crashed into the forecourt of London Victoria station.[74] DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
The bomber's engine was later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London. The British pilot became a King's Messenger following the war, and died at the age of 90 in 2005.[75]
On VE Day—8 May 1945—the palace was the centre of British celebrations, with the King, Queen and the Princess Elizabeth, FUJITSU Lifebook S7111 laptop keyboard
the future Queen, and Princess Margaret appearing on the balcony, with the palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd in the Mall.[76]
The boy Jones was an intruder who gained entry to the palace on three occasions between 1838 and 1841 as recorded by Charles Dickens some 40 years later.[77] SONY VAIO VGN-CR23G laptop keyboard
In 1982, Michael Fagan was able to break into the palace twice, and conversed with the Queen on one of these occasions.[78] Reportedly, Her Majesty maintained her composure while the palace police were en route and Fagan made no threatening motions towards the Queen. SONY VAIO PCG-FR55E/B laptop keyboard
At the rear of the palace is the large and park-like garden, which together with its lake is the largest private garden in London.[79] Here the Queen hosts her annual garden parties each summer, and also holds large functions to celebrate royal milestones, such as jubilees. It covers 40 acres (16 ha), and includes a helicopter landing area, a lake, and a tennis court.[50] DELL NSK-D5A01 laptop keyboard
Adjacent to the palace is the Royal Mews, also designed by Nash, where the royal carriages, including the Gold State Coach, are housed. This rococo gilt coach, designed by Sir William Chambers in 1760, has painted panels byG. B. Cipriani. DELL Studio 1747 laptop keyboard
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It was first used for the State Opening of Parliament by George III in 1762 and has been used by the monarch for every coronation since George IV. It was last used for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[80]Also housed in the mews are the carriage horses used in royal ceremonial processions.[81] LENOVO IdeaPad S10e 4068 laptop keyboard
The Mall, a ceremonial approach route to the palace, was designed by Sir Aston Webb and completed in 1911 as part of a grand memorial to Queen Victoria. It extends from Admiralty Arch, across St James's Park to the Victoria Memorial. Packard Bell Easynote LM82 laptop keyboard
This route is used by the cavalcades and motorcades of visiting heads of state, and by the royal family on state occasions such as the annual Trooping the Colour.[82]
Every year some 50,000 invited guests are entertained at garden parties, receptions, audiences and banquets. TheGarden Parties, usually three, are held in the summer, DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
usually in July. The Forecourt of Buckingham Palace is used for Changing of the Guard, a major ceremony and tourist attraction (daily during the summer months; every other day during the winter). DELL V110546AS1 laptop keyboard
The palace, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the British state. It is not the monarch's personal property, unlikeSandringham House and Balmoral Castle.[83] Many of the contents from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and St. DELL NSK-DB301 laptop keyboard
James's Palace are known collectively as the Royal Collection; owned by the Sovereign, they can, on occasions, be viewed by the public at the Queen's Gallery, near the Royal Mews. Unlike the palace and the castle, DELL V110546AS1 laptop keyboard
the gallery is open continually and displays a changing selection of items from the collection. The rooms containing the Queen's Gallery are on the site of the former chapel, which was damaged by one of the seven bombs to fall on the palace during World War II. SONY VAIO PCG-FR415S laptop keyboard
The palace's state rooms have been open to the public during August and September since 1993. The money raised in entry fees was originally put towards the rebuilding of Windsor Castle following the 1992 fire which destroyed many of its state rooms. HP Pavilion dv5-1110em laptop keyboard
In May 2009, in response to a request from the Queen to the government for money to carry out a backlog of repairs to the palace, a group of MPs on the Public Accounts Committee proposed that in return for the extra £4 million in annual funds requested, SONY VGN-FE31B laptop keyboard
the palace be open to the public more than the 60 days it is now, as well as when members of the royal family are in residence.[84] The British Government currently provides £15 million yearly for the palace's upkeep. HP Pavilion dv6-2125el laptop keyboard
Thus, Buckingham Palace is a symbol and home of the British monarchy, an art gallery and tourist attraction. Behind the gilded railings and gates which were completed by the Bromsgrove Guild in 1911[38] and Webb's famous façade, which has been described in a book published by the Royal Collection as looking "like everybody's idea of a palace";[38] Lenovo 3000 Y500 laptop keyboard
is not only the weekday home of the Queen and Prince Philip but also the London residence of the Duke of York and the Earl andCountess of Wessex. The palace also houses the offices of the Royal Household and is the workplace of 450 people. SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D laptop keyboard
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738[1] – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King ofIreland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. Acer eMachines E732 laptop keyboard
He was concurrently Duke and prince-electorof Brunswick-Lüneburg ("Hanover") in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, but unlike his two Hanoverian predecessors he was born in Britain, spoke English as his first language,[2] and never visited Hanover.[3] SONY VAIO VGN-FS215E laptop keyboard
His life and reign, which were longer than any other British monarch before him, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, Lenovo 3000 G430 4152 laptop keyboard
becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of its American colonies were soon lost in theAmerican Revolutionary War. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. DELL Studio 1747 laptop keyboard
In the later part of his life, George III suffered from recurrent, and eventually permanent, mental illness. Although it has since been suggested that he suffered from the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, LENOVO IdeaPad S10e 4068 laptop keyboard
and George III's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent. On George III's death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. ASUS F6S laptop keyboard
Historical analysis of George III's life has gone through a "kaleidoscope of changing views" that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them.[4] Packard Bell Easynote LM82 laptop keyboard
Until re-assessment occurred during the second half of the twentieth century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant and in Britain he became "the scapegoat for the failure of imperialism".[5] DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
George was born in London at Norfolk House. He was the grandson of King George II, and the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months premature and was thought unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker, who was both Rector of St James's and the Bishop of Oxford.[6] FUJITSU Lifebook S7111 laptop keyboard
One month later, he was publicly baptised at Norfolk House, again by Secker. His godparents were the King of Sweden (for whom Lord Baltimore stood proxy), his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha (for whom Lord Carnarvon stood proxy) and his great-aunt the Queen-consort of Prussia (for whom Lady Charlotte Edwin stood proxy).[7] TOSHIBA Satellite P105-S6217 laptop keyboard
George grew into a healthy, but also reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, were educated together by private tutors. Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight.[8] SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D laptop keyboard
He was the first British monarch to study science systematically. Apart from chemistry and physics, his lessons included astronomy, mathematics, French, Latin, history, music, geography, commerce, agriculture and constitutional law, along with sporting and social accomplishments such as dancing, fencing, and riding. His religious education was wholly Anglican.[9] SONY VAIO VGN-FS215E laptop keyboard
At age 10 George took part in a family production of Joseph Addison's play Cato and said in the new prologue: "What, tho' a boy! It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, in England bred".[10] Historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear "to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated".[11] SONY Vaio VGN-AW21VY/Q laptop keyboard
George's grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales and took little interest in his grandchildren. However, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. Lenovo 3000 G430 4152 laptop keyboard
He inherited one of his father's titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh. Now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales[12] (the title is not automatically acquired). DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard
In the spring of 1756, as George approached his eighteenth birthday, the King offered him a grand establishment at St James's Palace, but George refused the offer, guided by his mother and her confidant, Lord Bute, HP Pavilion dv4-1102tu Laptop Keyboard
who would later serve asPrime Minister.[13] George's mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her strict moral values.[14][15] ASUS A3L Laptop Keyboard
In 1759, George was smitten with Lady Sarah Lennox, sister of the Duke of Richmond, but Lord Bute advised against the match and George abandoned his thoughts of marriage. "I am born for the happiness or misery of a great nation," he wrote, "and consequently must often act contrary to my passions."[16] ACER Aspire 7745G Laptop Keyboard
Nevertheless, attempts by the King to marry George to Duchess Sophie Caroline Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel were resisted by him and his mother;[17] Sophie married the Margrave of Bayreuth instead.[18] HP G72-250US Laptop Keyboard
The following year, at the age of 22, George succeeded to the throne when his grandfather, George II, died suddenly on 25 October 1760, two weeks before his 77th birthday. The search for a suitable wife intensified. HP G72-b10SG Laptop Keyboard
On 8 September 1761 in theChapel Royal, St James's Palace, the King married Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he met on their wedding day.[19] A fortnight later, both were crowned at Westminster Abbey. George remarkably never took a mistress (in contrast with his grandfather and his sons), and the couple enjoyed a genuinely happy marriage.[2][10] FUJITSU Lifebook S7110 Laptop Keyboard
They had 15 children—nine sons and six daughters. In 1762, George purchased Buckingham House (on the site now occupied by Buckingham Palace) for use as a family retreat.[20] His other residences were Kew and Windsor Castle. St. SONY VAIO VGN-NW240F Laptop Keyboard
James's Palace was retained for official use. He did not travel extensively, and spent his entire life in southern England. In the 1790s, the King and his family took holidays at Weymouth, Dorset,[21] which he thus popularised as one of the first seaside resorts in England.[22] Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard
George, in his accession speech to Parliament, proclaimed: "Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain".[23] He inserted this phrase into the speech, written by Lord Hardwicke, in order to demonstrate his desire to distance himself from his German forebears, who were perceived as caring more for Hanover than for Britain.[24][25] TOSHIBA Satellite L775D-S7226 Laptop Keyboard
Although his accession was at first welcomed by politicians of all parties,[26] the first years of his reign were marked by political instability, largely generated as a result of disagreements over the Seven Years' War.[27] George was also perceived as favouring Tory ministers, which led to his denunciation by theWhigs as an autocrat.[2] Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
On his accession, the Crown lands produced relatively little income; most revenue was generated through taxes and excise duties. DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard
George surrendered the Crown Estate to Parliamentary control in return for a civil list annuity for the support of his household and the expenses of civil government.[28] Claims that he used the income to reward supporters with bribes and gifts[29] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
are disputed by historians who say such claims "rest on nothing but falsehoods put out by disgruntled opposition".[30] Debts amounting to over £3 million over the course of George's reign were paid by Parliament, and the civil list annuity was increased from time to time.[31] FUJITSU Lifebook S7111 laptop keyboard
He aided the Royal Academy of Arts with large grants from his private funds,[32] and may have donated more than half of his personal income to charity.[33] Of his art collection, the two most notable purchases are Johannes Vermeer's Lady at the Virginals and a set ofCanalettos, TOSHIBA Satellite P105-S6217 laptop keyboard
but it is as a collector of books that he is best remembered.[34] The King's Library was open and available to scholars and was the foundation of a new national library.[35]
In May 1762, the incumbent Whig government of the Duke of Newcastle was replaced with one led by the Scottish Tory Lord Bute. HP G42-415DX Laptop Keyboard
Bute's opponents worked against him by spreading the calumny that he was having an affair with the King's mother, and by exploiting anti-Scottish prejudices amongst the English.[36] John Wilkes, a Member of Parliament, published The North Briton, ASUS F6S Laptop Keyboard
which was both inflammatory and defamatory in its condemnation of Bute and the government. Wilkes was eventually arrested for seditious libel but he fled to France to escape punishment; he was expelled from the House of Commons, HP Mini 1110TU Laptop Keyboard
and found guilty in absentia of blasphemy and libel.[37] In 1763, after concluding the Peace of Paris which ended the war, Lord Bute resigned, allowing the Whigs under George Grenville to return to power. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
Later that year, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 placed a limit upon the westward expansion of the American colonies. The Proclamation aimed to divert colonial expansion to the north (to Nova Scotia) and to the south (Florida). HP Mini 1109TU Laptop Keyboard
The Proclamation Line did not bother the majority of settled farmers, but it was unpopular with a vocal minority and ultimately contributed to conflict between the colonists and the British government.[38] With the American colonists generally unburdened by British taxes, HP Envy 15-1100 Series Laptop Keyboard
the government thought it appropriate for them to pay towards the defence of the colonies against native uprisings and the possibility of French incursions.[39] The central issue for the colonists was not the amount of taxes but whether Parliament could levy a tax without American approval, SONY VAIO VPCF12 Laptop Keyboard
for there were no American seats in Parliament.[40] The Americans protested that like all Englishmen they had rights to "no taxation without representation". In 1765, Grenville introduced the Stamp Act, DELL 0NU956 Laptop Keyboard
which levied a stamp duty on every document in the British colonies in North America. Since newspapers were printed on stamped paper, those most affected by the introduction of the duty were the most effective at producing propaganda opposing the tax.[41] DELL V110546AS1 Laptop Keyboard
Meanwhile, the King had become exasperated at Grenville's attempts to reduce the King's prerogatives, and tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade William Pitt the Elder to accept the office of Prime Minister.[42] After a brief illness, which may have presaged his illnesses to come, George settled on Lord Rockingham to form a ministry, and dismissed Grenville.[43] DELL Vostro 1015 Laptop Keyboard
Lord Rockingham, with the support of Pitt and the King, repealed Grenville's unpopular Stamp Act, but his government was weak and he was replaced in 1766 by Pitt, whom George created Earl of Chatham. The actions of Lord Chatham and George III in repealing the Act were so popular in America that statues of them both were erected in New York City.[44] GATEWAY M-6849 Laptop Keyboard
Lord Chatham fell ill in 1767, and the Duke of Grafton took over the government, although he did not formally become Prime Minister until 1768. That year, John Wilkes returned to England, stood as a candidate in the general election, and came top of the poll in the Middlesex constituency. Wilkes was again expelled from Parliament. ACER 9J.N1H82.01D Laptop Keyboard
Wilkes was re-elected and expelled twice more, before the House of Commons resolved that his candidature was invalid and declared the runner-up as the victor.[45] TOSHIBA Qosmio F20 Series Laptop Keyboard
Grafton's government disintegrated in 1770, allowing the Tories led by Lord North to return to power.[46] George was deeply devout and spent hours in prayer,[47] but his piety was not shared by his brothers. George was appalled by what he saw as their loose morals. In 1770, TOSHIBA 9J.N7482.901 Laptop Keyboard
his brother Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, was exposed as an adulterer, and the following year Cumberland married a young widow, Anne Horton. The King considered her inappropriate as a royal bride: HP Mini 110-3504tu laptop keyboard
she was from a lower social class and German law barred any children of the couple from the Hanoverian succession. George insisted on a new law that essentially forbade members of the Royal Family from legally marrying without the consent of the Sovereign. The subsequent bill was unpopular in Parliament, including among George's own ministers, TOSHIBA PK13CW10200 laptop keyboard
but passed as the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Shortly afterward, another of George's brothers, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, revealed he had been secretly married to Maria, Countess Waldegrave, HP Pavilion dv6-3050ca laptop keyboard
the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole. The news confirmed George's opinion that he had been right to introduce the law: Maria was related to his political opponents. Neither lady was ever received at court.[48] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard
Lord North's government was chiefly concerned with discontent in America. To assuage American opinion most of the custom duties were withdrawn, except for the tea duty, which in George's words was "one tax to keep up the right [to levy taxes]".[49] HP Pavilion DV7-3169wm laptop keyboard
In 1773, the tea ships moored in Boston Harbor were boarded by colonists and the tea thrown overboard, an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. In Britain, opinion hardened against the colonists, with Chatham now agreeing with North that the destruction of the tea was "certainly criminal".[50] DELL Studio 1747 laptop keyboard
With the clear support of Parliament, Lord North introduced measures, which were called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists: the Port of Boston was shut down and thecharter of Massachusetts was altered so that the upper house of the legislature was appointed by the Crown instead of elected by the lower house.[51] HP Probook 4520S Laptop Keyboard
Up to this point, in the words of Professor Peter Thomas, George's "hopes were centred on a political solution, and he always bowed to his cabinet's opinions even when sceptical of their success. The detailed evidence of the years from 1763 to 1775 tends to exonerate George III from any real responsibility for the American Revolution."[52] HP G71-449WM Laptop Keyboard
Though the Americans characterised George as a tyrant, in these years he acted as a constitutional monarch supporting the initiatives of his ministers.[53]
The American Revolutionary War was the culmination of the civil and political American Revolution resulting from theAmerican Enlightenment. SONY VAIO VGN-NW235D Laptop Keyboard
Brought to a head over the lack of American representation in Parliament, which was seen as a denial of their rights as Englishmen and often popularly focused on direct taxes levied by Parliament on the colonies without their consent, the colonists resisted the imposition of direct rule after the Boston Tea Party. Creating self-governing provinces, DELL JVT97 Laptop Keyboard
they circumvented the British ruling apparatus in each colony by 1774. Armed conflict between British regulars and colonial militiamen broke out at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775. Afterpetitions to the Crown for intervention with Parliament were ignored, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
the rebel leaders were declared traitors by the Crown and a year of fighting ensued. The colonies declared their independence in July 1776, listing grievances against the British king and legislature while asking the support of the populace. Among George's other offences, DELL Inspiron 510m Laptop Keyboard
the Declaration charged, "He has abdicated Government here ... He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people." The gilded equestrian statue of George III in New York was pulled down.[54] FUJITSU Amilo Mini Ui 3520 Laptop Keyboard
The British captured the city in 1776, but lost Boston, and the grand strategic plan of invading from Canada and cutting off New England failed with the surrender of the British Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga. TOSHIBA Satellite L750-ST4N02 Laptop Keyboard
George III is often accused of obstinately trying to keep Great Britain at war with the revolutionaries in America, despite the opinions of his own ministers. In the words of the Victorian author George Trevelyan, the King was determined "never to acknowledge the independence of the Americans, SONY VAIO VGN-N37GH/B laptop keyboard
and to punish their contumacy by the indefinite prolongation of a war which promised to be eternal."[55] The King wanted to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable process, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-N500BL laptop keyboard
discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse".[56] However, more recent historians defend George by saying in the context of the times no king would willingly surrender such a large territory,[10][57] SONY Vaio PCG-K37 laptop keyboard
and his conduct was far less ruthless than contemporary monarchs in Europe.[58] After Saratoga, both Parliament and the British people were in favour of the war; recruitment ran at high levels and although political opponents were vocal, they remained a small minority.[10][59] Lenovo 04W0872 laptop keyboard
With the setbacks in America, Prime Minister Lord North asked to transfer power to Lord Chatham, whom he thought more capable, but George refused to do so; he suggested instead that Chatham serve as a subordinate minister in Lord North's administration, but Chatham refused to cooperate. He died later in the same year.[60] Lenovo 45N2106 laptop keyboard
In early 1778, France (Britain's chief rival) signed atreaty of alliance with the United States and the conflict escalated. The United States and France were soon joined bySpain and the Dutch Republic, while Britain had no major allies of its own. COMPAQ 454954-001 laptop keyboard
Lord Gower and Lord Weymouth both resigned from the government. Lord North again requested that he also be allowed to resign, but he stayed in office at George III's insistence.[61] Opposition to the costly war was increasing, and in June 1780 contributed to disturbances in London known as the Gordon Riots.[62] HP 7F0844 laptop keyboard
As late as the Siege of Charleston in 1780, Loyalists could still believe in their eventual victory, as British troops inflicted heavy defeats on the Continental forces at the Battle of Camden and the Battle of Guilford Court House.[63] In late 1781, SONY VGN-FE41S laptop keyboard
the news of Lord Cornwallis's surrender at the Siege of Yorktown reached London; Lord North's parliamentary support ebbed away and he resigned the following year. The King drafted an abdication notice, which was never delivered,[57][64] LENOVO 25-008389 laptop keyboard
finally accepted the defeat in North America, and authorised peace negotiations. The Treaties of Paris, by which Britain recognised the independence of the American states and returned Florida to Spain, were signed in 1782 and 1783.[65] Packard Bell Easynote TK81 laptop keyboard
When John Adams was appointed American Minister to London in 1785, George had become resigned to the new relationship between his country and the former colonies. He told Adams, Lenovo 04W2236 laptop keyboard
"I was the last to consent to the separation; but the separation having been made and having become inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power."[66]
Constitutional struggle ACER TravelMate 2480 laptop keyboard
With the collapse of Lord North's ministry in 1782, the Whig Lord Rockingham became Prime Minister for the second time, but died within months. The King then appointed Lord Shelburne to replace him. Charles James Fox, however, refused to serve under Shelburne, Packard Bell Easynote LM85 laptop keyboard
and demanded the appointment of the Duke of Portland. In 1783, the House of Commons forced Lord Shelburne from office and his government was replaced by the Fox–North Coalition. The Duke of Portland became Prime Minister, with Fox and Lord North, as Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary respectively.[10] HP Pavilion dv6-3306si CPU Fan
The King disliked Fox intensely, for his politics as well as his character; he thought Fox was unprincipled and a bad influence on the Prince of Wales.[67]George III was distressed at having to appoint ministers not of his liking, HP Pavilion dv6-2110ea CPU Fan
but the Portland ministry quickly built up a majority in the House of Commons, and could not be displaced easily. He was further dismayed when the government introduced the India Bill, which proposed to reform the government of India by transferring political power from the East India Company to Parliamentary commissioners.[68] ACER Aspire 5741G Series CPU Fan
Although the King actually favoured greater control over the Company, the proposed commissioners were all political allies of Fox.[69] Immediately after the House of Commons passed it, George authorised Lord Temple to inform the House of Lords that he would regard any peer who voted for the bill as his enemy. IBM ThinkPad T43 2668 CPU Fan
The bill was rejected by the Lords; three days later, the Portland ministry was dismissed, and William Pitt the Younger was appointed Prime Minister, with Temple as his Secretary of State. On 17 December 1783, Parliament voted in favour of a motion condemning the influence of the monarch in parliamentary voting as a "high crime" and Temple was forced to resign. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan
Temple's departure destabilised the government, and three months later the government lost its majority and Parliament was dissolved; the subsequent election gave Pitt a firm mandate.[10]
For George III, Pitt's appointment was a great victory. HP Mini 110-3501tu laptop keyboard
It proved that he was able to appoint Prime Ministers on the basis of his own interpretation of the public mood without having to follow the choice of the current majority in the House of Commons. Throughout Pitt's ministry, SONY VAIO VGN-CR24G laptop keyboard
George supported many of Pitt's political aims and created new peers at an unprecedented rate to increase the number of Pitt's supporters in the House of Lords.[70] During and after Pitt's ministry, George III was extremely popular in Britain.[71] SONY VAIO VGN-N37MH/B laptop keyboard
The British people admired him for his piety, and for remaining faithful to his wife.[72] He was fond of his children, and was devastated at the death of two of his sons in infancy in 1782 and 1783 respectively.[73] Nevertheless, ACER TravelMate 6292 laptop keyboard
he set his children a strict regimen. They were expected to attend rigorous lessons from seven in the morning, and to lead lives of religious observance and virtue.[74] When his children strayed from George's own principles of righteousness, as his sons did as young adults, he was dismayed and disappointed.[75] DELL Vostro PP38L laptop keyboard
By this time George's health was deteriorating. He suffered from a mental illness, which was possibly a symptom of the genetic disease porphyria,[76] although this has been questioned.[77] A study of samples of the King's hair published in 2005 revealed high levels of arsenic, HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu laptop keyboard
a possible trigger for the disease. The source of the arsenic is not known, but it could have been a component of medicines or cosmetics.[78] The King may have suffered a brief episode of disease in 1765, but a longer episode began in the summer of 1788. DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard
At the end of the parliamentary session, he went to Cheltenham Spa to recuperate. It was the furthest he had ever been from London—just short of 100 miles (150 km)—but his condition worsened. In November he became seriously deranged, LENOVO IdeaPad S10 4231 laptop keyboard
sometimes speaking for many hours without pause, causing him to foam at the mouth and making his voice hoarse.[79] With his doctors largely at a loss to explain his illness, spurious stories about his condition spread, such as the claim that he shook hands with a tree in the mistaken belief that it was the King of Prussia.[80] HP Mini 110-3504tu laptop keyboard
Treatment for mental illness was primitive by modern standards, and the King's doctors, who included Francis Willis, treated the King by forcibly restraining him until he was calm, or applying caustic poultices to draw out "evil humours".[81] HP Pavilion dv6-2141ee laptop keyboard
In the reconvened Parliament, Fox and Pitt wrangled over the terms of a regency during the King's incapacity. While both agreed that it would be most reasonable for George III's eldest son and heir apparent, the Prince of Wales, to act as regent, HP Pavilion dv7-4170us CPU Fan
to Pitt’s consternation Fox suggested that it was the Prince of Wales's absolute right to act on his ill father's behalf with full powers. Pitt, fearing he would be removed from office if the Prince of Wales were empowered, argued that it was for Parliament to nominate a regent, and wanted to restrict the regent's authority.[82] HP Pavilion dv6701us CPU Fan
In February 1789, the Regency Bill, authorising the Prince of Wales to act as regent, was introduced and passed in the House of Commons, but before the House of Lords could pass the bill, George III recovered.[83] HP Pavilion dv9623cl CPU Fan
After George’s recovery, his popularity, and that of Pitt, continued to increase at the expense of Fox and the Prince of Wales.[84] His humane and understanding treatment of two insane assailants, Margaret Nicholson in 1786 and John Frith in 1790, HP 450933-001 CPU Fan
contributed to his popularity.[85] James Hadfield's failed attempt to shoot the King in the Drury Lane Theatre on 15 May 1800 was not political in origin but motivated by the apocalyptic delusions of Hadfield and Bannister Truelock. George seemed unperturbed by the incident, so much so that he fell asleep in the interval.[86] HP Envy 14-1195la CPU Fan
The French Revolution of 1789, in which the French monarchy had been overthrown, worried many British landowners. France declared war on Great Britain in 1793; in the war attempt, George allowed Pitt to increase taxes, raise armies, a DELL DFS541305MH0T CPU Fan
nd suspend the right of habeas corpus. The First Coalition to oppose revolutionary France, which included Austria, Prussia, and Spain, broke up in 1795 when Prussia and Spain made separate peace with France.[87] The Second Coalition, which included Austria, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, was defeated in 1800. Only Great Britain was left fighting Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the French Republic.
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George used the opportunity to drop the title "king of France", which English and British Sovereigns had maintained since the reign of Edward III.[89] It was suggested that George adopt the title "Emperor of the British Isles", but he refused.[10] HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan
As part of his Irish policy, Pitt planned to remove certain legal disabilities that applied to Roman Catholics. George III claimed that to emancipate Catholics would be to violate his coronation oath, in which Sovereigns promise to maintain Protestantism.[90] IBM Lenovo Thinkpad T410i Series CPU Fan
Faced with opposition to his religious reform policies from both the King and the British public, Pitt threatened to resign.[91] At about the same time, the King suffered a relapse of his previous illness, which he blamed on worry over the Catholic question.[92] SONY VGN-SZ780E CPU Fan
On 14 March 1801, Pitt was formally replaced by the Speaker of the House of Commons,Henry Addington. Addington opposed emancipation, instituted annual accounts, abolished income tax and began a programme of disarmament. In October 1801, he made peace with the French, and in 1802 signed the Treaty of Amiens.[93] HP Pavilion dv7-6035eo CPU Fan
George did not consider the peace with France as real; in his view it was an "experiment".[94] In 1803, the war resumed but public opinion distrusted Addington to lead the nation in war, and instead favoured Pitt. An invasion of England by Napoleon seemed imminent, and a massive volunteer movement arose to defend England against the French. George's review of 27, HP G70-467CL CPU Fan
000 volunteers in Hyde Park, London, on 26 and 28 October 1803 and at the height of the invasion scare, attracted an estimated 500,000 spectators on each day.[95] The Times said, "The enthusiasm of the multitude was beyond all expression."[96] SONY Vaio VPC-EB33FM CPU Fan
A courtier wrote on 13 November that, "The King is really prepared to take the field in case of attack, his beds are ready and he can move at half an hour's warning".[97] George wrote to his friend Bishop Hurd, " Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan
We are here in daily expectation that Bonaparte will attempt his threatened invasion ... Should his troops effect a landing, I shall certainly put myself at the head of mine, and my other armed subjects, to repel them."[98] After Admiral Lord Nelson's famous naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, the possibility of invasion was extinguished.[99] HP Pavilion dv2416us CPU Fan
In 1804, George was again affected by his recurrent illness; after his recovery, Addington resigned and Pitt regained power. Pitt sought to appoint Fox to his ministry, but George III refused. Lord Grenville perceived an injustice to Fox, and refused to join the new ministry.[10] Toshiba Satellite A100-849 CPU Fan
Pitt concentrated on forming a coalition with Austria, Russia, and Sweden. This Third Coalition, however, met the same fate as the First and Second Coalitions, collapsing in 1805. The setbacks in Europe took a toll on Pitt's health and he died in 1806, reopening the question of who should serve in the ministry. Lord Grenville became Prime Minister, Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan
and his "Ministry of All the Talents" included Fox. The King was conciliatory towards Fox, after being forced to capitulate over his appointment. After Fox's death in September 1806, the King and ministry were in open conflict. TOSHIBA Satellite L755-SP5102CL Laptop Keyboard
To boost recruitment, the ministry proposed a measure in February 1807 whereby Roman Catholics would be allowed to serve in all ranks of the Armed Forces. George instructed them not only to drop the measure, ACER Aspire 5930 Laptop Keyboard
but also to agree never to set up such a measure again. The ministers agreed to drop the measure then pending, but refused to bind themselves in the future.[100] They were dismissed and replaced by the Duke of Portland as the nominal Prime Minister, with actual power being held by theChancellor of the Exchequer, IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Laptop Keyboard
Spencer Perceval. Parliament was dissolved, and the subsequent election gave the ministry a strong majority in the House of Commons. George III made no further major political decisions during his reign; the replacement of the Duke of Portland by Perceval in 1809 was of little actual significance.[101] In late 1810, at the height of his popularity[102] SONY VAIO PCG-F16 Laptop Keyboard
but already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, George III became dangerously ill. In his view the malady had been triggered by the stress he suffered at the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia.[103] The Princess's nurse reported that "the scenes of distress and crying every day ... Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard
were melancholy beyond description."[104] He accepted the need for the Regency Act of 1811,[105] and the Prince of Wales acted as Regent for the remainder of George III's life. Despite signs of a recovery in May 1811, by the end of the year George had become permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death.[106] HP G62-a60EV Laptop Keyboard
Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in 1812 (the only British Prime Minister to have suffered such a fate) and was replaced by Lord Liverpool. Liverpool oversaw British victory in the Napoleonic Wars. The subsequent Congress of Viennaled to significant territorial gains for Hanover, which was upgraded from an electorate to a kingdom. Lenovo 3000 Y510a 15303 Laptop Keyboard
Meanwhile, George's health deteriorated. He suffered from dementia and became completely blind and increasingly deaf. He was incapable of knowing or understanding either that he was declared King of Hanover in 1814, or that his wife died in 1818.[107] DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan
Over Christmas 1819, he spoke nonsense for 58 hours, and for the last few weeks of his life was unable to walk.[108] He died at Windsor Castle at 8:38 pm on 29 January 1820, six days after the death of his fourth son, the Duke of Kent. His favourite son, DELL Studio 1555 Series CPU Fan
Frederick, Duke of York, was with him.[109] George III was buried on 16 February in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.[110][111]
George was succeeded by two of his sons George IV and William IV, who both died without surviving legitimate children, leaving the throne to the only legitimate child of the Duke of Kent, Victoria, the last monarch of the House of Hanover. Toshiba KFB0505HB CPU Fan
George III lived for 81 years and 239 days and reigned for 59 years and 96 days: both his life and his reign were longer than those of any of his predecessors. Only Victoria and Elizabeth II have since lived and reigned longer. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan
George III was dubbed "Farmer George" by satirists, at first mocking his interest in mundane matters rather than politics but later to contrast his homely thrift with his son's grandiosity and to portray him as a man of the people.[112] Under George III, who was passionately interested in agriculture,[113] Dell Vostro 3500 CPU Fan
the British Agricultural Revolution reached its peak and great advances were made in fields such as science and industry. There was unprecedented growth in the rural population, which in turn provided much of the workforce for the concurrent Industrial Revolution.[114] DELL Inspiron 1720 CPU Fan
George's collection of mathematical and scientific instruments is now housed in the Science Museum, London; he funded the construction and maintenance of William Herschel's 40-foot telescope, which was the biggest ever built at the time.[115] Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, which he at first named Georgium Sidus (George's Star) after the King, in 1781. SONY Vaio VGN-FS23B CPU Fan
George III hoped that "the tongue of malice may not paint my intentions in those colours she admires, nor the sycophant extoll me beyond what I deserve",[116] but in the popular mind George III has been both demonised and praised. DELL Latitude E6410 Series CPU Fan
While very popular at the start of his reign, by the mid-1770s George had lost the loyalty of revolutionary American colonists,[117]though it has been estimated that as many as half of the colonists remained loyal.[118] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
The grievances in the United States Declaration of Independence were presented as "repeated injuries and usurpations" that he had committed to establish an "absolute Tyranny" over the colonies. DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard
The Declaration's wording has contributed to the American public's perception of George as a tyrant. Contemporary accounts of George III's life fall into two camps: one demonstrating "attitudes dominant in the latter part of the reign, when the King had become a revered symbol of national resistance to French ideas and French power", while the other SONY VAIO VGN-CS16G/Q Laptop Keyboard
"derived their views of the King from the bitter partisan strife of the first two decades of the reign, and they expressed in their works the views of the opposition".[119] Building on the latter of these two assessments, British historians of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as Trevelyan and Erskine May, TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard
promoted hostile interpretations of George III's life. However, in the mid-twentieth century the work of Lewis Namier, who thought George was "much maligned", kick-started a re-evaluation of the man and his reign.[120] Scholars of the later twentieth century, such asButterfield and Pares, and Macalpine and Hunter,[121] ASUS X53S Laptop Keyboard
are inclined to treat George sympathetically, seeing him as a victim of circumstance and illness. Butterfield rejected the arguments of his Victorian predecessors with withering disdain: "Erskine May must be a good example of the way in which an historian may fall into error through an excess of brilliance. His capacity for synthesis, HP Compaq NW8440 Laptop Keyboard
and his ability to dovetail the various parts of the evidence ... carried him into a more profound and complicated elaboration of error than some of his more pedestrian predecessors ... he inserted a doctrinal element into his history which, granted his original aberrations, HP 605344-001 Laptop Keyboard
was calculated to project the lines of his error, carrying his work still further from centrality or truth."[122] In pursuing war with the American colonists, George III believed he was defending the right of an elected Parliament to levy taxes, rather than seeking to expand his own power or prerogatives.[123] ASUS F6A Laptop Keyboard
In the opinion of modern scholars, during the long reign of George III the monarchy continued to lose its political power, and grew as the embodiment of national morality.[10]
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