George III to Victoria
A quick overview of the Kings and Queens of England from George III in 1760 to Victoria in 1837.
King George III 1760-1820 to Queen Victoria 1837-1901
A quick overview of the Kings and Queens of England from George III in 1760 to Victoria in 1837.
King George III 1760-1820 to Queen Victoria 1837-1901
This post is number 12 in the series Kings and Queens of England
Below is a brief overview of the Kings of England from King George III in 1760, who lost the American colonies but encouraged the Industrial Revolution, to Queen Victoria in 1837, in whose day Britain became a worldwide trading Empire and ushered in the modern world.
THE collapse of Revolutionary France saw Napoleon Bonaparte emerge as Emperor in 1804, with designs on all Europe. George III could celebrate Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805, but by Napoleon’s final surrender at Waterloo in 1815, the King was incapacitated by mental illness, and from 1811 his son George governed as Regent.
When he became George IV in 1820, like his father he was King of the United Kingdom, as the crown of Ireland, held separately since the time of Henry VIII, had been merged with that of Great Britain in 1801. George’s brother William IV followed in 1830, and their niece Victoria, daughter of their deceased brother Edward, succeeded William in 1837, aged eighteen.
Victoria’s long reign saw the flowering of the Industrial Revolution, the spread of railways, and the birth of the modern world. India came under direct rule from London, the British Raj, in 1858, and Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, a country and culture which entranced her, in 1877.*
Next in series: Victoria to George VI
The title was held by Victoria’s successors until George VI (r. 1936-1952), who divested it after India was granted independence in 1947.