1776

The book opens on October 26, 1775, with King George III making a procession in his magnificent four-ton coach pulled by eight Hanoverian cream horses. He designed the allegorical vehicle himself with three gilded cherubim to represent England, Scotland, and Ireland, though he had never traveled outside England. Over the spokes of the wheels were gilded sea gods representing England’s domination of the seas. The entire coach symbolized of England’s vast colonies and wealth.

The king’s attire was usually much less ornate. Rather than dalliance at court, he preferred a farmer’s life at Windsor and the company of his plain wife, to whom he was faithful. Some thought him unattractive and unintelligent, but this was hardly the case. He was tall with clear blue eyes, and he loved music, playing both the violin and the piano. He also collected art. People liked him. One of the most important men of the age, Samuel Johnson, found him good company. The so-called “madness” for which he was long remembered was really porphyria, an inherited disease of malfunctioning enzymes.

Though not a military man, he firmly believed the flagrantly misbehaving colonies must be made to obey. Though there were some dissenters, most Whigs and Tories agreed with the king. The war under Howe and Washington officially began in Lexington and Concord and then Bunker Hill. Upon hearing the news of the terrible defeat (1,000 casualties), King George decided to add 2,000 reinforcements and 20,000 regulars in the spring.

The king’s popularity surged with the war, though there were many dissenters, including The Evening Post and The St. James Chronicle. Though things were going badly, the king rejected the Olive Branch Petition, an entreaty to avoid war sent by the Second Continental Congress. When King George realized the rebellion in America was serious and the colonists really did wish to break away, he resolved to put them down even more quickly but also offer immediate open forgiveness when they were quelled.

Meanwhile, Lord North began to negotiate with Hessians, foreign mercenaries. King George’s declaration of war was debated in Parliament. It was a rousing debate, but in the end both the House of Lords and the House of Commons came to agree strongly with him. Colonel Isaac Barre, a one-eyed veteran of the French and Indian War, was one of the few who disagreed. He said the only way to avert trouble was to reach an agreement with the American colonists, and quickly. He was the first to call the patriots “Sons of Liberty.”

Early in November, King George replaced colonial secretary Lord of Dartmouth with George Germain, a true military man, indicating that he was serious about the war.