George III of the United Kingdom

“ Such is the spirit of the Empire, of the great Dominions, of India, of every Colony, large or small. From all alike have come offers of help for which the Mother Country can never be sufficiently grateful. Such unity in aim and in effort has never been seen in the world before.
I believe from my heart that the cause which binds together my peoples and our gallant and faithful Allies is the cause of Christian civilisation. On no other basis can a true civilisation be built. Let us remember this through the dark times ahead of us and when we are making the peace for which all men pray. ”

“ But far more than this the peoples of the world would be kept in bondage of fear and all hopes of peace and of the security of justice and liberty of nations would be ended. This is the ultimate issue which concerns us. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear and of the world order and peace it is inevitable that we should refuse to meet the challenge. ”

“ Our hard-won liberties and our democratic institutions are unimpaired; our Commonwealth and Empire, though subject to the changes that time must bring, have not been disrupted by the stress and peril of war. We are celebrating Christmas as free men and in peace.
Christmas is the season in which we count our mercies. I know that there are many little things lacking that can add colour and variety to life, but the big things for so many of us have come back – the big things which we longed for in the blitz, in the desert, in the lonely places of the sea or the jungle. ”

“ But as the war widens, so surely our conviction depends at the greatness of our cause.
We who belong to the present generation must bear the brunt of the struggle, and I would say to the coming generation, the boys and girls of today, the men and women of tomorrow – train yourselves in body, mind, and spirit so as to be ready for whatever part you may be called to play, and for the tasks which will await you as citizens of the Empire when the war is over. ”

“ In that spirit we shall win the war, and in that same spirit we shall win for the world after the war a true and lasting peace. The greatness of any nation is in the spirit of its people. So it has always been since history began ”

“ On visits to war industries in every part of the country the Queen and I have watched with admiration the steady growth of that vital war production, the fruits of which are now being used by every branch of our forces. We are thankful for the splendid addition to our food supplies made by those who work on the land, and who have made it fertile as it has never been before. ”

“ This third Christmas Day since the war ended finds us still praying that the time may soon come when true peace will have been established throughout the world, when all men will be working together with good will to rebuild what has been destroyed, when everywhere fear will have given place to trust, hardships to wellbeing, and scarcity to plenty. ”

“ When we look across the seas we do not have to seek out reasons for thankfulness and hope; they are manifest. The unity and steadfastness of the British Commonwealth and Empire saved the liberties of the world. ”

“ Christmas comes to cheer our hearts and to revive our faith and courage as the old year dies and the new year is born.
The year that is passing has not been an easy one. Statesmen and politicians have been burdened with the resettlement of a world that has been shattered and ruined by global war. In office, shop, and warehouse, and on the farm, men of all classes have been troubled and harassed by the shortages and economic dislocation that always follows in its wake. ”

“ At home we are, as it were, taking the strain for what may lie ahead of us, resolved and confident. We look with pride and thankfulness on the never-failing courage and devotion of the Royal Navy, upon which throughout the last four months has burst the storm of ruthless and unceasing war. ”

“ For not only has the manhood of the whole British Commonwealth rallied once more to the aid of the Mother Country in her hour of need, but the peoples of the Empire have eagerly thrown open the doors of their homes to our children so that they may be spared from the strain and danger of modern war. ”

“ A Truly benevolent disposition, knows no bounds to the desire of diffusing happiness: George VI. longed to see France in possession of that ease and plenty, which were now the distinguishing characteristics of Great-Britain. The Duke of Devonshire it is true, had governed in that kingdom with abilities and integrity, but it was not in his power to execute the designs of the King, nor was his genius adapted to the business: his Majesty determined therefore to make a trip thither; and to increase the splendour of his court, he took with him great part of the nobility of the kingdom. ”

“ Out of all this suffering there is a growing harmony which we must carry forward into the days to come when we have endured to the end and ours is the victory.
Then, when Christmas Days are happy again, and good will has come back to the world, we must hold fast to the spirit which binds us together now. We shall need this spirit in each of our own lives as men and women, and shall need it even more among the nations of the world. We must go on thinking less about ourselves and more for one another, for so, and so only, can we hope to make the world a better place and life a worthier thing. ”

“ He there found himself in the midst of his own creation, and was never so well pleased, as when he was engaged in raising noble piles of architecture; in conversing with men of genius, and planning future establishments in favour of the arts and sciences. Had the other Princes of Europe been possessed of such a philosophic disposition, George would never have attacked his neighbours; he was far more pleased to be at the head of an academy at Stanley, than of a victorious army, conquering a great kingdom. ”

“ Our elder daughter has wedded with our blessing the man she loves and one whom we love, too. Our joy has been increased a thousandfold by knowing that it is so widely shared. We are greatly touched by the demonstration of the delight that it has given to our people. ”

“ It is easy to imagine that such a king should be the tool of others; that favourites should guide him; that mistresses should corrupt him; that the atmosphere of a bad court should be used to degrade free government.
We have had an awful instance of the dangers of constitutional royalty. We have had the case of a meddling maniac. During great part of his life George III.’s reason was half upset by every crisis. Throughout his life he had an obstinacy akin to that of insanity. He was an obstinate and an evil influence ”

“ It is in his reliance upon the prejudices and ignorance of the country that the constitutional significance of the reign of George III. appears. Every strong government derives its power from its representative character. At a time when the House of Commons was less really representative than at any other, a king was on the throne who represented the country in its good and bad qualities alike, in its hatred of revolutionary violence, its moral sturdiness, its contempt of foreigners, and its defiance of all ideas which were in any way strange. ”

“ At a time when the King was surrounded by such advisers as we have seen, the King's chief servant and most loyal subject was a man no longer young, who had nothing to do with the courts or councils, and who yet was of {39} greater service to the throne and its occupier than all the House of Lords and half the House of Commons. Long years before George the Third was born, a struggling, unsuccessful schoolmaster gave up a school that was well-nigh given up by its scholars and came to London to push his fortune as a man of letters. ”

“ The father, of rank tory principles, was farther recommended to royal notice, by the gift of twenty thousand pounds to carry on a war, which, however unpopular with the nation, a profligate ministry had induced that nation to believe its honor interested in prosecuting. The son was thus introduced to royal favor; and it is well [212] known, that George the Third entertained great personal partiality for him. He commenced life as a statesman, having, in the outset of his political career, been inducted into the office of Under Secretary of State. His whole public life has been a life of office. ”

“ But neither Greene nor any other general possessed that weight of personal character which fixed the trust of Congress and people on Washington, maintained him in authority through all reverses, and enabled him to criticise with such unflinching frankness the measures of Congress.
Take, on the other hand, George III out of the history on the British side, and it is beyond question that if the war had ever broken out, it would have been put a stop to long before its ultimate failure. In him alone is to be found the real centre of resistance to American independence. ”

“ The obvious faults of his character made it impossible for the other German princes to insist on his being restored, and he had been succeeded by his younger brother William, who ruled till his death in 1884. Both died unmarried, and with them the Ducal family came to an end. One Princess of Brunswick had been the wife of George IV., and another, Augusta, was the first wife of Frederick I., King of Würtemberg, who, after her death, married a daughter of George III. The King of Würtemberg was also, by his descent from Frederick Prince of Wales, first cousin once removed of the Queen. ”

“ And in the United States also, where we find so many generous loyal friends and organisations to give us unstinted help, warm-hearted people are keeping and caring for many of our children till the war is over. ”

“ The attitude of Austria was ambiguous, and, after England and France were committed to war, she contracted an offensive and defensive alliance with Prussia, each country engaging to make limited preparations for war. At home, with a view to greater efficiency, the duties of the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, till then united in a single Secretaryship, were divided, the Duke of Newcastle assuming the former office, while Sir George Grey became Colonial Secretary; Lord John Russell also resumed office as President of the Council. ”

“ In fact, George ought rather to be considered as a philosophical king, than a consummate politician: he had too many virtues to shine greatly in the latter character: yet those men, who have blamed so much the political conduct of the king, in giving liberty to a great kingdom, speak merely as politicians: but George's memory will out-last every reflexion of this nature, and virtue will triumph in spite of the most scandalous misrepresentation: In some instances, his conduct was certainly faulty, but he never committed an error, which did not proceed from a good motive. ”

“ The nation, in general, supposed this to have arisen from his majesty's anxiety upon the fearful aspect of affairs, which was then of the most gloomy nature, both at home and abroad. Little, indeed, did the multitudes imagine the real cause; little did the private gentleman, the industrious tradesman, the worthy mechanic, or the labourer, think that their sovereign was living in splendid misery, bereft of the dearest object of his solicitude, and compelled to associate with the woman he all but detested!
Nature had not formed George the Third for a [37] king ”

“ We would ask them to join in our prayer that our daughter and her husband will not only have a married life of lasting love and felicity but will continue to deserve and to enjoy the love of all the British peoples. ”

“ So if the Prince of Wales should see fit to tread in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, he would have very different instruments from those "king's friends" whose existence and actions were so fatal to ministers in the early part of those days when George III. was king.
It is a common remark, that the institutions of England have been so far reformed in a democratic direction, that no monarch could ever expect to become powerful in that country. We think the observation unphilosophical ”

“ During the first ten years of his reign he managed to reduce government to a shadow, and to turn the loyalty of his subjects at home into disaffection. Before twenty years were over he had forced the American colonies into revolt and independence, and brought England to what then seemed the brink of ruin. Work such as this has sometimes been done by very great men, and often by very wicked and profligate men; but George was neither profligate nor great. He had a smaller mind than any English king before him save James the Second. ”

“ I remember going to Carlton House, when George IV. lived there, as quite a little child before a dinner the King gave. The Duchess of Cambridge and my 2 cousins, George and Augusta, were there. My Aunt, the Queen of Würtemberg (Princess Royal) , came over, in the year ’26, I think, and I recollect perfectly well seeing her drive through the Park in the King’s carriage with red liveries and 4 horses, in a Cap and evening dress,—my Aunt, her sister Princess Augusta, sitting opposite to her, also in evening attire, having dined early with the Duke of Sussex at Kensington. ”

“ His maxim was "everything for, but nothing by, the people." By liberal gifts of money,—he spent 25,000 pounds in a single day (1762) in bribes, [3] —by gifts of offices and of honors to those who favored him, and by taking away offices, honors, and pensions from those who opposed him, George III succeeded in his purpose. He raised up a body of men in Parliament, known by the significant name of the "King's Friends," who stood ready at all times to vote for his measures. ”