Was George III mad?

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George III was the third monarch in the line of royalty known as the House of Hanover, which finished with the famous rule of Queen Victoria. Unlike many kings, George arranged his own political marriage and even kept a diary which has been kept in Windsor Castle.  The marriage he arranged was to Charlotte of Mecklenburg- Strelitz, together they produced fifteen children, two of which become kings of England and one was also the father of Queen Victoria. However the genius of a monarch is best known as being an insane man who lost America! But was he really mad?

Certainly during his later years, King George III experienced several incidents where he went slightly crazy and the country had to be ruled by his greedy son, George (IV), the Prince of Wales; but the key question that has been studied by many people of society is: was he mad and if so, why? 

Because there are medical reports from the times of his illness, which began to show in 1765, we can assume he was mentally insane. Some scientists and historians believe that the king suffered from a genetic disease  called porphyria, which Mary Queen of Scots suffered from as did Queen Anne of Great Britain. This theory seems that it could be true as George's granddaughter Princess Charlotte, who passed away in 1817 due to complications with childbirth also reportedly suffered from the condition. Porphyria is a disease that occurs if there is a lack of an important section of haemoglobin. Usually it is passed down through generations in families but attacks can also be triggered by intake of drugs, too much alcohol and sometimes the hormone oestrogen. Symptoms include mental seizures and abominable pain and cramps. The weirdest symptom is blue wee!

His insanity could have been caused by the highly toxic makeup that both men and women used in Georgian England to make their faces appear pale. It worked perfectly well for what it was designed for, apart from the fact that it was made from lead, a poison. The lead could cause nasty open sores to come up on the face that bleed a lot, and in some cases madness. As a result of his problems, the king was nicknamed- "Mad King George"! 

The best physicians/ doctors such as Francis Willis and medical help were enlisted to assist in curing George. As you can imagine, the treatment was not very advanced. In some cases, the king was treated with arsenic. Unfortunately this is now known to trigger porphyria! The physicians also blistered him! 

Witnesses wrote that in some cases, the king's bouts of craziness caused him to talk nonsense until he frothed at the mouth and to also become very emotional quickly. In 1788 the cases were so severe that politicians were doubtful about whether he could remain on the throne.  

Some day there will hopefully be a way to end this historical mystery and put an end to the disagreements!

Sources
~ King George's illness: Porphyria

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