Madness of King George

The Royal Archivist brings out a diary at Windsor Castle for Lucy to read. It is the diary of Robert Grevell, the king's equerry. Lucy learns about George's ill health and how on one occasion he talked constantly for 19 hours. A statement is sent to Mr. Pitt the prime minister to say that the king is "entirely" deranged.

Lucy discusses accounts in the newspaper of riots that were caused by King George III's new rights for Catholics. Lucy notes how revolutions were happening all over the world during this time, and that assassination attempts were being made against leaders. King George III may have felt that he was losing the Empire as a result of revolution in America.

King George III is under pressure to make the monarchy work in this new era. He styles himself as a new kind of accessible king who would listen to the public, and he made it possible for people to petition the king to have their issues heard. Lucy tells of an event where the king was attacked by a petitioner - a woman who was waiting for him with knife concealed in a petition.

How did George III’s mental illness change Britain? Lucy Worsley uncovers Royal papers and explores how the assassination attempt on his life by a mentally ill subject changed psychiatry forever.