George III's children - John Van der Kiste

King George III and Queen Charlotte had 15 children, all but two surviving to maturity. The eldest, who became Prince Regent and King George IV, is today less remembered for his patronage of the arts than for his extravagance, and for the harsh treatment of his wife Caroline. As Commander-in-Chief of the British army, the administrative qualities of Frederick, Duke of York, are largely forgotten, whilst King William IV, usually dismissed as a figure of fun, brought a new affability to the monarchy which helped him through the storms engendered during the passage of the Great Reform Bill in 1832. The princesses, for many years victims of their parents' possessiveness, married only late in life, if at all, yet they have been disparaged as colourless nonentities.;This book describes the relationships between the siblings and chronologically recounts the life of the family; the intriguing characters who surrounded the royal court; and the princes' liaisons which resulted in the extraordinary situation that, when Princess Charlotte of Wales died unexpectedly in 1817, George III, at the age of 79, did not have a single legitimate grandchild. Three of his children then hurried to the altar.