The architect king - David Watkin

Architecture was George III's greatest passion. His interest in agriculture, science and the arts is well documented, but it was architectural design 'the King's favourite study' that engaged him most deeply. Drawing on the rich holdings of the Royal Library, David Watkin presents a full account of George III's relationship with his tutor, William Chambers, and with the other leading architects of his day including Robert Adam, James 'Athenian' Stuart and James Wyatt. Professor Watkin places the King's patronage of architects and gardeners in the context of ancien regime Europe and the Enlightenment, and he explores in some detail George III's dual role as King of England and Elector of Hanover. The King was himself a competent artist and several of his architectural designs are amongst the fine drawings, watercolours and engravings that illustrate the text. Ambitious in its scope, this wide-ranging but always very readable account will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in architectural and garden design, or in the cultural and political history of Britain and the continent in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.