Hello, and welcome back to my blog!

This week I will be shifting from the women in Hamilton’s life, to a person that Hamilton never actually met in person but still influenced his life greatly: King George III.

In the musical, I dare to say that King George is probably one of the funniest characters. He is portrayed as a delicate and quirky man, yet there is so much irony behind every single one of his lyrics. When I saw the show live, prior to the curtains opening, the voice of the actor who was about to play King George III actually gave some opening remarks. Funny enough, at the end of his little speech, he left the audience with the words, “now, please enjoy MY show,” and immediately made everyone laugh. This was an excellent introduction to his character.

The king’s first appearance occurs in the song “You’ll Be Back” in which he addresses the colonists about the revolution and emphasizes that despite wanting their freedom, they will always be under a form of British rule. He tells them that they’ll eventually go back to him because “[they] belong to [him]” and if they fight it, he will “send a fully armed battalion to remind [them] of [his] love.” Although what he is addressing during the song is a serious matter, the king says it in such a mordant humor that it helps the audience understand why the colonists didn’t take him seriously and went ahead with their revolution.

Later in the musical, once the Americans have fought and succeeded in the Revolutionary War, the king appears once again in a piece called, “What Comes Next?” in which he is clearly irritated and sad, but claims that they are no longer his problem (since the Americans have now started conflict with France and Spain). Subsequently, after George Washington steps down, he mocks John Adams for becoming the new present, and once again expresses happiness because he believes Adams will not be successful and will bring the colonies to their demise. Toward the end of the show, it is clear that the king has grown insane and cannot stand America’s success.

Although he doesn’t have a lot of songs in the musical, his participation is crucial. It helps the audience understand a lot of the history involved in the revolutionary times, and provides key information about who King George III–a major historical figure.

King George III is one of England’s monarchs who has ruled the longest, after Queen Victoria. During his reign, he participated in various British victories, as well as in the loss in the American Revolution.

According to his biography, King George III took the loss in the American Revolution really hard. At first, he became frustrated but was able to persist through the colonies’ resistance during the Boston Tea Party. After America’s success in the Battle of Yorktown, he was so destroyed that even considered abdicating, but moved past it and eventually recognized the United States as a nation. This event, among many others, took a toll on the king and made him grow insane. It is believed that part of his insanity was due to a condition he had called porphyria (a rare inherited metabolic disorder) as well as large concentrations of arsenic found in his cosmetics and his medication.

King George III was portrayed very well in the musical, because he gave the audience an idea of not only who he was but also his key role in the American Revolution. Just like any other character in the musical, his encourages the audience to perform some research and find out more about who these historical figures were. Because of this, Hamilton: An American Musical, is extremely effective in its educational intent.