5 Facts About The King Georges!

Between the years 1714 to 1830, England was graced with the reign of four awesome kings. George I, George II, George III and, guess who, George IV. This period has now become known as the Georgian Era, and it was a time of some weird and bizarre stuff.

But the most weird and bizarre things about this era were the kings themselves:

1. Despite being King of England, George I was German. There were many, more suitable people for the throne, but they were all Catholic. The Act of Settlement 1707 prohibited catholics from gaining the throne.


2. George III was, in laymans terms, a bit cuckoo. Noone knew at the time what was wrong with him but we now believe he had Porphyria. This is a disease also known as 'The Vampire disease' as it causes 'vampire-like' symptoms, such as sensitivity to sunlight and treatment by injection of blood. In fact, in 1985 it was believed there was a chemical which can worsen porphyria symptoms. Where can we find this chemical? In garlic!


3. George II had an extremely volatile relationship with his father. So much so in fact, his father (while still king) had him arrested for disagreeing with who should be godfather to George III.


4. George IV was extremely overweight. In 1797 he weighed 17st 7lb and in 1824 his corset was measured to a waist of 50 inches. He loved the lavish lifestyle of large banquets with lashings of alcohol. His weight was so tremendous it half-suffocated him at times.


5. George IV also extremely disliked his wife, Caroline of Brunswick (who was also his cousin). He only married her as by agreeing to do this was the only way he could get his father to help him with his enormous debt. In fact, he hated her so much he tried to divorce her by introducing the Pains and Penalties bill 1820, which aimed 'to deprive Her Majesty Queen Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of the Title, Prerogatives, Rights, Privileges, and Exemptions of Queen Consort of this Realm; and to dissolve the Marriage between His Majesty and the said Caroline Amelia Elizabeth.'

If you want to see just how awesome the King Georges were, just check out their band! ;D