June 29, 2026

America 250: Why King George III Lost America

Show Notes
Transcript

As America prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Palace Intrigue begins a special series examining the American Revolution through the eyes of the British Royal Family. In this episode, we explore why King George the Third believed the colonies could still be saved, what he misunderstood about the growing independence movement, and how one of the greatest setbacks in royal history unfolded.

Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.

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Calorougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I'm

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your host, Mark Francis. As America marks its two hundred

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and fiftieth birthday, Palace Intrigue this week is taking a

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look at the Revolution from the other side of the Atlantic.

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Not from the perspective of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson,

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but from the perspective of King George the Third, the

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Royal Court, Parliament, and ordinary Britons who watched thirteen colonies

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drift toward rebellion. In our afternoon episodes this week will

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follow the story as it unfolded in real time, exploring

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what London knew, what the King expected, and how the

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loss of America ultimately reshaped the monarchy itself. Every year,

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as the fourth of July approaches, Americans prepare to celebrate

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one of the defining moments in their national story. Fireworks

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of purchased flags appear on front porches, school children learn

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about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the thirteen colonies that

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declared their independence from Great Britain. It is a story

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told so often and so thoroughly from the American perspective

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that it can be easy to forget there was another

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side watching the same events and fold. For the British monarchy,

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the American Revolution was not the birth of a nation,

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it was the loss of one. When King George the

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Third came to the throne in seventeen sixty, there was

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no sense that Britain stood on the verge of a

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historic defeat. Quite the opposite. The young monarch inherited a

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kingdom that appeared to be entering a period of extraordinary success.

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He was just twenty two years old, ernest, dutiful, and

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determined to be a good king. In his first speech

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to Parliament, he declared born and educated in this country

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by glory in the name of Britain. It was the

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sort of statement that resonated deeply with the political class

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of the day. George was not seen as a distant tyrant.

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He was viewed as a patriotic, young sovereign who believed

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firmly in Britain's future and his role within it. Few

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people in London could have imagined that before the end

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of his reign he would preside over the loss of

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Britain's most important colonies in North America. The future United

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States occupied a curious place In the British imagination. The

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colonies were important, certainly, but they were not yet viewed

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as the center of the empire. They were prosperous, growing

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rapidly and contributing to Britain's commercial success, but they were

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also an ocean away. Most colonists considered themselves loyal British subjects.

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They read British newspapers when they could get them, They

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followed debates in Parliament. Many still thought of London as

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the heart of their political and cultural world. In other words,

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there were no obvious reasons for revolution. The crisis that

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eventually produced American independence began, as so many political crises do,

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with money. Britain had emerged victorious from Seven Years War,

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a sprawling conflict fought across Europe, North America and beyond.

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The victory transformed at Britain's position in the world. French

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power in North America was dramatically reduced, and Britain emerged

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as the dominant imperial force of its age. But wars

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are expensive and victory carried a staggering financial costs. From

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the perspective of ministers in London, the solution appeared straightforward.

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The colonies had benefited from Britain's military protection during the conflict.

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Surely they could contribute more towards the costs of defending

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and administering the empire. The taxes and duties that followed

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were not intended to provoke a revolution. They were intended

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to balance accounts. Yet what seemed practical in Westminster felt

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very different in Boston. The problem was not simply the

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money itself, it was the principle behind it. Increasing numbers

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of colonists began arguing that Parliament had no right to

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impose taxes on people who had no direct representation within it.

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The phrase taxation without representation would become one of the

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most powerful political slogans in American history. What has often

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forgotten today is that night a side initially saw itself

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as unreasonable. The men in London believed they were managing

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an empire according to established constitutional principles. The men protesting

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in the colonies believed they were defending rights they possessed

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as Englishmen. Both sides thought they were protecting liberty. Both

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sides believed the other had fundamentally misunderstood the situation. For

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King George, the growing unrest presented a challenge that was

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as much constitutional as political. Contrary to modern popular imagination,

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he was not an absolute monarch, issuing commands by royal decree.

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Britain had long since evolved into a constitutional system in

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which Parliament exercised enormous authority, Laws were passed by elected

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representatives and peers. Ministers developed policy. The King's role remained significant,

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but it was not unlimited. That distinction mattered greatly in London,

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it mattered much less in America. As protests intensified, many

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colonists increasingly viewed George himself as the embodiment of British authority.

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Whether a decision originated in Parliament, in government ministries, or elsewhere,

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mattered little. The King became the face of the system

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they opposed. Gradually, a political dispute of a taxation evolved

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into something far larger, a dispute over sovereignty itself. For George,

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this train information was deeply troubling. He did not see

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himself as crushing liberty. He saw himself as defending lawful government.

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As resistance hardened and colonial assemblies became more defiant, the

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king increasingly viewed events not as political disagreement, but as

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an open rebellion. He wrote there must be either submission

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or triumph more in a moment. By the middle of

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the seventeen seventies, reconciliation was becoming more difficult. With each

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passing month. The Boston Tea Party had outraged opinion in Britain.

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The destruction of private property in the open defiance of

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imperial authority convinced many in London that concessions would only

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encourage further resistance. Parliament responded with measures designed to reassert control.

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The colonies responded with greater anger. Each side interpreted the

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actions of the other its proof that compromise was no

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longer possible. Then came the Shooting War. When fighting broke

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out at Lexington and Concord in April of seventeen seventy five,

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the crisis moved beyond politics. Blood had been shed, British

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soldiers and colonial militiamen were now confronting one another as enemies.

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Even then, however, few people imagined that the conflict would

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end with the creation of an entirely new nation. Many

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still hoped some form of settlement could be reached. The

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following year destroyed those hopes. On July the fourth, seventeen

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seventy six, representatives of the thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration

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of Independence. Today, the document has celebrated as one of

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the foundational texts of democracy. Its language is studied around

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the world. Its ideals have inspired countless political movements. But

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imagine for a moment how it looked from Saint James Pallace.

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The declaration did not merely announce a separation. It laid

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responsibility for the crisis squarely at the feet of King George.

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The third line after line accused of a misconduct, oppression,

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and tyranny. The King was transformed from constitutional monarch into

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the principal villain of the American story. The colonial perspective,

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this was a necessary political act. Revolutions required symbols, and

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George became the symbol of British authority. From the King's perspective,

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it was something else Entirely. It was a public denunciation

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by subjects who had once sworn loyalty to him. There

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would be no easy return from that. The war that

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followed proved far more difficult than Britain had anticipated. Distance

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complicated everything. Orders across the Atlantic slowly. Reinforcements took months

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to arrive. Victories that might have been decisive in Europe

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often proved less meaningful in North America, where armies could

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simply withdraw, regroup, and continue fighting. The British army won

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important battles. New York fell, Philadelphia was occupied. At various points.

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It appeared entirely possible that the rebellion might collapse, Yet

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the war refused to end. George Washington proved remarkably resilient.

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American forces survived defeats that would have destroyed many armies.

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The longer the conflict continued, the more expensive and politically

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difficult it became for Britain to sustain. Then came Saratoga.

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The American victory in seventeen seventy seven persuaded France to

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enter the war openly on the side of the revolutionaries.

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What had begun as a colonial rebellion suddenly became part

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of a much larger international struggle. Britain was no longer

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fighting only Americans. It was confronting its oldest and most

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powerful rival. The conflict expanded across the globe. Resources were stretched,

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attention was divided. The prospect of a decisive British victory

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grew increasingly remote. The final blow came at Yorktown in

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seventeen eighty one, when Lord corn Wallace surrendered his army

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to combined American and French forces. News of the defeat

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eventually reached London, where it produced shock and despair. When

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Prime Minister Lord North learned of the surrender, he is

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widely reported to have exclaimed, oh God, it's all over.

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In many respects, he was right. Although the war would

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continue for a time, Yorktown convinced much of Britain's political

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leadership that the colonies could not realistically be recovered. Dream

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of restoring the old relationship was slipping away. For George

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the Third, the defeat was deeply painful. Historians continued to

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debate the extent to which he considered abdication, but there

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is little question that the loss of America represented the

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greatest stepback of his reign. The king, who had inherited

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a growing empire, now faced the reality that one of

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its most valuable possessions was gone. Yet something remarkable happened

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in the years that followed the monarchy endured. Looking back,

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this may have been the most important part of the

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story from a royal perspective. Americans understandably focus on what

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was gained. The British monarchy was forced to focus on

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what remained. The loss of America could have destabilized the Crown.

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It could have shouted confidence in the political system. Instead,

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Britain adapted, The Empire evolved, New territories grew in importance.

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Canada remained loyal. Australia would emerge as a major part

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of Britain's future. The nineteenth century would eventually become, in

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many ways, the century of British power. The monarchy learned

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a lesson that would echo through the generations that followed.

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Survival did not always depend upon victory. Institutions could absorb

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profound losses and continue forward. Adaptation could prove more important

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than dominance. That lesson would become increasingly valuable as the

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Empire transformed into the Commonwealth, and as later monarchs navigated

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a world very different from the one George the third

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and known today. The descendants of those revolutionaries and the

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descendants of that king are bound together not by conflict,

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but by alliance. American presidents visit British palaces. British monarchs

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are welcomed in American cities. The relationship that emerged from

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the wreckage of the Revolution became one of the closest

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partnerships in modern history. There was one final story that

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captures the strange journey from enemies to friends. After the war,

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the American artist Benjamin West told King George that George

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Washington intended to surrender his military commission and return to

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private life rather than seize power for himself. The king

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was reportedly astonished. If he does that, George replied, he

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would be the greatest man in the world and the

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inhabit I'd like to email us or addresses the Palace

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Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please follow us on Apple

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or Spotify and leave a comment there. If you're enjoying

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the show, I'm Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott.

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This is Palace Intrigue. Good Times.

America 250: Why King George III Lost America

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