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Secondary sourceBook1882

The Royal Dukes and Princesses of the Family of George III

Percy Fitzgerald · 1882

An 1882 two-volume account by Percy Fitzgerald of the king's children and court life between 1760 and 1830.

A later book about the king's family and court, drawing on the period of his reign.

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The Royal Dukes and Princesses of the Family of George IIIPDF · 412 pages
Percy Fitzgerald, The Royal Dukes and Princesses of the Family of George III, 1882. Internet Archive scan.

About this source

What it is

A two-volume book published in London in 1882 by Percy Fitzgerald. Its subtitle describes it as a view of court life and manners for seventy years, from 1760 to 1830. It was written as a supplement to Fitzgerald's life of George IV and focuses on the king's less-known brothers, sisters and other family members. A scanned copy is available as a PDF on the Internet Archive.

Why it matters

The book is a later account, written more than sixty years after the period it covers, and it gives a narrative of the royal family's dramatic and sometimes erratic lives. It shows how Victorian writers remembered the court of George III and his family, and it reflects the interest of the period in royal private life.

Look closer

  • Why might a writer in 1882 choose to describe the royal family as dramatic, and what does that framing include or leave out?
  • How does the author use the family's personal stories to explain the king's court?
  • What sources would a historian compare with this book to check its account of court life?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of George III on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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