Editing George III (section)

=== Early regnal years ===
{{further|Great Britain in the Seven Years' War}}
[[File:Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92) - The Marriage of George III - RCIN 404353 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|Wedding of George and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, oil sketch by [[Joshua Reynolds|Sir Joshua Reynolds]], c. 1761]]
George, in his accession speech to Parliament, proclaimed: "Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain."<ref>Brooke, p. 391: "There can be no doubt that the King wrote 'Britain'."</ref> He inserted this phrase into the speech, written by [[Lord Hardwicke]], to demonstrate his desire to distance himself from his German forebears, who were perceived as caring more for Hanover than for Britain.<ref>Brooke, p. 88; Simms and Riotte, p. 58.</ref> During George III's lengthy reign, Britain was a [[constitutional monarchy]], ruled by his ministerial government and prominent men in Parliament.<ref>Baer, [https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/george-iii-1738-1820/ George III (1738–1820)], 22 December 2021</ref> Although his accession was at first welcomed by politicians of all parties,{{efn|For example, the letters of [[Horace Walpole]] written at the time of the accession defended George but Walpole's later memoirs were hostile.<ref>Butterfield, pp. 22, 115–117, 129–130.</ref>}} the first years of his reign were marked by political instability, largely as a result of disagreements over the [[Seven Years' War]].<ref>Hibbert, p. 86; Watson, pp. 67–79.</ref> George came to be perceived as favouring [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] ministers, which led to his denunciation by the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] as an [[autocrat]].<ref name="rh" />

On his accession, the [[Crown land]]s produced relatively little income; most revenue was generated through taxes and excise duties. George surrendered the [[Crown Estate]] to Parliamentary control in return for a [[civil list]] annuity for the support of his household and the expenses of civil government.<ref>{{cite web |date=2004 |title=Our history |url=http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/who-we-are/our-history/ |access-date=7 November 2017 |website=The Crown Estate |archive-date=13 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113080506/http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/who-we-are/our-history |url-status=dead }}</ref> Claims that he used the income to reward supporters with bribes and gifts<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelso |first=Paul |date=6 March 2000 |title=The royal family and the public purse |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/mar/06/monarchy.princessmargaret |access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref> are disputed by historians who say such claims "rest on nothing but falsehoods put out by disgruntled opposition".<ref>Watson, p. 88; this view is also shared by Brooke (see for example p. 99).</ref> Debts amounting to over £3&nbsp;million over the course of George's reign were paid by Parliament, and the civil list annuity was increased from time to time.<ref>Medley, p. 501.</ref> He aided the [[Royal Academy of Arts]] with large grants from his private funds,<ref>Ayling, p. 194; Brooke, pp. xv, 214, 301.</ref> and may have donated more than half of his personal income to charity.<ref>Brooke, p. 215.</ref> Of his art collection, the two most notable purchases are [[Johannes Vermeer]]'s ''[[The Music Lesson|Lady at the Virginals]]'' and a set of [[Canaletto]]s, but it is as a collector of books that he is best remembered.<ref>Ayling, p. 195.</ref> The [[King's Library]] was open and available to scholars and was the foundation of a new national library.<ref>Ayling, pp. 196–198.</ref>