'Affair' is engaging look at scandal, revolution

A ROYAL AFFAIR: GEORGE III AND HIS SCANDALOUS SIBLINGS, by Stella Tillyard, Random House, 352 pages, $26.95

Written by an Oxford historian, "A Royal Affair" is a provocative book on a subject dear to the heart of the British people — scandal and notoriety in the royal family. In this case, it surrounds George III, who was king at the time of the American Revolution.

Author Stella Tillyard initially focuses on George's sister Caroline Mathilde, who was married at 15 against her will to the King of Denmark. It could be predicted, perhaps, that she would have an affair with a radical court doctor — but not that their affair would cause them to go to prison and then almost lead to war between England and Denmark.

Then there were King George's problematic brothers who partied and engaged in all sorts of relationships that generated bad press. Prince Edward, for one, was climbing the naval ranks when he went AWOL to pursue a society widow named Lady Mary Coke, the daughter of the Duke of Argylle — different from the two married women with whom he had earlier affairs.

The main problem for public perception was that Prince Edward was 19 and Lady Mary was 32. He had known her for two years and she had always played hard to get. Then Edward also took notice of Kitty Fisher, a 19-year-old courtesan who was interested in publicity. His love life was the rage.

During this time, King George II died and his son, George III, ascended to the throne. Even though he had been very interested in young, beautiful women, George III settled on Princess Charlotte, a 17-year-old German girl who was especially plain in looks. George seems to have thought this would keep him from becoming "a prey to women." In fact, he was devoted to his marriage, and together they had 15 children.

But George had to constantly to worry about the illicit activities of his brothers — Edward, George's favorite brother William and Harry. George would be forced to deal with these family problems throughout his tenure, which causes historians of the American Revolution to look at the king differently.

It has always seemed strange to scholars that the king would not simply let the American colonies go, but Tillyard argues that the king tended to see the colonists as part of his family, so he dealt with them in the same way he dealt with his siblings — with a heavy hand.

This interpretation goes a long way toward putting the British position on American rebellion into perspective.

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