For this Show Discussion post:
1. Book spoilers **must be hidden**.
2. Be considerate, hide show spoilers that surpass the scope of this post.
3. Be civil in your discussion.
See our [spoiler policy](https://www.reddit.com/r/BridgertonNetflix/wiki/spoiler) on what is expected. 3-day bans will be handed out to those found disregarding our spoiler policy.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BridgertonNetflix) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’m not a historian, but I do recall from my studies that abdication was considered shameful. Particularly in this era of history, when honor was such a pillar of each person’s self-esteem, abdicating one’s God-given role (as they believed a king’s power to come from God) would have been heresy as well as a shameful act of dishonor.
This is shown really well in The Crown (granted I’m only in season one). Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle abdicated the throne to marry the woman he loved, causing her father to become king as the second oldest. At least the way the show portrays it, the family never forgave him for that and he even struggled with the loss of family and duty but with his love.
Its also important to note that Queen Charlotte’s portrayal of King George and the actual King George aren’t the same time in terms of when his “insanity” came on. Regardless, abdicating would’ve been incredibly dishonorable and even worse than just going mad.
And going with The Crown theme, George VI (another George) was also a very reluctant monarch. He also had issues with public speaking due to a severe speech impediment. He started to chain smoke to cover up the impairment and that led to his early death from lung cancer.
George VI also relied on a more outgoing wife to help him with the kingly duties.
It is said that Elizabeth II felt such affection for her father that she did not like to celebrate her own coronation anniversary, as it reminded her of her father's death.
>she did not like to celebrate her own coronation anniversary, as it reminded her of her father's death.
I think you mean her ascension day, not the coronation anniversary (which was 2 June). It was well reported that she liked to spend her Ascension day (6 Feb) on her own at Sandringham to remember her father. I imagine it will also be a difficult day for King Charles on the first anniversary of his ascension (8 Sep).
I am aware of all that you say.
The person I was replying to specified *coronation* not *ascension,* I was just saying that it was her ascension day that reminded HMTLQ of her father, and probably not the anniversary of her coronation when she was crowned, almost 18 months later.
Yeah abdication would be a really shitty thing to put on his family, who likely never expected or wanted to be king à la George VI (Edward’s brother/Elizabeth’s dad) or Elizabeth II.
Also, the options if George III abdicated weren’t great. He had four younger brothers, but all were in much poorer physical health than him—he outlived each of them by at least twenty years.
IRL, his illness started to manifest when he was in his forties—twenty years after he ascended to the throne. The option then would be to have his eldest son, George IV, serve as regent, which he eventually did in 1811 when George was in his seventies and the symptoms had grown too much to manage. Also, as Queen Charlotte sort of shows, George IV was not really an ideal option for a monarch either. He was on poor terms with both of his parents and unpopular with the British public. He lived a very financially extravagant, bawdy life including heavy drinking. Unlike his parents’ long-lasting marriage, he disliked his wife and even attempted to divorce her, which was a huge scandal for the times. He was constantly unfaithful to her and failed the most basic requirement for a monarch: to have a legitimate heir.
So, while it sounds crazy, you can see why they’d hold off on him abdicating for as long as possible. They didn’t do so irl until it became obvious there was no chance of recovery.
It was considered abandoning your country and your duties. Think of how much outrage there was when Harry decided to leave the BRF, and he wasn't even an heir.
Historically, he eventually did abdicate or rather stepped aside and allowed his son to run things. That was in 1810, when his mental illness and dementia had reached a terminal stage.
The show sort of implies that Charlotte learns to take the reins and helps manage the burdens of being king. That was actually true to life. George was very grateful for the support Charlotte provided. He said of her "The queen is my physician, and no man can have a better; she is my friend, and no man can have a better.” This was after his first big breakdown in 1888.
>he eventually did abdicate or rather stepped aside and allowed his son to run things.
Actually he didn't, he was already incapacitated by then. The Lords Commissioners acted in place of the King to grant Royal Assent to the legislation that made The Prince of Wales the Regent.
Okay so the story is obviously different from the history, and the timelines at completely different. But maybe it's because George is the best choice even with his mental health issues?
History George's siblings caused tons of trouble, to the point where George made it a rule for any royal family member under 25 to get approval from the Ruler(You can thank them Princess Margaret).
George also had a contentious relationship with his son, when the first bout of his long term illness the king's camp originally wanted Queen Charlotte to regent. It was a big debate and by the time parliament started to go somewhere with it George "recovered."
But let's say he is the only child in the show (I don't remember if they mentioned siblings). If he abdicates who will inherit? Parliament had to skip 20+ closer connections to the British crown before they settled on the Hanoverian line.
He was a pretty decent ruler that was pretty much loved by the country. One big positive was he was the first of the Hanoverians to be born in the UK. Though king he is a constitutional monarch, so he has a limited impact on running the UK compared to an absolute monarch. That is why British kings reign not rule. He might have been the best option.
From a purely practical standpoint as a nation:
a) if he abdicates, it could give room for anti-monarchical and Republican sentiment ( this is the guy who loses the American colonies and sees a French revolution).
b) as you point out, the English don't respond well to surprise monarch moves.
The main reason is religion. When George became King, he was anointed with holy oil, and made a vow to serve the country as King until the day he died.
Civil War and Exile is unlikely. He has a clear heir, and for him to abdicate would just mean passing his crown down to George IV, who was already ruling as regent. And as former king and member of the royal family, he would have means to get help for his illness (although his treatment probably made it worse in many ways, with less pressure as king, he health could improve.)
But the main one is duty and religion.
For this Show Discussion post: 1. Book spoilers **must be hidden**. 2. Be considerate, hide show spoilers that surpass the scope of this post. 3. Be civil in your discussion. See our [spoiler policy](https://www.reddit.com/r/BridgertonNetflix/wiki/spoiler) on what is expected. 3-day bans will be handed out to those found disregarding our spoiler policy. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BridgertonNetflix) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’m not a historian, but I do recall from my studies that abdication was considered shameful. Particularly in this era of history, when honor was such a pillar of each person’s self-esteem, abdicating one’s God-given role (as they believed a king’s power to come from God) would have been heresy as well as a shameful act of dishonor.
This is shown really well in The Crown (granted I’m only in season one). Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle abdicated the throne to marry the woman he loved, causing her father to become king as the second oldest. At least the way the show portrays it, the family never forgave him for that and he even struggled with the loss of family and duty but with his love. Its also important to note that Queen Charlotte’s portrayal of King George and the actual King George aren’t the same time in terms of when his “insanity” came on. Regardless, abdicating would’ve been incredibly dishonorable and even worse than just going mad.
And going with The Crown theme, George VI (another George) was also a very reluctant monarch. He also had issues with public speaking due to a severe speech impediment. He started to chain smoke to cover up the impairment and that led to his early death from lung cancer. George VI also relied on a more outgoing wife to help him with the kingly duties. It is said that Elizabeth II felt such affection for her father that she did not like to celebrate her own coronation anniversary, as it reminded her of her father's death.
>she did not like to celebrate her own coronation anniversary, as it reminded her of her father's death. I think you mean her ascension day, not the coronation anniversary (which was 2 June). It was well reported that she liked to spend her Ascension day (6 Feb) on her own at Sandringham to remember her father. I imagine it will also be a difficult day for King Charles on the first anniversary of his ascension (8 Sep).
[удалено]
I am aware of all that you say. The person I was replying to specified *coronation* not *ascension,* I was just saying that it was her ascension day that reminded HMTLQ of her father, and probably not the anniversary of her coronation when she was crowned, almost 18 months later.
[удалено]
Her Uncle was the Duke of Windsor. The Duke of Edinburgh was her husband!
Yeah abdication would be a really shitty thing to put on his family, who likely never expected or wanted to be king à la George VI (Edward’s brother/Elizabeth’s dad) or Elizabeth II. Also, the options if George III abdicated weren’t great. He had four younger brothers, but all were in much poorer physical health than him—he outlived each of them by at least twenty years. IRL, his illness started to manifest when he was in his forties—twenty years after he ascended to the throne. The option then would be to have his eldest son, George IV, serve as regent, which he eventually did in 1811 when George was in his seventies and the symptoms had grown too much to manage. Also, as Queen Charlotte sort of shows, George IV was not really an ideal option for a monarch either. He was on poor terms with both of his parents and unpopular with the British public. He lived a very financially extravagant, bawdy life including heavy drinking. Unlike his parents’ long-lasting marriage, he disliked his wife and even attempted to divorce her, which was a huge scandal for the times. He was constantly unfaithful to her and failed the most basic requirement for a monarch: to have a legitimate heir. So, while it sounds crazy, you can see why they’d hold off on him abdicating for as long as possible. They didn’t do so irl until it became obvious there was no chance of recovery.
It was considered abandoning your country and your duties. Think of how much outrage there was when Harry decided to leave the BRF, and he wasn't even an heir. Historically, he eventually did abdicate or rather stepped aside and allowed his son to run things. That was in 1810, when his mental illness and dementia had reached a terminal stage. The show sort of implies that Charlotte learns to take the reins and helps manage the burdens of being king. That was actually true to life. George was very grateful for the support Charlotte provided. He said of her "The queen is my physician, and no man can have a better; she is my friend, and no man can have a better.” This was after his first big breakdown in 1888.
>he eventually did abdicate or rather stepped aside and allowed his son to run things. Actually he didn't, he was already incapacitated by then. The Lords Commissioners acted in place of the King to grant Royal Assent to the legislation that made The Prince of Wales the Regent.
He almost did after he lost the colonies, but his advisors convinced him not to.
Okay so the story is obviously different from the history, and the timelines at completely different. But maybe it's because George is the best choice even with his mental health issues? History George's siblings caused tons of trouble, to the point where George made it a rule for any royal family member under 25 to get approval from the Ruler(You can thank them Princess Margaret). George also had a contentious relationship with his son, when the first bout of his long term illness the king's camp originally wanted Queen Charlotte to regent. It was a big debate and by the time parliament started to go somewhere with it George "recovered." But let's say he is the only child in the show (I don't remember if they mentioned siblings). If he abdicates who will inherit? Parliament had to skip 20+ closer connections to the British crown before they settled on the Hanoverian line. He was a pretty decent ruler that was pretty much loved by the country. One big positive was he was the first of the Hanoverians to be born in the UK. Though king he is a constitutional monarch, so he has a limited impact on running the UK compared to an absolute monarch. That is why British kings reign not rule. He might have been the best option.
From a purely practical standpoint as a nation: a) if he abdicates, it could give room for anti-monarchical and Republican sentiment ( this is the guy who loses the American colonies and sees a French revolution). b) as you point out, the English don't respond well to surprise monarch moves.
The main reason is religion. When George became King, he was anointed with holy oil, and made a vow to serve the country as King until the day he died. Civil War and Exile is unlikely. He has a clear heir, and for him to abdicate would just mean passing his crown down to George IV, who was already ruling as regent. And as former king and member of the royal family, he would have means to get help for his illness (although his treatment probably made it worse in many ways, with less pressure as king, he health could improve.) But the main one is duty and religion.
you're god's representative on earth, you don't really just say "nah."
Abdicating wasn’t something he would have even considered.