with the insertion in his own writing, ‘Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain;’ the word Britain was thought to denote the influence of Bute, who was a Scot (ib. p. 231), and whom the king had made a privy councillor; but in 1804 George, in a private conversation, declared that the alteration was ‘suggested to him by no one’ (Rose, Diaries, ii. 189). The king surrendered the hereditary revenues, and his civil list was fixed at 800,000l. He acquired great popularity by recommending parliament to provide that judges' commissions should not expire on the demise of the crown. It was remarked that tories now attended the court, and that prerogative became a fashionable word (Walpole, George III, i. 16). George appears to have fallen in love with Lady Sarah Lennox, sister of the Duke of Richmond, and to have received some encouragement; for when he rode towards Hammersmith, as he often did in the summer of 1761, Lady Sarah would be making hay in the grounds of Holland House, the residence of her brother-in-law (ib. p. 62; Wraxall, Memoirs, i. 302; Grenville Papers, iv. 209). However, the affair came to nothing, and Colonel David Graeme was sent to visit the protestant courts of Europe to look out a suitable wife for him. The result of his mission was that on 8 Sept., at about ten in the evening, George married Charlotte Sophia [q. v.], younger sister of Adolphus Frederick IV, reigning duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in the chapel of St. James's. On the 22nd he and his queen were crowned. In returning to Westminster Hall, the great diamond fell out of the king's crown, which was afterwards held to have been ominous (Annual Register, 1761, pp. 205–42). George was a model of domestic virtue. He and his queen lived much in private, sometimes at Windsor, where he used to take great interest in the doings of the Eton boys, who still celebrate his birthday, sometimes at Richmond Lodge, and when in London at Buckingham House, then often called the ‘queen's house,’ for it was bought for the queen's use. The king indulged in no public amusement except the theatre, did not dine with his nobles, and was accused of affecting the privacy of an ‘Asiatic prince.’
Great discontent prevailed at the elevation of Bute and the influence which he and the princess exercised over the king, and many coarse jeers were levelled at them, and some at the king also. George, however, was determined to give Bute high ministerial office, to get rid of his present ministers, and to bring about a peace with France, a step which Bute strongly recommended. A scheme was arranged, according to which Lord Holderness, a secretary of state, was persuaded, or rather bribed, to resign in March 1761, and the king appointed Bute as his successor. George dismissed Legge, chancellor of the exchequer, in favour of William Wildman Barrington, lord Barrington [q. v.] Negotiations were opened with France, and it became evident that the king and Bute designed to get rid of Pitt, who was likely to oppose the terms of peace (Bedford Correspondence, iii. 19, 20, 2 July). George was encouraged in this resolve by the jealousy with which Pitt was regarded by the majority of the cabinet ministers, and also probably by a pamphlet attributed to Lord Bath and written by his chaplain, John Douglas (1721–1807) [q. v.], entitled ‘Seasonable Hints from an Honest Man on the New Reign,’ which defended the new theory of government (Lecky, iii. 22). Pitt, who was convinced that Spain was preparing to join France, urged a declaration of war, and highly disapproved of the concessions which the king, Bute, and other members of the cabinet were proposing to make. George every day grew more offended with him, and plainly showed that he ‘wanted to get rid of him at all events’ (Life of Hardwicke, iii. 256). On 5 Oct. Pitt felt constrained to resign the seals. The king treated him with extreme graciousness, and pressed rewards upon him, with the intention, it may fairly be surmised, of lessening his popularity (Rockingham Memoirs, i. 47). Pitt accepted a reward, which for the moment roused popular indignation. He quickly regained his popularity, and when, on 9 Nov., the king and queen dined in state at the Guildhall, he was received with enthusiasm, while the king's reception, though magnificent, was extremely chilling, and Bute's carriage was attacked in the streets. George had from the first treated Newcastle with extreme coldness (Life of Hardwicke, iii. 230), but the duke still clung to office. Although first lord of the treasury, he complained that, with a trifling exception, the king had never attended to a single recommendation he had made; all patronage was taken out of his hands, and seven peers were created without his having been told of the king's intention. On 14 May 1762 he told the king that he must resign. George merely replied, ‘Then, my lord, I must fill your place as I can;’ but when he was at last forced to resign on the 26th, George condescended to solicit his support (Bedford Correspondence, iii. 115). The king made Bute first minister, and gave him the Garter; other changes of office had already taken place, and in spite of the general clamour George gained his point. In June he was attacked with a serious illness, which set in with a cold and cough; drastic remedies were used, and by the 20th
