Amanda McCabe’s post on Risky Regencies today reminded me that this is the 248th anniversary of the coronation of George III, which took place on September 22nd, 1761. Doesn’t he look natty in his coronation robes?

I’ve taken a proprietary interest in the much-afflicted monarch ever since he played a crucial supporting role in The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. Night Jasmine takes place in 1804, a good forty-three years after his coronation, at which point he would have looked more like this:

I owe George III another debt of gratitude. Back in my law school days, a notoriously crotchety professor decided to stymie the class by reading to us from a contract dated 44 G III. This was clearly a performance he had put on many times before, and one he enjoyed mightily.

“Does anyone know when that was?” he demanded, glaring around the room, where we all sat in tiers, like spectators at a gladiatorial event. There was usually at least some blood on the floor by the end of class.

I raised my hand. “1804?”

His eyebrows (of the particularly bushy variety) drew together. “How did you know that?” he demanded indignantly.

“Well… it’s the forty-fourth year of the reign of George III, which began in 1760.” Sometimes, there are benefits to being a lapsed historian.

He saw one last chance to seize control of the situation. “Ah, but when did the reign end?”

“1820,” I said brightly. Duh.

He let us out early that day. I felt very fond of George III after that.