The king who lost the American colonies before he lost his mind, King George III, is defined by more than the American Revolutionary War and his later “madness.” He set a number of records for the monarchy and helped to further transform it into the institution that we recognize today. From a large family to the first palace Christmas tree, there’s quite a lot about King George III that you might not know. You’d be “mad” to skip this article about one of the most influential Hanoverians in the history of the Crown.

A Bit Early

Many parents know the anxiety that surrounds the premature birth of a child, and George’s parents, Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, were no different. George arrived two months early, and it was thought that he wouldn’t survive, so his parents had him baptized the same day.

A First

George was also the first Hanoverian monarch to be born in the United Kingdom, as his grandfather and great-grandfather were both born in present-day Germany.

Skipping a Turn

While his father, Frederick, was the heir presumptive to King George II, Frederick unfortunately died from a lung abscess (caused by either a cricket ball or a tennis ball) in 1751. George inherited his father’s title of Duke of Edinburgh, and while George II had shown little interest in his grandchildren before, he became a lot more invested in his eldest grandson. He created the younger George as Prince of Wales three weeks after Frederick’s death, and when George II died in 1760, George III ascended the throne at the age of twenty-two.

A Golden Ride

King George III commissioned the Golden State Coach in 1760 at a cost of £7,562 (nearly £280,000 today). The Golden State Coach is still used by the Royal Family for official functions.

Love Makes You Crazy

As a young man, George fell for Lady Sarah Lennox—and he fell hard. In fact, he was a bit obsessed with her. When he heard she might be interested in another man, he locked himself in his room for hours. He also had trouble sleeping. It took his mother’s adviser, Lord Bute, to knock him out of it by convincing him that Lennox wouldn’t make a good match. King George II tried to pair him off with Princess Sophie Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, but Prince George and his mother resisted that idea. George would marry Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1761, with their wedding being the first time they ever met. Despite not having an extended courtship, they had quite a loving marriage that produced a total of fifteen children.

A Palace Fit for a Queen

George loved Charlotte so much that he purchased Buckingham House from John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normandy, in 1761. The house was to serve as her private retreat that was close to court functions at St. James’s Palace and was known as Queen’s House while she lived there. The name Buckingham Palace was first used in 1791, and the first monarch to use it as their primary residence was Queen Victoria.

Farmer George

King George III had a great interest in agriculture and a significant library on the subject, which ended up earning him the nickname “Farmer George.”

The First Christmas Tree

While Prince Albert gets the credit for introducing the Christmas Tree to Britain, he wasn’t the first royal to bring the custom into the royal palace. Queen Charlotte actually brought the tradition into Buckingham Palace from her native Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Mental Illness

No one really seems to know what caused George III’s bout of temporary insanity from 1788 to 1789, though theories range from genetic porphyria to arsenic, which was common in medicines and cosmetics of the time. While he recovered from this first mania in 1810, he became permanently deranged, and his son, Prince George, had to act as Prince Regent.

Long May He Reign

From 1760 to his death in 1820, King George III spent nearly 60 years on the throne, dying just a couple of months shy of his Diamond Jubilee. While Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II have reigned for much longer, George III is still the longest-reigning king in the United Kingdom’s history.