Golden Jubilee of George III
{{Short description|50th anniversary of the monarch's accession}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox recurring event
|name = Golden Jubilee of George III
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| image1 = Jubilee Tower Moel Fammau under a stormy sky.jpg
| alt1 = Jubilee Tower, Moel Fammau
| image2 = Weymouth - King George III Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 953238.jpg
| alt2 = King's Statue in Weymouth
| image3 = Jubilee Rock Blisland (cropped).jpg
| alt3 = Jubilee Rock in Blisland
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|caption = Commemorations of the jubilee, Clockwise: Jubilee Tower on Moel Famau in North Wales; The King's Statue in Weymouth, installed in 1809 and restored in 2007/8; The Jubilee Rock in Blisland, originally decorated in 1810 and restored in 1859 and 1887
|date = 25 October 1809
|genre = Jubilee of British monarch
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|next = Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria
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The Golden Jubilee of George III, also known as the Grand National Jubilee, on 25 October 1809 marked 49 years of King George III's accession to the British and Irish thrones, and his entrance into the 50th year of his reign. It was the first of such festivities to be celebrated in a significant way in the United Kingdom and the Colonies.{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/history-jubilees|title=A history of Jubilees|work=The Royal Family|accessdate=11 January 2022}} The celebrations were relatively limited compared to the jubilees of some of the ensuing British monarchs.{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/jubilee-ation/jubilee-parks/|title=Jubilee-ation! A History of Royal Jubilees in Public Parks|work=Historic England|first=David|last=Lambert|accessdate=11 January 2022}}
History
File:Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) - George III (1738-1820) - RCIN 402405 - Royal Collection.jpg by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1809]]
In March 1809 and with jubilee celebrations approaching, prices for candles began to rise as indoor celebrations were anticipated.{{cite web |url=https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/the-jubilee-of-george-iii |title=The Jubilee of George III |publisher=Jane Austen Centre |date=12 June 2012 |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024083705/https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/uncategorized/the-jubilee-of-george-iii |url-status=dead }} Festivities in India began on 4 June, the King's Official Birthday, with the governor-general throwing a fête in Bombay, which was attended by ambassadors from within the Indian Empire and those from surrounding countries. The celebrations in the United Kingdom started with a ball at the Town Hall{{clarify|date=October 2024}} on 24 October 1809.{{cite web|url=https://www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk/museum/document/WTH0449|title=King George III Golden Jubilee|work=Wokingham Virtual Museum|accessdate=11 January 2022}} The following day, the King and the Queen, along with the Duke of York, Princess Elizabeth, and the Duke of Sussex, marked the event with a private service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and the King inspected a troop of soldiers, though he was not able to take part in most of the ensuing celebrations due to his declining health.{{cite web|url=https://lady.co.uk/now-thats-celebration-or-200-years-royal-jubilees|title=Now that's a celebration! (or 200 years of Royal Jubilees)|work=The Lady|first=Judith|last=Millidge|date=11 January 2022}} The Royal Horse Guards organised an ox roast in Bachelors' Acre, Windsor, which was attended by the Queen, the Duke of York, the Duke of Kent, Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Cumberland, and the Duke of Sussex, who were later joined by the Prince of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales. The Windsor Guildhall had built a massive ornate arch across the road, which the royal family and the accompanying party passed through as they entered town.{{cite web|url=https://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/index.php/9-events/23-1809-george-iii-s-golden-jubilee|title=1809 George III's Golden Jubilee|work=Hungerford Virtual Museum|accessdate=11 January 2022}} "A grand fête and firework display" at Frogmore was planned and attended by the Queen, accompanied by the dukes of York, Clarence, and Sussex, and the princesses Augusta, Elizabeth, and Sophia. Among other attendees were the Earl of Uxbridge, the Earl and Countess Harcourt, the Earl and Countess of Cardigan, and lords St Helens and Walsingham.
Shops were closed to allow for people's participation in festivities and the Lord Mayor of London and the City of London Corporation took part in a procession to St Paul's Cathedral, which culminated in a service of thanksgiving and later a dinner at the Mansion House. Around 400 merchants and bankers met at the Merchant Taylors' Hall, where they were joined by the earls of Westmorland, Chatham, Bathurst, Camden, Liverpool, St Vincent, as well as lords Harrowby, Mulgrave and Berkshire. A number of children were christened Jubilee George or Jubilee Charlotte in honour of the King and Queen.
{{anchor|Medals}}Military deserters and prisoners of war were pardoned and debtors were discharged, excluding those who were of French origin due to the ongoing Napoleonic Wars. Among landmarks commissioned to mark the occasion were a monument erected in Windsor and unveiled in the presence of the Queen, the King's Statue in Weymouth, the Jubilee Rock in Blisland, and the Jubilee Tower in Moel Famau.{{Cite web |url=http://cornishmemory.com/item/WAT_03_065 |title=Jubilee Rock, Blisland, 1910s · cornishmemory.com |website=cornishmemory.com |access-date=2019-05-02}}{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=16438 |desc=Jubilee Monument|grade=II|access-date=3 April 2019}} A special series of jugs were also produced in Liverpool to commemorate the jubilee.{{cite book|title=The Herculaneum Pottery: Liverpool's Forgotten Glory|author=Peter Hyland|year=2005|isbn=9780853239697|publisher=Liverpool University Press|page=63}} Two sets of medals were also struck, the King George III Jubilee Medal and the King George III and Queen Charlotte Jubilee Medal.
In Ireland, a ball was held at Dublin Castle on 27 October 1809 to mark the Jubilee, hosted by Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond, whose husband was then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.{{Cite web|url=https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000264480|title=Ladies ticket: a jubilee to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of our great & good king [George III]|first=Charlotte|last=Richmond|date=8 March 1809}} Charles Johnston Coote hosted a large party on 25 October at Bellamont Forest, Cootehill.{{Cite web|url=https://www.anglocelt.ie/2024/09/22/times-past-partying-like-its-1809-at-bellamont/#slide2|title=Times Past: Partying like it’s 1809 at Bellamont|date=22 September 2024|website=Anglo Celt}} In Belfast, there were illuminations at the Nelson Club and Exchange Rooms, and a "transparency" (projection) of the King was displayed at Donegall Place. Girls born around the time were called "Jubilee."Benn, G. (1880:75). A History of the Town of Belfast: From the Earliest Times to the Close of the Eighteenth Century ; with Maps and Illustrations. United Kingdom: Marcus Ward. The goldsmiths of Dublin established an asylum for aged members called the Goldsmiths' Jubilee Asylum.HARDY, P. D. (1831:245). The New Picture of Dublin: Or, Stranger's Guide Through the Irish Metropolis; with a Map and Eighteen ... Engravings. Ireland: W. Curry, Jun. and Company.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Jubilees of British monarchs}}
{{George III}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1809 in the United Kingdom