The great passion of King George III (1760-1820) was architecture. As a pupil of William Chambers and a patron of Robert Adam, James "Athenian" Stuart and James Wyatt, the King well understood the significance of public buildings in the cultural life of a nation. In fact, it was his choice of Gothic for the refurbishment of Windsor Castle that helped establish it as the national style.
George III's interest in manufacturing, the scientific revolution and agricultural improvement places him firmly in the Age of the Enlightenment. His achievements are now re-examined in the light of recent studies of the court as the formative institution in politics and culture between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. His active interests in Hanover and the Holy Roman Empire are considered, and his patronage of architects and gardeners is placed in the context of work commissioned by his relatives and children in the princely courts of Germany.