From The Telegraph: Letters from King George III to his son Prince William have been unearthed.
A remarkable series of letters sent by King George III to his son Prince William IV have been unearthed in which he offers fatherly advice on joining the Royal Navy as well as scoldings for disobedience and falling into debt.
The correspondence to the young prince reflects the full gamut of parental emotions – including as certain amount anticipation and pride in his son but also considerable disappointment and anger at his profligacy, poor manners and ill-chosen company.
On joining the Prince George as a 13 year old midshipman in 1779, William is advised: [continue]
Gah! Pardon my pedantry, I wouldn’t care if this wasn’t from a British newspaper, but “Prince William IV” is meaningless. At the time he got the letters he was “Prince William” or “William, Duke of Clarence”; later he was “King William IV”. Princes don’t get numbers. Only Kings and American bankers get numbers.
Pity, though, because it’s interesting stuff. Poor old George III was not lucky in his children. Apparently the first sign of his madness was when he tried to murder the Prince of Wales; I would have said that was good evidence of his sanity.