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Lord Kenneth Baker shares amusing and irreverent images that provide new insight into the story of one of England's most-well known but least-understood monarchs, George III.

George III ruled during the golden age of English caricature (1760-1820) at a time when both England and the world were undergoing drastic changes. Yet he remains a dim figure, remembered mainly for his failures (losing America) and his "madness", which turns out to have been not mental but physical. He was highly unpopular for much of his reign, and this judgment is spectacularly endorsed by hundreds of contemporary caricatures. Through caricatures George III suffered at the hands of the genius of Gillray, the robustness of Rowlandson, and the skillful darts of Cruikshank. In his illustrated lecture, Lord Baker shares these amusing and irreverent images, many of which have never been published before, and provide new insight into the story of one of England's most-well known but least-understood monarchs.

Kenneth Baker brings his own extensive experience in politics to this examination of George III's life. He entered the House of Commons in 1968 and served as Environment Secretary and Education Secretary under Margaret Thatcher and as Home Secretary in John Major's government. He now sits in the House of Lords. Baker is the author of a number of books, including various anthologies of poetry; his memoirs of life under Thatcher, The Turbulent Years, and George IV: A Life in Caricature.