He was proud of his daughter who had won the race for an heir to the old King. The fact that he died before Victoria was a year old weighed heavily on her and she was continually looking for a father figure which she found in her uncle, King Leopold of the Belgians, and later her husband, Prince Albert. Today known as the Royal Glen Hotel, the building where Edward died at Sidmouth may still be seen. The room itself is simply furnished with period features and contemporary pictures. When her Mother died, Queen Victoria found a sketch of the room. She would continue to collect memorabilia of her Father.
It is maybe no coincidence that when it came to assigning her children Labels of Difference for their Coats of Arms, although following the general pattern of her Grandfather, Victoria managed to assign her late Father's Arms to HRH Prince Arthur, generally held to be her favourite son. Not only that, she also created him Duke of Connaught and Starthearn. Her Father's full title was Duke of Kent and Strathearn...
Although technically entitled to carry her late Father's Coat of Arms on a Lozenge-shaped Shield, Edward's daughter Victoria was never assigned her own Label even though she gained her majority at the age of 18 while still a princess. Maybe the imminent death of her Uncle, King William IV and her own succession as Queen thereby, made everyone think it wasn't worth bothering about.
In late 1810, at the height of his popularity, already virtually blind with cataracts and in pain from rheumatism, George became dangerously ill. In his view the malady had been triggered by stress over the death of his youngest and favourite daughter, Princess Amelia. The Princess's nurse reported that "the scenes of distress and crying every day ... were melancholy beyond description." He accepted the need for the Regency Act 1811, and the Prince of Wales acted as Regent for the remainder of George III's life. Despite signs of a recovery in May 1811, by the end of the year George had become permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death.
George's health deteriorated. He became completely blind and increasingly deaf. He was incapable of knowing or understanding that he was declared King of Hanover in 1814, or that his wife had died in 1818. At Christmas 1819, he spoke nonsense for 58 hour but then, for the last few weeks of his life, was unable to walk. He died at Windsor Castle at 8:38 pm on 29th January 1820, six days after the death of his fourth son, Edward. His favourite son, Frederick, Duke of York, was with him.
King George's varying Coats of Arms, highlighting not only his own journey through life but that of the country, were featured in the following Blog.