George III (June 4, 1738 – January 29, 1820)

We are in the middle of watching “Queen Charlotte” on Netflix. It has reminded me that I had yet to tackle the birth chart of her husband, George III. In particular, I wanted to see if his madness had an astrological explanation.

By this time, George’s health was deteriorating. He had a mental illness characterised by acute mania, which was possibly a symptom of the genetic disease porphyria, although this has been questioned: the original authors of the theory, Ida Macalpine and her son Richard Hunter, were “highly selective” in choosing evidence to support their claim. The most likely diagnosis, using more recent techniques, is bipolar disorder. However, a study of samples of the King’s hair published in 2005 revealed high levels of arsenic, a cause of metabolic blood disorders and thus a possible trigger for porphyria. The source of the arsenic is not known, but it could have been a component of medicines or cosmetics.

Wikipedia

This chart was already on my computer program, so I’ll leave it as is. There are two inconjuncts.

Sun Inconjunct Moon

This aspect suggests that there is a subtle conflict going on inside that may sometimes create emotional problems. The Sun signifies your conscious personality, the way in which you act and the kinds of activities that you like to get involved in. The Moon signifies the emotional and less conscious side of you. It indicates the habits that take over when you are not acting consciously and feelings that come up from deep inside you. The inconjunct aspect between the Sun and Moon means that the Sun part of your personality is quite different from the Moon part, and it may be hard for you to relate them to each other. It is as if you are divided in two, so that whenever you have to make an important decision, especially one that involves your feelings, the different sides of your personality want to go in opposite directions. You sometimes find it difficult to decide if you like something or if you want to take part in some activity.

Uranus Inconjunct Ascendant

Your need for freedom may interfere with your close relationships. When you are with others, even those you like, you feel restless but you can’t get up and leave because you want to be with them. This is typical of the ambiguity that comes with this transit. Certainly, the more others try to restrict your freedom of movement, the more you try to get away.

The restless energies of this aspect should be given some kind of release, because otherwise they can turn inward to create the kind of rash and compulsive actions that lead to accidents. If you have accidents, it is not because you are unlucky, but because you are not careful at critical times. Learn to avoid any kind of dangerous activity when you are nervous, upset or feel that your energies are scattered.

But that conjunction between the Moon and Uranus may have been the trigger for his illness.

Moon Conjunct Uranus

Unfortunately this aspect can indicate emotional problems in your early home life. When you were very young, something may have happened that upset your life when it should have been perfectly peaceful. In this case, you may feel anxious and mentally restless much of the time. You may also feel that you can’t depend on other people, so it would be a good idea to avoid situations in which you have to depend on others. It isn’t that they are so unreliable, it is simply that you have a strong need to be on your own terms emotionally.

I wonder what that “something” was?

Was Charlotte a Good Match for George III?

This is where astrology gets behind the story and tells us some truths that we would otherwise ignore.

When I first did Charlotte‘s birth chart, I rectified the timing. Little did I know that that would make Charlotte’s Ascendant (almost) exactly aligned with George’s Ascendant @ 3° Leo. That fact, on its own, would make them a great team. The other links between them only strengthen their ties. It’s no wonder that George and Charlotte would remain faithful to each other (in spite of his illness) and have fifteen children together, of which thirteen lived to see adulthood. This was a great match, made in heaven.