The colonies declared themselves independent from King George III. He was Britain’s reigning monarch during the American Revolution, and the Declaration of Independence identifies him as the king whose authority the colonies rejected.
George III became king in 1760 and ruled throughout the period of rising conflict between Britain and its North American colonies. Disputes over taxation, representation, trade regulation, and imperial authority intensified after the French and Indian War, eventually leading to armed rebellion in 1775.
The Declaration’s second half presents a long list of grievances against the king, although many colonial complaints also concerned Parliament and British policies more broadly. The document framed the political break as independence from the British Crown and government.
The other monarchs listed are from different periods. George II died in 1760, William IV reigned from 1830 to 1837, and Edward VII reigned from 1901 to 1910. None was Britain’s king during the American Declaration of Independence.