George III is the British monarch named in the Declaration of Independence as “the present King of Great Britain.”
The Declaration addressed its grievances to George III and listed actions the colonial authors attributed to his government. These complaints included interference with colonial legislation, restrictions on trade, military measures, and the use of officials whose authority was presented as harmful to colonial self-government.
George III reigned from 1760 until 1820, making him the monarch during the American Revolutionary War. The Declaration’s language criticized the king as part of its legal and political argument for separation, but the document also directed many complaints toward Parliament and imperial administration.
He is sometimes confused with George II, who ruled during an earlier period, or George IV, who succeeded him. George III’s long reign covered the crisis that produced the Declaration and the war that followed America’s announcement of independence.