Who was the last British monarch to rule over the American colonies?

George III was the last British monarch to rule over the American colonies.

He became king in 1760, shortly before Britain’s victory over France in the Seven Years’ War expanded British power in North America. During his reign, Britain’s mainland colonies became increasingly resistant to taxation and imperial regulation, especially after measures introduced to recover the costs of the war.

The thirteen colonies declared independence in 1776, beginning the American Revolutionary War. George III remained Britain’s monarch throughout the conflict, but the Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally recognized the United States as independent. Britain retained other possessions in North America and the Caribbean, so the answer refers specifically to the thirteen colonies that became the United States.

George II is sometimes chosen because he ruled during much of the colonial period, but he died in 1760. George IV succeeded George III only after the American colonies had already separated from Britain.