Did King George III ever accept the loss of the 13 British colonies in 1783? King George III of Great Britain was deeply disappointed and reluctant to accept the loss of the 13 American colonies following the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which formally ended the American Revolutionary War. The king had a strong belief in the divine right of monarchs and the unity of the British Empire. The loss of the American colonies was a significant blow to his reign and to Britain’s imperial aspirations.
While he did eventually acknowledge the reality of the situation and worked with his government to establish diplomatic relations with the newly independent United States, he never fully accepted or came to terms with the loss of the colonies. He continued to harbor hopes of regaining British control over the American territories, although these hopes were never realized.
King George III’s reluctance to accept the loss of the 13 colonies is evident in his later correspondence and actions, but over time, as the United States established itself as a sovereign nation and developed its own political and economic institutions, the reality of American independence became increasingly clear to both the king and the British government.
