Thomas Paine called him the ‘cruellest tyrant of this age’; but Andrew Roberts is here with a bold and thrilling new take on the monarch who lost the American colonies and later his mind.

In the 21st century, George III is immortalised every night on stage as the pompous, sinister monarch of the musical Hamilton and is widely thought of the most disastrous rulers this nation has ever had. But was he?

One of our most remarkable storytellers joins us with an exhilaratingly original answer. The Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling biographer of Napoleon and Churchill and an internationally celebrated historian, Andrew Roberts has lectured everywhere from the White House to Sandhurst, and his opinions are sought out across the gamut of British and American media. Now he returns to How To Academy for a livestream event to present a bravura account of our most notorious monarch.

Forget the tyrannical, decadent layabout of legend, and meet the intelligent, benevolent patron of the natural sciences, opposed to slavery and adored by the nation; a leader whose support for William Pitt was crucial to the battle against Napoleon, and whose loss of the American colonies ended with grace and not with a desire for vengeance. As he said, ‘I was the last to consent to the separation; but the separation having been made, and having become inevitable, I have always said, and I say now, that I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power.’

In this talk, Prof Roberts will take us through the life and times of this remarkable and unfairly maligned monarch, including a modern, cutting-edge diagnosis of the King’s late madness and a celebration of his unheard virtues.

Don’t miss this chance to hear from one of the most distinguished authorities on the exercise of power and a master orator.