The longest-reigning king in English history, King George III, is getting a new, public inspection after the British Royal Archives released a massive trove of documents made under his rule to the internet.

"Seeing original documents is utterly compelling," said Royal Archives librarian Oliver Urquhart Irvine. "You can feel the passion, personality, worries and triumphs of individuals who have shaped major events. It can change your perspective of history."

King George III is commonly labeled "mad" or "the king who lost America" according to the Georgian Papers Programme, which hopes releasing the documents will give a new look into a "complex, engaged polymath and highly informed monarch."

The database for the newly released documents has the support of Queen Elizabeth II, who has served as England's longest-serving monarch.

Presiding over history

King George III was king from 1760 to 1820, and ruled over the American colonies until the Treaty of Paris created the US as a separate nation following the American Revolution. Some of the documents included in Saturday's release will involve the revolutionary war.

One of the documents that will be released will be his handwritten draft abdicating the throne in 1783, the year the treaty was signed. The letter was laden with corrections and written during a political crisis.

"I am therefore resolved to resign my Crown and all the dominions appertaining to it to the Prince of Wales, my eldest son and lawful successor," reads the letter which was never used.

Also to be released Saturday are King George III's personal exchanges with Queen Charlotte and the handing of power to his eldest son, King George IV.

More to come

The documents have been stored in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle for more than a century. The tower is a royal residence located west of London.

The documents to be published Saturday are part of an ongoing five year project to digitize more than 350,000 documents in the archives' collection of Georgian papers, covering the reigns of the first four kings named George between 1714-1837.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria The record-setting monarch Queen Elizabeth became England's monarch on February 6, 1962, the day her father, King George VI, died. Since then she has ruled over the United Kingdom, and has been head of the Commonwealth and the Church of England. On the evening of September 9, 2015, the 89-year-old becomes the longest reigning British monarch of all time.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria Victoria's heyday Until now, Queen Victoria (1819-1901) held the record for the longest time on the throne. She became Queen in 1837 and held the office until her death: 63 years and seven months. Spanning several generations, her reign impacted an entire era, which was named after her. During the Victorian Era, Britain experienced economic growth and its empire reached the climax of its power.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria The world's oldest monarch Queen Elizabeth has already been the oldest monarch in British history since December 20, 2007. This was the first of Victoria's records broken by Elizabeth. Victoria was 81 years, seven months and 29 days old when she died. Queen Elizabeth turned 89 this year, on April 21. She became the oldest monarch in the world when Abdullah of Saudi Arabia passed away on January 23, 2015.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria Only one Empress of India Queen Victoria still has one up on Elizabeth, however. On January 1, 1877, she became the first British monarch to hold the title Empress of India, which incorporated India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar at the time. In 1947, India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria The royal couple Queen Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. They had nine children together. When Albert died in December 1861 at the young age of 42, Victoria fell into depression and largely withdrew from public life.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria The Queen in Germany Queen Elizabeth has visited Germany seven times during her reign. She came for the first time in May 1965. She is pictured here in Bonn with Heinrich Lübke, who was Germany's 39-year-old president at the time. During that first visit, the Queen spent 11 days touring Germany, including stops in the capital, Bonn, divided Berlin, and 16 additional cities.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria Elizabeth and the Germans In June 2015, the Queen visited Germany once again. She's pictured here with her husband, Prince Philip, German President Joachim Gauck and his wife, Daniela Schadt, in front of the presidential residence in Berlin. Queen Elizabeth also went to Frankfurt and paid a visit to the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was liberated by British soldiers at the end of World War II.

Queen Elizabeth passes up Victoria Another record awaits Queen Elizabeth is currently the oldest monarch in the world and now the longest reigning in Britain. But she's not the longest reigning royal in the world. That title goes to Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who spent 69 years on the throne. He became monarch on June 9, 1946 at the age of 18. He is still widely respected in Thailand today. Author: Nikolas Fischer / kbm



kbd/bw (AFP, AP)