What do you usually think of when you read the words “Regency era” vs “Georgian era”?

Georgian era: 1714-1830 (arguably until 1837)

Long Regency: 1789-1830

Official Regency: 1811-1820

The Georgian era covers 123 years, including part of the 18th century and part of the 19th century. It was so named because of four consecutive King Georges: King George I, King George II, King George III, and King George IV.

Arguably, this period also includes William IV’s brief rule from 1830-1837 since he was King George III’s son, but not all historians include him, thus ending the era as early as 1830. (Personally, I include him and see the Georgian era as being from 1714-1837. The reasons to include or not to include have more to do with the topic of discussion than anything, namely the power of Parliament and what reforms they were or were not able to enact.)

The Regency era was only 9 years of that 123-year stretch. During those 9 years, Prince George became Prince Regent because King George III was incapacitated.

While the official Regency was only 9 years, many historians recognize what is called the “long Regency,” which includes a little over 10 years before Prince George became Prince Regent plus the 10 years after he was crowned King George IV.

The “long Regency” began during February 1789 when Parliament first discussed Prince George as needing to act on his father’s behalf. King George III was not anticipated to recover, which was poor timing since the French Revolution was moments away, and Britain needed a strong ruler in anticipation of war. King George III did recover, however briefly, thus delaying the need for a regent. Despite the delay, Prince George was required to exercise sovereignty throughout the 1790s, as needed, but everything was done that could be done to mask the severity of George III’s illness and maintain the country’s morale.

Prince George was named Prince Regent in 1811 and acted in that capacity until 1820 when he was crowned king. He ruled as King George IV from 1820-1830. His brother ruled from 1830-1837, at which time Queen Victoria was crowned, thus beginning the Victorian era.

The Georgian era is considered “the long 18th century,” which includes the entire first portion of the 19th century because the George’s wished to continue what had been and were doggedly against any sort of change, be it constitutional change or otherwise. The culture, architecture, politics, social contexts, laws, and more were consistent throughout the Georgian rule. Yes, we see progress and changes, but such are subtle, no large-scale reforms. Two revolutions, a myriad of wars, the long arm of imperialism, the start of a new century, and four crowned kings, yet the country remained “stuck” in 18th century mores until 1830 when Parliament was able to enact elements of reform. It is up to you to decide if the "stuck" element of the long 18th century was positive or negative. Were they "stuck" in the past, or were they conservatively embracing tradition and what they believed worked successfully? It's up to you to decide!