Twenty-six days after his birth, he was baptised at St James's Palace by Bishop of London John Robinson.

The infant's parents wanted to call the baby Louis, and suggested the Queen in Prussia and the Duke of York as sponsors.

The King chose the names George William,[3] and, supposedly following custom, appointed the Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Newcastle, as one of the baptismal sponsors of the child.

[5] Caroline fell sick with worry, and fainted during a secret visit to her children made without the King's approval.

When George William died at three months of age, a post-mortem was conducted to prove that the cause of death was disease (a polyp on the heart) rather than the separation from his mother.