I know a guy who -- whenever someone says "You're crazy" to him -- responds with , "Yrah, but I'm saving up for 'eccentric.'"
That's a nod to the principle that behavior that would commit a poor man to the asylum is brushed aside as "eccentric" among the rich and powerful.
That's even more true of a reigning king than of an ordinary rich man.
In 1811, though, King George III became so obviously crazy that not even his ministers could ignore it. His son, the Price of Wales was made regent.
This produced the period of English history called "The Regency." It lasted until 1820, when George III died, and the Prince Regent became King George IV.
Jane Austen lived during this period and wrote of it. 20th-cenntury writers fell in love with the period, and created the genre called, "Regency Romances." They consciously ape Austen, but there are notable distinctions.
1) Austen wrote about county society.
Regency-romance writers concentrate on "the Ton," the apex of London society. The word meant "fashionable society."
2) Austen's subjects ranged from quite comfortable to notably rich, but they were not titled. Austen described *MR.* Darcy's estate so lovingly that modern literary critics believe that they have identified the original; it was a ducal residence. Austen, OTOH, did not give Darcy a title.
Regency-romance authors nearly always give their heroes a title, and Duke much more often than baron.
3) Although Austen's novels take place during the Napoleonic wars, she barely mentions them.
Well, my Tarleton universe, the first story of which is _Councils of War,_ which began recently, are Regency romances. I make 2 exceptions.
1) I know a little history, and where Regency romances ignore historical conditions, I reserve the right to be slightly more realistic.
2) I'm quite ready to run past 1820.
Enjoy!