Blackadder the Third The programme won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series in 1988 and received three further nominations. "Blackadder the Third" is set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period known as the Regency. For much of this time, King George III was incapacitated due to poor mental health, and his son George, the Prince of Wales, acted as regent. During this period, he was known as "the Prince Regent". Although the Regency was in place between 1811 and 1820, the historical events and persons depicted and referenced appear to date the series before this time; anywhere in
Edmund Blackadder is the first man in the dynasty to refer to himself as 'the Black Adder'. The first Blackadder is named after the treacherous Edmond from Shakespeare's "King Lear". He appears in the first series, "The Black Adder", set shortly after The Wars of the Roses. He is the second son of the fictional King Richard IV of England, who, we are told at the beginning, was cast from all historical references by his successor, Henry Tudor. Prince Edmund is a very different character from his descendants: he is slow-witted, cowardly, and the butt of the other characters' jokes. While he