Portrait of King George II by Thomas Hudson. George courted the English and quickly became much more popular than his father, which became a source of resentment between the two. He arrived with his father in England in 1714 and was formally invested as the Prince of Wales. George II (1727-60)īorn and brought up in northern Germany, George had received honours and titles from England since it became clear he was in the line of succession. However, he did leave the succession secure for his son, George. Historians have struggled to understand George’s personality and motivation – he remains elusive and to all accounts, was relatively private. It was during his reign that the monarchy, whilst theoretically absolute, became increasingly accountable to Parliament: Robert Walpole became a de facto Prime Minister and George never really used many of the powers that were technically attributed to him as a monarch. George was a relatively successful ruler, managing to quash numerous Jacobite rebellions. Many were also scandalised by George’s treatment of his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, who he kept a virtual prisoner for over 30 years back in her native Celle. Legend has it he barely spoke English when he first arrived in England, although this is a dubious claim. George was not initially very popular: riots accompanied his coronation and many were uncomfortable about a foreigner ruling them. He became heir presumptive to the English Crown in 1714 following the death of his mother, and a few months later, ascended to the throne when Queen Anne died. Shortly after this, it became clear that George was much nearer to the English throne that first thought thanks to his Protestantism: in 1701 he was invested with the Order of the Garter, and in 1705, a law was passed to naturalise his mother and her heirs as English subjects so it would be possible for them to inherit. The second cousin of Queen Anne, George was born in Hanover, heir to the German Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which he inherited in 1698, along with the title Elector of Hanover. The Britain Victoria left in 1901 was dramatically different to the one the German-born George I arrived in in 1714. They lost America but oversaw the rise of the British Empire to span nearly 25% of the world’s population and surface area. But the six Hanoverian monarchs were some of Britain’s most colourful characters – their reigns were filled with scandal, intrigue, jealousy, happy marriages and terrible familial relationships. Despite their not insignificant place in British history, the monarchs of the House of Hanover are often glossed over. The House of Hanover ruled Britain for nearly 200 years, and this dynasty oversaw the modernisation of Britain.
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