George II of Great Britain
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George II (George Augustus) (10 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. He was the second British monarch of the House of Hanover, and the last British monarch to personally lead his troops into battle (at Dettingen in 1743). He was also the last British monarch to have been born outside of Great Britain.
George II was famous for his numerous conflicts with his father and afterwards with his son (a seemingly common problem for members of the Hanoverian dynasty). His relationship with his wife was much better, despite his numerous mistresses. George II exercised little control over policy during his early reign, the government instead being controlled by Great Britain's first (unofficial) "Prime Minister", Sir Robert Walpole.
Early life
Duke George Augustus of Hanover was born at Schloss Herrenhausen, Hanover. He was the son of the then-George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his wife, Sophia of Celle; the latter's alleged adultery led to them being divorced in 1694. George never saw his mother again, though it is said he once tried to swim the moat of the castle of Ahlden in order to reach her. When his father succeeded to the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1698, Prince George became Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He married Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1705.The Act of Settlement 1701 devised the British Crown to the Hereditary Prince's grandmother Sophia of Hanover if the then-ruling monarch, William III, and his sister-in-law, the Princess Anne of Denmark, both died without issue. Under the Act of Settlement, the Hereditary Prince became a naturalised English subject in 1705. Anne, who had succeeded to the English Throne in 1702, admitted the Hereditary Prince to the Order of the Garter in 1706. She created him Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton and Baron Tewkesbury later the same year.
Queen Anne died on August 1, 1714, shortly after the demise of the Electress Sophia (d. June 8, 1714). Consequently, Sophia's son George inherited the Throne. George I's son, the Prince George, automatically became Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay and Earl of Carrick. His father created him Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 27 September, 1714.
The Prince of Wales had an extremely poor relationship with his father. When the Princess of Wales gave birth to Prince George William in 1717, a family quarrel ensued; at the baptism, the Prince of Wales insisted on having the Duke of Newcastle (whom the King detested) as a godfather, whilst the King chose his brother, the Duke of York and Albany. When he publicly vituperated his father, the Prince of Wales was temporarily put under arrest. Afterwards, the King banished his son from St. James's Palace, the King's residence, and excluded him from all public ceremonies.
The Prince of Wales did all in his power to encourage opposition to George I's policies. His London residence, Leicester House, became a meeting place for his father's opponents, including Sir Robert Walpole and Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend. In 1720, Walpole encouraged George I and his son to reconcile. In the same year, Walpole made a return to political office, from which he had been excluded since 1717.
In 1721, the economic disaster of the South Sea Bubble allowed Sir Robert Walpole to rise to the pinnacle of government. Walpole and his Whig Party were dominant in politics, for George I feared that the Tories did not support the succession laid down in the Act of Settlement. The power of the Whigs was so great that the Tories would not come to hold power for another half-century. Sir Robert Walpole essentially controlled British government, but, by joining the King's side, lost the favour of the Prince of Wales.
Early reign
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George II succeeded to the throne at the time of his father's death on June 11, 1727, but a battle of wills continued with his son and heir, The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales. George II may have planned to exile his son to the British colonies, but, in any event, did not actually do so. George was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 4 October. The Hanoverian composer George Frideric Handel was commissioned to write four new anthems for the coronation; one of them, Zadok the Priest, has been sung at every coronation since.
It was widely believed that George would dismiss Sir Robert Walpole, who had distressed him by joining his father's government. It was widely believed that Walpole would be replaced by Sir Spencer Compton; George requested Compton—not Walpole—to write his first speech for him. Compton, however, requested Walpole for aid in the task, leading George's wife, Queen Caroline, an ardent supporter of Sir Robert Walpole, to claim that he was incompetent. George did not behave obstinately; instead, he agreed with his wife and retained Sir Robert Walpole as Prime Minister. Walpole slowly gained the royal favour, securing a generous civil list of £800,000 for the King.
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