George II of Great Britain

1.1. Birth and Childhood

George was born on November 9, 1683, in the city of Hanover, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the only son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I), and Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Three years after his birth, his sister, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, was born. In 1694, his parents' marriage was dissolved due to their mutual infidelity, with the pretext that Sophia Dorothea had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and was denied access to her two children, who reportedly never saw their mother again. This early experience of parental conflict and his mother's tragic isolation profoundly impacted George.

1.2. Education and Upbringing

Until the age of four, George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and court life at the time. He later learned German from one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he diligently studied English and Italian. His education also focused on genealogy, military history, and battle tactics, areas in which he showed particular interest and which would prove useful in his later life as a military leader. His second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1702. Despite seventeen pregnancies, her only surviving child died in 1700. Consequently, the Parliament of England, through the Act of Settlement 1701, designated George's grandmother, Sophia of Hanover, and her Protestant descendants as Anne's heirs. This placed George third in line to the British throne. He was naturalized as an English subject in 1705 by the Sophia Naturalization Act. In 1706, he was made a Knight of the Garter and created Duke and Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton, and Baron Tewkesbury in the Peerage of England. Following the Acts of Union 1707, England and Scotland united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, jointly accepting the succession established by the English Act of Settlement.

In June 1705, under the pseudonym "Monsieur de Busch," George visited the Ansbach court in Triesdorf to discreetly assess a marriage prospect: Caroline of Ansbach, who had been a ward of his aunt, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover. George was so impressed by Caroline that he would not consider anyone else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, and the wedding took place on September 2, 1705, at Herrenhausen Palace. The union was considered a personal and political success. George was eager to participate in the War of the Spanish Succession in Flanders, but his father refused to allow him active military service until he had a son and heir. His wish was fulfilled in early 1707 with the birth of Frederick. George subsequently participated in the Battle of Oudenarde in 1708, where he charged at the head of the Hanoverian cavalry and earned praise from the British commander, Marlborough. Between 1709 and 1713, George and Caroline had three daughters: Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, Amelia, and Caroline. By 1714, as Queen Anne's health declined, the Whigs, who supported the Hanoverian succession, advocated for a Hanoverian to reside in England. Despite George's willingness, Anne and George's father opposed the plan. Within the year, both Sophia and Anne died, and George's father ascended the British throne as George I.

2.1. Quarrel with George I

George and his father, George I, arrived in Greenwich, England, on September 27, 1714, formally entering London two days later in a grand ceremonial procession. George was granted the title of Prince of Wales. Caroline and their daughters followed in October, while Frederick remained in Hanover for his upbringing. London, with its population estimated at up to one and a half million, was vastly larger than Hanover, which had about 1,800 houses. George actively courted popularity by expressing praise for the English, even claiming he had no drop of blood that was not English.

In July 1716, George I returned to Hanover for six months, leaving George with limited powers as "Guardian and Lieutenant of the Realm." During this period, George undertook a royal progress through southern England, visiting Chichester, Havant, Portsmouth, and Guildford. He also made public appearances, such as dining at Hampton Court Palace, which further boosted his public profile. An assassination attempt at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where one person was shot dead before the assailant was apprehended, also increased his public prominence.

George I's distrust and jealousy of his son's popularity contributed to the deteriorating relationship between them. The birth of George's second son, Prince George William of Great Britain, in 1717, became a flashpoint. George I appointed Lord Chamberlain Newcastle as a baptismal sponsor, an individual George disliked. During the christening, George verbally insulted Newcastle, apparently shaking his fist and saying, "You are a rascal; I shall find you out!" This was misheard by Newcastle as a challenge to a duel, which infuriated the King. George and Caroline were temporarily confined to their apartments by royal order and subsequently banished from St James's Palace, the King's residence. Their children, however, remained in the King's care. George and Caroline were desperate to see their children, once secretly visiting the palace without permission, leading to Caroline fainting and George reportedly "crying like a child." The King eventually relented, permitting weekly visits and later granting Caroline unconditional access. Prince George William died in February 1718, aged only three months, with his father by his side.

2.2. Political Opposition and Reconciliation

Following his banishment from the palace and estrangement from his father, George became a rallying point for opposition to George I's policies for several years. These policies included measures to increase religious freedom in Great Britain and expand Hanover's German territories at Sweden's expense. His new London residence, Leicester House, became a frequent meeting place for his father's political opponents, including Robert Walpole and Lord Townshend, who had left the government in 1717.

When George I visited Hanover from May to November 1719, he bypassed George as regent, establishing a regency council instead. In 1720, Walpole, seeking public unity, encouraged a half-hearted reconciliation between George and his father. As a result, Walpole and Townshend returned to political office. However, George was soon disillusioned with the terms of the reconciliation: his three daughters remained with the King, and he was still barred from serving as regent during his father's absences. He suspected Walpole of manipulating him to regain power. For the next few years, he and Caroline lived quietly, largely avoiding overt political activity. They had three more children: William, Mary, and Louisa, who were raised at Leicester House and Richmond Lodge, George's summer residence.

The economic disaster of the South Sea Bubble in 1721 allowed Walpole to rise to the pinnacle of government. Walpole and his Whig Party became dominant in politics, as George I feared that the Tories would not support the succession established by the Act of Settlement. The Whigs' power was so extensive that the Tories did not hold power again for another half-century.

3.1. Accession and Early Policies

George I died on June 22, 1727, during one of his visits to Hanover. His son succeeded him as King and Elector at the age of 43. George II opted not to travel to Germany for his father's funeral, a decision that, far from drawing criticism, garnered praise in England, seen as a sign of his devotion to Britain. He suppressed his father's will, which had attempted to divide the Hanoverian succession between George II's future grandsons rather than vesting all domains, both British and Hanoverian, in a single person. Both British and Hanoverian ministers deemed the will unlawful, as George I lacked the legal authority to unilaterally determine the succession. Critics speculated that George II concealed the will to avoid paying out his father's legacies.

George II's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on October 22, 1727. George Frideric Handel was commissioned to compose four new anthems for the occasion, including Zadok the Priest.

It was widely anticipated that George would dismiss Walpole, who had displeased him by joining his father's government, and replace him with Sir Spencer Compton. George initially asked Compton, not Walpole, to draft his first speech as king, but Compton in turn sought Walpole's assistance. Queen Caroline advised George to retain Walpole, who further secured royal favor by obtaining a generous civil list of 800.00 K GBP (a fixed annual amount for the king's official expenditure) from Parliament. Given Walpole's substantial parliamentary majority, George had little choice but to retain him or risk ministerial instability. Compton was ennobled as Lord Wilmington the following year.

Walpole directed domestic policy, and after Lord Townshend's resignation in 1730, he also controlled George's foreign policy. Historians generally agree that George played an honorific role in Britain, largely deferring to the advice of Walpole and senior ministers, who made the major decisions. Although the King was keen for war in Europe, his ministers were more cautious. A truce was agreed in the Anglo-Spanish War (1727-1729), and George unsuccessfully pressured Walpole to join the War of the Polish Succession on the side of the German states. In April 1733, Walpole withdrew the unpopular Excise Bill due to strong opposition, even from within his own party. George supported Walpole by dismissing the bill's opponents from their court offices. In 1732, George II also granted Walpole the residence at 10 Downing Street, which has since become the official residence of the British Prime Minister.

3.2. Family Relations During Reign

George II's relationship with his eldest son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, deteriorated significantly during the 1730s. Frederick had been left in Germany when his parents moved to England and they had not met for 14 years. When he was brought to England in 1728, he swiftly became a figurehead for the political opposition. During George's summer visits to Hanover in 1729, 1732, and 1735, he appointed his wife, not his son, to chair the regency council in Britain. Concurrently, a rivalry between George II and his brother-in-law and first cousin, Frederick William I of Prussia, led to tensions along the Prussian-Hanoverian border, including troop mobilizations and suggestions of a duel between the two kings. Negotiations for a marriage between Frederick and Frederick William I's daughter, Wilhelmine, dragged on for years but ultimately failed due to a lack of mutual concessions. Instead, Frederick married Augusta of Saxe-Gotha in April 1736.

George's return to Hanover in May 1736 led to public unpopularity in England, with a satirical notice even posted on the gates of St James's Palace: "Lost or strayed out of this house... a man who has left a wife and six children on the parish." Plans for his return in December were hindered by inclement weather, sparking rumors in London that he had drowned. He finally arrived back in England in January 1737, but soon fell ill with a fever. Frederick spread rumors that the King was dying, prompting George to insist on attending a social event to dispel the gossip.

An open quarrel erupted when Frederick applied to Parliament for an increase in his allowance. Known for his stinginess, George offered a private settlement, which Frederick rejected. Although Parliament voted against the measure, George reluctantly increased his son's allowance on Walpole's advice. Further friction occurred in July 1737 when Frederick excluded the King and Queen from the birth of his daughter by secretly moving his wife, who was in labor, in the middle of the night. In response, George banished Frederick and his family from the royal court, mirroring his own father's treatment of him, though he allowed Frederick to retain custody of his children.

Soon after, Queen Caroline died on November 20, 1737. George was deeply affected by her death, displaying a tenderness that surprised many. On her deathbed, she urged him to remarry, to which he famously replied, "Non, j'aurai des maîtresses!"_{No, I shall have mistresses!}^French. It was widely known that George had mistresses during his marriage, and he had kept Caroline informed of them. Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, who had moved to Hanover with her husband during Queen Anne's reign and served as one of Caroline's women of the bedchamber, was his mistress from before George I's accession until November 1734. She was succeeded by Amalie von Wallmoden, later Countess of Yarmouth, whose son, Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden, may have been George's. Johann Ludwig was born while Amalie was still married, and George never publicly acknowledged him as his own son.

3.3. Major Wars and Rebellions

George II's reign was punctuated by significant military conflicts, both on the European continent and within Britain itself, which had lasting impacts on the British Empire.

3.3.1. War of the Austrian Succession and Jacobite Rebellion

Against Walpole's wishes but to George's delight, Britain resumed hostilities with Spain in 1739, initiating the War of Jenkins' Ear. This conflict became part of the larger War of the Austrian Succession, which erupted in Europe following the death of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740. The central issue was the right of Charles's daughter, Maria Theresa, to succeed to his Austrian dominions. George spent the summers of 1740 and 1741 in Hanover, where he could more directly intervene in European diplomatic affairs as Elector.

Prince Frederick actively campaigned for the opposition in the 1741 British general election, which prevented Walpole from securing a stable majority. Walpole attempted to placate Frederick with promises of an increased allowance and debt repayment, but Frederick refused. With his support eroded, Walpole retired in 1742 after over 20 years in office. He was succeeded by Lord Wilmington, who was largely a figurehead, with actual power held by others like Lord Carteret, George's favorite minister after Walpole. When Wilmington died in 1743, Henry Pelham took over the government.

The pro-war faction, led by Carteret, argued that French power would grow if Maria Theresa failed to succeed the Austrian throne. George agreed to send 12,000 hired Hessian and Danish mercenaries to Europe, ostensibly to support Maria Theresa. Without consulting his British ministers, George stationed them in Hanover to prevent French troops from invading the electorate. The British army had not fought in a major European war for over 20 years, and its upkeep had been severely neglected. George had advocated for greater professionalism and promotion by merit rather than by sale of commissions, but with limited success. An allied force of Austrian, British, Dutch, Hanoverian, and Hessian troops engaged the French at the Battle of Dettingen on June 27, 1743. George personally led them to victory, becoming the last British monarch to lead troops into battle. Despite admiration for his actions, the war became unpopular with the British public, who felt that the King and Carteret were prioritizing Hanoverian interests over British ones. Carteret lost support and, to George's dismay, resigned in 1744.

Tension grew between the Pelham ministry and George as he continued to take advice from Carteret and resisted pressure from other ministers to include William Pitt the Elder in the Cabinet, which would have broadened the government's support base. The King disliked Pitt due to his prior opposition to government policy and his attacks on pro-Hanoverian measures. In February 1746, Pelham and his followers resigned. George asked Lord Bath and Carteret to form an administration, but they failed to secure sufficient parliamentary support within 48 hours. Pelham returned to office triumphant, and George was compelled to appoint Pitt to the ministry.

George's French opponents encouraged rebellion by the Jacobites, supporters of the Roman Catholic claimant to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart, often known as the Old Pretender. Stuart was the son of James II, who had been deposed in 1688 and replaced by his Protestant relatives. Two prior rebellions in 1715 and 1719 had failed. In July 1745, the Old Pretender's son, Charles Edward Stuart, popularly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender, landed in Scotland, where support for his cause was strongest. George, who was summering in Hanover, returned to London at the end of August. The Jacobites defeated British forces in September at the Battle of Prestonpans and then moved south into England. However, they failed to gain further support, and the French reneged on a promise of help. Losing morale, the Jacobites retreated back into Scotland. On April 27, 1746, Charles faced George's military-minded son, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, at the Battle of Culloden, the last pitched battle fought on British soil. The ravaged Jacobite troops were routed by the government army. Charles escaped to France, but many of his supporters were caught and executed. Jacobitism was largely crushed, with no further serious attempts made to restore the House of Stuart. The War of the Austrian Succession continued until 1748, when Maria Theresa was recognized as Archduchess of Austria. The peace was celebrated by a fête in Green Park, London, for which Handel composed Music for the Royal Fireworks.

3.3.2. Seven Years' War

In the 1747 British general election, Frederick, Prince of Wales, again actively campaigned for the opposition, but Pelham's party won easily. Like his father before him, Frederick entertained opposition figures at his house in Leicester Square. When Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, his eldest son, George III, became heir apparent. The King commiserated with Frederick's widow, Augusta, and wept with her. As her son would not reach the age of majority until 1756, a new British Regency Act was passed, designating Augusta as regent, assisted by a council led by Frederick's brother William, in case of George II's death. The King also made a new will, which provided for William to be sole regent in Hanover. After the death of his daughter Louisa at the end of the year, George lamented, "This has been a fatal year for my family. I lost my eldest son - but I am glad of it... Now [Louisa] is gone. I know I did not love my children when they were young: I hated to have them running into my room; but now I love them as well as most fathers."

In 1754, Pelham died and was succeeded by his elder brother, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle. Hostility between France and Britain, particularly over the colonization of North America, continued. Fearing a French invasion of Hanover, George aligned himself with Prussia, ruled by his nephew, Frederick the Great, which was Austria's enemy. Russia and France, in turn, allied with Austria, their former foe. A French invasion of the British-held island of Minorca led to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756. Public discontent over British failures at the conflict's start led to Newcastle's resignation and the appointment of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, as prime minister and William Pitt the Elder as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. In April of the following year, George dismissed Pitt in an attempt to form an administration more to his liking. Over the subsequent three months, attempts to form another stable ministerial combination failed. In June, Lord Waldegrave held the seals of office for only four days. By early July, Pitt was recalled, and Newcastle returned as prime minister. As Secretary of State, Pitt guided war policy. Great Britain, Hanover, Prussia, and their allies Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel fought against other European powers, including France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. The war involved multiple theaters, from Europe to North America and India, where British dominance increased with the victories of Robert Clive over French forces and their allies at the Battle of Arcot and the Battle of Plassey.

George's son, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, commanded the King's troops in northern Germany. In 1757, Hanover was invaded, and George gave his son full powers to conclude a separate peace. However, by September, George was furious at William's negotiated settlement, the Convention of Klosterzeven, which he felt greatly favored the French. George declared that his son had "ruined me and disgraced himself." William, by his own choice, resigned his military offices, and George revoked the peace deal on the grounds that the French had infringed it by disarming Hessian troops after the ceasefire.

In the Annus Mirabilis of 1759, British forces captured Quebec and Guadeloupe, defeated a French plan to invade Britain following naval battles at Lagos and Quiberon Bay, and halted a resumed French advance on Hanover at the Battle of Minden.

4.1. Succession Planning and Health

Following the unexpected death of his eldest son, Frederick, in 1751, George II solidified his grandson, George (later George III), as the heir apparent. Given that Prince George would not reach the age of majority until 1756, a new British Regency Act was passed, establishing Frederick's widow, Augusta, as regent, to be assisted by a council led by her brother-in-law, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, in the event of George II's demise. The King also drafted a new will, which designated William as the sole regent in Hanover. The year 1751 was particularly difficult for George II, as he also lost his youngest daughter, Louisa, by the end of the year. He openly lamented, "This has been a fatal year for my family. I lost my eldest son - but I am glad of it... Now [Louisa] is gone. I know I did not love my children when they were young: I hated to have them running into my room; but now I love them as well as most fathers."

By October 1760, George II's health had significantly declined. He was blind in one eye and suffered from impaired hearing. He also had internal medical conditions such as diabetes and had experienced mental health issues such as depression or schizophrenia after Queen Caroline's death.

4.2. Death

On the morning of October 25, 1760, George II rose at his usual time of 6:00 AM, drank a cup of hot chocolate, and went to his close stool alone. After a few minutes, his valet heard a loud crash. Entering the room, he found the King on the floor, appearing to have just risen from his commode and reaching towards his desk. The King was lifted into his bed, and Princess Amelia was summoned. However, before she could reach him, George II died. He was nearly 77 years old, having lived longer than any of his English or British predecessors. A post-mortem examination revealed that his death was caused by a thoracic aortic dissection, a rupture of the heart's right ventricle, possibly due to an early aortic aneurysm.

He was succeeded by his grandson, George III. George II's funeral took place on November 11 in Westminster Abbey. He left specific instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed, allowing their remains to mingle. He was the last British monarch to be buried in Westminster Abbey. His death occurred approximately three years before the conclusion of the Seven Years' War and the series of colonial conflicts with France, a period during which British victory had become almost certain.

5.1. Cultural and Institutional Contributions

In 1757, four years after its foundation, George II donated the Royal Library to the British Museum. Although he himself showed little interest in reading or in the arts and sciences, preferring to spend his leisure hours stag-hunting or playing cards, his reign saw significant cultural and institutional developments. In 1737, he founded the Georg August University of Göttingen, the first university in the Electorate of Hanover, which he visited in 1748. The asteroid 359 Georgia was named in his honor at the university in 1902. He served as the Chancellor of the University of Dublin between 1716 and 1727. In 1754, he issued the charter for King's College in New York City, which later became Columbia University. The Province of Georgia, founded by royal charter in 1732, was also named after him.

During George II's reign, British interests expanded globally, the Jacobite challenge to the House of Hanover was decisively extinguished, and the power of ministers and Parliament in Britain became well-established. This period marked a crucial transition from an absolute monarchy to a modern parliamentary system, with the monarch playing a more symbolic yet still influential role.

5.2. Historical Assessment and Criticism

For two centuries after George II's death, historians tended to view him with disdain. Contemporary memoirs by figures such as Lord Hervey and Horace Walpole depicted him as a weak buffoon, largely controlled by his wife and ministers, focusing on his mistresses, short temper, and perceived boorishness. Biographies written during the 19th and early 20th centuries largely relied on these biased accounts.

However, scholarly reassessments since the last quarter of the 20th century, based on analysis of surviving correspondence, indicate that George was not as ineffectual as previously thought. Letters from ministers, annotated by George with pertinent remarks, demonstrate his grasp of and interest in foreign policy in particular. He often succeeded in preventing the appointment of ministers or commanders he disliked or in sidelining them into lesser offices.

Despite this academic reassessment, the popular perception of George II as a "faintly ludicrous king" has not been entirely eradicated. His parsimony, for instance, often drew ridicule, though his biographers note that frugality is preferable to extravagance. Lord Charlemont excused George's short temper, explaining that sincerity of feeling is better than deception: "His temper was warm and impetuous, but he was good-natured and sincere. Unskilled in the royal talent of dissimulation, he always was what he appeared to be. He might offend, but he never deceived." Lord Waldegrave wrote, "I am thoroughly convinced that hereafter, when time shall have wore away those specks and blemishes which sully the brightest characters, and from which no man is totally exempt, he will be numbered amongst those patriot kings, under whose government the people have enjoyed the greatest happiness." While George may not have played a dominant role in history, he was influential at times and consistently upheld constitutional government. Elizabeth Montagu observed of him, "With him our laws and liberties were safe, he possessed in a great degree the confidence of his people and the respect of foreign governments; and a certain steadiness of character made him of great consequence in these unsettled times... His character would not afford subject for epic poetry, but will look well in the sober page of history."

6.1. Titles and Styles

In Britain, George's titles and styles evolved over his lifetime:

• From 1706: Duke and Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton and Baron of Tewkesbury.
• August-September 1714: His Royal Highness George Augustus, Prince of Great Britain, Electoral Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, etc.
• 1714-1727: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.
• 1727-1760: His Majesty The King.

George II's full style as monarch was "George the Second, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire."

6.2. Arms

Coat of arms as the Prince of Wales 1714-1727	Coat of arms of George II as King of Great Britain 1727-1760

When George became Prince of Wales in 1714, he was granted the royal arms with an inescutcheon of gules plain in the Hanoverian quarter differenced overall by a label of three points argent. The crest included the single arched coronet of his rank. As king, he used the royal arms as used by his father undifferenced.

7.1. Ancestry

7.2. Issue

Queen Caroline had ten pregnancies, resulting in eight live births. One of the couple's children died in infancy, and seven lived to adulthood.