[22] George was given the title of Prince of Wales. [77] Britain's conflict with Spain, the War of Jenkins' Ear, became part of the War of the Austrian Succession when a major European dispute broke out upon the death of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740. [82], The pro-war faction was led by Carteret, who claimed that French power would increase if Maria Theresa failed to succeed to the Austrian throne. Trench, pp. [55], Walpole directed domestic policy, and after the resignation of his brother-in-law Townshend in 1730 also controlled George's foreign policy. "Lost or strayed out of this house", it read, "a man who has left a wife and six children on the parish. [35], Banned from the palace and shunned by his own father, the Prince of Wales was identified for the next several years with opposition to George I's policies,[36] which included measures designed to increase religious freedom in Great Britain and expand Hanover's German territories at the expense of Sweden. Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. [48] Critics supposed that George II hid the will to avoid paying out his father's legacies. [37] His new London residence, Leicester House, became a frequent meeting place for his father's political opponents, including Sir Robert Walpole and Lord Townshend, who had left the government in 1717. [110], In the annus mirabilis of 1759 British forces captured Quebec and Guadeloupe. As night fell upon this mourning capital of a still great family of nations, his elder daughter was proclaimed Queen of this realm and its dependencies, head of the British Commonwealth and the Defender of the Faith, with the title of Elizabeth II. The king commiserated with the Dowager Princess of Wales and wept with her. [133] George may not have played a major role in history, but he was influential at times and he upheld constitutional government. The official announcement from Sandringham, given at 1045 GMT, said the King retired in his usual health, but passed away in his sleep and was found dead in bed at 0730 GMT by a … In it, she detailed how much she missed her father. On one occasion, they secretly visited the palace without the approval of the king; Caroline fainted and George "cried like a child". The province of Georgia, founded by royal charter in 1732, was named after him. [18], By 1714 Queen Anne's health had declined, and British Whigs, who supported the Hanoverian succession, thought it prudent for one of the Hanoverians to live in England to safeguard the Protestant succession on Anne's death. His cousin King George V offered Nicholas II refuge, but then unexpectedly withdrew the offer - and later tried to cover up the fact. [45] The power of the Whigs was so great that the Tories would not come to hold power for another half-century. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. [39] In 1720, Walpole encouraged the king and his son to reconcile, for the sake of public unity, which they did half-heartedly. He was the son of HRH Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, (born 2/10/1706 in Hanover; died 3/20/1751 NS). Looking back on King George's death, the new Queen penned a letter in March of 1952 to her father's former private secretary Sir Eric Mieville. [105], George's son, the Duke of Cumberland, commanded the king's troops in northern Germany. Birthplace: Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover, Germany Location of death: London, England Cause of death: Stroke R. Military service: Battle of Dettingen (1743) George II, King of Great Britain and Ireland, the only son of King George I, was born in 1683. until his death in 1760. King George II. By the start of July Pitt was recalled, and Newcastle returned as prime minister. [74] Henrietta Howard, later Countess of Suffolk, had moved to Hanover with her husband during the reign of Queen Anne,[75] and had been one of Caroline's women of the bedchamber. [98] When the Prince of Wales died suddenly in 1751, his eldest son, Prince George, became heir apparent. [46], George I died on 11/22 June 1727 during one of his visits to Hanover, and George II succeeded him as king and elector at the age of 43. He might offend, but he never deceived. The Jacobites failed to gain further support, and the French reneged on a promise of help. [27] Spectators were allowed to see him dine in public at Hampton Court Palace. After a few minutes, his valet heard a loud crash and entered the room to find the king on the floor;[114] his physician, Frank Nicholls, recorded that he "appeared to have just come from his necessary-stool, and as if going to open his escritoire".[115]. Like his father, for much of his reign George's political options were limited by the strength of the Jacobite cause with which many of the Tories supported, overtly or secretly (James Stuart the Old Pretender, and then [54] Compton was ennobled as Lord Wilmington the following year. At the age of nearly 77 he had lived longer than any of his English or British predecessors. [41] George was soon disillusioned with the terms of the reconciliation; his three daughters who were in the care of the king were not returned and he was still barred from becoming regent during the king's absences. In November 1744 George bowed to parliamentary pressure and accepted Carteret’s resignation. [16] The British commander, Marlborough, wrote that George "distinguished himself extremely, charging at the head of and animating by his example [the Hanoverian] troops, who played a good part in this happy victory". Fifteen months later the king’s ministers, by resigning (temporarily) en masse, forced George to accept into office Carteret’s chief opponent, William Pitt (later earl of Chatham). George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the son of Ernest Augustus, elector of Hanover, and Sophia of the Palatinate, a granddaughter of King James I of England. . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Two prior rebellions in 1715 and 1719 had failed. (French for "No, I shall have mistresses!"). [67], When the Prince of Wales applied to Parliament for an increase in his allowance, an open quarrel broke out. He was little more than an observer of the events of the Seven Years’ War (1756–63) against France, for it was Pitt who devised the brilliant strategy that eventually brought about a British victory. [43], In 1721, the economic disaster of the South Sea Bubble allowed Walpole to rise to the pinnacle of government. He was succeeded by his grandson, George III. [3] She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, who probably never saw their mother again. [94] On 16/27 April 1746, Charles faced George's military-minded son Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, in the Battle of Culloden, the last pitched battle fought on British soil. The Death of King George II, with a Biographical Note on Dr Frank Nicholls, Physician to the King. George is the most recent British monarch born outside Great Britain: he was born and brought up in northern Germany. He displayed courage while fighting the French at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743—the last time a British king appeared on the battlefield—and he organized each day with the precision of a drill sergeant. [66] Immediately he fell ill, with piles and a fever, and withdrew to his bed. [17] Between 1709 and 1713 George and Caroline had three more children, all girls: Anne, Amelia, and Caroline. [79], Prince Frederick campaigned actively for the opposition in the 1741 British general election, and Walpole was unable to secure a stable majority. Eventually, in January 1737, he arrived back in England. George, who was summering in Hanover, returned to London at the end of August. King of Britain, 1727-60. "[135], George II's full style 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". [23] London was like nothing George had seen before; it was 50 times larger than Hanover,A and the crowd was estimated at up to one and a half million spectators. Negotiations for a marriage between the Prince of Wales and Frederick William's daughter Wilhelmine dragged on for years but neither side would make the concessions demanded by the other, and the idea was shelved. The prince’s London residence, Leicester House, became the gathering place for a dissident Whig group headed by Walpole and Viscount Charles Townshend. "[65] The king made plans to return in the face of inclement December weather; when his ship was caught in a storm, gossip swept London that he had drowned. However, controversy surrounding his death surfaced a few decades ago when the diary of his lead attending physician, Lord Dawson of Penn, was revealed. III, p. 916, quoted in Thompson, p. 124, and Van der Kiste, p. 165. A French invasion of the British-held island of Minorca led to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756. The prince, upon his accession as George II, would have dismissed Walpole from office had not Caroline intervened on the minister’s behalf. [76], Against Walpole's wishes, but to George's delight, Britain reopened hostilities with Spain in 1739. George married his cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle in 1682, but in 1694, accusing her of infidelity, he divorced her and imprisoned her in the castle of Ahlden, where she died 32 years later. Russia and France allied with Austria, their former enemy. George II (George Augustus; German: Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683O.S./N.S. 141–142; Van der Kiste, pp. [25], In July 1716, the king returned to Hanover for six months, and George was given limited powers, as "Guardian and Lieutenant of the Realm", to govern in his father's absence. As George was a peer of the realm (as Duke of Cambridge), it was suggested that he be summoned to Parliament to sit in the House of Lords. In 1760, 20-year-old George succeeded his grandfather, George II, as king of Great Britain and Ireland. [14] In July Caroline fell seriously ill with smallpox, and George caught the infection after staying by her side devotedly during her illness. [89], Tension grew between the Pelham ministry and George, as he continued to take advice from Carteret and rejected pressure from his other ministers to include William Pitt the Elder in the Cabinet, which would have broadened the government's support base. George II ascended the British throne on his detested father's death on 11 June 1727 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey . She had no surviving children, and by the Act of Settlement 1701, the English Parliament designated Anne's closest Protestant blood relatives, George's grandmother Sophia and her descendants, as Anne's heirs in England and Ireland. Revolutions in both France and America over a 60-year period modified every aspect of British life, including the loss of the American colonies. His grandfather, George II, was very distant from George, and outright disliked Frederick. Unskilled in the royal talent of dissimulation, he always was what he appeared to be. ): 27 September 1714 (O.S.) By 1742 these dissidents were strong enough to force Walpole to resign. In 1757 Hanover was invaded and George gave Cumberland full powers to conclude a separate peace,[106] but by September he was furious at Cumberland's negotiated settlement, which he felt greatly favoured the French. King George I. AKA George Ludwig von Guelph-d'Este. [6], George's second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1702. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [50], It was widely believed that George would dismiss Walpole, who had distressed him by joining his father's government, and replace him with Sir Spencer Compton. Trench, pp.