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George II of Great Britain

George II (George Augustus) (10 November 1683–25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-L¸neburg (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-L¸neburg 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-L¸neburg in 1698, Prince George became Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-L¸neburg. 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

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.

He also persuaded many Tory politicians to accept the succession laid down in the Act of Settlement as valid. In turn, George II helped Sir Robert Walpole gain a strong parliamentary majority by creating peers (who sat in the House of Lords) sympathetic to the Whigs.

Whilst Queen Caroline was still alive, Sir Robert Walpole's position was secure. He was the master of domestic policy, and he still exerted some control over George II's foreign policy. Whilst George was eager for war in Europe, Walpole was more cautious. Thus, in 1729, he encouraged George II to sign a peace treaty with Spain.

George's relationship with the Prince of Wales worsened during the 1730s. When the Prince of Wales married Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, an open quarrel broke out; George II banished him and his family from the royal court in 1737. After losing his son, George also lost his wife, who died on November 20, 1737. When she reputedly asked George II to remarry, he said "Non, j'aurai des maitresses!" (French for "No, I will have mistresses!"). George had already had (1736) an illegitimate son, Johann Ludwig, Graf von Wallmoden-Gimborn. The most famous of his mistresses was Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, who was one of Caroline's ladies of the bedchamber.

In 1734 George II founded the Georg August University of G–ttingen.

War and rebellion

Against Walpole's advice, George II once again entered into war with Spain in 1739 (the War of Jenkins' Ear). The entire continent of Europe was plunged into war upon the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1740. At dispute was the right of his daughter, Maria Theresa, to succeed to his Austrian dominions. George II's war with Spain quickly became part of the War of the Austrian Succession.

Sir Robert Walpole was powerless to prevent a major European conflict. He also faced the opposition of several politicians, led by John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret (afterwards 2nd Earl Granville). Accused of rigging an election, Walpole retired in 1742 after over twenty years in office. He was replaced by Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, George II's original choice for the premiership, who had previously failed to gain office due to the manœuvres of Queen Caroline. Lord Wilmington, however, was a figurehead; actual power was held by Lord Carteret. When Lord Wilmington died in 1743, Henry Pelham took his place.

The pro-war faction was led by Lord Carteret, who claimed that if Maria Theresa failed to succeed to the Austrian Throne, then French power in Europe would increase. George II agreed to send more troops to Europe, ostensibly to support Maria Theresa, but in reality to prevent enemy troops from marching into Hanover. The British army had not fought in a major European war in over twenty years, during which time the government had badly

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