George II (of Great Britain and Ireland)

I

Introduction

George II (of Great Britain and Ireland) (1683-1760), Elector of Hanover (1727-1760), King of Great Britain and Ireland (1727-1760), and second of the Hanoverian (Guelph) dynasty (see Hanover, House of).

II

Early Career

George Augustus was born at Herrenhausen Palace, in Hanover, now in Germany, on October 30, 1683, the eldest son of George Ludwig (later George I) and Sophia Dorothea of Celle. His childhood was marred by the divorce of his parents and his mother’s subsequent banishment, and he was never to see her again. His relations with his father were damaged as a result, but he remained close to his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Celle. In 1705 he married Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the lively and intelligent former ward of his aunt, the queen of Prussia. His relationship with Caroline was the most influential of his life and although he had a number of mistresses, including Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth, the companion of his later years, he remained devoted to Caroline, and he was devastated by her death in 1737. They had seven surviving children.

George was set on a military career, and in 1708 his father finally permitted him to serve with the Allied forces during the War of the Spanish Succession at the Battle of Oudenaarde against France, where he distinguished himself with his bravery. George remained passionately enthusiastic about military matters throughout his life and was closely interested in the day-to-day running of the British army, as well as leading it successfully at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the last time a British monarch has done so.

III

Prince of Wales

On the succession of his father as king of Great Britain, George and Caroline accompanied him to London. They made a favourable impression in Britain, partly because both could speak fairly fluent English, unlike the new king. George’s relationship with his father further deteriorated after the prince attempted to build up a political following of his own. When George I visited Hanover in 1716, the prince was left as guardian of the realm and he went out of his way to court popularity, enraging his father. Matters came to a head in the winter of 1717-1718 when the prince had a violent disagreement with his father over the baptism of the prince’s latest child, and he was banished from the royal palaces. George joined forces with the dissident Whigs headed by Robert Walpole, and he was not reconciled with the king until 1720.

IV

King of Great Britain and Ireland

Like his father, George II favoured the Whigs to the exclusion of all other political groupings. On his accession to the throne in June 1727, George II soon appointed Walpole as his chief minister who, with the valuable assistance of Queen Caroline, remained in office for the next 15 years. When Walpole was forced to resign in 1742, the king accepted his resignation with regret. Although George II was initially popular, enthusiasm for him dipped substantially in the early 1730s owing to the support he gave to Walpole and his policies, in particular the much reviled Excise Tax scheme. George II’s numerous visits to Hanover and his evident partiality for his homeland exacerbated this dislike. His unpopularity was compounded by his dismal relations with his heir, Frederick, Prince of Wales. These had always been strained. In part this was because George I had insisted that George II and Caroline leave Frederick behind in Hanover when the family left for England in 1714. Father and son only met again after George II’s accession when the king reluctantly sent for him. Frederick was soon associating with Walpole’s opponents, and matters reached boiling point when Frederick quarrelled with his father shortly after the birth of Frederick’s first child in 1737, which resulted in George II banishing his heir from the royal palaces. They were reconciled after Walpole’s resignation but relations remained tense until Frederick’s death in 1751.

George II’s unpopularity, however, was not ongoing. The king received an enthusiastic reception when he returned to London after his victory at Dettingen. Although the Jacobite rebellion of 1745-1746 caused serious disruption within Britain (see The Forty-Five), George II met the threat resolutely and was reported, at one stage, to have contemplated leading a defence force into battle if the rebels had tried to attack London. The rebellion received little support in England at least and was soon crushed in Scotland by the king’s younger son, the Duke of Cumberland.

Like most crowned heads, George II’s main political interest was foreign policy. Walpole managed to steer the king clear of major military engagements during his tenure in office, but George became closely involved in the War of the Austrian Succession in the 1740s in defence of imperial interests against France and Prussia, and again in the Seven Years’ War, once more against the French, although this time age prevented his direct participation on the field of battle.

George II died on October 25, 1760, of a heart attack, and was succeeded by his grandson, George III.