George II (Great Britain)
George II (1683–1760) was the second Hanoverian King of Great Britain; the son of George I, he reigned 1727–1760. He is noted for enhancing the stability of the constitutional system, with a government run by Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745) during the period 1730–1742, and building up the British Empire, including the seizure of Canada. Simultaneously he was elector and ruler of the German state of Hanover.
Life
Born Georg Augustus on 10 November 1683 in Hanover Castle, he was the only son of Georg Ludwig, the Elector of Hanover who later became King of England as George I, and of Sophia Dorothea, daughter of the Duke of Lüneburg-Celle. In 1705, Georg Augustus married the extremely able and attractive Caroline of Anspach.
On the accession of his father to the throne of England in 1714, Georg Augustus became Prince of Wales. Three years later, the prince fell out with his father to the extent that he was temporarily placed under house arrest. He and his wife set up a rival court at Leicester House, near London, which became the centre for those in opposition to his father's court. Among the visitors to Leicester House was Sir Robert Walpole, the Whig leader, who had the strong support of Princess Caroline. It was Walpole who negotiated the reconciliation between the King and his son in 1720. Even so, the prince felt that he had been cheated and so nursed a grudge against Walpole.
George II was a courageous soldier who delighted in arms, armies, and personal combat. He fought at the 1708 Battle of Oudenaarde, and he personally led the British army against the French at the Battle of Dettingen (1743) in Bavaria, the last British monarch to do so.
King
At his own accession in June 1727, George II peremptorily dismissed Walpole; but Caroline persuaded him to recall the minister, and he soon became as devoted to Walpole as his wife was. He came to prefer Walpole to all other ministers, trusted him, and backed him at every crisis.
As a king, he played a secondary role in both domestic and foreign affairs, enjoying the illusion of ruling as Walpole and his senior ministers made the major decisions. Although unwavering in his personal loyalties, as his support of both Walpole and John Carteret demonstrated, he usually gave way to his advisers if they pressed him strongly enough on policy issues. He aided Walpole in purging the cabinet in 1733, and the same year he reluctantly supported Walpole's opposition to the War of the Polish Succession; George II had wanted Britain to support its allies, the Austrians and Russians, but Walpole said no. Henry Pelham (1696–1754) served as chief minister 1743–1754. In 1744, under pressure, the King dismissed Carteret, his favourite minister; in 1746, he acceded to the demands of his ministers and admitted to office William Pitt the Elder, whom he despised.
George loved parades and hunting, and these activities were ordered with military precision. He had limited interests when indoors, though he enjoyed music and was a patron of both Johann Friedrich Heidegger and Georg Friedrich Handel.
In 1737, his beloved Caroline died and the King's grief was profound; he refused to remarry, consoling himself for the rest of his days with his mistress Madame de Walmoden, who became Countess of Yarmouth. Otherwise, he was a cold man with no friends.
Although he may have been avaricious, insensitive, and intellectually limited, his wise choice of ministers and his honesty of purpose did much to establish the Hanoverian parliamentary monarchy in England. Financially, the country was in good shape thanks to Walpole's policies, especially the creation of a sinking fund to reduce the national debt. Walpole had mollified the largely Tory gentry by reducing the land tax; he promoted trade by awarding bonuses for exports and encouraging the production of raw materials by the colonies. Just as his father had argued with him, George II quarrelled violently with his heir, Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–1751), who lived at Leicester House. That became a centre of political opposition to the King and to the ministries of Walpole and Pelham. Outliving his son, George II died in London on 25 October 1760, and was succeeded by his grandson George III (1738–1820), who reigned for sixty years.