Global InformationGeorge II of Great Britain information
| George II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait by Thomas Hudson, 1744 | |||||
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| Reign | 11/22[a] June 1727 – 25 October 1760 | ||||
| Coronation | 11/22[a] October 1727 | ||||
| Predecessor | George I | ||||
| Successor | George III | ||||
| Born | 30 October / 9 November 1683[a] Herrenhausen Palace,[2] or Leine Palace,[3] Hanover | ||||
| Died | 25 October 1760 (aged 76) Kensington Palace, London, England | ||||
| Burial | 11 November 1760 Westminster Abbey, London | ||||
| Spouse |
Caroline of Ansbach
(m. 1705; died 1737) | ||||
| Issue Detail |
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| House | Hanover | ||||
| Father | George I of Great Britain | ||||
| Mother | Sophia Dorothea of Celle | ||||
| Religion | Protestant[4] | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
George II (George Augustus; German: Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683[a] – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 (O.S.) until his death in 1760.
Born and brought up in northern Germany, George is the most recent British monarch born outside Great Britain. The Act of Settlement 1701 and the Acts of Union 1707 positioned his grandmother Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant descendants to inherit the British throne. In 1705, George married Princess Caroline of Ansbach, with whom he had eight children. After the deaths of George's grandmother and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, George's father, the Elector of Hanover, ascended the British throne as George I. In the first years of his father's reign as king, Prince George was associated with opposition politicians until they rejoined the governing party in 1720.
As king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had more direct control over government policy. He had a difficult relationship with his eldest son, Frederick, who supported the parliamentary opposition. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, and thus became the most recent British monarch to lead an army in battle. In 1745 supporters of the Catholic claimant to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart ("The Old Pretender"), led by James's son Charles Edward Stuart ("The Young Pretender" or "Bonnie Prince Charlie"), attempted and failed to depose George in the last of the Jacobite rebellions. Frederick died suddenly in 1751, nine years before his father; George was succeeded by Frederick's eldest son, George III.
For two centuries after George II's death, history tended to view him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper, and boorishness. Since then, reassessment of his legacy has led scholars to conclude that he exercised more influence in foreign policy and military appointments than previously thought.
- ^ Huberty et al., p. 108
- ^ Cannon.
- ^ Thompson, p. 10.
- ^ "The Hanoverians are here!". Historic Royal Palaces. 2022.
the monarch could only be Anglican
- "George I". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2022.
all British monarchs must be Protestants of the Church of England
- "Act of Settlement". The Royal Family. 2022.
The Sovereign now had to swear to maintain the Church of England (and after 1707, the Church of Scotland)
- "George I". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2022.
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