George II, King of Great Britain and Ireland

b. 1683; d. 1760

The only son of George I, succeeded to the throne in 1727.

In 1705 he married Caroline Wilhelmina of Anspach. In 1707 he was created earl of Cambridge and in 1708 he was present at the battle of Oudenarde. During his father's reign he was on bad terms with the King for the greater part of the time, being regarded as the official centre of the opposition, and Robert Walpole expected dismissal when George I died. But through the influence of Queen Caroline he was soon reinstated, and received the loyal support of George II until his resignation. George was a man of method, very economical, and with a prodigious memory. The politics of the greater part of his reign were quiet. Walpole gave the country a much-needed peace, but in 1737 Caroline died and, with her influence removed, matters became much more difficult for Walpole. He resigned in 1742.

George, like his father, considered Hanover dearer to him than Britain. The importance of his reign lies to a great extent in the fact that George, in practice, if not in theory, played the part of a constitutional monarch. The rebellion of 1745 proved his personal loyalty to the Hanoverian succession was not yet a factor in practical politics, and the Protestant German succession was mainly regarded as a business transaction. The traditional bad feeling between the king and heir apparent was maintained by George and Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1751).

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